KTM has always lived up to its “Ready To Race” motto be it on or off road. The company’s wide selection of enduro and motocross bikes has proven to be one of the most formidable on the trails and tracks, while its street-focused lineup ranging from 125 all the way to 1390 models have always stood on the top of their segments when it comes to technology and performance.
If we take a look at the brand’s sportbike segment, the RC is really the only bike we can choose from, but KTM offers it in a wide range of displacements, from 125 in Europe to 890 in the track-only RC 8C. That said, the entry-level market, particularly in Asia, gets the RC 200, a single-cylinder equipped sportbike that’s just been refreshed for the 2024 model year.
In many ways, the RC 200 is a smaller version of the popular RC 390 found in the global market. It shares the same frame, suspension, wheels, and overall styling as its bigger sibling, but is powered by a smaller single-cylinder engine. It’s one of the many models being produced by Bajaj in India, where KTM and the Indian manufacturer have been working together to produce small-displacement machines for more than a decade now.
Specific to the 2024 model-year, the KTM RC 200 comes in two new color schemes consisting of blue with orange accents, as well as a black and white scheme inspired by its bigger sibling, the RC 8C. It gets the same updated fairing and bodywork as the RC 390, and is widely regarded as the most aggressive in its class in terms of ergonomics and performance thanks to its low-slung clip-on bars and fairly high rearsets. Like before, the RC 200 boasts premium components including WP inverted forks, radially-mounted brakes from Bybre, and full-LED lighting.
In the performance department, the RC 200 is powered by a 199cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, single-cylinder engine with 25 horsepower at 10,000 rpm and 19 Nm (14.06 pound-feet) of torque at 8,000 rpm, making it among the most powerful bikes in the sub-200cc category. Power is sent to the rear wheel via a six-speed manual transmission.
As of this writing, KTM has yet to confirm pricing and availability information of the 2024 RC 200, however, it’s expected to be released in the Indian market first in the coming weeks. Afterwards, we can expect to see this bike in other Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
