Duke is one of, if not the, most popular nameplates owned by Team Orange. These sporty street fighters have a reputation for being loaded with features and technology and add a fun quotient to the overall riding experience. The 790 Duke is the epitome of the same and is the most affordable Duke to come with 100+ bhp power.
KTM is working on a new 790 and it has been spotted testing, which is exciting news for motorcycle enthusiasts around the world. The spy shots of MOTOBOB show the design aspect of this upcoming street fighter as well as its modified componentry. let’s take a closer look.
2026 ktm 790 duke
As far as design is concerned, the upcoming 2026 KTM 790 Duke looks exactly like a Duke. Which is no bad thing as the aggressive silhouette and eye-catching design language has established the Duke brand around the world. With this update, KTM has made subtle modifications to the upcoming 790 Duke.
The immediately visible changes from these spy shots include a very sharp and aggressive LED headlight design which gives it a fresh look. KTM seems to be introducing a mono projector headlight flanked by LED DRLs, which seems to be inspired by its bigger brothers like the 990 Duke and 1390 Super Duke R.
The sculpted fuel tank is now much more sculpted and detailed. The tank extensions also look new and give it a more muscular look. It seems that the side body panels have also been modified and we can also see a new exhaust end can. Compared to the current model, the upcoming 2026 KTM 790 Duke resembles its bigger Duke siblings more than ever.
new components
KTM’s in-house suspension brand is WP and we have seen the company offer WP suspension components with its motorcycles. Braking components are also available in this WP brand, as we saw with the 2026 390 Duke.
For the first time, WP brake callipers can be seen on a 500cc+ KTM bike 2026 790 Duke. In-house components help keep prices under control as licensing costs are reduced. It also reflects the increased vertical integration of KTM AG within their ecosystem. These recent spy shots show a test data logger in the back seat, suggesting the final stages of testing.
The powertrain is the same 799cc parallel twin-cylinder liquid-cooled engine capable of producing 105 bhp of maximum power and 89 Nm of peak torque, mated to a 6-speed gearbox. Considering how close this test model looks to production, the launch could be coming soon. However, KTM India has not confirmed whether the 2026 KTM 790 Duke will come to India or not.
