Get ready for the new KTM RC 790!

Bruno Gomes

January 22, 2019

Stefan Pierer | Photo credits: KTM Blog

Stefan Pierer, KTM CEO, already explained that his brand won’t be doing a new KTM superbike. For him, the superbikes of today are too dangerous, having too much power for road use, and so, since 2015 when KTM decided to end production of the KTM RC8 R, the Austrian manufacturer ended up not having a superbike on its lineup.

But a few years later, Pierer saw the opportunity to get back on the sport segment, and making the most of the Duke platform, created and built in conjunction with their partners Bajaj in India, KTM rolled off the factory a set of new sportbikes dubbed the RC.

They’ve proven a huge success, and now KTM might be on the brink to show us their latest toy, the RC 790!

This project would mimic what KTM did when developing the RC 390, when they transformed the naked Duke 390 into a small sportbike aimed at delivering tons of fun to young riders. Taking this into account, KTM would now use the Duke 790 and give her new fairings and racier riding position thanks to a set of lower clip-ons.

The engine will be the same parallel twin we’re now used to see on the Duke 790, but KTM will for sure apply their magic and squeeze some more horsepower and torque from that engine. International media is pointing to 105 hp and 87 Nm of torque, but we expect the KTM RC 790 can go even further in terms of engine performance.

With just 171 kg of weight, the KTM RC 790 could well be one of the best KTM sportbikes around if in fact KTM builds one, since the tubular steel trellis frame, the Brembo brakes and the sporty WP suspension have already gathered praise from amateur and professional riders worldwide.

And it won’t be just in the hardware that the KTM RC 790 might mimic the Duke 790.

Since KTM built a platform to be used in many different models – naked, sport or adventure, we expect the KTM RC 790 to be fitted with the latest electronics package applied already to the Duke 790. This means this KTM sportbike will get adjustable traction control, adjustable engine brake control, different riding modes, stability control and cornering ABS from Bosch. And, since this is a sportbike, the quickshift for both up and downshifts will be standard feature.

When will the KTM RC790 arrive?

There’s no word about that, and even our sources won’t say anything about it. At the moment, any timeframe is just speculation, but considering the Duke 790 is already on the market and doing well, we can expect to see at least a prototype version of the RC 790 on the next EICMA Milan motorcycle show by the end of the year.