2 decades ago, the original KTM Duke was nothing short of revolutionary. First single cylinder street bike into a cult classic, adding extreme fun to a raw and radical concept. In 2017, the fully revised Duke 690 stays faithful to its ancestor’s way, but the impressive smoothness, electronics, and improve ergonomics and good power boost over the last year model.
The first thing you notice on the Duke 690 is the aggressive design. Sharp lines and edges are a staple of the duke design and this model delivers. An almost sport bike look belies an extremely ergonomic riding stance. Back and arm angles aren’t as pronounced giving you a relaxed but “ready for anything” feel. City traffic becomes easier to manage with a seat height which is just below 33 inches. Starts and stops as well as the snails paced crawl of vehicles are easy to match. The Duke 690 engine does get a bit hot in traffic so mind what you wear.
The comfortable seat gives the Duke 690 a respectable score in sport touring. It performs flawlessly in lazy provincial back roads as well as in the fast corners of the North’s mountain passes. The lively 73 hp LC4 engine is so easy to control you would almost forget you are riding one of the strongest single cylinder bikes in the world. At high speeds, the roar of the exhaust note is something you will not soon forget. Of course, keeping everything under control is the disengageable ABS and the programmable traction control, which, anyone who has ridden in the Philippines will readily agree, is a necessity.
One of the highlights of this year’s model is the TFT instrument panel. A clean and elegant display with all the vital information well placed and easy to distinguish on the bright display, sun glare sometimes becomes an issue at certain times of the day but you really shouldn’t be looking down that often anyway.
During the recently concluded Breakfast Ride 5 in Baguio, the Duke was in its element from easy city riding to fast highway stretches. The 14 liter tank averaged around 200 kilometers which included heavy traffic and high speed runs so better fuel economy can be achieved with sensible riding, which is hard to do on this fun machine.
Simplicity and power, these two words describe the 2017 KTM Duke 690 perfectly.
The KTM Duke 69o is available at KTM BGC and is priced at Php 635,000. The R model is available for Php 720,000
ENGINE
DESIGN 1-cylinder, 4-stroke engine
DISPLACEMENT 690 cm³
BORE 102 mm
STROKE 84.5 mm
POWER IN KW 54 kW
STARTER Electric starter
LUBRICATION Forced oil lubrication with 2 oil pumps
TRANSMISSION 6-speed
PRIMARY DRIVE 36:79
SECONDARY GEAR RATIO 16:40
COOLING Liquid cooled
CLUTCH APTC(TM) slipper clutch, hydraulically actuated
EMS Keihin EMS with RBW, twin ignition
CO2 EMISSIONS 80 g/km
FUEL CONSUMPTION 3.48 l/100 km
CHASSIS
FRAME DESIGN Chromium-Molybdenum steel trellis frame, powder coated
FRONT SUSPENSION WP upside-down Ø 43 mm
REAR SUSPENSION WP shock absorber with Pro-Lever linkage
SUSPENSION TRAVEL (FRONT) 135 mm
SUSPENSION TRAVEL (REAR) 135 mm
FRONT BRAKE Brembo four-piston radial fixed calliper, brake disc
REAR BRAKE Brembo single-piston floating calliper, brake disc
FRONT BRAKE DISC DIAMETER 320 mm
REAR BRAKE DISC DIAMETER 240 mm
ABS Bosch 9M+ two-channel ABS (disengageable, optional Supermoto mode)
CHAIN X-Ring 5/8 x 1/4″
STEERING HEAD ANGLE 63.5 °
WHEELBASE 1466 ± 15 mm
GROUND CLEARANCE 192 mm
SEAT HEIGHT 835 mm
TANK CAPACITY (APPROX.) 14 l
DRY WEIGHT 148.5 kg
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