Two All-New KTM Sportbikes Are on the Way

KTM's CEO, Gottfried Neumeister, confirmed two mid-to-low capacity bikes are set to expand the brand's sportbike offerings: the 490 RC and 790 RC.

By: Robbie Bacon

Aug 6, at 9:19am ET

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Can you remember how excited the motorcycling world was when KTM brought out the RC8 in 2008? But after just seven years, KTM withdrew from the superbike class, discontinuing its offering. A decade later, that excitement was reignited when the 990 RC hit dealerships. And now, it seems like the Austrian brand is about to give us two all-new sportbikes to get giddy over.

In a recent interview, the manufacturer's CEO, Gottfried Neumeister, confirmed two mid-to-low capacity bikes are set to expand the brand's sportbike offerings. Although KTM announced that it was discontinuing the 390 RC in the UK and Europe last year, the brand isn't pulling out of the entry-level sportbike market.

One of the new confirmed sportbikes is the 490 RC, which is not to be confused with the twin-cylinder 450 RC that the brand already sells in China. The 450 RC is based on a CFMoto 450SR-S, and although we don't know the 490 RC's technical details, we know it won't be the same as the 450 RC. It's most likely that the new 490 RC will be a low-capacity, twin-cylinder motorcycle that's being co-developed by Bajaj-KTM in India.

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Slotting between the new 490 RC and the existing 990 RC will be a 790 RC. This isn't the biggest shock in the world, considering the brand recently unveiled the latest 790 Duke. So, it's likely that this bike will compete against bikes that fill the newly created Sportbike category in the BSB and WSBK championships.

KTM's 390 RC was once at the sharpest end of the entry-level sportbikes, so the question is, can the all-new 490 RC put the brand back there and take down Kawasaki's Ninja 500 in the process? As for the 790 RC, well, that category is uncharted for KTM, but the competition is stacked, and I, for one, am excited to see KTM back competing.