Ktm 990 Duke
KTM 990 DUKE
The sound of music
BRIAN CATTERSON
THE HILLS ARE ALIVE! EVER since KTM debuted its 950 Adventure at the 2000 Munich Show, motorcyclists have wondered when that bike’s V-Twin engine would make its way into a proper streetbike. A prototype 950 Duke was in fact displayed at last year’s Munich Show, but it’s been all quiet on the Austrian front since then.
Until now. For the past few months, the normally serene countryside surrounding the sleepy town of Mattighofen has been shattered by the sound of briskly ridden, bellowing V-Twins. Just 12 examples of the so-called “990 Duke” have been produced so far, and Cycle World was given an opportunity to ride one of the first prototypes. Never mind the “Super Duke” stickers on the bike in the photos; that’s an in-house nickname that’s unlikely to make it to market.
And when might that be? Not anytime soon: Production is currently scheduled for October of 2004, for release as a 2005 model.
It will be worth the wait.
Recent headlines in various motorcycle magazines (this one included) have trumpeted the 950 Adventure as KTM’s first streetbike, but that’s not entirely accurate. Never mind the numerous street-legal dual-purpose and supermotard bikes the company has offered in recent years, the first KTM streetbike was produced in 1951, less than 20 years after Hans Trunkenpolz founded the company as a repair shop. As testimony, a 1956 R 125 Grand Tourist is parked along with a number of other classic KTMs in the stairwell of the company’s shiny, new (and very orange) office building. Among these are a couple of scooters dating from the 1950s, plus a 1970s off-road bike branded as a “Penton,” legacy of the original U.S. importer, John Penton, the man who convinced KTM to go into the dirtbike business.
NAKED & naughty
Speaking of accuracy in reporting, it can’t really be said that the KTM factory is in Mattighofen. As KTM Sportmotorcycles West’s Scot Harden put it, “KTM is Mattighofen.” It’s true. Aside from a quaint downtown area, the majority of Mattighofen is made up of industrial buildings sporting KTM logos. After parking my mietwagen (German for rental car, though it would make a great name for an ambulance) in the visitors’ lot of the main office building, I looked around and noted the assembly plant out back, the new R&D/Racing (say entwicklungszentrum) division across the driveway, and way over in the yonder comer of the yard, KTM Kühler, which makes radiators, oil-coolers and the like for Ducati, Volkswagen and others. And on the way to my hotel the previous evening, I’d spotted the engine plant (Motorenwerk) a few kilometers down the road, where the KTM Singles and Twins and now even Husaberg motors are manufactured, KTM having acquired the Swedish brand in 1995.
It’s a busy little burg. During the fiscal year 2002-03 (which ended on August 31, the day before I arrived), the supposedly “tiny” manufacturer churned out some 71,000 motorcycles-more than Triumph or Ducati, to name two better-known brands. Nearly a third of these were earmarked for the U.S., incidentally, with more to come. Says Marketing Director Winfried Kerschhaggl, “The USA is our biggest market, but there is still some room for growth there. The potential for off-road bikes in Europe is almost filled, which is why we need to head in the direction of streetbikes.”
That’s a logical step for a company whose sales have roughly tripled in the past five years, after going bankrupt and being sold to investors in 1991-92. That rapid growth rate forced some critical decisions, such as whether to increase the size of the factory to produce more parts in-house, or to farm them out. In the end, company officials chose a combination, building the new offices and factory in 1999, and adding the R&D/Racing and engine-assembly plants in 2002.
One measure of KTM’s growth is its decision to acquire Husaberg. Asked why the company did this, Advertising Director Erich Sinzinger replied, “Because we want to have a product for individuals who don’t want to go with a big company, something uncommon.” It wasn’t too many years ago that KTMs were uncommon!
Which in a roundabout way brings us back to the Duke. Because while KTM orange might be fairly prevalent at motocross and off-road races nowadays, it’s not often seen on the street.
