[TusharK]

KTM has launched the RC 125 ABS priced at Rs. 1,47,213 (ex-showroom, Delhi). Deliveries of the bike will begin by the end of June 2019.



The RC 125 is a fully faired version of the 125 Duke. It measures 1,977 mm in length and has a wheelbase of 1,341 mm, while its seat height is set at 835 mm. The bike weighs 154.2 kg (dry weight) and comes with a 9.5-litre fuel tank.



In terms of styling, the RC 125 looks similar to the RC 390. It has twin projector headlamps with daytime running lights, a stepped seat and triple clamp handlebar. The bike rides on 17-inch alloy wheels shod with 110/70 and 150/60 section tyres at the front and rear respectively. The bike has a trellis frame with an upside down fork suspension at the front and a monoshock at the rear.



The RC 125 is powered by a 124.7cc, single cylinder, liquid cooled engine that produces 14.3 BHP @ 9,250 rpm and of 12 Nm of torque @ 8,000 rpm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox. Stopping power comes from 300 mm and 230 mm disc brakes at the front and rear respectively. The bike is equipped with single channel ABS.



Link to Team-BHP News

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Has to be rescued by brand value - because it is priced at a premium to the well established Yamaha R15, that has much better specs as well.

Combined with the reliability factor as well - its almost a no brainer against the KTM.

[simeonovitch]

If I were a college going student, this is the bike that I'd buy.

Same looks as the 390, same tyre size, same orange alloys. Just get rid of the 125 stickers, and you can show off to everyone how your parents got you a 3 lakh Rupee motorcycle. (Oh, and great fuel efficiency, and easier to convince parents to get you a 125 cc motorcycle as compared to a 150cc Yamaha, or an even higher capacity KTM)

[windrider]

R15 19.5 bhp vs 14.5 bhp RC125
14.7nm torque vs 12nm
Top speed 136km/hr vs 120km/hr
R15 dual channel abs vs single channel of RC
R15 142kg vs 154kg RC
11ltr vs 9.5 ltr fuel tank

The only category in which KTM is going to beat the R15 would be handling. but would that make up for the rest of the shortcomings? with the R15 being cheaper by about 8000, Yamaha have nothing to worry about.

[shashant]

KTM producing less power than competition and costing more..

They used to be a VFM brand in india.

Why would somebody pick it up over Yamaha R15..

[GTO]

For a 125cc, that is one really great looking motorcycle. How the motorcycle segment has advanced. It makes my '95 Yamaha RX100 look like a bicycle . On the other hand, the evolution of car design has been slower. Case in point = compare a 1995 Zen to the current Swift. It's nowhere as drastic as an RX100 vs the RC125.

[payeng]

If I had a 18 year old who was pestering for a bike, within a budget of 1.5 lakhs... as a father, I would prefer to give him this 125 cc (or maybe the 125 Duke).

RE Classic 350..??? Hell No..!!

Originally Posted by shashant

KTM producing less power than competition and costing more..

They used to be a VFM brand in india.

Why would somebody pick it up over Yamaha R15..

VFM brand is Bajaj/Pulsar... shouldn't be KTM

[$tar_boy]

@PAYENG. Unfortunately, most parents of 18-year-olds have a bad reputation towards KTMs(including mine, My dad is ready to give me a car than a bike), all thanks to squids riding it recklessly . Parents see it as a high-performance death machine with an annoying exhaust note(This is how my friend's father described it ). Although our generation would argue saying 'its all in the hands of the rider' and KTMs are wonderful machines if in the right hands, convincing them ain't easy especially when they are the ones paying for it. I have decided not to ask my parents for a bike and rather buy it with my own money.

coming back to KTM RC 125, I would say it has launched at the wrong time, most buyers in this segment would go for an R15 V3 or an RS200 in a price-sensitive market as ours I doubt that the rc125 twins would outshine the YAMHA 15 TWINS in terms of sales.

[AtheK]

Looks nice for the segment it is targetting, but falls short of Yamaha in almost all departments. That said, this will sell, and would be seen quite a bit in college. Primary function of this bike is within city and not highway, where it should probably be on same level as Yamaha.

[neil.jericho]

Yikes, that is crazy pricing by KTM! So the RC 125 is
- Rs 6,000 more than the better Yamaha R15
- Rs 4,000 less than the better Duke 200.

