maxwell hazan has achieved close to what can be considered perfection with the ‘KTM’. as two-time winner of pipeburn’s bike of the year award, he’s one of the few motorcycle designers globally that could lay claim to the title of ‘world’s best’.
all images © hazan motorworks / shaik ridzwan
hazan motorworks’ idea for the ‘KTM’ was to create something like the first motorized bicycle — ‘light, cheap and fast‘. the KTM ‘racing four stroke’ engine suited the project perfectly, as it has the cleanest form of modern 450-type motors, and it is relatively bulletproof. he then plumbed in an aisin ‘AMR350’ supercharger, similar those fitted on to small, japanese-market subcompacts bikes, creating an overall displacement of 300 cc.
the slim tank is hand-crafted from ‘6061’ aluminum, and at the front is a separate coolant reservoir, finished in ‘black nickel’. the workshop polished and plated them in a traditional fashion, then chemically tinted, and clear coated. the wheels and ‘clincher’ tires are an old combination that max is familiar with — each rim has a flange that interlocks with the bead of the tire, in a system and size that owners of the ‘model T’ ford may recognize.
although some of the components are bulky, the finished bike weighs in at just 245 pounds wet — around 111 kilos. much of the effort on this build went into the rear-hub setup, an idea that maxwell had while sending the design to a CNC shop. the hub makes use of an asymmetrical lacing pattern — radial 10-spoke on one side, crossed 20-spoke on the drive side. the minimalist frame might be one of the strongest to roll out of the motorworks shop. it’s all 1/8-inch wall, 1.25-inch chromoly tubing, with the neck milled from a solid block. the forks and front suspension are also bespoke, carved or machined from solid 2-inch chromoly bar stock.
