Have you ever seen a bike in a street and envisioned modifying it up into something dreamy? During the last winter, I was walking through a street in Barcelona when I came across a KTM 390 Duke. I was immediately impressed with the styling and figured it would be a fun bike to cruise around on. The chassis was an attractive unit and the bike looked like a good base for something cool. The more I thought about it, the more I envisioned that sweet frame housing a two stroke engine, such as a raw 350cc+ twin cylinder engine, similar to that of a Yamaha Banshee or RZ350. This seemed like a great idea, however when thinking more in a marketing sense, I felt that a detuned, economical 300EXC engine could do the job. For starters you have the electric start, the engine has been refined for years and the 6-speed transmission would work nicely on the road with correct gearing.
So how would this concept look? Check out below! (Click image to enlarge)
Shown here is a combination of a modified 390 Duke chassis, the 300EXC engine and a reshaped tail unit from the 1290 Super Duke. I also incorporated the headlight from the 390’s bigger brother to give it a more aggressive front end, as well as a custom, under slung exhaust to give it a smoother look.
Ideally the bike would be detuned as a means of making it a more smooth, economical bike to ride. However there would certainly be plenty of potential in the 300cc powerplant for more horsepower.
I think there is no doubt that the bike would provide a lot of fun on the street and would certainly turn some heads with that crisp two-stroke exhaust note!
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My Story
Welcome to the 2 Smokin' Blog!
My name is Morgan Driessens and I am a Graphic Designer from Brisbane, Australia.
Like many of you, I'm a passionate fan of the beautiful 2-stroke engine! I intend to focus these articles on views of the past, present and future of the smokers as well as conducting interviews that examine methodology and development used by privateers throughout history.
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I think more front brake. .. maybe twin disc or an oversize disc? Would be a lot of fun in the hills!