In the hands of an experienced or brave rider, this custom KTM 950 is probably one of the fastest A-to-B motorcycles we?ve ever featured. Especially over mixed terrain. It?s based on the short-run Super Enduro model, a bike described by Red Bull Romaniacs legend Chris Birch as ?the best hooligan’s bike KTM ever made.”
In some countries, you?ll spend more than the original showroom price to get your hands on a mint condition 950 SE. So it?s not surprising we don?t see many custom versions.

This one comes from the Sport-Evolution garage in Koblenz, Germany. Dietmar Franzen and his crew normally work on cafe racers, scramblers and bobbers?with a particular leaning towards classic two-valve BMW engines. They even manufacture their own TÃœV-approved custom parts. ?A customer came one day and said, ?I have this KTM at home somewhere, just make something out of it?,? Dietmar recalls. ?But to create a cafe racer from a 950 Super Enduro is a little bit too far-fetched??

Dietmar decided to make the most of the compact tubular frame and engine, rather than hiding the engineering tour-de-force with meters of plastic.
?So we dismantled everything,? he says. ?We cut off the rear frame and all the brackets, the air filter box, the exhaust and tank. Everything we actually didn?t need anymore.?

With the substantial plastics and long seat gone, the KTM immediately lost a ton of weight?both real and visual. The Sport-Evolution crew fabricated and bolted on a stubby new sub...