Aside from Husqvarna bringing the Vitpilen & Svartpilen concepts into production, another gem to come from KTM’s investor report for 2015 is that the Austrian company is working on what it calls a revolutionary two-cylinder engine design.
KTM is surely referencing the parallel-twin project that has been spotted a few times by spy photographers (shown above, and featured after the jump), which is rumored to feature an 800cc lump.
We are not too sure what is so revolutionary about a parallel-twin power plant – my Two Enthusiasts Podcast co-host Quentin loves to go on rants about how much he hates the engine design – but what is interesting is to hear that KTM plans on using the engine as a platform for multiple models.
So far, we have only seen KTM’s parallel-twin engine in a Duke-styled machine, which is an interesting choice given that the Austrian motorcycle maker already has a bevy of naked/standard/streetfighter models available for riders.
However, KTM could make some intriguing machines with an 800cc-ish parallel-twin engine, namely a proper middleweight adventure-tourer and middleweight streetfighter.
We are not sure what such a platform could mean for the future of the KTM 690 Duke, which just got a much-needed reworking for the 2016 model year. From what we hear, the bike is nearly perfect now.
Could an sport bike model even be on the table for KTM and its new parallel-twin platform? That might be going a bit too far with things, though if the engine design truly is revolutionary, then maybe the twin-banger can make some serious horsepower.
The new trend from OEMs is to make powerful engines, and then use them in a variety of applications, with electronics changing the engine characteristics to suit the application. For added fodder, KTM is one of the brands leading this trend.
Time will tell of course what zie Austrians are up to, but hopefully KTM’s revolutionary engine platform is more reality than hyperbole.
Source: KTM
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