One of the KTM’s RC motorcycles has been spied testing in Pune yet again. The test mule was seen ridden by someone who doesn’t look like an official company tester but more of a consumer. The company might have started giving out few motorcycles to few Indian consumers for beta testing.
Bajaj usually follows this testing strategy with most of their bikes. We have seen that happening during the testing phase of the Pulsar SS200 and the Pulsar SS400, where we have seen non-Bajaj employees riding these bikes in rural parts of Maharashtra. The spied bike was completely camouflaged making it difficult to guess if it’s the RC200 or the RC390. Both the bikes will be launched in India in the next few months, but what matters is the first launch. This will help the company analyse the Indian consumers’ reaction to a bike that is not so affordable yet is a premium fully-faired motorcycle. We Indians crave this body style. Plus it’s a regular business practice in India to launch one product instead of two. What if the first product fails? The company will put in more money to correct the product and make sure they don’t repeat their mistake in the other one that was scheduled to be launched.
We are expecting one of the KTM RC bikes to come to us in the next few months and the second one to enter Indian market at the end of this financial year. Both the bikes are expected to be priced slightly higher that its respective naked siblings but we still think it will be value for money for someone who has been looking for a fully-faired affordable premium bike.
Image Courtesy: Motoroids.com