2026-on KTM 990 R Duke review
KTM 990 Duke R expert review
KTM’s new £12,499 990 Duke R is an unashamed hooligan machine… but it almost didn’t happen. It was due for release last year but put on ice while Bajaj helped dig the Austrian factory out of their financial hole. Now it’s finally here, and it doesn’t disappoint.
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It uses the same 947cc parallel-twin-cylinder engine as the standard £10,999 KTM Duke 990, launched in 2024, but with more poke: up from a claimed 121bhp to 128bhp – the same as the KTM 990 RC R.
It also gets a higher-spec, fully adjustable WP Apex shock, the rear linkage from the RC R and 34% stiffer forks – up from 43mm to 48mm. It wears uprated Brembo Stylema calipers with 20mm bigger discs (up to 320mm) and semi-slick Michelin Power Cup 2 tyres.
On the road, it offers the distilled essence of a super naked. It’s sharper, more agile and playful than its 1390 Super Duke R sister, although the bigger V-twin is less Jack Russell-like and more of a longer-legged all-rounder.
The 990 bursts into life on the button with a sharp thwap, crackle and pop, but despite its intent, it ticks over quietly, like a silent assassin. At normal speeds, the parallel twin is friendly and docile. The gearbox is crisp and the power delivery linear, although the throttle response gets spikier when you ramp up the riding modes.
But the KTM is tuned for maximum attack and loaded with the kind of instant torque under hard acceleration that continually taunts the wheelie control on this 190kg (fully fuelled) tearaway.
It is a short-revving engine and easy to bang into its 10,500rpm rev limiter, but the 990 R is all about its tsunami of midrange grunt. It has just the right amount of power to be fun, but it’s easy to use and doesn’t upset the handling. It returns 46mpg during our test.
With its wide bars and generous legroom, despite rear-set pegs, the 990 R is spacious but unashamedly sporty. Its 840mm seat is 15mm higher than the standard 990’s (the whole machine is raised for quicker steering and extra ground clearance), leaving you perched high with your weight over the front to maximise feel and front grip.
Suspension is firm and beautifully controlled but never crashy, and the 990 R rolls into corners beautifully with the lightest nudge of the bars, like a race bike. You’ll never scratch the surface of its capabilities this side of a racetrack or hot ribbon of southern European mountain tarmac.
On a chilly early spring day in the UK, it’s hard to get heat in the Michelins, though, so caution is needed. Happily, the traction control works well and the Brembos are always good to go and packed with feel and glorious brutality.
Does a hard-hitting sports naked need a huge dash? It has one, anyway, strapped to the handlebars, like an oversize Rolex. On the one hand, the 8.8in widescreen (Hillman Avenger speedo, anyone?) colour TFT, taken from the RC R, is easy to read in your peripheral vision and simple to navigate via its touchscreen or new backlit switchgear buttons.
It’s loaded with colourful pictorials, connectivity and a built-in sat nav that doesn’t need to be tethered to a phone via Bluetooth to work. It also displays how many miles to go until ‘demo mode’ and all your electronic rider aids disappear. You need to stump up £887.08 for the Tech Pack to restore them all, or less to mix and match the ones you want.
With so much dash information displayed so loud, it’s like that person who talks too much – interesting to begin with, but after a few minutes…
It costs £500 less than the base 990 Duke did in ’24, which is a good start. And MCN online owners’ reviews for the standard 990 Duke are positive, despite the well-documented problems with early 790/890 models.
To reassure customers, KTM’s entire road bike range now comes with a free four-year warranty and an extra year’s free extended breakdown cover if scheduled servicing is done by an authorised dealer.
Compared to the base 990’s setup, the R gets fully adjustable WP Apex forks and shock. Rear travel is reduced 10mm to 140mm and the front up 3mm to 143mm.
As of March 2026 a typical PCP finance deal for the KTM 990 Duke R looks like this (subject to status):
- What it costs: £12,499
- PCP per month x 36 £144.90
- Total deposit payable £3250
- APR 9.9%
- Mileage 4000
- Optional Final Payment £5850
MCN Verdict
‘The distilled essence of a super naked’
In terms of hitting its design brief, the KTM 990 Duke R does it to perfection. It might be too single-minded for some, but if you want a rapid sports naked that will set your hair continually on fire while you rip up your favourite backroad, look no further.
It’s lightning quick, corners like a race bike and will stunt like a supermoto with little encouragement. Its chassis parts are top spec and do what they say on the tin, and the huge dash is impressive, if perhaps unnecessary on such an exciting machine that needs no extra entertainment.
It can be civilised, too, thanks to a motor that’s refined at normal speeds, a roomy riding position and suspension that isn’t too firm, but pottering about enjoying the scenery isn’t what the Duke 990 R is about. A four-year warranty should help give potential customers reassurance and help rebuild KTM’s reputation, too.
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