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KTM’s Milan Surprise: A 450 RC Supersport, and What Changes Across the 2027 Range
KTM's EICMA 2026 news: the surprise twin-cylinder 450 RC supersport, the 1390 Super Duke GT and R updates, cruise control for the 390 Adventure R and more.
KTM kept its best card for the Milan show itself. The 2027 range had been laid out a week earlier in a pre-show release, and most of it was colour changes and sensible updates. Then, on the opening day of EICMA, the stand in Hall 22 unveiled a bike nobody had been told to expect: the 2028 KTM 450 RC, a twin-cylinder supersport. KTM’s own release says the company “surprised the media”, and for once that is not marketing exaggeration. It is the most interesting thing KTM has shown in years, and also the one we know least about.
A 450 RC with a twin engine and almost no numbers
Start with what KTM has not said, because it matters. The release names the bike the 450 RC and calls it a twin-cylinder motorcycle. That is the entire engine story. There is no displacement beyond the number in the name, no power figure, no torque, no weight and no price. We are not going to guess at any of them, and neither should you if a forum thread starts offering “leaked” figures. KTM says full technical specifications and market availability will follow closer to the start of production, which it plans for late 2027 as a model year 2028 bike.
What KTM has shown is the chassis and the electronics, and they say a lot about intent. The fork is a 43 mm WP APEX upside-down unit with compression and rebound adjustment. At the back, a WP APEX shock with preload and rebound adjustment hangs off a single-sided swingarm, which is a deliberate styling and engineering statement on a bike in this class. Up front there is a single 320 mm disc with a four-piston radial WP caliper, and KTM points out that one disc keeps unsprung weight down. Pirelli Diablo Rosso 4 tyres are standard.
Our opinion: the single disc is the detail to watch. Plenty of riders will read one disc as a cost saving, and some will be right. But on a mid-sized sportsbike that will spend most of its life on the road and the occasional track day, a lighter front end that turns in without a fight is a real benefit, and KTM is clearly betting the 450 RC will be judged on how it flows through corners rather than on how hard it stops from 200 km/h.
Supermoto mode on a supersport tells you who built it
The electronics package is where the KTM DNA shows. The 450 RC gets cornering ABS and MTC, and the dual-channel ABS has Road and Supermoto modes. Supermoto mode on a fairing-clad sportsbike is a very KTM thing to include, a nod to a company that has always preferred to let the back wheel move around. Multiple ride modes are selected through a 5-inch TFT, and the bike carries both USB-A and USB-C ports, which is the sort of everyday detail that makes a sportsbike usable on the daily commute and not just on a Sunday.
KTM describes the bike as “a distinctly KTM-engineered motorcycle” in the release and says it brings rider confidence and top-level safety tech to the mid-displacement sports segment. Read between the lines and the target looks like a bike that a newer rider could grow with, that behaves on the N1 in the wet at 05:30 and still has the hardware to be taken to Kyalami or Zwartkops. Whether it has the performance to match that hardware depends entirely on the engine, which KTM has chosen to keep in the dark.
For South Africa the honest position is that the 450 RC is a long way off. Production is a year away, specs and markets are unannounced, and we have no local timing or price from KTM. What it does tell us is that KTM is serious about a new fully faired sportsbike, and that is good news for anyone who likes the idea of a new KTM on track at Red Star.
Cruise control and a black 790 headline the quieter 2027 changes
The rest of the 2027 range is evolution, not revolution, but some of it matters more to real riders than a concept-stage supersport does. The 390 Adventure R gets a new left switch cube that enables an optional cruise control, which KTM calls a welcome long-distance comfort feature. Anyone who has held a throttle steady across the Karoo for four hours on the way to the coast knows exactly why. When we covered the bike’s arrival, we noted that the 390 Adventure R launched in South Africa at R139,999. Whether the new switch cube can be retrofitted to bikes already on the road is not something KTM has said.
The 390 Adventure X gets two new colours, and KTM says a TFT follows after the show, around December. The 790 Adventure moves to a new black, which KTM says replaces the previous orange and white options. That is a clean, understated look, and a practical one for a bike that will pick up a lot of dust on gravel.
