KTM 490 Duke and its siblings will sit nicely in between this big gap which the brand has in its portfolio. They are expected to be made in India…
Earlier this year, Stefan Pierer, head of KTM, revealed to a magazine that they are working on a 500cc engine. The main pointers to take out from that conversation were..
- It will be a dual cylinder motor in parallel configuration.
- The engine will be made by Bajaj in India.
You can read more details about it here.
Now, after about seven months we have an update on this development – a big one! A report at Indian Autos Blog claims to have revealed the models that this engine will spawn. It says KTM will make the following five models that will spread to different genres..
- 490 Duke
- RC490
- 490 Adventure
- Two Supermoto/Dual purpose motorcycles
Further, it claims that the KTM 490 Duke, RC490 and 490 Adventure will continue with a similar Trellis frame which does duty on the current 390 platform, obviously with tweaks to handle the added power and the heavier and bigger (in dimension) engine.
Currently, after the 390 range, KTM directly has the 690 Duke’s single cylinder motor, followed by the 790 Duke’s dual-cylinder engine, among the popular motorcycle categories.
Bigger 790 Duke Launched in India; Only Limited Sales
We can expect power output of around 60 hp from this twin which would put it nicely in between the 72 hp 690’s motor and 43 hp 390’s single. WP upside down forks, feature rich Bluetooth TFT display, slipper clutch and many other premium features are a given but the question is – WHEN?
2020 KTM RC390 Spotted Again, But With Changes
Considering this development to be true, we believe KTM will spill the beans regarding its upcoming 490 range (or the engine) at EICMA which is scheduled in November this year. What excites us is the expected affordable price tag considering that it will be mass produced in India by Bajaj…
Source – Indianautosblog
