A corporate philosophy of innovation
MRA's philosophy was to develop new and independent products from the beginning. This originated in the two company founders, Gerhard and Johannes Klement, developing and producing products such as motorbike fairings, screens and racing seats for the racetrack in the early eighties.
This is how the company name, MRA-Klement, came to be; MRA stands for motorcycle racing accessories.
Experience and constant pressure to develop new products helped towards MRA's later specialisation in motorcycle screens, where MRA also played a trend-setting role.
The year 1988 saw sports spoiler screens to reduce air resistance with the rider hunched down on the bike. This increased top speeds by up to 5 kph such as measured by Germany's Motorrad magazine on a Kawasaki ZZR 1100.
The next year, MRA was the first manufacturer to produce screens with graded black edges, which had previously been painted on with hard edges.
Many suppliers have since followed our lead. Even original screens increasingly feature graded dark edges.
We developed a process in 1992 for producing spoiler screens so as to prevent distortion. Gary McCoy used one for the 125 cc World Championship on an Aprilia, returning the highest officially measured top speed and winning the Grand Prix several times afterwards.
The year 1994 saw MRA as the first double-bubble racing screen manufacturer at the Cologne IFMA trade fair. Famous riders such as Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi, Alex Barros, Carlos Checa, Andrew Pitt, Gary McCoy, Ralf Waldmann, Nobby Ueda, and Olivier Jacque were to win the Grand Prix on bikes fitted with MRA racing screens in years to come.
We launched a completely new type of product - the Vario Screen - onto the market in 1999. The first model was a two-part screen that included a rear-flow spoiler with adjustable rake for HONDA ST 1100 Pan European models.
Other models were to follow in 2000, also with rear-flow spoilers and adjustable in length.
We developed a completely new screen type in 2002 - our Vario touring screen. These screens are fitted with a spoiler that can be adjusted for height and rake, eliminating wind pressure and turbulence towards the rider by fanning out the air flow like a diffuser nozzle.
In 2002, we conducted tests with adjustable spoiler hand guards that were finally successfully used in 2003 on our SUZUKI AN Burgmann 650 Varioscreen.
We have also improved on racing screens. The resounding success on the track could not be taken onto the road without modification; the round bubble affected ride stability by generating lift at the top speeds on some models as well as helmet buffeting unless the rider hunched down right behind the screen.
This led to significant changes in the bubble shape on the latest generation of racing screens, with flattening towards the upper edge to pull the front of the bike down rather than push it up, while also eliminating helmet buffeting to the side. The front part has air intake vents to reduce the vacuum under the bubble, which also improves the airflow at the trailing edge of the screen. These alterations have been applied to existing models, giving older motorbike models the benefit of this new development.
We are still working on new developments that we will be introducing at the INTERMOT or EICMA trade fairs.
This is how the company name, MRA-Klement, came to be; MRA stands for motorcycle racing accessories.
Experience and constant pressure to develop new products helped towards MRA's later specialisation in motorcycle screens, where MRA also played a trend-setting role.
The year 1988 saw sports spoiler screens to reduce air resistance with the rider hunched down on the bike. This increased top speeds by up to 5 kph such as measured by Germany's Motorrad magazine on a Kawasaki ZZR 1100.
The next year, MRA was the first manufacturer to produce screens with graded black edges, which had previously been painted on with hard edges.
Many suppliers have since followed our lead. Even original screens increasingly feature graded dark edges.
We developed a process in 1992 for producing spoiler screens so as to prevent distortion. Gary McCoy used one for the 125 cc World Championship on an Aprilia, returning the highest officially measured top speed and winning the Grand Prix several times afterwards.
The year 1994 saw MRA as the first double-bubble racing screen manufacturer at the Cologne IFMA trade fair. Famous riders such as Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi, Alex Barros, Carlos Checa, Andrew Pitt, Gary McCoy, Ralf Waldmann, Nobby Ueda, and Olivier Jacque were to win the Grand Prix on bikes fitted with MRA racing screens in years to come.
We launched a completely new type of product - the Vario Screen - onto the market in 1999. The first model was a two-part screen that included a rear-flow spoiler with adjustable rake for HONDA ST 1100 Pan European models.
Other models were to follow in 2000, also with rear-flow spoilers and adjustable in length.
We developed a completely new screen type in 2002 - our Vario touring screen. These screens are fitted with a spoiler that can be adjusted for height and rake, eliminating wind pressure and turbulence towards the rider by fanning out the air flow like a diffuser nozzle.
In 2002, we conducted tests with adjustable spoiler hand guards that were finally successfully used in 2003 on our SUZUKI AN Burgmann 650 Varioscreen.
We have also improved on racing screens. The resounding success on the track could not be taken onto the road without modification; the round bubble affected ride stability by generating lift at the top speeds on some models as well as helmet buffeting unless the rider hunched down right behind the screen.
This led to significant changes in the bubble shape on the latest generation of racing screens, with flattening towards the upper edge to pull the front of the bike down rather than push it up, while also eliminating helmet buffeting to the side. The front part has air intake vents to reduce the vacuum under the bubble, which also improves the airflow at the trailing edge of the screen. These alterations have been applied to existing models, giving older motorbike models the benefit of this new development.
We are still working on new developments that we will be introducing at the INTERMOT or EICMA trade fairs.
