Australian Motorcycle News - June 21, 2018

to feel in control of it. That sweet bottom-end is

part of it, but so is the compact chassis and the

fact everything you touch feels so responsive.

Brakes, throttle, gear lever, seat – they all

add up to a sum of parts that seem inter-

connected, rather than a bit too hard here,

slightly loose there, not quite right every where.

The development team deserves a pat on the

back because this is a bike that makes you feel

good when you ride it, mostly because it wants

to please you, like all bikes in the Duke/Super

Duke range. And it does!

Simply moving off, for instance, can be an

adrenaline spike if you want it to be, or a more

casual exit if you wish. You won’t be tapping the

latter option much, I would suggest...

It is ‘only’ a 790, but dialling in one-third

of the tacho’s revs is enough to obnoxiously

growlawayfromastandingstart.Thebike

feelslikeitshouldwheeliereallyeasily,butit

actually doesn’t. The long sw ingarm and weight

distribution keeps it driving forward, not up,

in the higher gears – though it is happy to

paw sky wards in first if the traction control is

switched off. A bit of clutch in second and third

and it will oblige, of course; it has KTM DNA

after all. It’s just that it doesn’t power-wheelie

as easily as I expected it to.

The best bit, aside from punching away

from cars at a satisfactory pace and sounding

most unlike a parallel tw in in the process, is

snapping second. Everything goes all WSBK as

the switchable quickshifter cuts engine revs,

allowing up and down cog-swapping in style.

I soon learned exactly what throttle opening

it liked to sound best, and did that as often as

possible. It does it in all gears, but requires a lot

of throttle, so best you pick your place for that.

Less than three-quarter throttle and it

simply changes gear, without the passionate

KTM 790 DUKE

It’s so easy to ride

that the shenanigans

for the photoshoot

happened only 30

minutes after I got on

→

1. KTM took a risk going
   with a parallel-twin
   engine design to achieve
   a compact package


2. The Duke comes with
   standard independent
   anti-wheelie and
   cornering ABS braking


3. Sharp-looking pillion
   seat looks tiny compared
   to the wide rider’s seat

BATTLE

GROUND

KTM has identified an opening in the

middleweight naked market, where it takes

on the Triumph Street Triple R and the

Yamaha MT-09SP. Here’s how they stack up

ZERO

Triumph Street

Triple R

$15,850 (plus ORCs)

KTM

Duke 790

$15,495 (plus ORCs)