News that KTM would be making a full-fairing version of its small-discplacement single-cylinder KTM 390 Duke street-naked is nothing new, and is something that we have reported ad nauseum. News that Stefan Pierer has confirmed that bike’s release isn’t new either, but for the first time the Austrian CEO has given us a concrete date on when we will see the now-called KTM RC390 in the flesh, and that date is the 2013 EICMA show in Milan, Italy.
Talking Sir Alan Cathcart with Cycle News, Pierer explains that three flavors of the full-fairing machine will come from Mattighofen, in the 125cc, 200cc, and 390cc varieties. As reported earlier, the new RC bikes will feature styling very similar to KTM’s Moto3 race bike, the KTM RC250GP, and will be manufactured in Bajaj’s Chakan factory in India.
Basically the Duke platform, redressed to suit the sport bike aesthetic, the KTM RC125, KTM RC200, and KTM RC390 are just part of the Austrian company’s small-displacement strategy. So reiterating something we already knew, KTM also plans on adapting its baby Dukes for a enduro/adventure line, which will also come in the three displacement choices.
What is new is the idea that KTM could develop more small-displacement models between the 200cc and 390cc models, though we very much doubt that these bikes would enter in the American and European markets, and are almost surely designed to compete in the Indian and Southeast Asian motorcycle markets, which thrive on these displacement categories.
Taking over from BMW Motorrad as the largest European motorcycle manufacturer by volume, KTM is a tour de force right now in Europe, and the company is looking once again to make meaningful moves into the on-road category, as well as penetrating markets in developing regions.
With the acquisition of Husqvarna by Stefan Pierer’s own Pierer Industrie AG, KTM has some interesting vertical and horizontal growth strategies in place. Chewy.
Source: Cycle News
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