#ktm

At Motorcycle.com, we do everything we can to get our greasy mitts on the latest and greatest motorcycling has to offer throughout the year. That includes shootouts, gear testing, and single motorcycle reviews. Even in a year as fraught with challenges as 2020, our staff continued to work hard, actually doubling our normal content generation during the first half of the COVID-induced lockdowns. The self-isolating nature of motorcycling also made it easier for us to continue with business as usual when it came to testing and shooting in order to keep fresh content flowing to Motorcycle.com. 

German vehicle emissions documentation confirms that a new KTM 1290 Super Duke RR is on the way, adding a higher-end variant to join the already-impressive Super Duke R. (UPDATE Feb. 1, 2021: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has also certified the Super Duke RR, confirming the same state of tune as the Super Duke R.)

Every year, we are faced with the task of choosing Motorcycle.com’s Motorcycle of the Year (MOTY), and typically, the debate is heated – and lengthy. This year, we reached agreement remarkably quickly – a rarity with any decision made by this crew of misfits. As we say each year, however, the MOTY is not about choosing the best motorcycle of 2020. While the choice needs to be one of the best by winning one of our MO Best Of categories (MOBO), the bike needs to be something more; it needs to say something about or do something for motorcycling. Looking back at the last five years, you’ll see that we’ve spread the MO love around, choosing an adventure bike, a sportbike, a sport-touring bike, an entire motorcycle platform, and a cruiser. Each choice has been an exemplary motorcycle, but each has expanded the way we think about motorcycling. The KTM 890 Duke R, MO’s Motorcycle of the Year 2020, is a great example of this characteristic.

In Part 1 of our interview with Nick Graveley, we discussed who he is, how he got started in clay modeling, and how he goes about his work. In talking with Graveley, his enthusiasm for the job was infectious, and the conversation naturally flowed, going a lot longer than we initially anticipated.

We always say it’s a great time to be a motorcyclist. There are so many great bikes for all sorts of end uses these days. Perhaps the best example of this is the Adventure category – specifically the red hot middleweight adventure class. There are a handful of middleweights that quite thoroughly span the breadth of what moto-wanderers might consider necessary to tackle the unknown. In MO’s collective opinion, no motorcycle quite runs the gamut like Triumph’s new Tiger 900 Rally Pro.

We generally associate value with cheap when, in reality, this isn’t (necessarily) the case. The KTM 890 Duke R is a perfect example. For under $12,000 you get a motorcycle packed with performance KTM could charge 15-large for, and you still wouldn’t feel ripped off.

Here is a group of names you’ve probably heard of: Massimo Tamburini, Miguel Galluzzi, Gerald Kiska, Hans Muth, Adrian Morton, Pierre Terblanche. Hell, even if you don’t know these names, you’ve definitely seen their work. These are the men responsible for some of the greatest contemporary motorcycle designs in all of history. But have you ever thought about how a design goes from a napkin sketch and turns into a real-life motorcycle? There must be a process by which a 2D rendering transforms into a 3D object.

The Duke 390 has almost owned this class since its 2015 introduction, with a brief interruption by the new Ninja 400 Kawasaki two years ago. So it was nice of KTM to make it easy for us to mix things up a bit this year, by giving birth to the KTM 390 Adventure. It, of course, makes use of that same amazingly ingratiating little 373 cc Single-cylinder as the Duke but places it in an all-new ADV-style housing, adventuring being all the rage lately.

KTM has filed a patent application for a new low-slung saddle-shaped fuel tank, and the illustrations suggest it will be used on a new 1290 Super Adventure. KTM first introduced the rally-style tank design on the 790 Adventure R, and a similar design has since made it to the 890 and 390 Adventure models. It seems natural, then, that we would see the 1290 Super Adventure get a similar design.

After announcing the 2021 890 Adventure R and Adventure R Rally earlier this month, KTM revealed a third member of the lineup in the more street-biased 890 Adventure.

KTM announced a new 890 Adventure R and a limited edition 890 Adventure R Rally, introducing a new, Euro 5-complaint follow-up to our reigning Motorcycle of the Year, the 790 Adventure R. The 890 Adventure R will be the standard model, while the Rally model adds a number of race-ready components and will be produced in a limited run of 700 units worldwide (with 200 units destined for the U.S.). KTM hasn’t explicitly said whether the 790 will continue in its lineup alongside the 890, like it’s doing with the Duke line, but from the way KTM describes it, that doesn’t seem likely.

GasGas announced its 2021 model lineup, its first fully under the auspices of Pierer Mobility, with a range of 18 models for the North American market.

While we’ve seen the fluctuation of “entry-level” displacements swell over the past few years in the U.S., a difference in opinion still remains among riders and manufacturers alike regarding the perfect entry-level machine. Disregarding current trends, the Austrians have decided to bring the KTM 200 Duke – a model that has existed in other markets for some time now – stateside for 2020. When asked why they felt this machine would fit the U.S. market, KTM explained the decision was to give riders a more approachable entry point to the KTM family, specifically, into the Duke product range. Now interested parties have a clear path up through the Duke lineup should they choose.

Pierer Mobility is developing a new range of electric Husqvarna streetbikes for 2022. The new line will be styled after the Svartpilen and Vitpilen line, with the company giving it the tentative name of “Husqvarna E-Pilen“.

KTM is developing a range of 750cc models consisting of a 750 Duke, a 750 Adventure and a 750 Supermoto T, all of which will be manufactured in China.