Tucked away in Upper Bavaria a stone’s throw away from the Austrian border, the town of Burghausen is notable for two things. It’s home to the world’s longest castle, and it’s where the new Krämer GP2-890RR race bike is being built.
As we speak, the German boutique motorcycle manufacturer Krämer is busy moving to their new Burghausen factory. If you’ve never heard of Krämer, it’s probably because they’re a relatively small company with a very niche focus. Krämer’s jam is race bikes—specifically purpose-built track motorcycles with high-end engineering and mouth-watering parts specs.
“The focus of Krämer Motorcycles is squarely on track enthusiasts, and that includes both amateur racers and track day riders,” says the company’s global head of sales, Jensen Beeler. “The fact that we can take these bikes to professional races, like the British Superbike series, and be competitive against some of the best racers in the world just proves the level of purpose-built machinery we are creating here in Germany.”
Krämer’s GP2 platform has been in development for about five and a half years now, with the last 18 months dedicated to the 890RR model. It takes up residence as the brand’s flagship offering, boasting the highest level of spec in Krämer’s range. It also has the best power-to-weight ratio in its class, with 138 hp on tap and a weight of just 313 lbs, plus fuel.
Krämer builds all of its race bikes around KTM engines (it helps that Mattighoffen is just around the corner). As its name implies, the GP2-890RR gets KTM’s much-lauded 889 cc parallel-twin mill, as found in the KTM 890 Duke. But the version found in the GP2-890RR isn’t quite stock.
Inside, you’ll find high-compression pistons and titanium connecting rods, both from Pankl, titanium valves, and a new race-spec camshaft. Other upgrades include CNC-machined cylinder head ports, Dell’Orto fuel injection with 48 mm throttle bodies, and a custom-tuned ram-air system. A two-into-one stainless steel exhaust system rounds out the package.
All of those tweaks add up to a peak output of 138 hp, with 100 Nm of torque on offer and a redline of 11,500 rpm. That’s a hefty bump over Krämer’s GP2-890R model and KTM’s own ready-to-race RC8C variant. A quick-turn throttle ensures rapid and predictable power delivery, while a flat torque curve offers maximum punch throughout the rev range.
The GP2-890RR is also kitted with an all-new electronics package, built around a Mectronic brain with an integrated six-axis inertia measurement unit. So it has adjustable traction control and wheelie control, plus the ability to adjust the fuel mapping on the fly, based on information from a lambda sensor that measures burn efficiency in the combustion chamber, via the exhaust.
An AiM MXS 1.3 dash sits in the cockpit as the bike’s primary dashboard, but it also does double duty as a full-specced data-logging system. The Mectronic ECU is also an open system, leaving riders free to tweak the GP2-890RR far beyond what’s possible with your average superbike. Krämer plans to release free software updates and upgrades in the future, as a means of offering support to their customers.
The GP2-890RR’s drivetrain package is housed in a proprietary chromoly steel trellis frame (specifically 25CrMo4 steel, if you want to geek out), with a cast aluminum swingarm out back. The amount of adjustment points on the Krämer chassis is pretty nuts. You can tweak the swingarm angle, steering head angle, triple clamp offset, seat height, the length and angle of the clip-on bars, and the position of the rear-set foot controls.
Adjustable WP Apex Pro closed-cartridge forks do duty up front, with a matching WP Apex Pro shock at the back. Connected to a bespoke progressive linkage, the rear shock can be adjusted for high- and low-speed compression settings, preload, rebound, and ride height. A steering damper is standard equipment too.
The wheels are ultra-light forged aluminum Dymag UP7X items, measuring 3.5×17” at the front and 6×17” at the back. The GP2-890RR ships with Pirelli Diablo Superbike SC1 slicks. Braking is by way of twin 290 mm rotors and Brembo Stylema calipers up front, and a floating 230 mm disc at the back.
Every split-second counts in racing, which is why even small changes can make a big difference. And that’s exactly the approach Krämer took with the GP2-890RR’s bodywork. Starting with the GP2-890R’s design, they nipped and tucked it in increments, eventually ending up with bodywork that is 9% more aerodynamically efficient.
Out back you’ll find the hallmark of Krämer’s bikes—the 16-liter [4.2 gallon] fuel tank. Made from rotationally molded plastic, it acts as a reservoir, a subframe, and a place to put the bike’s scant seat pad. With its cohesive design and the way every single part handles a very specific function, the GP2-890RR is the very definition of purpose-built.
Krämer is releasing the GP2-890RR as a limited edition 2024 model, with only 125 units slated for production. It’s expected to start shipping in September of this year, for €41,990 in Europe, $39,995 in the USA, and £35,990 in the UK. There’s also local pricing for Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand.
You can only get it in the matte ‘Brno Blue’ livery pictured here, unless you live in the US, where it’ll be available in black too. But the real question is, where can you race it?
“The GP2 platform is part of the next-generation Supersport category, which is seeing 900 cc twins and 800 cc triples filling the grids that were once for 600 cc four-cylinder bikes only,” Jensen explains. “Many racing organizations are moving to this rules package now, and that’s where the Krämer GP2-890RR finds its home.”
The GP2-890RR is also race-legal in the British Superbikes series, as part of the GP2 class which runs within the Supersport division. Krämer has already been fielding the GP2-890RR in this series, via their UK importer’s race team. So when they say that the bike is race-bred, they mean it.
“The Krämer GP2-890RR is the pinnacle of what we are capable of achieving with our GP2 racing platform, and therefore it is the first bike worthy of an ‘RR’ designation from our factory,” says the company’s CEO and namesake, Markus Krämer.
For him, and the whole Krämer team, the GP2-890RR represents a big step up. It coincides with the company’s 10th birthday, their move to a headquarters that’s three times bigger than their previous site, and their intention to grow their dealer network.
“If I had to boil down our whole narrative, it’s that we’re a company that’s having that big moment in time right now where we go to the next level,” Jensen adds. “The GP2-890RR is a bit of a celebration of that fact, and marks that transition point.”
Krämer Motorcycles Germany | Krämer Motorcycles USA
