K TM 890 DUKE R
RIDE REVIEW
P80
K
TM has had a smash hit with
the 790 Duke, its first-ever par-
allel-twin model launched two
years ago powered by the LC8c (as
in, liquid-cooled eight-valve compact)
engine. Dubbed The Scalpel for its
focused design and pared-to-the-min-
imum weight and bulk, the 790 Duke
has provided Europe's largest manu-
facturer with a unique contender in
the middleweight marketplace, that's
been a top seller thanks to being
competitively priced, and super fun to
ride. With its highly distinctive sharp-
edged styling, the 790 Duke has filled
the pretty big gap between the 690
Duke single and 1290 Super Duke V-
twins in the Austrian firm's street bike
range, and in doing so brought an
entirely new level of electronic sophis-
tication to the mid-size sector, with
features that some Japanese one-liter
sportbikes don't even have.
Now KTM has gone one step
further—make that several steps—with
the debut at this year's EICMA Milan
Show of the 890 Duke R. Lighter,
more powerful and even more pur-
poseful than its kid sister, this is
clearly aimed at topping the middle-
weight sector in terms of outright per-
formance and razor edge handling,
once again, at an affordable price.
"We're focusing here on the hardcore
KTM naked[-bike] rider, with a bike
that's developed for very aggressive
street and track riding," says Dutch-
man Adriaan Sinke, KTM's Head of
THE EVIL TWIN!
WE HAVE THE WORLD EXCLUSIVE FIRST RIDE ON THE 2020 KTM 890 DUKE R
