2022 KTM RC 390 and RC 125

KTM reckon their bringing ‘Race DNA’ to the street with their all new GP inspired RC line-up. And with GP bikes capable of winning Grand Prix in three different classes, you can hardly blame them. I’m not entirely sure how much Grand Prix technology you can shoe-horn into what is essentially a kid’s bike, or how much you need to, but who cares? Because the new 2022 KTM RC 390 and RC 125 both sound trick as fudge.

What’s so ‘MotoGP’ about the new RC range, then? Well let’s start with the thing you’ve probably already noticed, the bodywork. On both the 125 and 390, almost every panel has been redesigned with ‘race-inspired lines’ and all that nonsense, just to remind you that they’re definitely sportsbikes.

Not only is it sportier though, it’s also quite a bit bigger. And that’s on purpose. They wanted it to look bigger, but they also wanted to improve wind protection and aerodynamics. Fair one. And because the steel trellis subframe has been redesigned, they’ve hacked a bit of the seat unit away, just to show it off.

As well as all that, they’ve reduced the number of screws holding it all together, so it’s quicker to take off when you want to swap the road kit for your race bodywork. That also means it’ll be quicker to remove after you’ve lobbed it down the road. Maybe that’s the GP technology.

Racer’s diet

The big focus on the 2022 KTM RC 390 and RC 125 has been weight saving. The new wheels are 3.4kg lighter, the new ByBre brakes save 960g, and the frame itself is 1.5kg lighter. And that’s, on both the 125 and the 390.

The suspension has had a major refresh, too. As you would expect, it’s all taken care of by WP Apex forks and shock, on both bikes.

The single cylinder, DOHC, four-stroke engines in the 125 and 390 make a little bit more torque, thanks to a new airbox, but they haven’t told us exactly how much more torque that is, yet. In fact the 2022 KTM RC 390 even gets a new engine map, so makes even more, ‘extra torque’. It doesn’t sound like they’ve done anything to the actual engine, though. And they forgot to mention power figures in the press release.

‘Trickery

Electronics-wise, you’ve got to say both the KTM RCs are ahead of the competition. Particularly the 390. You get Supermoto ABS, lean-angle-sensitive ABS and cornering MTC. You can even have a quickshifter on it! And both come with a new TFT colour dash. Very snazzy.

They haven’t released any prices as yet, but I’d guess they’d be in the realms of £4,499 for the RC 125 and £5,299 for the RC 390. Those prices aren’t wild stabs in the dark; they’re just what the outgoing models were selling at.

If you want to know more about KTM’s new RC range, keep an eye on the 44Teeth YouTube channel because we’re sending Mossy out to the launch, at the end of the week. They might even tell him how much power and torque the bikes make. And how much they’ll cost.

Video coming to a screen near you… soon.