Enduro Boom

ENDURO BOOM

ROUNDUP

NEVER GET ENOUGH roost-chucking power? Want to eat vast expanses of desert in a single, top-gear blast but still be able to pull into town and ride right up to the gas pump or taco stand? KTM has built your motorcycle. The 950 Super Enduro R combines the 98 horsepower, carbureted, 75-degree, 942cc V-Twin first seen in the 2003 Adventure with a pared-down 3.7-gallon gas tank and race-ready chassis. Claimed dry weight is just 408 pounds, making the Enduro R competitive with BMW's HP2 in both power and weight. At an estimated $14,000, however, it is much less expensive than the limited-production, $20,000 Boxer.

The chrome-moly steeltube frame has an aluminum subframe and is suspended by fully adjustable WP components, a 48mm inverted fork with 9.8 inches of stroke at the front and a linkageless PDS shock providing 10 inches of travel.

KTM characterizes the setup as “stiff.”

Because trailbashing figures high on the Super Enduro’s to-do list, an aluminum skidplate is fitted to protect the low-mounted oil tank for the dry-sump engine.

Dirt-oriented, street-legal Metzeler Karoo 2 knobbies-a 90/90-21 front and 140/80-18 rear-interface aggressively with terra firma. The 300mm single front disc brake and 240mm rear are carried over from the Adventure.

The 950 R is expected in dealerships this spring.

That’s plenty of time to train for the Baja 1000. -Mark Hoyer