$30,000 Dream Build: 2020 KTM 350 SX-F 13

Meet "Molly", a $36,000 2020 KTM 350 SX-F that is a true piece of art and absolutely dominates the tracks.

 

Prior to the end of the 2020 Supercross season, we had the opportunity to visit the Flying Iron Horse Ranch located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It just so happened that the owner, Spencer Luczak, also known for his beautiful one-off project bike builds, had a 2020 KTM 350 SX-F waiting for us when we arrived at the ranch. Let us tell you, this build is nothing but a piece of art. Coming in at $36,000 in upgrades, cerakotes, and just about anything custom you could think of, this project bike is one that will turn heads anywhere it goes. Spencer runs us through the backstory and the build life of this 2020 KTM 350 SX-F otherwise known as "Molly".

" Since 2015 I haven't had a personal bike to go rip around on since most of my time...and money has been tied up in building factory 2-strokes and participating in events like RedBull Straight Rhythm. That being said, it was time to have a bike I could enjoy whenever I felt the need to ride or a friend called up and put together a last-minute trip to the trails. The bike of choice for me was a KTM350 SX-F. Why? That's easy, I am only 165 lbs soaking wet and do not race anymore, but have at my disposal several personal tracks to ride with advanced terrain and obstacles, while at the same time love tearing up the sand washes and mountain trails in the nearby Utah landscape. The 350's powerplant runs more like the 2-strokes I grew up riding but makes it easier to ride and grants more torque to muscle through rough lines without giving me arm pump. Simply put, it's a blast to ride and wears me out less. There is a reason the Austrian manufacturer keeps producing this middle-weight, ready-to-race orange dream machine.

With the help of my friends over at KTM HQ in SoCal, I was able to locate a moto magazine's KTM 350 test bike with "low" hours on it at a really good price. Knowing all along I was going to clean it up and put some aftermarket parts on it, I didn't mind a little wear and tear. Little did I realize how much the bike had been put through the wringer, I figured with my background in building custom bikes I would be able to spruce things up a bit over the winter. Not even a day after transporting the bike all the way up to Salt Lake City I received an invite to go pre-run and support a race team at the prestigious Baja 1000. I couldn't pass that by so we loaded up the bike (still dirty from the magazines' testing at GH), snagged some body armor and a desert tank from Acerbis (thanks Tallon) and drove 16 hours south into the Mexican desert where I spent my first few days in the saddle rallying up and down the Pacific coast. With no modifications or adjustments to the bike, it held up great and I fell in love with the fit and feel of the 350. 

Fast forward two weeks. Just as I was making plans to change up the look and performance of the bike, I get a call from Ping saying he had an interest in testing one of my other factory builds (which will be featured later this year) and after we got done discussing the details, I mentioned I had just picked up a new bike for personal use and wondered if the crew would be interested in testing it if I spent some time tinkering its design a bit more. Essentially he said, "If you build it, we will come." As soon as we hung up I went back to the drawing board and immediately began calling up companies and manufacturers I had worked with before. Most of the people close to me, including my mechanic and good friend Matt Jory (Longtime TLD tech and owner of Proven Moto), knew that I could never leave well-enough alone. What started out to be my "daily driver" soon turned into my version of 50 shades of grey, or "Sex on wheels".

In keeping with my usual personal flare, this mean machine would be given a personal name and a project theme name. Molly, as she is lovingly called, is pulled from Metallica's "Whiskey In a Jar-O" and fits the raw intensity of the riding I used to do in High School. The project theme would be around Van Halen's "Unchained", which influenced a lot of my childhood and fires me up to ride every time I hear it. With the vision in place, the next 7 months would be chock full of phone calls, emails, shipping logistics, and late nights getting things put together. While I did get some support from various companies and Vital MX, a large majority of the build still came out of my pocket, but after seeing Ping and Langston put in lap after lap with a smile on their face, I am confident it was worth every penny.

The build process and companies listed below put in countless hours assisting me with my vision and although it would take me days to thank everyone, I hope that every person I've contacted and worked with understands how grateful I am for their support and efforts. It means a lot to me not only to create these beautiful works of art but also to build relationships with strangers across the country in unique ways. Thank you to Vital MX for making you way up to Utah during this crazy time in history to film and hang out at our home and track. Thank you to Ping and Jay Clark for helping with parts. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my parents Steve and LeAnn Luczak for their unconditional support and opening the door to so many people in the last few months. What a wild few weeks we had to make everything happen."