Yes, the RC 125 will sway some parents who are willing to pay the premium for a less powerful and maybe less reliable bike. But for those youngsters who are buying a first bike on loan, there is very little that will make them pick the RC 125 over the other two. The Yamaha dealerships must be happy with the price announcement of the RC 125.

The low price mystique of the KTM brand has long since gone. In 2014, the KTM 390s cost Rs 2.2 L, it was the same price as the Continental GT that I bought then. In 2019, the updated and far improved (though still problematic in some respects) KTM 390 costs around Rs 3.2 L. That's a massive price increase.

[payeng]

Originally Posted by $tar_boy

@PAYENG. Unfortunately, most parents of 18-year-olds have a bad reputation towards KTMs(including mine, My dad is ready to give me a car than a bike), all thanks to squids riding it recklessly.

Parents see it as a high-performance death machine with an annoying exhaust note(This is how my friend's father described it ).

Being a father myself, I can understand perfectly that sentiment. Am actually glad that my 7 yr old is not into bikes/2 Wheelers.

Coming from someone who loves bikes and riding, it might be ironic but true.

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Yikes, that is crazy pricing by KTM! So the RC 125 is
- Rs 6,000 more than the better Yamaha R15
- Rs 4,000 less than the better Duke 200.

Pricing is quiet crazy, but on the KTM's part, it makes sense. Cost of making a RC200 and RC125 would roughly be the same, only difference being engine displacement, rest being 100% identical.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Pricing is quiet crazy, but on the KTM's part, it makes sense. Cost of making a RC200 and RC125 would roughly be the same, only difference being engine displacement, rest being 100% identical.

Yes, you are right from that angle. But if we look at it from the other perspective, it should be cheaper for KTM to make the RC125 as compared to making an all new bike because most of the parts would already be tooled and the production lines are already in place for the RC200 and RC390. Where are the benefits coming from the volumes of the shared platform? The customer is not benefiting from a lower price!

This is similar to Yamaha being way too greedy with the pricing of the MT15 and launching it too close to the R15 V3. In both cases, the manufacturer has prioritized the higher profit margin per bike with lower sales approach against the lower profit margin per bike with higher sales approach. Having been in sales, though in a different industry, my preference is always the second approach because it means more of my product is on the roads and in the hands of customers.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

KTM invited Team-Bhp to the media test ride of their new RC 125 at the Chakan test track, and thanks to GTO - I was able to take up this opportunity to test the baby RC on track. Although the original itinerary was quite tight - I was looking forward to the track experience, and hoping to report how much of the original sporty DNA has been infused into this smallest member of the family.

On the day of the event, however, rains played spoilsport - rendering the track (and me!) soaking wet! Conditions quite unfavourable for anyone to judge a bike properly - and hence the below report isn't a full review nor a road test, only my short experience with the bike at the event. Apologies in advance if the quality of pictures fall well below Team-Bhp standards - for there was little I could do against mother nature's fury, given the time constraints at hand. Landed in Pune by around 11:30am, caught the cab to Chakan, participated in the event, and was dropped back to the airport by 6:30 PM - making the rain one of my least concerns on this particular schedule.

Funny trivia: Biggest question mark in my mind was about carrying all the riding gear! A big suitcase with 10.5kgs of gear + the helmet in it's sling bag as hand baggage sorted that. Riding gear became 11.8kgs when returning, all wet (couldn't help it)! .

Team-Bhp has already covered the details of the Chakan track. Read about it here. For this post, let us directly get into details about the KTM -

RC 125 surely looks like a member of the established RC (390/200) family, and this brand appeal is going to be it's primary USP against the competition. KTM is happy with the sales figures of the Duke 125 which has been selling beyond their initial expectations and is hoping to repeat the same success with the RC 125.

Although I was quite sceptical of the colour scheme in press statements - the bike really looked nice in person. The typical KTM orange colour really pops and has good road presence - should be a hit in the campus! Other option is white, which, however - looks very similar to other existing machines in their range. Was given the choice of colour, and I pounced on the orange bike with hesitation.

A closer look at the decals. Underneath the supersport bodywork is a steel trellis frame, similar to the RC200.

In terms of equipment, the biggest point to note is the single channel ABS system. Almost everything else remains identical to its bigger brothers - which means the front braking duties are handled by 300mm discs with a radial caliper system from Bybre, and the suspension duties are handled by 43mm WP upside-down telescopic forks.

