The Bold and the Beautiful

For dual-sport supermoto fanatics, this is the bike we have all been waiting for. Ample power, sleek styling and loads of fun is what makes the 690SMC so attractive. Katoom attempted to capture this segment with the 690 Supermoto in 2007 but missed the mark in the looks department.

Enter the 690 SMC: Now this is the bike we wanted from the beginning. The 690 Supermoto was fun to ride, just not a looker. KTM took the 690 engine and designed a brand-new motorcycle for the world market. This bike, like the new Yamaha WR250 X and R, is available in two different versions: the SMC for 75 percent pavement and 25 percent dirt or the enduro version that caters to the 70 percent dirt/30 percent pavement dudes.

KTM of Temecula (Three Brothers) was kind enough to let Gary Trachy and SMR ride the first unit out of the crate. Trachy was using the bike to find out if it would make a good mount for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in July. SMR just tagged along to get a little seat time as well on the all-new 690.

Three Brothers left off the rear taillights and the buddy peg mounts to help speed up the initial prep. The bike is very stylish with sleek lines and looks better in person than in photos. The fuel inlet is positioned at the back of the seat and the fuel tank is actually tucked under the seat and extends into the side panels. This configuration allowed the designers to keep the rider cockpit around the radiator shrouds as thin as possible. The original SMC LC4 was very wide in the leg area as some of you might remember.

The title of the bike reads 690 but the engine displacement is actually 654cc. The gearbox houses a six-speed transmission with a slipper clutch. The engine lives off a Keihin fuel-injection system. A Brembo radial mounted caliper delivers braking power you would find on a full race bike. With the taillight section removed, the bike stands with attention and looks very much like a racer.

THE RIDE

The bike lights up with just the push of a switch and emits a somber note. The exhaust is very visible to the naked eye but stylish in a way. But like most motorcycles, the aftermarket industry will probably get right on designing smaller titanium exhausts.

Mounting the machine for the first time is a welcoming experience. The seat is very comfortable and appears ready for long rides. All of the controls are easy to access and the handlebar position worked very well with our 6' 1" frame.

Clicking first gear with a little throttle, the 690 easily speeds off. The power is very smooth with little or no vibration. The power curve is a little tame down low but as the revs build, the bike really comes to life. It feels fast when you romp on the power and let the revs fly between gears. When you short shift and keep the revs down, the delivery is easy to ride but very smooth without a lot of grunt.

We do have to take into consideration the engine is very new and still needs time to be broken in. We liked the power because it offers versatility depending on the type of rider you are. If you want to just cruise along for a Sunday ride, it delivers. But when it’s time for some real fun, aggressive speedsters will jump for joy with a bike that yearns to run hard from 30mph to 90mph. Hooligans, on the other hand, may bum out at the fact that it doesn’t want to jump off the line and huck wheelies in first and second gear. And we have heard that an exhaust with some tuning will awaken the beast even more.

Shifting is fairly smooth but a little notchy at times. The gear spacing between first and second is a little far but nothing to be alarmed about. The gearing gap may be because this bike is also available as an enduro model and a lower first gear is necessary for slow trail riding.

The handling is spot-on for a big-bore dual-sport supermoto bike. On the street, the steering is precise and tracks down the road with ease at any speed. The front end is solidly planted on the ground for stability but still nimble enough to dive in and out of both fast and slow corners. KTM offers the best of both worlds with the 690 SMC—a very sporty street bike that is comfortable and capable for long rides but will still wax most sport bikes through a tight twisty canyon. Even though it’s designed for the street, Gary Trachy logged in one-minute lap times at Grange. The bike seems versatile enough for a Sunday ride, as well as supermoto and road race track days and most dual-sport adventure rides.

FINAL GRADE

Our first impression of this bike is very positive. For only having spent a short time on it, we learned a lot but still need more time to take a deeper look at the 690SMC’s potential. Our quick stint included laps at Grange, roaming down a few desert dirt roads and around the paved roads in the area. So far the bike passed. It’s fun to ride, puts out little or no vibration, is comfortable for a long ride and emits more than enough HP for the masses. The KTM 690 could be the best bike in the class compared to the Husqvarna 610 and BMW 650 supermoto bikes although we would need to ride the bikes back to back to be sure.

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