The Krämer GP2-890RR is the kind of motorcycle that makes you question your life choices — there are few things on the market so unapologetically race-focused that after riding it, nothing else compares. The closest next step up the motorcycling ladder would be to weasel your way onto a World Supersport or Moto2 World Championship ride. The noise, ferocity, and pure focus of the Krämer leave you wondering if that spare kidney is pulling its weight when staring down the nearly $40K price tag.
At the heart of the GP2-890RR is a familiar friend within motorcycling’s ranks, the 889cc parallel-twin engine from the “Ready To Race” brand, KTM. Though this is no box-stock unit — it’s chockful of lightweight titanium bits and forged components that help it spool up savagely, eking out far more ponies than the original mill ever intended to spit out. The numbers claim 138 horsepower at 10,100 rpm and 73.756 pound-feet of torque at 8,200 rpm, which are healthy enough in their own right.
What puts muscle behind those figures is a powerband as broad as a politician’s promises, but it’ll actually deliver on them, all the way up to around its 11,500 rpm redline. That friends, is where this 285-degree p-twin does some of its finest work. It’s sharp in every way, even down to its unforgiving initial throttle crack, but thankfully, the rest of the fueling is sublime.
Running a Krämer is akin to joining a quaint racing cult. Owners spot each other in crowds and speak a language only they seem to know while sipping the power-to-weight ratio Kool-Aid.
Rightfully so, since the race-spec stiff chromoly steel-trellis frame is power-coated with a shade of red as loud as the exhaust system and capable of things few production chassis can match. In fact, no production motorcycle uses the subframe as the fuel tank like a Krämer. A GP2-890RR tips the scales at 142 kg (313 pounds), and that’s not a fluffy marketing-friendly “dry” weight; that’s a “knee-down through Buttonwillow Raceway Park’s blisteringly quick sweeper known as Riverside” weight.
No lights, no emission equipment, nothing that doesn’t report directly to lap times is part of the design brief, and that lack of mass is why it can be absolutely surgical with its wheel placement when you’ve got the top-shelf WP suspension appropriately tuned. In my case, our spring rates were set for a heavier customer. But that’s part of the buying process and the benefit of a race-spec chassis: everything is adjustable. From suspension, ride height, swingarm angle, spring rates, and hand/foot controls — you name it. Krämer Motorcycles USA will help dial things in until the 890RR is your unrelenting scythe armed with the stickiest Pirelli Diablo Superbike slicks.
The unfiltered feedback delivered straight to the rider is undeniable with any setup. When matched to some pristine stretches of track tarmac, the stout Krämer is riding proverbial rails, filling you with the kind of fool-hardy confidence that makes riders get on the gas earlier each lap. Part of that is due to the linear power delivery, creating harmony between the engine, chassis, and rider to rip through curves or transitions easily.
Braking comes to us via Brembo Stylema calipers clamping onto dual 290mm discs, paired up to a Brembo dual-piston caliper and 230mm disc in the rear. Again, the über-light running weight pays dividends here because when it comes time to scrub off speed, you’ll be able to out-brake the competition and watch them run wide. The binders are so sensitive that one-finger braking isn’t a bad idea in areas that don’t call out for a hearty lever pull.
The steel-trellis fame and swingarm do quite a bit of heavy lifting with respect to generating grip. Yet, another layer of control comes into play with the Mectronik MKE7 ECU supported by a six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit, delivering superbike-grade rider aids in the form of adjustable traction control, wheelie control, throttle maps, and a pit-lane limiter. It can all be fine-tuned to suit your needs or conditions or disabled if that’s your prerogative.
If the point isn’t clear enough, there is nothing in the way of comfort here, as it’s all sacrificed to the altar of performance. The foam seat is, well, a piece of foam. The adjustable clip-on handlebars are positioned such that it’s a lengthy reach for my 5-foot 10-inch frame. In fact, the GP2-890RR is one of the rare instances of track bikes that will fit taller riders. Due to that, tucking behind the carbon fiber bodywork is about the only comfortable aspect. Then again, spartan living spaces are part of the race bike charm — we appreciate them because of their cutthroat design, down to the AIM MSX Dash.
There are moments in our riding careers that we can look back on as milestones. Our first bike, the first scuffed knee puck, and undoubtedly, the first time you ride the Krämer GP2-890RR. Production machines are impressive, and we shouldn’t kick sand at them quite yet, but precious few manufacturers are searching for the proverbial limit. But that’s why the Krämer GP2-890RR is essential; it’s out there, searching for the limit at the racetrack.
