I’m quite tempted by a KTM Duke 690 as a new toy, anyone had experience of one?

I’ve had a go on the ‘old’ Duke 2. Loads of fun, but to vibey for me and the seat was too high. However, my mate who owned it is about 6′ 2″ and he loved it. Used to take his (rather large) wife on the back, too. He could keep up with sports bikes everywhere except long straights. Build quality isn’t as good as they would have you believe.

Dribble

Though I would try for a Superduke R myself 😉

Second the Superduke, looking at either the Superduke or the Touno myself.

get a proper KTM supermoto instead

Hornet
I have had a Tuono for 5 years. Have thought about swapping it for something else but am too worried I would regret it.
everytime I get off it I cant help grinning!!!
Cheers
Steve

Go and demo one, see what you make of it! Most of the dealers are waiting on new ’09 demo models at the moment so you might have to travel a bit. There are good deals to be had on ’08 demo bikes if you’re after new/nearly new. Do not buy a new one though unless you have money to burn… the ’09 price hike puts the Duke 690 at £7399 or so? 😯 😯

The Duke is amazingly light to ride, it feels equally as light as an R6 or similar mostly due to the relatively light engine and the exhaust being slung so low down.

KTMs are brilliant machines. Everything on them, more or less, is top notch – brakes, suspension, switch gear, etc etc.

I have a 950 SM, so i’m not biased

Thanks for the feedback, it looks like it may be a joint purchase with my son, he rode a type 2 last week and now he’s keen to get rid of his 600 TT and get the KTM instead.

I’d advise him/you to ride the 690 Duke before buying as it’s a lot different (better 😉 ) to the Duke 2 🙂

Dibbs

have you not got enough toys ????????

lucky bugger 😥

it’s a cracking bike- but had a few niggles when new eg. stalling, speedo cracking and a couple of other minor bits. . Great for twisties and town stuff. I love mine , but i’m thinking of trading up to the 990 SMT if I can get a test ride on one.

We’re going to look at a couple next week. 🙂

Second the test ride. Mate has just bought a superduke r, while he was test riding a standard superduke I took a 690 out at the same time and we swapped half way round. He liked the 690, I didn’t, its very personal what you like in a bike. Mind you though his Superduke is awesome, but not as fast as my 525 on the little roads 😀

p.s. proper supermotos need a lot, and I mean a lot, of tlc. Tiny oil capacity so servicing to a strict hour schedule, valve checks and 50 mile tank range. Also tyres do not last, have an Rsv Mille as well and they are not much different in the tyre usage ie iro 1000 miles to a rear. I could not cope with the KTM, its a tweaked 525 exc with road wheels, as my only bike but for a quick blast not much beats it for me. Yes KTMs are expensive but they do build them right.

Dibbs, I’m thinking of selling mine now rather than trading it in.

2008, 2k miles, It´s had a couple of changes since the above picture ie rim tape, tail tidy, scot-oiler and power pilot 2ct put on a couple of hundred miles ago.

drop me a mail g36the(at)gmail(dot)com if you’re interested.

Doesn’t it suffer from glitchy fueling like the 900 Adventure.

Bit more refined than an out and out Super Moto.

initially I had problems with it occasionally stalling at lights when you pulled in the clutch, but it’s improved over the miles. Also the gearing was a bit tall around town ,so I changed the front sprocket down one tooth and now it’s perfect.

I had the pleasure of riding one of these while my Superduke was being serviced – it’s a riot! It was a great laugh through town but it would only make sense as a pure toy, and I think I’d get bored of it. Superduke is much more of a motorbike, the duke felt like an MTB with an engine. I also got a ride on an RC8 – now that’s a beast!!!

I had a go on one, it was a good laugh but… It’s not a supermoto, it’s just a fun naked bike really, there’s no real comparison with a real supermoto. And then, once you realise it’s just a fun naked bike, you look at the Hornet and realise it’s just as fun and also miles more practical, and cheaper. Or maybe that’s just me.

will you lot stop showing off for **** sake 😉

im saving up for my test and still riding my beloved Varadero 125…

a new motorbike shop opened up near where i live and i’ve been going in there every week drooling… they had one of these in there and they were all raving about it….

i prefered the yellow and black Transalp in the corner though