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KTM 350 SX-F: MSRP $10,000

Proven Moto: ($5,500)

  - Full bike/motor tear down & rebuild, factory race cams, CNC porting & head work, Vertex high compression piston, micro-polishing transmission, vapor honing the cases, Vertex ECU with custom dyno tuning, new seals/gaskets and bearings (OEM), and a few items undisclosed

Haeseker Racing: ($500)

  - Transmission Micro-polishing and engine case vapor honing

Hinson: ($1000)

  - Clutch cover, inner basket & pressure plate

Nihilo Concepts: ($600)

  - Carbon skid plate, billet throttle housing, manual cam chain adjuster, water pump impeller, billet gas cap; axle nut

Works Connection: ($300)

  - Custom clutch and master cylinder caps; engine plugs and caps; billet throttle tube; hour meter; titanium chain adjuster bolts; floating axle blocks; black factory bike stand; holeshot device

Warp 9: ($1,500)

  - Custom Wheel set: Warp9 Elite rim (7050 Aluminum) with titanium spokes, silver nipples and custom OEM KTM hubs (with higher quality bearings); Titanium axles (front/rear); titanium rim locks; Titanium pivot bolt; Titanium rotor bolts and sprocket bolts/nuts; Titanium body kit and replacement body fasteners. -- Dropped just over 5lbs of weight off the bike -- 

Dunlop: $200

  - MX33 110 rear tire & MX53F front tire; MX tubes

D.I.D.: $100

  - ERT3 Gold chain (120 link)

Motostuff: $800

  - Oversize 280mm front rotor kit; matching rear rotor; Pro Pegs Titanium footpegs and brake pedal tip; Titanium engine mount bolts and head stay bolts

FCP: $400

  - Billet head stay engine mounts & Titanium footpeg pins

MHR Racing: $150

  - Custom laser engraving and cerakote inlay (Cylinder head, body and footpegs)

Bolt Motorcycle Hardware: $100

  - Honda-style dimple engine bolt kit, body kit and replacement bolts

MXRevival: $50

  - Custom black zinc bolt treatment

Samco: $200

  - Custom radiator hoses; T-hose and stainless clamp set

ICW: $250

  - Radiator bracing and seam welding

Steel-it: $75

  - frame & swing arm coatings

Langston Motorsports: $2000

  - Factory Brembo calipers & billet rear brake hanger bracket 

MX-Tech Suspension: $ 7,000

  - Custom built "National" shock with custom Black Chrome painted shock coil (dropped 2 lbs of weight), refurbished WP Cone Valve spring fork with custom Kashima coated top tubes and black hard anodized seal covers.

Throttle Syndicate: $300

  - Custom graphics set (with brushed metal inlay), custom one-off matching seat cover; custom stand graphics; custom Renthal bar pad cover; custom frame decal and hub decals; custom suspension decals

Magik Graphics: $20

  - Custom FMF exhaust decal

FMF: $1000

  - Titanium megabomb header & SS silencer (brushed finish and heat treatment by Luc Santos)

Vertex Piston: $200

Vortex Ignition: $800

Ride Engineering: $350

  - Honda steering stabilizer & bracket system

Acerbis: $300

  - Carbon rotor guard; greyhawk plastic set; chain slider

P3 Carbon: $130

  - Carbon frame guards and ignition wire cover

X-trig: $800

  - Pro ROCS triple clamp & bar mounts

Renthal: $ 250

  - Twinwall 999 bend bars; half-waffle soft grips; front/rear sprockets (14/49)

Anti-Gravity: $150

  - Battery

Twin-Air: $150

  - Powerflow air filter cage & filter

Alumin-Art: $700

  - Hand polished & anodized hubs, brake/clutch master cylinders, brake/shifter levers, linkage arm & knuckle, FCP engine mounts (laser engraved), front brake hanger bracket

Full-Blown Coatings: $250

  - Cerakoted engine parts and Steel-It coated frame & swingarm; ceramic coating

Lightspeed Carbon: $250

  - Factory replica carbon chain guide

ARC Levers: $180

  - Memlon brake/clutch levers

Racetech Titanium: $200

  - Titanium bolts/nuts

CV4: $25

  - 2.0 High Pressure radiator cap

Fasstco: $25

  - rear brake return spring kit

Motion Pro: $80

  - Throttle cables

VP Fuels: $225

  - MR Pro 6

Maxima Racing Oils: $100

  - Engine oil, assembly grease, radiator coolant

Total is just over: $36,000

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