Vo Knows

Hey all you MotoUSA readers out there. Your friendly scribbler SteveO here. Just returned from the dry lake bed (aka Laguna Seca) and a full day of riding the 2010 KTM RC8R. While it was available in Euro-land last year, we get it for next year with a host of changes and… well, thank goodness.

To be honest, I was always a believer that the base RC8 delivered killer, break-the-mold looks (in my opinion) but with performance that didn’t match. With the RC8R things have improved. A lot. Looks got even better as a result of hot black/white paint scheme and a load of changes –from chassis geometry to more power – add up to a motorcycle that now lives up to its stellar appearance. It performed well beyond expectations around the technical 2.24-mile Mazda Raceway and the final verdict was … well, I’m going to make you wait for the full story early next week for that!

Also, expect to see it in our annual Superbike Smackdown Shootout this year as KTM is keen to put the added performance on display. Can’t wait!