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KTM cult

bigpoppa

bigpoppa

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I was browsing the interwebs when I read on some forums about a fella having trouble with his duke 390, I pointed out to him (the obvious) that the made in india bajaj 390's are known to have reliability issues, I was not prepared for the amount of hate I would get from the large cult-like following KTM has in india by the fanboys

It seems like they(KTM) have succeeded in doing what all the big players have been trying to do for a while(which is to crack the large up and coming markets)
The key to their success has been making a cheap bike, but also making it fun and capable

(Full disclosure, Im an Indian/canadian dude and also ride a KTM)

This seems to have been their plan all along - see 4:30 (
)
to focus on and dominate the naked bike segment, which also explains the lack of a superbike race machine (though I think they consider the superduke naked their superbike)

And now they have a duke 200 as well for those who dont want or cant afford a 390
 
bigpoppa said:
which also explains the lack of a superbike race machine (though I think they consider the superduke naked their superbike)
Click to expand...

KTM did develop a superbike:

ktm-1190-rc8-r_800x0w.jpg


Did you know that Ducati actually killed the RC8? At least for racing.

For the longest time, 1000cc Ducati L-Twins were dominating in WSBK, winning 8 out of 10 championships throughout the 90s. However, by the mid-2000s, the rest of the manufacturers inline-4s were leapfrogging V-twins, and Ducati's stranglehold on WSBK championships were being eroded.

Instead of going inline-4 like Honda did (the old V-twin RC51 was such a good bike), Ducati petitioned the FIM to allow for a 200cc limit increase for twins to stay competitive with the 1000cc inline-4s. It was truly a "or I'll take my ball and go home" moment. FIM relented, to keep Ducati in WSBK.

At around this time, KTM was planning on entering WSBK, so they engineered their RC8 to be a competitive 1000cc twin. When the rule change came into effect, KTM was caught unaware and when they bumped the displacement of the RC8 up to 1200cc, they found that the other engine components were optimized for 1000ccs and the extra 200cc displacement did not make the engine as competitive.

So rather than re-design the engine they withdrew from WSBK and turned their efforts to GP racing.

This rando motorcycle post brought to you by Cliff Clavin.
 
I can tell you the KTM 300 is heavy enough,
took three of us on Saturday to haul one up a steep rock slope it couldn't ride up.
 
Big pops, how you liking that gen 3 beasty? I aspire to be seated on one of those contraptions in the future. Currently, I have my hands full with KaTy Mary Supermoto!
 
PaisaMed said:
Big pops, how you liking that gen 3 beasty? I aspire to be seated on one of those contraptions in the future. Currently, I have my hands full with KaTy Mary Supermoto!
Click to expand...

Like it a lot! I honestly dont think I can ever ride a bike without cruise control again, makes highway runs SOO much better

Only thing I dislike might be the mirrors, the right one gets lose very easily(wind, vibration), I have aftermarket ones I will install soon
 
Trials said:
I can tell you the KTM 300 is heavy enough,
took three of us on Saturday to haul one up a steep rock slope it couldn't ride up.
Click to expand...
Well your first problem is you try to get bikes to climb cliffs. Five seconds of youtube watching should be enough to show you that is not what they are good at and they are only elevated by the few that spray some sort of pixie dust out their $^%$#%.
 
Some years ago, the head honcho of KTM at the time stated that superbikes made no sense for road-legal vehicles and accordingly, they were withdrawing the RC8 from the market and would not replace it.

Right, and then they went on to build that Superduke monster that's practically as fast ... and now have gone on to MotoGP and have done quite well for themselves. Things that make you go "hmmm".

I think this was all just an excuse for withdrawing the RC8 from the market because it wasn't selling well.

I know some people like them ... I find the styling to be, uh, "peculiar".

As for the cult, you'll find internet fanbois and haters for all brands.
 
GreyGhost said:
Well your first problem is you try to get bikes to climb cliffs. Five seconds of youtube watching should be enough to show you that is not what they are good at and they are only elevated by the few that spray some sort of pixie dust out their $^%$#%.
Click to expand...
It wasn't even vertical, it was only a 45 degree slope covered in wet moss :LOL: stupid full knobby tires are useless on anything but tilled soil and well worn trails.
 
Lightcycle said:
Did you know that Ducati actually killed the RC8? At least for racing.
Click to expand...

That rule change also killed Honda's interest in WSBK. They've been AWOL ever since, only showing interest very recently...
 
Brian P said:
Some years ago, the head honcho of KTM at the time stated that superbikes made no sense for road-legal vehicles and accordingly, they were withdrawing the RC8 from the market and would not replace it.

Right, and then they went on to build that Superduke monster that's practically as fast ... and now have gone on to MotoGP and have done quite well for themselves. Things that make you go "hmmm".

I think this was all just an excuse for withdrawing the RC8 from the market because it wasn't selling well.

I know some people like them ... I find the styling to be, uh, "peculiar".

As for the cult, you'll find internet fanbois and haters for all brands.
Click to expand...

What I love the most is that I can still have fun at 50 km/h in 2nd gear as much as at extra legal speeds (not that I would ever do that)
 
KTM is a fascinating story, spinning what was not that long ago (at least to my consciousness) a mostly dirtbike brand into a global behemoth. Bajaj has been a huge part of that, as has Indian manufacturing, so I can understand Indians being defensive of what they see as 'theirs' in the same way that an Italian would support Ducati.
 
I picked up a 2020 recently. It's a fun bike.
 
Brian P said:
Some years ago, the head honcho of KTM at the time stated that superbikes made no sense for road-legal vehicles and accordingly, they were withdrawing the RC8 from the market and would not replace it.

Right, and then they went on to build that Superduke monster that's practically as fast ... and now have gone on to MotoGP and have done quite well for themselves. Things that make you go "hmmm".

I think this was all just an excuse for withdrawing the RC8 from the market because it wasn't selling well.

I know some people like them ... I find the styling to be, uh, "peculiar".

As for the cult, you'll find internet fanbois and haters for all brands.
Click to expand...
I completely forgot about that! It definitely came off from day one as them having hurt feelings
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