O Captain! my Captain! your generosity knows no bounds! I’d not have had the pleasure, the privilege, and the opportunity to experience the 890 (and many other machines), were it not for my good friend. Thank you.
The first, of two separate reviews required, is for 99% of motorcyclists, the second for the 1%:
1. The 890R is the best bike most people could ever possibly want or ride. It’s very well balanced and has endless engineering R&D behind it. It makes most riders seem better, and it helps make them faster. Can be a drawback, easily going faster on it than you notice or than your capacity, but the electronic nannies and the configuration of the bike will save you wherever physics will permit. More power than you’ll ever need; corners like it’s on rails; leans telepathically; engine doesn’t vibrate you numb, despite running two cylinders; super light-weight; fuel efficient; wonderful suspension; top of the line brakes; a TFT display the size of an iPhone Plus. It’s priced so fairly and the 890 is so very capable, one could wonder if it’s going to make the Duke 790 obsolete (for all but the A2 market) or the SuperDuke 1290 superfluous. So very comfortable, you could ride it for days. It’s a young and healthy racehorse that seems to already know where you want to go. Just when you think there’s little more manufacturers can improve on motorbikes than making them lighter or more powerful, KTM brings out the Duke 890R. The city, the track, touring, weekend blasting, it does them all exceptionally well – it’s a Jack of all trades, master of all.
2. This 1% review is for those riders who get their thrills from polishing a turd, not from pissing matches. It’s not for those who like to show how fast they can go, or for those who need to keep up with their buddies so they can sleep at night.
This cynical 1% might find the 890 grapes sour, wondering if KTM crapped their lederhosen, resorting to putting a parallel twin in a SuMo chassis. Was it a stroke of genius or did they have a stroke, copying the Japanese by a faustian selling-of-their-soul in order to make the Duke ‘Super-Scalpel’ 890R that light, cheap, fast, and flickable. Sure, they softened the profound disappointment by altering engine harmonics to offer a simulated ‘V’ response – much like simulating eating or sex, it remains just that… simulated. Sadly and placidly, the engine and mapping also divides the power into two distinct curves, creating a lull in midrange.
If you’re that 1%, you’ll also nitpick and say the brakes are ok but stock discs and pads deliver mediocre stopping power for most of the braking run. The braking feel is overpowered by the grip of the tires and thanks to ‘das motor und die Konfiguration’, you can’t count on engine braking. I suppose the late and gentle bite of the brakes may be on purpose, so as to protect an inexperienced rider?
Considering this electric and frugal nature of their Euro5-compliant machine, engine heat can be bothersome.
Let’s fire the engineer responsible for the shifter. It needs an extension, unless you want to ride it pigeon-toed.
The TFT, though very nice, is useless when it matters – redline-ing the bike, changed ‘cleverly’ (cue the eye rolling) to orange – nowhere in your field of view and doesn’t manage to be bright enough or grab your attention.
“The bike doesn’t make you work for it” makes everything come too easily, and this speed and ease comes at the cost of thrill. Do you want the best bike or do you want excitement? Some want to feel it was technique that made it happen, not the machine that made them fast. The 890 is configured to be ridden Moto3 style, yet to have the look and DNA remnants of a SuMo. Can you make it thrill you? Sure. Get the track-pack, turn off nannies, and ride it SuperMoto style… But then, wouldn’t you just love a thumper powering you, or a V twin? You’d be ‘working’ to add the thrill of ‘instability’ to a perfectly stable machine. The 1% may prefer a rush and a challenge, even though a bike may be more difficult, slower, less efficient, not as well balanced, and even more raw and primitive.
Much like a manual car vs. seamless gearbox; a 911 vs. Ferrari; clutch vs. quick-shift & auto-blip; the raunchy girl next door vs. the insta-model… it’s all a question of taste, sensations and feelings, personal desires, and an appreciation of imperfection.
Can a motorbike be too perfect?
Writer:
Peter ‘Safety Bear’ Bokor