Life With The Beast Episode 2 - KTM 1290 SuperDuke R

Oh this is the

1290

super duke r and this is the bike I use for commuting. I use it to go to my workshop. I use it for shopping and generally running errands. The most upright seating position. Compared to a conventional sports bike, it makes it more attractive for everyday use and the big V-twin engine with all that torque makes it really easy to use and versatile for everyday use, but don't be fooled. This bike is truly a capable bike and you take it to the track and it becomes an absolute weapon, so once the tour of the post office is done, it's time to prepare the bike for the track because this weekend we are going to go to the circuit Andalusia as well as with any motorcycle service and maintenance it's really important for your own safety you want the bike to run as well as possible you don't want it to let you down especially the brakes and the suspension and things like that so it can be It's dangerous so it's very important to make sure everything is tilted.

I may have left this a little long, but it's time for service and one of the things I'm going to look at more than anything is the brakes because before I get going. track where I am going to go more than 250 kilometers per hour and I will need to stop quickly. I want to make sure the brakes are maxed out and I'll also be making some other changes in preparation for the track, I think that's on you for replacement as well as the brake pads which came with quite a bit of work, a bit of track work , see on the same edge, you shouldn't let them go that far, but it's definitely time to replace them, I left it too long, so if you need to put new brake pads on, don't rush the job, take your time and do it right and if If you are not sure, seek professional help, but one of the things you should not do is not push the pistons back. with dirt, it's very important because all you do is push that dirt into the caliper, it gets into the seals and will cause a problem for you at a later date.

It is very important to clean the caliper and the pistons properly before pushing the pistons back now for that I use the engine x degrees and then I use a brake cleaner also from the engine of your caliper because you are going to have There is a problem, so it is not advisable to use gasoline, for example, so now we have cleaned the caliper thoroughly and we are happy that it is really spotless. Finally we can push the pistons back in preparation for the new pads. Okay, I had to go. Call my friend Salvador, the local mechanic, and bring out the big dogs for this case.

As you can see, this time I'm taking the slick tires off the shelf. I have decided to use slick tires on the track since the last time I used them. Road tires that come with the bike. I'm using slick tires because they operate at a much higher level of performance in a controlled environment and that environment is dry asphalt, dry conditions and when you can keep the heat in the tire, when you're pushing down a hard road. Tires are generally designed to be used in less controlled environments where it could be cold and the tires heat up faster on their own and it could be wet, but here we don't have those conditions so we will use tire warmers to get the tires accelerated. because they are harder to warm up and also don't work very well in cold temperatures, so we will use tire warmers to speed them up and then we can push hard in a straight line.

Out of the box, I'm really looking forward to seeing how the slicks work on this bike, so now I'm starting to reassemble the brakes. I must say look, if you are not sure of your mechanical skills. your bike, especially on accelerating bikes like this, it is very important to make sure everything is done correctly, securely fastened, spoken correctly, if you don't have the right tools and you don't have the right knowledge, make sure you seek professional advice, go to your KTM dealer or find a professional mechanic to help or guide you to understand how to do it properly.

I can't express how important it is for your own safety that you do it correctly and do it right, so now I'm going to change the final drive ratio of the bike. When I used the bike in its anger, I found that it had a very high gear. Now the reason for this is that most production bikes are designed for comfort on the road. road and also efficiency and therefore cruising efficiency, comfort and cruising efficiency are two things that we don't really care about on the track, so what we want is maximum usability of the transmission that we have in the motor. the bike, so we want to make sure that we equip it to be absolutely flat out at maximum performance in the fastest gear on the fastest part of the track and then what we can do is find that the other gears are more usable when I was on it and I only used the first five gears, but what I want to do is when I go to this track I shortened the gear ratio by putting in a smaller front sprocket to have more gear options inside. cornering and I'll also be using the foreign full gearbox so here I'm just putting the huge slick rear tire on the bike and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it works, it should give me a lot more cornering speed, cornering confidence and too.

