The King of All Naked Evils is now unveiled! A member of the Kiska design team that sculpted the KTM 1290 Super Duke R posted a few snaps of the bike on their blog, Derestricted.com. After being spied on numerous occasions, the production edition was showcased to American dealers as well as various automotive scribes at KTM’s hometown of Matighöfen in Austria.
As a pleasant surprise, KTM had a special US Edition ( Called the “Patriot” Edition ) in store for the audience at the final dinner in Salzburg. Filled to the brim with patriotism, it was flush with a “Stars and Stripes” livery accompanied by the US flag on the side panels. The bike was splashed in blue, red and white; even the trademark orange was bid adieu to in the wheels for a blue-white combo along with a “U.S.A.” lettering. Nevertheless, the cynosure was the Eagle emblem on the fuel tank as well as with the stylized wings alongside the headlamp. Uncle Sam must be smirking at this effort!
The revealed bike stays pretty similar to the spied ones, as well as the one unveiled in the 2012 EICMA Motor Show. The changes are the headlamps and the exhausts. While the headlamp has taken a turn for a more radical, sharper beak-like styling as compared to the bulbous one that was evident from the spyshots, the exhaust has been mellowed down from the more rabid one that was plonked on the bike that was introduced at the 2012 EICMA Motor Show.
On their blog, the Kiska design team member also stated that the final presentation of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R will take place at the 2013 EICMA Motor Show in Milan. He also informed that the international media will be provided the “Naked Beast” in Austria, for testing it on road as well as on track.
According to that member, the KTM 1290 Super Duke R will be found in showrooms from this December. The bike will get a simultaneous global launch, though we are not sure if it will be sold in India or not. If at all it is sold, it may retail at around INR 15 lakhs or more.
