KTM 890 Duke R Coming to the USA with a $11,700 Price Tag

Want some good news to start your weekend? Thank your favorite Austrian motorcycle brand, because the KTM 890 Duke R is not only coming to America, but it will be here (in limited numbers) very, very soon.

This is because KTM North America has been able to import a small number of KTM 890 Duke R motorcycles into the United States, which will be ready for purchase in Spring 2020, instead of Fall 2020 (as 2021 model year bikes) as was originally planned.

This bodes well for sport bike fans, as we rate the KTM 790 Duke as the best sport bike on the market for the dollar. Now, the up-spec KTM 890 Duke R directly addresses our few nitpicks on the budget-focused KTM 790 Duke, namely the suspension and braking components, as well as the tires.

To that end, we see the KTM 890 Duke R with fully adjustable APEX suspension pieces from WP. Gone is the J.Juan garbage braking package, instead the top-shelf bling from Brembo is onboard, with two Stylema calipers at the front.

As the name implies, the KTM 890 Duke R brings a bigger motor to the table – one that is also Euro5 compliant. The parallel-twin engine gets bumped from 799cc to 890cc with a new bore and stroke, 90.7mm by 68.8mm.

This gets us to 119hp (89 kW) with 73 lbs•ft (99 Nm) of torque at a low 7,750 rpm. Just for reference, this comes out to a 15hp boost over the KTM 790 Duke model.

As you would expect, the KTM 890 Duke R comes with a robust electronics package, which includes a six-axis IMU, cornering ABS (with “Supermoto” mode), traction control, motor slip regulation (MSR), and an optional up/down quickshifter. The whole motorcycle weighs just 365 lbs (166 kg), dry too.

Of course the big question about the KTM 890 Duke R has been what price tag would get placed on such a robust machine, and whether that would spoil the fun.

Now, KTM North America isn’t talking pricing just yet, but our Bothan spies tell us (editor’s note: this price is now confirmed by KTM) we can expect the KTM 890 Duke R to cost $11,699 MSRP, which is a pretty solid price tag for this “R” rated machine.

We doubt KTM will have any trouble selling these initial units, and we are certain that other OEMs are groaning at the package and price they now have to compete with once the industry wakes up again from the coronavirus shutdown.