I come out of the corners with much more power than with the road tires and that means I will also be able to turn back the traction control and that again will give us more drive. I'm just tightening the Locking Pin here on the rear wheel nut. This bike has a single side swing arm and just one huge wheel nut. It is very important that it meets factory specifications, that it is prepared correctly, and that this safety clip is in place to prevent it from falling apart. The last thing you want is a problem with the wheel nuts on this bike at high speed, so now I'm going to remove some of the non-essential parts of the bike for the track, so things that are needed on the road, like lights, turn signals, rear.

The footpegs and mirrors will be removed from the bike now. Ktm makes it really easy to do and even the whole rear plate section with the turn signals is like a few bolts and a socket and comes off and just makes the bike really nice and clean for track use Hi guys I'm Sitting here in my truck. I only stopped to say a few words. I'm on my way to the circuit now in the last

episode

. I took the super duke to herreth. it was the first time on the track in a long time and I really had a fun day getting to know the bike totally standard bike standard tires all standard um and I really enjoyed it but what it left me with it left me wanting more and it also made me realize which, you know, about 10 years away from competitive racing, high-speed track riding was really making me rusty and feeling like I was a bit like a wooden plank riding a bike, so I decided to speed up my learning a little.

In 2019 I met Simon Craft, our former GP driver, some of you may know him from what he does more recently. He is the commentator for motogp, where he does the series of technical talks and the pit lane stuff. It's really cool what he does for motogp and I really enjoy watching him and I'm sure many of you do and he spoke to me at the Silverstone GP in 2019 and he mentioned his motto voodoo training school and obviously I also talked about my rally school and what I do with the valley. bikes and it really occurred to me that maybe I should contact Simon and see if I can spend some track time with Simon and really hone my skills and accelerate my learning on the track and more importantly not just be fast but also safe and because you know I don't want to get injured if I stay well, so today we were on an al maría circuit in the south of spain and I actually had two days this weekend with simon craft, so it will be super cool and I'm going to bring it to you and share the experience and the time that we have this weekend, so come on, here I am meeting Simon with a covered handshake and you can see we're both wearing masks, it's really important on these.

In difficult times, following the guidelines and protocol covered by both the circuit we are on and the country we are in to allow us to continue doing these things we love to do with the sound of bikes on the track is It's time to get on all my safety gear from head to toe and get out on the track, so I spend some time here talking about the circuit with Simon and one of the most difficult things when you come to a new circuit is learning the circuit learning the fast lines position The track breaks points and it takes time and getting to that is a long process, so it's much quicker to get advice from someone who knows the track, who knows the fast lines and who can point you in the right direction. from the start because it will accelerate to the speed needed to get up to speed on the track, so I'm just getting some advice on track position, breaking markers and things that will help me on the track with the tires at the right temperature.

Now it's time to remove the tire warmers and hit the track with a slick tire, with the tire warmers up to temperature you can literally hit the track and take the first corner with maximum attack and if you maintain a certain level , maintain a certain level. of speed on the track you keep the heat in the tires, allowing you to keep pushing at all times. It is very important to adjust the tire pressure and get the temperature in the tires before hitting the track and if you are not sure of the correct tire pressures for your bike talk to a circuit professional who can advise you what pressures to use as well. that the first sessions on a new circuit for me are always a little incomplete, you know that you have to learn a lot on the track position of the break markers um vertices wide lines double curves where you can join two and the grip levels on the circuit and It takes time to get there and it's very important to take that time, the last thing you want to do is go straight.

Go out to the new circuit without knowing the circuit, go too fast and have an accident, so really take your time. Move forward slowly. It took three or four sessions before I picked up speed. Focus on track position, learn track traction and break points at all the apexes so you can hit a nice smooth line and then you can start pushing harder so the diamond is in front of me and when Simon He is in front of me, I try to lower the hammer and stay with him, one good thing about him. Being in front of me encourages me to go faster and you find levels of grip that you never knew were imaginable, so I really liked it when he was in front, when he's behind, he's behind you for a reason, he's looking at where I can make improvements. . so you have to leave it blank, move on, how do you know how to ride, do the best you can and then accept all the feedback and go out to the next session and try to improve your riding based on the advice he gives you.

