KTM’s latest 1290 Super Duke R is one serious naked machine, and coming in at a claimed dry weight of 189kg, and with 177bhp on tap from its 1301cc V-twin, it also needs some serious rubber to keep it under control.
Over at Bike Magazine, John Westlake has had the big KTM on long term test this year, and he’s been using the test topping Battlax S22 from Bridgestone to make the most of his bike.
Brought onto the market in 2019, the Battlax S22 has set new standards in all-weather hypersport tyre performance. Whether you’re on a Sunday blast, a very sporty touring adventure or even hitting the track, the breath of performance they offer is phenomenal.
The front tyre features a proven 3LC compound with a harder central section and softer shoulders, while the rear uses a 5LC compound with the harder centre, a softer area towards the shoulder, and an even softer compound right on the edge for maximum grip at lean.
Bridgestone’s proprietary U-EYE Technology which was born of their time in MotoGP means that engineers can also fine tune the contact patch in a variety of scenarios using the latest computer modeling to give you the very best performance when the tyre goes into production.
They are a winner of the highly coveted Motorrad test, which is seen as a motorcycle tyre industry benchmark.
In the latest issue of Bike, John says of the tyre:
“Multiple compounds give modern sports tyres ridiculously good performance. These S22s, for example, have a hard silica-rich compound in the middle that grips well in the wet but doesn’t dissolve after two high speed hours on a hot motorway. Then there’s a stiffer second compound on the shoulder to keep the tyre stable, and a high-carbon compound round the edge to give unbreakable levels of grip in the dry. If you like pressing on, the S22s are supremely confidence inspiring. After 1600 summer miles on Bike’s long term KTM 1290R Super Duke, the centre of the tyre is only just showing signs of wear and looks good for at least another 1500 miles. On a bike with the 1290R’s outrageous snort, that’s impressive. Recommended.”
