KTM launched its new 450 RC in China, and it looks like it might top the class in terms of specs. But it’s unlikely to make it to America.
Due to the financial turmoil KTM has been working through these past two years, every new model it launches has a make or break element. But that’s probably more true for the 450 RC than any of its high-performance machines. If we’ve learned anything from Kawasaki dominating the US sales charts in 2025 and Triumph throwing the kitchen sink at its entry-level range, it’s that smaller bikes are bringing home the bacon.
The long-awaited 450 RC has finally made its debut in China, after it was first spotted in August 2025. From its pictures, it looks like a scaled-down 990 RC R, but the reality is that it is based on the CFMoto 450SR-S. But the specs read more like a premium motorcycle.
Beneath the on-brand orange fairings, the 450 RC has the same tubular steel frame as the CFMoto 450SS, but that’s about the only thing that’s essentially the same between the two machines. Breathing in the 450 RC is the same 449cc parallel-twin engine that resides in the 450SS, making an extra four ponies, putting out 56 HP at 10,000 rpm and 30 lb-ft of torque at 8,000 rpm, a CMoF over the previous 2500 rpm.
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Take the extra hp and add lightness because the 450 RC has a claimed wet weight of 370 lbs, which is 25 lbs lighter than the 450SR, seven pounds lighter than the Chinese-spec 450SR-S, and five pounds lighter than the US market version of the CFMoto 450SS. Suspension components also get an upgrade on the CFMoto 450SR-S, with 43mm USD WP forks at the front with adjustable compression damping and rebound, and a WP monoshock, featuring adjustable preload and rebound. For a bike in this category, that’s a pretty sweet package. But, wait, there’s more.
A four-piston radial caliper works with a single 320mm disc up front to shave the digits on the TFT dash, 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 on a bike wearing so much orange, the rear ABS can be turned off in “Supermoto” mode. Thanks to the use of a ride-by-wire throttle, the bike can use three maps—road, rain and sport—as standard, and there’s an optional track mode.
There are plenty of optional extras you wouldn’t normally expect from bikes in this class, including a tire pressure monitoring system, cruise control, and heated grips. Riders in China can pick up a 450 RC for $5,100, almost $1,000 more than the top-spec CFMoto 450SR-S. Kawasaki has already shown us that if you win this market in America, you can win full stop. So it would be reasonable to think that KTM wants to get the 450 RC to US shores ASAP, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
The fact that this bike is a “450 RC” and not a “490 RC” tells more of a story, as most KTMs sold in the US end in “90” regardless of engine capacity. But a lick of paint or a new sticker will fix that; However, I don’t think KTM will go that route. If you’ve been following the Austrian brand, you’ll know that it’s developing its own sub-500cc parallel-twin powerplant, so it could move away from using CFMoto-developed powertrains.
I’d say this is the engine that will make its way to the States, in a machine bearing the “490 RC” lettering. Whether it will just be an engine and badge swap remains to be seen.