Swedish Super Duke: KTM 990 Tracker

Super Tracker: A Swedish Champion’s Thunderbike…

“Update from Åke (6/5/23): We had the first race of the year yesterday, first round of Swedish Flat Track Cup, and the bike delivered as expected. I finished #1.”

In 2005, KTM unleashed the 990 Super Duke, a 999cc V-twin naked bike nothing short of ferocious. With 120 horsepower and razor-sharp handling, it was a fire-breathing, tire-burning, wheelie-making animal of a machine:

“There is surely nothing more frenetic on two-wheels than the KTM 990 Super Duke short of sticking a nitrous kit, a jet turbine and a flame-thrower into the frame of a fold-up bicycle.” –MCN

To tame such a bike on the dirt would take the skills of a true champion…fortunately, Åke Jansson is just such a rider. The 58-year-old Swede has competed at an elite level in enduro, racing in the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) and the European and Swedish Championships, and he’s also a five-time Swedish national hillclimb champion and winner of the Swedish Flat Track Cup — a sport he works hard to promote through Flat Track Sweden.

When one of his racing buddies unveiled a beastly Suzuki TL1000 for the Thunderbike class of this year’s Swedish Flat Track Cup, Åke knew he had to built something truly arm-pulling to compete. An ’06 KTM Super Duke 990 fit the bill perfectly, especially since he found an unfinished build with the 19-inch wheels and racing suspension already mounted up. From there, Åke set out to make the Super Duke his own with the help of Mikael Sjövall from Kings Plain Garage.

“Design idea: classic flat track bike with my own touch. To make a clean and light, fast and easy handling bike, and to use aluminum as much as possible.”

The bike is now sporting lightweight custom bodywork, aluminum fuel and oil tanks, Kawasaki ZZ-R forks, custom exhaust and foot controls, a complete rewire, and a conversion from fuel injection to carburetor.

Åke says the Super Duke is much heavier (340 lbs) than his YZ250 two-stroke tracker, but handles surprisingly well for its size. Then there’s the power — enough to pull his arms out of socket! We look forward to seeing how the bike performs against his buddy’s TL1000 this season.

KTM 990 Flat Tracker: Builder Interview

• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.

Åke Jansson, from Örebro, Sweden. Been racing bikes since I was three years old, still racing at 58. Enduro, Motocross, Speedway, Trial, Long Track, Ice Racing, Grass Track, Hill Climb, Flat Track, etc. Five-time Swedish Hill Climb champion with my Husaberg 600cc.

• What’s the make, model, and year of the donor bike?

It’s a KTM Superduke 990 from 2006. I bought it as an uncompleted project from France — wheels and suspension were already done.

• Why was this bike built?

Personal project. I needed a bike to race against my friend in the Swedish Flat Track Cup, Thunderbike class. He has built a real beast, Suzuki TL1000 with custom-made frame and bodywork.

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

Design idea: classic flat track bike with my own touch. To make a clean and light, fast and easy handling bike, and to use aluminum as much as possible.

• What custom work was done to the bike?

Bodywork, fuel tank, oil tank, Kawasaki ZZ-R1200 front fork, exhaust and silencer, foot rests, electric panel, electric wiring, converted from injection to carb.