2013 Ktm Duke 690
KTM Duke 690 R (2013) - Honest review?
KTM Duke 690 R (2013) - Honest review?
Rich_AR
Original Poster
1,608 posts
176 months
Wednesday 10th July 2013
Looking for an honest opinion on the new KTM Duke 690 R (2013) from someone who owns one or maybe a friend of a friend etc. Here's a pic
I want something good around town which isn't a beast or a license loser, but still fun. Other option is the Triumph Street Triple R, but it weighs 20kgs+ over the KTM, plus another 30+bhp.
Currently own an R6 race bike, KTM 200 EXC dirtbike and a 1980's 2-stroke Vespa (yeh yeh I know). So looking for something in the middle. The Vespa is getting long in the tooth, so I want to lay it up for a while and rebuild it.
Edited by Rich_AR on Wednesday 10th July 08:58
Wednesday 10th July 2013
Since wheelies can loose you your license just as quickly as speed, I would suggest that its just as bad at license loosing.
That said, you could bore people in the miles per gallon ability of one of these things, they are impressively frugal. See how many miles you can get on a tank and that has got to slow you down. Mind you, might bore you to death though.
Wednesday 10th July 2013
Morning,
I have had mine since the beginning of May, I use mine for commuting, SW19 to the City 11 miles each way, couple of longer trips 200+ and general weekend silliness.
Pro's
It's very comfy which is a real surprise, better than the standard model I test road.
Perforamnce is very lively, apart from the oft stated ability to wheelie, it's mid punch is very strong. This is the intoxicating bit, you just can't help yourself!! It will sit quite happily at 75-80mph on the motorway (5,000rpm+/-), obviously it will go much faster but it's a naked bike and anyfaster gets hard work (I'm 6'2"). I've had 112 and it was still pulling, the speedo is very accurate.
Handling is brilliant IMHO and the brakes are awesome, it's the same front caliper as the Ducati Panigale.
As mentioned the fuel consumption is quite staggering, I get 55mpg+/- in town and the best I've had on a run is 69.4. This looks too good to be true I know but it is what I'm experiencing. On a run that would give you a usuable range of 180-190 miles with 25+ in reserve.
Con's
Non IMHO, though your need keep the revs up when commuting or else it turns into a pogo stick.
there is some vibration as you'd expect from a single but not as much as I'd expected, it has leage vibration dampers attached to the bar end weights.
All in all it's a great bike and suits my needs. It has a huge grin factor as well as a surprising amount of practicality.
Tim85
1,742 posts
107 months
Wednesday 10th July 2013
This will be mostly useless but heres my thoughts on the previous model as I was looking at buying one earlier this year. I think you know darren bottomley? anyway he brought one out from his work late last year and i had a bit of play on it.
It felt great, sounded great with akropovic cans on and was generally a fun bike. The problem was for me it seemed like it would only be a great bike when your in a stupid mood and using it as a commuter or anything other than a fun toy i think itd get old quickly. The fuelling felt quite lumpy low down (they may have solved this with this model though) and although i didnt ride it through towns, from following him, every speed bump and mini round about became a jump and corner exits just seem like wheelie opportunities.
Also if your using it for road rides out in groups it wasnt quick enough for me. We were pretty similar riders and i left it for dead on my zx6 when we got onto some quick roads. That same down side is a great upside in some respects though as you can have a lot of fun at not rediculously high speeds if your on your own.
Im guessing the new model will me slightly better all round. Id have one in a heart beat, but itd be my 2nd bike that i didnt have to rely on and could use when the mood took.
Wednesday 10th July 2013
Ballon said:
Non IMHO, though your need keep the revs up when commuting or else it turns into a pogo stick.
there is some vibration as you'd expect from a single but not as much as I'd expected, it has leage vibration dampers attached to the bar end weights.
So will it do walking pace clutch out - I"m assuming not given what you've said? Thats a key criteria for me on a bike I have to commute on.
