Sometimes, buying the hottest magazine cover motorcycle isn’t enough. That’s where famous tuners like Brabus come into the picture. Yes, you heard me right, Brabus. So, how does the notorious Mercedes-Benz performance tuning company appear on a motorcycle platform? Well, a simple handshake it seems…
The rumoured partnership started floating around towards the back end of 2021, leaving many people scratching their heads and yelling Mr Trump’s favourite word: “Fake News”. Thankfully fake news it was not, with the first-ever Brabus motorcycle rolling out into the spotlight this year in a limited number of 77 bikes in two unique colour variants; Magna red and Signature black. The beast also received a new maiden name, the name of BRABUS 1300 R.
Now you must understand, KTM does not struggle to sell special editions, in fact, it’s not unusual to sell 500 special editions in just a matter of minutes—the Super Duke RR sold out in just 50 minutes and the RC 8C in just under three minutes. With that said, you can just imagine how crazy it would be to walk into 1 of 77 motorcycles in the world at RAD KTM in Rivonia. After a quick rubbing of the eyes, the Brabus 1300 R was still there and glistening in all of its carbon fibre and Gucci-like glory.
The 1300 R is obviously built on the base of the SuperDuke Evo platform, so lots of KTM can still be seen beneath the more mature modern neo-classic exterior. Exterior aside, Brabus has left the mechanicals alone, with the standard bike already rolling out of the Austrian manufacturer’s factory with impressive specs. Instead, Brabus has concentrated on the style of the bike, completely re-dressing it in a whole new design language.
Taking a closer look at the Brabus creation and you can see where the heart of the rebel meets the soul of the gentleman. Starting from the front of the bike, the round LED headlight grabs your attention like no other and it is finished off with a neat Brabus branding inside the light.
Your eyes then fall onto carbon elements like the double-sided air scoops, fly screen, engine protectors, the front carbon mudguard and integrated calliper cooling system, rear carbon tail section and the integrated chain and rear mudguard. Wow, that was a mouth full of carbon!
Then there are the subtle yet elegant details, like the forged BRABUS Monoblock Z wheels which have a machined edge, a designer custom-made seat that gets the Brabus stamp of approval, machined Brabus rear sets and finally a Brabus dual-pipe exhaust system, which uncorks its unmistakable v-twin rumble.
So there you have it, sometimes owning your dream bike isn’t enough. And in this case, the Brabus is a bike that was designed to offer customers the chance to express as much about themselves as possible—a bike that is personalized deeper than what the company originally planned.
If you were hoping to see one in the flesh, now is your chance and better yet if you are interested in owning quite an exciting and rare beast then make sure you get to RAD KTM in time.
