KTM RC 390

In July 2023, KTM India blew everyone away with the original 390 Duke - a naked bike with incredible performance and precise handling, all for a fairly reasonable price. KTM quickly followed it up in September 2014 with the RC 390 - a pukka baby supersport bike built on the 390 Duke platform. Finally, sport riding enthusiasts had a viable upgrade option from the likes of the Yamaha R15 V4. And that made the RC 390 a hit amongst Indian riders who wanted to get a taste of proper track riding.

Over the years, the RC 390 has seen quite a few upgrades, with a major upgrade coming in 2022 with the introduction of the Gen 2 RC 390. I’ve been lucky enough to have ridden all iterations of the RC 390, from the original one to even the latest model, on city streets, on highway tours, on multiple tracks, and I’ve even attended Levels 1, 2 and 3 of California Superbike School (CSS) India on the RC 390. Heck, I’ve even had the chance to race with it against fellow automobile journalists in the KTM RC Cup.

KTM RC 390 Design

Compared to the original RC390’s sharp fairing with its twin LED projector headlights, the Gen 2 RC390 looks almost a bit plain from the front. The shape of the LED headlight is somewhat similar to the one from the last gen 200 Duke. It’s surrounded by a large windscreen that extends quite a way up - like a proper race bike. My favourite bit about the RC390’s design is the way the front turn indicators have been neatly integrated into the fairing itself. And speaking of the fairing, its sharp, overlapping panels do look quite good, and because it doesn’t extend all the way to the middle of the bike, quite a bit of that potent motor is on display. Some people might not like the design of the fairing compared to the first gen RC, or might find the lack of belly panel and the side-slung exhaust a bit of an eye sore, but I truly believe that the RC390 looks much better in real life than it does in pictures. From the side, I think it looks like a proper race bike. Plus, in the latest iteration of the bike, KTM has tinted the windscreen black, which makes it look a lot more menacing.

KTM RC 390 Build Quality

While the RC390 is quite well put together, I wouldn’t rate the fit-and-finish very high. There are some inconsistent panel gaps on the tank, and the variety of plastic textures around the front of the bike can look a bit overdone. While the fit-and-finish might not feel perfect, in my experience, the RC390 is solid, and in all my riding, I never experienced any panels coming loose, or any rattling from the bike.

KTM RC 390 Colours

The KTM RC 390 is available in two colours - Orange and Blue. The Orange RC does look quite nice with its contrasting black panels, but my favourite colour has to be the Blue. It almost reminds me of the KTM MotoGP bike.

KTM RC 390 Safety Features

KTM has really upped its game when it comes to electronic rider aids for the RC 390. It has a Bosch 6-axis IMU, which enables safety aids like cornering traction control and cornering ABS. While I can’t speak for how these safety features perform in an actual emergency situation, there were a few times on wet concrete road where I saw the traction control light on the dashboard blink, letting me know that the system had seamlessly kept my rear wheel from spinning up due to a lack of grip. As for the dual-channel ABS, it performed flawlessly, without too much feedback at the lever as well. The ABS also gets a Supermoto mode, which allows you to turn off ABS at the rear wheel.

KTM RC 390 Convenience features

The RC 390 gets the same 5-inch colour TFT instrument console that was there on the 2017 390 Duke. This screen shows all necessary information, although I feel its layout is a bit cluttered for my liking. And while it has Bluetooth connectivity for call/message alerts and music control, it doesn’t get any navigation option, and that is a miss in my book. The RC 390 also gets a quickshifter, but like I mentioned earlier, this system is a bit clunky, especially when upshifting.

KTM RC 390 Rider Comfort

One big complaint with the first gen RC 390 was its extremely aggressive riding position, which made it quite painful to ride everyday in city conditions. Thankfully though, KTM has addressed this in the second generation RC. The clip-on handlebars are now mounted taller, and can also be mounted 10mm further up using the built-in spacers. This makes for a much more upright upper body posture. And while the footpegs are rear set, they don’t feel as aggressively positioned as the last gen bike. I’m 5’9” and a fairly heavy 80kg, but I had no problem finding a very comfortable riding position even when riding in bumper to bumper traffic. Plus the rider seat is long enough so that I could slide back in it and get into a proper tucked-in position behind the large windscreen when I was blasting down the straights of various race tracks. That said, the seat height has gone up to 833mm, and while I didn’t have any problem getting both my feet on the ground, shorter riders - say those who are 5’5” or 5’6” might have to be on their tiptoes.

KTM RC 390 Pillion Comfort

Unlike the last generation RC which had a rear seat shaped like a race cowl, this second gen bike gets a proper pillion seat that’s flatter and wider. It is set quite high though, so pillion riders might struggle slightly to climb on. But once on the seat, pillions will be quite comfortable, as the RC now has proper grab rails for them to hold on to. I did take all manner of pillions - tall, short, light and heavy on the RC 390 with me, and the only real complaints they had were the difficulty climbing on to the seat and being seated so high that they could see ahead over my helmet.

KTM RC 390 Engine

The KTM RC390’s engine has remained mostly unchanged from the original bike. It’s a 373cc liquid-cooled engine that produces 43.5PS of peak power at 9000rpm and 37Nm of peak torque (2Nm more than before) at 7000rpm. But the big update for the Gen 2 bike is a 40-percent larger airbox, that allows this engine to not only make more torque than before, but it puts out a lot more torque at lower rpm as well. Here’s how the KTM RC390 compares to its competitors in my performance test

KTM RC390 City Performance

While the RC390 is far from a city bike, it actually performs quite well in the urban environment. That larger airbox which lets the engine produce more torque at lower rpm allowed me to ride the RC390 in a gear higher than I would have in the city. Moving along at city speeds, I was easily able to keep the RC in second or even third gear at times. Overtaking traffic is an absolute breeze too, as the engine really springs to life once you get it beyond 4000rpm. And at city speeds, I didn’t feel any bothersome vibrations either. Plus when I was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the slip and assist clutch made for a super light clutch action, and kept my left hand quite relaxed. 

