Ride Review: 2019 KTM 790 Duke Demo Ride

KTM 790 Duke (aka The Scalpel) Demo Ride

The motivation for riding this bike is similar to why I demo rode the MT-07 on Saturday, because the 790 Duke has a motor that will be utilized, with a slightly revised power band for better low/mid performance, in the upcoming 790 Adventure & R later this year.

The 790 Duke is another small bike, albeit slightly more accommodating to my 6’ 1” frame than the MT-07, that features a new design parallel twin, sophisticated electronics suite w/multiple ride modes, quick shifter, slipper clutch, cornering ABS & traction control, etc

One look at the flat, firm, thinly padded seat & ergos that load my wrists, put my head over the dash (mandating looking down to see it) & view of the front tire meeting the road suggest that this bike’s mission is not hours in the saddle!

The optional low hung bar mirrors were all but useless & forced removing your focus from the road then having to refocus to use…not safe! The left was already broken from a tip over.

Whoa, what is with these new generation mid displacement parallel twin motors that perform well above their weight class!

This is a stonkin’ strong powerhouse, quick revving 799 cc 105 hp, 64 ft lb torque motor with a unique 75 degree crank offset for a 435 degree firing order, that gives it a slightly different v-twin like feel, brawnier output than the 270 degree Yamaha motor, in a 414 lb wet weight 2 wheeled thruster!

The only chink in the armor is slightly off epa fueling under <3500 rpm that tends to hunt a little…whereas the Yamaha motor fueled perfectly from idle on up, but has had several years to refine it.

This is a fun & engaging motor with more character (particularly with the Akrapovic muffler on my demo) & power than the Yamaha parallel twin, but it does have 111 more ccs….the shifting is light & accurate & feels more precise than Yamaha’s, irrespective of the quick shifter.

I preferred the character & feel of this motor vs the 123 hp 1090 Adventure R I demo rode next & found that the 790 provided quicker acceleration, particularly <3,500 rpm, at the demo ride speeds that never exceeded 110kph or permitted use of the upper ½ of the power band on the larger motor.

Oddly the 1090 motor lacks off idle torque with a slightly soft delivery & was not happy pulling 4th thru 6th gear <3k rpm….in stark contrast to the 790 Duke & MT-07 parallel twins which both pulled 6th at 2500 rpm without complaint…my dyno tuned ecu flashed, Arrow header, Uni-filtered 2014 S10 is still the king of <3k rpm with its brawny torguey output!

Marq at Holeshot Motorsports (Langley, BC) confirmed that limited #s of 790 Adventures will delivered this year despite many presales….he is anticipating late 2019/early 2020 for regular #s to start showing up.