VOL. 54 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 14, 2017 P55
K
TM's midsize naked bike—the hugely
anticipated 790 Duke—made its first
official public outing at the EICMA
Show, accompanied by the news that sadly
it will be a 2019 model, not 2018 as previ-
ously hoped.
Dubbed "The Scalpel" by KTM in their
lavish presentation in Italy, the 790 will
eventually take the fight to class stalwarts
like the Triumph Street Triple 765, BMW
F 800 R and Suzuki GSX-S750, with a
decent level of fire power at its disposal.
The 790 has been in development for
several years and uses KTM's first-ever
production parallel twin under the LC8
banner, which KTM says is good for 105
horsepower and 63 lb-ft of torque. The
package is said to weigh a delicious 418
pounds curb, with KTM claiming the best
power-to-weight ratio in the class.
KTM says you'll be cranking MotoGP-
levels of lean with the 790, which is why
the exhaust has been packaged under
the rider's seat. The muffler design should
also produce a lovely deep exhaust note,
depending on how much meat they stuff
into the catalytic convertor.
The chassis is KTM-standard tubular
steel but with the engine as a stressed
member, and the 43mm front fork and rear
suspension is taken care of by in-house
partner WP.
On the electronics side, you'll be getting
four riding modes (Sport, Street, Rain and
Track), lean angle traction control, a quick
shifter, and ABS with supermoto mode for
backing it in like Chris Fillmore—all ac-
cessed by the new TFT dash.
We are going to have to wait until the
winter of 2018/start of 2019 for the 790 to
make it to U.S. shores. CN
Click here for more information.
2019
KTM
790
