I
feel extra qualified to
test the new KTM 790
Duke, simply because
the Duke name
and I go way back. I
attended the world launch
of the very first KTM Super
Duke for AMCN in 2003, I
owned a single-cylinder
Series One KTM 620 Duke
for a couple of years (a bike
I should never have sold),
and my current daily ride is
a 1290 Super Duke R Special
Edition.
W hat all three have in
common, even across the
single and V-twin engines,
is a singularly mental
attitude. They dare you to
get on and ride like most
of the KTM staff do – with
passion, purpose and a
sense of fun, albeit tinged
with maniacal hilarity.
A lmost any thing w ith a
KTM badge is built with a
similar DNA, and at the first
suggestion of a 790 Duke, I
was hooked. Until I realised
it was to be powered by
one of the most potentially
boring powerplants
imaginable, a parallel twin.
It’s all about crank
offsets with these engines.
A standard-offset parallel
twin is reliable and all that,
but also a dead-set snore in
KTM terms.