KTM RC 390 Heating Issues

The first gen RC 390 was known to run quite hot when moving slowly through traffic. And some riders had even reported that their RC 390 would overheat and shut down in such conditions. Thankfully, heating is not an issue at all with the Gen 2 RC 390. It’s got a larger, curved radiator with two fans, which direct hot air through ducts in the fairing, around the riders legs. So when I was stuck in traffic, even though the engine was getting a bit hot, it never overheated, nor did it throw much hot air towards my legs.

KTM RC390 Highway performance

On the highway, the KTM RC 390’s engine really comes alive. It can sit at speeds of 100-110kmph all day long without any issues. And overtaking traffic at these speeds rarely required downshifting either. All I had to do was open the throttle further, and the RC would just pass other vehicles on the highway in the blink of an eye. As for top speed, while I did not test this out on the highway (for obvious reasons), on the Bajaj test track, I saw a little over 170kmph on the speedometer at the end of the kilometer long straight.

KTM RC 390 Gearbox

The 6-speed gearbox on the RC390 shifts quite smoothly. The bike also comes with a quickshifter for clutchless up and down shifts. That said, the quickshifter felt a bit clunky at times and sometimes wouldn’t shift up unless I really shoved the shift lever with my foot. But without the quickshifter, changing gears was problem-free. And thanks to the slipper clutch, I could shift down multiple gears without the rear wheel locking up.

KTM RC 390 Mileage

The RC 390 is a proper baby supersport bike. So obviously mileage is not a high priority for it. But in my city test, I managed to get 25.89kmpl and on the highway, I managed 31.22kmpl. Plus the large 13.7 litre fuel tank meant I could ride much longer before I needed to refuel. Here are the RC390’s tested mileage figures compare to its nearest competition.

KTM RC 390 Underpinnings

The KTM RC 390 is built around a trellis frame, and in the gen 2 bike, it gets a brand new bolt-on subframe. The Front suspension consists of a 43mm upside down fork, which unlike the one on the international spec model, isn’t adjustable. At the rear, it gets a preload-adjustable monoshock. In this Gen 2 model, the 17-inch alloy wheels have been redesigned to be much lighter (and stronger) and are running with Metzeler M5 Sportec H-rated radial tyres. The brakes have been revised too, with a front 320mm disc mounted on the spokes rather than the wheel hub. This has helped save unsprung mass from the bike. Even the 230mm rear disc brake is using lighter components than before.

KTM RC 390 Handling

With a kerb weight of 172kg, the RC 390 isn’t a lightweight bike for sure. But thanks to the lighter unsprung mass, it can change direction much quicker than before. Every time I’ve ridden the RC 390 on the race track, I’ve been blown away with how easily it flicks from one corner to the other. And this effortless steering doesn’t come at the cost of stability either. Even when leaned over a lot, I never got the feeling from this RC that I would run out of grip easily. That said, the H-Rated Metzeler tyres don’t do this bike’s handling justice in my opinion. At extreme lean angles, they do feel a bit skittish. However, I have ridden the RC 390 with different tyres - Ceat SportRads as well as TVS Eurogrip ProTorq Extremes. In my experience, these tyres inspire much more confidence and really exploit the fantastic handling capabilities of the RC.

KTM RC390 Brakes

As I mentioned, this gen 2 RC390 gets lighter brake components for better handling. And the braking performance itself is quite strong. Granted I wish there was slightly better feel from the front brake lever. But once you squeeze the lever properly, the RC390 sheds speed rapidly and without any drama. Here is how the RC compared to its competitors in my braking tests.

KTM RC 390 Ride Quality

The Gen 2 RC 390 gets more suspension travel and a revised suspension tune at both ends. In my riding experience, the RC could handle our bumps, rumble strips and potholes on our messed up roads much better than before. Also, the way you now sit on the bike ensures you are not loading up the front suspension as much, and it rides over bad roads quite well. However the rear suspension still feels a little firm, and every time I rode fast over larger bumps, I could feel them a bit strongly through the seat.

This second gen RC 390 might not feel drastically different from the first gen one on paper, in the real world, the difference is night and day. With the improved ergonomics and suspension, it’s much easier to live with everyday, and that hasn’t compromised on the RC’s performance and handling capabilities.

If you’re someone looking for a sportsbike that you can thrash around a race track and still use everyday in the city as well on occasional highway tours without too many compromises, honestly, there’s no better bike in India than the RC 390. But if track riding isn’t high on your list of priorities from your bike, then the RC might just be a bit too extreme for you. In that case, you’d be better off with the new KTM 390 Duke, which will offer you better performance and a lot more comfort.

KTM RC 390 vs TVS Apache RR310

The TVS Apache RR310 offers a lot more high-tech features compared to the RC 390. It is also more comfortable, and much better suited for sport touring compared to the RC. But the RC offers much sharper handling and much more performance than the Apache.

KTM RC 390 vs Yamaha R3

The Yamaha R3’s twin-cylinder engine is a lot smoother than the KTM’s single-cylinder motor, is more tractable at low speeds and sounds much better too. But the KTM handles better and is more affordable than the Yamaha too.