There has been talk for several months about the arrival of the new KTM 890 SMT, a model that mixes the characteristics of a naked with the shapes of an adventure bike, and stands as a link between these two categories. The name is certainly not new, in fact it is a model much loved by enthusiasts, especially the less young ones, who will well remember the beloved KTM 990 SMT ! The name then leaves little imagination to its intent: SMT = SuperMoto Touring. And in fact the 990 was a touring motard, i.e. an acrobatic, light, incredibly effective and also comfortable to use motorcycle. Last month we showed you the photos of the clay model, which you find below, where aesthetically looks a lot like 890 Adventurewith its taut and angular lines, while the chassis comes from 890 Duke, with the pair of 17″ rims. The tank, on the other hand, appears to be a new version, with a capacity somewhere between that of the Duke (14 litres) and that of the Adventure (20 litres).
Knowing the engine that the SMT will equip, we then made a performance bench comparison between the old 990 SMT and the new 890. Here you will find the analysis of the two engines and the comparison of the power and torque curves.
Here comes now a teaser video of Chris Fillmore testing the prototype of the new SMT among the winding roads of the famous Pikes Peak pass.
on the following pages find the driver’s driving impressions and the next update
