Corner Killer: An AMPed up KTM 690 supermoto
As factory supermotos go, you could do a lot worse than the KTM 690 SMC R. Featuring a 72 hp single packed into a taut 324 lbs package with sharp handling, it’s a bike made for unadulterated hooliganism.
The owner of this particular 2019-model 690 supermoto loved most things about it, save for one big gripe: it carries more plastic than a Tupperware salesperson. So he delivered it to the father and son team of Michael and Allen Posenauer, at AMP Motorcycles in Offenbach, Germany. Their task was to individualize it by ditching all the plastic bits, without sacrificing an iota of ridability.
We’ve had a close eye on the Posenauers since they broke onto the scene. Building custom bikes started out as a hobby for them?an excuse to spend time together. But word soon spread, and they eventually started taking on commissioned work. They also have a love for flat-track racing, and a penchant for building pared-back, purposeful machines. So the brief on this KTM was right up their alley.
That doesn’t mean that the job wasn’t without its challenges though. The SMC’s plastic-ness is more than just skin deep?strip the bike down, and you’ll find a plastic under-seat fuel tank that also doubles as a subframe.
AMP had to do more than a traditional cut-and-shut to get the look their client was after. First, they designed a bolt-on steel subframe that carries over the sporty aesthetic of the trellised front half. Then came the really hard part?fabri...
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