First Look: 2011 KTM 125 Duke

KTM launches its first road-legal 125 – the 125 Duke

Available as of spring 2011, the idea behind the new bike is clear at first sight: true riding fun thanks to fully-fledged motorcycle technology. And at a reasonable price at that! Or: your first fast love.

For many years, Austrian maker KTM has been making it a point to offer great sport motorcycles even to the youngest riders. On the off-road scene, it is not the least these extensive efforts to support young racers that helped KTM achieve its current lead. Besides the popular, high quality KTM Minicycles, Motocross and Enduro models, KTM has also initiated numerous motor sports campaigns for the young generation all over the world.

Just like racing itself, passing on that passion for motorbikes to children and adolescents is in the company’s very DNA.

Out on the streets

Since the 2004 launch of the KTM Super Duke, the brand’s first full-blooded tarmac sports bike, KTM has consistently developed its on-road expertise, making sure that the three letters from Upper Austria are a household name to committed road riders today. From there, it was a logical step to start tackling the development of a road bike for beginning riders. Like no other brand, KTM represents a highly enjoyable riding experience, generated by concepts that always have put a strong focus on the dynamism of each model: light weight by omitting all non-essential parts; precision, achieved by modern designs and the use of only the best quality components; power thanks to strong, lightweight sports engines second to none; a unique style resulting from bold looks and an unmistakeable design philosophy. These very same capabilities and features form the foundation of the 125 Duke. Building on them, and led by the very same engineers that have brought superior sports bikes like the Duke and Superduke to the tarmac, the KTM design centre has now developed the future 125 cc benchmark.

Engine

In order to fulfil exacting requirements regarding power, refinement, and reliability, the Austrians have designed a completely new engine. Exemplary clean emissions and a high fuel mileage were also top priorities for the heart of the 125 Duke.

The result is a highly efficient 4-stroke single with a four-valve cylinder head, two overhead camshafts, liquid cooling, a balancer shaft and electronic Bosch fuel injection. It is the perfect corner stone for the new 125 cc KTM. The state-of-the-art propulsion unit effortlessly generates the legal power limit of most European countries of 11 kW/15 PS. Small changes in the engine electronics allow implementing a legal 80 km/h speed imit. The power curve of the 125 cc unit as been engineered in a way that makes it great fun to ride in everyday situations. An instantaneous throttle response and reat power delivery for quick bursts of peed are the Duke engine‘s specialties. t the same time, the engineers have ucceeded in minimizing vibrations for uperior refinement. All components have been developed for unlimited durability nd easy servicing in order to guarantee a arefree ownership experience. Under the bottom line, it has become a true KTM ports engine, ensuring just the right easure of dynamism at a displacement of exactly 124.7 cc.

Chassis

Future 125 Duke owners may also look forward to some advanced road holding. Light weight makes for agility and thus, light weight makes for safety. Guided by these principles, taken straight from the KTM DNA, the engineers created a great, flickable chassis that also has superior straight-line stability. With a full 11 litres of fuel, the 125 Duke weighs in at only 125 kilos. This does not mean we have skimped on equipment – but in the best KTM tradition, every component had to undergo a strict diet. The backbone of the tiny sports bike is a very light trellis frame, welded from thin steel tubes for maximum strength. Rugged suspension components by specialist WP-Suspension, a braking system developed in close co-operation with Brembo, light multi-spoke wheels and a comprehensive, multi-functional instrumentation make the smallest Duke a true KTM. And your whole body will notice the Duke designers’ expertise when it comes to ergonomics. Optimum operability and a perfectly integrated riding position with large contact patches make for perfect control and a high degree of feedback.

Design and Innovation

Form and function. No other motorcycle maker integrates styling as deeply into the development process of new models as KTM does. And the 125 Duke is no exception wherever technical solutions need to be implemented in a way that is as expedient as it is shapely.

