Joy oh Joy, after eight years of being on sale, KTM baby RC’s have finally received their first substantial update, the Austrian bike maker has just taken the wraps off the 2022 RC390, RC200, and RC125.
RC200 Design
Firstly, the most obvious change is the design, while it’s all about straight lines everywhere it doesn’t look as sharp as the current generation RC’s, KTM says that this new bodywork has been inspired by the RCA 16 moto GB bike for improved aerodynamics, while it does look striking the duke inspired LED headlight flanked by the wide and flat fairing with the integrated indicators has made it lose some of its sleeknesses. That said when seen from the side, these RC’s look ready to race.
Another reason for this new bodywork is improved engine cooling, there are new vents around the side that channel hot air from around the engine away from the bike. This combined with the side-mounted radiator fans should not only keep the engine cool but also help in not cooking riders’ legs in slow-moving traffic. There is an increased convenience too with a larger 13.5 fuel tank. Roomier seating for both rider and pillion. However, at 824 mm the seat height is falling more than the outgoing model.
KTM ERGONOMICS
The 2022 KTM RCs features slightly relaxed ergonomics compared to the outgoing model, KTM has achieved this by using a new pair of clip-on that is set 15 mm higher than before, but these can be lowered by 10 mm for a track related riding position.
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There are big changes under the skin too, while the main trellis frame looks almost the same as before. There’s a new bolt-on sub-frame like what we got on the 300 dukes in 2017. KTM claims 1.5 kilos of weight savings with this setup, there are more weight savings to be had. With the new 5 spoke alloy wheels 2, a whopping 3.4 kilos combined, and the new lighter brick rotors shed almost an additional kilo from the bikes on sprung mass. This should mean that the RC’s already sharp handling should have become even sharper still which is great news for budding track day enthusiasts.
In terms of suspension, the non-adjustable wb apex big piston fork and mono-shock on the RC 125 and 200 have been reworked to offer a sportier ride. On the RC 390 though the front suspension gets adjustability for compression and rebounds why the rear mono-shock is adjustable for preload and rebound , that said ktm could ditch the adjustable suspension for India in order to keep costs down but then again with tvs now offering fully adjustable suspension on the newly launch Apache RR310 ktm India might just give in .
ENGINE
While there are no major updates to any of the motors the 125 200 and 390 , there are minor improvements internally to reduce friction and increase efficiencies plus now there’s a 40 larger air box for improved breathability that ktm claims has improved torque across the range while the company hasn’t yet specified top figures for the new RCa 125 and 200 , RC 390 , now makes one newton meter more than before.
