I absolutely love mine: brilliant power and handling and the brakes perfectly illustrate just how good brakes can be. Best machine I've ever ridden and I started 50 years ago.

Great review. I've just bought one. Turns up next week. I've had 4 KTM's with no issues. 2008 990 superduke R, 2015 1290 superduke R SE, 2019 1290 Superduke R , 2005 990 Superduke and now waiting for the 2021 Duke R with full track and tech pack unlocked. It's only done 890 miles aswell which was spooky!

Love the KTM, just bought this years 390Duke, very inspiring and a natural trainer up to the 890Duke.

I absolutley love KTMs, had a 990SD and a 950 SM, but I've heard so many horror stories with the new engines I must admit it's putting me off getting another one.

Looking forward to your ride on the new Monster .Heard its even better in many ways.Thanks John.

Brilliant bike! Looks like a blast.

Hi Mark . Love yer reviews. A review and your thoughts on the suzuki katana would be appreciated 🙂.

Taking my test soon. I will get a 390 duke first, but I aspire to one of these. Very impressive bike. Great review.

Only have the 12cc duke 2018, But! still a great little bike, so I only imagine how awesome it is to ride ( 890 R ) I am really looking into full A1 license this year, so I can get one. Great! Great!! Review, Lucky you don't do food, or you'd have a lot of over weight people on your hand, due to your awesome reviews.

Only due to KTM’s reliability issues, I pick the MT09SP every time. I love riding the 890R but wouldn’t want to own one. I had the 790Duke and it suffered oil and coolant leaks so traded it after a year. Ready to Race as much as Ready to Repair

Had one for four months now can't stop laughing everytime I ride it the torque is the deal breaker for me that instant response is brilliant (unlike my brothers RS765) even at 63yrs old. Rode a new Tuono 660 the other day couldn't believe the difference in the mid range so flat on the Aprilia.

After watching all the reviews on this bike, yours is the most in depth in terms of real world riding. I want to know what it’s like in a straight line, when there’s not a corner. I want to know the things you explained. I’ve had a 790 duke and a Gen 3 SDR out for testing and I’ve never ridden this. I have a Tuono V4 factory and your review is making me want one of these lol. The only thing that concerns me is that I get used to power very quickly and then I get bored lol. Not much will touch a KTM for fun on a blast. That high seating position (super moto Ergonomics) really grabs you by the scruff of the neck

Watched for a 2nd time having just watched your more recent 390 Duke video. This bike was awesome when I test rode it last summer 21, but in the end I bought a nearly new Triumph Speed Triple RS, slightly heavier but in a good way, comfortable, still very fast without being insane, lots of low down torque, fantastic Brembo brakes, but hopefully no reliability issues. It came fully loaded with accessories as well with just under 1k miles on it. Had thought about getting an MT09-SP, but there are just so many of them and prefer the looks of the Speed Triple RS. Seems more premium quality. Just wish KTM had better reliability and customer service and satisfaction. Paying an extra £700 to unlock special features as in Tech pack on an already premium top of their range model is not on. ATB Mark.

Beautiful bike.

You do make good reviews! Thank you! This bike...well, probably the one without an R, will soon be in my garage. I hope! Working on it...oops, come to think of something! I haven't tested one yet! Well, that's the easy bit! Again, thank you for thorough reviews.

Great review Mark, as always! Clear, honest and full. I haven't owned a KTM, but they've moved into my consciousness thanks to the 790 Duke and Adv when I was looking at fun commuter. Isn't the 790 Duke known as "The Scalpel"? I have to admit I'm disappointed by KTM and the direction they're going in with the various "packs". Why, when the 790 platform comes loaded out of the box with the whole electronics package (the tech pack), are we now having to spend another £700-800 to get these unlocked?! It's clearly no longer expensive to develop nor include this technology so why are we paying a premium for what other manufacturers are beginning to include as standard, including KTM themselves with the 790?! Tbh, for £12k, once I'd paid for the optional packs on the 890, I'd buy a MV Dragster (secondhand) with its tech as standard and considerably better looks!

Great review mark , I’m desperate to make this my next bike , I’m going for a test ride on the hornet at crescent Honda next Saturday 17th , yes the same hornet you tested 🤣spoke to Steve at crescent and he tells me that they’ll be selling it soon but because of the extras it will be over £7000 but I’ve set my heart on the duke , I’m coming from a Honda adv 350 bought from cresent new in March, do you think the R is too much and I should be looking at the standard 890 duke 🤔top review again by the way, I like your reviews as I’m also 5ft 7” 😂👍

A bike with looks you either love or loathe. A big saying here with KTM is ‘ Showroom Friday, workshop Monday’. To each his own though, there are many loyal KTM owners out there.

