Every bike manufacturer has a reputation for the sort of bikes it builds. Based on that, you’ve usually got a bit of a head start when it comes to predicting how a bike might ride. You can’t always be right of course, but I’m not often surprised with the general way a bike behaves once I know who’s built it.With KTM’s new 1190 RC8 however, there’s more mystery. Sure, the Austrian firm has built lots of different models over the years. And though
KTMhas a few road bikes in its line up, it’s never produced a superbike before. With that in mind, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the big RC8 V-twin engined machine. I’ve always been really impressed with KTM’s bikes, finding them to be of very high quality and feeling very sorted to ride. However, making 68bhp singles and 125bhp roadsters is one thing, putting together a 150bhp superbike designed to succeed on both road and track is something very different.The result of what has clearly been a dedicated two and a half years of effort (once KTM gave the bike the go ahead after its appearance in prototypical guise at the 2003 Tokyo show) is not only impressive from a firm completely new to big
sportsbikebuilding, in the context of the class as a whole it’s nothing short of outstanding. The RC8 is one hell of a bike and there’s no doubt in my mind that KTM UK will sell every one of the 350 bikes it’s bringing in, and even more if it can get hold of them. If you fancy an RC8 in 2008, I’d say you need to order one right now.
It has many virtues, the most obvious of which (and something that will benefit everyone, regardless of whether you’ve been riding for a year or, like me, thirty times that), is its rideability. So much consideration has gone into making the RC8 easy to ride that it seems to get on with the job of performing with minimum effort from the rider.It has all the civility and ergonomic poise of a Japanese bike, with around ten times the character and appeal, and takes about two minutes to feel at home on - unlike some European manufactured machines that can take days to feel as comfortable with.Luckily for me, my first experience of the bike was at the fabulous Ascari circit in southern Spain. The track is nothing short of superb and a brilliant facility to test a motorcycle. It has a real variety of corners to examine all aspects of a bike’s performance, and with some parts of the lap being a bit risky, you have to be super confident to ride through them hard. On the RC8, the last thing I expected to do was crash. That’s simply because this bike feels so damned sorted and well thought out. Like all the others in the range, the RC8 has such a superb balance and neutrality it’s clear that it’s the product of some very careful design and engineering. With damp patches on some parts of the circuit it was a real bonus to have the level of feel and feedback the RC8 has in such abundance. Well-calculated weight distribution gives the bike plenty of poise and composure, and the excellent WP suspension supports it extremely well. At the same time it transmits all the right messages about what the sticky Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa tyres are doing, so you know exactly where the bike’s limits are, and better still, when you’ve reached them. I had a couple of minor slides on the slippery sections but wasn’t fazed simply because of the KTM’s manageable feel when I did. And even though the nature of every single corner of the Ascari track is unique, the RC8 gets on with the job of carving into, through and out of them in a very relaxed and progressive manner. No matter whether the section was a second gear hairpin, tight 90-degree corner, or fifth gear 150mph flyer, the result was always the same – unflustered, yet very speedy progress
KTMhas a few road bikes in its line up, it’s never produced a superbike before. With that in mind, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the big RC8 V-twin engined machine. I’ve always been really impressed with KTM’s bikes, finding them to be of very high quality and feeling very sorted to ride. However, making 68bhp singles and 125bhp roadsters is one thing, putting together a 150bhp superbike designed to succeed on both road and track is something very different.The result of what has clearly been a dedicated two and a half years of effort (once KTM gave the bike the go ahead after its appearance in prototypical guise at the 2003 Tokyo show) is not only impressive from a firm completely new to big
sportsbikebuilding, in the context of the class as a whole it’s nothing short of outstanding. The RC8 is one hell of a bike and there’s no doubt in my mind that KTM UK will sell every one of the 350 bikes it’s bringing in, and even more if it can get hold of them. If you fancy an RC8 in 2008, I’d say you need to order one right now.
It has many virtues, the most obvious of which (and something that will benefit everyone, regardless of whether you’ve been riding for a year or, like me, thirty times that), is its rideability. So much consideration has gone into making the RC8 easy to ride that it seems to get on with the job of performing with minimum effort from the rider.It has all the civility and ergonomic poise of a Japanese bike, with around ten times the character and appeal, and takes about two minutes to feel at home on - unlike some European manufactured machines that can take days to feel as comfortable with.Luckily for me, my first experience of the bike was at the fabulous Ascari circit in southern Spain. The track is nothing short of superb and a brilliant facility to test a motorcycle. It has a real variety of corners to examine all aspects of a bike’s performance, and with some parts of the lap being a bit risky, you have to be super confident to ride through them hard. On the RC8, the last thing I expected to do was crash. That’s simply because this bike feels so damned sorted and well thought out. Like all the others in the range, the RC8 has such a superb balance and neutrality it’s clear that it’s the product of some very careful design and engineering. With damp patches on some parts of the circuit it was a real bonus to have the level of feel and feedback the RC8 has in such abundance. Well-calculated weight distribution gives the bike plenty of poise and composure, and the excellent WP suspension supports it extremely well. At the same time it transmits all the right messages about what the sticky Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa tyres are doing, so you know exactly where the bike’s limits are, and better still, when you’ve reached them. I had a couple of minor slides on the slippery sections but wasn’t fazed simply because of the KTM’s manageable feel when I did. And even though the nature of every single corner of the Ascari track is unique, the RC8 gets on with the job of carving into, through and out of them in a very relaxed and progressive manner. No matter whether the section was a second gear hairpin, tight 90-degree corner, or fifth gear 150mph flyer, the result was always the same – unflustered, yet very speedy progress
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