New KTM 990 RC R
KTM announced their first out and out SuperSport bike in some time in the form of their brand new 2025 990 RC R, along with a Super Special Track edition.
And of course, this thing looks like a bit of a weapon. So here we go with the eight key things that you need to know about it.
990 Base
it does seem to be largely related to the 990 Duke, hence the name. So naturally there are going to be some similar components in the engine and some of the technology.
But also you got to consider that they launched last year and the year before that, RC 8C, which is a very expensive, exclusive track-only bike developed in collaboration with Kramer Motorcycles. New KTM 990 RC R
And so no doubt some of the development of that bike has fed into this RCR.
Then they also say that the company is harnessing all their expertise that’s been gained through their recent efforts in Moto GP, thousands of track laps and wins and podiums to fire the KTM 990 RCR to life.
So yeah, while it is heavily related to the 990 Duke, I’ll be expecting this bike to be much more performance orientated.
Engine
Now At the heart of it we’ve got the LC, AC, parallel twins.
So yeah, same as the 990 Duke and the small C at the end of that engine stands for compact and it weighs in at just 57kg, although there’s no total weight given for the bike. New KTM 990 RC R
Now, the performance figures here that they’ve given are 128 of peak power and 103 newton meters of peak torque, up at 10,500 rpm.
So not a million miles off the 990 Duke. But it does feel like everything’s been shifted higher into the rev range in search of that higher peak power figure.
So the 990 Duke makes 121.4 horsepower, but that’s at 9500 rpm. So lower than where this sports bike is going to make its peak torque.
And the same 103 newton meter peak torque figure is made at 6750 rpm. So significantly lower than the RCR.
Makes total sense there’s much more opportunity to get the engine spinning up when you’re out on the track. New KTM 990 RC R
Whereas with the 990 Duke naked, which is more so built for the street, you want to be able to access that peak torque more easily for that proper strong pull at road speeds.
Also, we’ve got a dedicated silencer for this particular bike. I think the one in the pictures is with the Akrapovic.
That might be a specific add on from the accessories catalog, but presumably there’s a little bit more airflow.
And then the other difference with this bike is that the gear shifter can be flipped for a reverse ray shift pattern if needed, and I think that comes as standard with this bike. New KTM 990 RC R
New KTM 990 RC R Frame
Now onto the frame and it does get a similar ish setup to the 990 Duke. So you’ve got the steel trellis frame at the front, and then a diecast aluminum subframe, which integrates the air intake and part of the airbox.
But there are apparently some changes specifically for this bike, like more weight over the front wheel and also a dedicated head angle of 25 degrees, which is going to be a little bit sharper.
And they say that’s going to lead to enhanced steering responsiveness.
On top of that, if you look at the two pictures side by side down, sort of where the swingarm pivot is, you can see that it looks a bit more chunky and reinforced.
And they do say that in the press release as well. So they say it’s been beefed up to give the right feel and stability under acceleration on bumpy roads or on race tracks, while still show maintaining agility, especially at low speeds.
Now, if you put the pictures of the 990 Duke on top of this new bike and sort of scale them using the wheels as a sort of consistent measure, they do look similar in length.
They’ve also got what looks like the same swingarm, but I think those changes to the stiffness of the frame and that steeper head angle are just going to make it feel a bit more flickable, as well as having that weight over the front.
Ergonomic
Now, again, you’ve got all of the typical ergonomic changes that you’d expect for a more track biased bike. New KTM 990 RC R
So a naked bike is going to be quite flat with the bars in a little bit set up, whereas this one is lower and further forward with the bars with what looks like a pair of clip ons.
Then also you’ve got to get the rider canted down to that point. So that means moving the foot pegs back and lifting them up.
And then also there is a little bit of a difference there with the seat height. So again it looks like it’s gone back and up a tiny bit.
But on top of all that there is a pretty significant ergonomic tweak.
And that’s the tank shape and it’s quite significantly longer, which they say gives you six contact points on the tank for a better connection, leaning and tucking in to ensure comfort, but also support for the knees, arms and lowering pressure on the hand. New KTM 990 RC R
New KTM 990 RC R Hardware
As for the rest of the componentry on this bike, well, with the suspension of course it’s from WP who are their in-house suspension brand and provide all of the suspension for all their bikes.
