KTM to reveal the all-new RC390 by end-2017
Very little is known about the KTM RC390 which, logic dictates, will be all-new for the 2018 model year. The 2017 390 and 125 models were on display at Intermot 2016 featuring bright, new graphics that we really liked but no other updates. These are, of course, the Euro IV-ready models for Europe featuring the heavier side-slung exhaust.
But if we interpolate from what KTM has said, the reveal should be during the show season in October-November 2017 and KTM turns its attention to the sports segment having completed revamps of its Adventure and Naked Street lines this year.
The KTM 390 Duke engine is expected to not be all-new in the sense of being build afresh from scratch. However, it is definitely expected to be a significant evolution of the current engine. When asked if the power would go up - the Euro IV equipment is adding weight to all motorcycles - the response was revealing. The KTM official said that the challenge of the Euro IV was significant but KTM has so far managed to only increase performance when new model updates have been rolled out. And that more information on the 390 Duke engine would be at Milan, once again. When asked how the old RC and new Duke are expected to co-exist in the same showrooms, the KTM official simply said that everything cannot be done simultaneously. So there will be a small period of overlap when the current RC and the new Duke models will be on showroom floors together.