KTM RC200 Ownership Review.

The Bike KTM RC200 

Design:

The bikes looks unique with the Orange trellis frame. The colour combination of black and orange looks better than the RC390 combination of white, black and orange is what I feel. 
The stares you get when riding this bike is something special.
The twin projector headlamps light up the road efficiently and evenly.
The LED Position lights stand out from the usual lights found in other bikes. 
The faring is covered in matte paint and the fuel tank is also protected in a plastic fairing. 
The clip on handle bars do take time getting used to as they can be painful on the arms while riding in city. Rider's seat is hard and the pillion seat is designed to look like a cowl. 
That's some brilliant piece of work done by KTM! Standard LED rear lights look cool at night with the centre strip acting as parking lights. Mirrors are 70% visible and the LED indicators on the mirror are bright enough. 
The front windshield does get scratched and the dust gets into small crevices which are difficult to clean. The rear mud guard is of no use as mud is still flung all under the seat and sometimes on the rider.
Instrument Display is the same as Duke so will not go into the details.

Engine and Transmission: 

The engine is exactly the same as the duke.Power delivery is linear and when required, it pulls on opening the throttle further. 
Slight changes in transmission now allow the rev band to be explored rather than quickly shifting up. Gear shifts were hard initially but after riding for more kms its more easy and precise. 
Since engine is running in, I've not gone beyond 6.5k rpm. (Manual recommends keeping below 7.5k rpm). I did find a slight difference in exhaust note or maybe I wanted a difference hence I assumed its different. Sometimes the gears get stuck in between while downshifting and the clutch has to be let out slightly in order to get into the lower gear. 
Finding neutral is easier from 2nd than from 1st. The radiator fan kicks in when the display shows 4 bars less than maximum and it sounds like a jet plane.

Suspension and handling:


Front suspension is the same WP suspension found in Dukes with less travel. Rear is the same monoshock as the duke. I haven't tweaked with the suspension settings as I find the stock setting comfortable. 
The ride is slightly hard and the handling is agile. Can easily slide through traffic without any worries. 

Tyres and Brakes:


Tyres are the MRF Rev Z 110 at the front and 150 section at the rear.  
The front brakes are bigger at 300mm and the rear is at 230mm with the front haning a four pot and the rear having a one pot calliper. Steel braided lines on the front and back as standard. S
topping power is more than sufficient. The tyres are grippy enough but in wet conditions I did not feel that confident to open the throttle. 

Pros:
1. Looks.

2. Handling.


3. Attention Grabber.

4. Power- The engine pulls real hard and the rear passenger can easily fall off.


5. Exhaust note- I've always been a huge fan of the Engine sound of dukes.

Cons:


1. Hard Clutch: In normal riding its not much of a deal but in heavy traffic its painful to the palm.


2. Heat - The fan does kick in quite a lot in traffic and without appropriate clothing you will feel the heat but its not unbearable like the 390.


3. Keeping it clean is one hell of a task with all those small crevices and difficult to access location.

Conclusion:

For this price point, this is one of the best bikes out there in the segment. 
With its sharp and edgy design and the proper engine, 

I feel like its the best decision I've made in my life.

My head is still buzzing from the ride on the KTM RC 200 and not just because the KTMs are a bunch of fun motorcycles, but more on that later. The RC 200 features the same engine as the 200 Duke with no changes to any of the mechanicals.

With the frame and fairing adding eight kilos to the package but giving it better aerodynamics, the performance has changed but not by much.
Off the line to 60kmph the Duke leads by a good 0.26 of a second, but the RC regains some ground once the aero advantage kicks in, crossing the 100kmph mark in 9.89 seconds, just 0.03 of a second off the Duke and just 0.66 of a second slower than the torquey CBR250R.
Fuel economy too is a very similar – 29.85kmpl in the combined city and highway cycle. KTM RC200

With so few changes you could be forgiven for thinking that the story ends here but it’s the lovely tractability of the quick revving 200cc engine that makes the RC 200 a crazy amount of fun.
The moment you set off, that revving nature makes you just want to wring every bit of performance out of the engine and the even sweeter handling chassis.
The riding position is comfortable and committed which further eggs you on and this combination soon had me, quite uncharacteristically, I must add, carving up roads like an absolute madman.
Through corners too despite lesser power than the RC 390, the sharper steering and awesome chassis mean you can really push the bike to its limits and this is what’s left my head still spinning two days later.

At Rs 1.84* lakh on-road Pune, the KTM RC 200 is really a great all around package, one that works on the streets and the highway and is still perfectly at home on the track.
(*Prices may vary.)

Cheaper pocket friendly MRF Revz FC1 & C1 tyres for KTM Duke & RC

The KTM Duke and RC 390, two brilliant and involving motorcycles at the price point they come in. Credit in part for this brilliance goes to the stock Metzeler tyres that the 390 brothers come with. But like they say, good things come at a price and a pair of Metzelers will cost you about 16 grand and tyre life due to the extra sticky nature is about 10,000 kms. A cheaper alternative to the stock Metzelers on the Duke and RC 390 was really need in the market and MRF is the first company to respond. MRF already makes tyres for the Duke 200, but on the 390’s those tyres would not match the performance requirements. The new MRF Revz FC1 (110/70/17) and MRF Revz C1 (150/60/17) are a perfect cheap and pocket friendly alternative to the costly Metzelers. The MRF Revz FC1 is for the front and is priced at Rs. 2683/*-. The MRF Revz C1 is the rear tyre and is priced at Rs.3600/*-. In total that means you are saving almost ten thousand rupees.
(* Prices may vary.)

But there has to be a downside right? The trade off is in the grip offered. These new MRF tyres the Revz FC1 and FC offer lesser grip than the super soft compound made Metzelers. Now would you notice this difference in grip in a daily use scenario? Most likely not. Almost all the customers of the the Duke and RC 390 would be focusing on city riding and occasional touring. These riders will be perfectly happy with the grip offered. Only the track regulars and the real performance enthusiasts will actually even feel the difference. Although the one place that you will feel the difference for sure is when you are riding in the wet. Nothing on offer currently comes close to the stock Duke / RC 390 tyres. So in short the MRF Revz FC1 and C1 are a good enough and most importantly a cheaper alternative to the pricey stock tyres.