The KTM Super Duke line has always been about extremes. Take an upright naked, stuff the most powerful LC8 V-twin motor the Austrian brand makes into an ultralight frame, throw some WP Semi-Active suspension on the thing, and unleash the beast. At least that’s how KTM likes to advertise its Super Duke models.
What is essentially the badass older brother in the Duke family—which includes a 250, 390 & 990 model —the Super Duke 1390 R Evo sits atop the family tree, lording over its younger, smaller siblings with 190-hp and 106 lb-ft of torque at its disposal. It is a monster (no, not like Ducati), as anyone who's saddled one will almost certainly tell you. So, it comes as no surprise that someone who owns an upright naked with that kind of horsepower is going to want to let it loose around a racetrack, right?
Krämer Motorcycles has been producing purpose-built race bikes at its factory in Germany since 2009, and its GP2-890RR super sport is a “competition use only” bike built around the KTM Duke 890, with 138-hp on tap and tipping the scales at just 313-lb. It also cost $42,995, which might be out a most people’s price range for a track day weapon.
So here’s where its new Super Duke 1290 & 1390 Racing Kit comes in.
As I mentioned, the Super Duke 1390 R Evo (and its predecessor, the Super Duke 1290 Evo R) is plenty of motorcycle, certainly enough to satisfy anyone’s need for a land missile they can run some hot laps on at their local race track. But it’s still an upright naked bike. And while that often comes with more comfortable ergonomics, there's not a lot of aerodynamic performance on a naked bike. This is what Krämer hopes to remedy with their new kit.
The Super Duke 1390 Racing Kit is effectively a bolt-on race bike shell. The rear section of the kit features a 22-liter fuel tank, XPE crash-resistant plastics, and a 20mm seat height adjustment. Up front, you’ll find a windscreen and fairing designed to optimize aerodynamics, made from GFK fiberglass and reinforced with carbon-fiber and Kevlar. The kit is compatible with the stock exhaust on both the Super Duke 1290 and 1390 models, as well as the stock radiators. Also included in their kit are clip-on style handlebars, adjustable foot pegs, and a CNC-machined triple clamp, among other things.
The first production run has already sold out, but the next batch of 20 kits will be available this November. Pricing starts at $8,200 (€6,990), but considering the cost of a 2025 KTM Super Duke 1390 R Evo is just $21,499 (assuming you can find one on a dealer floor), the total cost to build a Krämer 1390 race bike is going to set you back about $30,000, which is considerably less than their GP2-890RR model, all things considered.