And they say it’s Wp apex line of suspension, which is fully adjustable and gets an open cartridge design.
And so that sounds pretty similar, actually, to the setup that’s on the 990 Duke, although I would at least expect different settings here in order to give it that firmer ride that’s more suited to sporty and track riding, as well as cope with that different weight distribution that they just mentioned.
Now, one area that does look like it could be a bit of an upgrade is with the brakes, because here we’ve got some rather bling looking Brembo calipers.
And that’s as opposed to the KTM branded four piston radial calipers on the 990 Duke. New KTM 990 RC R
The only thing I will say is that, clearly, you can tell from the paint job on this bike that it’s a prototype.
And so maybe this is just for testing or potentially part of the KTM Power Parts accessories catalog, which does include some upgrades.
And that is potentially the case because they got the wavy disks on there, which they often offer as part of that power parts lineup.
So yeah, they don’t call this out specifically the brakes in the press release. So that one is TBC.
But they do say gets lightweight cast aluminum wheels 17 inch front and rear, of course, and they’re going to be wrapped in Michelin tires.
And again, these wheels look pretty much the exact same as the 990 Duke.
Winglets
One area in which it does look really significantly different, though, is with the front end. New KTM 990 RC R
And it’s because of those Moto GP inspired winglets.
Now, they do have a practical purpose, of course, as with all other bikes that come with winglets, they say it provides stability for braking and cornering.
Although it is worth pointing out that winglets get more effective with the more airflow they get, which is generally owing to higher speeds.
And so if you’re just puttering around on the road, I wouldn’t expect this bike to feel absolutely glued to the tarmac.
And I do suspect they’ve partly done it for the looks because it’s going to give you a bit of that Moto GP KTM image, which is very focused around racing personally, visually, not really my cup of tea.
I think it looks like a big droopy mustache, and I see that as someone who is generally a fan of facial hair. New KTM 990 RC R
Track
On top of that, there is also a track version of this bike that’s going to be available, and they say that the modifications strip away the road legal essentials.
So we’re thinking about stuff like the lighting, the indicators, the license plate holder and stuff like that, and it allows them to customize further and revise racing bodywork, including a full exhaust system.
These modifications ensure that riders focus on lap times rather than leisurely rides. Although I don’t think there are going to be many leisurely rides even on the road version of this bike.
And additionally, the ease of repair, low maintenance requirements, and extensive official dealer support provide further advantages.
New KTM 990 RC R Price
Clearly, everyone’s going to want one of these bikes. So the real question is how much is it going to cost? And I don’t think it’s going to be particularly cheap if you base it upon a couple of sort of reference points.
I mean, the 990 Duke comes in now at 12,999 pounds. So that was quite a significant jump up versus the 892 Duke that went before it.
And also if you compare it to some of the immediate competition like a Yamaha MTO nine or stuff like that, you know, it’s definitely on the more pricey end of things, then you’ve also got to think about that KTM, RC 8C that I just mentioned.
The first version of it sold out in minutes and that was 30,999 pounds. They came out with another version a year or two later, and that was 34,999.
And again, it immediately sold out. So clearly it’s probably a pretty good bike, but that sort of price really does put it in the sort of dream bike category for the majority of people. New KTM 990 RC R
With this, for the standard road bike, I mean, based on the 990 Duke, hopefully it’ll be somewhere around the 15 grand mark, and that might put it on a par with something like the Ducati SuperSport 950, which comes in at about 14.5 grand and it makes 110 horsepower.
But I will say this bike looks like it’s going to be a little bit quicker and more aggressive. And so maybe they can possibly charge a bit of a premium.
And also, if the rumored Yamaha R9 ever makes an appearance, I’d expect that to be a direct competitor to.
But generally Yamaha are pretty good on price and so it’ll probably undercut it. The track version, I mean, a few grand on top probably.
You might be looking at around the 20 grand mark or more than that. And on the one hand that does sound quite expensive, but on the other it might be quite a nice way to get a cut price RC 8C.
And in fact, if you’ve bought a 30,999 pounds RC in the first instance or 34,999 in the second instance, the announcement of this bike might hurt a little bit.