Simply so we’re clear: Whereas it’s technically right to say this new street-legal KTM 990 Duke R is the leveled-up model of the usual 990 Duke, it’s extra correct to say it was created to stay fortunately ever after on the racetrack, aggressively chopping wooden lap after wonderful lap alongside the way in which.
In truth, the prototype of this R mannequin was shaken out at Mid-Ohio within the Tremendous Hooligan class and carried out exceedingly effectively within the arms of KTM’s Media Relations Supervisor Chris Fillmore, a former skilled racer. In consequence, the 2026 990 Duke R represents a multiyear effort to construct a true-to-form, track-capable weapon that continues to be street-legal.
My journey kicked off in Palm Springs, California, the place KTM offered a technical briefing on the 990 Duke R and clarified that it’s manufactured in Austria (regardless that KTM is a part of Bajaj Mobility, the 990s will not be inbuilt India like its 390 fashions).
KTM lined the route plan and different housekeeping particulars, however by then my mind was preoccupied by how racy the bike regarded resting on the monitor stand, with that massive fats “R” on the tank. It regarded alive, prefer it had Crimson Bull flowing by its orange tubular-steel body and had someplace essential to get to. It appeared to get angrier the longer it sat there.
However I wanted to acclimate to the little particulars first, like the colourful new 8.8-inch TFT show, which is navigable through touchscreen or buttons on the left bar cluster. It additionally contained a split-screen operate that allowed me to click on and drag the widgets to no matter proportions I desired. I clicked and dragged my map to at least one half of the display and left the remainder of the display to toggle by different particulars like trip mode, velocity, gear indicator, and so on.
Like different trendy KTM’s I’ve examined, this new 990 Duke R has a variety of adjustability accessible through menus on the TFT show, akin to commonplace trip modes (Sport, Road, Rain, and Customized) and non-obligatory trip modes (Observe and two extra Customized modes) accessible as a part of the Tech Pack. However the true showstopper right here is that you would be able to drill down into every trip mode and nice tune settings for throttle response, launch management, ABS, traction management, anti-wheelie mode, quickshifter, and extra.
As soon as I mounted up and the music began, I instantly seen the brief, stout posture of this bare platform and the low, flat, high-leverage handlebar. It felt sharp below me. After I toggled the Begin button, the compact LC8c parallel-Twin had a pronounced growl that alluded to its 126 hp with 10,500-rpm rev restrict. Response was exceedingly clean. No snatchy throttle, no flame out off-idle, simply calm ahead motion.
However proper about right here is the place I had a miscue, by chance toggling into Rain mode, which instantly muted the ability and set the anti-wheelie and different security settings into overdrive. Fast snaps of the throttle felt extra like light supportive faucets. To treatment this, I rashly overcompensated and chosen Observe mode on the subsequent site visitors gentle, unleashing every kind of high-performance parameters and unlocking launch management.
I do know what you’re considering. However no, I didn’t use launch management on the road. Did it happen to me? In fact it did.
Heading out of city, we jumped on the freeway, which, as you already know by taking a look at this motorbike, is the place it shined like a diamond. In case you are acquainted with the bottom 990 Duke, the pegs on the “R” mannequin sit 1.3 inches farther again and 0.5 inch greater, with the handlebar sitting 0.4 inch decrease and 0.9 inch ahead. Nonetheless, my well-worn 6-foot-2-inch body managed the wind buffeting for the 20 minutes we engaged KTM’s not often accessed “morning commuter” mode. A lot farther might need been uncomfortable.
As soon as we jumped into the twisties, I started studying what that “R” designation actually means. First off, the 990 Duke R is supplied with absolutely adjustable WP Apex suspension, with a beefier 48mm fork than the 43mm one on the bottom mannequin. The rear shock is adjustable for each high- and low-speed compression along with preload and rebound, and it’s mated to a brand new linkage-suspension designed to ship small bump compliance whereas sustaining the composure needed for monitor duties.
