Takeover of a 51% interest in the company by the Austrian investment trust GIT Trust Holding controlled by Austrian politician Josef Taus in 1989 was followed by unsuccessful attempts to turn the indebted company around, and in 1991, management of KTM was transferred to a consortium of creditor banks. However, scooter and moped turnover sank rapidly, and production had to be halted in 1988. International business then amounted to 76% of the company's turnover. One year later, KTM had about 700 employees and a turnover of 750m. In 1980, the company was renamed KTM Motor-Fahrzeugbau KG. In 1978, US subsidiary KTM North America Inc.
Radiators sold to European car manufacturers constituted a sizable part of the company's business in the 1980s. During the 1970s and 80s, KTM also started to develop and produce engines and radiators. Additionally, KTM was able to produce motorcycles for the racing industry. His son Erich Trunkenpolz took charge of the company's management.Īs the company continued to expand, the workforce totalled 400 in 1971, and forty years after it was founded, KTM was offering 42 different models. Two years later in 1962, Hans Trunkenpolz also died of a heart attack. The 1960s also saw the beginning of bicycle production in Mattighofen.Įrnst Kronreif died in 1960. KTM's first moped, named Mecky, was launched in 1957, followed by Ponny I in 1960 and Ponny II in 1962 and Comet in 1963. In 1957, KTM built its first sports motorcycle, the Trophy 125cc. In 1956, KTM made its appearance at the International Six Days Trials, where Egon Dornauer won a gold medal on a KTM machine. The company secured its first racing title in the 1954 Austrian 125cc national championship. In 1954, the R125 Tourist was introduced, followed by the Grand Tourist and the scooter Mirabell in 1955. In 1953, businessman Ernst Kronreif became a major shareholder of the company, which was renamed and registered as Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. With just 20 employees, motorcycles were built at a rate of three per day.
#Ktm bike prezzi 2014 serial#
Serial production of the R100 started in 1953. The components of the motorcycle were produced in house, except for the Rotax engines which were made by Fichtel & Sachs. The prototype of his first motorcycle, the R100, was built in 1951. Īfter the war, demand for repair works fell sharply and Trunkenpolz started thinking about producing his own motorcycles. During the Second World War, his wife took care of the business which was thriving mainly on account of diesel engine repairs. His shop was known as Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, but the name was unregistered. In 1937, he started selling DKW motorcycles, and Opel cars the following year. In 1934, an Austrian engineer Johann (Hans) Trunkenpolz set up a fitter's and car repair shop in Mattighofen. The RC line should be available in March/April 2014 and a major factor to watch for now will be the pricing for these mean machines.Hans Trunkenpolz and Ernst Kronreif Early years The RC390 will, in all probability, run the same 373.2cc unit as the 390 Duke, with 43.5 PS and 35 Nm. Both come with a steel trellis frame, Brembo Bybre brakes with ABS and roll on 110/70 ZR17 & 150/60 ZR17 tyres. The KTM RC200’s peak horsepower goes up to 25 PS, with 19 Nm of peak torque: nearly double the numbers of the RC125. The KTM RC125 power is set at a wee 15 PS at 9,500 rpm, with 10.9 Nm of torque. Inside the belly of the beast lies the differences that set them apart. All three bikes share the same engine design as that of the Duke and all three feature the same aggressive styling by Kiska Design, which lends the bikes their mean, hooligan-ish, yet sizzling looks. In focus is the KTM RC200 and KTM RC125 the smaller siblings to the KTM RC390. KTM’s ‘Race Competition’ line of bikes was recently revealed at the 2013 EICMA show.
If you thought the year 2013 was great with the release of the KTM 390 Duke – an insane single cylinder with unbeatable power-to-weight ratio, KTM is all set to rock 2014 with its RC line.