KTM RC 390 Review

A KTM RC390 is every boy's dream and every man's nightmare. The RC in its name stands for Race Competition while KTM's tagline reads Ready to Race. This motorcycle was developed with one purpose in mind and one purpose only: winning races. Whether it's on the track or on the street, on long highways or on twisty ghats, so long as the road underneath is paved, this motorcycle just doesn't like seeing taillights. So how did KTM manage to make something so manic, so agile and yet so reassuring?

Let's take the externals first. KTM already had a winning street naked formula in the Duke 390. What they did is, they took the Duke 390, added a sports bike subframe, sharpened the steering angle, slapped on a full fairing, clip ons, moved a few bits here and there and voilà they created a monster. There are two ways to make a motorcycle go faster: more power and less weight. KTM decided to do both. This 375cc single is a masterpiece. It produces 43.5 BHP of power and 45 NM of torque, both of which are class leading. How? It uses a lot of aluminium, features 4 valves, fuel injection, liquid cooling and a very high compression ratio each of which allow this engine to push the boundaries of what a 375cc single can achieve. The result? A rottweiler on heat always tugging at the leash raring at your right wrist to unleash it. And that's still a job half done. With a trellis frame, aluminium swing arm and other weight saving technologies, the RC 390 tips the scale at just 149 kgs dry. This gives the RC an insane power to weight ratio of 292 PS/tonne.

The RC 390 is not just made to win drag races. It's made to dominate the racetrack and that means it needs to corner and brake well too. The bike features some impressive suspension hardware with 43mm upside down front forks and a rear monoshock which is adjustable for preload. The wide clip on bars, sharp steering angle and a general sense of lack of weight makes the bike easy to throw into a corner and equally easy to pick it back up to throw it into the next one. While leaned in, the soft compound Metzelers come into their own and provide supreme grip and confidence to get on to the throttle that much earlier. Braking is one department where the older RC's lacked. However, post 2017, the RC 390 features a larger 320mm front disc which makes the bike drop its anchor on call inspiring a lot of confidence to push harder.

Now that we're done with what makes the KTM RC390 dominate in terms of performance, lets figure out how practical it is to own and ride one every day. Is this motorcycle good for all purposes or is it too one dimensional? Make no mistake, any KTM motorcycle is synonymous with the term one dimensional. However, everything that makes the RC a great track bike also makes it very easy to ride everywhere else. Let me elaborate. In regular city commutes, you are only using half the throttle range, even while riding aggressively. With the way it handles and its lack of weight, each small turn requires just the slightest of muscle input. With a slipper clutch and sharp brakes, both your forearms are less stressed through start stop city traffic. ABS always has your back to make sure you stand a chance against panic brakers, traffic light jumpers, dancing stray dogs and pedestrians attempting long jump. The mirrors are wide enough for you to spot squids attacking you from behind and foldable so you can park your bike in a tight parking lot and not worry about someone scratching or breaking them. The seat height on paper is tall at 835mm but as soon as you sit on the bike, the suspension sinks and you can comfortably plant your feet on the ground. The soft rear suspension also ensures that very little of the road bumps filter through to your behind. The turning radius is wide but the bike being light, it's not difficult to reverse it while still being seated. The bike can also tour pretty well. That engine really comes into its own at triple digit speeds and the tall 6th gear means you can sit at 120 kph all day long. Get an open stretch, tuck in behind the fairing, wring open your right wrist and suddenly you're in the 160s. Overtaking almost never requires you to downshift and the fairing provides just about enough wind protection on open roads. 

So the track, the city, the highway and the twisty ghats the KTM RC390 can comfortably conquer them all. The question is, can you? The seating position on the RC 390 is that of a thoroughbred sports bike. Remaining seated in that position for long requires immense levels of physical endurance. 60 mins non stop in the saddle and your neck, wrists, core muscles and knees are already writhing with discomfort. With a little standing up and moving back and forth in the saddle, you can push it to 90 mins but beyond that requires eccentric muscle strength of a professional athlete. With a grimacing face, if you are able to stretch it to beyond 2 hours, chances are you will run out of fuel. The tiny 10 litre fuel tank gives you a maximum range of about 250 kms. To be honest, if you're touring on the RC 390, you will run out of  fuel much before the bike does so the tank range is quite appropriate in that context. In the city though, if your work is say 35-40 kms from your home, you will have to refuel practically every third day and that's a bit of a bother. Then comes the heat. It's a big single that runs high compression. The byproduct of that means the engine generates a lot of heat. While over the years KTM has worked very hard on channelling this heat away from the rider, it can still be felt. In the city you have to get used to riding with the fan on all the time after 10-15 mins of initial riding. The fuel efficiency hovers around the 25 kpl mark in the city, stretchable to 27-28 on the highways which is fairly decent for the kind of performance you get. KTM over the years has developed a good enough service network in India. Thanks to the partnership with Bajaj, the parts and service costs won't break your bank in any way. The soft compound Metzies do wear out pretty fast but for non enthusiastic riding there are plenty of options now from MRF to Appollo to even Ceat. Personally, I would still stick with Metzelers. The only thing I wish the bike had is riding modes to tone down the aggression for everyday city riding. Improve the fuel efficiency too. Maybe I'd also experiment with narrower tyres to make the bike feel even lighter on its feet in every day city traffic. Apart from that, I'd keep my RC as it is. 

To sum things up, the KTM RC390 is not your everyday kitchen knife, it is a katana. A deadly weapon in the hands of a samurai and pretty much useless in the hands of a cook cutting vegetables. The thing that lures me the most about it is the challenge. The challenge to become a better rider, worthy of my motorcycle. Much like a samurai worthy of his katana. If you have a paunch and don't intend to do anything about it, there are better, more boring ways of enjoying motorcycling. However, if you're someone who likes to work hard towards achieving a goal, go through short term pain in return for longer term gain, ride the KTM RC390 just once and let the size of your smile make that buying decision for you!