2024 KTM 890 SMT Review

If ever there was an oxymoron in motorcycling, it’s the term “SuperMoto Touring,” and yet here it is, emblazoned on the side of this orange machine. Supermoto evokes images of dirt bikes on slick tires, being hucked sideways into corners. The name of the game when it comes to supermoto is small, light, and agile. You all know what a touring bike is. Big beasts of the road, touring bikes conjure up images of large fuel tanks and large seats. Just the thing you want when you’re chewing up miles of tarmac at a time. Of course, KTM’s definition of things is a little different. To them, touring involves at least a little bit of dirt, so that means replacing images of, say, a Honda Goldwing out of your mind and replacing it with an 890 Adventure.

Now, what do you get when you mix an 890 Adventure with a 450 SMR? This – the 2024 KTM 890 SMT. A motorcycle that makes no sense, and yet makes perfect sense. I think the better way to look at the 890 SMT is less of a SuperMoto Tourer and more of a stripped down Adventure on 17-inch road rubber. If you could only have one bike to commute, tour, and play with, the 890 SMT is it.

The Formula

KTM fans might remember the original 990 SMT from 2009. In some ways, there are a lot of similarities to the current SMT. Twin-cylinder engines that resemble stripped down tourers with supermoto influences, the original quietly faded away as KTM focused on its Adventure lineup. Eventually, KTM introduced its smaller Duke lineup with the LC8c engine, along with occasional updates to its 450 SMR (when it wasn’t out of the lineup completely). With all the pieces in place, now seemed like the right time to bring back the SMT name – this time with the 890cc Parallel-Twin engine. The result is a bike that’s equally confusing to look at, and surprisingly fun once you throw a leg over.

Despite its road-bias, the 890 Twin is borrowed from the 890 Adventure R and not the Duke, meaning it has a 20% increase in rotating mass. While that might seem counterintuitive, our guess is the main reason it was used is because the 890 Adventure has continued on into the 2024 model year while the 890 Duke has faded into the sunset, replaced by both the 790 and 990 Dukes.

Surrounding the engine is KTM’s signature Chromoly steel frame cradling WP APEX suspension at both ends. A 43mm open cartridge fork is fully adjustable, with the added convenience of clickers at the top you can turn by hand. The shock is also fully adjustable, with a convenient knob to adjust preload. Both ends offer 7.1 inches of travel, highlighting one of the few Adventure (with a capital A) influences that transferred over to the SMT.

Now, let’s get to one of the more controversial aspects of the SMT – its looks. It has a pseudo front fender to help guard against water and/or debris kicking back to the rider or radiator, but then you can also get the SuMo-esque beak. Our tester didn’t come with the beak, but I’m not sure if it looks any better without it. But the oddest styling choice of all is the fuel tank. Clearly taking its shape after the droop-down tanks on the Adventures, the 4.17-gallon tank does something similar by extending down low, beside the engine cases, but is not actually the same tank. This one has been designed specifically for the SMT.

KTM calls the waistline of the tank slim – and I guess it is if you’re comparing it to an Adventure model. Otherwise it’s slightly wider compared to a Duke (and especially compared to a 450 SMR), which can be a little off-putting if you’re short on inseam – a point we’ll get to later. Otherwise, the rest of the components are what you expect to find. Michelin PowerGP tires in a 120-front and 180-rear sit at either end and are decidedly oriented towards road performance. You need that sticky rubber because the 320mm brake discs at the front are clamped by KTM branded calipers bearing a start resemblance to the J.Juan calipers we’ve seen on early iterations of the 790 Duke. Steel-braided lines are standard fare.

In standard trim, the 890 SMT offers electronics like three ride modes (Rain, Street, Sport), Cornering traction control, Cornering ABS, and Supermoto ABS. Options include an additional Track riding mode that allows the rider to adjust their throttle modes, as well as adjust traction control through 10 different levels. Heated grips and Motor Slip Regulation (MSR) are additional options, while the Quickshifter+, and Cruise Control are already embedded into the bike’s software, it just needs to be activated by the dealer. Finally, the SMT has a demo feature which lets you try all the options for 1500 kilometers (932 miles) to determine if you really want to fork over extra money to activate them full-time (which, if you ask us, is lame).

Fortunately, our test bike came equipped with everything activated. If you’re looking at an 890 SMT, do yourself a favor, forgo the demo period and turn everything on. There’s no reason not to do it. Up-and-down quickshifters and cruise control should be standard anyway, and if that means you also get a Track mode, then so be it. As a jack-of-all-trades motorcycle, the SMT benefits hugely from the convenience of those two options alone.

