P106
RIDE REVIEW I 2026 KTM 990 DUKE R
brake calipers and 20mm big-
ger (320mm) front discs; more
adjustment within the electronics
and that stupendous 8.8-inch
dash from the RC R Supersport
bike that we'll get to in a tick; and
a claimed seven horsepower in
-
crease with power now quoted at
129 horsepower, because more
power is always a good thing.
I was lucky enough to get two
days on board the '26 990 Duke
R, the first in its natural habitat
on the street, and the second
while chasing tenths of seconds
around Chuckwalla. And I can
tell you straight away, it excelled
in both domains, with a few
caveats.
It's priced well, given that it's
a sharper performance steed
than the base-model 990 Duke,
which'll set you back $11,999.
At a quick glance, you're getting
styling and colors that take inspi
-
ration from the 2011 990 Duke
R; fat 48mm fully adjustable WP
Apex forks that are up 5mm over
the base model, with the R model
a claimed 34 percent stiffer all
around; a linkage system at the
back of the bike to allow for
greater tunability with regard to
rear-suspension setup, especially
at the track; 15mm more ground
clearance; Brembo Stylema
The 990 Duke R is late to the
sporty naked-bike party—fash
-
ionable late, some would say—
but it had a good excuse. KTM
famously nearly went tits up last
year due to some, shall we say,
reckless upper-management
practices, so the fact we're even
talking about this bike is some
-
thing we should be thankful for.
At $13,399, KTM's aiming this
new mini-Super Duke at the up
-
per echelons of the sub-1000cc
naked-bike class (we can't call
them middleweights anymore,
right?). Think Triumph Street
Triple 765 RS/RX, Yamaha MT-
09 SP, Ducati Streetfighter V2/
V2 S, that sort of thing.
Skinny, svelte and
ready to party. The 990
Duke R takes everything
we love about the base-
model 990 Duke and
cranks it up to 11.
