Bike India – August 2019

NUMBEROFYOUNGSTERSWHOCOMEOFAGEYEARNFORTHEIR

firstmotorcycleand,moreoftenthannot,tendtosettheirsightsona fairedmonster.
Theideaofbeingcladinleathersona racetracktoscraptheirkneesontarmacdoeshold
someappealtothoseyoungandenergeticminds.However,theol’“buzzkill”kicksin,
themparents,whocarelittleforsuchimmaturedramaandmoreaboutthewell-being,
safety,andhealthoftheiroffspring.Therefore,a compromiseis madeintheformofa
small-capacitymotorcycleonwhichonecanlearnthetradewhilebeingcomparatively
safe.A wellwisedecision.It wasinthisdepartmentthatthe
YamahaR15ruled,beatingtheKTMRC200,whichmayhave
beena littletoomuchfora greenhorn.KTMsetouttochange
thatand,sometimeago,launchedthe 125 Duke.Nowthey
haveintroduceditsfairedsibling,theKTMRC125.
Well,firstthingsfirst.ThenewRC 125 is pricedhigherthan
theYamahaandis lesspowerfultoo.However,therearea few
importantaspectsthatshouldbetakenintoconsideration;
maybe,enoughtoevenpipitsrival.WerodetheKTMRC 125
at theBajajtrackat Chakanfora firstimpressionofthebikeand
werequitepleasedwithwhatit offers.
Startingwiththelooks,thoughthismaybedowntopersonal
choice,wethinktheRCis indeedquiteniceontheeye.Thisis
duetothefactthatit is identicaltoitselderbrother,theKTM
RC200,albeitwithnewdecals.Nota badthing,fortheseare
good-lookingmachinesandadoredbymany.Weseethesame
twin,small,roundprojectorheadlamp,digitalinstrument
cluster,andchiselledbodyworkfromheadtotoeasinitselder
sibling,thedifferencebeingthenewdecalsandcolouroptions,
thebasecolourbeingwhiteororangeonofferwitha decent

sizedRC 125 stickerslappedontotheside.Thepillionseatcontinuestolooklikea

rearcowlandis surprisinglycomfortable,unlikethebabyDukewhichwouldmakea

yogainstructorneedphysiotherapy.Thesteeltrellisframe,a largepartofit exposed

towardstherear,fitswellwiththeoveralldesignandhasbeenseenthroughoutthe

RCrangeinIndia.KTMhavenotskimpedontheentry-levelRCeither,with43-mm

WPupside-downforks,analuminiumswing-arm,andeventriple-clampclip-on

handlebars.Allofwhichaddtothepremiumappealofthemotorcycle,which,inturn,

doesdemanda premiumpriceinitssegment.

TheRC 125 is nota powerfulmachinethough,withnohooligan-likeoutburstwhen

inthesaddle.UncharacteristicofKTMbutgreatforthosewhoarejustlearningthe

trade.Thebikemakesa mellow14.5hpwhichcomesinat a high9,250rpmand 12

Nmalsoat a fairlyhigh8,000rpm,whichis closetothemotorcyclesred-line.This

handsyouverymutedacceleration,makingit difficulttolosecontrol.Insteadthe124.7-

ccsingle-cylinder,four-valve,DOHC,liquid-cooled,fuel-injectedenginemateda

six-speedgearboxwhichfeltquitenice,withnoreportsofanyfalseshiftswhatsoever.

Theengineis linearandverycommuterfriendlywhenusedintherealworld,barring

thehighwaywhicheventhoughthebabyRCcanmanagehighwayspeeds,it is notin

themostcomfortableway.AtthetrackinChakanwerecordeda topspeedof 123 km/h,

GEARCHECK

Rider:ZalCursetji

Helmet:HJCRPHA-11

Suit:SpidiR-CourseWindPro

Gloves:AlpinestarsSP-2

Boots:SidiCobraAir

ABOVE:

The small engine

that is shared by

the Duke 125

RIGHT:

Triple-clamp clip-

on handlebars

LEFT:

The Baby RC

sure is quite the

looker

LEFT:

The same instrument cluster

as the RC 200

KTM RC 125

54 Bike India^ August 2019 http://www.bikeindia.in