Since, uh, yeah, um, it's just using a little bit more acceleration, so you need a little bit more lean and using the grip that's there, okay, because right now, look at this Simon, he even prepared a lunch like rice and some good seafood with vegetables, perfect, so I finished. Riding the first day, I had a great day today. It's amazing the improvement you can make when you get the right guidance, so I'm very happy with the fact that the bike is just sleeping here in the garage, in fact, I'm going to sleep in the garage. tonight and uh simon mr grafer is cooking us some steak over here so I'm looking forward to that garage like it's like I'm a kid again that's going to make me faster tomorrow or something like that it's going to make you happy and happy if the voodoo motorcycle perfect kitchen for you who think that now I am completely professional and I sleep in good hotels and everything after races in places, well, this is where I spent the night before next to my bike in the garage of the Andalusia circuit sleeping on the floor it's amazing, you do what you have to do, so here we are on the circuit, here I am with Simon Crayfire and yesterday, what an amazing day, I added the circuit here, I learned a lot from Simon, we got another bite, amazing day. yesterday riding I learned a lot in just one day it's really amazing it's great to be here in Spain in the sun uh thanks for taking the time simon I had a really fun day it's been a pleasure I didn't have to work with us breaking it breaks like hell, but we have other things to figure out today now that you learn now that you know the clue and also what I liked most last night was fixing the world, yeah, we camped and I talked about where the trials started.

I started with motocross, yes, and we worked that way. We both did enduro. He went to Raleigh. I tried it a little. He did a rally, from time to time, to road bikes inclosed circuits and then it ended. cars, right? We're getting married, but we're not really looking forward to spending another day on the track here today and doing a few more laps, so now we're on day two and I'm really starting to get the feeling of the bike now on slicks. It's taken me a full day to get here, but I'm really starting to understand how far I can push this bike on slicks and it really blows my mind.

It's amazing how much cornering grip you have. you have and how much acceleration you can get coming out of corners when you start to turn the traction control back and feel the traction with your hand on the throttle. It really is quite special. The bike is starting to move a little now and I'm getting more and more. More trust with him as time goes by, so lovely Libby, another one bites the dust. You see what I have to go through replacing all these gopros just to grab that trashed shot lp seven r.i.p. well it was a good session, I really started to feel the bike now and uh Simon is giving me the confidence now to start backing off the traction control and that was like a big step forward because the bike doesn't hesitate anymore so it was a very good session slipping a bit into that real load of fun as this bike is just phenomenal it's so good on slicks and with the right training and experience you can have a lot of fun comfortably and safely.

Really excellent, excellent, great session at the end of the second day. I was really dominating it and I have to say I was there for me anyway. I was really pushing hard, the bike was moving hitting all the braking markers and starting to reach the right direction. apexes and when you start putting all that together track position braking points strong acceleration and your lap times start to go down, it's really a lot of fun, I'm glad I put slicks on the bike and had some time with Simon to try it. and help me get speed on the track, there's Simon doing some wheelies for the camera behind me, Simon, if I knew you were doing that I'd join in, so next time we're on the track I'll definitely do my wheelie.

The game is okay, where to start first of all, just a summary of the weekend. Actually, we just finished in Almeria, two days at the circuit and I'm doing what Simon normally does in Moto GP with the microphone like this. You need something. because yes I do, I only have one microphone so we have to make do with this, but first of all it's a fantastic weekend, I really enjoyed it and for me the accelerated learning from you is priceless because I probably would have dedicated 10 tracks. weekends to get to where I am today so I feel really amazing so thank you so much for everything it's a pleasure absolutely a pleasure I mean it's been a lot of fun for me too because you absorbed it and you were brave enough like to try it.

He said, um, yeah, I really enjoyed working with him, really, the thing is, I've been doing this for so long that I'd be like the guys that come to do your dirt riding job, yeah, um, the whole motorcycle thing. voodoo is that I compete on motorcycles for 20 years, 20 years and it's like, you know, moving up through national affairs and then, you know, to the other northern hemisphere and then to the world championship, the thing is like anyone who does a job and work your way to the top, you know, in an exchange if they were to sit down and write a book and make a movie and a script that would be worth listening to, that's it, you know, that's all motivation and I try to express it. as simple as boss, that's basically Well, for me it was really worth it and I really enjoyed it, but coming from dirt bikes to asphalt, a lot of people on social media have been asking what the transition from dirt to asphalt has been like and I have never been fast on the asphalt, you know, I can ride a bike and I can ride a bike, they offered it to me well, but being confident in corners on the asphalt was completely foreign to me and that is why I came and what I have seen since then.

