A couple of bikes, namely, the RC 200 and the RC 390 of KTM barn, are the major culprits of bringing in a lot of excitement to the Indian biking scene. And now it seems they are about to be launched in the country. The reason for being so optimistic is derived from the fact that the KTM’s Indian website now shows the two bikes as “Coming Soon to India“. Earlier it used to say, “Not available in India.” How soon? We don’t know yet but these are signs concrete enough for anyone to rejoice in joy!
Being used to bikes looking and performing more like a heretic, a traditional KTM follower might not hold out a thumbs-up to the bikes, but they do look stunning nonetheless. In an official communication KTM Bajaj did share earlier this year that they will launch a supersport small capacity bike during the early 2014. However, with this development, it gets cleared that both the faired beasts are coming to us!
The RC390, RC200 and RC125 bikes made their debut at EICMA early last month. All three bikes are almost similar to their more Bohemian siblings – the Duke 125, 200, and the 390. KTM, for some reasons, is not bringing the smallest RC 125 to India for now.
The rear-view mirrors integrated into the turn signals and the dual headlamp assembly gives the KTM RC’s a pretty singular look. The two bikes, RC200 and RC390, besides their different engine capacities have many things in common. The swingarm and suspension components are the same in both the bikes and so are the ubiquitous orange-color tubular space frames.
The RC 390 with its single cylinder, 4-stroke, water-cooled engine is capable of developing 43 hp and weighs in just about 147 kg. The smaller RC 200 has 25 hp on tap and is about 10 kg less on the scales.
Both the RC200 and RC390 will be manufactured at Chakan manufacturing unit of Bajaj and KTM has plans to export them to international markets as well from India.
The launch date has not been officially declared but a simple guess would point to a period sometime during the earlier part of 2014. If you are tired of seeing the Japanese sport bikes, we suggest you keep tuned for the upcoming KTM RC’s.
Also Read: KTM to Launch Duke 690 in India
