After a decade-long absence, the SMT ? short for Supermoto Touring ? returns to KTM?s lineup for 2024. Now based on the 890 Adventure R platform, it has the long legs of a supermoto and most of the comfort of a sport-tourer. (Photos by Kevin Wing)

In the year 10 B.C. (Before Covid), KTM brought to the U.S. two versions of its 999cc V-Twin Supermoto platform ? an R model for hard-edged street riding and a T model for lightweight sport-touring. Using ?supermoto? and ?touring? to describe a single motorcycle might seem like the collision of two unlikely worlds, sort of like that TV commercial from the ?70s: ?You got your peanut butter in my chocolate!? ?You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!? That result, the Reese?s Peanut Butter Cup, was a match made in heaven.
The KTM 890 SMT is made to unwind twisty roads like this one.

So too was the 990 Supermoto T. When I tested one in 2010, my uncle, Lanny Fielder, joined me on a ride up and over Mount Palomar, down Banner Grade to Borrego Springs, and up Montezuma Grade to Julian on some of the best roads in San Diego County, California, and we swapped his Suzuki Bandit 1200 and the 990 SMT several times along the way.

With 17-inch wheels, sticky tires, and sporty suspension damping, the 890 SMT is a backroad bomber.

From my 2010 review: ?The KTM 990 Supermoto T is one of those motorcycles that I want to keep, lock away in the garage, and when the PR rep asks for it back, just shrug and play dumb: ?I dunno where it i...