From my seat-of-the-pants perspective, the higher-spec suspension contributed to a agency and exceedingly steady platform after I dropped the bike into turns. I keep in mind considering that it felt as if there have been two of me going across the nook: one sitting over the entrance tire and the opposite over the rear. It was great however bizarre, as a result of in my expertise agency suspension tends to imply agency all over the place, so I anticipated the fork to be harsh after I loaded it below braking. Nevertheless, when it was time to choose myself up out of the nook and path the brakes into the following one, I discovered the fork to be clean and compliant, shifting by the stroke simply sufficient to plant the entrance finish whereas making ready me for one more pleased drop.
GEAR UP: STREET
It was proper round this level within the trip the place I donned my scientist cap to see precisely how planted and steady the 990 Duke R actually was within the turns. As you in all probability know, being mid-corner with respectable lean angle shouldn’t be the most effective time to start out jacking round with shifting and throttle inputs. Quite the opposite, we need to preserve the chassis as steady as attainable to maximise our accessible traction. My check bike was outfitted with Quickshifter+, which generated seamless fast upshifts and rev-matched downshifts. I began fidgeting with it to see if it will unsettle the chassis within the corners. However nothing occurred. Certain, I may hear the revs change, however the shifts had been so clear and clean I couldn’t really feel them from the seat of the pants. The rattling bike didn’t budge; it simply held its line and remained glued to the bottom. In response, I bumped my experiment to Defcon 1 and began enjoying with the throttle, requesting ham-fisted energy pulses to be despatched to the 180/55 Michelin Energy Cup 2 tire, however nonetheless the bike remained locked down and composed, sustaining a clear line throughout the corners.
The remainder of the day was largely canyons, so I had loads of time to offer the throttle a exercise. Apparently, the 126 horses generated by the 990 Duke R had been thrilling and enjoyable however by no means intimidating, regardless of the state of affairs I used to be in. I by no means felt that the motorbike was going to react in a wierd or unpredictable means after I twisted the throttle. Quite the opposite, it exhibited a pleasant stability of uncooked torquey energy and excessive rpm pull with out punishing me for mistimed inputs.
The following morning, we packed up and headed to Chuckwalla Raceway, which sits in the course of the desert an hour east of Palm Springs. To be completely sincere, I used to be mildly nervous concerning the day. Why? Properly, for starters, I’d by no means spun any laps at Chuckwalla and I used to be going to be on monitor with nationwide pro-level journalists and employees, with all of the bikes getting race slicks and tire heaters for added depth. However possibly the most important trigger for concern was the truth that I used to be solely 5 weeks post-op from complete knee alternative surgical procedure. Sure, my physician ultimately signed me off after I promised to depart his workplace, and I did have a little bit of seat time on my BMW R 1300 RT-P a couple of days previous to this launch, however using a brand new motorbike with reliable racers on an unfamiliar racetrack is a complete totally different stage of stress.
Fortunately, a couple of minutes earlier than I pulled into Chuckwalla, I remembered my tried-and-true police motor competitors routine to assist calm my nerves: a Starbucks iced latte and a chocolate croissant. Caffeinated and carbo-loaded, I used to be prepared.
After I received suited up, I headed over to the riders assembly, the place KTM’s tech employees stated they bumped up our suspension base settings from Road to Sport. In doing this, it reconfigured all elements of the varied clicker changes that affect damping, basically stiffening issues up for the extra forces the monitor (and slicks) had been going to dish out. Staffers additionally dropped at our consideration that the taillights and mirrors had been eliminated, a fast two-minute course of to get the bikes prepared for the monitor.
I found one other cool track-related half on the 990 Duke: a Brembo MCS radial grasp cylinder. This “A number of Click on System” allows the rider to regulate the mechanical ratio of the lever by altering the lever pivot distance. I set it on the mid-level (20mm) mark and seen instantly it generated a considerably faster and shorter response after I pulled the lever.
