The renowned car tuner brand gets their hands on motorbikes.
Brabus is known for their high-performance models that are based on original production cars, mostly from Mercedes-Benz division. Throughout the years, they’ve proven themselves as a brand that can squeeze every little potential from their engines and create brutal yet dignified sports cars that can rival the fastest cars on the road. This year, however, they surprise their enthusiasts with a little twist that is certainly surprising but welcome dearly, by collaborating with the Austrian motorbike brand KTM to create a powerful and luxurious naked motorbike, the 1300 R. Brabus aims to expand their vision and potential by entering the motorbike business, and their first attempt is certainly a brute that needs attention. Let’s take a look at their new creation and see if the 1300 R is a potential rival to its rivals in the same segment.
A harmony of luxurious precision and raw power.
We all love motorbikes that prove their speed and power with their complementary looks, the Hayabusa, for example, excels on illustrating its speed with its big and menacing appearance. The 1300 R does the same, albeit in a little more ”compact” way. Based on KTM’s 1290 Super Duke R Evo platform, the new naked bike weighs only 194 kilograms (427 lbs) through the extensive usage of carbon fiber in almost every part of the bodywork. Brabus, as always, completes this weight saving program with great performance numbers. The 1.301cc V2 engine produces 180 HP and 140nm of torque (103 lb-ft) which is certainly more than enough to propel this bike from 0 to 60 in just 3.2 seconds, and with a massive top speed of 270 km/h (167 mph), the 1300 R proves that it’s the ace of spades when it comes to performance. Could it be a widowmaker? Well, we certainly hope it won’t, literally of course. Other aspects of the bike worth mentioning are its Brembo Stylema 4-piston brakes with 320mm discs on the front and twin piston floating calipers and 240mm of discs that provide the best braking performance whenever things go south. The 1300 R also features a big infotainment screen derived from KTM, below the rider’s vision to ensure their focus while riding.
To achieve such performance requires immense attention to detail and finesse, but completing it with a dual-pipe exhaust system that makes the V2 sound like a caged tiger is what makes Brabus’ first attempt in motorbikes so special. Brabus also brings back their Monoblock rim series and uses 9-spoke rims that gives the 1300 R the iconic Brabus look that we’re accustomed to with their wild car models. Apart from the massive power and sound, the bike can also put all of that power on the road in the most comfortable way possible with semi-active WP suspension that is adjustable with just a click of a button. It utilizes solenoid valves that are electronically controlled so that the driver can choose a comfort setting for a ride through the sunset, auto mode to make the bike adjust on its own by detecting the driver’s style, or the track mode for a fast lap that they can record and brag to their friends that are unfortunate to not have a 1300 R. Not really mocking your friends here, though, as the 1300 R is surely hard to own, since only 77 of both available colors, Magma Red and Signature Black are built, and all of them are already sold out as we speak. Fear not, however, as Brabus has a ”Join Waiting List” button on their website, which gives us a clue that more 1300 R’s might be produced in the future.
The KTM-Brabus 1300 R is a powerful and light motorbike that offers luxury, finesse and a taste of what Brabus is all about, albeit with a little salty price of €51,467 ($59,000). When you put its production numbers into consideration, however, it starts to make sense. The 1300 R is a revolution for Brabus brand, and it hints that the famous tuner brand might continue producing more motorbikes and add them to their arsenal that already features vans, trucks and even buses. What do you think, dear reader, is it too much for a naked bike, or would you love to have one? You are the commander of the comments section below.
