Krauser Mkm 1000

KRAUSER MKM 1000

At $14,000 a Copy, the Krauser MKM 1000 Guarantees Its Owner a Degree of Exclusivity Unheard of in Street Bikes.

Allan Girdler

Hard on the nerves, this only-onewe've-got $14,000 motorcycle business. The Krauser MKM 1000 is scheduled to go into production a few months from now and this one is the only one there is, on display at the races and polished to within an inch of its life. Not a valid subject for a full test but the Krauser guys would like to have it ridden around for a few hours so they can have our im pressions and perhaps get some publicity.

Getting close to the bike involves polite pushing and shoving as the crowd does approve. The GP-style fairing and one-piece body; tank cover, side panels and tail section all in one, with thinly padded seat attached, are white, with orange and purple and black and you can see this rig from miles away. It draws the eye. All this perfection while riding through the crowd,

conscious of the narrow bars and the foolishness of scratching the machine, tends to inhibit.

But no. Roll on the power, get on the road and into the mountains and the cares of the day fade. What we got here is ... A BMW.

And the Krauser guys would rather we dropped the bike than say that.

With some justice. Krauser is best> known in the U.S. for their line of topnotch touring equipment, usually for BMWs. Mike Krauser is the owner of the company. He’s a motorcycle nut and a racing fan and has sponsored, built, entered, etc., various road racing machines over the past few years. Like at least one other bike nut in the accessory business he’s had his own ideas about building a super road machine, best that can be built, hang the expense and sell ’em to the enthusiastic and wealthy few.

Krauser began with some engineers and computer time and an idea for a different frame, at least for motorcycles. A properly assembled collection of small tubes can be stronger and lighter than one or two giant tubes, so the engineers and computer came up with what was known in car racing as a bird cage or space frame; 52 straight and four curved pieces of alloy, joined at 150 points creating a grid, a cage if you will, from swing arm pivot to steering head and enclosing the engine. Complicated and expensive and arguably more complex than it needs to be, the frame weighs less than 25 lb., about the weight of a production frame for a mass-produced 500cc motorcycle.

Into the cage goes a stock BMW R100RS engine and transmission. BMW and Krauser have close business ties and obviously if BMW opposed the project this wouldn’t have happened, while Krauser and BMW are both at pains to say the MKM 1000 is not a BMW. Drivetrain, suspension bits, forks and brakes and other components are also BMW, again because they fit and they work and it makes good business sense to simply plug in the electrics, the brake hoses and controls and such.

The finish of the bodywork comes close to perfection, although naturally one can’t say now if that’s because they’ll all be like that or because this example is a show bike. The public raved, which must count for something, even though there are those of us who don’t see why a polished aluminum fuel tank must be hidden beneath a body, or can justify the one piece design when it means you must remove the one piece when it comes time to check the battery. The MKM 1000 comes with all road gear, fully certified for road use—another benefit from using a stock production engine—and a longer two-up seat is an option.

Stated intent of the MKM 1000 is, quoting from the brochure, to “give maximum pleasure to even the most demanding rider.”

Matter of definition here. A passenger is an option. Luggage will be less of an option, as it would require bungee cords around that gleaming tail or straps around the tank cover, with attendant risk to paint.

Wheelbase is 59.5 in., about 2 in. longer than on a stock R100RS, steering head angle is 28°, same as an R100RS and the MKM has added trail, which usually means slower steering.

Steve Kimball

The engine sits one inch higher in the Krauser frame than in the BMW frame, in the interest of increased cornering clearance. And to lower the bike itself, suspension travel has been reduced while the original spring and damping rates are retained, despite a claimed weight of 436 lb., compared with 463 lb. for a R100RS. The bars are clip-on style, pure racing width and droop and the pegs are rear set.

Street sports, is what the makers have in mind. Back before the Factory Fours took over production class racing the BMWs used to do well, their major problem being that the otherwise-excellent opposed Twin dragged its rocker covers. The Krauser has Metzeler Perfect tires and the raised engine and stiffened suspension ensure that the tires will be able to exert their considerable bite before any sparks fly from the metal parts.

The long wheelbase and slow steering provide what the engineers defined as optimum road handling; vast stability and complete confidence at high speeds on straights and gentle curves. No-limit touring, on roads and in areas where such pleasure can be gotten away with and yeah, the Krauser is just super at this. Booming down the road with that wonderful big Twin sound, pressure the bars into a lean, set the bike on the suspension and around you go, steady as you please.

Downside here is that in town your feet are high and your legs are tucked inside the fairing, the narrow bars needs lots of shoulder and the seat is a racing seat, meaning comfort was the last thing on the list.

In tighter turns the Krauser resists the rider. The higher engine raises the center of gravity, the longer wheelbase and added trail resist changing direction. The suspension is firm, make that choppy and in the twisties the Krauser has a mind of its own. Takes muscle to heave it from side to side and the bike must be forced into each curve and held there. It won’t do anything nasty but it does demand constant force.

And it may well be none of the above matters one whit. At $14,000 the copy— write to Krauser, 7012 Woodlawn Avenue Northwest, Seattle, Wash. 98115—the MKM 1000 won’t be the only bike in anybody’s stable. It won’t have to be comfortable for every day, or cope with traffic or even win races. The other toys in the place will do that. Wanna turn heads? Want to sit atop the neatest frame this side of Honda’s ice cream cone alloy monocoque? Here you are. El