The Duke 390 Adventure will be using the same underpinnings as the street-fighter version but with a host of changes. It will be priced significantly higher in the lineup.
KTM has imported two units codenamed ‘KT22’ in the country for R&D purposes that carry the 373.2cc engine under the belly. With little known about these new units, rumours suggest that the imported models could be the Duke 390 based Adventure motorcycles that have been speculated for almost a year now. While KTM had silenced those rumours last year when it stated that there was no adventure bike under development based on the Duke, the new reports say otherwise.
KTM has been testing the Adventure version in the stock Duke 390’s disguise. Reports have suggested that the earlier spy shots which featured a side mounted exhaust on the Duke 390 was actually the Adventure version being tested. While there is no confirmation as yet from the Austrian manufacturer, the Duke Adventure 390 if goes into production, will see longer travel forks, new side mounted exhaust, possibly a semi fairing with a redesigned headlamp along with more comfortable seats and suspension setup. Power delivery and gear ratios could also be re-tuned on the Adventure bike to suit its off-roading abilities.
That said, the possibility of a Duke based Adventure offering does seem to contradict with what KTM said last year. The automaker had conveyed that the Duke platform has been designed to build naked and supersport models, but a tourer would require a completely different package altogether and the said platform could not provide the same. Without discarding the project altogether, KTM did say that an entry-level adventure was a possibility in the long term.
However, it is possible that KTM has had a change of heart and decided to silently pursue the Duke Adventure 390 in recent months. Keeping up with the company’s tradition, more details on the upcoming model will be available at the EICMA show later this year where KTM will most likely also show the updated Duke models.
Source – Zauba.com