Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128244
KTM ReB Superbike (Left) In an effort to Im pro ve the center of gravity, the exhaust canister (including catalyst) has been pla ced under the lower fairing. (Below left) The aluminum swingarm pivots in the rear of the engine's crankcase, while suspension duties both fro nt and rear are handled by WP components. (Below right) The brakes are Brembo's excellent radialmount units clamping down on 320mm discs. t o m a k e roo m fo r a h ead l am p! Resp on sible for clock ing u p his fair sha re of that mil eage was chief eng ineer -turned test rider Wolfga ng Felber. "The first t im e I rode t he RCB was in ve ry bad weat her in th e m iddle of winter, on wet roa ds in q uite dangerous conditions," he says . "T o be ho n est, I wa sn' t look ing fo rw ard to it at all - but t he n whe n I -go t o n t he bik e, I was so surp rised th at I sta rte d enjoying m y self so much in spit e of all t hat, bec ause it's so sma ll and lig h t and easy -handling , you get lo ts of co nfiden ce from it. I' ve rid den it a lot since the n in be tte r co nd it io ns, and the per form an c e is so much fun, I honestly thi nk we have a fantast ic bik e." Well , he wou ld say th at , wo uldn't he, you thi nk to yo urse lf as yo u wa lk into t he KTM R&D shop to look at t he RCB b ein g built up for it s To k y o debut, c la d in t he dramati c sty li ng of KTM ' s cons u lta nt de siq ner Ge ral d K isk e , us ing th e sa m e fo otrest /h an d lebar / seat ergonom ic s ar ri ved at via o nly to stop sho rt 'in t he test b ike y ou r tr ac ks th e firs t t im e you see it. No way t his can be a 1000cc V-twin , yo u say to you rse lf - m ust b e a Su p erm on o p rototyp e th at KT M i s c on c o c t in g out of th e Duke si ng le ! But no , the ultr acom pact RCB rea ll y is a ne w t ak e on tw in -cylinder sp ortbik ing , seemingly wi t h th e bui ld of a 250cc Gran d Prix bik e and complet ely indi vi d ua l st y ling t hat c o ul d o nl y b e a KTM - for g et the g i v eawa y orange-and -b la ck paint j ob and look at th e un ique fac e of th e bike, incl ud ing th e headlight (compar ed and co n t r a st e d w i t h KTM' s n ew 9 9 0 Duk e fr ont e nd), o r th e ha rd -e d ged M X deriv ed sty li ng to th e fue l t an k / airbox > 20 D EC EMBER 10, 2003 · eye shroud . And ch ec k o ut the ca ta lyst ex h a us t syste m , w i t h th e si le nc e r incorporated in t he bottom of th e fai r ing , thu s leav in g th e seat free to be posit ion ed wher e th e rid er w an t s , qu it e apa rt fr om deliverin g a feathe rwe ig ht appearan c e t o the RCB that is born o ut in reality on the sc ales . " We had th i s id ea fr om th e very beginn in g to mount th e w hole of the e x h a u st und e r th e e ng i ne, w h i c h because it's a dry-sum p design with • e ne'UVs r emote oi l ta nk doubling as th e o il rad iat or , allows yo u to do th is," says Felb er. "Th is helps create the supe rb hand ling beca use w ith no weight on th e rear you ha ve a very co ncent ra t ed m ass w ith redu ced polar m oment, wh i ch mak es h andlin g m or e pr e d i ctabl e wi tho ut sac ri fic ing tracti on and re ar g rip ." With j ust a 55 .6 - inch w hee lbase, th e KTM is short as well as slim , leav i ng n o room fo r th e b attery t o b e pl ac ed in fro nt o f th e engi ne , as on t he SuperD uke. Inste ad , it' s located un d er th e seat j ust b ehi nd th e 4 .4 gallon fu el ta nk . Suspe ns io n is natu ra ll y by WP (which KTM owns) , with 1 .9 2 -in ch full y adj u sta ble u p si d edown forks fitted w ith rad ial -m ounted Br em bo fo ur -pot brak e c ali pe rs grip ping fl oating 320mm discs, match ed b y a rea r shock o pera ted via a progress iv e ris ing- r at e link for th e fir st time on a KTM; th e other V -twin m od -