Back in 2003, KTM took the LC8 V-twin motor from their flagship 950 Adventure, and stuck it in a big, gnarly supermotard. The 950 Supermoto eventually became the 990 Supermoto, but was ultimately dropped from the lineup with KTM’s next big motor upgrade. And that made the crew at RATicate Racing sad.
So when the Californian shop got a crashed 2015 KTM 1190 Adventure R in, they took the gap?and built the bike KTM never did. ?We decided to take a fresh look at what we always hoped KTM would have built using the 1190 LC8 platform,? says founder David LaBree. ?An oversized naked bike with long travel suspension?a big-bike Supermoto.?

?The new 1290 Super Duke R fills our desires for monster torque in a compact package. But with its short travel suspension and road oriented chassis, you find the need to ride it like a traditional sport bike in order to get the most of the performance.” “The desire for sticking a leg out and launching off big curbs gave way to the RATicate Racing 1190 XLSM (Extra Large Supermoto).?

First on the list was undoing the damage done by the hostile impact of a Honda Civic. So the three-man RATicate team sent the frame off to Gerry Piazza at GP Frame and Wheel, where he straightened it out. ?With a clean bill of health, and more importantly a clean canvas to paint on, we headed back to the workshop to start our journey into Supermoto bliss.?

Next up, the guys called renowned wheel builders, Woody’s Wheel Works, to build a p...