Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1544037
P114 RIDE REVIEW I 2026 KTM 990 DUKE R exceptional (remember when Stylemas were the absolute be-all and end-all of Brembo braking power?), and you've got a quality Brembo MCS master cylinder and cornering ABS to provide the electronic safety net. The chassis is ultra- stable under brakes, allowing it to make upright-to-on-its-side direction changes without get - ting all nervy at the front. With a bit of setup time and a new heavier spring, I've no doubt you could start setting some seriously quick lap times on the Duke R. The best thing is how the chassis talks to you—yes, it wasn't perfect in its setup, but it never once felt like it was going to throw me down the road regardless of how hard I pushed it. That characteristic shines through in most situations you find yourself in on the Duke R. It fulfills the hooligan brief better than any midsize Duke that came before it, even going so far as to encroach on the big daddy 1390 for sheer laughs and face-hurting smiles. There's almost never been a better bike for the "you don't need a 1000cc-plus bike" argument than the 990 Duke R. It looks nasty with its orange subframe and funny Predator- looking face, has a superlative- ly bratty engine, and will ace your local backroad as good as bikes three times its price. I really enjoyed the 990 Duke, but in the 990 Duke R, I may have just found a new favorite, now that it's finally here. It is, indeed, about bloody time! CN translate to the track, instead requiring a fair bit of suspen- sion fiddling to get it to handle as I'd hoped. I never did get there, but I got close. The Duke R runs a 0.75 rear spring, which is way too light for me at 210 pounds. Back when I was racing Supersport at Chuckwalla every other week, the minimum I ran was a 0.95 spring, but I can't remem- ber how many turns of preload I ran. If you're under 170 pounds in full leathers, you'll probably be okay, but anyone above that will want to increase the rear spring rate to help achieve some decent lap times. Over the day, I gave the Duke R's shock five turns of rear pre- load, and it still wasn't enough to stop it from sinking in the back-end and running wide when the throttle was first ap- plied, but once I knew that was as good as I'd get it without pulling the shock out, I backed the pace off a touch and just enjoyed the ride. What stood out on the track is how well the Duke R braked and how the electron- ics worked seamlessly in the background. It was a case of wheelie control off, traction control on level two, and leave the rest to the computer. The engine was a known quantity, and even though we didn't stretch it out on the road, its on-track performance wasn't all that surprising. It's when you get off the gas that the Duke R really shines. Braking perfor - mance from the Stylemas is 2026 KTM 990 DUKE R ($13,399) Engine Parallel-twin, four-stroke Valvetrain DOHC, 8-valve Displacement 947cc Bore x Stroke 92.5 x 70.4mm Fuel injection Bosch electronic fuel injection system, 46mm elliptical throttle bodies, ride-by-wire throttle Compression Ratio N/A Exhaust 2-1 Transmission 6-speed Clutch PASC (Power Assisted Slipper Clutch), cable-operated Frame CroMoly tubular steel, engine as stressed member Front Suspension 48mm WP Apex inverted fork, fully adjustable Rear Suspension WP Apex monoshock, fully adjustable Front-Wheel Travel 5.6 in. Rear-Wheel Travel 5.5 in. Front Brake Dual 320mm semi-floating discs, radially mounted Brembo Stylema monobloc four-piston calipers, cornering ABS Rear Brake 240mm disc, Brembo single-piston caliper, cornering ABS Front Tire Michelin Power Cup 2, 120/70-ZR17 in. Rear Tire Michelin Power Cup 2, 180/55-ZR17 in. Wheelbase 58.3 in. Seat height 33 in. Fuel capacity 3.9 gal. Weight (wet, no fuel, claimed) 394.6 lbs.