VOL. 55 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 13, 2018 P65
electronic suite of rider aids some
Japanese liter bikes (let alone
bikes in the middleweight class)
don't even have. The 790 Duke
punches well above its weight.
Controlled via its Ride by Wire
throttle and five-axis IMU, riders
get four ride modes: Rain, Street,
Sport, and Track. Each mode
offers varying levels of throttle
response, power output and lean-
angle-sensitive traction control,
both braking and cornering ABS,
and wheelie control based on
riding conditions. Track mode,
of course, dishes out the most
performance and can easily
be tailored to your preferences
and/or riding style. Nine levels
of MTC (motorcycle traction
control) dictate rear wheel spin
in Track mode, and you get the
ability to turn wheelie control off—
which we'll admit, is one of the
first things we did.
Also in its arsenal of sophis-
ticated rider aids is Motor Slip
Regulation (MSR), which works
in conjunction with the cable-
operated Power Assist Slipper
(Top right to bottom)
All of the various power
modes and rider-aid
settings are intuitively
selected from the
790's full color TFT
display. The LC8c
engine weighs only
110 pounds without the
throttle bodies, and 116
with them.
Clutch (PASC) to smooth en-
gine braking and mitigate rear
wheel chatter under aggressive
downshifts. Feeling frisky? The
790 has Supermoto ABS, which
disengages rear wheel ABS, al-
lowing you to lock up or back the
rear in while remaining fully active
up front, and a quickshifter works
in both directions. The combina-
tion of all these features allows
the rider to not only ride faster,
but with more confidence and
control as well. The beauty of it,
though, is that it's all integrated
so seamlessly that you don't even
know it's working.
Speaking of seamless integra-
tion, the 790's motor doubles as
a stressed member of the frame,
which in traditional KTM fashion
is made from chrome molyb-
denum tubular steel. However,
unlike its other Duke brothers, it's
not the typical trellis-style frame
we're used to seeing. Rather, it's
more minimalistic, but it's been