The Ride

For as much as I hammered on the SMT’s looks, once I was sitting on the bike and riding, none of it mattered. It’s no secret that we’re fans of the 890cc LC8c engine (both Ryan and I own motorcycles with it), and it’s perfect combination of power and rideability makes the SMT just as much fun to ride as all the other KTMs we’ve ridden with the 890 engine. It pushes the bike along with just enough power to enjoy yourself, without needing to check yourself like you would with a 1290 (or 1390).

Thanks to the increased inertia in the crank, highway cruising is smooth with little jerkiness when reaching for the throttle. That said, we kept the bike in Sport riding mode since it kept the throttle sensitivity most manageable for the widest array of riding conditions. Track mode was exciting in the canyons, but a little too aggressive around town. And if you have lots of miles to burn, the cruise control is easy to operate. Oddly enough, in our testing, one tap of the tab to increase speed equates to a one-mile-per-hour jump, but the display only registers every two taps.

Before going further, it’s worth discussing the ergonomics. At 33.9 inches, the seat height is on the high side for my 5-foot, 8-inch frame. With my 30-inch inseam, I could get the balls of my feet on the ground, but uneven pavement could pose some challenges for other shorties. The base of the seat/tank junction isn’t particularly narrow, but it feels more natural once you’re in the riding position. This is helped by the upright bars (itself with six different adjustment options totalling 30 mm of range) and pegs placed directly below your butt in a nice, neutral position.

The bars are wide, and because of the tall seat height, you have a commanding view of the road ahead. Because the word Touring is in the name of the bike, the seat itself is surprisingly well padded for a standard seat. Hour-long jaunts on the highway didn’t reveal odd creases or curves in the seat shape and got me to my destinations with surprising comfort. Despite my reservations about the weird-looking windscreen, I can’t deny it helped reduce the flow of oncoming air directly to my chest. Once we started going faster, a small tuck helped me glide through the air smoother. Activating cruise control also was a life saver to reduce my grip on the bars while trying to maintain throttle and hang on.

By now it should be understood that the 890 SMT can get you where you want to go in comfort. But a bike labeled as a tourer, even if it’s preceded by supermoto, should have some accoutrement for luggage. The good news is that KTM has over 30 different accessory luggage options for the 890 SMT. The bad news is that our test bike had none of them, except for a small rack on the back.

Then again, in KTM’s bold, brash style, it admits that, if they had to choose between a supermoto or Adventure bike, the 890 SMT is firmly in the supermoto camp. It may be a big, overgrown supermoto, but once you hit the fun roads you can absolutely see KTM’s point. The sticky Michelin rubber inspires confidence to attack the bends, and the long-travel suspension means even crappy roads aren’t a barrier to having fun. Chris Fillmore, KTM’s former Pikes Peak winner (in three classes), Superbike racer, and now media frontman, set up our test bike to be roughly in the middle of the suspension settings, which offered perfect compliance in the twisties without being too stiff at mellow speeds.

Due to the placement of the fuel tank, the CoG is higher than, say, a Duke. Combined with the long suspension, the SMT is only fractionally slower to turn than the Duke, but the wide bars basically negate that disadvantage and lets the rider muscle it into turns. There’s plenty of confidence on the side of the tire, and the positive byproduct of the long suspension (when setup right) is the amount of feedback you get from the tires. I now get why KTM chose to have Fillmore fly up a hillclimb in Sardinia to center its marketing focus. It makes perfect sense after you ride the SMT.

Of course, there’s nothing to worry about under braking, either. Though the caliper and master cylinder don’t say Brembo, let’s not forget who owns J.Juan (hint: it’s Brembo). The SMT has no problem scrubbing speed. There’s plenty of bite (without being overly aggressive) from the pads, and the master cylinder delivers good feedback also. However, you do need to adjust to the weight pitch, but when done just right, you can use the pitch to set the direction of the bike as you trailbrake into corners.

Welcome Back

Without a doubt, the 890 SMT is a fun motorcycle. Leave it to KTM to inject some supermoto into a category and instantly turn it into a smile-inducing motorcycle. However, as much as I enjoyed the SMT as a play bike, I think KTM is missing the mark with its target audience. I didn’t expect the 890 SMT to be the perfect do-it-all motorcycle. From commuting to canyons, trackdays to touring, the 890 SMT does it all. And it does it well. Better still, we routinely got anywhere from 50-53 mpg from our test bike. With all of these factors in mind, the SMT would be on my list of bikes to consider if I could only have one machine to do it all.

This would be the point where you, the reader, likely throws back the recent camshaft issues some LC8c engines have had and whether I still keep my stance about keeping this bike on my short list. To that I refer you back to the point about how both Ryan and I already own bikes with the LC8c engine and how we don’t regret our decisions. So, yes. I still think the 890 SMT should be considered if you’re looking for a jack-of-all-trades motorcycle that will put a big smile on your face as you do your best to lose your license. At $13,949, there’s a lot of bang for your buck. The biggest hurdle to climb will be getting over its weird looks.

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