Supermotos and touring bikes are built for very different purposes, but no-one bothered telling KTM that. They’ve just brought the SMT (Supermoto Touring) designation back to their line-up, in the form of the new KTM 890 SMT.
It’s been a decade since the KTM 990 SMT fell from KTM’s line-up. A capable, if awkward-looking bike, it was effectively a bulked-up version of the 990 SMR. The idea was to meld the performance and agility of a supermoto, with the comfort and distance riding capability of a touring bike.
The KTM 890 SMT follows that exact same formula, with a look that’s sharper and less gawky than its predecessor. As is the norm for most modern KTMs, it’s still ugly—but in an intriguing mechanical alien sort of way.…