See and Hear the KTM 1290 Super Duke R Prototype at Goodwood Festival of Speed – Video

Last weekend, the KTM 1290 Super Duke R prototype made its public debut in action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Those of us who couldn’t make it over to England missed on out seeing and hearing the prototype in action along with other historic and exotic motorcycles and cars at the Goodwood House’s Hill Climb circuit.

Well worry not, as KTM recorded the 1290 Super Duke R in action, with former MotoGP racer Jeremy McWilliams taking “the Beast” out for five laps. According to KTM, McWilliams completed the 1.16-mile course in 54 seconds, pushing the 1290 to speeds of up to 135 mph (while wheelie-ing, no less!)

McWilliams describes the Super Duke R prototype as being “lairy”, British slang meaning rowdy and aggressive.

“I’ve ridden some magnificent machines at Goodwood, but nothing as lairy as ‘The Beast’,” says McWilliams. “It definitely suits the name. As soon as I tested this bike the evening before the event I knew I wanted to try and set a fast lap on it. I think we put on a good show as the response to the bike has been incredible and not just from the public! Kevin Schwantz told me it was his favourite bike at the event and he really wanted to ride it!”

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Unfortunately, the sound doesn’t quite sync up with the video; KTM cites the restricted shooting allowance at Goodwood. Still, it’s better to hear grunt of KTM’s new engine and the Akropovic pipes than another guitar-heavy rock or dubstep soundtrack.

KTM says the production version of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R will be released later this year, so expect to hear more about it around 2013 EICMA show in Milan in November.

“I can’t really say a lot about the upcoming production bike only that people won’t be disappointed,” says McWilliams. “The engine even has more grunt than that of ‘The Beast’.”

[Source: KTM]

By Dennis Chung