In late November, I got a press release in my inbox from Kramer Motorcycles USA: “Kramer Motorcycles USA is proud to announce the return of the Kramer HKR Evo2 S model to its 2023 lineup of race-proven motorcycles – now with a reduced price tag of $15,995 MSRP.” That email apparently set off a chain of events…
As I’ve mentioned many times here on Bike-urious, I rarely share press releases because they’re usually boring. But this one was interesting to me because Adam (my partner over at Iconic Motorbikes) has been on the search for his next track bike. I forwarded him the email, and he thought it was very cool but had some concerns about having just 80 horsepower as he’s a bigger guy. We ended up discussing it in more detail and Adam was excited to hear that they also offer a larger model called the GP2 890 R which is powered by the 890 twin that KTM uses in the Duke.
Photo from Kramer
In fact, the Kramer GP2 is the platform that KTM used to build their desirable and limited-production RC 8C (we have a 0-mile one on Iconic right now) – the main differences are just the bodywork, paint, and wings. Very badass update: we ended up selling this bike to the Barber Motorsports Museum, so you can check it out the next time you’re out there!
The RC 8C that we are selling right now!
Let’s back up a moment, as I know not everyone knows about Krämer Motorcycles. The company “started in Germany as just a hobby in 2009, building a prototype racing bike for their own use, ultimately led to the company foundation of the company in 2014. The first model of the young company’s history is the “HKR EVO2″ where “HKR” stands for the first letter of the last names of Christof Henco, Markus Krämer and Nico Rothe. In 2009, the three of them started developing their own motorcycles in order to race it. This first motorcycle was called the EVO1. The HKR EVO2 is therefore its successor and already includes four years of pre-development through experience gained on the EVO1 model.” They have distributorship in several countries: here in America they partnered with Joe Karvonen, the owner of Sisufab in West Fargo, North Dakota. Joe and I have been in contact before – back in 2016 he reached out to ask if I’d feature a Honda CL350 he built for the 2015 Roughrider Ink and Iron Expo.
He apparently discovered Bike-urious back when I brought a buddy on to Jay Leno’s Garage:
We exchanged some emails for a little bit and I featured some Kramers I found for sale, but I never thought our communications would end up this way!
Back to the press release: when I got to the end of it, I was surprised to see the name of Jensen Beeler. Jensen’s a buddy I met through press launches as he started Asphalt & Rubber. Jensen had previously acquired a Kramer for himself to go racing with, but clearly their relationship had advanced quite a bit.
I’ll get into this more in future posts, but I currently have a Ninja 400 track bike:
Iconic has recently ordered a few Honda NSF250Rs directly from HRC, and I was planning on picking one up as an upgrade (it makes a few more ponies than the Ninja 400 but weighs nearly half as much at 200 pounds dry). But it’s a little small for someone of my 6’3″ stature, and getting parts like an extended subframe/extended seat/wider clipons/etc would be another two thousand or so.
That’s what makes this Kramer very interesting to me. The HKR Evo2 R costs $22k, but the S model loses some features (2nd brake disc, quickshifter, some adjustability in the suspension, fancy dash, and forged wheels) so it can be offered at $15,995. In Kramer’s words, “this new pricing makes the 2023 Kramer HKR Evo2 S the perfect solution for track enthusiasts who want a turnkey track bike straight from the factory or a no-hassle way onto the starting grid of their local motorcycle club race.” The US importer for NSF250Rs (Rising Sun Cycles) normally retails the Honda at $17,995, though they’re currently offering them up for $14,995 if you want to buy one in advance and wait for one to show up in a few months. [On a selfish note, I’ll get you one at that price in a few weeks]. But the reason I bring all this up is because the price difference is negligible (I’m actually getting a discount on the Kramer as I’m getting last year’s model), and the Kramer will fit me much better. I still won’t be able to compete with 1,000cc supersports but I don’t care. I’m not racing, I just want to enjoy track days with my buddies.
I just paid for the bike yesterday and it’s going to be 2-3 weeks before it’s in my possession, so I’ll wrap things up here and save first impressions for when I finally get to see it. But the two stats I want to leave you with are that the Evo2 S makes 80 hp at the crank and the curb weight is just 285 pounds. As I alluded to in my intro to Tesi 3D ownership, that kind of weight number makes me very, very happy.
Want one for yourself? Check out the Kramer USA website. Otherwise, I’ll try my best to keep you updated as I get to enjoy my first purpose-built track bike! Oh, and Adam? He bought the GP2 (890 twin), so we’ll have both the cheapest and the most expensive Kramers to compare and let clients try out…