Supersize Me The Duke 1390 unleashed…
Upsized engine with even more power. All to celebrate 30 years of Duking it out.
We got wind of KTM’s 1390 engine earlier this year – and we know how this brand operates. We speculated that it would find its way into the Adventure… but the Duke? Holleee Cow!
We should have known!
The first bike in the company’s 1390 range has been unleashed in the form of the 2024 Super Duke R and the Super Duke R Evo.
What’s in a name?
“Power and rev gains over torque”
Changes include a new airbox with shorter intake stacks plus wider throttle bodies—up from 56mm to 60mm in diameter—with repositioned top-feed injectors to improve atomization of fuel.
The power peak is 500 rpm higher than the predecessor and the maximum torque is raised by just 3.7 lb.-ft. to 107 lb.-ft.
The power drives through the same gearbox as before, but with revised ratios.
The 1390 matches KTM’s tradition of ending titles with “90″ rather than giving actual capacity. The new engine measures 1,350cc, and since the existing 1290 is actually a 1,301cc V-twin, the increase is a “Mere” 49cc.
It’s a 2mm (0.08 inch) increase in bore, up from 108mm to 110mm , and it retains the 71mm stroke.
The 1390′s output of 188 hp at 10,000 rpm is still an 11 hp boost over its predecessor, impressive for such a seemingly small capacity hike.
The big power rise is attributed in part to a new cam-shift system that allows the engine to switch between two inlet cam profiles in different parts of the rev range. This means that the cylinder heads are completely new, and KTM has taken the opportunity to make changes that increase the engine’s service intervals, with valve clearance checks not due until 60,000 kilometers.
Chassis:
The engine might be new, but the steel tube chassis is a carryover from the 1290 Superduke R, with revisions to the suspension. The 1390 Super Duke R Evo uses WP’s Semi Active Tech suspension front and rear. This includes variable damping controlled by the electronics, adjusted via magnetic valves for “Instant responses to riding style or road surface”.
Seven modes are available. Five come standard (Auto, Comfort, Rain, Street, and Sport) while another two, Track and Pro, are unlocked with the addition of the Suspension Pro option pack.
Electronic aids include multiple riding modes, ABS, traction control, and optional extras like anti-wheelie control and launch control. The optional track mode comes with two display settings for the bike’s TFT screen, so that you can choose to focus either on your lap times or telemetry data.
Suspension Pro includes an anti-dive feature that stiffens the front end under braking, automatic rear preload adjustment based on the bike’s load and three height settings, standard, low, and high to tweak the geometry.
Brand new is some Moto GP tech, the “Factory Start” function, which mimics GP tech to lower the rear end when you come to a standstill. It makes it easier to get your foot on the floor and the lower back end drops the center of gravity and increases load on the rear wheel to boost grip and minimize wheelies as you get off the line, returning to the preset ride height once on the move.
The base 1390 Super Duke R gets updated 48mm WP Apex forks, adjustable for compression, rebound, and preload, along with a WP Apex piggyback monoshock that includes separate high- and low-speed compression damping adjusters, but it lacks the Evo’s semi-active technology.
Brembo still provides the brakes—Stylema front calipers on 320mm discs, plus a 240mm rear disc and twin-piston caliper. They have thrown an adjustable MCS master cylinder into the mix for 2024, along with a Brembo clutch master cylinder with a “self-venting” system that ends the need to bleed the hydraulics.
There’s a 5-inch TFT dash, but with new graphics and a revised menu structure for 2024 along with tyre pressure monitoring that’s updated so that you can now pair it with a second set of wheels and adjust to allow custom tyre pressures for track use.
The styling takes the angular look that’s familiar from the 1290 Super Duke R and sharpens it even more, most notably with that cool new front sporting KTM’s latest Duke look.
We like!
There are some styling and practical changes throughout the bodywork, including a larger fuel tank—increased from 15 and a bit to 22 and a bit litres. Redesigned side panels with built-in winglets help reduce front-end lift. The indicators are moved to a new spot just above the bars and the brake light is shifted from the tail unit to the license plate bracket. These changes help reduce weight but the new headlight alone is more han half a kilogramme lighter than the old version.it nall brings the brings the homologated weight of the new model to around 2KG’s more than its predecessor at 211.8KG’s wet. The extra fuel capacity makes it so worth it!
We’ve ridden the outgoing Super Duke, and that was a barrel of fun! It’s also really manageable. The motor, in our opinion anyway didn’t need an update—but if the changes to the 1390 are as good as advertised, its going to be something quite special…
