NAKED SPORTSBIKE OF THE YEAR
They say you never forget your first, and that's true of the KTM in this instance. It was the first bike I took out for a lap of the Ring, being as nervous as I was excited about the prospect of bouncing it off the limiter, but not the Armco. You could say there was a lot going on inside my head, literally trying to grasp which way the track went, whattrying to snap the throttle in two, desperate to get a lick on and catch Dale out front. This kind of riding brought out the worst of the bike, in my opinion, often coming to realise that the relatively low-revving machine had soon consumed a gear at the wrong time and in the wrong place, so a panicked shift was sought to keep the wheels in motion and the valves within the cylinder head. As torquey as the bike was, which was amazing on some sections of track, it soon started to feel a little flat up top, leaving me frustrated and gagging for more revs, more speed, and more excitement. I know, more excitement from a brute like this. But that's the truth of it. I've raced a lot of twins over the years and know first-hand that they require a completely different style of riding when you're spinning laps on them, often firing gears in ahead of time to keep the momentum and away from the limiter. It's just how they are, governed by their own configuration, and the Evo was no exception, unfortunately.
