2023 KTM 890 SMT - SuperMoto Touring

Is this made in China….? I hear the 790 is? Other reviews say the seat is very comfortable. Guess it’s just all opinions. Nobody ever says how much it cost to keep the quickshifter and cruise after the demo mode shuts it down? I personally like the look of the bike. How does it sit compared to a 690 SMCR? I had one of those and it had a 890mm seat height I think and this is 860mm.

What is the power difference between the BMW F900XR and the KTM 890SMT? I ask out of ignorance because I am new to this. Is the difference very noticeable on the road? I like the the BMW and the KTM. I love riding the twisties and 4 day trips. What about reliability of each? Sorry to ask newbie questions but I am that LOL LOL.

YOu can configure this bike with 2 or 3 piece lugage & a screen like the one on the 380 Adventure (get that off the dealer I believe?) Having a 390 Adv., that screen is nice. Suspension is Fantastic on these last generation of KTMs!

I am under the impression that the 890 adventure screens will also fit this bike.

I rode this bike, and whilst it's phenomenally capable, the engine left me cold. Sure it's fast, but it lacks any character of the 950 carb fed v twin supermoto, for me anyway. It's like a nuclear powered sewing machine. I really wanted to like it, but I just didn't.

Wheres the supermoto? I only See an adventure bike with 17"

Your videos are so classy I enjoy this one thank you

I didnt like the older 1290 the engine never felt settled which sometimes you want. Interested in this bike but seems to miss the mark for touring with a poor screen and smallish tank size, might push me to try the 1290 again

I own 2 KTMs. Huge KTM fan. I liked your review.
I hate this bike. Wow do I hate this bike. :)

900 xr doesn't compare its the most boring engine ever

Yay! An uncomfortable, yet equally unreliable touring bike. Just what nobody asked for.

Lol! Ignore the KTM marketing kool-aid: this is NOT a touring bike. Certainly no more than any sporty roadster. The 2009 KTM 990SMT was a brilliantly capable all-rounder that you could use to cover hundreds of miles in a day, do urban, scratching & freeway riding, either taking it easy or scaring yourself along the way & suffer no aches or pains after a long day in the saddle. This is nothing of the sort. Buy the Duke-R or a proper tourer instead folks.

You didn't really compare it with your experience with the F900XR you owned, which would you prefer over the two bikes? Seems like you had a lot of fun, shame about the windshield for highway though. Thanks again for taking the time to do this, great job as always!

Hi.
I know you had bmw f900xr, a bike I m thinking about.
I tried it too, and discovered a fun bike, very nimble and, actually, a corner weapon, if you have the right driving skills.
My question is:
How is, this ktm, in comparison with xr900, fun wise and overall?
Thanks.

Really make a GREAT VIDEO"S thanks !!!!

One Ugly bike🤮the old 990smt look 10 times better✊🔥

👍

Do you think ktm has figured out reliability or made in China is still made in china?

Nice, Scott, a marvellous machine! Isn’t the Hypermotard even shorter and more frontwheel directed? I rode such an animal one time and had lots of fun! Too wild for me, however, at an age of 71 😉 Thanks for showing us!

Sounds amazingly light but then it doesn't have 9" suspension travel and wire wheels. And a big fuel tank.

You should try this bike at speed on a twisty mountain road then report back. That is its purpose. It is a Sportsbike in the form of a ‘Tall Roader’. An 890 Duke on stilts with all the things that stop the Duke being an all round useful bike, like wind shield, passenger seat, fuel tank capacity and actual luggage carrying capability. In addition the seat/hand/feet relationship is biased to all day comfort rather than racer like weekend warrior foetal position of the Duke. I could have a lot of fun on this bike compared to some of the dull-as-dish-water touring bike competition. After all you only properly tour for a tiny fraction of the riding year, why not have some excitement for the majority of your ride time?. Let me give you a real world example, the office where I worked was right next to a traffic light junction. Nearly every day at about 4:30pm, a guy on a KTM 990 SM got stopped by the red light. Every time, he took off straight into a wheelie, and I mean every time. Wow, I thought, that looks like a fun bike. I bought a 950 SM as a winter bike and boy was it a fun bike, even though I can’t wheelie to save my life. That I think is what you get with this 890 SMT, it’s like turning the fun button to max, it goes around corners like the Scalpel Duke does with added ‘T’ for touring capability. On the styling perspective, I think this is one of the better efforts in the current KTM line up, it is an improvement over the 890 Adventure for sure.

