Looks, despite all appearances, aren't everything. Charlize Theron, for instance, might be less captivating once one has, say, become more familiar with her than she is onscreen. It's entirely possible her current paramour might be contemplating his next move. A move toward a woman who, while not quite possessing Ms. Theron's stunning visage, might employ other talents he finds more enduringly persuasive.
Now we don't want to disparage the good Ms. Theron in any way. As far as we know she is exactly the paragon of giggly mischief, slippery abandon and wild-thing ingenuity she appears to be. And we would, let there be no mistake, be more than happy to find out for ourselves.
The point is, you don't have to look good to feel good. And for the KTM 950 Supermoto, that's a good thing.
The folks at KTM must be painfully aware of the incandescent Ducati Hypermotard concept bike. Like the good Ms. Theron, the Ducati is lean, sleek, spare and achingly beautiful. All the things the KTM 950 Supermoto is not.
The KTM is all tubes, struts, points and angles, with no two pointed in the same direction. From some angles it looks like an espresso machine that crashed into a pumpkin patch. The bodywork evokes those awful Fome-cor-and-duct-tape movie bikes from Hal Needham's MegaForce. And while the KTM may, to some, exude a kind of industro-chic, post-apocalyptic edginess, it's safe to say it won't make the next museum installation of The Art Of The Motorcycle.
But here's the good news--the kind that will keep its (possibly myopic) owners coming back for more. The KTM 950 SM may well be the best-feeling, most capable, most intoxicating day-in, day-out streetbike we have ever tested. Our good Executive Editor Brian Catterson, who knows a thing or two about both motorcycles and intoxication, has testified that it's the most fun motorcycle he has ever ridden. Which is kind of like George Clooney giving Charlize the thumbs-up, if you know what we mean.Dirty Trick
We should have--and pretty much did--see this coming. All it took was a few eye-opening rides on the Supermoto's hormonally boosted big brother, the 950 Adventure S, KTM's simply wonderful 942cc liquid-cooled V-twin stuffed in an overgrown motocross chassis. Even with its lifeguard-tower stance, small front brakes and semi-knobby tires, the Adventure was miraculous on tight, twisty asphalt. Up against revered sit-up streetbikes like the Ducati S4R Monster, the Aprilia Tuono and the MV Agusta Brutale, it simply hauled Italian asso. And did it with a sense of calm and confidence that made going fast as easy as looking at Charlize's face.
With proper suspension setup-minimum fork preload, an extra turn or two of preload in back-the 950SM is a rabid corner-carver. We couldn't help thinking that with stickier street tires and bigger front brakes, the Adventure just might qualify for the Canyon Bike Hall of Fame. So when KTM announced the 950 Supermoto with the same motor, less wheelbase, wide 17-inch wheels, big discs and top-notch WP suspension, we started drooling like Pavlov's poodle in a bell factory.
We Become Acquainted
We hopped on for our first, triumphant ride. The riding position was great, the tapered aluminum handlebar bent in a classic motocross curve. Rubber-damped pegs waited right where one's feet would have them. The rounded seat had us skeptical, but the seat/tank transition was dirtbike smooth, allowing one to crawl freely over the KTM. The engine was the wonderful 75-degree, counterbalanced marvel we had grown to love in the Adventure. The SM revs quicker and is stronger through the midrange, due to its slicker airbox and pipe arrangement. Its 87.6-hp peak is down 1.3 ponies versus our '05 Adventure.
The carbureted, catalyst-equipped 950 engine needs the handlebar-mounted choke in the morning, and with its light flywheels it is likely to stall if you're not careful for the first few miles.
The SM's seat isn't much better than the thin, dirtbike-like board found on the original 950 Adventure. But if you can stand the pain, the SM is a highly capable commuter that features excellent ergos, well-controlled vibration, decent mirrors and superb control feel. Shorter final-drive gearing would be welcome, however. The combination of a shorter wheelbase (thanks to a shorter fork and swingarm, and stiffer suspension) make the Supermoto even more wheelie-happy than the Adventure. And that, dear reader, is where the fun begins. For is there any word in the language that conveys more sheer, exuberant joy than the verb "wheelie"? This thing paws at the sky after every stop sign like a Lipizzaner stallion. It sits up and begs, no clutch required, when it hits the powerband in second gear. It waves its front wheel at the adoring crowd, like Queen Elizabeth in an open carriage, over every hump in the road.
We Become Confused
Then we hit our first real corner. And quickly realized, as in that famous scene in The Crying Game, that something was very wrong. As it was set up from KTM, the SM simply wouldn't hold a line in a corner, even at relatively wimpy lean angles. Steering was twitchy and imprecise. The wide, 120/70-ZR17 front tire would track along any ridge or seam in the road when tilted, pretty much dissolving its rider's confidence. And the front end was amazingly harsh over small bumps--not at all the compliant, supermoto-style ride we were expecting.