Episode 86 of the Brap Talk motorcycle podcast is out with another “weekly” episode, for your two-wheeled listening pleasure.
In this episode, we start things off by talking about the new MotoGP Unlimited series on Amazon Prime, and how its launch was similar, but not the same, as Drive for Survive was for Formula 1.
The KTM 790 Duke is coming back as a 2022 model year machine, so says the Austrian brand. That might come as a bit of surprise, since the KTM 890 Duke R replaced its smaller sibling in late-2019.
This curious move seems to come for the benefit of the European market, where a 95hp version of the KTM 790 Duke will be made available for A2 license holders, with a price tag of €8,999.
The rest of the world’s markets will get the 2022 KTM 790 Duke with its full pop of 105hp, though it’s not clear if the 790 will come to North American soil.
KTM CEO Stefan Pierer has already publicly tipped that the Austrian brand is hard at work on a new middleweight engine, one that will exist alongside the current 790 platform.
From those comments, the notion is that KTM is working on a 500cc platform for a range of models, which is likely to debut in a few years’ time. We also expect to see a KTM 790 SMT supermoto-styled bike debut later this year at EICMA, which should round out the 790 platform.
But, could another engine platform be in the works? That’s what our Bothan spies are telling us.
This is it, the final countdown. The new year is already starting its first hours in other parts of the world, and we won’t have long to wait until 2019 is upon us here in the United States of America.
So, allow us to squeak in just one more “2018 in review” type of story, as I wanted to share with our readers the most important motorcycles that we saw this year – and also got to ride.
The list is an interesting one, as not only is it comprised of a number of machines that lead their segments, but also we picked motorcycles whose debuts carried gravitas for the industry.
As such, these are the motorcycles that defined 2018 model year, and now we only have a matter of hours to begin seeing the bikes that will shape 2019 for motorcyclists.
Hello from sunny SoCal, where we are about to go ride the new KTM 790 Duke, which is finally coming to the United States as an early 2019 model.
The first of KTM’s parallel-twin middleweights, the new Duke packs a lot of features into an affordable body, with promises of being a potent streetfighter.
To test that theory, the Austrian brand has brought us near its base of operations in the United States, and today we will tackle the roads along the Oceanside coast, and then head up to the famous Palomar mountain for some twisty fun.
The KTM 790 Duke has been on our short-list of bikes we have wanted to swing a leg over, ever since we saw the concept for the machine debut two years ago at EICMA.
Kramer Motorcycles is ready to make its sequel to the potent single-cylinder Kramer HKR EVO2 track bike, and again the German manufacturer has tapped a unique KTM engine to power this next edition race-focused motorcycle.
Debuting today at the Barber Vintage Festival, the Kramer GP2 prototype has broken cover, and it features the 790cc parallel-twin engine from the KTM 790 Duke. The Germans plan to develop the bike over the next 12 months, with an eye on providing a potent twin for those who are racing inclined.
Today saw the 96th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, with riders and drivers once again racing to the clouds, just outside Colorado Springs.
This year’s race was framed as Ducati vs. KTM, with the Australian claiming the outright record at Pikes Peak, after Chris Fillmore took his KTM 1290 Super Duke R up to the summit in 9:49.625.
Looking to reclaim its crown, Ducati came back to Pikes Peak after a short hiatus, enlisting the help of Carlin Dunne (of A&R fame) and Codie Vahsholtz.
The duo would square off against Cycle News test editor Rennie Scaysbrook, who would ride again on his KTM 1290 Super Duke R, while Chris Fillmore would take on the middleweight class with a KTM 790 Duke, in a quest to post a sub-10 minute time on the smaller bike.
With the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb framed as one of the most exciting in recent memory, the event surely didn’t disappoint.
The KTM 790 Duke launches a new platform for the Austrian brand, based around an 800cc parallel-twin engine.
As such, we already know that we can expect the twin-cylinder platform to spawn an adventure version of the bike, with the KTM 790 Adventure R prototype debuting at EICMA as well.
We can also expect other “790” models in the coming years, both from KTM and likely from Husqvarna as well. That is a good thing, because the KTM 790 Duke is a potent bike, rich with features.
A class-leader in electronics, the KTM 790 Duke comes with IMU-powered traction control, cornering ABS, launch control, ride-by-wire throttle modes, and an up-and-down quickshifter – all as standard equipment.
Throw in niceties like a color TFT dash, slipper clutch, and an LED headlight, and the KTM 790 Duke is easily the new standard in the category when it comes to features, but that is only part of the equation.
The real kicker though – if early indications about the pricing can be believed – is the KTM 790 Duke’s price tag, as KTM has been quoted as pricing the 790 Duke at below €10,000. This would put US pricing around the $11,000 mark, if not cheaper.
True to form, KTM North America will not be bringing the new KTM 790 Duke to US soil anytime soon.
Good news though, the American subsidiary is very excited about the KTM 1290 Adventure S coming for the 2018 model year…you know, the big ADV bike that debuted exactly a year ago in Milan.
Surely disappointing more than a few motorcycle enthusiasts in the USA, KTM says that the 790 Duke will arrive in “early fall” of 2018 – you know, when the riding season is over for most of the country – as a 2019 machine.
We are rapidly coming to the conclusion that the new KTM 790 Duke is the bike of this year’s EICMA show.
Making a potent 105hp from its 799cc parallel-twin engine, packed into a 418 lbs (wet)steel trellis body, the 2018 KTM 790 Duke brings a host of features to the middleweight sport bike category.
In typical KTM fashion, the 790 Duke left no angle behind in its high school honors geometry course, and the LED headlight builds upon the common design features that KTM has been putting together on its street-going machines.
Not quite the vision that was the KTM 790 Duke prototype, the production model still evokes the same emotions, and is handsome in its own right – allaying our fears when seeing spy shots of the machine.
Adding a TFT dash, IMU-powered traction control, cornering ABS, launch control, and an up-and-down quickshifter are all strong moves from the “Ready to Race” brand, making the KTM 790 Duke have not only the best power-to-weight ratio in its class, but it is also one of the most feature-packed.
They are calling it “The Scalpel” – a smaller, more nimble sibling to “The Beast”, aka the KTM 1290 Super Duke R. Debuting today at the EICMA show in Milan, we are talking about the new KTM 790 Duke streetfighter, which will be a 2018 model from the Austrian brand.
Based around an all-new 799cc parallel-twin engine, the KTM 790 Duke makes 105hp / 63 lbs•ft of torque, while tipping the scales at only 418 lbs when at the curb, with a full tank of gas (373 lbs dry). KTM says this makes for the best power-to-weight ratio in the class.
The 2018 KTM 790 Duke comes packed with features too. LED lights, a TFT dash, IMU-powered traction control, cornering ABS, launch control, and an up-and-down quickshifter are all standard on this “Ready to Race” machine.