The KTM Duke series celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and the Austrians are partying in the best way possible—by launching an all-new motorcycle. The new KTM 990 Duke broke cover today at the EICMA show in Italy, and it shows an even higher-performance future for the company.
The engine is new, but familiar. According to KTM, the new 990 parallel twin is based on the LC4c found in the 890 models. Obviously, the piston and crank are new, and the head sports new valve springs and camshaft. The counterbalancer is new for this engine, and the exhaust is also new, built to match the engine’s capacity. Speaking of which, engine capacity is 947 cc… and that the bike in total only weighs 179 kg. Even if that’s a dry weight, it should be a very fun and fast ride. It’s supposed to make 123 hp at 9,500 rpm and 76 lb-ft at 6750 rpm, all while meeting Euro5+ emissions and getting 4.7l/100 km fuel economy.
There’s a trellis frame and closed-lattice swingarm made of gravity die-cast construction, which allows KTM to cut a lot of weight. The in-house suspension gurus at WP provided adjustable APEX suspension. There’s five-way rebound and compression adjustment in the open-cartridge fork, and five-way rebound adjustment on the APEX shock’s setting as well, as well as manual preload adjustment.
Bridgestone S22 tires come standard, in 120/70-17 size up front and 180/55-17 in back.
The braking system is similar to what we saw on the 2023 Duke 790 and 890 models, with big 300 mm discs and four-piston calipers and radial master cylinder. Of course, leaning ABS is standard… along with all the other electronics you’ve come to expect with the Duke series. Rain, Street, Sport, Performance and Track riding modes are all available with the bike, but Performance and Track modes will cost you extra.
On that theme, the five-inch dash has updated menus and graphics, and there’s even a function that will show your your lean angle data. Track mode is optional for the dash, including laptimer and telemetry, and there’s a USB-C plug for charging your phone.
We’ve seen no Canadian MSRP yet, but expect it on our shores well ahead of next spring!
