KTM 1390 Super Duke R vs Suzuki GSX-8S on track

One standing-start lap of the Ref Ring, our 3.4 km circuit with no home-crowd corners. Every braking point, apex speed and straight is computed from the published specs, so the stopwatch has no favourites.

Read the full comparison

One lap of the Ref Ring

3.4 km, nine corners. Simulated from published specs, played back 3.3x faster than real time.

0:00.0

KTM 1390 Super Duke R

0 km/h / 190 hp / 212 kg wet

Gap

+0.00 s

Suzuki GSX-8S

0 km/h / 82.9 hp / 202 kg wet

Speed through the lap

0 to 259 km/h, shaded zones are corners

KTM 1390 Super Duke R takes it by 7.60 s, which is 336 m of daylight at the flag. Most of it came at Spec Sheet Straight.

KTM 1390 Super Duke R

1:38.81

top 245 km/h / avg 123 km/h / 0 corners won

Suzuki GSX-8S

1:46.41

top 194 km/h / avg 115 km/h / 0 corners won

Sector	1390 Super Duke R	GSX-8S
Sector 1	40.48 s	43.57 s
Sector 2	17.94 s	18.80 s
Sector 3	40.35 s	44.01 s

The working: every assumption in the simulation

This is a point-mass lap simulation from published specs, the same quasi-static method club-level lap-time tools use. It is an estimate for comparison, never a measured lap.

Rider: 75 kg, added to each bike's wet weight.
Drivetrain efficiency: 90 percent of claimed peak power.
Aero drag area by class, 0.32 (faired supersport) to 0.44 (adventure and enduro); air density 1.2 kg/m3, rolling resistance 0.015.
Peak cornering grip by class, 0.88 g (enduro knobbies) to 1.15 g (supersport rubber), adjusted mildly for load: lighter bikes work their tyres less.
Braking from the front brake spec: disc size and caliper type set the ceiling, grip has the final say.
Launch capped by the wheelie limit computed from wheelbase and seat height, and by tyre grip through the friction circle in every corner.

Race notes

The KTM 1390 Super Duke R laps the Ref Ring in 1:38.81 on paper, 7.60 seconds quicker than the Suzuki GSX-8S at 1:46.41. That gap is worth about 336 metres at the flag, and the biggest single chunk of it, 1.92 s, comes at Spec Sheet Straight.

Through the corners there is nothing between them on paper; this one is decided by power and braking. Top speed goes 245 km/h to 194 km/h. A faster lap is not the same thing as the better buy, which is why the full comparison scores value, practicality and ownership too.

Simulated lap times from published specs with stated assumptions, not measured track data. The circuit is fictional and the physics are listed under the race. Read about both bikes: KTM 1390 Super Duke R and Suzuki GSX-8S.

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