P114
RIDE REVIEW I 2024 KTM RC8c
However, that 135 horse-
power motor is one of life's great
pleasures. Some will say you've
got to have 200 horsepower to
have fun on a track, and they are
absolutely wrong. The KTM mo-
tor pulls cleanly from sub-3000
rpm hairpins and roars through
the rev range, performance hardly
dropping until you ride into the
12,000-rpm rev-limiter, itself 1500
rpm up on the base 890 with the
motor producing way more
mid-range and top-end to boot.
The engine is no doubt a star,
but it plays second fiddle to the
chassis. Krämer's tubular steel
chassis, crafted in the same style
and materials as so many KTM's
before it, combines with the WP
suspension and forged aluminum
units on the stock 890 help
deliver a claimed 135 hp. Com-
pression has been raised from
13.5:1 to 14.1:1. The crankshaft
is the same as a base 890 Duke,
and sadly, too, is the gearbox,
which is not designed for racing
and is the bike's weak spot, just
like on the sister Krämer.
You must be careful on the
downshifts with the KTM to
ensure you've selected the gear
correctly before you go search
-
ing for the one underneath. Nova
makes a racing gearbox for
the 890 motor, one we've seen
racing in the British Supersport
Championship, and with the
price and exclusivity of the RC8c,
I'd have liked its inclusion on the
RC8c. Anyway, moving on.
Brake as late as you
dare, wait, wait, wait…
then turn. Bummer,
you probably turned
too early. The steering
on the RC8c really
is that quick.
