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

I have several contract employee friends who were let go from KTM USA last year, but in a certain way this is the first 'big shoe' to drop from KTM in the US, given the high profile of the M.A. Talent Cup series this year.

I DO hope the appropriate components and products have been stockpiled by KTM US for your 'baby' to continue on successfully long after your departure.

Jensen, you've performed an exceptional example of representing and distributing some fantastic Kramer products. I am truly gutted for you, as someone who looked forward to meeting you one day and purchasing products from you also. I do hope you land on your feet in an equally exciting and longer running project sometime in the near future. Thank you for all of your time spent communicating here and elsewhere, not to mention tolerating all of our tomfoolery with aplomb.

I also hope you will check in on this forum going forward, as some of us admirers may wish to reach out to you regarding other opportunities.

Best of luck to you my moto friend!

 

Here here, ditto and all that.

I've been impressed with what you have done as well as how you did it. Good luck in the future!

 

Gawdammit Beeler you can't leave without delivering the 2 stroke bike! Best of luck in the future!

 

The Kramer website now says "*(Tariffs, taxes, shipping, and setup not included)"

Has any bought a Kramer recently? I'm wondering if tariffs have been imposed on any Kramer / KTM imports yet, and if so, how much it was.

 

Someone from Kramer posting pictures from RA today.

 

Really enjoyed your thread. Motorcycling can be so fun, exciting...and fickle. Very much hoping your next project finds you and rewards you!

 

I have a question, What is allowed suspension wise for these bikes?
I was told that you have to use Kramer to change seals and use their fluid, that sounded like BS but I really don't know.

I would assume that seals, springs, valving, fluid would be at teams discretion. I understand using the carts that come with the bike, but no changes?

 

If only this info was publicly available... https://americanmotorcyclist.com/wp...ca-Technical-Regulations-v5-23-2025-Final.pdf

 

lol Thanks!!!

 

FYI - It says that the suspension components must be on the approved list.

There is no list for the Kramers. Just SBK and SST SSP

So, are they not letting them do anything simply because nobody homologated anything for the Talent Cup?

 

You're allowed to use anything on the eligible list, it doesn't say only from a specific category. Additionally, you have to follow 2.9.10.3 which limits you basically to internals on the stock forks. So, go shopping on the eligible list for internals that'll fit the Kramer's forks. I've not personally chased this, so no idea what that actually comes out to for options on those bikes.

 

The idea was that they wouldn't HAVE to do anything to the forks. You're out here asking why they can't upgrade the bike. It's a spec class on already reasonably well equipped GP racing machines, just let the kids go racing and find out what they're (both bikes and riders) are capable of.

 

Man, I'm wondering how these supply chain problems are going to effect the Talent Cup program. We really need the race dads to invest in these bikes at the club level, to keep the kids stepping up into MA competition.

I was kind of hoping someone was going to announce a fleet of 10 Kramers for an arrive and ride program, so the kids riding ninjas and minis could have some kind of shot without the race Dads investing a ton up front.

I get that racing is expensive and I still think the class is the way forward, but this sure throws a wrench into the plans.

 

Bummed to hear about this, Jensen. I hope you find something soon (if that's what you're aiming to do).

On a pragmatic level, does Kramer have a plan B operationally? If KTM's woes continue, it's not a 0% chance probability that sourcing powertrains will become harder and harder. Are there any other OEM queued up to take their place if need be? Maybe too much inside baseball to be revealed here. If so, no worries.

 

Thanks Kurlon, thats what I was wanting to know.

 

I was told changing springs, fluid ,valving etc. couldn't be done. If that was actually the case that is FN dumb. Yes, I like the spec class. If they had to be using the OG carts that is fine but you would need to be able to change springs, fluid and valving for your particular rider. No problem with using OG carts. However, being able to change carts etc is the way to go, there is a cap on price for those items.

 

We've brought in a few bikes under the new tariffs already. I don't think the import-broker's bill has landed yet, but it'll be about 10%, as advertised.

10% is a brutal amount. Your local dealership is running on a 10% margin on bikes, depending on the brands they sell. That means it's an amount that has to be passed onto the customer, and maybe at 10%, most customer won't flinch too much at the extra cost. Anything over that though, and you can just kiss sales goodbye. The 25% tariff from Europe (now threatened at 50%), will effectively kill the motorcycle industry in the USA.

Everyone in the motorcycle industry is quietly losing their minds over the current trade policy. The lost conversation is also currency. The dollar is a lot weaker than it used to be now, so there's another 5% in margin that has been lost on top of the tariff amount.

 

That's Brittany, Joe's wife. She's rad, and was helping out at RA this past weekend.

 

The suspension internals are "open" but with some caveats. Teams do not have to use our parts, but are limited on what parts they can use to keep costs down. It's all in the rulebook.

 

Mostly this.

I would just add, one of the things we considered when talking about the rulebook was 1) we wanted to be a good paddock participant and not create barriers for Öhlins and K-Tech to work with teams (we provided them with full spec on the suspension pieces), and 2) didn't want to have any riders who might be sponsored by a suspension manf. to face losing a contract with them -- we're here to build their racing program, not limit it.