The 990 Duke aims to change that. How so? For one thing, the Duke’s target sales price is “less than the Adventure,” which currently retails for $11,998 in the USA. That would make it competitive with other European naked bikes-notably the Aprilia Tuono, which the Duke development team identified as its primary competition early on. As evidence, Project Manager Philipp Habsburg showed me a notebook chock-full of results from their in-house comparison testing-which, not surprisingly, showed the Duke to be up to the task. Whereas the Adventure was designed for unquestionable reliability on round-the-world tours (that’s why it’s carbureted, and features a secondary ignition curve that lets it mn on low-octane fuel such as one might find in Mexico or India), the Duke is tuned for outright performance. Though the first prototypes used the 942cc V-Twin engine from the 950 Adventure, engineers were unable to meet their performance goals. As a result, displacement was increased to 999.8cc by way of a lmm-bigger bojçe and a 2.4mmlonger stroke (101 x 62.4mm), the maximum possible dimensions. A new Keihin fuel-injection system with 48mm throttle bodies now works in conjunction with altered cam timing, larger valves, increased compression and a higher redline (10,250 rpm, up from 9500) to give the Duke a claimed 120 horsepower at the rear wheel, well up on the Adventure’s 97. Torque is up as well, the Duke’s claimed 73 foot-pounds marginally improving upon the Adventure’s 70. A new exhaust sees the header pipe from the rear cylinder bend forward under the engine, then loop back to join the forward cylinder’s header before splitting again to enter the dual, catalyst-equipped mufflers under the seat. The gear ratios also are new, the Duke featuring a taller first through third and a shorter fifth and sixth, plus a taller final drive. Claimed top speed for the minimally faired motorcycle is in the region of 150 mph-“depending,” as Habsburg put it, “on the power of your arms.”
The Duke’s chassis is also based on that of the Adventure, with a couple of changes. First, its steel-trellis frame and aluminum swingarm are each 1.8 inches shorter, helping to reduce wheelbase from 61.9 to 56.6 inches. And second, its frame is made of lmm-thick tubes, as opposed to the Adventure’s 1.5mm. As a result, the Duke’s frame weighs just 8 pounds.
That lack of weight was the first thing I noticed as I prepared to saddle up the Duke. Rolling the bike off its sidestand, I was reminded of a showbike, light in weight due to its hollow engine. But this was a running motorcycle! Not only is the Duke feather-light (claimed dry weight is 394 pounds, and 429 full of gas), but that weight is positioned veiy low in the chassis-lower even than on the 640 LC4 Supermoto I’d taken for a spin the previous afternoon.
That’s no coincidence, because while the 990 is meant as an extension of the Duke line, it’s clearly a purpose-built streetbike rather than a modified dirtbike. True to form, it makes do with slightly shorter suspension travel, its WP fork and shock (KTM owns the Dutch suspension manufacturer) sporting 5.3 and 6.3 inches of travel, respectively. Moreover, it rolls on cast five-spoke wheels shod with Pirelli Diablo street tires and stops via dual Brembo four-pad front disc brakes.
That said, as I settled into the KTM’s saddle, I was struck by how much it in fact reminded me of a regular Duke. That impression only got stronger once underway, because the diminutive Twin flicks back and forth as easily as a Single. Backing it into comers, Supermoto-style, is as simple as combining a light squeeze on the front brake lever with a well-timed downshift, and maybe a touch of rear brake-all easily modulated, incidentally, even if the hydraulic clutch engagement is a bit grabby from a standstill. Suspension action is similarly superb-even without a shock linkage—and handling remains neutral to the point that the footpegs touch down, which they do a tad early by sportbike standards. Feedback from the tires also proved excellent, as a little wet-roads testing confirmed.
Where the Duke feels least like a Supermoto is in engine performance. And can I get a hallelujah for that?! Anyone who’s ever ridden (or raced) a Supermoto bike knows how much fun a Single can be on a tight-and-twisty road, but once the comers open up, the party’s over. The 990 Duke makes fast comers fun again! Not to mention straightaways, because this has got to be the easiest bike to wheelie, ever.
And the Duke is just the tip of the iceberg, because back in the KTM R&D department, I caught a glimpse of the future. There, being prepared for its debut at the October Tokyo Motor Show, was the RC8, a radical V-Twinpowered sportbike! Talk about taking on the Japanese at their own game...
That sort of aggressive pride is apparent throughout KTM, and rampant in the R&D and Racing departments, where the young, enthusiastic employees have upholstered stools with KTM seat covers, bolted orange fenders and numberplates onto their Razor scooters.. .one even built an SX125-powered go-kart. Trophies, posters and numberplates-many autographed-hang everywhere, reinforcing the impression that this company is poised for success. It is. Welcome to the big leagues, KTM! □
