The KTM RC 8C Is A Thoroughbred Racer For Mere Mortals

‘Ready to Race’ – if you don’t already know, that’s KTM’s tagline. Pick any KTM motorcycle, turn the ignition on, and you’ll see that message flash right across the display screen to provoke you to go fully mental! Now, this is not a new thing. Motorcycle manufacturers often try their best to get maximum mileage out of their racing operations for marketing purposes. Some sell you motorcycles with racing liveries; some will go one better and offer technologies that have trickled down from their racing motorbikes. In a way, they always try to show you that their mass-market motorcycles are somehow related to the speed monsters that take part in the pinnacle of motorcycle racing activities like MotoGP or Dakar Rally. They hardly offer you the real deal.

At this point, you might be wondering as to why you don’t see road-going versions of a MotoGP or Dakar bike on showroom floors? The reason is quite simple, really. Firstly, irrespective of how deep your pockets are, nobody would want to hand you a speed monster. It can be suicidal. For you, not them. Secondly, a race-spec motorcycle is a prototype that’s made of highly specialized components, which are tailored to unique specifications and, therefore, it's very expensive. To give you some perspective, a MotoGP motorcycle is worth approximately $2 million!

Having said that, it’s not that we mere mortals won’t ever get a taste of full-blown racing motorcycles. Sometimes, like very, very rarely, a handful of bike makers do get brave enough to actually put up special-edition motorcycles on sale that are based on their racing machines. A case in point is the recently revealed KTM RC 8C.

Track-Only Racer Built With Top-Drawer Racing Components

Built to satiate the ‘apex-slaying needs of orange-bleeding track warriors’, the RC 8C is a limited production track-only motorcycle. Put simply, the RC 8C is a purpose-built racing machine that gets top-drawer cycle parts from KTM’s factory racing team. According to KTM, it is the closest machine to the company’s factory race bike, albeit it doesn’t need a specialist team to maintain it after every outing.

Let’s talk you through every single detail of KTM’s brand new race-spec bike for customers then.

First and foremost, it’s a completely hand-built machine (you won’t expect anything less from a bespoke racing machine, will you?). The bodywork is made up of carbon Kevlar-reinforced GRP, which is inspired by the company’s RC16 racer. Underneath the lightweight bodywork sits a 128 hp 889cc LC8c engine (derived from the KTM 890 Duke R) and it’s bolted directly into a 25CrMo4 steel tubular frame. What really boggles the mind here is that the RC 8C tips the scales at just 140kg (dry weight). That’s as much as a KTM 125 Duke! The power to weight ratio is nearly 1:1. Insane!

The suspension setup comprises a hand-built 43 mm WP APEX PRO 7543 closed cartridge front fork that’s developed by the KTM Factory Racing. In fact, this particular suspension is assembled in the same department, which builds and maintains the suspension of the KTM RC16 MotoGP bike. Additionally, the fork also comes with ‘zero hydraulic stroke limitation’, meaning riders can control the damping properties of the front suspension. The rear wheel incorporates a WP APEX PRO 7746 shock that has separate high and low-speed compression and rebound settings.

Braking duties are mainly carried out by Brembo Stylema front brake calipers, featuring 290 mm fully floating brake disks with aluminum rotors fastened by titanium screws. A Brembo two-piston caliper with a 230 mm fully floating disk brake setup is used for the rear wheel. More importantly, the bike comes fitted with a Brembo 19RCS Corsa Corta radial master cylinder that allows a rider to tailor the “bite point” by using a selector on the top of the master cylinder itself. This, if KTM is to be believed, is the same tech that’s used in its MotoGP bikes.

Since the RC 8C is a proper track tool, it comes with an AIM MXS 1.2 Race dashboard and data logger with an integrated GPS function. The information is relayed to the rider via a 5-inch TFT display with integrated data recording.

Among other racy bits, the bike comes fitted with an Akrapovič titanium muffler, quick-release tank and body panels, lightweight Dymag wheels, and Pirelli SC1 race slicks.

Freebies Include A Track Day With Dani Pedrosa!

The icing on the RC 8C cake is that along with the bike, its customers will also get to join the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing test team at a one-off track event. However, the event will be limited to just 25 customers, while 100 units of the bike will be produced and sold. Expect some grumpy faces, 75 to be precise! And that's because they will miss out on a full-day track experience at Circuito de Jerez (Spain) with former MotoGP star and KTM’s current test rider, Dani Pedrosa, and Mika Kallio. Customers participating in the track event will also get a special KTM RC 8C race track package, which will include an extra set of Dymag wheels and Brembo brakes and disks, front and rear paddock stands, tire warmers, and a KTM Race carpet.

KTM will announce the price of the RC 8C soon, but don’t expect it to come cheap. That’s because the RC 8C is one of the very few motorcycles in the world that will be actually ‘Ready to Race’ the moment you fire its engine!