KTM 1290 Super Duke R "Caty M. Glam" by Louis Garage

Detlev Louis Motorrad-Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH is a multi-award-winning trading company for motorcycle clothing and accessories.   Racing driver and engineer Detlev Louis founded the company as a small motorcycle workshop in Hamburg, Germany in 1938.

The Louis Garage Crew has been customizing bikes for about ten years now. Always new, always unique. Once a bike is finished, it is first presented at the Glemseck 101 festival in Germany, and then at fairs and events across Europe.

Caty M. Glam

The standard design of a KTM 1290 Super Duke R sees motorcyclists divided into two camps. Some say "Brilliant!", others "Horrible!", but there is little middle ground. The Louis Garage Crew sees potential in the Power V2 with its attractive main frame and transforms the hooligan into a slender ballerina.

Off to the changing room

Before it receives a new gown, its old clothes must be removed. The bike is completely stripped by Garage Crew members Martin Struckmann and Detlef Stüdemann. The engine, painted in various anthracite colours, becomes glossy black, silver-coloured screws providing a contrast. The original rear frame, almost reminiscent of a scaffolding structure, is replaced by a filigree part and chrome-plated along with the main frame and swingarm. Since load-bearing parts cannot be chrome-plated in the conventional, electrolytic way, a specific process is used that does not attack welds. This also allows for the use of paints, hence the red gradients on the components.

New dancer’s legs

Despite all the bling, a ballerina needs strong dancer’s legs in order to be successful. The crew therefore uses highly sensitive Wilbers material for the suspension components, topped with Kineo spoked wheels.

Breathing exercises

Back to the engine. Stefan Trautmann from STParts takes care of the manifold system, while exhaust specialist SHARK produces a very attractive double-ended muffler according to the specifications of the Garage Crew. SHARK finds the result so convincing that the part even goes into production with the name "Track Raw", dampened and complete with EC type approval. The Louis part is, as it should be for racing, completely open. The same applies to the intake tract, which is only equipped with funnels. As always at this point, tuning master Ulf Penner takes over. With 173 HP, the engine has enough power from the outset, now it just needs adjustment made to the mapping. Penner improves on the torque curve using Powercommander and Autotune, finding another 2 HP.

The new dress

Garage Crew member Kay Blanke, again responsible for the design of the new bike, starts with the rolling chassis to metal whisperer Michael Naumann. He builds the seat, tank and mask out of aluminium. Danny Schramm takes care of the sparkling metal flake paintwork. The mask is foldable, the original instruments concealed behind it. If necessary, they can simply be extracted and put on the upper fork clamp.

Invitation to dance

In the finest Louis tradition, the bike, known as "Caty M. Glam", made its world premiere at the Glemseck 101 festival near Stuttgart, Germany, where around 50,000 petrolheads gather every year. Caty and her dance partner, stuntwoman Mai-Lin Senf, compete in the International Sprint. But despite winning its first run, it is clear that, at just 179 kg and with almost as much horsepower, there is still a little too much hooligan in Caty. The front wheel can hardly be kept on the ground and on lap two it’s game over. Ulf Penner quickly assembles a wheelie control system before the next races at Intermot. And this time things are very different. Let's dance.

After Caty has beaten her opponents on the racetrack, she takes part in custom bike competitions in Berlin and Hamburg. On both occasions, Caty takes first place in the Street Bikes class. And the show goes on...

Source: Louis Garage
Photos by Volker Rost