KTM Cafe? In detail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My KTM is looking a little different to most. Read on for the full story.

I have owned this 2008 model KTM 250EXCF since new and always love riding it, last saturday the bike looked like the above picture, a nice saturday morning ride through my local National Park is a great way to relax (for me anyway) but on my way home i had a few ideas.

Ive always had full registration on the bike and always swapped between the supermoto and dirt setup depending on my mood and the conditions. Supermoto on the street is fun but i needed a change.

After a quick wash i stripped the bike down of all the plastics, removed the rear shock, put the supermoto wheels on (17×5 and 17×3.5) then wound down the rear shock and did a few measurements. I had planned to make a chromoly swing arm and incorporate twin shocks into the rear but i might save that amount of work for another bike.

I also planned to do a new tube rear subframe, the idea was to not modify anything that couldn’t be removed or changed back to MX spec quickly. The stock subframe looked like it would work and just needed a 30mm lowering link which i quickly made up.

Front forks are factory aswell i just cranked them down to measure hights, Chad from Chads Off Road Suspension will be fitting 150mm lower springs next week so they will be very much like street bike forks. Ducati run 53mm clip on handle bars and KTM forks are 54mm so ill machine 1mm wall thickness from the ducati clip ons when they arrive, they are a neat anodised black duel bolt clamp on setup. I won’t run a front guard or fork protectors, its all about keeping things simple.

Now onto the biggest job of them all, the tank! One thing I’ve learnt is anything can be made from metal, its just a matter of how much patience you have. After trawling the net and finding nothing that would suit the KTM frame i decided to build one from scratch, 2 days into it and i almost gave up. I try and rush everything and sometimes you just cant, this tank required patience and persistence, i started thinking about the final product and how much more fun my KTM will be to me, its a new bike for around $400 thats already got rego and is practically ready to go!

I love the pop up cap that Luke from G-Works geelong found for me.

The tank is made from 0.9mm steel sheet, its channeled perfectly to hug the chassis and assist in passing air through the radiators. The side plates that are tacked on the front (please note the tanks 1/2 finished) are solely for looks but do grab the air and channel it through the radiators and then down under the tank.

The tail section is just made from foam, thats next weeks job to make it from steel and finish off the seat, ill be adding a K&N filter, a 7″ headlight with cowl, relocate the battery and then hopefully this time next week it will all be done and i can go for its maiden voyage. I have the orange flake open face helmet ready to go, fingers crossed for some nice weather