KTM 790 Duke

The news and your views about biking
Post Reply
User avatar
Blacktopmedia
Posts: 4
Joined: 21 Sep 2016, 15:38
Your Bike: Sadly none currently
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 5 times

KTM 790 Duke

Post by Blacktopmedia »

This is my first post on here so i hope it's ok.
I write for a few mags and websites as well as holding down a proper day job for Regina Chain.
In 2018 i've been lucky enough to get my hands on a few press bikes. One was this KTM 790 Duke. I only had it for a day, hopefully in 2019 i'll do more with KTM but we'll see.

In 1934 Hans Trunkenpolz founded a repair workshop in Mattighofen, Upper Austria. It became one of the largest car and motorcycle garages in Upper Austria. Iin 1953, Hans started building his own Motorcycles under the name of ‘Kronreif, Trunkenpolz, Mattighofen’.
Kronreif meaning motor-vehicle, Trunkenpolz was the founder and Mattighofen was the location.

KTM as it came to be known, now have a rich and successful motorcycle pedigree. Countless world championships across a wide range of disciplines from Motocross to Endurance to Moto3 and much more. They have become one of the most successful motorcycle brands in history. KTM has been one of the world’s fastest-growing motorcycle manufacturers for some time now. 2016 was the company’s sixth consecutive record year and in 2018, they unleashed the 790 Duke on the world.

KTM say they have forged the ultimate street weapon. With the agility of a 600, with the raw punch of an 800.
Small, light and fast, the KTM 790 Duke is powered by the brand new LC8c parallel twin engine. It’s the most compact power plant of its class, kicking out 105 hp at 9,000 rpm and the whole bike weighs in at just 169 kg dry.

KTM were nice enough to let me have a play on one of their 790 Dukes. I only had it for a day but what a day.
When you first swing your leg over, the Duke feels small, like a 250, narrow and short. It’s purposeful and uncomplicated. Aesthetically, the 790 is maybe not prom queen material. She’s more like that troubled girl that scares you slightly but you just know she’ll be a whole lot of fun……..and she is.
Press the starter and it barks into life. The parallel twin sounds just like a V twin with a powerful and potent rumble.

Kick it into 1st gear and roll out. Immediately, you feel how agile the chassis is. It falls in to corners easily and feels so alive. The first couple of miles were taken gently and cautiously, the last thing i wanted was to have to make a call KTM to explain how i broke their bike.

Once you start increasing the pace, the 790 really starts to make sense.
It’s great at commuting, it’s noisy, torquey and very easy to maneuver, making light work of slicing through town. As you leave the 30mph confines and the road start to open up and the pace increases, the KTM loves it. The harder you push, the better it gets, It really is a little hooligan.
It’s fitted with a quickshifter as standard so going up and down through the 6 speed box is effortless, helped by a slipper clutch (PASC™). I found a couple of false neutrals on the way up through the 'box but put it down to the bike having been a press bike that’s probably seen it’s fair share of abuse.

There’s a funky ultra lightweight chrome-molybdenum steel trellis frame with bolt-on aluminum rear subframe and very cool looking die-cast aluminum open lattice swingarm and at the sharp end you’ll find 43mm upside-down WP suspension forks fitted with progressive springs.
Out back is a WP suspension, gas-assisted, directly linked rear shock, also with progressive spring and 12-stage adjustable preload.
Front brakes are KTM branded, radial 4-piston calipers with a radial front brake master cylinder working on twin 300 mm front brake discs. TI thought the whole lot was excellent, needing little more than 2 fingers.

KTM’s 790 Duke has ride mode technology with customizable track mode as standard. This wild child is among the best equipped bikes in this arena, with ride mode technology with customizable track mode as standard. It Boasts an array of tech usually seen on bikes costing twice as much; Cornering ABS including Supermoto mode (for backing it in), lean-angle sensitive motorcycle traction control (MTC), motor slip regulation (MSR), Quickshifter+, and even launch control work seamlessly to make this a very serious weapon.
The compact and neat TFT dashboard works with KTM MY RIDE which is a smartphone app that is an awesome tool, click the link to see what it can do.
There’s a simple menu switch on the left bar that is backlit. That doesn’t sound like a big deal but it’s really good at night. Lights are all LED but we didn’t get to try the headlight in the dark.

KTM have fitted Maxxis Superamaxx ST tyres which on my test ride on dry, warm roads, were great. It had a brand new rear tyre so I took a few miles to wear it in but they felt very stable, loads of grip, easily able to get a knee down without feeling it was anywhere near the limit of grip.

KTM say the goal with the 790 Duke was to create the ultimate street weapon. Ultimate is a big boast but it is really, really good.
In my opinion it was all the bike you’ll ever need. You can jump on it and pop to the shops or head off to a track day, it will easily do everything and do it bloody well.
The only issue was the complete lack of protection. It’s a naked bike so no fairing, not even a fly screen. On a commuter it’s not even slightly an issue but the 790 is fast, so you’re at mad speeds most of the time. On dual carriageways and motorway it’s tiring but…….don’t go on them!

