#890Duke

My love for the KTM 790 Duke has been well documented on MO, but the reality is that had KTM been a little less tight-lipped when I was laying down my hard-earned cash for the bike, I might never have owned it. Instead, an 890 Duke R would probably be parked in my garage. That doesn’t lessen my attachment to the 790, but it helps to explain my desire to squeeze as much power out of the parallel-Twin as I can, while maintaining its social acceptability on exhaust sound. (OK, maybe being mocked in the comments when the Akrapovic slip-on resulted in slightly lower peak power has a little to do with my search for power, too.) Regardless, my unspoken goal for my performance modifications has been to get as close as possible to a stock 890’s mid-range power. From the moment Rottweiler Performance released its Rally Edition Full Intake System for the 790/890 Adventure, I’ve been salivating at the prospect of installing an adapted version on my Duke. Well, with the release of the Rottweiler Performance Intake System for the KTM 790/890 Duke, that wait is over, and man, does it kick some butt. 

In a surprising move, KTM is bringing back the 790 Duke, returning “the Scalpel” to its lineup in select markets after a very brief absence.

Last summer, KTM got us excited with a new RC 8C sportbike, but our interest waned when we realized it was a limited production track bike that was not street legal. Still, that didn’t stop interested customers from scooping up all 100 units less than five minutes after the pre-order window opened. Not that we were surprised about the strong demand, as it has been years since KTM produced a large-displacement sportbike.

Don’t look now, but the field of naked bikes slotting in just below the 1000cc mark is starting to rise – and we’re all the better for it. Maybe the OEMs have figured out that those big beasts in the upper echelons of naked bike performance are just too much for the more sensible among us. They’re too big, too fast, too powerful, with too much electronics, and too much of a price tag. For those of us still with a desire for naked bike fun, but at a slightly more moderate pace, we bring you the assembly of motorcycling you see before you.

Updated to clarify suspension specification.

German vehicle emissions documentation confirms that a new KTM 1290 Super Duke RR is on the way, adding a higher-end variant to join the already-impressive Super Duke R. (UPDATE Feb. 1, 2021: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has also certified the Super Duke RR, confirming the same state of tune as the Super Duke R.)

KTM has launched a microsite teasing a redesigned Duke for EICMA. The site, KTMDukes.com, created in September, shows a 34-second video and the phrase “How Duke are you?” with the promise of more information on Nov. 8, the first press day of EICMA.

We’ve heard the rumors of a new parallel-Twin from KTM for a long time, and now we have pictures of the new motor in a new Duke chassis. And this platform will surely also be adapted into an Adventure model that will fill the hole between KTM’s 690 Enduro and the 1190 Adventure.