RSD KTM 690 Cafe Moto
American custom shop Roland Sands Design tinkers with the KTM 690 Duke to impressive effectThe latest Roland Sands Design (RSD) custom bike, the KTM 690 Cafe Moto, is a corker. Built to turn heads and hearts, the Austrian-based donor bike is likely to ensure the creation rides as wickedly as it looks.
Even in its original state, the KTM 690 Duke manages to attract attention, but with new aluminium bodywork fabricated by hand, with a touch of the KTM orange, it looks remarkable.
The new lovingly beaten tank seamlessly blends into the ribbed leather seat and ducktail while the radiator shrouds, bearing the number '9', add more visual weight at the front end.
The KTM 690 Cafe Moto's exposed innards shows off KTM's handiwork very nicely, but RSD has added a number of extra parts to boost performance, chief among them new exhaust piping.
The 'Slant' exhaust system has been modified to work with the single-cylinder engine and, like many of the performance parts on the bike, it's from the RSD Powerparts catalogue.
That means an EVO 2 tuning kit comprising lumpy camshaft and K&N air filter, several lightweight parts and new 17in 'Morris' wheels with nickel anodising effect. Tyres are Dunlop Q3 Sportmax jobbies.
The fork is stock from the 690 Duke but has been tweaked by Race Tech, shortened and revalved for better response.
At the rear the KTM swingarm has been replaced by a hand-made unit which pairs well with the trellis frame. A new Race Tech damper has also been used at the rear to match the response of the revalved fork.
The RSD KTM 690 Cafe Moto is wonderfully minimalistic creation that certainly has the performance potential to match its arresting looks.
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