From the first lines on the drawing board to the finished bike entering mass production in the spring of 2011, the 125 Duke has been drafted and implemented hand in hand with Gerald Kiska’s Salzburgbased design group, which had already styled the first KTM Duke in 1994. For a prime example of the seamless co-operation between designers and stylists, take a look at the unique exhaust ystem. Containing a three-way catalytic onverter, the innovative muffler also upports the centralisation of masses and aves space with its upright position on he rear of the engine.

As a completely unique product, the new bike, available as of spring 2011, showcases typical KTM shapes as well as the art of omission. An essential part of the entire concept is achieved by the use of special Power Parts, directly developed by KTM that place even more creativity and freedom in the hands of future 125 Duke petrolheads. The 125 Duke looks intriguing from every angle. Walk around it and discover striking design and quality. Take a ride and be enthralled by its dynamism and a great riding experience.

SA Time: Mon May 9 18:59:15 2011

Kawa Z1000SX an exciting all-rounder

May 9 2011 at 08:34am
By Dave Abrahams

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Dave Abrahams

This is not a budget bike; it's built on a beautifully finished, alloy frame with top-drawer componentry.

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• Kawasaki Z1000SX in pictures

When I learned to ride in 1970 a motorcycle was a motorcycle; you rode whatever you had - to work, to the finish line or to the other end of the country, depending on the needs of the day.

With the advent of the niche market, bikes have become much more specialised but there is still room for a genuine all-rounder, a comfortable sports-tourer with real performance credentials, such as the Kawasaki Z1000SX.

It looks weird; the front end is too low, making the instruments seem a long way away when you're comfortably slouched over the touring-style handlebars. The analogue rev-countrer is clean and clear but the digital display (especially the speedometer) has an odd, flattened font with rounded ends that needs a little focus to read.

The ordinary squared-off font that we're used to from calculators and digital watches is much easier to read, as Ducati found out to its cost with the 999.

Nevertheless the liquid-crystal panel gives your speed, a bar-graph fuel gauge, the time, odometer and two trip meters - but no fuel-consumption or range-to-empty figures, both useful on long hauls.

However Kawasaki, smallest of the Japanese Big Four, has always been an engine company - and this one is a honey. The 1043cc transverse four is hugely oversquare at 77x56mm but tuned for mid-range rather than top-end rush.

The front end is too low, making the instruments seem a long way away when you're comfortably slouched over the touring-style handlebars, but bike looks fashionably "street" and can be thrown around like a motard.

Dave Abrahams

It pulls like a locomotive from 4000rpm, begins to buzz through 'pegs and 'bars with intense secondary vibration from 6000 and the power curve becomes a whole lot steeper from 7000 to 11 000, before flattening off to the rev-limiter at 11 500.

But there's no need to yank this bike's chain; maximum power, a respectable 101.5kW, is at 9600rpm and you'll get the best results by short-shifting just above 10 000 and making full use of its 110Nm at 7800rpm.

It's fed by third-generation, Keihin fuel-injection through 38mm oval throttle bodies, producing instant response with very little snatch or jerkiness, even at small throttle openings.

Yet this muscular prime mover will stall very easily; its clutch-lever travel is short, it takes up very firmly, close to the handlebar grip and will catch you out a few times before you get used to it - but it's also as abuse-proof as all big Kawasaki clutches are and will stand up to repeated full-bore takeoffs without slipping or juddering.

The six-speed gearbox is typical Kawasaki, with a bit of extra clearance designed in to ensure positive shifting. It's klonky at low revs, with noticeable driveline snatch, but crisp as breaking glass (with or without the clutch) at high revs and never misses a shift.

The Z1000SX delivers the goods in the real world, with acceleration and overtaking so effortless it's almost arrogant.

The three-position screen is adjustable by means of a simple spring-loaded clip - no electrics to go wrong.

Dave Abrahams

For the record, it topped out at a true 234km/h with 248 on the digital speedometer and the rev-counter a needle's width on the loud side of 11 000rpm, with the screen in its lowest position (more about that later) and the chinpiece of my helmet touching the top of the 19-litre fuel tank.

