#890

It’s hard to say goodbye to the ones you love, but that’s exactly what we have to do with the KTM 890 Duke R. One of our favorite bikes since its introduction, the 890 Duke R is leaving the KTM lineup to make way for the incoming 990 Duke (and the re-introduced 790 Duke). But before we bid it farewell, we put it up against some of its European contemporaries in a good old fashioned MO shootout. And guess what – it won. Just like it usually does.

Yep, we know this one is a bit of a shocker. How in the world can the Kawasaki ZX-4RR win our Best Sportbike of the Year award? At close to $10,000 and less than 60 horsepower (in stock trim), we’ve clearly lost our minds. Well, it comes down to two things:

KTM announced the return of the touring supermoto to North America with the new 890 SMT. Originally announced for other markets for 2023, the new SMT will arrive in dealerships in the United States and Canada in December as a 2024 model. Pricing remains to be announced.

KTM has revealed a new limited production track bike with the 890 Duke R engine in a bespoke chassis. The 2022 KTM RC 8C will be available for pre-order starting on July 22 at 10 am EST/7 am PST on KTM’s website for $38,999.

By all accounts, the KTM 790 Duke is a great little motorcycle. Light, nimble, and with a healthy amount of middleweight power, when MO was given a 790 Duke to test, it was so much fun our own Evans Brasfield bought the damn press bike. He then proceeded to turn the bike into his version of what a 790 Duke R should be (you can read about his exploits elsewhere on this site). Little did he know KTM was doing the same halfway across the globe in Austria.

A management presentation prepared by Pierer Mobility reveals a roadmap to future KTM models including a five-bike 490 platform and 890 versions of the Adventure, SMC and Enduro R.