Move Over Ducati, The 2026 KTM 690 Singles Are Ready To Mingle

The KTM 690 Enduro R and 690 SMC R have stormed into 2026 with fresh styling, more features and enough muscle to steal the Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono’s crown as the current most powerful production single-cylinder bike in the world.

KTM’s LC4 Just RKO’d The King

Until now, the Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono wore the single’s crown, with its 659cc engine pushing 77.5PS. KTM’s reworked Euro 5+ compliant, 692.7cc LC4 engine changes that - boasting 79PS and 73Nm (78PS for some regions, still enough for the win).

This is no small tweak, the 2026 version of both these KTM bikes uses the same LC4 as before but with major tweaks and changes. It gets a revised crankcase, clutch, and stator cover, plus a redesigned oil system and updated valve timing.

It has now been rubber-mounted for smoother running, and it comes with a revised airbox, breathes through a more compact muffler, and a sharper throttle. Maintenance intervals are stretched to 15,000km for oil changes and 60,000km for valve checks - a serious nod to long-distance riders (provided you’re in first-world countries where the atmosphere is clean).

The Future Is Now, Old Man

The old monochrome LCD display? Gone. In its place is a crisp 4.2-inch colour TFT console with ‘KTMconnect’ Bluetooth smartphone pairing, turn-by-turn navigation, and music/call controls. It also has all-LED lights now, a USB type-C charging port, and backlit switchgear with a dedicated ABS button.

Lean-sensitive cornering ABS and traction control are now standard across both bikes. The Enduro R adds an optional Rally mode with adjustable traction and the new ‘Dynamic Slip Adjust’ for terrain-adaptive control (read fancy slipper clutch), while the SMC R’s Track mode delivers launch control, 5-stage anti-wheelie, slip adjuster, and Supermoto ABS (rear off).

Built For All Roads, Built For No Roads

Enduro R

The KTM 690 Enduro R gets a chrome-moly steel trellis frame, ‘WP XPLOR-USD’ 48mm inverted fork with 265mm wheel travel, ‘WP XPLOR’ monoshock with 250mm wheel travel, a 21-inch front/18-inch rear wheel setup, more-than-enough 265mm ground clearance, it weighs 162kg wet-and-ready to ride.

SMC R

Meanwhile, the KTM 690 SMC R also gets the same chassis but wheel travel is less on both ends: the 48mm inverted fork has 224mm while the monoshock has 240mm. The wheel and tyre sizing also change: 17-inchers at both ends and sticker tarmac tyres. Ground clearance drops to 237mm for sharper handling, but with the same 162kg kerb weight.

Single And Ready To Mingle

The Hypermotard might still hold style points in the Italian flair department, but KTM’s 690 twins now own the raw performance headline. With their new feature package, extended service intervals and dual personalities: dirt for the Enduro, tarmac for the SMC - they’ve raised the stakes in the big single game. 2 bikes, 1 engine - and 2 very different ways to a (responsible) hooligan.

ZigSays

The 2026 690 Enduro R and 690 SMC R will hit global dealerships from September 2025, and now that KTM is really keen on (for its own good) selling more bikes we wouldn’t be surprised if KTM brings these here, in small batches of course. For those with shallower pockets KTM offers the mini-me versions in the form of the KTM 390 Enduro R - which is already on sale, and we’ll soon also get KTM 390 SMC R.