Well today I had some time on my hands and I've been reading up further on the RC8 which KTM are claiming is the lightest Sportsbike on the market. Large claims as we know. I think everyone agrees the weight game is a marketing tool and no two measurements seem to be based on the same criteria and the average Joe isn't going to notice.

Regardless I am bored right now and I thought I check this out. KTM claim the RC8 is 188Kg wet without fuel which translates to 414.5 Lbs. or 439Lbs with fuel (Under 200KG fuel as they also claim).

For Example the GSXR1000 K8 is 172Kg / 379.2 Lbs DRY. Impressive. We add approximately 70 Lbs and you have 449 Lbs wet with fuel.

The 1098 is 173 Kg / 381 Lbs dry or 451 Lbs wet with fuel

Now I'm sure there are varients and possible the dry weight may include the battery, who knows. I guess my only point possibly the KTM claim is more real world than the others or maybe just bollocks?

Either way interesting stuff.

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In motorcycles, manufacturer-published dry weight figures are used as a marketing tool and, as such, should be taken with a grain of salt. For example, battery is typically excluded from dry weight, although few manufacturers state this explicitly. For a typical sport bike, the difference between wet weight and "manufacturer claimed" dry weight is around 70 lb (32 kg). This difference includes 25-30 lb of gasoline, 5-7 lb of engine oil, 5-7 lb of coolant, 7-9 lb of battery.
By definition, dry weight does not include any of the following:
• Gasoline or any other fuel
• Engine oil
• Coolant
• Brake fluid