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KTM showed us the very first concept of the RC8 at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2003. The Austrians are aggressive in their marketing strategy and choosing Tokyo was a nice little statement aimed at the Japanese big four. KTM wants to make a big splash with the RC8. It says in big bold orange letters that if we can beat you offroad, we can beat you on the road too.
The RC8 started out as a 999cc V-twin, and then it became a 990cc V4. KTM then scrapped everything done before and developed a brand new V75 1148cc twin from scratch in 30 months. In the last two years KTM have lobbied with Ducati to get the current WSB regulation changes through to allow the 1200cc super twins to compete.
The real competition right now is on the road, where the RC8 1190 is aimed directly at the mid-level Ducati 1098S, at a lower price than the standard 1098. As a matter of fact, Mattighofen engineers have aimed very precisely and the RC8 1190 purportedly makes exactly the same rear wheel horsepower as the 1098S. A source also told me exclusively that KTM have purchased not one, but two brand new Ducati 1098R's for study (this is not unusual as every manufacturer study their competition). But both a BMW and an Aprilia 4-cylinder superbike will soon be playing in this arena, as well. World superbike racing will be extremely interesting in 2009.
Arriving at Ascari I can see around 50 spanking new RC8's lined up waiting for the world press. Half of the bikes have got license plates and mirrors, while the other half are primed for the track test.
Following Jeremy McWilliams advice, I opt to do the road ride first thing in the morning to allow the sun to warm up the very long Ascari race circuit. It's February and the weather conditions are not always very warm or dry in this part of Spain. Ronda is high up in the mountains and it was cold this morning.
Twisting the ignition key for the first time the orange instrument panel fires up very fast. I push the starter button and cherish the moment which will go into motorcycle history. The RC8 with its extremely distinct styling is already iconic. The 1148cc V-twin fires up straight away despite the cold air and . . . it sounds great!!
My first impression of the seat and riding position is that of a sportbike slightly less extreme. I have a feeling that I am sitting more in the middle of the bike rather than on top of the front wheel. I adjust the mirrors that also house the front blinkers. The mirrors are easily adjusted and fairly big for a sportbike.
I do my first few miles up into the mountains where the roads are fast at first before more and more corners keep me entertained. The power delivery feels completely civilised and the RC8 is easy to ride on the roads. The Pirelli Diablo Super Corsas provide plenty of grip and feedback through WP's top notch suspension. WP have just been outsourced from KTM to allow the firm to develop further and also to offer both Ohlins, Marzocchi and Showa some more competition in the wider market. Our onsite WP technician recommended three different settings on the fully adjustable suspension, which were referenced as standard, medium and sport. All the road bikes were set up as standard.
This worked great for me on the road as even the standard setting allowed me to extract all the feedback I needed on the day. I can imagine that the bike will feel quite firm on the road for a rider lighter than me. Austrians are typically of fairly solid build just like us Scandinavians, and for a 6 foot something weighing around 90 kilos (198 lbs.) the RC8 is an absolutely lovely superbike on the roads. Not only is the WP rear mono shock very good, the layout and look from behind is as tidy as I have ever seen on any bike.
Snaking around the engine is a beefy looking, but light, steel tubular frame. The V75 heart is shorter than a V90, and this also allows for a shorter chassis and more space for efficient cooling up front. The trellis frame feels livelier than on a lazier steering Ducati without compromising stability. Mass centralisation is key here and a Buell style under-engine stainless steel exhaust is in place. This contributes to a low center of gravity and a very flickable motorcycle. The steering lock is so wide that my gloves kept touching the mirrors when turning around for the photographers on the road. The RC8 steers in a positive and accurate manner. A double-sided aluminium swingarm takes care of the power put down by the cast aluminium rear wheel.
Wheelies require clutch ups in second gear. The RC8 has more than enough power to wheelie from here to the moon, but inexperienced riders don't have to worry about involuntary monos. Doing some wheelies, I also found out that the speed sensor sits at the front wheel.
The radial Brembo monoblocks are pure overkill on the road and fantastic on Ascari. Brushing off 200km/h + speeds (124 mph +) into vicious hair bend corners is child's play and only the 43mm USD WP fork offers any limit to modulation and feel.
Someone might want to murder me for saying this, but one of my thoughts was that the RC8 is the perfect merger of a Triumph Sprint ST and Ducati 1098. Much more 1098 than ST of course, but to illustrate the point that the new 1190 is ergonomically pretty much the perfect road racer. The distance from the foot pegs to my knees hugging that orange matt fuel tank, and from the roomy seat to the not-so-extreme handlebar position suited me perfectly.
All motorcycles are different and they all vibrate more or less depending on engine characteristics and chassis. Sometimes I ride a new bike and hardly notice any vibration at all. Then I stop for the first time and my hands can shake violently from exposure to high frequency vibrations. The RC8 1190 hardly transmits any vibration at all to the handlebar, but some fairly noticeable vibration reached my boots through the footpegs. Later in the afternoon, I rode the RC8 on Ascari without noticing any vibration worth mentioning. The likely reason for this is that KTM had a different set-up on the track bike. The adjustable foot pegs were mounted higher and on a race track a motorcycle generally moves around a lot more than on the road. There's a thousand things happening at the same time and even if there had been some vibration I wouldn't have bothered to notice.
That brings me over to the cause of those vibrations, the mighty 1148cc V75 twin engine. If there was one thing about the RC8 1190 project that gave me doubts, it was the engine. I expected a rather "raw" and "metallic" engine feel and sound. Nothing like the smooth-running, hearty rumble I was greeted with. I had expected less from KTM's first ever high performance superbike! The engine is a stonker and so fabulously useable with generous reserves. The engine produces more than a claimed 160 horsepower at the crank and KTM engineers told me that the RC8 1190 produces the same amount of rear wheel horsepower as the benchmark Ducati 1098S. Peak power is reached at 10,000 rpm and a healthy 120Nm of torque is swirling through the machine at exactly 8 grand. The fuel injection obeys the throttle as it should, but drop down to 3,000 rpm in town and it gets a bit argumentative.....
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