TANGO – Out to Play

The weather was really nice during the week and I decided to go out mid-week since I still had a few days. The weather was really nice the day before so the next day I woke up around 7:30 am, showered, geared up and headed out. And during my stop at the gas station and people’s consensus it has been decided that he has been named Tango to fit the attitude. This also relates to one of the most entertaining movies from the late 80s, Tango and Cash!

Filled up at Miseela gas station, stopped at Starbucks Bida’a for a quick drink and then headed down the road. I decided to keep to the seaside since people will be driving to work on most of the other roads. This machine’s build quality can be felt when you are riding, you can really feel the road. I don’t think I have even tapped into it’s capabilities but it gives me this strange confidence to keep on pushing and I keep getting closer to the gravel as I am going through the corners. I went by the airport road and I love that curved piece of highway and try to push it as hard as I can, I don’t realize how fast I’m going, my eyes on the target and trying to keep to lines that I see in my head. I really do need to go to a race track soon. I just hope it gets a little cooler soon, riding season is back and I am really going to enjoy it.

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KTM RC8 – Some Mods


168 Km and counting.. only 831 Km left until the first service. 

I wasn’t in my best health recently so I wasn’t able to ride the KTM as much as I wanted and being the last days of Ramadan I had other engagements which preoccupied me from riding. These days I think I will have a little bit more time to break the bike in and enjoy the machine. A lot of people keep asking me for a comparison between the RC8 and 1098s, and at this point it would be premature to say anything, I haven’t even scratched the surface of it. One thing I am very happy about is that you can clearly see the signals when you are behind or in front of me, they are bright LEDs. The stock mirrors are extremely good you can see people behind you and next to you, there is a blind spot of course but not unlike any other sports bike. This is a different machine for sure, it feels more civilized, you feel more confident when riding and stock seating position is very comfortable. I have nothing but good things to say about the KTM but there is a lot to discover and more to describe at a later point. 

The one thing about purchasing a motorcycle from the first creation of it is that you have to wait for the aftermarket parts. I’m not looking for performance modifications as much as cosmetic in the beginning, luckily KTM has a huge selection for every motorcycle they release, but I’m also looking for a few other items. I look for performance upgrades which give me the ability to ride the RC8 better, not necessarily something that makes it stronger. And the current modifications I have made are mostly cosmetic. 

Mods: 

  • Tinted Windshield
  • Tank Protector
  • Racing Fuel Cap
  • Rim Sticker Set
  • Aluminium Cap Clutch Reservior
  • Aluminium Cap Brake Fluid Reservior

I just received the Tinted Windshield and Racing Fuel Cap so I decided to install it. As things were progressing I started off with the Windshield, started unbolting the screws, for some reason it wouldn’t budge, and this is when things always get interesting. I thought maybe I need to remove the top front fairings (body panels), so I started unscrewing those as well. And I noticed they are really held together perfectly, looking at it I knew I was doing something wrong, I shouldn’t be taking the front fairing off to install a wind shield, its usually a straight forward process. So I started look for something I missed, and turns out I missed a set of screws which were holding it in place and I took it off and easily slid out. Then installed the tinted windshield and it looked really different. Now it came time to install the Racing Fuel Cap instead of the standard fuel cap, the instructions were clear and said to make sure I don’t drop any screws into the tank and that is what I was most worried about. Took it step by step and followed the clear instructions, made sure the air pressure valve was placed correctly with the racing fuel cap and it fit perfectly.

All these subtle changes made this bike look a little nicer, it is a beautifully designed machine. I don’t even know what to modify, its just something that you have to personalize.

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KTM Venom

Now this is an interesting development, it seems that the Austrians are keeping their pace. Since their successful release of the KTM RC8 they announced the production of the KTM Venom which is more of street fighter then a super sport. The exact specs of the machine are unknown but they are speculating that it will have the same 1149cc engine of the RC8 but retuned for more mid-range and low-end power. I hope they make it like that but the headlight just isn’t to my liking, everything else is perfect.

Link: TopSpeed