I'm the CEO of Krämer Motorcycles USA - Ask Me Anything

You mentioned that there w0uld be another Spec of this APX-350 Available to the public that not MA Spec.

Could you share some info on that for us Peasants? MSRP? ETA? Difference between this spec and the MA Spec?

 

Bike looked great at COTA. Can’t wait to see a whole gaggle of them going down the straights next year.

https://youtube.com/shorts/4AQ8arKkWC0?si=QRpMXgaQllIAdNe4

 

Only thing that stood out was the test rider was rev matching on downshifts which I thought wouldn’t be needed given the blipper that the bike is gonna have, unless this is a pre production model not yet fitted?

 

We sell race bikes, sir. Side stands are verboten.

 

That prototype doesn't have the quick shifter installed, as it's main goal was to validate our chassis geometry and dynamics.

The production bike will auto-blip on downshifts.

 

I literally had a meeting today on this topic, so you're getting the news piping hot.

We will sell an "S" and "R" trim of the APX-350, in addition to the MotoAmerica "MA" trim, which is similar to how we have done trim levels with our other models.

I don't have prices yet, but the EVO2 platform should shed some guidance on guesstimates.

However, the general principle is that the "S" spec will be a bit cheaper than the "MA" spec. It will have a cable throttle, stock ECU, basic dash, and some lower spec components. There will also be an upgrade package available that will bring it up to full race-legal "MA" spec. The goal here is that young racers can get onto the APX platform at the club level at a more reasonable price point, spend a season or two getting ready for the Talent Cup, and then make the step-up to MotoAmerica with the upgrade package.

The "R" spec will be more expensive than the "MA" spec. It will include forged aluminum wheels and a Brembo RCS master cylinder, and maybe some other bits and bobs. Our target customer here is older racers, who want to win ultra-lightweight club championships.

We hope to be shipping both of these other trims before April 2025, but the priority at the factory is the MotoAmerica spec machines.

For the 2026 model year, I want to bring a two-stroke model to market - either on the 250cc or 300cc KTM platform motors. Plans on this are less certain. I don't know if we will offer multiple trims, or just one. I expect this to be a lower volume bike for us, and frankly it wouldn't happen at all if we weren't doing the other APX bikes. I'm trying to do the Lord's work here, and keep the two-stroke dream alive.

We haven't given up on the 450cc yet, but we have thrown the kitchen sink at the engine vibrations, and it's just too much. Those bikes were already paint-shakers, and with a stiff road-racing chassis, it's not a viable product. With our data, we really don't see a big performance delta between the 450 and 350. The way they make power, the 350 is a better road-race motor.

I'd expect a formal announcement on all this to happen around the EICMA show in November or INTERMOT in December, but you heard it here first.

 

Right now our bike is 110 kg ready-to-race, sans fuel. If you ran out of gas as you come into parc fermé, it should weight 110 kg. So, I don't see the issue here.

With my Krämer hat on, I don't have a horse in the race on minimum weight provisions. We just make the bike, and MotoAmerica makes the rules. As a fan of the sport, I have some ideas, and I generally think that the combined-weight approach is the right one.

Your math on the rider weight is correct, and you do have to account for maybe 20 lbs of gear included in that figure. 147 lbs isn't unreasonable for a rider weight, and there's a couple things to note in that.

The big one for me is that you don't want bigger (i.e. taller) kids dieting to get down to dangerous weight measurements. At this age, that has huge consequences developmentally. Athletic anorexia is very much a thing in sport, and something we don't talk about, especially for men and boys. I know two young riders who were on a top MotoGP team and they used to compete with each other on who could eat the least each day, just so they could weigh less on the bike and be more competitive in the class. I won't name names, but it's probably not the riders that first come to your mind when you wonder about it, which only shows how prevalent perhaps this issue is in the professional paddocks.

You are also correct on your math for the soft maximum - if you put 13 kg of ballast on the bike, you don't have to hit the combined rider and weight figure of 186 kg. This means that there's really no reason for a rider to weigh less than 138 lbs or so with gear on. Understand though that your 135 lbs in gear means a 115 lbs rider. That's on the extreme side when it comes rider weights.

Back to something I have professional thoughts on...

