Click to read: KTM 990 SMR owner reviews, KTM 990 SMR specs and to see the KTM 990 SMR image gallery.
If the SMT is a more rounded kind of KTM supermoto, then the SMR is the Austrian factory doing what they love best – balls out. This is KTM’s V-twin supermoto concept tweaked to the ‘nth degree, and they are clearly pleased with the result.
The combination of white bodywork and orange frame is gorgeous and, unlike previous KTMs, which (apparently) have been made with the same plastic you find in washing-up bowls, this one has an air of finish and class about it. There’s two of the biggest Brembo monobloc calipers you’ll ever see up front, lightweight 10-spoke Marchesini wheels, re-valved WP suspension, the 999cc LC8 engine remains untouched at 115bhp and a tiny 15-litre fuel tank. This puts the SMR’s range at a woefully short 70 miles.
We were lucky enough to ride the SMR on the twisting Portuguese roads and the infamous Portimao circuit just 45 minutes from Faro. I have to admit to being pathetically out of practice when it comes to riding circuits, and got myself in a terrible confusion about what to wear. It’s a supermoto, right, so I need one-piece leathers and motocross boots. Check. But to look the part I also need a motocross lid and goggles. Except we’re doing 140mph down the straights and now I can’t see. Shit. Turn peak on motocross helmet around so it acts as a spoiler (which is what super-fast Slovenian rider Ales Hlad (www.hlad96.com was doing, it looked cool so I thought I’d try it) and now my entire vision is distorted. I settled for riding like an old lady.
Which is no reflection on the SMR. It’s vintage KTM; fast, rampant and not in the least bit subtle. It sounds good; vibey and basic with a hint of rattle thrown in. The ride position is pure motocross. There’s nothing over the front apart from a stubby mudguard, and it begs to be thrashed. Like all big supermotos the SMR is wobbly at the bars – as I was overtaken by everyone down the straight you could watch the bars gently oscillate as they blasted past – but this is merely a by-product of big power, an upright ride stance and no wind protection.
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