KTM 790 Duke Prototype Spotted In Testing
Rennie Scaysbrook | February 9, 2017
The KTM 790 Duke has broken cover in Europe with some wholesale changes to the prototype
The 790 retains much of the edginess of the prototype but sadly loses the sharp tail unit. Photo by morebikes.co.uk
The eagle-eyed snappers over at morebikes.co.uk have captured the road-going prototype of the KTM 790 Duke in action somewhere in Europe (Jason Bourne, please step forward).
The KTM crew created quite a stir at EICMA last year with the unveiling of the prototype 790 Duke, a bike that was expected, but still sent tongues wagging thanks to its ultra-edge styling, compact engine and electronic advancements like ride-by-wire, a quickshifter, traction control and custom riding modes.
The photo here clearly shows the 790’s parallel-twin, but changes have been made with the bike now sporting a pillion seat, a new subframe, grab handle, a new exhaust with the muffler exiting up the right rear of the machine, different handlebars, silver lower triple clamp, a more comfortable riders seat and the fitment of the same headlight as the 2017 KTM 1290 Super Duke R. It looks from a quick glance as though the forks are the same, as well as the front brake calipers and discs, wheels, and swingarm.
Imagine if the finished version looked this good! It’s doubtful, but we can dream.
The 790 will slot in nicely into the KTM range as the middle ground between the big daddy 1290 and the 390, currently the lowest capacity Duke on sale in the U.S. (although KTM also makes the 200 and 125 Duke for selected other markets). And there’s also the single-cylinder 690 Duke, a bike which received a makeover for the 2016 model year.
The Duke will also have some stiff competition when it debuts as there’s been a revival of interest from manufacturers in the middleweight nakedbike sector. Triumph has just released its brand new 765 Street Triple, Kawasaki’s got the new Z900 on dealer floors and Yamaha’s FZ-07 has won hearts around the world for its light weight and excellent performance.
