KTM 890 SMT: Super Moto Touring At Its Finest

All photos: Zac Kurylyk

Wayyyy back when the 990-series V-twin ruled the roost at KTM, they built something out-of-the-ordinary: A supermoto touring bike. The KTM 990 SMT was a version of the 950 Supermoto upscaled for touring (obviously, it was also closely related to KTM’s 990 Adventure). For about a decade, it seemed like the idea was dead, as KTM focused on ADVs and its Duke lineup, and then, we saw the 890 SMT introduced for Europe in 2023, North America in 2024.

Last summer, I had the 890 SMT on loan for a few weeks. Here’s what I found out about the bike.

The basic package is familiar

The KTM 890 SMT is basically an 890 Adventure model with a few ideas borrowed from the Duke lineup. Looking at it, it looks a lot like an ADV, until you notice those 17-inch wheels, on cast rims. This is a street bike; S-M-T stands for Super Moto Touring.

The engine is the LC8c parallel twin that KTM first introduced in the 790 series, then upscaled to 890 (and 990, these days). Depending on your perspective, this can be good or bad. Some people might be concerned about anything from the LC8c series due to the ongoing flap over the engine’s camshafts; others might want more power to put the “Super” in Super Moto Touring. Still, with output in the ballpark of 105 hp at 8,000 rpm and 74 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm, this bike has lots of muscle, especially considering it’s rated at 428 lb dry weight.

The chassis is a mash-up of ADV parts (the frame and subframe are borrowed from the 890 Adventure R), some street parts (the alloy wheels, in particular) and some stuff in-between. Take the gas tank, for instance. At 15.8-liter capacity, it’s well under the 20-liter capacity of the 890 Adventure R, but it shares the same wraparound design that keeps weight centralized and low.

The seat height is 860 mm, which will feel tall to some riders; it’s in the same range as adventure bikes (no surprise there) but it’s about 20 mm higher than something like an older Kawi Concours, and that was considered a pretty tall seat. I don’t believe it’s an issue on the SMT, but it’s something to be aware of if you want to buy one. And for what it’s worth, the SMT saddle is comfortable for hour after hour; it’s not the rigid plank that some might expect on a converted ADV machine. Just like their adventure bike lineup, the SMT series can be outfitted with accessory saddles to change seat height.

What’s it like to ride?

I thought I knew what I was getting when I picked up the KTM 890 SMT for a review, but I was wrong. And not in a bad way—it just turned out that the 890 was less unhinged than I thought it might be, and that’s probably for the best. Most people wouldn’t want to tour for hours on a race-bred dirt bike. I’ve done it myself, and it’s really not as fun as it sounds.

Instead, you get an engine that has plenty of muscle, but with a civilized parallel-twin delivery. You have to rev it higher than a traditional su-mo single-cylinder if you want an adrenaline rush, but it’s there, and you can bang-bang-bang your way through the gears with the quickshifter to get to top speed nice and quick. It’s not as rabid as the Super Duke GT, but you can definitely hoon like a goon on this machine.

My initial ride on the bike was a hundreds-of-kilometres-long rip from Halifax, Nova Scotia to southern New Brunswick through everything from the urban jungle, wide-open highway, twisty secondary highway and beat-up back-country forgotten byways. It was the ultimate test of every system on the bike, and I walked away impressed that KTM had made it such a comfortable mount for hours-long rides. I was slightly disappointed that heated grips didn’t come as standard equipment, but aside from that, the machine is well-adapted to the open road right out of the box.

The bike I borrowed had the Track Pack, with Track riding mode and rear wheel slip adjustment on-the-fly—not features I needed on the bumpy Advocate Run. I did appreciate the cruise control and the Quickshifter+ that came with the Tech Pack, though. Both of these are extra cost over the bike’s $16,799 MSRP in Canada (Track Pack $167.99, Tech Pack $629.99).

However, the bike’s standard electronics package does include Supermoto-mode ABS (with ability to lock up the rear wheel and slide the bike around). Switching around between this and standard ABS, or switching between other electronic features, is all very easy thanks to KTM’s very simple-to-use TFT interface. I very much appreciated this as well.

The bike’s chassis is obviously street-oriented, with suspension tuned to pavement riding and 17-inch cast wheels (sporting Michelin PowerGP tires with barely a touch of rain siping). This made the bumpier parts of my ride a bit sketchy, although I was able to steer around most trouble thanks to the bike’s excellent handling. But keep this in mind: If you bought this bike to travel truly beat-up pavement or packed gravel, buy an adventure bike with a 19-inch front wheel instead.

But if you want a capable machine for non-potholed twisties? This thing will deliver a thrilling experience without wearing you out, unlike a rattly traditional supermoto with a single-cylinder engine.

This long first ride was the only extended trip I did with the SMT; I had to focus on dirt riding the rest of the summer, so only rode it for shorter local trips, not tours.

If I’d been touring, I would have had to source my own luggage, as the SMT doesn’t come with hard or soft bags, just a basic tail rack. The rear subframe has beefy steel construction, and should carry a reasonable load at least, unlike a converted dirt bike supermoto. KTM or the aftermarket can help you with luggage, but of course, like the Tech Pack and Track Pack, this will add to the price tag.

The bottom line

I liked the 890 SMT. I think an 890 Adventure is a lot more practical for most Canadians—but if you want better handling than its 21-inch front wheel, on spoked rims, will provide, and you’re fine to stick to street riding, then the 890 SMT is a very unique sport tourer. There are only a handful of sport touring bikes to choose from in this 800-900 class these days, and the 890 is probably the most capable of them all. If you think it might suit you nicely, I’d advise you to get on a demo ride the next time the KTM truck is in town; it will probably be the best way to decide if it’s the right fit for your own personal riding style.

See full specs for the 890 SMT here.