VOL. 55 ISSUE 13 APRIL 3, 2018 P63
engine as compact as possible.
With the V-twin you have limita-
tions regarding the seat height,
because the rear cylinder sticks
up into the seating area, and
the engine is also longer, which
means you must have a shorter
swingarm for the same wheel-
base, whereas we wanted a
longer one for better grip. Also,
the height of the engine with
the throttle bodies between the
Vee also brings disadvantages
for packaging reasons, so we
decided to go with the parallel-
twin format."
KTM paid special attention to
keeping the 88 x 65.7mm 799cc
motor not only light, but also
narrow to help maximize corner-
ing clearance, as well as to suit
riders of all heights. "We wanted
to make a bike that's intuitive to
ride, that's light and responsive
with the extra performance of a
twin, but without sacrificing the
agility of a single," says LC8c
Product Marketing manager Adri-
aan Sinke. Then to go with the
firm's Ready to Race philosophy
they wanted to establish a visual
link with their motocross bikes,
so all of this meant the parallel-
twin concept won out. The fact
that it also centralizes the mass
of the engine, which allowed its
engineers to design a more com-
pact, easier-handling motorcycle,
was also a key factor.
The result is a compact,
lightweight, liquid-cooled DOHC
eight-valve engine with its crank-
pins offset by 75° with 435° firing
intervals to replicate the gritty
sound of a KTM V-twin's irregu-
lar firing order, fitted with twin
counterbalancers to eliminate
vibration—one at the front of the
engine and one in the cylinder
head. These allow the LC8c mo-
tor to be employed as a stressed
(Right) The all-new short DOHC
eight-valve engine has 75° crank
throws with 435° firing intervals and
dual counterbalancers, one in the
cylinder head, the other off crank.
(Left) The KTM 790 Duke is the first
model from Europe's number-one
manufacturer to target the crucial
middleweight segment.
Even though KTM has
obviously aimed to keep costs
down with the non-adjustable
WP suspension, the generous
travel is well controlled
in everyday use.
