KTM to Bring in an Adventure Motorcycle based on New Parallel Twin Mill

Weeks after KTM officially confirmed about their plans of a middleweight parallel twin motorcycle, Stefan Pierer, the Austrian bike maker’s CEO has confirmed that it will have an engine displacement of 800 cc. The first bike with this new powertrain will be a naked carrying the Duke moniker. KTM however will not be limiting it to a naked and has plans for something adventurous as well.

Yes, once the new Duke is done and dusted, KTM will be introducing an adventure oriented version of the motorcycle. In fact, in a recent interview to MCN, he even goes on to add that the new adventure bike will be targeting the Africa Twin! Globally manufacturers have been very aggressive towards the segment thanks to the success met by brands like the BMW GS series and Triumph Tigers.

KTM RC 16 a
Image used for representational purpose only

Of course KTM will continue sharing its mills with Husqvarna so a get ready to see this new parallel twin perform magic at the hand of their designers as well. The company this year will be investing 130 million Euros, which is a 30 million Euro rise since last year, to support growth. He added:

“So we are number one in Europe, but my vision is to overtake Kawasaki and Suzuki in the next five or six years, and that means to get perceived as a full-range sportsbike manufacturer, and to do that you must go racing at the top level.”

The company will also be replacing the RC8 with the RC 16 based on their upcoming MotoGP challenger. However, unlike its predecessor, this one will just be a closed course only motorcycle. KTM is completely against having such hyper-bikes on public roads and believes that they are nothing less than a weapon!

Strangely though, the brand has remained extremely silent about their rumoured adventure oriented motorcycle based on the 390s.