First Ride: 2008 KTM 690 SMC

For ‘08 KTM have introduced three new bikes based around their phenomenal 690 LC4 motor that first appeared to much acclaim in the ‘07 690 SM. Sitting at the head of this new family is the 690 Duke. The original Duke was ground-breaking when it appeared in 1994 and its successor, the Duke II, continued to be a key model for the Austrian firm. But, like Major Steve Austin after he crashed his spaceship, the new Duke has emerged into the world lighter, stronger and faster...

Just behind the Duke are its two brothers, the 690 SMC (Supermoto-competition) and the 690 Enduro. These two bikes have a lot more in common than just the motor and are a much nearer to being able to live up to their name than any other street-moto or street-enduro machines currently on the market.

All three of these bikes are very different to ride, but all had that giddy edginess and that ability to find the hooligan element in even the most sensible of riders that we’ve come to expect from KTM. And it’s all down to the 690 motor.

If the engine you’re working with is a lemon it wouldn’t matter how much effort you put into building a bike round it, the best you’re going to end up with is a good looking lemon. What the engineers at KTM have created in the LC4 is a little gem of a motor that is compact, lightweight and yet still has (for a single cylinder at least) an incredible amount of power. This has allowed the chassis designers loads of scope to come up with machines that are lively and mega-exciting to ride. Fast.

690 SMC

The SMC, or ‘supermoto competition’ is basically the same bike as the Enduro. The only major differences being the wheels, brakes, gearing and the forks. The wheels are 17 inch spoked and fitted with sports road tyres, the front brake matches a 320mm floating disc to a four-pot Brembo caliper and the forks have a beefier, centrally mounted front axle and, strangely, 25mm more travel than the enduro variant. Everything else, the tank/airbox layout, 63bhp motor, multi-function digital dash and bodywork are the same as fitted to it’s off-road brother, although it feels lower to sit on because of the smaller diameter wheels.

After I’d got round the first couple of roundabouts heading for some twisty mountain roads I felt at home on this bike. There’s something about the combination of the long travel suspension, super-sticky Supercorsa Pro tyres, the wide bars and the general balance of the bike that give you confidence straight away. On the right bit of tarmac, and by that I mean the twistier the better, you’d struggle not to have fun on one of these little rascals.

The motor is at its best with the power switch locked on ‘aggressive’ (more on this later). Accelerating hard out of a 2nd or 3rd gear corner as you hook through the box it feels kind of raw, but not brutish. The way it pulls like a bull in the mid-range but is also happy to rev on to the 8,000rpm limit makes it feel more like a twin than a single. And it’s also the easiest bike to wheelie I’ve ever ridden, if that‘s what flicks your switch. On a modern sports bike, especially a one litre one, it’s easy to feel like your brain is one step behind what the bike’s doing. Somehow on the SMC you just feel in control. Not over faced with power, ’on top of the job’ as my dad would’ve said.

The only things I could find to have a little moan about were the slipper clutch (fitted to all three bikes) that was fairly ineffectual, in fact to be honest I couldn’t really tell it had one. Also the long 270mm travel suspension boinged around a bit on the really fast corners or loading and unloading when you changed direction quickly. Apart from that the SMC is a little belter as far as I’m concerned and I enjoyed pretty much every minute I spent on it. Sure you wouldn’t want to be doing big miles on one, but that wasn’t what they were designed for. As far as I can see they were designed for having fun with, and for that it was hard to fault.