If you want good, clean hooliganism: get a supermoto. If you want to crank the crazy up to eleven, get a 942cc supermoto that snacks on corners and dislikes keeping its front wheel on the ground.
With horsepower and newton meters both in the nineties, a dry weight of 421lbs and top-notch WP suspension at both ends, the KTM 950 Supermoto is a hoot to ride. But its geometric looks (typical of older big bore KTMs) aren’t everyone’s cup of Jägertee.
The lads at Smoked Garage in Badung, Bali, are not fans of the angular look. So when their customer Dominique turned up with a 2006 KTM 950 SM and asked what they could do with it, they responded with brutal honesty.
“We were baffled at first,” says Smoked’s Nicko Eigert, “as it looked so ugly. And we thought, ‘you know what, let us just sell this junk and buy ourselves a BMW R nineT to start with.’”
“Dominique sort of agreed at first—then we had a ride on it, and BOY did she go fast!”
The Smoked crew resolved to forge ahead: “Once we’d taken all the enduro parts off, it actually looked really nice. We realized this motorcycle is actually a little gem—it’s ugly from the outside but has a beautiful shape from the inside.”
Next, Nicko turned to Sylvain Berneron—AKA Holographic Hammer—to lay down a design that could work on the KTM chassis. “He has the retro touch that we wanted,” says Nicko, “and we have worked with him in the past.”
“In two weeks we had our rendering. It was love at first sight when we saw it—everything was perfect, from the design to the color scheme. With no time to waste we starting disassembling the bike.”
Sylvain’s design called for all new bodywork, so Smoked Garage got busy fabricating a new tank, seat, side panels and fenders. The tank turned out to be the toughest part; not only was there a lot of wiring hiding under the stock unit, but it also had to hold enough fuel to feed the thirsty V-twin. Nicko reckons it’s the best tank they’ve made—and it holds more gas than the old one.
To get the 950 looking a bit stockier, Smoked dropped the front by sliding the forks about 2¾” through the clamps. That meant milling out the top triple clamp a little, since the fork legs are wider lower down. It also meant making up a new set of handlebar risers, to get the bars to sit clear of the fork tubes.
It was the simplest way to lower the front end, but it wasn’t the most elegant solution. “After a couple of hours in the workshop—we probably smoked, like, six packs of Marlboro—we decided to make a custom speedometer bracket,” says Nicko.
“It clamps on the shock, looking like it was meant to be there, and disguising the excess front fork tubes.”
Smoked then ditched the stock 17” mag wheels, and laced a set of 18” rims to hubs of their own design. Dunlop dirt track tires round out the package; they’re skinnier than the originals, giving the KTM even more of a classic vibe.
Other new bits include a Harley-Davidson Daymaker™ LED projector lamp, mounted on custom brackets, and an LED tail light with integrated turn signals, from Cognito Moto. Motogadget supplied the speedo, grips, mirrors, front turn signals and a keyless ignition.
The handlebars are Pro Tapers, the gas cap’s from Joker Machine, and the bashplate is custom-made. Italian outfit MIVV supplied the exhaust cans; they were old stock that just happened to be the style and length that Smoked were hunting for.
Nicko originally estimated that the build would take four or five months. But as the team got more into the project, the bike that was almost discarded became a labor of love. It ended up taking nine months to wrap up.
The KTM 950 SM is now considerably more tasteful than it was before—but it’s still good for hooning around all day, every day.
“You can stand up on the bike and be riding on some serious dirt road, and you can be clocking at 120 without a problem,” says Nicko. “And if you dare slap the throttle, it will wheelspin and give you a big-ass smile all the time!”
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