The KTM 1190 RC8 is a sport bike

Sport bike

A sport bike, also written as sportbike, is a motorcycle optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on paved roads, typically at the expense of comfort and fuel economy in comparison to less specialized motorcycles...

 manufactured by KTM

KTM

KTM Sportmotorcycle AG is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and moped manufacturer.The company was founded in 1934 by engineer Hans Trunkenpolz in Mattighofen. It started out as a metal working shop and was named Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen...

.. It has a 1148 cc V-twin engine and is the Austrian manufacturer's first-ever Superbike design.

Design

The first concept of the bike appeared in 2005, powered by the Super Duke 999 cc v-twin. The displacement was increased to 1190 cc for the production version. The bike features a steel trellis frame with a cast aluminium seat subframe. The suspension uses high-end inverted forks and an alloy, double-sided swingarm manufactured by WP, a KTM subsidiary. The bike comes in three colors, the traditional KTM orange and a white and black version.

Racing

At the launch of the RC8 superbike KTM announced it will race in the RC8 in the FIM Superstock championship in 2008. KTM's two year plan is to get the bike regularly on the podium in superstock before moving up to the Superbike World Championship

Superbike World Championship

Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...

. For 2009 the KTM RC8 Super Cup has been running as a one make support class at selected rounds of the British Superbike Championship, and in 2010 Redline KTM are competing in the newly formed BSB Evo class with rider James Edmeades.

External links

• www.ktm-rc8.net Official RC8 website
• KTM RC8 review Road test of the KTM RC8