If you didn’t know, there is a rumoured shift believed to be going on inside KTM. The brand which also owns Husqvarna and Gas Gas motorcycles is reportedly shifting its products within its product lines. Road bikes are touted as falling under the KTM branding, the legendary GasGas brand taking charge of off-road bikes, and Husqvarna carrying the flag forward for the new electric range.
What confuses matters is the talk and spy shots of a new 1300R project, with notorious car tuners Brabus filing paperwork to protect the Brabus 1300R name, within the motorcycle sector. Spy shots have circulated showing a bike, (very much along the lines of the Vitpilen 701 style). Further information shows lineage from the KTM 1290 Superduke R, allowing the 1300R project to pass type approval regulations by using the same parts.
BSB champ Tarran suffers training incident!
If you weren’t familiar the Brabus tuning house was famed for taking already pretty lairy Mercedes-Benz performance vehicles, and shaking up the recipe a bit more, adding a few reaper chili’s to the already spicy mix. Brabus’s focus is to achieve maximum performance, through the increase of horsepower, whilst also improving trims and equipment.
How will this relate to bikes I hear you cry? Well, the answer is we don’t quite know yet. The spy shots circulating show revised styling, with a Brabus styled rear wheel, but the engine and exhaust headers look the same as the standard KTM units. One assumes this will be the same in order to pass the stringent Euro emissions standards, and any revised items will have to be optional upgrades for aftermarket fitting.
Is this a new Nuda 900?
Well no, because it will be a 1290cc (maybe more), not a 900. It’s no surprise that the Nuda was/is a cult bike, rare, and made famous by certain YouTubers, and sure enough under the Husqvarna brand, but produced under former owners BMW using BMW derived engine and chassis…Sound familiar? The tail section lines of the new bike look very similar to the old Nuda too!
Horseshoe pass gains 40mph speed limit
Delving deeper into the photographs makes it feel as though the designers have had a supermarket sweep style rampage through the KTM parts warehouse. The single tail unit brake ducts, carbon blingy bits, and fuel tank from the super-duper limited edition 1290 Superduke RR, and then the Brembo calipers and WP Semi-active suspension from the 2022 1290 Superduke R EVO model. A new shotgun-style exhaust feature however will more than likely be aftermarket, as does a round headlight, (extremely similar to the Husky 901 Norden adventure bike).
The big thing though is the rear wheels, a unique styling point and given the single-sided nature of the swingarm, full opportunity to show off a unique design. Brabus, famed for having pimp wheels, have done it here too. I’d love to have seen some of the older style monoblock patterns from the likes of the B50, but the diamond cut straight spoked rim looks pretty cool.
Overall Brabus doesn’t do things by halves, and with their mentality of wanting to make already fast things faster, they would be letting themselves down if they didn’t fettle with the performance. Sure the carbon saves some weight, but if Brabus really want to make this a 1300Rocket the standard 180 horsepower needs to be upped. I’d really love it if they aimed for the crown of the MV Agusta’s 206 hp, the bonkersness of the supercharged Kawasaki ZH2, and make something truly bonkers like they do with cars. Fingers crossed.
- BMW R1250GS review
Being a sports bike purist, I’ve never understood the appeal of some of these large adventure bikes. They are big, heavy, comfortable and built for doing everything I’m uncomfortable with, i.e. adventuring on mud. That being said, the BMW R1200GS… Read More »BMW R1250GS review - Honda announces vintage parts program for VFR750R (RC30)
Honda has announced a European expansion to its successful Japanese ‘RC30 Forever’ program which launched in 2020. The program sees approximately 150 brand new, genuine parts for the RC30, being remade covering engine, chassis, bodywork and electronic parts. Honda RC30… Read More »Honda announces vintage parts program for VFR750R (RC30) - Norton V4SS recall list sent out to owners!
It felt like the Norton saga was almost over, with the TVS buyout, new factory opening and the company adamant that it was going to write its wrongs. Well, today, a large list of urgent recalls has been released for… Read More »Norton V4SS recall list sent out to owners! - California Superbike School UK goes green for 2021!
California superbike school UK has announced a deal with Kawasaki UK to supply Team Green bikes for both coaches and hire bikes. The California Superbike school is the longest-running and most successful riding school both globally, and in the UK.… Read More »California Superbike School UK goes green for 2021! - Yamaha confirms new Yamaha R7 from October
We knew it was happening with rumbles for months, and last week the leaked teaser images of the new Yamaha R7. With today being the official reveal and confirmation, we now know what we are dealing with. To start with,… Read More »Yamaha confirms new Yamaha R7 from October