Talent Cup: Kyle Ohnsorg Tests The Krämer APX-350 MA
By Sean Bice
Ever since the Krämer APX-350 MA was introduced this past June as the spec motorcycle for the 2025 MotoAmerica Talent Cup Championship, the biggest question has been, “What’s it like to ride it?” We got a hint in September during our round at Circuit of The Americas when Krämer Motorcycles USA test rider/engineer Finn Chapman did a few demonstration laps and participated in a Q&A session.
But, when accomplished motorcycle road racer and engineer Kyle Ohnsorg was asked to test the bike last month at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway (a.k.a. “Little Talladega”), the 10-turn, 1.33-mile road course located near Munford, Alabama, we followed up with Ohnsorg and asked him to give us his first-person evaluation of the bike. After all, Ohnsorg has ridden and raced a whole slew of motorcycles, from Junior Cup bikes, to Supersport machines, to a Roland Sands/Indian Challenger racebike on which he finished third in Mission King Of The Baggers race two at COTA in 2023. Also, he owns and operates Adrenaline Engineering, which specializes in motorcycle suspension and chassis tuning.
Here is Ohnsorg’s full report, in his own words:
“Last month I received a call from Krämer USA asking if I wanted to assist in testing and developing the new Krämer APX-350 MA. Since I have had great experiences testing with Krämer in the past on their other impressive platforms (690 and 890), I jumped at the opportunity to get some seat time on the new bike. Krämer rented Talladega Gran Prix Raceway for four days of dedicated test-riding with a well-organized plan that covered changes to nearly every aspect of the motorcycle.
“Being six-feet tall and weighing 155 pounds, I had concerns that I would feel cramped on the bike but I found it to be much more comfortable than many of the other Junior Cup-sized bikes I have ridden and raced in the past. From lap one on the bike, I was blown away at the level of all-around performance and was smiling in my helmet the entire time. The APX-350 MA was light to transition and easy to turn in but did not feel nervous or twitchy. The power was impressively smooth and very predictable. I was impressed by how well the auto-blip and quick shifter worked throughout the track. Even at full lean angle in a decreasing-radius corner, I was able to downshift, and the bike remained planted and smooth. Unlike on other smaller-displacement bikes with softer frames/forks/swingarms, I could feel exactly where the tires were on track and could tell if I was sliding the rear or front at any time. The overall feel of the chassis made it easy to manage a slide with throttle, brake, lean angle, etc. Since we know that not all U.S. tracks are as smooth as MotoGP race courses, we made it part of our testing plan to hit the various bumps at “Little Tally” with various speeds and lean angles. This allowed us to tune both the suspension movement and the flex of the chassis to ensure we had a setup that offered plenty of feel, but also had enough compliance to handle bigger bumps. The bike offers full adjustability (rake, offset, ride height, suspension, ECU, etc.) that allowed us to try many different settings to further understand the capabilities and characteristics of the bike.
“At the conclusion of the four-day test, we ended up with a bike that I felt I could do anything with on track and would feel confident racing. I’m excited to see how the bike continues to progress and even more excited to see how the new 2025 MotoAmerica Talent Cup unfolds knowing how good the Krämer APX-350 MA is right out of the box.“
Ohnsorg’s work with the Krämer APX-350 MA will continue. He is set to test the bike again at COTA, which will enable him to help fine-tune the set-up even more and provide a solid baseline for the teams and riders to use in round one of next year’s inaugural Talent Cup Championship, also at COTA on March 28 to 30 during the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas MotoGP weekend.
RW Original Video: APX-350MA MotoAmerica Talent Cup Racebike
(For more, see MotoAmerica.com)
