KTM RC390, the pocket rocket, is to be launched on the 9th of September along with its younger sibling RC200 and both of them have surely gotten us at BikeAdvice sitting at the edge of our seats and waiting for media rides.
Meanwhile, KTM, during its international launch allowed auto journalists to take the RC 390 out for a spin and one guy, Kevin Smith, has managed to show us what speed the bike is capable of doing.
Carrying over the engine from the street naked sibling, the Duke 390, the 373.2cc single cylinder mill churns out power equivalent to 43 horses. The YouTube video which Kevin has put up shows that the six speed transmission helps to propel the RC390 to a ton in the range of 5 to 6 seconds flat!
(Facing Issues? Watch it directly on Youtube)
The bike tops out at… hold your breath, 179kmph! That’s at least 8 kmph faster than the Duke 390. Even though both the Duke 390 and RC 390 have the same power output, this noticeable difference is possible thanks to the fairing, making it aerodynamically more compact and thus, allowing the bike to cut through the air with a lot less resistance. There are other differences as well.
The blasts of wind, which the naked Duke 390 faces at speeds over 100kmph can also be tackled better thanks to the front visor on the RCs. The Metzelers, which the bike should sport in India as well, will boost the confidence on the bike and I know all you corner-cravers are reading with a big grin on your faces!
According to the video poster, the top speed of the bike has been restricted to 179 kmph and the ignition cuts off at 178-179 kmph. The KTM RC390 though falls short of the Kawasaki Ninja 300’s top speed of over 190kmph. After all, its a twin cylinder motor!
One more thing which we would like to add here is that the speeds mentioned here are from the speedometer which cannot be 100 percent accurate and will have errors. A GPS based top speed run will be able to give a more accurate picture.