The suspension was left open so the riders that have sponsorships with other suspension brands, i.e. Öhlins and K-TECH, can still legally use those suspension companies and not lose those their contracts. We want kids to gain sponsorships, not lose them.

I can tell you that the WP Suspension on the Krämer APX-350 MA is just as good as anything Öhlins or K-TECH can or will provide for the class within the limits of the rulebook. I can also tell you that the support for WP Suspension at the race track next year will be just as good as those other brands.

We are building turnkey race bikes, nothing on them needs to be modified or changed (in fact the rulebook prohibits that), so I think the notion that there's another $2,500 to spend on this platform is incorrect. That being said, I'm sure some teams will make the switch from WP to other brands. That seems like a waste of $2,500 to me, but they can make their choices.

 

Back in 2009, my 2007 GSXR 1000 in street trim, got knocked over while sitting still.

- nick in gas tank - $750
- bent rearset - $300 ?
- nick in swingarm from bent rearset -$1400
- nick in exhaust - $1400
- scratch on side fairing - $400

Damage was around $4500 that GEICO paid for. I pocketed the $$$ as they simply cut me a check.

As you probably know, insurance companies don't do 'repair' work on motorcycles as in body and paint. It's all new OEM replacement parts.

 

I've crashed my Evo2R at 70-80 mph at least three times, and each time, cost of parts needing replacement was no more than $750. But i did do my own fiberglass repair and paint, and swapped the parts needing replacement.

 

The guy that posted that said "your product under a KTM sticker"

I took that to mean race / track prepped at a minimum.

Hence my confusion over bitching about the quality of a race stand and what appeared to me to be a greatly inflated cost to repair a race / track bike that fell over sitting still. And the post seemed kind of shitty.

Anyway, trying to move on so as to not screw up this thread.

 

When will we be able to pay for the bike so we can get asap?

Also how do we go about purchasing parts ahead of time?

Any pricing on the parts or parts list available now?

 

Great to hear on the WP support.

 

The KTM RC8C is a Krämer GP2-890RR with a couple technical differences but mostly cosmetic differences - just about everything beneath the bodywork is our work, especially in terms of hard-parts.

The RC8C fairings are designed by KTM's design studio (KISKA), but I don't know who supplies them. They are very expensive fairings, full stop. That's a KTM deal, and a KTM part number, and Krämer isn't involved with the bodywork (nor the accessories that ship with the RC8C, like the rear stand).

The fairings on our RR are less than half the cost of the RC8C fairings (I'd have to double-check what we're charging, but it's more like ⅓ the price), but of course they also come without wings. Most of the RC8C guys I know that ride on the track have swapped to an aftermarket fairing for their RC8C, because of the crash-cost factor (I think one of those wings alone is north of $800).

Krämer tries to support the RC8C owners where we can, but at the end of the day, it's a KTM product.

 

We'll have invoices out for final payment in the next month or so. There will be an opportunity then to pre-order spare parts, and that will be at a 10% discount. We should have a price list on parts and those packages in the next week or so.

 

I should say, if you want to ballpark your budget, look at kmcusaparts.com and look at the EVO2 prices. They should be comparable.

 

When you mentioned the common engine mounts across the KTM engines, I was wondering about this. When a 300 cc 2T is available, you'll be getting $ from me!

Thanks again for all the information.

 

I know what you guys are about...been searching the couch cushions for some time to buy a 690. I wasn't clear on what bike the stand conversation was about- thought it was some roadgoing KTM.

BTW- I'm not happy to hear you're dropping the entry level 690. I'm not that far from being able to justify that level of expenditure, but I can't see mid 20's ever happening.
I like little bikes too, so hopefully an "old man" version of the 350 will come in at a lower price point.

 

If you're in the market for an EVO2-690S, now is the time. We sold one this week, so I think we're down to only 2 left in the USA. Like I said in an earlier post, we will have a APX-350S that will be around the same price point.

 

Please keep us updated when the parts list and pricing is available.

Thank you.

 

Oh man, you’re going to be so sick of me when they’re ready.

I’m going to be like one of those “I’ve been trying to reach you about your car’s warranty” guys, trying to sell these spare parts packages.