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We’ve already seen spy photos of the longer term KTM 990 Duke and RC 990 sportbike, however now detailed photographs of the Austrian agency’s next-generation parallel-twin engine have emerged through design registrations. They present a motor that shares its normal structure with the earlier LC8c twin however with fully new castings for the block, cylinders, and head.
The redesign provides substance to the wide-held perception that the next-generation LC8c-powered bikes will get a capability enhance and the “990″ designation to match because it approaches the liter mark.
The unique LC8c began life because the 799cc “790″ and had a 90cc increase to 889cc for the “890″ model through a larger bore—up from 88mm to 90.7mm. Nonetheless, additional progress requires extra intensive modifications. The brand new engine retains the LC8c identify (it means Liquid-Cooled, 8-valve, compact) however has been closely reworked to present scope for future capability will increase.
In side-to-side picture comparisons, it’s clear that whereas KTM has been cautious to make sure key hardpoints haven’t modified—so the brand new motor can slot into current bikes if wanted—each main element is new. The crankcases, oil pan, cylinder head, and transmission are all reworked, with seen carryover components restricted to the ride-by-wire throttle our bodies, the water pump cowl, and the ignition coils.
Seen from the aspect, it seems that the cylinders are taller than earlier than, suggesting KTM has elevated the engine’s stroke to achieve extra capability. To counter this progress, there’s a closely redesigned cylinder head that’s extra compact, serving to to make the general peak of the engine no better than earlier than. The cylinder castings have extra exterior bracing than earlier than, maybe indicating thinner cylinder partitions, and the horizontally break up engine instances are additionally redesigned, with the oil sight glass moved from its place within the decrease crankcase to a brand new spot on the clutch cowl.
The oil pan is new, with its major bulk moved to the left to depart a a lot bigger area below the right-hand aspect of the engine. In spy photos of the next-generation Duke, it’s clear this area is getting used to accommodate the catalytic converter, holding the exhaust as compact as potential. One other transfer to assist scale back general dimension of the bikes that the next-generation LC8c engine is fitted to is a redesigned rear of the transmission. The highest of the transmission has been minimize away, in all probability to present better freedom to chassis designers relating to the place of the rear shock’s higher mount.
On condition that the highest-performance variations of the present 890 engine are good for a claimed 119 hp in road-legal kind (the RC 8C manages a claimed 133 hp from the identical engine), a 990 model must be simply in a position to go the 130 hp mark. An oil cooler that seems each taller and wider than the present model hints on the elevated efficiency. The redesign can even be supposed to future-proof the engine, permitting for additional capability and energy will increase.
The primary manufacturing bike to get the brand new LC8c is anticipated to be the 990 Duke, more likely to be launched later this yr as a 2024 mannequin. The RC 990 sportbike has additionally been spied a number of occasions however may very well be a few years from manufacturing. In the mean time, there’s been no sight of a 990 Journey, nevertheless it’s inevitable that such a motorcycle will come scorching on the heels of the 990 Duke.
Like the present LC8c engine, the brand new one might be manufactured in China by the CFMoto-KTM three way partnership in that nation, and in years to return it might seem in CFMoto-branded bikes in addition to KTMs.
