KTM RC 390 Review
Once in every few decades, comes a motorcycle that takes a quantum leap from how motorcycles were made in the past and forever changes how motorcycles will be made in the future. Back in the 1960s in the USA, motorcycling was considered as badass. Bikers were considered outlaws, typically associated with criminal activities. Along came the Honda Super Cub and changed everything. Motorcycles got introduced to families and that's how it has been ever since. Back home in India, up until the mid 1980's, motorcycles were perceived as expensive to run, expensive to maintain and very unreliable. Along came 100cc Japanese motorcycles and changed everything. To the extent that Hero Honda went on to become the largest two wheeler manufacturer in the world. Up until the very recent past, there were broadly two categories of motorcycles available in India: Indian and "Imported". Indian ones would be the typical 100 to 250 cc commuters in various avatars. The so called imported bikes would be the bigger capacity sports, street and touring motorcycles, available at a price point so high that only an elite few could afford them. The typical profile of a buyer of such a motorcycle would be 40+, going through mid life crisis, buying some inline four or V twin bragging rights through his motorcycle and its aftermarket exhaust. There was nothing that a typical sub 30 year old enthusiast could dare buy on EMI's from his monthly paycheck. Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and a whole lot of other manufacturers tried changing that by offering fully faired motorcycles with somewhat reasonable price tags. But what these bikes essentially remained at heart were commuters. Along came the KTM RC 390 and changed everything. Or has it?
On papers, apart from a few geometrical adjustments, the RC 390 looks identical to the Duke 390. Same cubic capacity, same compression ratios, same gear ratios, so on and so forth. Thankfully on papers is where the similarities end. The sitting position on the RC is very aggressive and I'm glad for that. If I take a bike to a racetrack, that's how I would want the bike to be. For the road, I'm young, I'll get used to it. I was never a fan of the high handlebars with rearsets on the Duke 390 or the Ninja 650 any way. It's just halfway there. And under hard braking, your tenders are living on a prayer. Sorry Bon Jovi. Moving on.. The instrument panel is the same as the one on the Duke 390 with all sorts of information available to the rider. Some useful, some not quite so. Again, I'm not a fan of the digital tachometer but I can live with that for what lies beneath.
So let's start with the engine. It's a single cylinder, four stroke, 375 cc engine churning out 43 horses and 35 Newton Metres of torque. Nothing new. We've had the exact same one doing a great job on the Duke 390. However, for some reason, this one feels smoother overall, especially at lower RPMs. There's still some knocking when trying to cruise at lower revs but it's less pronounced than on the Duke. Wring open the throttle and the engine takes a while getting to its mid range but once there, all you'd be doing inside that helmet is grinning as widely as you can. Again, thanks to that forward lean, you're not thrown off the saddle while accelerating and feel a lot more secure going faster. When on the highway, you can cruise all day at around 120 kph and the bike won't break a sweat. It should also be a whole lot of fun on the ghats. Being track focussed, the bike totally loves corners and getting the bike to lean in or change directions is effortless and intuitive. The gearshifts are slick and precise and once again the gearbox feels overall better than the Duke's.
Whether in a corner or in a straight line, at every point in time, the bike seems to be telling you "C'mon I'm with you on this one. You can push 20 kph harder. Nothing will happen. Trust me, it'll be fun". Partly that feeling comes from the ABS equipped Bybre brakes. Contrary to various motorcycle journalists who have reviewed this bike, to me the bike seemed to do exceedingly well under hard braking. There is a sharp bite, may be not as much feedback but the ABS does its work efficiently every time you clamp on the brake lever and on Indian roads that are full of two and four legged surprises, there's no greater peace of mind than that. Like on the Duke, the Metzeler tyres do a brilliant job. Being soft compound, they may not last too long but they stick to the tarmac like Raj to Simran in the fields of Punjab in DDLJ.
So now the verdict. KTM designed the RC 390 with one and only one purpose in mind. The fastest lap time around a racetrack. Though that translates to a lot of fun on the road, that also translates to a lot of compromises. The bike isn't exactly smooth. There are vibrations from the word go. The riding position is aggressive. That will translate to neck, wrist and may be back pain over longer rides, at least initially till you get used to it. Talking of longer rides, the fuel tank is barely 9.5 litres with 1.5 litres of reserve. Assuming a fuel efficiency of 25 kpl, that gives a range of a little over 200 kms on a full tank. The mirrors come in the way of the handlebars while taking a standing turn. The turning radius itself would leave you asking for more when you try to carve your way through cars stopped at traffic signals.
