Brough Superior SS 100 MK2 2023 — Specifications

It takes courage to launch a motorcycle at €66,500 in 2023. No marketing safety net, no entry-level range to compensate, just this radical proposition set on 18-inch wheels: you either understand, or you move on. The SS100 MK2 is not a motorcycle for everyone, and that’s precisely where its strength lies.

The history of the brand carries considerable weight. At the beginning of the last century, while BSA, Vincent, and AJS were engaged in an industrial war on British soil, Georges Brough built machines of a different nature. Each SS100 emerged from his Nottingham workshop like a Rolls-Royce from Crewe: controlled, certified, promised to those who could afford it. T.E. Lawrence, the officer turned legend, owned several and died on one of them. This is not a detail to be overlooked in the brand's mythology. When Mark Upham bought the name in 2008 and entrusted development to Boxer Design, the French company of Thierry Henriette, the pressure was considerable. Boxer is no stranger: the VB1, the FB Mondial Nuda, collaborations with Honda and Suzuki, all testify to a genuine expertise in design and engineering. The result justifies the trust placed in them.

The engine comes from Akira, another French engineering firm, and deserves closer examination. This 997 cm3 88-degree V-twin is modern in every cell: liquid cooling, double overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, electronic injection. It develops 102 horsepower at 9,600 rpm and 87.3 Nm of torque at 7,300 rpm, with a compression ratio of 11:1 for a bore of 94 mm and a stroke of 71.8 mm. These figures are honest for a V2 of this displacement, without seeking to rival the 999 cm3 of Ducati or the productions of Triumph. The SS100 runs a different race. Where others measure power in extra horsepower, here it is measured in the quality of machining. The presentation of the engine itself is that of a piece on display in a museum. One minor drawback: the cooling hoses remain a little too visible for a machine aspiring to this level of finish.

The tubular titanium chassis is a statement of principle in itself. Few series manufacturers dare to use this material beyond a few screws or reinforcements. Here, it is the entire backbone that is made of it, rendered almost invisible by a stressed-member engine that takes on part of the structural rigidity. The front suspension abandons the classic telescopic fork for a triangulated Fior geometry, in magnesium-aluminum alloy with titanium reinforcements and a centrally mounted Öhlins shock absorber. The technical interest is real: the damping works independently of the steering, which limits dive under braking. The rear swingarm follows the same construction logic, with a second Öhlins shock absorber. For the brakes, Brough chose Beringer and its 4D system rather than the ubiquitous Brembo calipers. Two 230 mm discs at the front, with four-piston calipers and three pads each, an identical disc at the rear pinched by a two-piston caliper nested inside the swingarm. The whole announces a gyroscopic inertia divided by three compared to a conventional system. Top speed reaches 200 km/h with 186 kg dry weight on the scale.

Who is this machine for? Certainly not the motorcyclist looking for a versatile bike for a vacation, nor the track rider obsessed with lap times. The SS100 MK2 belongs to a separate category, that of motorcycle-sculptures that are purchased with the same logic as a high-end watch or a luthier’s guitar. Its audience is wealthy, knowledgeable, and sensitive to the history behind each machined part. In this ultra-exclusive segment where Avinton or Ecosse Moto also compete, Brough has the considerable advantage of a century-old name. The MK2 refines the existing with reworked tank straps, redesigned fenders, and tapered exhausts with more taut lines. These are couturier touches, not a complete overhaul. And for a motorcycle of this caliber, it is exactly the right approach.