Well I’ve finally gone and done it: I bought myself a squeaky clean 2008 Superduke. Like, pips still on the tyres, odometer barely past the break-in miles. Basically a brand new bike for under 8 grand…these things are such a steal. So, I thought I’d introduce myself and write up a review of my first impressions for anyone else who’s looking at buying one.

A little bit about where I’m coming from, since perspective is everything… My last (and first) street bike was a Triumph Daytona 675. I used it as an everyday commuter and did a handful of trackdays, working my way up to the expert class. When I got there it just couldn’t keep up…between the stock suspension, DOT-legal tyres, stock engine, it was no match against a class full of dedicated race toys. Besides, I just didn’t enjoy pushing it…risking my daily driver’s oh-so-pretty plastics against a field of battle-scarred warriors to try to keep up made me worry too much. So I decided I needed a litre bike, maybe an ex-race bike. For the longest time, I had a CBR1000RR or GSXR1000 in mind. But by the time my 675 was pooping the bed around 30k miles and hitting a wall of reliability problems, I had inconveniently started dating a girl. Backseat comfort was suddenly an important consideration. And where else can you get sportbike performance with a not-sportbike passenger seat? Superduke!

The important stuff first: that passenger seat is sweet. It’s how riding with a passenger should be…pressed tight up against you at all times. And she likes it a lot too. On my last bike, she basically had two choices: sit upright on the little pedestal of a back seat and hang on through sheer terror, or make like a gymnast and lay forward in kind of a U shape for the added security. She usually chose sheer terror, that’s how bad the second choice was.

When I started riding the Superduke the first thing that hit me is how lazy it feels. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t feel slow. But, for me the switch was oddly similar to going from riding 125 2-stroke dirtbikes for years to getting on a 250f for the first time. The way you just roll on the power in whatever gear you feel like, the way it chugs out of the corner without making a scene, clearing the next jump or passing the next car like it’s nothing. It makes you feel like you’re going slower until you look at the stopwatch, or the speedo, and realise you’re hauling monkey balls. I think a big part of it also is how relaxed the riding position is…between that and the low-rpm motor that lumps along it really feels like I’m riding a Harley, lulling me into a relaxed cruise of a ride.

The thing about this bike, though, is when I do start getting on it, it feels solid. It’s immediately apparent that it has way higher grade suspension than my old 675. With the 675 I had to just about bottom out the adjusters to get the damping I needed, and at that point it never felt quite predictable, and usually sort of harsh, probably due to cavitation or friction or both. This bike on the other hand has a great firm feel to it with even mild clicker settings. Also I can’t stop looking at those front forks – they’re huge! It seems like most of the other sportbikes on the market come with 41 or 43 mm forks, whereas these guys are 48 mm. Are bigger forks a thing on the race scene, or did KTM just make them stronger in anticipation of a lot of wheelie landings with this bike?

Other random impressions: my only complaint about the ergonomics is that I wished the tank had a better place to hold on with your knees, but after riding it a bit, the handlebars give you so much leverage over the bike that I’m just meh. Another thing, the first time I rode at night I thought the headlights were crap, like I had read many times on here. In fact I thought my brights might even be broken since they actually made it darker. Then I measured the aim and found they were pointed at the sky, probably from the factory. Now that they’re aimed right they’re about as good as my car, so I’m pretty happy about that. Finally, these mirrors have got to go. I can’t see jack out of them, and they make the bike look like an insect. Anyone have good luck with bar-end mirrors, or do those just turn out to be decorative items to meet the law?

Also, I’m about to take the bike on a 3 week trip to Colorado, pretty far from my home in Florida. I’ve already checked the coolant for scum, looked perfectly clean so I left it, and threw in a new battery since the original was getting weak. Anything else you guys recommend checking? I’ve got cables for ECU tuning coming in the mail but won’t be here in time so I’m sticking with the Akra map (dealer-loaded) for now. I checked the throttle body balance and it was so far off it just sucked all my water into the #2 cylinder, but after everything I’ve read about gas tanks not fitting back up I don’t really want to risk lifting mine at the last minute to fix it. By the way, how much water height do you guys with homemade manometers use to get a steady reading? I was using a loop of clear tube under the bike with about a foot of water on either side and it basically turned to fizz from all the vibration as soon as I started it. I’ve got 25 ft of tubing in the mail to make a longer one, but I’m wondering how far I’ll have to go with it.

Can’t wait to get to know you guys as I make this bike my own. From everything I’ve read here so far it seems like this is a really intelligent group. I know florida isn’t exactly a hotbed of twisties, but hopefully maybe I’ll even get to ride with some of you sometime.

TL;DR: Got a Superduke; love it. A lot more laid back than my old 675. Also, I’m totally using you guys for all the help I can get while I own this bike.

Welcome to the madness. You'll find that you'll be needing just the one wheel from now on. Good luck.

welcome aboard - the insanity is already slowly creeping into your system i see - that's what happens here to the point where ya look like this sometime .... Just kiddin. have fun with the bike.

Welcome and congrats.

As a word of caution. Do the coolant flush all the same. Mine showed no sludge but when I did flush it.OMG? Your water pump seals will thank you later.

Re: Manometer
I used about 20 feet. The loop is about 5' high (so 10' used there) and mounted on a fence board. About another 5' each end to connect to the bike makes 20' total. Have ATF fluid in the loop instead of water to provide some damping. Brass push in ends from Home Depot (with the tubing) and all is good. I hook into the rubber hoses that go to the two sensors on each side. (the electrical connectors have to be disconnected while balancing). You probably have this much figured out already...

Radiator screen could be a trip saver, used a R&G unit and it fit easily just like all their other products I've used on my 08' Duke.

I just bought mine in late May and the tank issue is really a non-issue*. I bought motohooligan tank brackets, but honestly, a screwdriver at the head against the tank would have worked well enough. And balancing the throttle bodies made a large difference for me in the 1500-300rpm range. Sooooo smooth and much easier to apply. While you're in there just remove you secondary throttle body blades as well... easy peasy.

*maybe my tank isn't that bad, but seemed pretty shit to me...

Also, I'm headed to Colorado on mine soon, too