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It has been a decade since the KTM RC8 debuted at the Austrian brand’s answer to the superbike question. Perhaps ahead of its time, the RC8 and its progeny were never strong sellers for KTM, though the bike had its highlights (and struggles).

Now, the “Ready to Race” brand is obviously missing a full-faired superbike in its lineup, despite offering the naked “Beast” that is the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, which is a direct descendent of that RC8 project.

Our point? It’s high time that KTM got back into the superbike game, and while the Austrians have made it clear that they are not interested in revisiting the RC8 thesis, KTM is on the forefront of the electric motorcycle movement.

That brings us to these concept creation by Indian designer Mohit Solanki, who envisions an electric superbike from KTM.

If you’ve heard any loud thuds while visiting A&R the past two weeks, it’s been us falling over ourselves over the 2011 KTM 1198 RC8 R. For 2011, the new RC8 R gets a number of refinements to its already stout package, and for the spec sheets racers the most drool-worthy stat perhaps is the bike’s modest power boost to 175hp, up from its base of 167hp. There’s a kicker to that power figure though, it comes from switching the base engine map, which is designed for 91 octane (AKI rating, which is what we use here in the USA), to a 93 octane map.

It could seem like we’re splitting hairs here, but unless you live next to a race track where gas stations will often carry the 93 octane rated fuel, you’ll be risking pinging KTM’s beautiful 1195cc motor with the lower-rated fuel, and be relegated to using the 170hp engine map while on the street. We don’t know how RC8 R owners will only handle 170hp on the street, hopefully the photos after the jump will help.

According to the folks at Hell for Leather, KTM is not only updating the 2011 KTM 1190 RC8 R with a bevy of eye-catching color schemes (see the drool-worthy gallery after the jump), but has also taken it upon itself to upgrade the Austrian bullet with an additional 7hp or so, bringing the RC8 R’s final total up to 175hp (torque gets a modest increase of 1.5 lbs•ft, totaling in at 93.6 lbs•ft).

Installing a new crankshaft, heavier flywheel, and dual-plug ignition, KTM hopes that the new 2011 KTM 1190 RC8 R will not only be more powerful than its predecessor, but also smoother and easier to ride. We found the 2010 KTM 1190 RC8 R to be one of the best bikes we’ve ever ridden on the track (we are partial to v-twins though), so the idea that the 2011 KTM 1190 RC8 R will build upon an already exceptional package tickles our fancy quite a bit.

OmniMoto has a great piece on some KTM R&D engineers who built the fabled KTM Supermono during their off-work time. The project, which wass not supported by KTM, centers around a KTM 690 Duke motor and modified Duke/RC8 chassis. With about 80hp coming from the single-cylinder motor and its cloth-on-carburetor airbox, this RC4 wannabe looks very appealing on paper with its 140kg (308lbs) weight.

The entire front section of the motorcycle is off a KTM RC8, sans one brake disc for added weight loss. The Austrian-loyal have been clamoring for some time now for a KTM Supermono, and if it looks and sounds as good as this, we’d like one in our garage as well. Check out OmniMoto’s post for a bevy of photos, and bring Google along if you don’t parlo italiano.

Source: OmniMoto

UPDATE: You have to love Photoshop…it looks like the good folks at Mavizen forgot to whipe the original photo thumbnail, click here for an unblurred (albeit small) picture of the new TTX02 that confirms its RC8 lineage.

UPDATE #2: The Mavizen TTX02 has been officially unveiled here.

In one week’s time, Mavizen (a product of Team Agni’s TTXGP race-winning electric motorcycle team) will release what they call the world’s first production electric racing superbike, the TTX02. With a teaser image hitting the TTXGP website today, speculation is already swirling around the company, its bike, and its RC8 look-alike chassis.

After previously leaving 250GP racing and the Dakar Rally, KTM has announced its withdrawal from another race series: 125GP. Choosing instead to focus its 2010 racing efforts on the RC8‘s upcoming World Superbike debut, KTM cites financial difficulties as its reason for leaving the GP scene. KTM will continue to be involved with the Red Bull Rookies Cup, which features talented young riders racing around on spec KTM 125cc race bikes.

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In our opinion, KTM leads the pack when it comes to TV spot ads. With superb photograph and quick edits, KTM creates ads that are just as edgy as the lines on the RC8, and promotes the hooligan within all of us. Unfortunately the way product liability works in the United States prevents many of these ads from actually airing in the US market. So, we thought we’d bring them to you so you can see how KTM envisions you using their bikes on the street and track. Continue reading for the videos.

 

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News has just broken that the 2009 KTM 1190cc RC8 will only be sold via KTM’s Priority Delivery Deposit Program, which ends on New Year’s Eve.

Editor’s note: F@#!!!

Which means you have less than 19 days (and counting) until it will be too late to get your hands on Austria’s first purpose-built sportbike. Nothing has been mentioned about the race-inspired RC8R, but we expect a similar arrangement. Oh, and did we mention production numbers will be limited.

KTM released the 2008 RC8 in extremely limited numbers. Worried that these early adopters might feel their exclusivity was at risk, is releasing a KTM RC8 R version for 2009….for those discerning buyers.

Well what do you do if you want an even more exclusive RC8? What if you want to run in the 9’s on the 1/4 mile? Oh, well then you’ll need to supercharge it. And that’s just what Lantto Racing, a Finnish drag racing team, has done. Read more, and watch a dyno-run after the break.