KTM 690 DUKE (2012-2015) Review

Would have scored 5 if it wasn’t for the occasional false neutral

Great fun

A lightweight fun bike, power when you need it and lots of goodies as standard. Terrible gearbox, the detent arm causes false neutrals. Unacceptable from KTM. Well behind the build quality, fit and finish of the Japanese bikes. Feels very plastic and it is.

This bike is just pure, that's the best part of it, so much fun that I'm surprised the EU didn't ban it for urban use! The torque and the agility are the best parts for me and probably gearbox is the worst thing about this machine. This is actually my favorite bike that I've owned and I'd love to give it a five but that wouldn't fair to potential buyers if I revived it through rose tinted glasses. Some parts of it excel, the fun factor where as other aspect fall short like overall finish, if you want something fun this is a good choice, but only if you're prepared that you might need to spend a bit making it as good as it should have already been.

2014 KTM 690 Duke I have been lucky to have owned many motorcycles over the years, including big 1300cc monsters. Most of them take themselves way too serious. Tried the 690 duke for a change and I completely love it. Owned it for about two years now. It still makes me smile every time i get on it and i often catch myself glancing back at it after i've parked it. It's extremely easy to ride, lovely on twisty mountain passes and brilliant in town traffic. Not even bad off-road. The bike is well built. Low curb weight - Handles like a dream. The motor is economical and pretty strong. The short gearing is great for having fun (easy 1st gear power wheelies) and it's quick if you ride it hard. Managed to top it out at an indicated 125mph. Overall a well balanced bike. I have also done some medium distance touring on it, 250 mile stints, just because i love spending time on it, but the lack of wind protection makes for a very tiring experience plus the throttle is a little heavily sprung for my liking when it comes to cruising. Also don't recommend the track driving mode for road use. The throttle becomes overly sensitive, but these are small niggles that adds to its charm. This bike is a great commuter (nice and docile when you want it to be) and fun weekend bike. The KTM dealership is great. The after sales service is top notch.

I would recommend this bike to anyone who is a new rider or even someone who fancies a change and a different way of riding. They are fun, have the looks and overall are very comfy.

On the twisty, bumpy devon roads where I live it's hard to beat the Duke. Great suspension, super stoppers(ABS is great) and a punchy engine. However if you are around town she's docile and friendly

Fab bike to ride. Very punchy and willing engine all to easy to hit the rev limiter. Mpg can be as high as 80! Good quality parts but the engine longevity is questionable due to the highly strung nature and also there is a big problem if you search the ktm forums of the valve rocker bearings failing due to poor quality of them, can happen at any milage, as little as 700 miles in some cases. Rough sounding engine and metal fragments on the magnetic oil sump plug are giveaways. Tho engine still runs half ok. There are German manufactured bearings available to replace the cheap Chinese ones if you are affected. Apparently not too big a job but almost inevitable that sooner rather than later this will happen to you. Aside from that its a stonking bike, going one tooth less on front sprocket helps with the mentioned snatchy juddering problem at low revs in traffic. Handling is great, little to no dive at the front when braking, as quick as a Fazer 600 from 40-90mph so it's a fast single, capable of an indicated 120mph,

I brought my Duke after passing my test, I love the look of it with the orange. I cannot believe the lightness of this bike for a near on 700 feels like riding a much smaller capacity bike. That is until you twist your right wrist! The acceleration is great due to the abundance of torque, the handling is fantastic due to great weight distribution and wide bars. However there are some negatives to mention the bike judders at slow speed making it a bit of a pain in stop start traffic, no fuel gauge . These do not distract from the overall experience worth a try.

I have now done 4k miles on the Duke and am still having a great time. The better I get the more I am enjoying what this bike can actually do. I commute 70 miles a day in heavy traffic and the agility is brilliant. With a bigger screen the motorway work is fine, not sure I would want to do hours on a motorway, but that's not what this bike is about. The only complaint is the lack of a fuel gauge.

This is my first bike and I know it's not the fastest thing on two wheels but its amazing fun to ride. I do not get the feeling it's going to kill me if I make a mistake, but neither do I think it's going to be boring. I am still learning how to cope in very slow situations as it is a little lumpy but I think that's me and not the bike. I get round corners faster than I would have believed possible and the lack of weight is fantastic. Fear of dropping a heavy bike is probably at the front of most novices minds, the Duke just makes it all so easy. There is plenty of grip even in the wet, and the bike is more than comfortable enough for commuting. A real winner.

I've spent around 12hours sat on the bike so far, two 4hour sessions and some shorter - so comfort is fine! Seems to make the same power whatever the mode, only the delivery is different. Using up to 6000RPM I got 64mpg for the first tank and 66mpg for the second. Brakes are fab, handling is fab and very stable, look at the forks - they are kicked out, not like my old MY-03 which was not as stable. Got a quality chain/lock under the seat, So so far all good and running in is no pain 6K is 90mph and even now it would murder my old MT-03. Can't wait to explore the rest of the rev range.