(Top left) The exhaust design has taken
cues from Brad Binder's MotoGP bike.
(Above) Some of that PowerParts bling
includes this trick orange sprocket.
(Left) The optional Akrapovic muffler
looks very nice indeed but doesn't add
too much bark to the bite.
QUICKSPIN I 2022 K TM RC 390
P82
KTM's also given you the op-
tion of a quickshifter, however,
this was the cause of much
angst at the test, as you needed
a very sure foot to engage the
next gear when shifting. Do so
lazily, and the RC would either
not shift, pop back a gear, or
drop into a false neutral, which
was a problem many of the
journalists had (myself included)
at the launch for various publica-
tions. Turing the quickshifter off
somewhat solved the issue but
didn't get rid of it entirely.
On the hardware front, KTM
gives the RC rider plenty of
suspension setting options
with 30 clicks of compression
and rebound damping adjust-
ment for the fork, and preload
and rebound adjustment on the
shock, so even though in top-
flight racing almost everyone will
replace the fork internals and
shock for a more focused setup,
the average fast track day rider
won't need to, saving a few tasty
dollars in the process.
Our ride day at Streets of
Willow was made all the more
fun by the circuit management
repaving the old high desert
venue, giving the RC a beauti-
fully smooth surface on which to
show its potential.
At first sit you notice the ride
position is more relaxed from
wider bars and bodywork, plus
the taller tank helps fat bastards
like me get more comfortable
when in a tuck. The bars are set
in such a way they are almost
naked-bike-like, and thus I could
lap, lap, lap, lap around Streets
all day if I really wanted.
The motor had a few mapping
changes, and although it was
no brute to begin with, the initial
throttle opening on full lean is
silky smooth, allowing you to dial
in as much or as little drive as
you like. Keeping the revs and
corner speed up is the name
