Its that time again – time to delve into the dirty underbelly of the interweb and highlight the mutants that prowl and haunt the mean streets of Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. This is Mutants of Moto #14.
Donor Trike One: 1986 Honda ATC250 Big Red
Donor Bike Two: 1988 Honda Z50R
In the late 1980s there seemed to be quite a fascination with converting motorcycles to two-wheel-drive. Rokon had pioneered this quirky configuration in the 1960s with their utilitarian Trail-Breaker and companies like Christini have made a cottage industry out of turning perfectly good motorcycles into dual-roosting adventure odd-balls. In this case, the owner of this lovely ATC250F Big Red has one-upped them by going a step further and adding a second motor for the front. Modern EVs have shown the dual motor to be the optimal configuration for high performance so I can certainly understand the reasoning here. With 35” tires, a Honda Z50 motor at the front, and the Big Red’s 245cc SOHC fire-breather out back, it is hard to imagine a mountain, mole hill, or mud bog this all-terrain terror could not conquer.
Mutant Rating: Four PBRs out of five
Donor Bike: 1986 Husqvarna 250CR
It is a little-known fact that in 2001, the newly formed Fast By Ferracci DKNY Husqvarna team made a serious attempt at luring disgruntled Kawasaki star Ricky Carmichael over to the Italian brand. The talks went as far as the development of this works prototype commissioned especially for the reigning motocross and supercross champ. Codenamed Ginger4, this one-off Italian stallion featured the very latest in Swedish styling and Italian engineering.
Eventually, talks broke down between RC and Ferracci and the Ginger4 never made it through homologation for AMA racing. While the machine never made it to the stadiums, many of its trick features like this handy kickstand, custom-bent kicker, and auto-expiring top-end made their way directly onto Jason Thomas’ factory DKNY machine.
Mutant Rating: Two Bowls of Italian Spaghetti with Swedish Meatballs out of Five
Donor Bike: Top Secret, skunkworks department eyes only
While many of you have undoubtedly heard that KTM is on the rocks, one look at this protype 2027 KTM should dispel those concerns. This spy photo was shot by Jody Weisel’s infamous belt buckle camera at the Sexton compound last week and point to the true reason Sexton has not been at the races. The one-off Akrapovic exhaust was reportedly developed by the brand’s top two Italian engineers Mario and Luigi Romano just to Sexton’s specs. With rumors swirling about Sexton and KTM’s future it is unclear when the new machine will make its debut, but it is clear that better days are ahead over in Mattighofen.
Mutant Rating: Three overripe pumpkins out of five
Donor Bike One: 1977 Suzuki GS550
Donor Bike Two: 1986 Kawasaki KX125
In the seedy world of Mutantry, few modifications are as alluring as the “put a sportbike motor in your dirt bike” trope. Nothing says “too much time on my hands” like a Ninja-powered KX60. While that mini-bike deathtrap might be the ideal, often mutanteers are left crafting from the scraps found in Uncle Billy Bob’s shed out back. In this case, our intrepid builder took a little-loved mid-seventies Suzuki UJM and hacked, slashed, and crammed its 549cc four into a modified KX125 chassis. While the removal of the KX’s liquid cooling surely saved weight, the deletion of the Kawasaki’s stock rear disc seems like an ill-conceived decision.
While the appeal of this conversion might seem dubious at first glance, one look at these badass megaphones set to breath flames on the competition should convert any non-believers. Mega-BRAAAAPPPPPPPP!
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this creation is that you could own all its prodigious performance for the paltry sum of $1000. If that was still too much, then you could always “mack” Chris an offer.
Mutant Rating: Five Easy Riders out of five
