KTM RC4 - what do we know so far?

[yorkie_chris]

Yeah I can't really make it out...

oooo
a stupidly over powered cagiva mito
that sounds like a winner ... they are the best look 125 ...250 and better than some 600.

[Paul the 6th]

was going to post that pic, then i saw it was 5 megapixel

same here with money/insurance issues @ rc8. Would love to have a razz on one and maybe even own one when I've got my experience/confidence, but the rc4 could be a properly fun toy. Looks smart as feck too

It would be fun, hopefully you won't be paying too much of a premium for it though

Think how a sporty tuned 600 single would sound aswell with a short pipe.

only problem ...wouldnt it need stupid amounts of maintainance due to the big single and being so sporty ??

[Paul the 6th]

so whats the crack with singles? loads of torque cos it's one big cylinder instead of four little once with a similar displacement? I'm a thick

It's not a 2 stroke, so you won't be doing top end rebuilds every 10 minutes. I think I read that KTM have engines that have run for over 100k miles, I think one of them was a single, one was an RC8, might be mistaken hough.

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by Paul the 6th

I was day dreaming about the ktm rc8 earlier when I suddenly thought "i'm never going to ride that thing, it's ridiculous... I'd be off by the first corner"....

So does anyone know when the rc4 is coming out? I've read it's going to use a single cylinder engine from something like the 690? I don't know a right lot about single cylinder engines apart from:

A) they're used alot in offroad bikes due to their 'mental' or 'torquey' nature
B) that's about it

so could a sports bike with a single cylinder engine ever really be much competition for the other super600's from the big four? Rumours are that it's going to be around 71bhp with 145mph top speed - oh and by the way, a ridiculous dry weight of 138kg (claimed - probably absolute guff but hey ho, it's a talking point which is what ktm are after)...

I'm a bit curious about it, so what do you lot know?

single cylinder engines are light and compact, but will never produce the same power as a twin or 4cylinder engine because the piston speeds get silly at higher rpm, 138kg dry sounds realistic considering the weight of their other bikes, and KTM aren't renowned for making up their figures, but the RC4 doesn't sound like a direct competitor to the SS600s - looks like a bike for someone who wants something a bit different...

It seems that somebody else already dreamed up such a bike before the manufacturers. Oh sorry about the large pic I'm removing it and replacing by a link. Sorry!

Well here goes...

When asked what they want in a motorcycle, some might say narrow, lightweight, great handling single cylinder with plenty of power.
That was Kim Kronslev’s idea. He looked around, didn’t find what he wanted so he designed it and built one, based around the KTM 640 LC4. Although Kim began with the intention of making a road legal bike, his direction changed during the course of the project and what you see is a track only special. There’s not yet much detail from Kim as far as specs go but he started by making CAD drawings of what he had in mind and finished with a track bike. It looks very minimal and super light. Kim used the tried and true formula: idea + skill + work = real bike. Some really nice motorcycles get their start this way.
Once you have something to work with, you can refine it until it’s exactly what you want. I like it.

http://www.kronslev.net/Pictures/Pictures.html

[Paul the 6th]

Originally Posted by the_lone_wolf

single cylinder engines are light and compact, but will never produce the same power as a twin or 4cylinder engine because the piston speeds get silly at higher rpm, 138kg dry sounds realistic considering the weight of their other bikes, and KTM aren't renowned for making up their figures, but the RC4 doesn't sound like a direct competitor to the SS600s - looks like a bike for someone who wants something a bit different...

So I'm right in thinking they've got masses of torque throughout the useable rev range rather than aiming for all out peak power? I absolutely love the engine on the sv, and while the thought of a gsxr 750 is quite nice as an all round package, but having ridden the sv I think I'm going to stick with v-twins forever. They've got so much character and aren't 'just another ss600' like everyother bike on the road these days. Something different