2025 KTM 990 Duke R Confirmed
Prototype raced at Mid-Ohio Super Hooligans round
To the surprise of absolutely noone, KTM is preparing an upgraded “R” version of its 990 Duke. With the exception of the 790, KTM has offered an R model for each of its middleweight naked bikes going back to the 690 Duke, so when KTM introduced the 990 Duke, we knew that a 990 Duke R was on the way.
In fact, we may have already seen it this past weekend at MotoAmerica’s Mid-Ohio round, where KTM’s Chris Fillmore competed in the two Super Hooligans races on what commentator Roger Hayden calls a “pre-production KTM 990”. Fillmore qualified fifth overall behind Troy Herfoss, Tyler O’Hara, Travis Wyman, and Cory West (all of whom currently sit within the top 8 in the standings).
We get a good look at the bike at the 6:23 mark of the video of Race 1 above, seeing a naked motorcycle that looks a lot like the 990 Duke, but with an orange powder-coated frame KTM typically employs on an R model. While we can draw some conclusions from what we can see, we have to acknowledge the caveat that it is pre-production, but also modified to comply with race regulations.
Still, it’s always nice to get further confirmation, and we have it, thanks to type approval data released in Germany. A recent update added an entry dated July 3 that lists the KTM 990 Duke R by name. This is separate from the non-R model, which was entered on Feb. 12.
What’s the difference between the two models? The figures in the two columns on the right give us a clue. The right column shows the displacement, which would be 947cc for both the 990 Duke and the 990 Duke R. The column to the left of that is the power rating in kilowatts. The regular 990 Duke is rated at 90 kW, or 121 hp (KTM technically claims 90.5 kW, but the German documentation rounds off to whole numbers).
The 990 Duke R, however, is rated at 94 kW, which would be about 126 hp. The higher output is not entirely surprising either, as it’s exactly what KTM claims the LC8c engine produces on the upcoming 990 RC R. The 990 Duke R will likely get a similar tuning as the sportbike.
The German type approval filing suggests the 990 Duke R is pretty much ready to launch, which also suggests that Fillmore’s bike is close to the finished product, less the racing modifications.
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Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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My 890 Duke R is a total to ride. I would like to add another ktm to the stable.
How long are the Cam's going to last on this engine?