KTM is unique among the competitors in the MotoGP championship as it ' s the only company to race , and win , at the very highest level in motorcycling without having a production superbike in its range to capitalise on the publicity that competition generates . While MotoGP fans supporting Honda , Yamaha , Suzuki , Ducati or Aprilia can all step into a showroom and buy a superbike bearing at least a vague similarity to the race machines , KTM ' s biggest full-faired sports model is the single-cylinder RC390 . After discontinuing the V-twin RC8 , KTM turned its back on superbikes , with boss Stefan Pierer suggesting he believes there ' s no place for such high-performance machines on today ' s roads . However , for several years KTM has pursued the idea of a track-only sports bike , and now it ' s launched exactly that in the form of the RC 8C . The RC 8C isn ' t quite the bike that KTM was expected to make . Originally the company ' s plan was to build a V4- powered RC16 based on its MotoGP contender , but that idea seems to be |
on hold . Instead , the company has joined forces with Kramer Motorcycles to create the limited edition ( 100 ) RC 8C . Kramer is the key to the new bike . Set up by former KTM engineers , the company initially developed a track bike based on the KTM 690 singlecylinder engine and then created the GP2 890R around the 890 Duke R ' s 899 cc parallel twin . In creating the RC 8C , KTM has simply taken the existing GP2 890R - a pure trackday bike - and wrapped it in MotoGP-inspired , KTM-branded GRP and Kevlar bodywork . The chromoly steel frame , cast alloy swingarm and the plastic , tailmounted fuel tank that doubles as a self-supporting seat are all straight |
from the Kramer GP2 890R . So is the dummy ' tank ' between the rider ' s legs - actually a large airbox for the engine , which helps boost power by 7 hp from the 890 Duke R ' s 121 hp to 128 hp . The lightweight , slick-clad Dymag wheels , Brembo brakes and racespec WP suspension are also straight from Kramer . What ' s new is the bodywork , based on the RC16 GP bike ' s and complete with aerodynamic winglets and a downforce-creating ' scoop ' under the swingarm . Dry , the bike weighs a claimed 140 kg , putting performance roughly on a par with a Moto2 racer . As a purpose-made trackday bike , the design has some neat features including replaceable crash bungs on the sides of the frame , the swingarm , |
the fork bottoms and the edges of the tail - so a minor off shouldn ' t lead to catastrophic damage . The ride height , seat height , footpegs and bars are all adjustable , as is the steering head angle and offset . Of the 100 customers , 25 will also be able to pay more to join KTM ' s MotoGP test at Jerez in October , where their bikes will be handed over and they ' ll get tuition from KTM test riders Dani Pedrosa and Mika Kallio . Those lucky 25 will also get an extra track package including a second set of wheels , rain tyres , front and rear paddock stands and tyre warmers . None of this comes cheap , of course . The RC 8C ' s base price is approx . € 35,990 , but even so , they ' re likely to sell out fast . As a toe-in-the-water exercise , if the project is successful , it might well increase the chances of a true RC16-based track-only KTM making an appearance in the future , and of course any customers who miss out on the chance to buy the RC 8C will always be able to go directly to Kramer to get the mechanically identical GP2 890R . |