Riders who want something more hardcore for the long haul should also look at the KTM 690 Rally, which we covered separately and which KTM South Africa lists but has not yet priced or dated.
| Model | What changes for 2027 |
|---|---|
| 390 Adventure R | New left switch cube enabling optional cruise control |
| 390 Adventure X | Two new colours; TFT after the show, around December |
| 790 Adventure | New black colourway |
| 1390 Super Duke R and R EVO | Two new colours, 8.8-inch touchscreen TFT, new switchgear, updated Brembo HyPure calipers |
| 1390 Super Duke GT and GT EVO | Dealers early 2027; 8.8-inch TFT with offline navigation, adjustable screen, SP Connect mount, reworked seat; EVO adds AMT |
| 390 SMC R, 390 Enduro R, 125 SMC, 125 Enduro | New colours |
Super Duke R gets a better dashboard, and the GT finally gets a date
The 1390 Super Duke R and R EVO receive two new colourways, an upgraded 8.8-inch touchscreen TFT with what KTM calls a cleaner, faster interface, new handlebar switchgear and updated Brembo HyPure calipers, which KTM says bring sharper stopping power. Anyone who has prodded at a touchscreen with gloves on at a robot will see the appeal of a cleaner, faster interface.
The bigger news is the 1390 Super Duke GT, first shown at EICMA in 2024. KTM says it reaches dealers in early 2027. It gets the same 8.8-inch touchscreen, now with offline map navigation, plus a standard adjustable screen, an integrated SP Connect phone mount and a reworked seat. The offline maps are the detail South African riders should care about most. Cellular coverage thins out fast once you leave the N-roads, and a navigation system that works in Lesotho or the Northern Cape without a signal is worth far more than another riding mode.
MCN reports the Super Duke GT at 187 bhp (about 139 kW). At Highveld altitude every petrol engine gives up a sizeable share of its sea-level output, but a big V-twin with that much to start with still has plenty left to overtake a laden truck on the N3 without thinking about it. The GT EVO adds KTM’s AMT automated gearbox, which removes the clutch lever and lets the rider choose between shifting manually and fully automatic. For two-up touring, or for a rider with a sore left hand at the end of a long day in traffic, that is a feature we expect to be popular once the bikes are on the road.
The 390 SMC R, 390 Enduro R, 125 SMC and 125 Enduro get new colours, according to KTM. For the learner-friendly end of the range, that seems about right.
A 43 mm WP APEX fork with compression and rebound adjustment. Image: KTM 
Cornering ABS and a 5-inch TFT screen. Image: KTM 
Production is planned for late 2027. Image: KTM 
The 450 makes a claimed 63.8 hp (47.6 kW); the 250 revs to 14,500 rpm. Image: KTM 
The 2027 KTM SX-F Factory Editions, the first of a new generation of KTM motocross bikes. Image: KTM
Factory Edition SX-Fs take a big step for the motocross range
KTM also used the show to announce the 2027 250 SX-F and 450 SX-F Factory Editions, which it describes as the first of a new generation. Both get resculpted frames with lower weight, new geometry, new steering heads and new engine mounting points. The aluminium subframe is the lightest KTM says it has produced. Suspension is a fully revised WP XACT closed-cartridge fork and shock, and a new ECU processes sensor data faster, with improvements to ignition, fuelling, gear-dependent mapping and the quickshifter.
The 450 SX-F makes a claimed 63.8 hp (47.6 kW) at 10,000 rpm and 52 Nm at 7,000 rpm. The 250 SX-F has the more dramatic headline. KTM gives no power figure, but says the engine now revs to 14,500 rpm, the same limit used by MXGP and AMA SMX racers, with a 15.5:1 compression ratio, an oval throttle body, oval intake ports, a top-feed injector and a redesigned valve train. The engine also sits 2.3 mm higher in the frame. Both bikes get a new exhaust, a redesigned airbox and an optimised cooling system.
KTM does not give a weight for either bike, so for now the claim of a lighter chassis stays a claim. The bikes are available to order in international markets through authorised KTM dealers, with availability varying by country. KTM has not said when they arrive here. For club motocross riders in Gauteng or the Western Cape, the question to ask your dealer is when, not whether.
What we would watch next
KTM has a strong dealer network in South Africa, and the 390 Adventure R is already on its floors. What it has not done is announce any local timing for the 2027 changes. The EICMA 2026 round-up has the wider picture from Milan, but KTM’s corner of it is unusually split: a polished, evolutionary road range on one side, and a bold unknown on the other.
Our view is that the 450 RC will decide how this show is remembered. The 2027 updates are all sensible, and the Super Duke GT with offline maps and an optional AMT may turn out to be the best long-distance KTM in years. But a new KTM twin-cylinder sportsbike with a single-sided swingarm and a name that leaves us guessing is the story riders will still be asking about in a year. The chassis list is promising. Everything now rests on an engine KTM has not yet shown us.
