For this 2024 KTM 390 Duke review, we traveled to Almeria, Spain, to test the updated naked bike on the street and a gymkhana course. (Photos by Francesc Montero & Sebas Romero)

This is a year of milestones. The AMA is celebrating its 100th anniversary, Rider is celebrating its 50th, and KTM is celebrating ?30 Years of Duke.? What started out as one bike in 1994 is now a seven-model lineup, including the 125 Duke, 250 Duke, 390 Duke, 790 Duke, 990 Duke, 1290 Super Duke GT, and 1390 Super Duke R Evo. We tested three new/updated models recently ? the 390, 990, and 1390 ? and we?ll start off with our KTM 390 Duke review.

A selection of Dukes over the years, with the original Duke 620 in the middle, three 2024 models (390 Duke to the right of the Duke 620, and the 990 Duke (l) and 1390 Super Duke R (r) in the front), and others from intervening years.
Thirty years ago, KTM ? then a small Austrian manufacturer of dirtbikes ? launched its first street-focused motorcycle, the Duke 620, a supermotard-style bike that was the brainchild of KTM engineer Wolfgang Felber. Starting with a KTM 620 R/XC dual-sport, which had a kickstart-only 602cc Single that made 56 hp, Felber shortened the suspension and gave it 17-inch spoked wheels shod with sticky street tires. Weighing just 315 lb, the flickable, wheelie-happy Duke ? named after Geoff Duke, a British GP racer who won multiple world championships ? became a cult favorite, a hooligan bike that encouraged a rowdy riding sty...