Remember that new leak we covered back in May about a KTM 490 in the pipeline?
Well, we’ve got fresh intel that the Austrians are ditching the 490 platform altogether – and the reallocation of stage space will be given to a 700-class parallel twin, slotted to be made in collaboration with Chinese brand CFMoto, joining the Austrians’ 790 platform for 2023.
According to Motorrad, the news has been both “announced by CEO Stefan Pierer and confirmed by board member Hubert Trunkenpolz,” with ADVRider adding that the new middleweight platform will likely be “a new adventure bike, supermoto, naked bike and possibly a sportbike,” filling the void that the 490 had previously retained.
2024 is the projected year in which this bike will be actioned, with Motorrad further boldly supplanting that the entry into markets should include a power displacement of 70-80hp, installed into a “Naked Bike Duke 690, an Enduro 690 Adventure, a Crossover 690 SMT and possibly a supersport version RC 690… Yamaha’s extremely successful model concept in orange.”
Obviously, the guts of the whole operation will be none other than KTM’s iconic LC 8C engine, with competitive counterparts of our industry including the indomitable Yamaha MT-07, the demanding Kawasaki Z 650, and Triumph’s spotless Trident 660.
With the Austrians reacting agilely to market developments and their millionth motorcycle, news on leaf spring suspension and record sales now floating about our good community, we look forward to seeing what 2023 bring.
Stay tuned, drop a comment below, and as ever – stay safe on the twisties.