This is the KTM 990 Super Duke as we’ve ever seen it before, as a stripped back lightweight flat tracker that would likely make very light work of a Harley-Davidson XR750.
Named Second Wave 001, this custom motorcycle was built by the team at Second Wave Design, it was then featured in issue #51 of Sideburn Magazine – a copy of which is now included with the bike.
Fast Facts – A KTM 990 Super Duke Flat Tracker
- The KTM 990 Super Duke was released in 2005 as a naked superbike, it was designed by Gerald Kiska at the Kiska design studio with engineering taken care of by KTM in Austria.
- The 990 Super Duke quickly developed a reputation as one of the most entertaining motorcycles in the world thanks to its sharp handling, excellent brakes, but mostly due to its punchy 120 bhp 999c V-twin.
- KTM kept the 990 Super Duke in production from 2005 to 2013 with regular updates, engine power was increased to 132 bhp on the Super Duke R, and there were various chassis, fuel injection, and fuel capacity tweaks over this time.
- The KTM 990 Super Duke you see here looks completely unlike the bike it started out as. The original fuel tank and bodywork has been removed, as has the front brake assembly, the rear subframe has been replaced along with the wheels, tires, seat, and many other parts.
KTM 990 Super Duke
As far as naked bikes go, the KTM 990 Super Duke represents a high watermark for the genre. It was a fully fledged superbike with its clothing removed, as well as any sense of decorum, civility, or predictability.
This is how the KTM 990 Super Duke looked when new from the factory in 2005. It’s a naked superbike that quickly won fans the world over for its uncompromising attitude. Image courtesy of KTM.
The 990 Super Duke quickly became a legend in its own lifetime thanks to its performance, the model was signifiant success for KTM and the Austrian company invested heavily in revising it over time to improve it and address riders concerns.
The heart of the 990 Super Duke is its DOHC 999cc 75° V-twin known as the LC8 – it has four valves per cylinder, an 11.5:1 compression ratio, dry sump lubrication, electronic fuel-injection, and in original trim it made 120 bhp with 73 lb ft of torque.
The bike was fitted with a chromium-molybdenum trellis frame with a powder-coated aluminum sub-frame in the rear. It had allow wheels front and back with an alloy swing arm, a 48 mm upside down fork paired with a WP fully adjustable monoshock in the rear.
The brakes where just as impressive as the engine, necessarily of course, consisting of a twin 320mm Brembo discs with 4 piston calipers up front, with a single 240mm disc and a single piston Brembo caliper in the rear.
This is Second Wave 001, it’s a completely redesigned 990 Super Duke designed for flat track racing.
Impressively the 990 Super Duke weighed in at just 186 kilograms when new (dry), which works out to 410 lbs. By the standards of 2005 when the bike was released this was a blistering power-to-weight ratio – it’s still impressive today almost 20 years later.
KTM kept the 990 Super Duke in production from 2005 to 2013 after which it was replaced by the all-new KTM 1290 Super Duke R.
The KTM 990 Super Duke Flat Tracker Shown Here
The KTM 990 Super Duke you see here looks almost nothing like the bike it started out as. All the original body work has been removed, along with the fuel tank. The swing arm has been replaced, the front brakes have been removed and the wheels have been replaced front and back.
Second Wave 001 is even lighter than the original KTM 990 Super Duke, and it’s been changed to significantly it would be difficult to identify the bike it was based on.
A new single-piece body has been fabricated and fitted along with a new fuel tank and a low profile racing seat. The bike is now even lighter than it was when new, and it’s doubtless one of the most entertaining-to-ride customs we’ve ever featured.
Second Wave Design is a British custom motorcycle garage with a number of fascinating builds to their name, and a focus on engineering, with excellent aesthetics to boot. If you’d like to follow along and see their new builds you can find them on Instagram here.
If you’d like to read more about this unusual KTM or register to bid you can visit the listing on Collecting Cars here. It’s being offered for sale out of London, England.
Images courtesy of Collecting Cars
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
