Spain seems to be where everything motorcycle-related seems to be happening these days, and reports have emerged of the 2017 KTM 890 Duke being spotted during road tests. Rumours of a parallel-twin KTM engine have been floating around for a while now, and photos on the internet show a compact design twin, with liquid-cooling, contained in a trellis frame.
No information on specific capacity, with KTM’s engine naming convention attaching a “90” to every model in their range, so this mill could be anything from an 800 to a 900, in terms of size. Since the 690 Duke is actually 690 cc, a logical guess would put this engine closer to 900 cc in capacity.
Slotting into the gap between the 690 and 1290 Dukes in KTM’s range, the prototype appears to be close to the 690 Duke in terms of appearance. The wheelbase is super-compact, possibly making this a wheelie-weapon, something that has become a Duke trademark. The front forks look like WP up-side down units, which makes sense with WP being a KTM subsidiary company. An ABS sensor is also in evidence on the front wheel.
Visually, the bike looks small, in keeping with the other Dukes that favour quick response and tight handling. If this 2017 KTM 890 Duke sees production, competition in this market segment is fierce, with the 890 Duke going up against the Yamaha MT-09 and MT-07, Triumph Speed Triple, MV Agusta Brutale 800, Ducati Monster 821 and Hypermotard 939, BMW F 800 R and Kawasaki Z800.
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