The all-new 990 Duke from KTM presents a tricky dilemma in more ways than one, which I'll go into right after I just come out and state that the 990 Duke is bloody brilliant in every single way. If there is any part of you that doesn't like riding bikes because they're fun, then you should move on to the next feature in this mag - because having fun and being naughty is what the 990 Duke is all about. In fact, if there is a new bike in 2024 on the planet which is more exciting to ride and as competent as the 990 Duke, I have yet to ride it... apart from the 1390 Super Duke, which leads me neatly to my first dilemma.
A total of 96% of the parts on the 990 Duke are new and don't share part numbers with any other model in the range; the remaining 4% shares its parts with the 1390 Super Duke. The only carry-over part from the discontinued 890 Duke or remaining Chinese-built 790 Duke are the brake calipers. For all intents and purposes, the 990 Duke is a brand-new bike from the ground up. It has been conceived, designed, and built to be much closer dynamically to the 1390 Super Duke than what we have come to know the Duke for a quirky halfway house between a motard and naked bike that punches above its weight and performs better than the sum of its parts. KTM has deliberately created the 990 Duke to be a mini Super Duke, which is ironic given that the 990 Duke makes more power and more torque from its 947cc parallel twin engine than the original 990 Super Duke had from its 999cc V-twin engine.
By making the 990 Duke more of an outright naked bike with a really high spec, where there was crystal-clear differentiation in terms of image, dynamics and spec between a modern Super Duke and a Duke, there is less so now. Thanks to the 990 being so damn good, you would be forgiven for questioning if you even need a 1390 in your life, especially if you're not planning on going on track, and this seems very counterintuitive to me.
Denne historien er fra May 2024-utgaven av Fast Bikes UK.
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Denne historien er fra May 2024-utgaven av Fast Bikes UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Sensational Suzuki Live - Blending decades of motorcycles, racing legends, track time and a beer tent with a cracking band, Suzuki Live's formula proved a winner for the thousands there.
Blending decades of motorcycles, racing legends, track time and a beer tent with a cracking band, Suzuki Live’s formula proved a winner for the thousands there. As motorcycling events go, Suzuki Live's 2024 effort is surely set to take some topping. Held over two days at the iconic Cadwell Park circuit, the event played host to a list of two-wheeled legends and a mixed bag of iconic Suzuki machinery spanning five decades.
Steve Parrish
It's been a busy old month but so good being back in the thick of it. Despite the great British weather, it finally feels like summer is here, and I've been all over the place with some really great events since we spoke last month.
Christian Iddon
It's a long time since I had that feeling... 1057 days, to be precise, and if you were to ask if 'that day' was the day it would happen again, then I would have bet all my worldly belongings against it.
BOTH A CRIMINAL AND CIVIL CASE
There’s a time and place to lawyer up to the hills, and this is one them...
LONGTERMER KAWASAKI ZX-6R
Last month, I was gearing up to consign my ZX-6R to the back of my garage while I disappeared for the best part of three weeks to work at the TT with Batham's Racing.
YAMAHA WABASH RT
When you live a life of wheelies, burnouts and fast laps on race tracks, it's hard to spot a midlife crisis... but six months on in the saddle of Yamaha's Wabash e-bike, I daresay that's exactly where I'm at. I'll be honest, cycling isn't for everyone, and quite frankly, Lycra is even more polarising, but for me, life on two wheels, be it powered or pedalled, has formed my staple diet for as long as I can remember.
24 HOURS FLAT-OUT!
Ever fancied a crack at 24-hour endurance racing? You might think again after reading this...
PROJECT 37 A TEST OF TIME
Having got his head around the standard bike at Cadwell, Timmy heads to Powerslide Motorcycles with a wish list of improvements for the Suzuki GSX-8R...
'WHY WE GO RACING...5
Ever wondered why big brands spend big money and put in huge amounts of effort to go racing? Well, we did too, so we didn’t hesitate to ask the man who makes that call for Honda Racing UK...
9 BIKES WE WISH WERE STILL HERE...
No one’s worked out how to bring things back from the dead, but if we had our way, these are the bikes we’d oe see makingareturn.