Fuel consumption averaged out at 6.5 litres/100km over a week of mixed commuting and open road performance testing (well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

This is not a budget bike; it's built on a beautifully finished, alloy frame with top-drawer componentry, including 41mm upside-downies with stepless adjustment for preload, compression and rebound damping, and a bell-crank above the swing-arm with a lay-down off-set monoshock, also adjustable for preload and rebound damping.

The suspension is firm yet supple on the factory median settings; I pushed it hard enough on our infamous bumpy test track to induce mild pattering at both ends without any jarring reaching the saddle or 'bars.

The downside was a very mild front-end shimmy at very high speeds, which could probably be tuned out, but then you'd lose the superb ride quality.

The brakes are superlative: A Nissin radial master cylinder modulates radial-mount, four-pot Tokico callipers, giving fierce initial bite then superbly controllable power right up to the point where the (standard) ABS begins to make the lever pulse gently under your fingers.

At first touch the seat doesn't feel all that plush, but it's perfectly shaped and very, very comfortable.

Dave Abrahams

The rear petal disc has an underslung single-piston calliper; its action is a little squishy, but fine for hill-starts and adjusting the bike's trim in the wet.

The steering feels remote; it doesn't tell you what's happening at the tar/tyre interface and makes it very difficult to gauge the bike's limits, so I backed off - or I thought I did: I found I was averaging 154km/h over our ride-and-handling test section where 120 is the standard for road bikes and 140 is quick.

The almost-upright seating position and high 'bars, way above the clocks, feel odd but bike looks fashionably “street” and can be thrown around like a motard. Take time to know this bike; it will bear results that might surprise your riding buddies on their race replicas.

The three-position screen is adjustable by a simple spring-loaded clip - no electrics to go wrong. The top position keeps all the wind off your chest but directs it into your face (no problem, I like fresh air) but more importantly, does not induce any buffeting or headaches.

The lowest position - which I used for the top-end runs - would seldom be needed unless you'd left brains and partner at home to go hooning on a Sunday morning.

The Kawasaki's funny little kite-shaped mirrors give you a great view of your own elbows but not much else; Suzuki GSX-R oval mirrors have the same stalks and mounts but a much bigger glass area and should bolt straight on.

At first touch the seat doesn't feel all that plush, but it's perfectly shaped and very, very comfortable; the 19-litre tank should give close to 300km between pit-stops and I'd have no problem staying in the saddle of this bike for that long.

VERDICT

Kawasaki sells the Z1000SX as a very sporty sports-tourer - fitted luggage is available that fits the bill to a T - but it can also be ridden very slowly, its impressively tight turning circle and upright seating position making it a nimble and versatile commuter.

And even commuting is fun, thanks to the engine's stonking mid-range - what was that about getting it all this morning?

Price: R125 995.

Test bike from Kawasaki South, Cape Town.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 1043c liquid-cooled four.

Bore x stroke: 77 x 56mm.

Compression ratio: 11.8:1.

Valvegear: DOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder.

Power: 101.5kW at 9600rpm.

Torque: 110Nm at 7800rpm.

Induction: Digital electronic fuel-injection with four 38mm oval Keihin throttle bodies.

Ignition: Digital electronic.

Starting: Electric.

Clutch: Cable-operated multiplate wet clutch.

Transmission: Six-speed constant-mesh gearbox with final drive by chain.

Front Suspension: 41mm inverted cartridge forks with adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping.

Rear Suspension: Horizontal back-link with gas-charged monoshock adjustable for preload and rebound damping.

Front brakes: Dual 300mm petal disks with Tokico four-piston radial-mount monobloc callipers and ABS.

Rear brake: 250mm petal disc with underslung single-piston floating calliper and ABS.

Front tyre: 120/70 - 17 tubeless.

Rear tyre: 190/50 - 17 tubeless.

