What’s your perfect urban runabout? When Bryan Fuller of Fuller Moto wanted something light and quick for navigating the streets of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, he picked the KTM Duke 690.
At only 330 lbs dry with compact proportions, and powered by a punchy single-cylinder motor that’s good for 70 hp and 69.8 Nm, it’s an ideal choice. And when Bryan found a brand new 2013 Duke at a good price at the local KTM dealer, he couldn’t resist.
“Atlanta has lots of tight, old narrow streets with plenty of cars to navigate quickly,” Bryan explains. “Large bikes designed to cross the whole country on freeways just don’t fit the job.”
“The test ride was impressive: power is incredibly strong but the clutch is so light you can practically use your pinky to actuate the clutch. Quite handy while trying to get to the shop with a coffee.”
“I call it the ‘Scalpel,’ because you can cut a curve like you’re on a knife’s edge. A flick here, a merge over there. Power into a wheelie and make a stoppie at the next light.”
Bryan wasn’t too nuts about the Duke 690’s hyper-modern styling though, so he did what he calls a ‘two day hot rod’ job on it.
By the second day of ownership all the plastics were on eBay, then the tail section was tossed and replaced by some basic fabrication to hold the stock seat in place. With the license plate zip tied on, Bryan rode the Duke around town for the next couple of years, smiling all the way.
Bryan’s a master hot rod and custom bike builder though, so the Duke 690 was never going to stay that way. Finally, he hauled it onto the bench for a proper Fuller Moto redesign.
First on the list were the KTMs stock radiator—it was too ugly for Bryan’s taste, so he tasked Wes Hines at the Fuller Moto shop with adapting a pair of aftermarket units. Wes also simplified the wiring harness and ditched the ABS.
The project had hardly started when it changed gears. “Tom Arbeiter stopped by for a visit,” explains Bryan. “His company Industrial Depot supplies shops like mine with all we need to do our jobs.”
“Tom was looking for a new bike to ride to his facility in Gainesville, north of Atlanta, and I hate seeing my friends ride stock bikes! I felt with all the great support his company has given us over the years, I should make him a good deal on the KTM. That’s when the real custom work started.”
It’s the svelte new metal bodywork that catches your eye first, but there’s an equally distinctive change out back. Bryan sourced a single-sided swing arm from a Ducati Monster S2R, and the rear wheel from a Ducati 1198.
With a little modding, the swinger was hooked up to a Fox shock that was rescued from the shop bin and rebuilt by CompuTech.
Then Bryan got cracking on the new bodywork, by first playing around with it at his home garage. “I take some of our projects home to lay out how things will look during my free time, working around the family’s schedule,” he explains. “The Yamaha Big Wheel BW80 is one of my favorite rides and a big inspiration on this.”
Welding rod was tacked together, along with chipboard and masking tape, to get the basic shape right. Then Bryan headed back to the shop and roughed the final forms out of metal. “Most of my days in industry have been spent metal shaping,” he says. “So it’s here I feel the most happy and confident.”
Namesake (and Fuller Moto linchpin) Bryan Heidt then took over, finishing off the parts and making them work. That meant re-using parts like the OEM fuel pump, gauge and vent, so that the Duke 690 would ride as stock but look a whole lot better.
Peek under the tail, and you’ll see a louvered bottom panel. That’s functional—it keeps air flowing to the filter, which runs under the seat. The seat up top was upholstered with some leftover aircraft-grade synthetic leather, leftover from another project.
Tom naturally wanted the bike to promote Industrial Depot, so the Fuller Moto crew put their new Multi-Cam water jet machine to work—and cut out the front radiator guard with the company’s logo.
The headlight mount brackets inspired the triangular grid pattern; it’s repeated on the panels that fill in the gaps in the trellis frame, and on an insert in the end of the exhaust can. (The exhaust muffler’s a universal-fit MotoGP style item source off eBay.)
The side panels hide all the wiring, all of which is held in place with 10-24 ARP 12-point fasteners—standard practice at Fuller Moto. Up front is a LSL headlight, retrofitted with an upgraded projector and halo.
‘Daisy Duke’ was originally going to be finished in orange (frame) and raw metal (bodywork). But Tom’s corporate ID is black, white and green, so car designer Murray Pfaff was called in to help design some graphics. Mike Lewis shot the final paint, and Chastin Brand worked a little pin striping magic.
The final result is a 70 hp urban whip that now weighs less wet than it originally did dry—and looks a damn sight radder too.
“I’m really proud of the result,” says Bryan. “It’s the perfect bike for short turns and bursts of speed. She barks a nasty single rumble and disappears into the dust leaving others behind.”
Daisy Duke debuted this past spring at the 2018 Forged Invitational on Jekyll Island, Georgia—the event’s second running. She’s now back to Fuller Moto for a final shakedown and delivery.
“Only bad thing,” says Bryan, “is that once Tom has it, I’ve lost my ride! Maybe a new Duke 690?”
Fuller Moto website | Facebook | Instagram | Images by (and major thanks to) Steve West of Silver Piston Photography
