Is KTM Working On An Even More Powerful and Crazier Naked Sportbike?

KTM is quietly working on what looks like its next statement bike, with European type-approval documents confirming a 1390 Super Duke RR is on the way alongside the existing R. And while Super Duke RR bikes aren't exactly earth-shattering news (as KTM has done this quite a few times before), when taken in KTM's recent context, this might be the clearest sign yet that KTM is really back.

Not long ago, KTM was in real trouble. Production stopped. Employees got laid off. Cash got tight. The future looked shaky. Then Bajaj stepped in and basically saved KTM’s ass. Not with vague promises, but with real financial backing and long-term intent. What we’re seeing now is a company that isn’t just surviving, but getting confident again. Launching a low-volume, no-compromise RR model isn’t something you do when you’re panicking. It’s something you do when you know you’re standing on solid ground.

Based on the European type-approval documents unearthed by Cycle World's Ben Purvis, the upcoming 1390 Super Duke RR will follow a familiar blueprint. KTM did this before with the 1290 Super Duke RR in 2021 and again in 2023. Both were limited to 500 units, both were more expensive, and both focused on weight loss and track-ready hardware rather than chasing bigger numbers. This new RR sticks to that same philosophy, and that’s exactly the point.

Power stays unchanged. The type-approval lists the same output as the standard 1390 Super Duke R, with 188 horsepower at 10,000rpm and 107 pound-feet at 8,000rpm. KTM clearly wasn’t interested in bumping peak figures. Instead, the headline number is weight. With a full tank of fuel, the 1390 Super Duke RR comes in at 450 pounds. The standard R sits at 467 pounds in the same condition. A 17-pound drop is serious on a naked bike that already lives at the sharp end of the segment.

One confirmed contributor is an Akrapovič muffler. It’s the same road-legal titanium unit already available through KTM’s options catalog, complete with the stacked twin outlets. It doesn’t add power, but it trims mass, and it fits the RR brief perfectly. Still, the exhaust alone doesn’t explain that kind of weight loss.

If KTM follows the old 1290 RR recipe, and all signs point that way, there’s more going on. Expect a lithium-ion battery instead of a lead-acid unit, forged wheels, carbon fiber bodywork, and a single-seat tail. Several parts from the previous RR would bolt straight onto the new bike, including the seven-spoke forged wheels inspired by KTM’s RC16 MotoGP rims, which previously shaved around three pounds by themselves.

Suspension is where things get really interesting. The last Super Duke RR ditched electronic damping entirely in favor of fully manual WP Apex Pro hardware. That move wasn’t about saving money. It was about saving weight and giving riders a more direct, track-focused setup. The type-approval documents don’t list suspension specs, but given KTM’s history, it’d be more surprising if the 1390 RR kept electronic suspension than if it didn’t.

There are also some subtle dimensional changes. The RR is about 0.7 inches wider across the handlebars and just under 0.1 inches longer overall than the standard bike. That extra width likely comes from race-style lever guards rather than a new handlebar design. Wheelbase remains unchanged at 58.7 inches, and tire sizes stay aggressive but familiar at 120/70-17 up front and 200/55-17 at the rear.

All of this points to a bike that isn’t trying to reinvent the Super Duke, but rather distill it. No gimmicks, no spec-sheet arms race, just a sharper, lighter, more focused version of an already unhinged platform.

As for timing, KTM’s recent delays mean nothing is guaranteed. Some bikes revealed last year still haven’t landed in showrooms. That said, the approval documents list the 1390 Super Duke RR as a 2026 model, which suggests it could arrive within the next few months.