KTM 790 Duke

IC3 · 8 Mar 2018 at 16:32

arfoll said:
I'm glad someone else sees it! Not sure what KTM are thinking looks wise, I was hoping they'd stop the weird headlight or it would grow on me but :/

It looks sexy. If it had a bit more power, it would be perfect... The stock exhaust doesn't sound too bad either, very tasty. It'll probably beastly with a nice stubby can and decat pipes, the MT07 sounds orgasmic irl. The videos don't do it justice, I'm guessing it'll be the same with the 790. :cool:

I'm sure some engineering wizards will create an undertail exhaust and once you put some KTM power parts on, it'll be the ultimate Jizz Machine. <3

Brings back the memories

Kreeeee · 8 Mar 2018 at 18:11

The air box is under the seat.

IC3 · 8 Mar 2018 at 18:21

Kreeeee said:
The air box is under the seat.

Why... what about some type of shielding and adding vents? They do that in cars, sometimes there's no room and the airbox is near the manifold.

They must have done something in the prototype, he was razzing it...

Kreeeee · 8 Mar 2018 at 18:45

IC3 said:
Why... what about some type of shielding and adding vents? They do that in cars, sometimes there's no room and the airbox is near the manifold.

They must have done something in the prototype, he was razzing it...

There was no cat in the prototype.

IC3 · 8 Mar 2018 at 18:46

Kreeeee said:
There was no cat in the prototype.

You cat it out anyways, so should be all good.

Kreeeee · 8 Mar 2018 at 18:51

IC3 said:
You cat it out anyways, so should be all good.

Because of the lack of cat a fair bit of the bike was different.

Captain · 8 Mar 2018 at 23:45

Bloke at work has got himself a test ride when they are available, he had his SD1290R stolen from outside his house only a month ago.

Kreeeee · 9 Mar 2018 at 12:45

Another video review:

I'll be keen to see how the R version pans out next year.

Edit: or an RC 790!

Captain · 9 Mar 2018 at 13:06

Surprised to see how much kit this comes with when stock, auto blipper, QS, launch control, cruise control, ABS to name a few.

Kreeeee · 9 Mar 2018 at 13:09

Clov!s said:
Surprised to see how much kit this comes with when stock, auto blipper, QS, launch control, cruise control, ABS to name a few.

I'm surprised more bikes don't have all these features now that everything is ride by wire. It's just software and sensors which are cheap after the initial R&D.

Hopefully more manufacturers start to catch up now that someone is pushing it in a budget bike.

Freeman · 9 Mar 2018 at 13:11

Is it me or do we never get bad reviews on bikes these days from big companies like MCN? Every single bike they review is 'the best yet' or everything on the bike is absolutely amazing. Whether it's a sports bike or something like Triumphs new Bobber.
I find I have to go to smaller channels from people that have been lent or are testing riding the bike. 44teeth used to be good for that but they seem to be as generic as every other mainstream reviewer these days.
Anyone else find that?

Diddums · 9 Mar 2018 at 13:24

Freeman said:
Is it me or do we never get bad reviews on bikes these days from big companies like MCN? Every single bike they review is 'the best yet' or everything on the bike is absolutely amazing. Whether it's a sports bike or something like Triumphs new Bobber.
I find I have to go to smaller channels from people that have been lent or are testing riding the bike. 44teeth used to be good for that but they seem to be as generic as every other mainstream reviewer these days.
Anyone else find that?

Yep. Bad reviews are bad for business. I tend to check out TheMissendenFlyer on the 'tube for his reviews as they're consistent and Visordown can also be decent if you can sift through all the billions of ads they shove all over their page.

.one. · 9 Mar 2018 at 13:44

MCN are 20 miles from me and stopped being reliable 20 years ago

No one local takes them seriously they did have a good rag at one time buy & sell but them days are gone.

Kreeeee · 9 Mar 2018 at 13:54

Diddums said:
Yep. Bad reviews are bad for business. I tend to check out TheMissendenFlyer on the 'tube for his reviews as they're consistent and Visordown can also be decent if you can sift through all the billions of ads they shove all over their page.

The problem is generally (excluding his long term reviews) he rides the bikes for the duration of a test ride and rides on generally uninspiring roads at a gentle pace.

As a result most of his opinions are based on the looks and sound of a bike with no real insight into their performance. They're all first impressions which I can get myself on a test ride.

I've also gotten tired of correcting his incorrect information in the comments of his videos

I like his content, but he's useless for reviews as he doesn't get to take the bikes out on track or in the mountains like the guys who go to bike launch events do.

Freeman · 9 Mar 2018 at 13:56

Kreeeee said:
I like his content, but he's useless for reviews as he doesn't get to take the bikes out on track or in the mountains like the guys who go to bike launch events do.

Depends what you're after. For me, none track reviews are far better. Track stats/opinions are useless to me.

Kreeeee · 9 Mar 2018 at 14:00

Freeman said:
Depends what you're after. For me, none track reviews are far better. Track stats/opinions are useless to me.

If I didn't care how a bike handled then I'd just pick the one I liked the sound and look of the most, in which case a review is pointless.

IC3 · 9 Mar 2018 at 14:15

Kreeeee said:
If I didn't care how a bike handled then I'd just pick the one I liked the sound and look of the most, in which case a review is pointless.

But biased reviews are pointless anyways...

Kreeeee · 9 Mar 2018 at 14:30

IC3 said:
But biased reviews are pointless anyways...

No one is disagreeing with you.

IC3 · 9 Mar 2018 at 16:31

Kreeeee said:
No one is disagreeing with you.

I'm not saying anyone is, are there any reviewers that actually point out the cons as well as the pros?

Some of the amateur reviews seem to be long and they miss out on a lot of interesting info.

Kreeeee · 9 Mar 2018 at 17:23

Not so far, you'll have to wait for the shootouts (comparisons for normal folk) videos for the honest critiques.