Above left: Fully adjustable WP Apex suspension is combat-ready. Are you? Above right: Up-spec suspension and brakes are just some of the party starters that make the R special.
handlebar. It felt sharp under me. When I toggled the start button, the compact LC8c parallel- Twin had a pronounced growl that alluded to its 126 hp with 10,500- rpm rev limit. Response was exceedingly smooth. No snatchy throttle, no flame out off- idle, just calm forward movement.
But right about here is where I had a miscue, accidentally toggling into Rain mode, which immediately muted the power and set the anti- wheelie and other safety settings into overdrive. Quick snaps of the throttle felt more like gentle supportive taps. To remedy this, I rashly overcompensated and selected Track mode at the next traffic light, unleashing all kinds of high- performance parameters and unlocking launch control.
I know what you’ re thinking. But no, I did not use launch control on the street. Did it occur to me? Of course it did.
Heading out of town, we jumped on the freeway, which, as you already know by looking at this motorcycle, is where it shined like a diamond. If you are familiar with the base 990 Duke, the pegs on the“ R” model sit 1.3 inches farther back and 0.5 inch higher, with the handlebar sitting 0.4 inch lower and 0.9 inch forward. Still, my wellworn 6- foot- 2- inch frame managed the wind buffeting for the 20 minutes we engaged KTM’ s rarely accessed“ morning commuter” mode. Much farther might have been uncomfortable.
Once we jumped into the twisties, I began learning what that“ R” designation really means. First off, the 990 Duke R is equipped with fully adjustable WP Apex suspension, with a beefier 48mm fork than the 43mm one on the base model. The rear shock is adjustable for both high- and lowspeed compression in addition to preload and rebound, and it’ s mated to a new linkage- suspension designed to deliver small bump compliance while maintaining the composure necessary for track duties.
From my seat- of- the- pants perspective, the higher- spec suspension contributed to a firm and exceedingly stable platform when I dropped the bike into turns. I remember thinking that it felt as if there were two of me going around the corner: one sitting over the front tire and the other over the rear. It was wonderful but weird, because in my experience
Mid-corner lock down: A Sherman tank couldn’ t knock the 990 Duke R off its line.
RIDERMAGAZINE. COM / OCTOBER 2026 / 23