If you?re a custom builder, one of the most difficult briefs is for a race bike. No matter the genre or discipline of the project, the purpose-built, stripped-down nature of race machinery leaves minimal room for aesthetic creativity.
After all, these bikes are not built to look pretty. They?re built to run a distance in the quickest time possible. So form takes a backseat to function, and each component needs finely tuned design.

When Pierre Dhers of Freeride Motos Racing was offered a commission to build a 450cc single with vintage flair for a flat track race series, the he knew he had his work cut out for him.
But he was undeterred?because he?s spent the better part of the last decade single-handedly operating a successful full-service motorcycle and race shop under the Freeride banner.
The commission was from seasoned Dakar Rally driver, Pierre Lachaume, who has decided to shake things up for 2020 and try his luck on two-wheels in France?s Flat Track Championship.
The pair of Pierres decided the tracker would be based on a KTM 450 SX-F, so a clean 2013 specimen was sourced and the project began. The first order of business would be getting the mechanical and performance aspects of the build in order. With the donor torn down to a rolling chassis, Dhers called on Sébastien at Off Road Development to lower and tune the 450?s suspension, in preparation for a full season of going fast and left.

The KTM now rides on a set of flat track-appropriate 19? wheels front ...