Welcome back ol’ friend
We were huge fans of the V-twin original – and now the returns… KTM 990 Duke
This is far more than the existing 790/890 Duke with a few more cubes squeezed into its cylinders. The change in feel of the new 990 Duke is clear before I’m even out of first gear. The Duke’s platform has always been dinky, almost with a ‘my first big bike’ feel; fine if that’s what you want, but I always craved something a little more substantive. Now, my knees meet a larger (by 0.8 litres) steel tank that helps foster an ‘in’ rather than ‘on’ riding position, and the bike’s revised, chunkier bodywork creates a bit more of a cockpit feel. There’s increased legroom, too. Exploratory twists of the throttle confirm the 990’s fresh character. With lots of changes and a capacity hike to 947cc, the LC8C parallel-twin motor delivers new-found big-bike grunt from the bottom of the revs. A wider, deeper reserve of torque makes it immediately more endearing and faster than its predecessors, and easier to ride – the 790 takes a bit more revving to extract the big smiles.
Claimed figures are 121bhp and 76 lb.ft, in a bike weighing 189kg. This is very similar to the original 990 Super Duke from 2005, which had a V-twin making 120bhp and 73 lb.ft and tipped the scales at 186kg (albeit dry), and the new bike is every bit as fit, flexible and fruity.
On the Spanish equivalent of A-roads (except with sunshine and olive trees, not road salt and hedgerows) the 990 makes light of a 60-75mph flow, dispersing the odd truck or hatchback smartly without needing to drop back down from top (sixth) gear.
Climbing, descending and traversing rugged Spanish hills reveals an improved chassis as well. Much is altered, with a new stiffer frame, floppier swingarm, lighter wheels and better suspension, and it’s peachy: the 990 is well supported and has decent feel, and is never harsh. It strikes the ideal balance for a sporty naked – agile and accurate, but stable and reassuring (at least on the largely smooth roads of the launch, though nothing suggests it’ll get buck-wild on a gnarled British B-road). Bridgestone’s S22 tyres suit the bike and will suit the UK too – they warm back up quickly after a breather on a chilly hilltop, getting straight back to clinging to the cool tarmac.
The forks now have damping adjustment, too. There’s five clicks apiece for the plastic rebound and compression knobs on each fork cap, and they can be tweaked with a gloved hand on the move should you see fit. There’s a noticeable difference between the settings, to make it straightforward for those who don’t normally fiddle to… well, have a fiddle. Thankfully it’s pretty good as is, with a well-balanced set-up. When ‘supernaked’ meant 1000cc and 120bhp or so, the original KTM 990 Super Duke was often our favourite. Created as a bespoke device, it had something different to the stripped-back bikes offered by Aprilia, Triumph and Ducati; it felt light, direct and cheeky, like a BMX with a grunting V-twin shoehorned in. More-is-better consumerism meant it was replaced by the 1290 Super Duke, which for some was a bit much (and this year becomes the even-mucher 1390). Those after more realistic Ktm-shaped nakedness got the 690 single, which was great… but, for some, a bit lacking. So, KTM invented the parallel-twin 790, which became the feistier 890… and now we go full circle with the arrival of the 990 Duke.
And we’re glad. A strong update on the 890, it keeps its plus points, corrects a few negatives, and is a finer – more usable, more fun – road bike than most full-on supernakeds, KTM’S own 1390 included. The 990 has a higher-quality feel than the previous Dukes too, although it is more expensive: at £12,999 it costs £1400 more than the old 890 R, let alone the base model, and £1500 over a Triumph Street Triple RS. The KTM’S very good… but is it that good? We have a long-term test bike arriving soon and are very much looking forward to finding out…