IMS Long Beach demo ride review - KTM 690 Duke

[fnfalman]

So, you ask, what the hell is a Duke? It's not a mini Super Duke. It's not a motard...or is it? What is it good for? What'll she do, mister?

First of all, it's not a motard. It's a thumper naked street bike. It's not even a mini SuperDuke even though there are some similarities. It sits more up right than the SD's slightly leaned forward position, and not quite as tall (by my leg's calculations). Very light, very agile.

1. Engine - smooth for a thumper. Revs also very quickly, much faster than one would think for a big bore single cylinder. Excellent torque and horsepower. Geared slightly tall in 1st gear, but not too bad once you get past the 3000-RPM range.

2. Brake - phenomenal!!! Hard action with one finger. Not much modulation though, alas. Good rear brake that doesn't seem to be too prone for locking up.

3. Suspension - tight!!! Sport bike proper suspension here. Totally different than the KTM motards. Responsive chassis, too.

4. General riding characteristics - quick to get up to speed and stable until high 80s-MPH and then the front just get down right squirelly in a not-fun kind of a way. Since that the seat is a sport bike seat instead of a motard/dirt bike seat, you can't crawl up on it and put weight on the front end. If it were mine, I'd somehow drop the handlebar by at least 1" and properly drop the triple tree clamp too. Definitely needs more weight on the front end for high speed runs. Very stable through the curves without the dartiness of a bouncing motard's suspension. More of a knee-dragger than a foot-outter. Gear shifting is stiff and hard to tell if I had changed the gear at all, but at least the movement is short.

Sweet ride as long as people understand the instability of the front end at high speed. Definitely a canyon carver/urban assault vehicle for a person who likes a lightweight commuter/fun bike but doesn't want the wallowy motard. I'd choose this bike over a thumper motard.