KTM RC 200 [2020] vs KTM RC 125 [2020]

Should you be spending around Rs 1.83 lakh on the R15, or put in Rs 26,000 more and go for the bigger RC 200?

This is the new-for-2017 KTM RC200, which like an ignored child, gets very few upgrades compared to the new RC390. Sure, all the 200’s tantrums have forced KTM to give it a new set of clothes. But with that white hue, the paint job looks more like the older RC390’s hand-me-down clothes; only these are altered for the 200’s size. Now, haven’t all the second-born amongst us experienced that, especially when it came to school uniforms?

I was left awestruck the day the images of the KTM RC200 surfaced on the web. I saw the pictures of the RC 390 but they were not as bewitching and enchanting as the ones of the RC200. The high resolution images not only became the wallpaper on my laptop and cell phone, but they left a big imprint in my minda as well. The impatient soul within me felt tranquil while I marvelled at the beauty of the RC 200. I only came to my senses when I was told that I was going to review one of the RC motorcycles. All the drooling, dreaming and waiting for one of the most anticipated bikes of 2014 was going to get over for me. Lost in the gawking, I don't even remember how fast the day dawned and we were at Bajaj's private test track at Chakan to see what it's all about.

KTM introduced the 125 Duke in India late last year and it was evident that its fully-faired, ‘Race Competition’ variant would follow soon. Well, here it is then, the KTM RC 125 in flesh. And while it was being manufactured in India for a while, the company initially decided to limit its sales only to the international markets. So why is the RC 125 here now? To figure out an answer to that question, we rode the RC 125 around KTM’s testing track because, after all, an ‘RC’ belongs on the race track, isn’t it?