Brilliant, fast, light and more fun that any bike has a right to be. That’s how i’d sum the KTM 790 Duke. Accelerating hard, throwing gears at it with the quickshifter doing it’s job, cutting through the countryside at daft speeds. Looking for trouble, adrenaline pumping, the parallel twin barking and shouting “is that all you’ve got”.
Riding the 790 Duke was a pure, visceral experience. I keep catching myself daydreaming about it now, imagining gunning it out of a corner or flicking from side to side through a roundabout.

Thanks very much KTM. I won’t forget you….
Attachments
207438_KTM 790 DUKE MY 2018.jpg
207439_KTM 790 DUKE MY 2018.jpg
207323_KTM 790 DUKE MY 2018.jpg
207440_KTM 790 DUKE MY 2018.jpg
207442_KTM 790 DUKE MY 2018.jpg
User avatar
Kwacky
Posts: 38538
Joined: 21 Oct 2013, 21:52
Your Bike: Brutale 800RR, 1000SX Ninja
Location: Brum
Has thanked: 4314 times
Been thanked: 8352 times

Re: KTM 790 Duke

Post by Kwacky »

Glad to see you've finally taken the plunge and posted.

Nice opening post. I'm loving the photos.

What's the build quality like?
User avatar
Stonesie
Posts: 2348
Joined: 11 Jun 2014, 21:43
Your Bike: BMW R1250GSA
Has thanked: 1379 times
Been thanked: 1459 times

Re: KTM 790 Duke

Post by Stonesie »

Welcome to the forum!

That all reminds me of my test ride on one lats year, it was a KTM test day at the local dealer so they were escorted group rides but I still had fun, in the most twisty section the KTM rider tried to leave me behind on his 1090. We left the pack and had to pull up and wait for them and I didn't feel like i was asking the little 790 for all it had, no scary moments, just fun.

I ended up buying a used 1290GT instead as I wanted more touring ability. If I could have a 2nd bike then the 790 would be on the short list for sure, along with the Street Triple.

As for quality, the switch gear looks pretty much like the GT's but somehow felt a little cheaper and that was the only thing that I noticed, but I only had 40 mins with the bike.
User avatar
Blacktopmedia
Posts: 4
Joined: 21 Sep 2016, 15:38
Your Bike: Sadly none currently
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 5 times

Re: KTM 790 Duke

Post by Blacktopmedia »

Kwacky wrote:Glad to see you've finally taken the plunge and posted.

Nice opening post. I'm loving the photos.

What's the build quality like?

Ha ha yeah!
It was good. It's a little bit of a budget bike in some ways. KTM brakes for example and non adjustable suspension....BUT....it works really well.
The general build quality was superb but i only had it a day.
This one had a hard like as a press bike. I think it had done plenty of track work as it had warped front discs and the gearbox was good, but missed a couple of gears going up through the box a couple of times. I think it was all down to abuse from journo's though.
The engine was awesome, can't wait to see what it's like in the Adventure R.
User avatar
Blacktopmedia
Posts: 4
Joined: 21 Sep 2016, 15:38
Your Bike: Sadly none currently
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 5 times

Re: KTM 790 Duke

Post by Blacktopmedia »

Stonesie wrote:Welcome to the forum!

That all reminds me of my test ride on one lats year, it was a KTM test day at the local dealer so they were escorted group rides but I still had fun, in the most twisty section the KTM rider tried to leave me behind on his 1090. We left the pack and had to pull up and wait for them and I didn't feel like i was asking the little 790 for all it had, no scary moments, just fun.

I ended up buying a used 1290GT instead as I wanted more touring ability. If I could have a 2nd bike then the 790 would be on the short list for sure, along with the Street Triple.

As for quality, the switch gear looks pretty much like the GT's but somehow felt a little cheaper and that was the only thing that I noticed, but I only had 40 mins with the bike.
Cheers!
You make an interesting point.
At the moment there are some crazy deals on some of the bigger KTM's. You could genuinely get on so cheal that in a year or so, you wouldn't have lost any money.....maybe.
User avatar
Frankie
Posts: 3917
Joined: 11 Mar 2014, 21:37
Your Bike: Fast Ones, and dirty ones
Has thanked: 723 times
Been thanked: 1473 times

Re: KTM 790 Duke

Post by Frankie »

Welcome on board, awesome pics....
User avatar
Blacktopmedia
Posts: 4
Joined: 21 Sep 2016, 15:38
Your Bike: Sadly none currently
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 5 times

Re: KTM 790 Duke

Post by Blacktopmedia »

Frankie wrote:Welcome on board, awesome pics....
Cheers Frankie.
Unfortunately, as much as i'd love to take the credit, they are KTM press images lol.
Post Reply