However, it's a great bike for new riders who want to learn how to ride fast. If you buy this bike, it will automatically lead you to a racetrack and make you a better, safer rider on the road. While touring, you'll get used to the riding position. It's got a great engine and pretty good wind protection. You'll be comfortably doing triple digit speeds on the highway. At most, you might need a softer aftermarket seat for your butt cheeks to last the ride. Having fun on the ghats, you'll forgive KTM for the aggressive riding position. You'll forgive them for the smaller fuel tank. Despite the frequent fuel stops, you'll reach your destination faster than your friends. Because in the end, deep down inside, you know that the hare should have won that damn race and not the tortoise!
On papers, apart from a few geometrical adjustments, the RC 390 looks identical to the Duke 390. Same cubic capacity, same compression ratios, same gear ratios, so on and so forth. Thankfully on papers is where the similarities end. The sitting position on the RC is very aggressive and I'm glad for that. If I take a bike to a racetrack, that's how I would want the bike to be. For the road, I'm young, I'll get used to it. I was never a fan of the high handlebars with rearsets on the Duke 390 or the Ninja 650 any way. It's just halfway there. And under hard braking, your tenders are living on a prayer. Sorry Bon Jovi. Moving on.. The instrument panel is the same as the one on the Duke 390 with all sorts of information available to the rider. Some useful, some not quite so. Again, I'm not a fan of the digital tachometer but I can live with that for what lies beneath.
So let's start with the engine. It's a single cylinder, four stroke, 375 cc engine churning out 43 horses and 35 Newton Metres of torque. Nothing new. We've had the exact same one doing a great job on the Duke 390. However, for some reason, this one feels smoother overall, especially at lower RPMs. There's still some knocking when trying to cruise at lower revs but it's less pronounced than on the Duke. Wring open the throttle and the engine takes a while getting to its mid range but once there, all you'd be doing inside that helmet is grinning as widely as you can. Again, thanks to that forward lean, you're not thrown off the saddle while accelerating and feel a lot more secure going faster. When on the highway, you can cruise all day at around 120 kph and the bike won't break a sweat. It should also be a whole lot of fun on the ghats. Being track focussed, the bike totally loves corners and getting the bike to lean in or change directions is effortless and intuitive. The gearshifts are slick and precise and once again the gearbox feels overall better than the Duke's.
Whether in a corner or in a straight line, at every point in time, the bike seems to be telling you "C'mon I'm with you on this one. You can push 20 kph harder. Nothing will happen. Trust me, it'll be fun". Partly that feeling comes from the ABS equipped Bybre brakes. Contrary to various motorcycle journalists who have reviewed this bike, to me the bike seemed to do exceedingly well under hard braking. There is a sharp bite, may be not as much feedback but the ABS does its work efficiently every time you clamp on the brake lever and on Indian roads that are full of two and four legged surprises, there's no greater peace of mind than that. Like on the Duke, the Metzeler tyres do a brilliant job. Being soft compound, they may not last too long but they stick to the tarmac like Raj to Simran in the fields of Punjab in DDLJ.
So now the verdict. KTM designed the RC 390 with one and only one purpose in mind. The fastest lap time around a racetrack. Though that translates to a lot of fun on the road, that also translates to a lot of compromises. The bike isn't exactly smooth. There are vibrations from the word go. The riding position is aggressive. That will translate to neck, wrist and may be back pain over longer rides, at least initially till you get used to it. Talking of longer rides, the fuel tank is barely 9.5 litres with 1.5 litres of reserve. Assuming a fuel efficiency of 25 kpl, that gives a range of a little over 200 kms on a full tank. The mirrors come in the way of the handlebars while taking a standing turn. The turning radius itself would leave you asking for more when you try to carve your way through cars stopped at traffic signals.
However, it's a great bike for new riders who want to learn how to ride fast. If you buy this bike, it will automatically lead you to a racetrack and make you a better, safer rider on the road. While touring, you'll get used to the riding position. It's got a great engine and pretty good wind protection. You'll be comfortably doing triple digit speeds on the highway. At most, you might need a softer aftermarket seat for your butt cheeks to last the ride. Having fun on the ghats, you'll forgive KTM for the aggressive riding position. You'll forgive them for the smaller fuel tank. Despite the frequent fuel stops, you'll reach your destination faster than your friends. Because in the end, deep down inside, you know that the hare should have won that damn race and not the tortoise!
