[KTM 1090 News]

MotoFire was at this year’s EICMA and the new KTM 790 Duke Prototype caught the attention of their photographers who managed to get up close and personal with it.

Sitting between the KTM 690 Duke and KTM 1290 Super Duke R, the KTM 790 Duke will be powered by an all-new 800cc parallel-twin engine called the LC8c (c for compact). What’s more, the 790 Duke prototype is equipped with a quickshifter and features custom ride modes along with a multi-level traction control.

As expected of a prototype from KTM and their design house Kiska, the engine is nestled inside a body consisting of a steel trellis frame, hand-welded pipes and a machined aluminum subframe and tail cowl. Forged carbon may have been used for some the of the fairings, a likely guess as the material is expected to appear more and more in the two-wheeled industry.

What’s aesthetically new to the KTM brand is the LED headlight design and that orange triangle gap under the seat. We probably won’t see those two features on the production model, maybe not even the WP suspension components and it’s unlikely that the underseat exhaust will make it onto the finalized design either. The 1290 Super Duke prototype had twin underseat pipes, but that fell through and the same could happen with the KTM 790 Duke.

We can’t wait to see the production design whenever KTM decides to finally debut the new 790 Duke.

 

[dirtrack]

Production model will more than likely have the same headlight the 1090 has, which is the one below and as you can see it sort of has some design DNA from that concept above:

 

[Sweeper]

Those tires look great. I really need to inspect those headlights though as they are intriguing me..

 

[dirtrack]

Enough pictures of them online and through videos you should be able to get a number of different angles and perspectives going on. But you should look out for shows set to happen within whatever distance you're willing to travel to finally see one in person.

Have you inquired with your dealer as yet?

 

[Sweeper]

Not as of yet, my local dealer is about an hour and a half away and I finish work typically right when they close. Either have to take a day off or try to mission it out there on a weekend when I'm not working. Rather speak to them in person and take a look around the shop at the same time opposed to just calling and inquiring

 

[dirtrack]

Well for anyone in the New York or surrounding area there will be a show on from the 9th of December.

Hopefully that will be the first real look we get, being that big of a show there's a high chance it will show up. I'll be surprised if this is not the case.

 

[Adventurer]

Maybe they'll have future release information for the rest us who are hoping to see it in dealerships.

 

[dirtrack]

Hopefully we have some UK members on here that can report about what they might have seen at this years NEC show, KTM usually shows up and was present this year. It's a big enough show to have the 1090 in attendance.

 

[Sweeper]

NEC finished on November 27th, anyone checked to see if there was coverage on it, I did a quick search but I'll tend to it after work perhaps.

 

[Tricked]

Found this on their facebook page, they definitely brought out quite a few bikes

 

[dirtrack]

Found this on their facebook page, they definitely brought out quite a few bikes

Got to love how KTM sets up their displays since it allows you to get to every single bike they bring out, not a single one on a platform up and away from the public.

Not all bike makers do this, even with bikes that should be easily accessible to the public.

 

[Adventurer]

Are they lifted off the ground by the stands? Would be hard to judge how you'd sit on their models if they're floating a bit, and those stands don't allow for any sagging, so the bike could lower an inch or two if you were sitting on it without a stand.

 

[Sweeper]

Think the front wheels are on stands and they're lifted off the ground by an inch or so ?

 

[dirtrack]

From what I seen in person and through pictures its a ground mount that runs right up the forks making it easy for anyone to get on/off. Doubt you can test the shocks but at least you can test one of the more important things here which is ergos.

Not always are bikes like this, sometimes you find them without any mounts, just a kickstand holding it up.

 

[Sweeper]

I think if it was a less populated venue, kickstand would work as it wouldn't be difficult to spot someone dropping it lol. But at a show like that with potentially thousands of people moving in and out, definitely need to ensure they're stationary as best as they can be.

 

[Tricked]

Going to a dealership and you'll find them on kickstands because they don't have tons of people in there walking around touching things.

At shows, the risk of damage to bikes is a lot higher so it makes sense.

 

[Sweeper]

Anyhow, regardless of how they're presented, I think we can all agree when KTM shows up to a show... they show up. They have a good amount of bikes on display, and they're displayed in a very open transparent manner kind of thing.

 

[dirtrack]

The only thing I can honestly say they're lacking in (although this might be a bit of a stretch) is the fact they need some demo's going on. Can't be that hard to section off a part of some of the shows out there for an off-road demo. With how competitive its getting that might be one direction we'll see them take.

As much as someone knows what a product is capable of, having another layer to get them to buy never hurts the bottom line.

 

[Tricked]

Demos definitely get a lot of people. A lot of guys won't go out on their own and demo a bike, but if it's available to them at a show, they'll jump on the opportunity because of the convenience. That's where you grab them directly because chances are, they aren't going to go and try other bikes. Set their mind from the get-go and reel em' in.

 

[Adventurer]

Problem with demos are the chance of something going wrong with people riding them. They aren't all that common to begin with so I doubt KTM would do it. The most we'll get is to sit on them at shows. If they're sitting on stands that supports the forks, then we can assume that it'll sag around 1 inch with your body weight and whatever else is on you.