New Ktm rc390 for the road

[sidewinder]

130kg and 38bhp

https://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m492/sidewinder11/0c50658f7c7d4015e731f37656b243c1_zps7beeaf17.jpg


Looks kinda nice I think
THIS is the first sight of KTM’s new RC390 – the fully-faired offspring of the 390 Duke which is set to be launched in road-going form later this year.

You’ll have spotted it’s a race bike at the moment. That’s because it’s been revealed as the new standard bike for the ADAC Junior Cup feeder series. However, there’s no question that it’s the forthcoming road bike, merely stripped of its lights, plates and road-legal exhausts.

KTM boss Stefan Pierer said: “We developed a pure GP racing machine for the Moto3 World Championship. In contrast, the RC 390 Cup is based on a series model project. Both of these two projects were given the highest priority because the development of lower displacement, high quality street bikes are among our core activities. The new KTM RC 390, which will be available for sale in 2014 will meet a big demand for affordable, quality sport bikes for the lower displacement class.”

Powered by the Duke’s 375cc single, which makes 43bhp at 9500rpm, the bike also shares its frame, brakes, swingarm and forks – with WP supplying the suspension at both ends. But low clip-ons, rearsets and a full, RC8-style fairing mean this has the potential to be a sort of spiritual successor to machines like the RGV250 and KR-1S; an entry-level sports bike that has the sort of low weight and nimble handling to give much more expensive and powerful machines a run for their money as soon as a few bends appear in the road. OK, a four-stroke single might not have the same race-bred appeal as a two-stroke twin, but the link between this bike and KTM’s Moto3 racer is sure to be pushed to help solve that problem. As it’s likely to just slip into the new “A2” licence class – although, like the Duke 390, it may need a couple of bhp knocked off via a different injection map to sneak under the A2 power-to-weight limit – the KTM promises to be the sportiest machine that many new riders will be able to aspire to.

Speaking of weight, the new RC will be far lighter than its rivals. The Duke 390 is just 139kg, and the fairing isn’t likely to add more than a handful of kg to that. Its 850mm seat height out to make it usable for new and shorter riders too.

Initially, the bike was even expected to be called the ‘Moto3’ – that was the codename it was developed under and that the project was originally called when it was announced to dealers. KTM even gained a trademark on the name, but now it seems that the RC390 tag is more likely to be used for the road-going version as well as the race bike presented here.

Given that the Duke 390, complete with ABS, will set you back £4500 in the UK, there’s hope that the RC390 will come in at or around £5k. That would put it directly up against the likes of Honda’s CBR500R (47bhp, 180kg, £4950 with ABS as standard) and Kawasaki’s Ninja 300 (39bhp, 172kg, £5199 with ABS, £4799 without).

[Slacker24seve...]

I was just about to post the same thing! Sounds fun
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[MarJay]

Modern version of something like a CBR250. I like, and want.
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[Fowlersrs]

wow, I like the look of that!!

[sidewinder]

I'm thinking trackbike

[G]

[Irn-Bru]

Duke 390, then RC390... KTM 390 SMC has to be next
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[Al]

It looks great, I was actually looking at the duke 390 which sounds really good fun. Low power but it's really light and basically just the same as the 125 with a bigger engine.
They look pretty budget though, suspension and brakes are very weedy looking and you can kinda tell it's built in India. Fixings ect look cheap, but then again it is cheap for a new bike. Apparently they are only about £1800 new in India which is a bit worrying.

[LockyUK]

that is gorgeous!

[Supermoto_Fan]

Looks the part but dissapointed by the single engine, mini v twin and then we would be talking!
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[MarJay]

[Al]

I thought they were built in India by Bajaj and shipped to KTM Austria for a final inspection rather then being assembled there . Either way the finish looks cheap and like it wouldn't last well, which isn't really a problem as it is cheap but I guess it depends what you expect.
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[Irn-Bru]

If you want ideas on quality and finish look at the Duke 125 threads and that'll give you an idea.

I wasn't happy with the quality of my old 690 SMC at all, for the price they are new (6,800 - now 7,200 for SMC-R) it just isn't up to spec. That and their customer service was awful.
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[G]

Various things say 142kg for the CBR250RR, so similar or a little worse.

Specs aren't far off the Suzuki goose - a little more power.

Suspect similar to the tuned version I rode - the standard version was particularly disappointing (though I did have a bit too high hopes, for it).

It's possible it may be good, but I feel it's likely to seem a bit bland - and certainly at the price they're selling at, doesn't seem like a great deal for a dressed-up commuter.

[Teflon-Mike]

Min power to weight ratio for A2 is 0.2Kw/Kg.
@130Kg max power would be 26Kw = 35bhp
@140Kg max power would be 28Kw = 37bhp
It would have to have more than a 'couple' of ponies shaved to be restricted... almost a dozen in fact.
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[MarJay]

[Al]

Well if that's correct and the quality is improved over the 125 that makes them a bargain compared to the 125 which is only £500 cheaper. Once you factor in the bigger engine,better tyres, suspension and the fact that it's not assembled in an Indian scooter factory.
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[bikertomm]

Just looks like another plastic fantastic with CBR125 wheels IMO.

I reckon 50bhp and it would be more fun too.
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[Ariel Badger]

Far too much triangulation behind the swing arm/power unit. if you are that fat and need that much steel to keep your bum off the rear wheel then diet.
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[G]

Just a road bike with race plastics - so got to take the weight of a hefty pillion quite possibly.

[keggyhander]

I don't like the non-existent back end.

[G]

[UnspeedySam]

As I said in this thread https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=266029 I really fancy a 390 duke or one of these. However everyone that has bought the 125 seems to have had massive problems with things breaking in the first year of ownership. I'd steer clear...even if on paper it looks like the best of the A2 licence bikes.
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