Wheelbase: 1445mm.

Seat height: 822mm.

Kerb weight: 231kg.

Fuel tank: 19 litres.

Top speed (measured): 234km/h.

Fuel consumption (measured): 6.5 litres/100km

Price: R125 995.

Bike from: Kawasaki South, Cape Town.

HARLEY EARNINGS

York, PA - Harley-Davidson might be making a comeback as the company releases its first quarter 2011 financial results today.

A survey of 40 Harley dealerships suggests that retail sales improved in the first three months of the year, according to analyst Joseph Hovorka of Raymond James & Associates.

As the ground thaws, analysts note the fast approaching summer riding season and predict first-quarter U.S. sales up in the low-to-mid single digits for the same time one year ago.

Heather Goodwin, operations manager at Laugerman's Harley-Davidson, couldn't speak to that trend here in southcentral Pennsylvania, where a "very wet spring," she said, has put a damper on riding in the midstate.

"We're not sure if anything has improved," she said of the Manchester Township dealership. "You're not going to be out riding in the rain . . . That's just here locally. I don't know about overall across the country."

But the season is still young, she said.

"We need some nice sunny days," she added, "and more than one in a row."

According to Hovorka, only 23 percent of the dealers reported a year-over-year sales decline in the first three months of 2011, which was the least "down" showing since 2006.

"This marks the first time ever in our Harley-Davidson survey in which no dealers indicated too much inventory," Hovorka wrote.

This might not mean motorcycles, a luxury item, are flying off shelves. Dealers this year have less bikes in general, Goodwin said, due to Harley's allocation cut.

"They have cut down on the number of motorcycles they make," she said. "Dealers aren't getting as much as they used to."

They're also cutting costs and streamlining efficiency through a companywide restructuring, which started at the Springettsbury Township facility. The plans will save between $290 million and $310 million annually after 2013, the company says.

In late February, workers in Kansas City approved the final leg of the restructuring, authorizing a reduction in fulltime workers from 685 to 540.

Similar contracts were approved by union workers in Springettsbury Township and Milwaukee and Tomahawk, Wis., in December 2009 and September 2010, respectively. Last quarter showed that Harley was narrowing its losses.

For the 2010 fiscal year, bike sales were down 8.5 percent compared to a 22.7 percent loss in 2009 -- an improvement the company partially attributed to improved collection efforts by Harley-Davidson Financial Services, the company's arm that loans money to bike buyers. The company shipped 44,481 motorcycles worldwide during fourth quarter 2010, compared to 35,938 in fourth quarter 2009.

Harley made news early this year, when shares in mid-January hit a 52-week high of $37.16, up 73 percent from six months earlier.

Harley-Davidson is selling more motorcycles and increasing its income, but an executive said the company's position will improve even more after restructuring is completed at its York manufacturing operation.

Worldwide retail sales of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles grew 3.5 percent in the first quarter of 2011, and income from continuing operations increased by 73.5 percent, the company announced in an earnings report Tuesday.

First-quarter income from continuing operations was $119.3 million, or 51 cents per share, compared to $68.7 million, or 29 cents per share, for the first period of 2010.

The company attributed the high performance to operating income from its financial services division, which grew 154.6 percent compared to the first quarter of 2010.

Operating income from motorcycles and related products was flat, impacted by inefficiencies related to restructuring and the implementation of a new operating system at the Springettsbury Township plant and other Harley facilities.

The company is trimming staff and working the advantages of new labor agreements locally and at plants in Wisconsin and Kansas.

In York: The York restructuring includes a building consolidation plan to shrink the company's footprint and make operations more efficient at its Springettsbury Township campus.

"Our entire team remains focused on transforming our company to be leaner, more agile and more effective than ever at delivering great products and experiences to an increasingly global community of customers," CEO Keith Wandell said in the earnings release.

He said he expects to continue to see an impact on financial performance in the coming quarters as the changes continue. When the restructuring is finished next year, the company will "have a best-in-class, flexible, lean operating structure that we expect will yield substantial ongoing savings," he said.

