LAUNCHED in 2009, the KTM 990 SMT blended the best bits of the Austrian brand’s big-bore supermoto bikes, and a pile of adventure and touring bike parts. The result was a slightly unhinged take on fast, road touring. Today though the firm has said it’s coming back, in the form of the KTM 890 SMT.
KTM’s press release states that the new machine will be officially revealed on 24th April 2023, and sadly, until then we won’t have much more in the way of information. This isn’t a bike that is new to us here at Visordown though, as we’ve had a good look at it in various spy shots taken out on the road. Here’s what we’ve seen, and what we think.
KTM 890 SMT confirmed
First up, the new machine very much lives up to the SMT with its styling, as it’s looking like a slightly more svelte, slim, and tucked-in version of its cousin, the 890 Adventure. Unlike its adventure-biased brethren, the SMT looks to have shunned the bulbous fuel tank that droops down each side of the bike and instead wears a conventional item atop the frame.
While the rather short save-the-date release from KTM doesn’t go into specifics, we can hazard a guess about the performance and engine specs. The engine is the same across the models, and with this bike's designation being for on-road high-jynx, the tune will likely be very similar. That should mean around 100bhp and 70lb-ft of torque. Those numbers should put it right in the mix with bikes like the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT (117bhp) and Ducati Multistrada V2 (113bhp), if KTM is faithful with its modern-day take on the SMT, this might be the most fun to ride.
The only image that we think is of the new SMT is this, tiny pixelated one on the screen in the picture you can see above
We’ll be keeping a close eye on the official reveal of this bike, and will bring you all the news as we have it.