This weekend people are asking how the transition was, well you know, having confidence in the corners because on a dirt bike you slide all the time, you know, yeah, and you know you slide, it's the opposite on the track, Don't slide, there's a lot. traction, especially on six, my first time on slicks, so much traction and you need to tell me, follow you and say, come, come, it made me push harder than I ever would have on my own and that really helped a lot and all the la guidance on points and where to be on the track position, the body position was huge, you know, dirt riding, yeah, you move a lot on the bike, on a road bike, I'm stiff, you know, I'm like a wooden board.

I sat in the middle of the bike and you changed that, so thank you very much, that was really good, yeah, I think, as you know, I've ridden dirt bikes as well, and I think that coming from dirt bikes or even road. So far the level of grip is literally incredible, isn't it? It's amazing, so since you said you needed it, you wouldn't believe they could still hold out, so you're a little worried when you're a mile away. some of my clients um look, you're leaning over and you're like, oh, thinking it's going to come loose, it's like you're standing on the edge of a cliff, but three meters back, there's a lot to go, you know, and um , I decided Add that even they come from road tires, road tires are made to run from cold to reasonably hot, you know, warm and they have to because you jump on them when they're still in the stores, but the rubber doesn't can.

They work in too big a range, so with these things we put heaters on them, they don't even work there, they are dangerous, they are like plastic that you are full of, but we heat them up and the next minute you are working from very hot as if they are on another level and that's what you've felt today, it's really amazing and you know, in the Super Duke, what stands out for me is the breaking performance. These bikes are amazing, like 150 kilometers per hour and in a few seconds you can lower them into a second gear corner.

That blew me away, how good the brakes are on these things, yeah, you picked that pretty well. Like you, it seemed like you had confidence in a straight line that the thing wasn't going to come loose, you know, and you did it so quickly, it's so impressive that it's not that fast, you need a stiffer suspension and stuff, do you? no?, but um. You know, you just said the dirt bike thing and I really think that once you know both, it's the same thing, you know, riding a dirt bike fast on a dirt road, you know, without the jumps and stuff.

They are the same as riding a road bike. fast but at a very high level, you know they release in the same places, they act the same way, just at a much higher grip level, you know it's scarier to get there, but it's the same, yeah, and today I have to do it. The point where my tire was quite worn, the slippery and I started to feel the rear end moving like it was jelly on the day and I mentioned it and Simon looked at my tyre, it was done. New tire, put a new tire on next session.

Incredible. completely different, so huge, the tires are just amazing what they do, so I guess the last thing is that yes, braking was good. I put in so much, it took a lot of time off my lap times over the weekend and now I just want more, so what do I need? To work on next because I know I think I need to stiffen the suspension for sure because the bike moves a lot and it also bothers a lot if you do one little thing it moves a lot that will help but in terms of riding what would you say?

The things I should focus on next. I think you know that suspension, once you made very rapid progress and once you get to where you are, the road suspension is too soft, you know? track suspension is horrible on the road, it's hard as a rock, but it's so you can feel very well what's happening with the tire, but also so you don't feel that pitch in the transition, like for example when you push the brakes at this point, it just pitches. forward, it's on the bottom, the rear end lifts up, then you hit the gas, you know, you get all that out and I know you're going to make a lot of progress once you do that and you get the line sorted here, um, you get it. where to be on the track and the thing is that once we have the suspension, we already have you going around the entire track doing everything more or less at the same level, not just braking, what we will do is lift everything, you know, because if you only do one, you know that's it, we just try to elevate everything little by little.

I like the sound of that, taking it up to another level, so, yeah, really cool, glad I did it. These two days with you, um, are priceless to me and the big question is, before we finish, did I earn my voodoo motorcycle t-shirt more than you can imagine? It was really good, thank you so much mate for everything, it's a pleasure for me so thanks for watching. Everyone, if you like this

episode

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