KTM 1290 Super Duke R „Caty M. Glam“ – Louis Spezial-Umbau
Caty M. Glam – from hooligan to dancing queen
The design of the series KTM 1290 Super Duke R divides bikers into two camps. Some say "Brilliant!", others say "Horrible!". You either love it or you hate it. The Louis Mechanics Crew sees potential in the powerful little V2 with its pretty main frame and converts the hooligan into a slim ballerina.
KTM 1290 Super Duke R
A KTM 1290 Super Duke R in original condition
And it's off to the dressing room
Of course, to make way for the new dance dress, the old clobber has to come off first. The bike is completely stripped by Mechanics Crew members Martin Struckmann and Detlef Stüdemann. The engine in different shades of anthracite is stained in gloss black, with silver bolts for contrast. The original rear frame which is almost reminiscent of scaffolding, is replaced by a more delicate part and chrome-plated along with the main frame and swing arm. Given that load-bearing parts cannot be chrome-plated using the conventional electrolyte method, in this case a process is used which does not corrode the welded seams. This also facilitates the use of colours which makes the red gradient on the components possible.
New chorus line pins
For all the bling-bling the most important thing for a ballerina is a set of functional dancer's legs. That's why the crew calls upon highly sensitive, attractive material from Wilbers for the chassis components, rounded off with Kineo spoke wheels.
Breathing exercises
Back to the engine. Stefan Trautmann from STParts takes care of the manifold, while exhaust specialist SHARK manufactures a twin exhaust to the Mechanics Crew's specifications. At SHARK they're so impressed by the result, they christen the new exhaust "Track Raw" and put it into full-scale production, complete of course with EC type approval. The Louis part is, as is befitting for racing use, completely open. Likewise the intake tract, which is simply equipped with velocity stacks. As ever, this is where tuning guru Ulf Penner comes in. With the specified 173 HP, the engine has enough power as standard. All that remains to be done is an adjustment of the mapping. Penner improves the torque curve with Powercommander and Autotune and funds another 2 HP.
The new dress
Mechanics Crew member Kay Blanke, responsible for the design of the new bike, makes his way to metalwork magician Michael Naumann with the rolling chassis. He makes the seat, tank and headlight fairing from aluminium. Danny Schramm takes care of the sparkling metal-flake paintwork. The headlight fairing is also hinged. It will house the original instruments. If required, they can be simply pulled out and fitted to the upper triple tree.
A request to dance
In the best Louis tradition, the bike christened "Caty M. Glam" has its world première at the Glemseck 101, where around 50,000 petrol heads gather every year. Dance partner Mai-Lin Senf puts Caty through her paces in the Sprint International. Yet, after winning the first run, it turns out that, even at just 179 kg with almost the same amount of HP, there is still just a tad too much hooligan in Caty. Keeping the front wheel on the ground is almost impossible and in round two it's all over. So Ulf Penner wastes no time in installing a wheelie control before the next race, held at the Intermot trade fair. And it's a whole different ball game. Let’s dance.
| Tuning: | tuning-fibel.de |
| Aluminium parts: | naumann.bike |
| Paintwork: | schrammwerk.com |
| Chassis: | wilbers.de |
| Rims: | acewell.de |
| Manifold: | stparts.de |
| Silencer: | fechter.de |
| Brakes: | brembo.com |
| Footrests & handlebars: | gillestooling.com |
