Near production-ready KTM 990RC R sportsbike spotted in testing

These latest spy shots taken earlier this month give us the clearest indication yet of what KTM’s incoming 990RC R parallel twin sportsbike will look like.

Back in May 2024, the Austrian brand announced that a road legal 990RC R would be heading into production for 2025 and stoked up excitement amongst their orange fan base with images of a pre-production prototype being pushed on track, wearing a striped black and white camouflage livery.

Launched during an exclusive riding event at Portimao, Portugal for owners of the latest RC 8C track bike, it’s already been confirmed that both a standard and Track version of the bike, with the latter set to arrive later in the second quarter of 2025.

We also know that the engine will be a Euro5+ version of their LC8c twin-cylinder motor – likely to be the 947cc motor from the current 990 Duke – producing a claimed 126.2bhp and 76lb.ft of torque.

At the time of the announcement, it was also suggested that the steel frame was likely shared with the naked Duke, with these new images appearing to confirm that point. It’s likely to share a similar structure and mounting points, however we’d wager there will be some tweaks to achieve a more aggressive steering response.

Back at the confirmation, KTM also stated that the 990 would be less wristy than a traditional supersport machine, and that again appears to ring true here – with the test rider having a decent amount of leg room, an easy reach to the mirrors for adjustment, and not too much weight over the wrists, despite clip-ons mounted beneath the top yoke.

Sticking with that front end, the photos confirm manually adjustable WP Apex forks, plus a wide screen colour TFT dash that differs to its Duke sibling. Seen riding in first gear, the rev counter appears to climb as far as 10,000rpm.

Fans of the simpler things in life will be pleased to spot a conventional key, and the switchgear looks to be a hybrid of pre-production and final form.

Moving down, we can see that the front indicators will likely be mounted midway down the front fairing, rather than up with the mirrors and winglets, with a single LED headlight placed up front.

The front screen, while small and minimalist, will likely need to be changed to something taller to provide some decent real world wind protection. MCN approached KTM about the images, who declined to comment.

KTM 990RC R details:

• The prototype version was seen on a set of slick tyres, however this road bike appears to be wearing Michelin Power Cup 2s – indicated by the dotted, centralised tread pattern.
• A diecast aluminium subframe is used on the 990, with the test bike here seen featuring a fairly small pillion seat beneath some development boxes. Passenger pegs are fairly high, with the upswept exhaust likely to generate heat.
• MotoGP inspired winglets may grab all your attention up front, but the spy shots also reveal a scoop running in front of the rear wheel for additional stability, too.
• Front radially mounted calipers appear to come from Brembo, despite being taped off here. Shots of the dash also reveal what looks to be a Brembo master cylinder, too.