KTM’s New Duke
KTM has upgraded its entire single-cylinder Duke range in a campaign it has audaciously labelled as “No Bull…”. The smaller Dukes, comprising the 125, 250 and, of course, 390, are the bread and butter part of the KTM line-up and are an integral part of why KTM is Europe’s biggest selling motorcycle maker.
For 2024, the engineers are not mucking about, implementing the biggest change to the little Duke range in 13 years, going all-in with new motors, new chassis, new looks and everything.
The frames are still steel-trellis, although the jig has been adjusted for better torsional rigidity which, KTM says, offers more agility and better feedback. The steel frame is twinned with a separate aluminium sub-frame, new triple clamps and a revised off-set, also helping with the agility and feedback business.
The swing-arm is also new and is attached to a relocated rear shock that’s slightly off-centre to allow both a bigger airbag and lower seat height.
The motors are new too, with the 125 and 250 becoming smaller, while the 390 has grown from 373cc to 399cc. Somehow, KTM has managed to reduce the weight of this motor while also upgrading it to Euro5 standards and raising the power to more than 44hp, and we can only imagine that the midrange has grown massively.
Suspension is, of course, handled by WP with rebound and compression adjustability on both the forks and the rear shock.
From the rider’s end, there’s a new 5” TFT dash that now boasts a track mode with an enlarged RPM display and a new launch control to go with the selectable Supermoto ABS mode, smartphone connectivity and the option of a two-way quick-shifter.
Watch this space…
Roost KTM moves to Boksburg.
The East Rand KTM dealer has moved from their home in Springs to spankin new premises and a very impressive store a bit closer to civilization.
It’s massive! A huge showroom and accessory section and a groot workshop with all sorts of familiar, qualified faces looking after the bikes.
Trying to get everyone together at once was a bit like herding cats, but we succeeded eventually and we’ll post a vid about the shop as soon as they are ready. Chat to Andrew and the team.
Corner North Rand and Atlas Road, Bardene, Boksburg. (011) 362-2255
New accessory store in the North: Atlas Gear
What started as a dream and an online shop in 2020 has grown into a physical store that stocks all sorts of goodies and rider gear for your adventure and other bikes.
The shop is run by the friendly duo of Mark and Catherine. And they make great coffee too! Across the road from Blueberry Square in Honeydew.
Corner Beyers Naude and Honeydew Road West. (011) 568-9921
World Of Motorcycles now also has Kawasaki and Sym.
The World of motorcycles store in Centurion has expanded somewhat with the addition of the Kawasaki and Sym Brands to their product lineups. It’s an impressive multi tiered store with all kinds of bikes and accessories on the floor.
Give them a shout at: 146 Akkerboom St, Zwartkop, Centurion, 0051, (012)765-0600 https://ducati.co.za/
Triumphs Spanish Special Edition Tiger 900 GT
Triumph has launched a new special edition of their Tiger 900 to mark Iván Cervantes’ 2022 victory at the Baja Aragón race. What makes Iván’s victory more impressive is that he also finished just 11th in the scratch classification – a class also shared with purpose-built 450cc rally motorcycles.
He finished the 450km course one hour and six minutes ahead of second place. The five-time Enduro World Champion’s achievement will now be marked with a Tiger 900 Rally Aragón and Tiger 900 GT Aragón.
Interestingly, he and Triumph also entered the Guinness book of world records when he travelled 2493.27 miles in 24 hours on a GT Explorer.
But this is about the 900.
The bikes feature new colours and trim levels to set them apart.
The Rally gets a mixture of Matt Phantom Black, Matt Graphite and Crystal White, plus yellow accents, and a twin colour seat.
The GT gets a two-tone seat, with the bike painted in Diablo Red, Matt Phantom Black, and Crystal White.
Crash bars will also come as standard on both machines, with subtle Aragón Edition logos in the paint work. The internals remain the same.
Chat to your Triumph dealer.https://www.triumphmotorcycles.co.za/
Big Eazy’s Lifestyle Centre – Opening soon.
That very lekker Custom Bike Shop come Man Cave out in Little Falls is on the move.
The new place is massive… we mean FLIPPEN massive and Boss Man Johann has some very BEEEEG plans in the works. Yes, it will be Big Eazy’s Custom Bikes and Accessories, just so very much bigger. The workshop is going to expand by at least 10 times its current size with a lot more tools and benches and specialised tech features so they can do more and pump out more great custom bikes. The showroom is also going to be much bigger too. As it is, they are bursting at the seams in their current location with all their bikes, accessories and gear.
On the cards for the near future is a Motorcycle themed restaurant with regular live music, big screens for the MotoGP and WSBK and sensible pricing. A motorcycle valet centre will be one of the first facilities opened along with the new Showroom and Workshop with a whole bunch of new innovations to make your Pride & Joy sparkle Then, there is also going to be a Tattoo studio, a top-notch barber as well as a men’s Spa where you can take your world and work weary ass off to for a bit of proper pampering and some rejuvenation.
Keep an eye on our website and their social media – it sounds like it is going to be pretty amazing.
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