Brabus and KTM get together again on the 1300 R Edition 23
No need to stop going to the well until it runs dry, right? And lately, certain wells — the kind filled with money — are not only not running dry, they’re overflowing. This is how we get second round of collaboration between Austrian motorcycle maker KTM and German uber-tuner Brabus. Last year, the duo debuted Brabus’ first foray into the two-wheeled world, a KTM 1290 Super Duke R Evo rendered into a limited-edition model rechristened the Brabus 1300 R. Dressed in heaps of carbon fiber, sitting on Brabus’ Monoblock Z nine-spoke forged wheels, and Limited to 154 units, it about doubled the price of the base Super Duke and sold out in two minutes. Now, KTM and Brabus are back with the Brabus 1300 R Edition 23, which makes a few detail changes to the formula and expands availability to 290 units.
As a recap of the original, nearly every exterior part has been tweaked or replaced. There’s a round LED headlight leading lower and shorter handlebars. The mirrors are one revised element, extending outward from the heated grips instead of hanging below the bars. CNC machinists produced much of the jewelry bits like the bar levers, fork triple clamp, foot pegs, and reservoir caps. The fairing’s still made of carbon fiber, but the Edition 23 exposes the weave. The diamond-stitched black seat features the Brabus badge. A thin, upswept tail terminates in a reshaped pillion seat still made for balance beam experts. A WP Apex adaptive suspension with five pre-set damping modes plus an Auto mode holds the trellis frame steady over Monoblock Z nine-spoke forged wheels in a new Platinum Black finish. Brembo Stylema monobloc calipers clamp the front rotors, Brembo twin calipers work the rear rotor.
Nothing’s changed about the motor, a 1.3-liter V-twin engine rated at 180 horsepower and 103 pound-feet of torque again breathing through a Brabus dual-pipe slip-on.
Last year’s colorways were Magma Red or Signature Black, each version produced in 77 examples. This year is all grayscale, the choices being Stealth Gray or Superblack, each one getting 145 examples.
KTM will again take orders through a dedicated site. The gates open on Thursday, February 16, at 3 p.m. Central European Time, which is 9 a.m. in New York and 6 a.m. in California. The lucky winners in the reservation stakes will need to make a €2,500 ($2,680 U.S.) down payment toward the €42,500 ($45,564 U.S.) MSRP. That’s the price in Germany, so the final price can vary depending on market. Set your alarms and light your prayer candles, this one probably won’t last two minutes, either.
