KTM 390 DUKE
FIRST RIDE
P48
Now, the 390 Duke is no
RGV, I'll give you that, but it's
part of the new breed of small-
displacement weapons now
available in the U.S. This is
the first time this machine has
become available here, but the
model has been on sale in Eu-
rope and Australasia since about
mid-2013. I got to have a crack
on one at the world launch in
Austria in a freezing cold Febru-
ary '13, and loved every sec-
ond of it. That hasn't changed.
Neither has the bike, with the ex-
ception of ABS and new colors.
But for the sake of this article, it
is all brand new.
KTM's been in the news of
late because they believe the
way forward is small to medium
displacement machines. KTM
CEO Stefan Pierer going as far
as to say bikes like souped-up
RC8s are too dangerous for
public roads (check the interview
with Alan Cathcart in issues six
The 390 Duke is
great fun on back
roads and with a
smooth operator
at the controls it
will surprise many
big bike riders.
