KTM’s 990 Duke has returned! Well evolved from the 890 anyway, as the Austrian brand seeks to squeeze a bit more performance out of their latest offering and celebrates 30 years of the Duke model. This engine is in fact a 947 c, pumping out 90.5 kW and 103 Nm, while the whole bike weighs in at 179 kg.
Compared to the 890 Duke GP, that’s 5.5 kW extra, with 11 extra newton-metres of torque, so a welcome jump. It’s a little bit of a different story if you compare the new 990 to the old 890 R though, where it only gains 1.5 kW and four Nm. Both bore and stroke grew there too, now 92.5 by 70.4 mm, compared to 90.7 by 68.8 previously on the 890.
This being a KTM, I’d guess that’s a dry weight figure too, as that seems to be what they generally quote, despite the old 890 Duke weighing 169 kg, because this new 990 Duke looks quite beefy in comparison to the fairly lithe 890.
On the chassis side of things we see a new trellis frame with increased torsional and side stiffness, alongside a closed lattice swingarm which actually reduces stiffness by 35% for better traction. The swingarm pivot is also moved to inside the frame, rather than being on the outside like previous models, with the pivot bolt replaced by forged parts.
Notably at the rear we also see a new aluminium diecast sub-frame, with integrated airbox and intake under the seat, taking inspiration from KTM’s trellis subframes, and minimising the parts in use.
A forged aluminium triple clamp is also used, with 32 mm offset, mated to an aluminium steering stem, with the ‘bars actually offering four positions of adjustment.
Suspension is a set of 43 mm WP Apex open-cartridge forks with 140 mm of travel, and compression and rebound are adjusted in separate fork legs, with five clicks of adjustment in each. At the rear we see a WP Apex Monotube shock, with lighter linear spring, offering both preload and rebound adjustment, with five clicks of the latter.
Wheels are the same as seen on the 1290 Super Duke R, but..
