2020 K TM 890 DUKE R
R I D E R E V I E W
P36
The New Motor
Let's have a little look at what makes
an 890 Duke R, shall we? This is not
simply a case of a few more cubes and
some new graphics. Bored and stroked
over the 790 (88 x 65.7mm for the 790 vs 90.7
x 68.8mm for the 890) and with compression
bumped up from 12.7:1 to 13.5:1, the parallel twin
is essentially all new.
From the top down, there's shorter intake fun-
nels, with KTM removing the connection between
the throttle bodies so you can now tune each
cylinder individually; a new manifold pressure
(MAP) sensor has been developed by the Italians
at Dell'Orto; a redesigned cylinder head houses
longer lift cams and 1mm bigger intake (37mm)
and exhaust (30mm) valves and the redesigned
conrods push and pull two new, lighter
forged box pistons.
Perhaps the most significant improvement
of the 890 over the 790 has been the heavier
crank. KTM claims the crankshaft now has
20 percent more rotational mass than before, help-
ing several areas including better low-rpm throttle
response and chassis balance when cornering.
The motor also has a new balancer shaft fitted to
help cancel many of the vibrations of the parallel-
twin layout.
As for the transmission, this is another area KTM
has paid close attention to. The throw (how high
the lever moves when you shift gears) has been
shortened dramatically, which, when combined
with the optional Quickshifter+ system from the
KTM PowerParts catalog, makes for incredibly
More aggressive
ergonomics have
the rider sitting
further over the front
than on the 790.
