Track mode for the track
(sounds obvious, I know).
The majority of my time was
spent in Sport mode while
on the road, but Street has
a creamy smooth initial
throttle opening, and I'd be
quite happy if that were all
I had at my disposal if my
990 was strictly a street and
not a track bike. But then I'd
want to be able to take the
wheelie control off, and I can
only do that if I'm in track
mode. Hey, it's a KTM Duke,
after all.
CHASSIS
Although the motor has very
little in common with its pre-
decessor, the chassis and
how it behaves are by far the
most significant changes
compared to the 890.
One of the 890's love-
able traits was that it wasn't
overly stiff, so it could soak
up most road imperfections
without too much fuss. The
tradeoff, however, is that it
starts to get a little too flexy
when taken to the track and
used in real anger.
For the 990, KTM has
given the chassis a makeover,
claiming the new tubular steel
frame is 15 percent stiffer
than the 890. Helping achieve
this number is a frame that
runs outside the swingarm
pivot, compared to inside on
the 890. KTM claims eight per
-
cent more lateral stiffness and
five percent more torsional
stiffness for the new frame,
while the closed lattice swing
-
arm actually has less rigidity
(to the tune of 35 percent and
3.3 pounds lighter) than on the
890 to offset this rather dras
-
tic increase in frame stiffness
and allow greater feel of the
tires on the road. There's also
a new cast alloy subframe to
house the larger airbox.
Front to back, the 990 is
shorter and racier than the
890—the rake has decreased
from 24.3° to 24.2°, and the
wheelbase has dropped 0.2
inches to 58.11 inches. Where
it's not smaller than the 890 is
between the rider's legs. The
tank and the shrouds sur
-
rounding it make for a wider
riding stance, splaying the
VOLUME ISSUE MARCH , P83
Go find your nearest
twisty mountain road and
point the 990 at it. You'll
be glad you did.
