KTM’s Bling 450 Rc Finally Hits the Roads, but All Signs Point to No US Delivery
KTM has launched the new 450 RC in China and it looks like it will be best in class in terms of specifications. However, it seems unlikely that it will reach the US.
because of financial turmoil KTM has been working to recover from the last few years; There’s a make-it-or-break-it element to every new model it launches. But this is probably more true for the 450 RC than for higher capacity machines. If we’ve learned anything from Kawasaki dominating the US sales charts in 2025 and Triumph throwing the kitchen sink at the entry level, it’s that smaller bikes are what’s bringing home the bacon.
The long-awaited 450 RC has finally made its debut in China after being first seen in August 2025. From the photos it looks like a scaled down 990 RC R but the truth is that it is heavily based on the 990 RC R. CFMoto 450SR-S. However, the technical specifications are much more similar to a premium motorcycle.
Underneath the brand’s orange livery, the 450 RC sports the same tubular steel chassis as the CFMoto 450SS, but that’s the only thing that’s essentially the same between the two machines. Powering the 450 RC is the same 449cc parallel twin engine that lives in the 450SS, but it makes an extra four ponies, producing 56 HP at 10,000 rpm and 30 lb-ft of torque at 8,000 rpm, which is 250 rpm earlier than the CFMoto.
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Take the extra horsepower and add lightness, because the 450 RC has a claimed wet weight of 370 lbs; That’s 25 lbs lighter than the 450SR, seven pounds lighter than the China-spec 450SR-S, and five lbs lighter than the US-market version of the CFMoto 450SS. Suspension components also get an upgrade over the CFMoto 450SR-S; At the front are 43mm USD WP forks with adjustable compression damping and rebound and a WP monoshock with adjustable preload and rebound. That’s a pretty nice package for a bike in this category. But wait, there’s more.
The four-piston radial caliper works with a single 320mm disc at the front to shave off the numbers on the TFT dashboard, and there’s a single-piston caliper and 240mm rotor at the rear. It has traction control and lean-sensitive cornering ABS. As you’d expect from such an orange bike, the rear ABS can be turned off in “Supermoto” mode. Thanks to ride-by-wire throttle operation, the bike can benefit from three maps (Street, Rain and Sport) as standard, and an optional Track mode is available.
There are many more optional extras you wouldn’t usually expect from bikes in this class, including a tire pressure monitoring system, cruise control and heated grips. Drivers in China can pick up the 450 RC for the equivalent of $5,100; that’s about $1,000 more expensive than the top-spec CFMoto 450SR-S. Kawasaki has already shown us that if you win this market in the US you can win full points. So it’s safe to assume that KTM would want to get the 450 RC to US shores as soon as possible, but I don’t see that happening.
The fact that the motorcycle is a “450 RC” and not a “490 RC” tells most of the story, as most KTMs sold in the US end in “90” regardless of engine capacity. But a dab of paint or a new decal can fix this; But I don’t think KTM will go that route. If you follow the Austrian brand, you know that it has developed its own sub-500cc parallel twin engine so it can move away from using powertrains developed by CFMoto.
I’d say this is the engine that will be heading to America on a machine marked “490 RC”. It is not yet known whether this will be just an engine and badge change.
