The new 790 Duke

[SuperDoopa]

Whilst waiting for my 2017 SDR to be serviced yesterday, I took the new 790 out for a demo, and I was very impressed indeed. After riding 990SD's for 8 years and moving on to the 1290r, I miss my old 990 more than any bike I've ever owned and just wanted to see what this new bike was really like.
Obviously it's not a V twin and the capacity is smaller, but it sounded quite good and that engine is a peach. It pulled nicely and had a lovely little growl, with low to mid grunt and only when overtaking at a rate of knots (all within the speed limit officer) did I realise it wasn't my 1290r, and was running out of legs.
It's light and flickable with the best riding position I've ever experienced, and the ktm branded brakes were very good and did not dissapoint. The suspension, (although not fully adjustable) was unbelievable and don't know how they have achieved this. As for tyres, I would have said that the Maxxis would be my last choice, but somehow they were pretty good, although if I bought the bike I probably would upgrade to something better when it was due to change. There were only 2 things I could find to fault, which were at low speed (30mph) it is a little rough and needs to be kept in 2nd gear,and I did notice some heat dispelled from either side of the seat.
What ktm have done is shoot themselves in the foot a bit, because with the 690 only £800 cheaper, why would you buy a 690.I doubt there is a better bike out there for the money, specially with the quickshifter and all the other bits which are all standard on the bike for £8,500
If I do want another stablemate for my 1290r, then I would consider buying one, but a 990SD replacement it is not.

[orangecrush]

Almost $12K US....nope, not worth that. Plenty of good choices at a better price point.

[RichUK]

It's been largely approved of by testers over here, most compare it to a Street Triple 765, and rate it as better for road use.

STREET TRIPLE S £8,300.00
STREET TRIPLE R £9,200.00
STREET TRIPLE RS £10,200.00
KTM 790 DUKE £8,499.00

My money would probably go on the Street Triple R though.

[Scotty]

It was first service day for the 1290 today, and my wife rode her naked SV650 up to the dealers to have a couple of demo rides while mine was being attended to. We took out the 390 and 790 Dukes, me riding the 790 initially and herself on the 390. Her initial thoughts were that the 390 was ace and she didn’t want to swap bikes, but we did so after 25-odd minutes when I stuck a few litres of unleaded into the 790’s tank. The 790 was crisp and responsive and I was pleased to find that it had the quickshifter à la 1290, and it made the wiff’s SV feel like it was made of porridge. Getting onto the 390 it was like an overgrown 125, tiny and twitchy, needing the tits caning off it to make progress and able to take ridiculous liberties - good fun but in short bursts really. After initially wanting to stick with the 390, Chicky (my wiff) had decided in the space of the first 100 metres that the 790 was indeed the kiddy and was very taken with it. She’d have happily ridden it home but unfortunately we had to hand the keys back...
After 40 minutes on the 390, my 1290 initially felt huge and heavy, but the first service is done so she’s officially run in... even more fun up ahead now

In closing I should give a big shout to Darren from Premier Bikes who dropped everything and shot out in the van to rescue Chicky after the battery in her SV died three miles short of reaching them. Fortunately they had one in stock to replace it so we could both ride home afterwards.

Best of all, the ride on the 790 restored Chicky’s mysteriously missing mojo and the timid imposter who has been riding around unconvincingly in her leathers has been banished yay!

[Edorta]

The jjuan brakes are good enoguht? Oem suspension too?

What a pity.... I'm going to call to the mattighofen HQ to cancel the 19 "R" version

[Scotty]

During my, admittedly brief, ride on the 790 on unfamiliar roads the stock suspension and brakes didn’t appear to be lacking anything. Chicky was very impressed with the brakes, far better than the spongy Tokicos on her SV. Sure, they don’t carry the Brembo name but the bike is slim and light and they definitely felt more than adequate for the job required. The 790 sits at the top of the middleweight twins class in terms of power and specifications, and also price. KTM don’t have the volume economic power of, say, Yamaha, but the brand is based on being a cut above the “normal” standard so while it’s fitted with class-leading electronics, they had to equip the bike with the best brakes and suspension that they could while still matching their target manufacturing cost. Sure, they could produce an RR model with Brembo brakes and higher-spec WP suspension, but the only place that those changes would be noticeable would be on the racetrack.

I’m not sure that the 790 will attract many former 990 & 1290 owners, there’s noticeably less torque available but it’s a good bike in its own right and could attract new riders to the KTM brand who may then progress onto bigger bikes in the range.

[Edorta]

During my, admittedly brief, ride on the 790 on unfamiliar roads the stock suspension and brakes didn’t appear to be lacking anything. Chicky was very impressed with the brakes, far better than the spongy Tokicos on her SV. Sure, they don’t carry the Brembo name but the bike is slim and light and they definitely felt more than adequate for the job required. The 790 sits at the top of the middleweight twins class in terms of power and specifications, and also price. KTM don’t have the volume economic power of, say, Yamaha, but the brand is based on being a cut above the “normal” standard so while it’s fitted with class-leading electronics, they had to equip the bike with the best brakes and suspension that they could while still matching their target manufacturing cost. Sure, they could produce an RR model with Brembo brakes and higher-spec WP suspension, but the only place that those changes would be noticeable would be on the racetrack.

I’m not sure that the 790 will attract many former 990 & 1290 owners, there’s noticeably less torque available but it’s a good bike in its own right and could attract new riders to the KTM brand who may then progress onto bigger bikes in the range.

The photo is the R version that gonna launch KTM next year.


The rumor is that is going to have more power, but it's not confirmed.

Only the Brembo M50 calipers & full adjustable WP fork can be seen.


Not necesary for road? Sure, but KTM need be at the same level of the street triple RS and MT09 SP with the 790 Duke.

[SDNerd]

Thanks for sharing your demo experiences with the 790. While not a SuperDuke, specs appear somewhat similar to the OG 990, but substantially lighter weight. Might make for a good time. Did anyone buy one? If so, how is living with the thing?

It seems no one on the forum in the americas has ridden one yet - ? If you have, I would like to know your impressions. I generally limit my parallel twin experiences to air-cooled brit bikes, or riding bikes that I wouldn't own (rentals, demos, or ones that friends own - from race ninjettes to certain-brand "Adventure" pigs).

I have to agree with the original post, that while the 690 SM variants were fun, I can't see why one would buy a Duke 690 with this available. Everyone I know that's owned a 690 (SM/SMC, Duke, Enduro), has had some kind of catastrophic head/cam failure. In a couple of cases - more than one.

FWIW JJuan IIRC is (was?) wholly owned by Brembo - (?). My experience with their brakes is only on one other bike, and while functional, left a lot to be desired (a Zero SR the factory loaned me). I wouldn't use that as a basis of judgement however.

Any additional insights are requested.

[RichUK]

There have been some positive reviews on the the KTM UK forum, as well as some teething problems, have a read.

https://www.ktmforum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=245