KTM Duke 990 Development Hits Full Speed

The KTM Duke 990 has been spied on foreign soil yet again and the bike looks to be inching closer to production, now more so than ever before.
Visually, the recently spied KTM Duke 990 comes with twin-stacked LED headlights, which might prove to be an unpopular move no matter how forgiving the Austrian brand’s ardent fans might be.

The upcoming motorcycle has brand-new bodywork as well. The tank surround, radiator shrouds and front fender are fresh units and even the seats are new.

To accommodate the heavily revised engine, the frame has received small changes, while the subframe is all new as well and the same goes for the swingarm that should be lighter and stiffer.

As the name suggests, the parallel twin engine will displace about 990cc, 100 more than the Duke 890’s motor. Thus, power and torque should be considerably up from the base Duke 890’s 115 HP and 92 Nm (the ‘R’ makes 121 HP and 99 Nm).

The KTM Duke 990 should get the dash from the 1290 Super Duke R
A good margin should also improve the engine’s torque output as the 990cc motor has more stroke (rather than bore) when compared with the 889cc unit of the Duke 890.

The capacity increase is to help the bike clear more stringent emissions standards (for pollution and noise) that will be rolled out across the developed world in the coming years.

Furthermore, the Austrian brand has fitted the upcoming motorcycle with a new exhaust, while the wheels, brakes and suspension seem to have been carried over from the 890 Duke R.

The official name of the Duke 890’s replacement could be the 990 Duke R, and it should be available at KTM dealerships in the UK in spring 2023.