If your an avid reader of ETS then you may remember a little KTM that I threw together a few years ago.
It started as a form of payment to my friend Dean, he went shooting for a company and ended up being paid with 2/3’rds of a motorcycle.
I guess this story signifies a coming of age for both of us, Dean is now held in high regard by the motorcycling industry, his work is in high demand and he has turned something we did for fun into a career.
After Dean published the photos of his new motorcycle that I threw together the interest for “different” motorcycle builds started flowing into my inbox.
Fresh from my adventure in America I took on this request from Italian Luca seriously and respected the distance and his desire to own his very own HiRider.
After a few emails we had a budget locked down, he went shopping for a bike in Italy and I started planning the build.
I somehow convinced Luca that he needed two kits, that way we could make it financially viable for me to purchase the donor bike to make the process and the time involved worth it.
Luca purchased an extremely neat 2010 450 EXC so I started shopping for an equivalent bike to use a platform to build his bike from.
With the bike pulled apart and the basis for the build sitting in my garage I could concentrate on the build.
I wanted this to be a complete kit, I wanted ride-ability, reliability, eas of construction and use of all major components.
Putting the kit on the bike is a breeze, I spent a lot of hours making sure everything fits as per factory.
After clear powdercoat I could really see the finishing line.
It all looks amazing.
With the kit all fitted up it really transforms the bike.
The original HiRider took a couple of days to build, this took a couple of months.
I want to thank Luca for being patiant and entrusting me to complete this project for him.
It was a little daunting at times but I took on the challenge and the results speak for themselves. Now to break it all down and ship it over to Italy.