A Touring Bike That Feels Relaxed, Refined, and Surprisingly Fun

The touring bikes segment has become super vast today. You can have traditional touring bikes based on a cruiser with a large engine. Or there are the sport tourers that used to be sport bikes modified to have an easier, more comfortable riding position, along with a less aggressive engine tune to cope with the demands of touring with a pillion. Then, the crossover is a new type of sport tourer, with an ADV-derived riding position coupled with sport tourer engines and wheels.

With all that choice, it can be quite confusing to select the right touring bike for your needs. But if you can boil down non-negotiables to relaxed, refined, and surprisingly fun, we’ve found one touring motorcycle that does this extremely well. It has been derived from the kind of motorcycle that couldn’t be more different from a tourer if it tried, but somehow it all works fabulously.

The KTM 890 SMT Is A Touring Bike That Feels Relaxed, Refined, and Surprisingly Fun

Francesco Montero / Topspeed

There can hardly be a style of motorcycle that is more unsuitable for touring than a supermotard, and yet somehow the KTM 890 SMT promises to be a ‘Super Moto Touring’ bike. It is relaxed and refined when you need it to be, and it still retains that Jack Russell terrier-like streak of mischief when you encourage it to be naughty. The seat is comfortable, the tank range is good enough, and it has enough composure to get you through a long ride without tiring you out.

KTM 890 SMT Price: $13,949

Guy Pickrell

KTMs are usually premium products, and that reflects in their pricing. The 890 SMT is no different. It is priced at just under $14,000, putting it at the extreme premium end of the middleweight touring bike segment. You should also know that KTM has its ‘subscription’ model on the 890 SMT, which means that features like the two-way quickshifter and cruise control require the additional $900 for the Tech Pack and Bluetooth connectivity, bringing the price to a shade under $15,000. However, the price becomes more palatable when you consider there’s nothing quite like this in the sport-touring space today.

KTM 890 SMT Engine

Guy Pickrell

The 890 SMT has a 270-degree parallel twin engine that displaces 889 cc. It runs a really high 13.5:1 compression ratio and generates 103 horsepower at 8,000 RPM and 74 pound-feet at 6,500 RPM. This is an engine that loves to be revved, but it is also perfectly happy to hum along in the midrange at highway speeds. A six-speed manual gearbox and a chain transmit the engine’s power to the rear wheel.

Guy Pickrell

A by-wire throttle and six-axis IMU are standard, so you get the whole host of KTM’s electronics suite, including ride modes, cornering traction control, and wheelie control. As mentioned, it must be noted that cruise control and a two-way quickshifter are available for the first 1,000 miles of use, but KTM will need an extra $1,000 to install the Tech Pack, which then unlocks these two features permanently.

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KTM 890 SMT Chassis

KTM

Under the skin, the 890 SMT is essentially a blend of the 890 Duke and 890 Adventure. A trellis frame made of chrome-moly steel serves as the centerpiece, with the engine used as a stressed member. The subframe is made of aluminum. 43 mm inverted forks suspend the front wheel, while the rear has a single shock. Both come from WP and have full adjustability with 7.1 inches of travel at both ends.

17-inch alloy wheels and tubeless tires are present, too. These house twin 320 mm front brake discs paired with radial J.Juan calipers, while the rear has a 260 mm brake disc with a two-piston floating caliper. Cornering ABS that can be switched off at the rear wheel (like a supermoto) is standard.

The Weight Is Under 430 Pounds

Guy Pickrell

The 890 SMT isn’t a very big motorcycle, and its agility is backed up by the short-ish 59.1-inch wheelbase. It is definitely a tall bike, with a 33.9-inch seat height and 8.9-inch ground clearance. But the height disadvantage is offset somewhat by the fact that it is extremely light, at 428 pounds.

KTM 890 SMT Features

Guy Pickrell

A 5-inch TFT display is present on the 890 SMT, but it seems a little small compared to the competition. You also have to upgrade it with a ‘connectivity unit’ if you want to enable Bluetooth, navigation, music control, and phone controls. In case you were wondering, the Tech Pack costs $693, while the connectivity kit is priced at $168. Since this is a premium KTM, there is an endless list of PowerParts that can be added to it.

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KTM 890 SMT Competition

BMW

​​​​​​​The 890 SMT has some very interesting competition. Sticking with Europe, the Ducati Multistrada V2 ($16,995) can be a good option if you want to go to a traditional touring motorcycle, but its 19-inch front wheel and 439-pound curb weight mean it will never be as agile as the KTM. The BMW F 900 XR ($11,995) is classified under the ‘Sport’ section on the BMW website, which means it has genuinely sporty DNA. The KTM and BMW have similar engine configurations, displacements, and power outputs, but the BMW is significantly heavier.

Yamaha

That leaves us with an unlikely foe: the Yamaha Tracer 9. It’s almost as heavy as the BMW, but it claws its way back into the conversation with more power, an extremely fun chassis, a potent electronics suite, and strong reliability. It has 17-inch wheels, too. It also helps that it costs nearly $1,500 less than the KTM, and that’s before you remember that the KTM requires you to pay an extra $900 to unlock features like the two-way quickshifter and cruise control. There are no such hidden costs with the Yamaha.

KTM 890 SMT Vs Yamaha Tracer 9

Source: KTM USA