2016 EICMA Motorcycle Show: KTM Showcases 790 Duke Protoype

The KTM 790 Duke was among the most highly anticipated new motorcycles for EICMA 2016. Sadly though, KTM fans will have to wait longer as even though the Austrian bikemaker did showcase the 790 Duke, it was in Protoype avatar. KTM claims that the upcoming 790 Duke will be among the best handling bikes in its segment, along with impressive performance, and given its recent range of products we will stick with their stance, and the new bike has our attention. The KTM 790 Duke Prototype also indicates the sharp and edgy styling the upcoming motorcycle will possess and it should easily be among the most striking middleweight naked bikes on sale globally. LED headlights will make it to production, but sadly, the badass-looking under-seat exhaust pipe will be replaced by a conventional single-sided unit. 

The new bike will sit above the 690 Duke that received a facelift last year and the LC8c (‘c’ for ‘compact’); and the twin-cylinder motor will be more refined than the single-cylinder unit found on the 690 Duke. Talking of which, the liquid-cooled mill is rumoured to deliver over 100PS of power, which should make it a fun bike to ride given the Austrian bikemaker’s dedication to keeping the kerb weight as low as possible. The upcoming 790 Duke will also feature ride-by-wire throttle, electronic treats like multiple rider modes, multi-level traction control, switchable ABS and integrated ‘MY RIDE’ connectivity as seen on the new 390 Duke. Since the bike is still in development stage, we will have to wait till 2017 for the KTM 790 Duke’s production version to be unveiled. It will compete against the Kawasaki Z800 (Z900 expected to replace it next year), Yamaha MT-09, and the Triumph Street Triple in our market. 

KTM officials also hinted that an adventure bike based on the 790 platform is also on the cards.  We expect the upcoming bike to follow the same design language as seen on the KTM 1050 Adventure, with a tall windscreen, raised exhaust muffler, bash plates and spoke wheels. The KTM 790 Adventure will feature a long travel suspension and new subframe to better suit its off-road exploits. Powering the bike will be the same LC8c parallel-twin motor, but with the impetus being more on low-end torque. The new KTM 790 Adventure will rival the likes of the Triumph Tiger 800 and the Honda Africa Twin.