We caught up with John McAvoy, who stuffed us in on the KTM…
It’s been some time since KTM final had a 990 Duke in its vary, however the identify is again – and this new addition is maybe one in every of its most fun choices ever. Right here’s why…
The 990 will get a brand-new body that’s 15 per cent stiffer than the 890’s body (which is loads) and a brand-new swingarm that’s 1.5kg greater than the 890’s (which can also be loads). So, straightaway you’ll be able to see the place KTM goes with the 990 – a lot stiffer and far lighter than the 890.
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The engine can also be fully new, with no single carry-over part from the 790/890. In reality, the one factor the engine – and entire bike, for that matter – has received in frequent with the 790/890 is the truth that it’s a parallel twin… and the brakes. The engine is nice for 123bhp and 76lb-ft of torque, which is similar as a Ducati Streetfighter V2, so identical to with the 1390, KTM is specializing in huge dollops of torque slightly than absolute peak energy. For context, the 990 Duke is punching out the identical torque as a Ducati 999, which actually does minimize it from the identical material because the Tremendous Duke, slightly than an enormous model of the 390 Duke.
Bodily, the 990 is mainly a barely smaller 1390. The gasoline tank is wider, and the exhaust silencer is routed extra conventionally to the aspect slightly than the surprisingly formed underseat one on the 890. The headlight appears to be like just like the 1390’s as a result of… effectively… it’s the identical, together with the entrance wheel and dashboard. It’s additionally loaded with just about all of the 1390’s electronics (when you pay the additional for them). You get 5 rider modes; nine-way adjustable traction management; five-way adjustable anti-wheelie; lap timer; launch management; cruise management; adjustable engine slip; telemetry; and Bluetooth connectivity. The 990 just about will get the entire capturing match relating to tech. It additionally will get adjustable for rebound and compression damping 43mm WP Apex forks up entrance, and a WP Apex rear shock that’s adjustable for preload and rebound damping.
The entire thing cashes in at 179kg totally fuelled, so by way of spec on the dyno sheet, tech record, and weighing scales, the 990 is mainly the gold customary within the middleweight bare class, which, contemplating KTM mainly had no illustration in it till now, is spectacular –and that kind carries over into the way it feels on the highway.
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The 120(-ish)-mile highway trip we did on the 990 will stay with me for a protracted, very long time. The mix of the route, the roads, and, in fact, the bike was actually excellent. Most of it was in second, third or fourth gear, with the occasional compulsory first gear 10mph hairpin thrown in and greater than a handful of tapped out in sixth gear straights. This highway may as effectively have been made with the 990 in thoughts: it was clean, traffic-free, and required just about fixed manoeuvring of the bike, which was an entire doddle as a result of KTM’s sensible using place, geometry, gentle weight, and really high-quality suspension – particularly the forks.
If I’ve one very small mark to make towards the 990’s chassis, it’s that the brakes aren’t very straightforward to modulate. The space between the preliminary contact of the lever and the brakes being on fairly onerous may be very small, however it’s not an enormous downside and is just about the one non-perfect factor I seen in regards to the 990.
The entire thing feels fully completely different to the 790/890; there isn’t any resemblance to its predecessors. It feels a lot extra planted to the bottom and is a lot extra alive with suggestions and data you can’t assist however really feel your confidence develop with each kilometre you spend on it. The 990 has achieved to the middleweight bare class what the 1390 does within the supernaked class – it delivers huge on efficiency, but in addition very huge on enjoyable, and it does this by making it straightforward to trip and to entry all of what it has to supply. It merely oozes all of the hallmarks of a motorbike that has been developed by a staff of engineers, suspension specialists and take a look at riders who all know what one of the best bits about using motorbikes are. They’re all on the identical web page as us, and identical to the 1390, the 990 has the identical feeling of completeness that very effectively arrange race bikes have, all the things simply… works.
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The engine is unsurprisingly sensible on the highway, and if we don’t see an RC990 sportsbike with the Duke’s engine on the highway subsequent 12 months, I’ll be amazed – and I’ll combat anybody for a go on it when it does present up. Nevertheless, as we all know, an engine should be greater than spectacular numbers on a dyno chart; it must be related to the throttle in such a approach that getting one of the best out of it’s straightforward. The ‘road’ map was on the cash for the areas of the rev vary that we had been utilizing principally, which was, in fact, the 990’s candy spot, sitting on an enormous lump of torque, punching out of the infinite corners. I did discover the gearshift a bit bit stiff, however like my feedback on the brakes, it’s simply one thing I seen.
On the highway, the 990 can be onerous to stay with by its rivals. Put aside the very fact it’s got far superior tech than all of them, and extra of it, the fundamental substances of the 990 are all on the cash. KTM has made a stiff, light-weight bare bike with a punchy motor and completed it off with some very sporty geometry and high-quality suspension. KTM has taken loads – if not all – of its studying from the evolution of the Tremendous Duke and poured it into the 990 Duke, and it actually exhibits. The 990 is not possible to trip and never get pleasure from, and anybody who rides one and says they didn’t get pleasure from it’s a liar.
