It’s not often that I am stopped dead in my tracks, all current thoughts misplaced and total attention now upon what lies before me. Beauty has a way of doing that. What you do from there decides the fate of your encounter...I had to ask.
So I go back inside Pirate Ziet and not very macho almost to the point of gettin slugged in this sorta establishment ask the only dude with a motorcycle jacket on if that’s his gal out front. With my head in the sand these past months I was unaware that there’s a new player in town, looks alone could win with this one.
The new KTM RC8, at first glance seemed to be a bike stolen from the G.P. paddock, not an ounce of unnecessary weight, though all the top components were there. The angular bodystyle is pleasing to the eye, with the mixture of Orange, Black and Aluminum it’s a really sexy bike. Take a walk around the RC8 and it’s narrowness seems unreal, eye’s wide as you want to have a seat. Only the license plate bracket was out of place and this has a really sleek design within itself, incorporating the rear blinkers, four bolts and it’s off, mirrors also with blinkers and rear pegs are just as easy to remove.
After a nice chat with the owner I was able to secure the 08 KTM RC8 for a couple days test session. Neat huh. I was to pick the bike up at Ace Motorsports in Concord, a very nice shop that also has Ducati and Triumph as well a KTM. Jim and Dave were there to greet Wade and I, go over the KTM and give us the keys. The Beaming Orange paint was also metallic up front and looked spectacular in the sunset at The Wall drawing large crowds.
The KTM RC8 is supposed to be a very adjustable racebike and I would say at first attempt it was almost perfect. The 10mm bolts (or a torx) will adjust the whole tail section up about an inch or standard (which I prefer), you may also adjust the front clip ons in- out or in my case 3/4" down and bars in, the rear sets have two adjustments although fully up they were rather tame for me. Both hand and foot controls are adjustable for throw and reach which I adjusted out on the ride, very cool. To be able to adjust to reverse shifting had a couple of us pondering how... needed the manual. Racer Chris from Ace Motorsports had taken the KTM RC8 to Thunderhill so the suspension was set up for that track day. Wade and I had backed off abit on most suspension adjustments and the RC8 settled down at once, another day and we would have had it dialed. White Power fully adjustable front and rear suspension, a steering dampner and top shelf brakes are the norm as well as forged aluminum rims, the tires Wade and I run at the Isle of Man, Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa Pro were on them from Thunderhill a bit used, not any worries, they are great tires! Since the RC8 is fully adjustable cater it to your likes, however the seat can be rather angular, you’ll know when you feel it. The narrowness at first took getting used to ( I run R1's), from there it was learning how to dance with her.
Highway One was my testing grounds as it offers diverse road conditions and will let you know of a motorcycles shortcomings immediately. Around town the RC8 seemed to want to be around Four Thousand RPM, you needed to play with the clutch. Under load or goin off the gas created a rather jerky response when getting back on the gas, this took getting used to but was unnoticeable after the day. On the freeway cruisin at 85 in fourth at around six rpm, roll on pull was impressive for freeway passing under fourth gear, you really needed to be flying to get in the upper gears. The front wind coverage at first glance seemed sexily minimal was impressive for fast speeds. The instrument cluster was like the modern phones of today... too much info, what happened to the easier to see analog tach. Shifter lights never worked for me, who’s lookin down there when you’re flying, and the led screen told me what to do as far as “taking it in for service”, grrr.
The V Twin 1148cc Motor was very strong and quick to get up into the rev’s, hard on the gas exiting a turn you have to get shifting, very nice for a big twin. Never did I feel it was gonna get away from me, though at times it either didn’t fully engage or slipped out of gear entering a corner under load, not good, I wasn’t the only one who noticed this and wonder if reverse shifting pattern would get better actuation, otherwise we flew. The motor is of the DOHC shim under bucket design, probably sharing many parts from the KTM Adventure 950, a great throaty sound it makes as well. At 444 lbs wet the RC8 never felt the weight, flickability was effortless and moving latterly across the ripples it always held its composure, this bike would be fine at the Isle of Man. The KTM RC8 was able to effortlessly go from switchbacks to fast straights and very rough sections with ease never buckling or showing any wear, the harder I rode the easier it was. We saw 142, top speed would probably be around 160/165 from the seat of my pants. At 106 miles we needed fuel in the 4.4 gal tank. The KTM RC8 is a treat to ride with ease that other Superbikes don’t offer, at one point I was running much faster that it felt, smoothness makes you feel much more comfortable flying, just make sure to be aware of your speed. Thank’s to Greg and all the guys and gals at Ace Motorsports.
~ Cheers, Alx