GEAR UP: TRACK
With the inexperienced flag flying, I headed out to acclimate to the monitor. Fortunate for me the group of seasoned journos was beneficiant sufficient to ease the tempo and “tow” me across the monitor, displaying me the right strains alongside the way in which. Nonetheless, we carried sufficient velocity within the first session to really feel the knee puck check the ability ceiling of the ibuprofen because it roared by the bones and muscle tissues hooked up to my new titanium joint.
By the second session, the KTM 990 Duke R started to precise itself, as a result of at that time I knew the monitor, wasn’t involved about my new knee, and trusted the tires fully. The very first thing that caught out was that rattling motor. Chuckwalla has two straight sections, however most areas are double-apex turns and brief blasts between corners. And with this 990 Duke R, I used to be capable of maintain gears out of a nook and let the motor scream from the rooftops all the way in which to the following one, with out the motor falling on its face. Insanely enjoyable.
And do you keep in mind how I raved concerning the chassis composure when cranked over mid-turn throughout my avenue trip? Nothing modified on monitor, regardless that the speeds and forces had been a lot greater. The 990 Duke R was planted and held its line fantastically. Did the Sport settings really feel firmer than the Road settings? Completely. However nonetheless so composed that it compelled me to start out rolling on throttle earlier and more durable throughout nook exits. And the brakes? This new R is supplied with radially mounted, 4-piston Brembo Stylema monoblock entrance calipers that supplied one-finger-stoppie ranges of energy lap after lap, with no fade or change in lever journey. Very like I’d been discovering about different elements of the R, the brakes had been assertive however not overly aggressive, so I by no means apprehensive about grabbing a poorly measured handful. Even after I overcooked a couple of turns as a result of I forgot I wasn’t a nationwide professional.
Did I’ve any complaints or considerations whereas I ingested extra orange Kool-Support because the day went on? Properly, I did inquire about some false neutrals throughout a chicane-elevation-change part, explaining that a couple of instances whereas leaning right into a right-hander, the bike would lose energy and free rev. It turned out that the Quickshifter+ might be gently “bumped” in-between gears in case your boot placement is a bit off, which it was at instances attributable to my squirming round to get my knee snug. They supplied to make an adjustment to the shift lever for me, however I declined, deciding as an alternative to pay nearer consideration to my foot. I by no means had the difficulty once more.
I’ll shut with this suggestion: Purchase a 2026 KTM 990 Duke R, take it to a neighborhood monitor day as a lot as you need, hit the rev limiter, interact the launch management, and scream your head off. You received’t have extra enjoyable than this. And positive, if you wish to cruise round on the road, commute on it, and hit some backroads, completely go for it. However don’t say I didn’t warn you when this factor begins getting offended since you let it sit for too lengthy.
2026 KTM 990 Duke R Specs
- Base Worth: $13,399
- Worth as Examined: $14,299 (Tech Pack)
- Web site: KTM.com
- Guarantee: As much as 4 yrs. w/ vendor service
- Engine Kind: Liquid-cooled, transverse parallel-Twin, DOHC w/ 4 valves per cyl.
- Displacement: 947cc
- Bore x Stroke: 92.5 x 70.4mm
- Horsepower: 126 hp @ 9,500 rpm (manufacturing unit declare)
- Torque: 76 lb-ft @ 6,750 rpm (manufacturing unit declare)
- Transmission: 6-speed, cable-actuated slip/help moist clutch
- Closing Drive: Chain
- Wheelbase: 58.3 in.
- Rake/Path: 24.1 levels/3.9 in.
- Seat Peak: 33.1 in.
- Moist Weight: 419 lb (manufacturing unit declare)
- Gasoline Capability: 3.9 gal.
Quinn Redeker is a contributing editor. He wears Schuberth helmets, Richa attire, Lee Parks Design gloves, and Indie Ridge boots. Discover out extra at Quinn’s web site, PoliceMotorTraining.com.
