The new RC 160 becomes the most affordable faired sportbike in KTM’s line-up, sitting below the RC 200 and RC 390
KTM India has finally launched the RC 160 in the Indian market. Priced at Rs. 1.85 lakh (ex-showroom), the faired sportbike joins its 160cc sibling, the Duke 160, in the brand’s line-up. For reference, the Duke 160 was launched in August last year, and it recently received a new variant with a 5-inch colour TFT display, priced at Rs. 1.79 lakh (ex-showroom).
This means that the new RC 160 commands a premium of Rs. 6,000 over the top-spec version of the Duke 160, while the price gap is around Rs. 15,000 if compared with the regular LCD cluster version of the naked sportbike.
Talking about the design of the RC 160, it sports a familiar styling to the RC 200 and RC 390, which means that the bike appears quite substantial, despite having a smaller capacity engine. It can be considered a positive aspect as customers will be getting a big-bike feel, which essentially looks the same as its bigger siblings.
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The RC 160 is based on a steel trellis frame, sharing the hardware bits with the RC 200 and RC 390. It is suspended by a set of 37mm USD forks at the front and a rear mono-shock. The braking duties are handled by a 320mm front disc and a 230 mm rear disc, equipped with dual-channel ABS, along with a Supermoto mode.
The sportbike rides on 17-inch alloy wheels at both ends, shod with a 110-section front tyre and a 140-section rear tyre, a familiar setup seen on the Duke 160. In addition to this, KTM’s newest offering in the market gets an all-LED lighting setup, LCD instrument cluster, clip-on handlebars, and a 13.75-litre fuel tank. The RC 160 is only available in a single colour option at the time of launch, however, we can expect more additions in the coming months.
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Talking about the powertrain, the KTM RC 160 is powered by a 164.2 cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine, putting out 18.73 bhp and 15.5 Nm of peak torque. The motor is mated to a 6-speed gearbox with an assist and slipper clutch. The top speed of the motorcycle is rated at 118 kmph.
