KTM 990 Duke R (2025) - Technical Review

KTM’s model lineup isn’t short of big-number beasts like the 188hp 1390 Super Duke R but the company’s new 990 Duke R might just turn out to be an ideal combination of performance, weight and equipment levels for riders with a focus on real-world riding rather than barroom boasts.

We’ll skip quickly past KTM’s decision to market the machine as ‘THE PUNISHER’ all in capitals like a late-night Donald Trump tweet. That moniker would be more suited to a wrestler or a particularly intimidating sex toy than something you’d want in your garage (the sentence “I’m just nipping out for a ride on THE PUNISHER” sounds wrong in more ways than we can count.) In fact, while KTM seems keen to push the 990 Duke R as something brutal its specs suggest a machine that should be light, flickable, surgically accurate and a lot of fun.

Pros & Cons

2025 KTM 990 Duke R - Price

The 990 Duke R isn’t expected to reached dealers until January 2025 and at launch the final pricing hasn’t been revealed – but it is certain to be a significant step higher than the old 890 Duke R, which is still listed as a ‘2023’ model on KTM’s website for £11,599.

Given that even the standard, non-R version of the 990 Duke comes in at £12,999, the R model will inevitably be priced higher than that. There’s a wide performance and price gap in KTM’s naked bike range between the £13k 990 Duke and the £18k 1390 Super Duke R, so it makes sense to plug it with the 990 Duke R.

2025 KTM 990 Duke R - Engine & Performance

While it still bears the LC8c name (Liquid-Cooled, 8-valve, compact), the parallel twin engine that debuted a year ago in the 990 Duke is really a completely new generation compared to the motor that powered the 790 and 890 machines that came before it.

At 947cc it really only slightly larger than its predecessor (the 890 was 889cc), but it’s an engine at the start of its development life rather than one that’s nearing its maximum potential. Mechanically identical to the standard 990 Duke, the R version gains an extra 7hp simply through revised mapping. KTM claims 130PS (which equates to 128hp) for the ‘R’ compared to 123PS (121hp) for the base model, although European type-approval documents paint a slightly different picture – putting the base 990 at 90kW (121hp) and the R at 94kW (126hp). Those are pretty much rounding errors, though, and could come down to different bikes being tested on different equipment and different days.

There’s a similar difference between KTM’s claims and the approved numbers in terms of torque, with KTM saying the 990 Duke and 990 Duke R each make 103Nm (76lb-ft) and the approval paperwork putting the figure at 101Nm (74.5lb-ft). Those approval figures suggest the electronic tweaks have also shifted the peak revs slightly, with the R’s max power arriving at 9500rpm against 9600rpm for the base model, and the max torque coming at 7000rpm instead of 6750rpm.

The same version of the engine seen in the 990 Duke R is also expected to be the one that appears in the upcoming 990 RC R sports bike, which KTM has already shown in a camo wrap, and which is expected to appear in full later this year.

2025 KTM 990 Duke R - Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight)

While the extra few horses won’t go amiss, it’s the chassis changes that are expected to really set the Duke R aside from the base model.

We had few complaints about the standard 990 Duke, calling it ‘simply an excellent handling road bike’ when we tested it and finding that the multi-adjustable WP suspension was already close to perfection in its standard settings. However, the 990 Duke R makes some substantial changes. While the steel tube frame itself is unchanged apart from a lick of orange paint – an ‘R’ signature within the KTM range – there’s new suspension that also changes the geometry.

A taller shock and longer forks increase ground clearance by 15mm and hike the seat by a similar amount (to 840mm), while adding longer travel and an extra 3 degrees of potential lean angle before anything touches down in corners. The rear suspension linkage is new, acting on a WP APEX shock, and the forks – also WP APEX components – are upped from 43mm diameter to 48mm. They’re also 34% stiffer than the ones of the standard Duke to add a more planted, sporty feel. Michelin Power Cup 2 tyres replace the 990 Duke’s Bridgestone S22s.

While the standard 990 Duke uses KTM-branded four-pot radial calipers made by J.Juan, the R model gains Brembo Stylema monobloc units that work on larger, 320mm discs in place of the 300mm ones of the base model. That should increase stopping power and feel, particularly as the master cylinder is also a Brembo unit. While the standard bike has a ‘Supermoto’ mode on its cornering ABS, the R gains a ‘Sport’ mode and a ‘Supermoto+’ setting.

When it comes to weight, KTM claims the same 190kg wet as for the standard 990 Duke, but again there’s a slight discrepancy when compared to type-approval figures, which indicate that the R is actually 2kg lighter at 188kg. Either way, it’s a lightweight machine with a power-to-weight ratio that would shame a 90s superbike.

2025 KTM 990 Duke R - Comfort & Economy

Stiffer suspension and a taller seat suggest that riders looking for comfort over out-and-out handling prowess might be better off sticking to the standard 990 Duke, but the R’s conventional roadster riding position means it’s unlikely to be torture over longer distances like an out-an-out sports bike.

While raised by 15mm, the 840mm seat height isn’t ridiculous even for shorter riders and the same 760mm-wide bars as the standard 990 Duke offer both adjustability and plenty of leverage.

Since the engine changes are purely in electronic, the fuel economy isn’t likely to be significantly worse than the standard bike, which claims 60.1mpg and a theoretical range of 195 miles from a 14.8 litre tank.

2025 KTM 990 Duke R - Equipment

Once aboard the 990 Duke R you’re instantly faced with one of its most substantial changes in terms of equipment – KTM’s all-new 8.8-inch, landscape-oriented touchscreen display.

This dash is part of a new range of ‘human-machine interfaces’ (ugh), launched recently alongside a portrait-oriented 8-incher aimed at adventure bikes. Sporting a 1280 x 720-pixel resolution, it also manages to display a remarkable 256,000 colours, up from 65,000 colours for KTM’s older TFT screens.

While colour dashboards are pretty much the norm now, most are smaller 5-inch units and very few offer the touchscreen abilities of the latest KTM designs. These inductive touchscreens work when you’re wearing gloves (essential on bikes, of course) and promise enough processing power for snappy performance. With plenty of screen area, the touchscreen ability means the dash can provide virtual buttons to operate additional equipment like heated grips without the need to alter a bike’s main switch pods. The screen is also capable of full map navigation, unlike the turn-by-turn nav that’s more common.

With the new dash comes new control pods including a D-pad to navigate it without taking your hand off the bars.

2025 KTM 990 Duke R - Rivals

The 990 Duke R is a pretty individualistic machine, with overtones of supermoto that are missing from most of its roadster rivals. But even so it’s in a hard-fought market segment, with competition from the likes of the substantially cheaper Yamaha MT-09 SP and Triumph Street Triple 765RS, but also from the likes of the Ducati Hypermotard 950 or even the much more powerful Streetfighter V2.

Ducati Hypermotard 950 SP | Price: £16,795

Read more

Power/Torque

114bhp / 71lb-ft

Weight

191kg

Triumph Street Triple 765 RS | Price: £11,995

Read more

Power/Torque

128bhp / 59lb-ft

Weight

188kg

Yamaha MT-09 SP | Price: £11,806

Read more

Power/Torque

117bhp / 69lb-ft

Weight

194kg

2025 KTM 990 Duke R - Verdict

We’ll give a verdict once we’ve ridden it.

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2025 KTM 990 Duke R - Technical Specification

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