Author Topic: KTM690 Duke  (Read 1476 times)

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Offline old git

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KTM690 Duke
« on: April 13, 2018, 13:20:05 »
Having bought the KTM690 Duke on a bit of a whim just into the New Year the weather has finally started to ease enough to get a couple of shortish runs out on it. Having owned a number of racing KTM 2 strokes I have always had a bit of a soft spot for the brand and their excellent spares availability. Towards the end of last year KTM dealers were substantially discounting the 390 Duke with new bikes on offer from £3099. If the weather hadn’t been so lousy I would most likely have bought one but it wasn’t and I didn’t. Come the turn of the year all the discounted bikes were gone and the small Duke suddenly wasn’t so appealing. In the post New Year boredom, waiting for my customers to wake up I started looking at the 690. Nearly 2 years on and I’m still on the rebound from the fairly brief affair with the Fireblade. The T120 was a mistake, the V-strom is a brilliant bike and more often than not is my first choice over the FJR but there’s still something missing. I’m hoping the Duke can fill the hole.

The LC4 engine seems to have been around forever and has evolved and been refined over the years, though it would seem grunt hasn’t been sacrificed as is so often the case. The original bikes were off road beasts but the Duke has no dirty pretensions. There are a few models in the recent timeline and while the very latest would have been nice to have, the cost of an extra 3 BHP wasn’t worth it. There is the standard Duke with non-adjustable WP forks at the front and pre-load only adjustment at the rear and single disc on the front. The Duke R has higher spec sussies all round and twin discs on the front.

A very low mileage (600miles) 2014 standard Duke came up reasonably locally at what seemed a fair price and after viewing the bike which was in showroom condition I haggled the price down a bit and the deal was done.
On the way home the bike fell over in the van and broke a mirror!! I ordered a replacement from Jim Aim for £18 and it was on the bike less than 24 hours later. If only all bike dealers operated the way the better KTM dealers do…

Fast forward 3 months and I’m finally getting out on it. The local roads in many places are covered with the grit that they’ve been throwing down on the roads throughout the winter. The limited salt content in this horrible stuff seems to have dissolved away but the small stones remain. There is generally 2 x 3 feet strips of clean tarmac where car tyres have cleared the debris and a lethal section of crud in the middle so using all the road to explore the limits of the handling is difficult.

There are 3 throttle response maps and so far I’ve left it in the standard (middle) setting.  Below 3K rpm the bike is snatchy which is no great surprise. Above 3K it pulls strongly and the urge gets stronger with no sign of the power tailing off right up to the 8k redline and beyond. At 150KG and with close to 70BHP, suspension on the firm side of hard and big fat tyres, all the ingredients for a back roads scratcher seem to be there. The small size of the bike, rock hard suspension and the light weight plus the lack of anything in front of you (screen, fairing, big clocks etc.) is slightly strange at first after years of big heavy, plush, well planted bikes. The urge to use the revs is addictive and the engine is incredibly responsive with surprisingly little vibration. I read a few road tests where there were complaints of excessive vibration. I think these blokes have never ridden anything other than turbine smooth IL4’s. I read the top speed is around 110-115 but the Dukes sweet zone is definitely below 90. Much above 80 and the wind blast becomes hard work very quickly. It’s not particularly happy on a constant throttle at low speed and I could never imagine long dual carriageway or motorway journeys but I think, fitted with a loud pipe, it would make a great city bike.

As I thread my way carefully between the ridges of gravel I come across some surprisingly clean sections of road and get to explore the handling and the grip offered by the Pilot Road tyres a bit more. The suspension really starts to show it’s worth when the bike is pushed hard and the single front Brembo is superb, offering power and feel with no interference from the ABS. Once or twice I thought I was a bit hot into turns but a twist of throttle and a slight push on the bars and the rear tyre just grips and relentless urge from the engine makes it all seem so easy. Uneven surfaces on turns don’t seem to upset the chosen line but you feel every bump. So far I’ve no regrets about not buying the Duke R with the higher spec suspension and extra Brembo. More than once I felt the rear wheel starting to lift under hard braking and it’s difficult to see what would be gained by more braking power. There is no TC and the ABS can be switched off. Other than that there are no toys and I’m happy with that.
The previous owner fitted a KTM Power Parts seat and apart from being frozen through in my leathers the bike seems comfy enough for many hours on twisty roads.

 I’ve still got a long way to go with the learning process and some warm sunny weather will undoubtedly help.

Have I found what I’m looking for? Watch this space……

Offline Fat Rat

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Re: KTM690 Duke
« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2018, 16:40:33 »
A great review, thanks  :thumb:
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Offline UK_Vstrom650

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Re: KTM690 Duke
« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2018, 18:06:32 »
+1 old git. Looking forward to hearing how you get on as the weather warms up  :auto-dirtbike:

Offline Asmith61

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Re: KTM690 Duke
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2018, 19:01:24 »
+ 2 for a great review  :clap:

Offline TLPower

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Re: KTM690 Duke
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2018, 19:45:43 »
A most excellent read, thank you so much for taking the time to share. :text-goodpost:



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Offline wurzel

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Re: KTM690 Duke
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2018, 20:32:28 »
Great review, I had the enduro version, it was a handful off road but fun!
The dealer you mention is my local dealer, and they are top notch.
Have fun...that motor is stonking!