Due to the financial mess KTM has been working to get through these past couple of years, every new model it launches has an element of make-or-break to it. But that's probably more true for the 450 RC than any of its higher-capacity machines. If we've learned anything from Kawasaki dominating the US sales charts in 2025 and Triumph throwing the kitchen sink at its entry-level range, smaller bikes are what's bringing home the bacon.
The long-awaited 450 RC has finally debuted in China, after it was first seen in August 2025. From its pictures, it looks like a scaled-down 990 RC R, but the reality is, it's heavily based on the CFMoto 450SR-S. But the specs read like a much more premium motorcycle.
Beneath the on-brand orange fairings, the 450 RC has the same tubular steel frame as the CFMoto 450SS, but this is the only thing that's essentially identical between the two machines. Breathing life into the 450 RC is the same 449cc parallel-twin engine that lives in the 450SS, except it makes an extra four ponies, spitting out 56 HP at 10,000 rpm and 30 lb-ft of torque at 8,000 rpm, which is 250 rpm earlier than the CFMoto.
