A new KTM 1390 selection is set to arrive in 2024, according to updated inventories, with the new engine set to replace the 1,301cc unit currently found in the 1290 Super Duke range.
The 1990s were a period of huge change for KTM, seeing the Austrian manufacturer set on the path towards being the orange brand we know today.
In 1996, KTM’s motocross bikes were painted orange for the first time, and along with Yamaha, it pushed the sport of motocross away from two-strokes and towards four-strokes.
Credit: Ray Archer/KTM.
Additionally, in 1994, it launched the first bike in its now iconic Duke range, the 620.
Between then and now, the Duke has been through many generations and has expanded to include models as small as 125cc and as large as 1,301cc.
The 1,301cc machines now make up the 1290 Super Duke range - with the Super Duke R, RR, R Evo, and GT - but they now seem set to be replaced by a new 1390 range.
This was revealed by BikeSocial’s Ben Purvis, who wrote last week that inventories and parts lists on some KTM dealers had been updated with a new ‘1390’ engine, which appears identical to the 1290 and has a similar price, around £8,000 (including VAT), to the smaller engine.
There is also a second variant of the engine with a ‘CN’ designation, possibly indicating that it will be built in China and probably by CFMoto. The KTM sister brand builds 790 engines for use in both its own bikes and KTM’s, as well as a 1,279cc version (for its 1250 TR-G) of the 1,301cc LC8 motor found in the aforementioned KTM 1290 range.
It’s not possible to tell exactly how large the new 1390 engine will be, due to KTM’s nomenclature which normally involves rounding up or down, but it would seem reasonable to assume that it will fall somewhere between 1,349cc and 1,449cc.
Of course, the larger engine makes the possibility of even more power and torque from KTM’s hypernakeds distinct, and potentially for the Super Adventure range, looking a little further down the line.