Similar story with the rear - where the difference is the absence of the ABS system with 230mm discs. Why is the sensor present then? KTM explains that this is for the standard RLM (Rear-lift mitigation) feature. Aluminium swingarm does duty at the rear, whereas suspension duties are handled by a 60mm, 10 step adjustable monoshock.

One very visible difference with the European spec machine is this underbelly exhaust! Infact, even in India - the updated RC 390 has a side-swept exhaust while only the new 125 and the existing 200 retains the underbody one.

Feels just as similar in the saddle as any of the bigger RC siblings - with the triple clamp clip-on bars and familiar instrumentation and switchgear.

Comprehensive instrumentation that has always been considered a KTM strong point - though frankly - I'm not a fan!

The track was fully wet with the onset of the monsoons in Chakan.

Even a bit waterlogged at multiple places, like when braking into this particular corner!

For a newbie on this track, on such conditions, I was immediately thankful that the machine at hand was a 125, and not a hooligan like the 390! The single cylinder liquid cooled 124.71cc engine produces 14.5ps @9250rpm, 12Nm@8000 rpm and comes mated to a 6-speed gearbox.

There is no denying that the elephant in the room is obviously these figures, and the power (or the lack of it) is very evident when the roads straighten up. Power is almost commuter'ish below 7000rpm, post which there is more urgency till 10k rpm - but nothing drastic in terms of performance that we have come to associate with the brand KTM! This is particularly true in higher gears (or on inclines like this particular section of track), where nothing much happens if you whack open the throttle at mid-range rpms. Gear shift indicator also suggests to shift up just when the bike starts to show some urgency.

Suited this particular day as I didn't have to brake hard before entering corners, nor had to be particularly worried about throttle inputs affecting the rear wheels - both in account of such wet conditions. Doesn't get a slipper clutch, and didn't miss one either.

RC 125 is a relatively lightweight motorcycle with 160.4 kgs of weight and this combined with the mechanicals borrowed from the RC 200 makes for a potent handling combination. Feels very flickable from the moment you get a move on!

110/70 R17 & 150/60 R17 MRF tyres does duty at both ends and felt really good and predictable. Considering the lower speeds - an upgrade to Metzellers may not be really required as in the RC 390. Even on the wet surface, the bike didn't feel scary when leaned over and felt nice and agile for slight mid-corner corrections. That said, didn't push the bike too much considering the conditions not to end up making a fool of myself either.

The short little time I had with the RC390 re-inforced the exact impression I had, when reading about the launch. That 125cc engine remains the biggest weakness, especially when the pricing is taken into consideration. This wet track didn't make it very much evident, but I still felt the need for a bit more shove when pulling out of corners on to the long straights - which should only have been more irritating on a dry inviting track. Moreover, power is delivered at higher rpms - which makes me wonder how will it perform in our cities, against much cheaper bikes like the Pulsar and Apache range!

For everything else - the formula just feels as good as ever. Maybe even better, for the lighter bike does aid in better handling and braking capabilities. Wish KTM hadn't skipped dual channel ABS, though - leaving another major weakness in their package! The motorcycle is best suited for young cornering enthusiasts to get their basics right - and also have a good load of fun on the events conducted at various karting tracks around the country. Like the original R15 when it came out in 2009 - the only question is if the competition has moved on way ahead since then over a decade!

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

KTM invited Team-Bhp to the media test ride of their new RC 125 at the Chakan test track, and thanks to GTO - I was able to take up this opportunity to test the baby RC on track.

Thanks for this quick-bite on the baby RC. 2 questions :

1. How would you rate the quality of plastics compared to the Yamaha R15?
2. How's the lower end torque? I did test drive the Duke125 when it was launched and the lower end was supremely commuter-ish.

I remember Duke 125 too was pretty overpriced for the segment when launched but it does decent numbers(highest selling KTM currently?) and this one too shouldbe close IMO. 125cc for 1.5L, its the iPhone of bikes
I can see quite a few parent's preferring this over the R15 for the lesser power(slight more peace of mind for them) & at the same time kid's not complaining either as this looks hot enough to flaunt in the campuses

Only thing missing probably is dual-channel ABS. That's always better than single-channel.