KTM 790 Duke 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 790 Duke

0 km/h / 95 hp / 184 kg wet

Gap

+0.00 s

Suzuki GSX-8S

0 km/h / 82.9 hp / 202 kg wet

Speed through the lap

0 to 216 km/h, shaded zones are corners

KTM 790 Duke takes it by 2.41 s, which is 120 m of daylight at the flag. Most of it came at Spec Sheet Straight.

KTM 790 Duke

1:44.00

top 204 km/h / avg 117 km/h / 1 corners won

Suzuki GSX-8S

1:46.41

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

Sector	790 Duke	GSX-8S
Sector 1	42.63 s	43.57 s
Sector 2	18.47 s	18.80 s
Sector 3	42.86 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 790 Duke laps the Ref Ring in 1:44.00 on paper, 2.41 seconds quicker than the Suzuki GSX-8S at 1:46.41. That gap is worth about 120 metres at the flag, and the biggest single chunk of it, 0.54 s, comes at Spec Sheet Straight.

Through the corners it is 1 apexes to 0 between the 790 Duke and the GSX-8S. Top speed goes 204 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 790 Duke and Suzuki GSX-8S.

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