Kick Out the Jams: The KTM that inspired a music track

Custom motorcycles are a form of visual and mechanical art. But this remixed KTM 250 Duke tells a musical story too.

It’s the work of Thrive Motorcycle, one of the shining stars of the booming Indonesian custom scene. And it inspired its owner, electronic music producer Kimo Rizky, to create a unique track.

Kimo originally just wanted a “toy to play with at the weekend,” Thrive’s Putra Agung tells us. “But then he found the sounds in the workshop interesting.”

“An idea popped into his head: ‘How about I record every sound during the build of my bike, and turn it into music?’”

So Thrive decided to collaborate on a vision of a custom build and music together, giving the project the name ‘The Sight.’

Next it was time to settle on a direction for the Duke. It needed the versatility of a street-legal scrambler, but Thrive also picked up hints of 80s endurance racers in the KTM’s trellis frame.

“Luckily, Kimo was a pretty fun person to work with,” says Putra, “as long as we didn’t go way too deep inside his pocket! So he cut us loose with the design direction.”

The 250 Duke comes well specc’d out the box, and this one was literally factory fresh—delivered straight to Thrive’s workshop. So the team opted not to mess with the rolling chassis too much.

The stock bodywork didn’t fare as well though. Thrive traded plastic for metal, hand-shaping a new aluminum fuel tank, tail section, side panels and front fender. The stock airbox had to go too, and Thrive fitted a K&N filter underneath the tank instead.

Then they unbolted the Duke’s stock subframe, and fabricated a new one for a narrower-than-stock rear end. The tail’s retro sportbike shapes, and twin taillights, add a fresh spin to the scrambler genre. (Thrive treated this particular item as a prototype for their T/H/R/V parts division, with a view to producing it as a bolt-on upgrade.)

The idea, says Putra, is “to manufacture our test bed products for the entry level market, so they can absorb our kind of spirit by their own hands.”

Other T/H/R/V parts on the Duke include a set of grippy ‘Odipus’ foot pegs, and a beefy exhaust muffler, complete with a custom-built connector pipe.

With classy WP Suspension at both ends, as with most KTMs, there was little need to shop for upgrades. But then Öhlins Indonesia offered up a rear shock with full adjustability, and a remote reservoir that could be tucked away wherever the guys wanted it. Bingo.

Lower down, they refinished the stock rims in all black, ditching the OEM orange highlights. Then they wrapped them in a set of go-anywhere 17” Pirelli MT60 tires.

Moving to the cockpit, Thrive kept the Duke’s stock handlebars in play, but removed the original controls and switches. They upgraded the clutch to a hydraulic system, installing Brembo RCS master cylinders for both the clutch and brake, with ‘naked’ reservoirs.

Rounding out the package are mini switches, a Domino throttle, new grips, and Thrive’s own bar-end turn signals.

Lighting up front is provided by a pair of punchy PIAA spots, mounted up on a custom bracket. This Duke is still fully street legal, but the rear turn signals are hard to spot. (They’re mounted in recesses underneath the tail.)

There’s some clever cost-cutting going on too, and a few practical considerations. Stock bits like the radiator covers and sump guard still match the Duke’s refreshed aesthetic, negating the need to swap them out. And Thrive have even left the rear fender be.

There’s not a hint of orange left though; just a slick black paint job, accented with white pin stripes. ‘The Sight’ might be a mash-up of more than one style, but we love the final effect. What’s more, it’s even lighter and more compact than the already svelte donor bike.

As for Kimo’s custom motorcycle-inspired track? Apparently it’s just as weird, wonderful and playful as ‘The Sight.’ We’re told there’s a music video on the way—so stay tuned.

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