In one of his lesser-known performances, Andy Griffith once starred in a film called Pray For The Wildcats, taking a surprising turn as a very un-family-friendly dirt biker. At one point, Griffith’s character tries to proposition a counterculture couple as he flashes a $100 bill and leers, “I’m a hippie with money!” before threatening them with a hatchet and attacking their vehicle (seriously, you gotta see it).
An outcast from society with a fat wallet? Wild, indeed. The hippies are long gone now, but if you’re a hoon with money, KTM wants to talk—they want to sell you the new 890 SMT supermoto.
This machine has been spotted in spy shots for a few months now, and KTM debuted it in Europe yesterday. As the name implies, it is powered by the same 890 parallel twin that you see in the Duke/Adventure lineup, putting out 105 hp at 8,000 rpm, and 74 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm. Very braaappppy numbers for a supermoto, but that’s somewhat offset by the 194 kg dry weight. Usually, a supermoto is custom-built from a dirt bike chassis and is much, much skinnier.
However, in this case, KTM says the SMT is designed for sport touring duty. The original 990 SMT was similar, and of course Ducati’s Hypestrada line is similar to this idea as well. Still, it’s very cool to see KTM trying this concept with the 890 parallel twin line!
Because it’s based on that series, the SMT has most of the same features you’d see on the 890 Duke or 890 Adventure. You get an accelerometer-based electronic safety system, using a 6D Bosch sensor to control leaning-sensitive traction control and ABS (which can have the rear wheel locked up in Supermoto mode). Street, Rain and Sport riding modes are built in standard, and users can also add Track mode at extra cost. Other electronic add-ons are heated grips and cruise control, for riders looking to lay down miles, or an up/down quickshifter.
The chassis generally looks similar to the ADV line, with long-travel suspension (180 mm of travel front and rear, with WP Apex fork and shock). Of course, there’s a steel trellis frame, and 17-inch cast wheels with sticky tires. However, unlike the Adventure line, the SMT’s 15.8-litre fuel tank does not wrap all the way to the bottom of the engine, which means the machine will feel like the centre of gravity is a bit higher than the Adventure series.
KTM has not yet confirmed this machine for Canada; for now, we know UK customers will pay £12,499, which is about $21,000 CAD. If it does come here, we expect a lower MSRP than that.
