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619 Posts
Firstly perhaps I should say I ride keenly and I am a big chap so all of my thoughts and comments you need to consider this.
Overall the word FUN is the most appropriate when I think of the 790. Over these last 3 years I have run in 2 Duke 125's, a Duke 390, Duke 690, Duke 790 and Duke 1290 so you could say I am keen on KTM my son and wife also ride KTM's
But most of my Bikes I currently own are Triumph's. I have owned and ridden most of the main motorcycle brands in recent years what have I swapped out over the last 3 years
well swapped a Triumph 1050 speed triple for a Duke 1290
Sold my buell, Triumph thunderbird sport 885, Triumph 955i, triumph Daytona super sport.
Swapped my 690 for the 790 Duke
Swapped Duke 390 2015 for a Duke 390 2018 model.
So lets get back to the 790 I love the combination of low weight, performance and good steering lock which makes it fantastic in town to weave through traffic. The only downside in town is poor running at low revs making it difficult to move in slow traffic smoothly.
Once on the open roads pick a twisty road and you will not stop smiling just avoid the pop holes as suspension is on the firm side. ridden at sub 70mph 70mpg is easily achieved, worst case has been 55mpg but I was riding using all the power very quickly.
Standard lights are great, the tyres are ok but for sports touring grade tyres the rear will need changing circa 2500miles which is a little poor. The standard seat is ok but I like longer rides so opted for the 20mm comfort seat option this proved to be a great buy as it double the hours in the saddle before my rear end advised me to stop. I found the standard mirrors to be poor vibrating and not wide enough so fitted the optional bar end mirrors expensive but massive improvement, the only downside is the increased width we getting past traffic.
Lock wise I fitted a roadlok these are expensive but great I have fitted these to all of my bikes that are suitable.
I modded my 1290 tank bag to fit all of my KTM's inc the 790 saved me a fortune in tank bags.
Just fitted K&N filter and boosterplug trying to see if this improves low speed running and higher speed performance weather just turned to crap so not really had the chance to try
Overall the word FUN is the most appropriate when I think of the 790. Over these last 3 years I have run in 2 Duke 125's, a Duke 390, Duke 690, Duke 790 and Duke 1290 so you could say I am keen on KTM my son and wife also ride KTM's
But most of my Bikes I currently own are Triumph's. I have owned and ridden most of the main motorcycle brands in recent years what have I swapped out over the last 3 years
well swapped a Triumph 1050 speed triple for a Duke 1290
Sold my buell, Triumph thunderbird sport 885, Triumph 955i, triumph Daytona super sport.
Swapped my 690 for the 790 Duke
Swapped Duke 390 2015 for a Duke 390 2018 model.
So lets get back to the 790 I love the combination of low weight, performance and good steering lock which makes it fantastic in town to weave through traffic. The only downside in town is poor running at low revs making it difficult to move in slow traffic smoothly.
Once on the open roads pick a twisty road and you will not stop smiling just avoid the pop holes as suspension is on the firm side. ridden at sub 70mph 70mpg is easily achieved, worst case has been 55mpg but I was riding using all the power very quickly.
Standard lights are great, the tyres are ok but for sports touring grade tyres the rear will need changing circa 2500miles which is a little poor. The standard seat is ok but I like longer rides so opted for the 20mm comfort seat option this proved to be a great buy as it double the hours in the saddle before my rear end advised me to stop. I found the standard mirrors to be poor vibrating and not wide enough so fitted the optional bar end mirrors expensive but massive improvement, the only downside is the increased width we getting past traffic.
Lock wise I fitted a roadlok these are expensive but great I have fitted these to all of my bikes that are suitable.
I modded my 1290 tank bag to fit all of my KTM's inc the 790 saved me a fortune in tank bags.
Just fitted K&N filter and boosterplug trying to see if this improves low speed running and higher speed performance weather just turned to crap so not really had the chance to try
