Well,the RC8 has had it's launch to the press.
It seemed to be universally praised.
A few negatives such as gear box a bit notchy and Fat Berks mag reckoned it was only making 120 bhp on the dyno.
But other mags reckoned 140+ and a Norwegian dealer has dynoed their demo bike and got 150 bhp exactly.
The current issue of Bike has these quotes:
On the front cover-Fast like a Ducati,comfy like a BMW
And in the 8 page article itself :
You can adjust the seat height and the bars,the clocks tell you absolutely everything and the engine is a peach-it's an astounding road bike.
Fast,sharp,comfy,ingenious-the RC8 is not just the first Austrian superbike,it's also the greatest V-twin ever built
At the time of writing,KTM UK had 150 orders for the RC8 before anyone had ridden it,with dealer stock request out-stripping this year's allocation of 350 bikes.It may be £1400 more than a Fireblade,but it's almost £600 less than a 1098,and a better bike.They'll have no problem selling as many as they can make.
I've ridden the local demo bike and I'm chuffed that I trusted my instincts and ordered one when I did.Mine should be here in the next month.
But I took the demo out yesterday :
Very comfortable on a 90 min stint.Lovely engine,unbelievable handling.
A few pics :
The bike comes delivered in 'Road' mode with the seat and pegs on the low setting :
The clip-ons,levers,and gear/brake levers are all adjustable so it really is very simple to tailor the riding position and feel to the individual rider.
Some naughty person seems to have exceeded the local speed limit :
The clocks are very clever,with so much info on display and with a 'Road' and 'Race' mode which give totally different displays.
Role on the summer !!!
It seemed to be universally praised.
A few negatives such as gear box a bit notchy and Fat Berks mag reckoned it was only making 120 bhp on the dyno.
But other mags reckoned 140+ and a Norwegian dealer has dynoed their demo bike and got 150 bhp exactly.
The current issue of Bike has these quotes:
On the front cover-Fast like a Ducati,comfy like a BMW
And in the 8 page article itself :
You can adjust the seat height and the bars,the clocks tell you absolutely everything and the engine is a peach-it's an astounding road bike.
Fast,sharp,comfy,ingenious-the RC8 is not just the first Austrian superbike,it's also the greatest V-twin ever built
At the time of writing,KTM UK had 150 orders for the RC8 before anyone had ridden it,with dealer stock request out-stripping this year's allocation of 350 bikes.It may be £1400 more than a Fireblade,but it's almost £600 less than a 1098,and a better bike.They'll have no problem selling as many as they can make.
I've ridden the local demo bike and I'm chuffed that I trusted my instincts and ordered one when I did.Mine should be here in the next month.
But I took the demo out yesterday :
Very comfortable on a 90 min stint.Lovely engine,unbelievable handling.
A few pics :
The bike comes delivered in 'Road' mode with the seat and pegs on the low setting :
The clip-ons,levers,and gear/brake levers are all adjustable so it really is very simple to tailor the riding position and feel to the individual rider.
Some naughty person seems to have exceeded the local speed limit :
The clocks are very clever,with so much info on display and with a 'Road' and 'Race' mode which give totally different displays.
Role on the summer !!!
