KTM 890 SMT spied testing in Spain
KTM is preparing a new 890 supermoto, with an SMC having been previously spied and now new shots of an SMT, touring, variant emerging.
Spy shots have emerged of the KTM 890 SMT which is anticipated for the 2024 model year.
KTM is certainly undergoing a period of evolution in its roster. The rumoured 990cc parallel-twin engine is all but confirmed, the 490cc project has been scrapped, and now a new model has been spotted.
That in question is the KTM 890 SMT, spy shots of which have been published on Cycle World.
This is a model harking back to the KTM 990 Supermoto Touring of the end of the 2000s and beginning of the 2010s, and a variant of the 890 SMC which has also been seen testing previously.
The continued testing by KTM of the new 990cc parallel-twin engine, which is generally considered as a replacement of the current 889cc version, suggests that an 890 SMT will only have a relatively short life before becoming a 990 SMT with the newer, larger engine. It is therefore not impossible that KTM could skip the 890 SMT and wait until the 990 engine is ready and market the new bike as a ‘revival’ model of the old 990 Supermoto Touring, especially with 2023 being the 10th anniversary of the end of its production. However, the advanced state of the new bike’s development suggests that won’t happen.
Essentially, the difference between the SMT, seen in the most recent spy shots, and the SMC is the configuration. The SMT is configured for longer rides with a front screen - the shorter variant seen on the KTM 890 Adventure R - and standard front mudguard, while the SMC drops the screen and raises the front mudguard, motocross-esque.
The basic idea of the KTM 890 SMT is to combine a street-style chassis with an adventure-style stance, and the prototype seen in the spy shots suggests KTM is relatively far along the process of making that combination with its newest attempt.
Styling-wise, it is perhaps unsurprising to find the bike takes its cues from the 2023 KTM 890 Adventure, while the chassis specifications are more similar to the KTM 890 Duke.
The major new element of the 890 SMT is the fuel tank, which is singular and mounted above the engine unlike the dual, side-mounted tanks of the KTM 890 Adventure. However, the tank is also not taken from the KTM 890 Duke (the mirrors, for example, are), and is instead a new design. This, Cycle News reports, is to better fit the 890 Adventure bodywork.
The exhaust is also taken from the 890 Adventure, suggesting the 889cc LC8c engine is tuned the same for the 890 SMT as for the Adventure. The shared components between the 890 Adventure and SMT also suggest the weight between the two will be similar.
KTM 890 Adventure and KTM 890 Adventure R review 2021 | On and Off-Road Review
Alex has been working in the motorcycle industry for as long as he has been at Visordown, which has been since March 2022 so we'll let you work it out from there. He's the new guy. He'd be fetching us all coffee 'round the clock if he wasn't based in the arse end of nowhere.
