KTM’s 670 Enduro R will likely get updated for 2025; we suspect it will have a slightly larger engine, to go along with its updated styling. (Bernhard M. Höhne/bmh-images/)

We’re bracing ourselves for a rush of new KTM street models for 2024, including the highly anticipated 1390 Super Duke range. However, the Austrian company isn’t turning its back on the enduro and supermoto markets that formed the base of its expansion into streetbikes. We’ve recently spied updated versions of the 690 SMC R and 690 Enduro R out testing and have some thoughts on what changes may be in the works.

The matte black finishes are a sure clue to these bikes’ prototype status, and while details of the updates aren’t instantly obvious, on closer inspection there are quite a few that stand out including revised frame, engine, and bodywork.

The KTM 690 SMC R is mechanically identical to the Enduro R, but clearly could use a rack on the back. (Bernhard M. Höhne/bmh-images/)

We’ll start with the bodywork, which is the easiest update to spot. Like the current models, both the SMC R and the Enduro R share the same main components, including styling, differing only in their wheels and suspension. On these spied models, the nose cowl is slightly reshaped, with the headlight inset more deeply in the front. It sits above a different front fender—although this isn’t actually a new part, instead being borrowed from the mechanically identical GasGas ES 700 and SM 700 models.

Further back, the side panels flanking the “tank” are completely redesigned, with the front sections extending higher and further forward than before. That gives a leading-edge shape that mirrors the angled underside of the front fender to create a flow from the fender to the side panels when seen directly from the side. The bottom edges of the side panels are also lower than before and appear to be hiding a radiator that’s larger than the one on the current models.

The left side of the Enduro R gives a clear view of the changes to the bike compared to the current model. (Bernhard M. Höhne/bmh-images/)

That larger radiator is one of several hints that the engine is heavily altered and may even have been given a capacity increase over the current 692.7cc—pushing it past the 700cc mark in the pursuit of extra performance. Other indications of engine changes are the covers over the clutch and generator, which appear to be machined from billet alloy and have revised surface shapes. More importantly, they also have repositioned mounting hardware, proving that the main castings of the engine are also new. Closer inspection reveals that the shape of the bracing on the outer walls of the cylinders has changed, as has the underside of the engine. It’s still an evolution of the older engine, as the cylinder head appears to be largely unaltered, but it’s a very substantial one that hints at a longer stroke and potentially a bigger bore.

The current KTM 690 Enduro R. (KTM/)

Although the frame that the engine is mounted in still looks much like the current SMC R and Enduro R chassis, there’s a visible tweak to the welded-on plate that the aluminum front engine bracket bolts to, and that bracket itself is also new to accommodate the redesigned engine. Moving back, the passenger footpeg hangers are reshaped and appear to be longer than the current ones, moving backward and upward.

At the rear, the bodywork is also new, even though it’s hidden by side bags on the Enduro version in the spy shots. On the SMC R we can see that the lower edges of the rear side panels are trimmed higher than on the 2023 model, exposing much more of the exhaust, which itself appears to be similar to the current bikes’ units, but with a finish that gives the impression it’s been hand-welded, perhaps indicating internal changes to suit these prototypes’ revised engines.

There are still plenty of carryover parts though. The swingarm, WP shocks, and WP forks are all borrowed from the existing bikes and the same applies to the brake calipers and discs as well as the wheels and tires.

KTM doesn’t bother to hide its prototypes from spy photographers as carefully as other companies, and as a result it’s become commonplace to see new KTMs long ahead of their launches. Given the state of these machines, it’s unlikely we’re looking at 2024 models that will be officially launched in just a few months’ time. Instead, they’re likely to be updates that are coming for the 2025 model year. And for those who want something similar but with a different style there are sure to be GasGas and Husqvarna variants hot on their heels.

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