No interest.

Nice review bro keep the job up👍👍

My dream is to have one ❤💙❤💙

Great stuff as always. If i may suggest would you check out the Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX? It's a sport tourer.

Hi Scott, many thank for your nice test-video which shows the right recommendation in the end.

The SMT offers a bit SuperMoto Style & handling in combination with Touring-aspects or a Touring-Bike for a bit Hooligan-nature...😂 like me. 😎

And so I own one since 6 weeks and 2,6 tkm, coming from a Duke 890 R with touring mods. For me the Original Flyscreen seems to have a very individual effect depending on the rides size.
I'm 196cm/6,43ft tall and have a bully stature and for me the max. speed thats cofortable is 180-190km/h before it start buffering on my helmet. Since last weekend I mounted the Adv-R (2023) screen but only to have some more coverage for my navigation-system.

All in all I'm very happy with the bike already rode it on two longer trips a weekender to Luxembourg and for one week (by trailer) to Austria, Italy & Slovenia. It was really a blast on twisty mountain-roads and also nice to ride on the larger Großglockner Scenery road.👍

Greetings from the rhine-area and a nice saison 2023! Ride save! 😀

Eric

Unfortunately, the biggest issue with these great bikes is reliability.

I love KTMs but I think this bike is just an adventure with road wheels, I don’t see anything supermoto about it. They need to redesign the headlight area, take a leaf out of the hyper motard’s books or go all out touring like the hyperstrada

To me the worst of both worlds, not SM enough and not touring enough.I'd sooner get an 890R and stick a set 19" and 17" on one with the 20l tank.The perfect bike but manufactuerers never listen.

Lovely bike but certainly no tourer 👍

I just want to add some perspective on the "any day you can be out in the sun..." : when you're in tropical countries (India, for instance), during summer time, if you're out in the sun for too long you may risk death from dehydration 😅

Waiting for it to come into the Calif. market... I'm torn between the 890 ADV for suspension travel or the SMT for the backroad twisties

Give it time, the SMT R will come out eventually.

I wish KTM had built this in the same vein as the old 990SMT, like an actual ST, not a faux ADV style. This is a NO for me.

Great review!

I'd take the Hyper 950 over the KTM all day, on looks alone. Performance is probably very similar, but I'd still go Italian.

It's too bad KTM didn't throw the hooligan 120 HP R engine in it. People who buy this are gonna wanna ride it like a Duke not like the Adventure model. That little extra torque is really aimed at slow off road speed used in the dirt focused Adventure models with 21 inch wheels. Missed opportunity in my opinion. Who knows maybe they'll come out with a R version....

Oh sh**, I was not expecting to really desiring this SMT!! I want one🤤🤤🤤

I don't understand how these windscreens are so inadequate on so many bikes intended for touring.

You do good work. Always enjoy your reviews. Keep them coming, I’m 67 and I’ve been riding for over fifty years. I’m on a Yamaha Stratoliner now and love it. But I’m looking to downsize in the next few years. God bless young man and Go Blue, unless your a Green & Whire guy, if so I forgive you. 😎

Live long and prosper. LOL! Great review.

I want one so badly.

Thank you mr Prove! Well done!

Another good review! Its good to see them from you. Ride safe brother!

Just tried that bike yesterday. An absolute beast! Can't imagine touring on it at all. Great for messing around up in the mountains. Will stay with my F900XR.

Endlich wieder ein schönes Testvideo... thank god he is back with my favorite content. Thx a lot and keep going. Die Linke zum Gruß mein Lieber