My old Aprilia Falco (twin I know) was terrible and needed to slip the clutch too much at low speed until I went down one tooth off the front sprocket. It did then have the added benefit of going places off the line and lofting the front wheel even easier LOL
Rich_AR
Original Poster
1,608 posts
176 months
Thursday 11th July 2013
Ballon said:
Morning,
I have had mine since the beginning of May, I use mine for commuting, SW19 to the City 11 miles each way, couple of longer trips 200+ and general weekend silliness.
Pro's
It's very comfy which is a real surprise, better than the standard model I test road.
Perforamnce is very lively, apart from the oft stated ability to wheelie, it's mid punch is very strong. This is the intoxicating bit, you just can't help yourself!! It will sit quite happily at 75-80mph on the motorway (5,000rpm+/-), obviously it will go much faster but it's a naked bike and anyfaster gets hard work (I'm 6'2"). I've had 112 and it was still pulling, the speedo is very accurate.
Handling is brilliant IMHO and the brakes are awesome, it's the same front caliper as the Ducati Panigale.
As mentioned the fuel consumption is quite staggering, I get 55mpg+/- in town and the best I've had on a run is 69.4. This looks too good to be true I know but it is what I'm experiencing. On a run that would give you a usuable range of 180-190 miles with 25+ in reserve.
Con's
Non IMHO, though your need keep the revs up when commuting or else it turns into a pogo stick.
there is some vibration as you'd expect from a single but not as much as I'd expected, it has leage vibration dampers attached to the bar end weights.
All in all it's a great bike and suits my needs. It has a huge grin factor as well as a surprising amount of practicality.
Thanks, good review!
Tim85 said:
This will be mostly useless but heres my thoughts on the previous model as I was looking at buying one earlier this year. I think you know darren bottomley? anyway he brought one out from his work late last year and i had a bit of play on it.
It felt great, sounded great with akropovic cans on and was generally a fun bike. The problem was for me it seemed like it would only be a great bike when your in a stupid mood and using it as a commuter or anything other than a fun toy i think itd get old quickly. The fuelling felt quite lumpy low down (they may have solved this with this model though) and although i didnt ride it through towns, from following him, every speed bump and mini round about became a jump and corner exits just seem like wheelie opportunities.
Also if your using it for road rides out in groups it wasnt quick enough for me. We were pretty similar riders and i left it for dead on my zx6 when we got onto some quick roads. That same down side is a great upside in some respects though as you can have a lot of fun at not rediculously high speeds if your on your own.
Im guessing the new model will me slightly better all round. Id have one in a heart beat, but itd be my 2nd bike that i didnt have to rely on and could use when the mood took.
Hi Tim, Yes I know Darren. I've ridden a 2010 Duke 690 and agree it wasn't smooth fuelling. But I've read that KTM sorted it with the latest model. It's purely a for commutiing and a cheeky rides out. With only 70bhp, it's no supersport, but I'm hoping that's the ideal thing! What's the worse that can happen?!
Thursday 11th July 2013
Morning,
Hope it was of use. Just to touch on a couple of points raised by other poster's.
I totally disagree that it's not a quick bike. It's max torque is 52lb which compares well with all the 600cc supersports bikes (the torque peaks at lower revs plus the fact that it only weighs 163kg fuelled) and in my experience the only time you really get left behind is fast A roads with long straights, but that's not what it is designed for. I've come from years (decades) of riding 1,000cc sports bikes and I can't see myself getting bored on this bike. However it's everyone to their own.
With regard to the slow speed riding I did a small test on the way home last night and the way in this morning. you can hold the bike fairly smoothly at 10mph in 1st, 20mph in 2nd and 30mph in 3rd. As I said I commute through south London every day and I don't find its anymore difficult than a Vtwin. That said KTM's are not renowned for their fuelling (this is my 3rd) but you get used to them.
I would get a test ride and see how you get on, see if you can get one for a day and do the commute on it
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