do it with compact size , and minimal weight , it ’ s a middleweight belter . Yes , this is a litre sports bike , yes , it is a supernaked and there ’ s nothing directing air pressure off torso , head and arms , at speed , except the full tuck . KTM has named it ‘ The Sniper ,’ and calls it the “ lightest , sharpest , most performance-focused mid-class naked ” to ever come from their Mattighofen factory . I came to agree , mostly . Also on the plus side it is pretty comfortable , I found the seat height at my 185 cms , dead right , The bars are raised enough that visibility is excellent , but more importantly back strain is minimal . Foot pegs are lower than one would expect , without the ‘ half-shut pocket-knife ‘ contortions of high jockey positions , and the seat though firm and grippy is more than adequate for my bony old arse over two hours or more . Rear vision mirrors are firm and offer great vis with minimal vibrating at higher revs , without looking awful or insectoid , a very rare point . However the orange tank still reminds me of a chicken carcass backwards - I ’ d have to go for the blacked out version because of this , and I really like orange !
BIGGER CAPACITY , MORE TORQUE KTM says that the new 990 is 96 % new when compared to the 890 , and unlike recent offerings , this one is built in the home factory at Mattighofen , make of that what you will . It is physically larger , with a more rigid chassis , entrée to the world of the bigger supernakeds , without quite the threatening insanity of , say , Kawasaki ’ s H2 , the Aprilia RSV4 or the Superduke 1390 . So , is there still enough here to satisfy the racer contingent ? Good question . Yes , and maybe . It ’ s certainly delivered fully capable for track , and the technical wizardry aboard will assist till you want to switch it all off and just race . But is there a limit to its fire and fun ? Sure there is , but its so far down the track of illegality that I did not ever hit the end of the promise , but you can see that it ’ s there , unlike those monsters mentioned before . So short answer is , yes it will satisfy all but the most dedicated track day hoons . And it will
48 KIWI RIDER