Had mine for 2 years now about 7000 miles without a single problem

I've not ridden this bike but KTM are definitely leading the way with their displays.

Great review

Duke R Duke R , so good you reviewed it twice. Lovely bike, would be wasted on me.

Hi Mark, will you or can you review the KTM Duke 990 at some point soon as its the next logical step up for those that have a 790 or 890 Duke and maybe thinking of making the change. This video was the catalyst to me buying my 890 Duke GP after watching this video, i took a test ride and bought the bike.

I'm getting the Duke 890 R 2022 for my very first bike.

How do you find the low rpm ride quality? I have a 690 and want to upgrade, but the way this engine lurtches and lugs around is a real turn off to an otherwise phenominal motorcycle. Does the 890 run in a similar fashion or is it smooth?

This bike looks fun. I never trusted ktm’s to be reliable. Last year a bought a 300xcw. It’s been abused by me n still runs amazing.

It looks sharp!! What do you think which bike is better this one or the street triple rs

Well I also had KTM 1290 r , 20 plate new model...After delivery as new, on my evening trip as mileage just 50 miles on clock, MALFUNCTION CAME< CHECK ENGINE

Hi Mark I was so hoping you would review this bike, I still have my zx6 like you do... I still love is looks and have no complaints it's a great bike but coming up to 3 years ownership in February, would you swap yours for an 890r ???

Hi Mark, How was the reliability on your duke 790? I have a duke 390 & looking to upgrade, my bike has been reliable & no problems at all. I’m really interested in the 890r but KTM reliability problems is a bit of a concern. I also like the MT-09 or Street Triple RS. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Cheers

Was a toss up between this bike and MT-09 and decided on Yamaha for reliability. Now to wait till it arrives as they are all sold out at the moment /=

The camera angle is just fine; i prefer to look at the dash.

The entire review you rarely revved the bike higher than 5k RPM. Why? How can you test if a bike has uncomfortable vibrations when you never leave the rev range where practically every bike is smooth. I would suggest to stay in 2nd or 3rd gear and accelerate from 3k, 4k, 5k, 6k, 7k, and keep the engine at those revs for more than one second to see if the power stays consistent and at what point vibrations begin and how strong they are. Always short-shifting at 5k won't tell me anything about the vibrations. I don't care how smoothly it accelerates from 2k RPM in 6th gear. People who ride naked bikes don't ride them like cruisers or heavy touring bikes.

890 just needs a fuel ⛽ tank and hopefully its reliable !!

Re-uploaded?

I want this bike so bad but I have no clue on the reliability?

Would you take this or the mt09 sp?

Deja vu....

I still love my Yammie X Max 300 🥇❤️🇦🇺💪🏼

Not made of money so I probably should’ve bought the new mt09 instead of my 890r. That said I absolutely love this bike! But reliability will always be a concern. We all know the good things about this scalpel but what you don’t hear is it can get pretty hot. The Quick shifter can be an issue on some bikes.. my bike! Although that can be sorted out down the road. But the most aggravating is 1000 miles in my chain/main sprocket area started developing a very annoying chirping/squeaking sound which has me cleaning it every 150 miles to remedy the noise. I’m fighting the dealer over it before the warranty is up, they’re saying more chain maintenance I think there’s a deeper issue. Although I hope not. The Michlin power cup 2 are exceptional, but dangerous in the wet and temperatures below 40 Fahrenheit. Also the rubber is extremely soft and punctures easily. That’s not really a problem though, just buy different tires. Conclusion, I’m an idiot and it’s a whole lot of fun! Shop wise

So you've got to pay another 600 odd quid to be able to use all the tech options that are already built into the electronics? What a ripoff, KTM can poke that where the sun doesn't shine! I also hear that KTM do not warranty any of the electrical systems on the bike and that's from new! They have to be the most shady motorcycle manufacturer out there!

That exhaust is shocking. Probably the worse standard can I've seen

Afraid I don't get the look of KTMs all that orange, and the graphics on the plastic, look rather tacky, and old fashioned. And yes that headlight is very ugly, seems to be a KTM thing.

Looks quite OK but this head lamp is just ugly as hell