Sales report: Worldwide, first-quarter new motorcycle sales grew 3.5 percent. Dealers sold 17,904 new bikes in international markets, an 11.3 percent increase compared to last year's first quarter.

U.S. sales were down 0.5 percent, to 31,691.

Revenue from motorcycles was $833.4 million, up 3 percent compared to the same period of 2010.

Revenue from parts and accessories was $164.3 million, up 10.2 percent. Revenue from general merchandise and apparel was $62.6 million, down 5.6 percent.

Anticipating a supply chain interruption because of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last month, the company widened its full-year shipment guidance. Harley has some suppliers in Japan.

The company had projected it would ship between 221,000 and 228,000 motorcycles in 2011, but it revised that number to between 215,000 and 228,000 bikes.

- Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436, ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com, or follow her on Twitter at @dispatchbizwiz.

Should You Buy a New Harley Davidson

You may think that purchasing a new motorcycle is as easy as simply picking a model, going to the nearest dealer and paying for it. Well this is not true, especially if this is going to be your first motorcycle. It is important for you to know that owning a Harley Davidson is comparable to owning a legend. Therefore, you should look at it as an investment, not just a purchase. Since a Harley Davidson is also expensive, you need to know what you want, what you need and what you can handle before you make the purchase. Before you purchase a new bike, you really should do some research since not all Harley Davidsons are suitable for cruising. In other words, just because a bike looks good does not mean that it is the right one for you. Instead, you are going to want to take the time to find one that runs well, is comfortable for you to ride and handle. If you are just starting out, then you may want to start with a smaller bike until your skills improve. You will find that touring bikes are actually the heaviest of the Harley Davidson bikes. These bikes range in price from $16,000 to more than $20,000 without you even customizing them. Models include the FLHR Road King, FLHRS Road King Custom, FLHRC Road King Classic, FLHX Street Glide, FLTR Road Glide, FLHT Electra Glide Standard, FLHTC Electra Glide Classic and FLHTCU Ultra Classic Electra Glide. If you would like a slightly smaller bike that is also faster, then you should go for the VRSC models. These bikes include the VRSCAW V-Rod, VRSCD Night Rod, VRSCXD Night Rod Special, VRSCX and VRSCR Street Rod. You will pay between $14,000 and $20,000 for these bikes. For something even lighter than that you will want to check out the Softail models, which cost between $14,000 and $18,000. These models include the FXST Softail Standard (a bare bones model), FXSTB Night Train, FXSTC Softail Custom, FXSTD Softail Deuce, FLSTF Fat Boy, FLSTN Softail Deluxe, FLSTSC Softail Springer Classic and the FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic. There are also the Dyna models, which sell for between $12,000 and $17,000. These models include the FXD Dyna Super Glide, FXDC Dyna Super Glide Custom, FXDB Dyna Street Bob, FXDL Dyna Low Rider and FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide. Now if you are in search for the lightest Harley bike that you can buy, then you will want the Sportster model, which cost between $6,500 and $10,000. At the upper end of this price range you will find the special 50th Anniversary limited addition model. Other models that are available include the XL Sportster 883, XL883L Sportster 883 Low, XL883C Sportster 883 Custom, XL883R Sportster 883, XL1200N Sportster 1200 Nightster, XL1200C Sportster 1200 Custom, XL1200R Sportster 1200 Roadster and XL1200l Sportster 1200 Low. Some riders think that the Sportster is the most difficult bike to ride even though it is so light. This is because of the high placement of its gas tank and the bikes center of gravity. For this reason, you should test drive it first instead of simply assuming that you will like the way that it rides. Regardless as to which model you choose, you should test drive it before you purchase it. Actually get on a new bike, start it up and listen to the engine. Take the time to feel its vibrations and go for a ride. It is possible that you may need to actually test drive several different models before you purchase your new Harley.