The KTM 250GS Lunar Project custom motorcycle is a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, built by Italian workshop Carboni e Metalli on a 1980s KTM 250GS donor bike. The result is one of the most thoughtful restomod scramblers in recent memory: lightweight, technically obsessive, and visually unmistakable.
Why the KTM 250GS?
The choice of the KTM 250GS as the starting point is deliberate. Produced from 1979 onward, the 250GS was KTM's enduro workhorse: nimble, light, and rugged. Its simple architecture makes it an ideal donor for a build that intends to strip away every gram of excess and replace it with modern precision components. The fact that NASA's Apollo 11 mission also relied on the most advanced technology available at the time gives the donor choice an additional layer of meaning.
The Build: Carbon, Titanium and 3D Printing
Carboni e Metalli replaced the original subframe with a new carbon fiber unit, saving significant weight while improving rigidity. Up front, Ohlins forks are housed in 3D-printed triple clamps, combining one of motorcycling's most trusted suspension brands with additive manufacturing. The swingarm is 3D-printed in titanium, a process that allows complex internal geometries impossible to achieve by conventional machining.
The fuel tank has been reshaped and integrated directly into the seat, creating a continuous flowing line from front to rear. This gives the KTM 250GS Lunar Project its signature silhouette: low, lean, and distinctly aerospace in its aesthetic references. The color scheme, predominantly white with grey and gold highlights, completes the lunar narrative without overstating it.
Custom Motorcycles That Honor Engineering Heritage
The Lunar Project joins a tradition of custom builds that use historical events or engineering milestones as creative briefs. It shares DNA with the kind of work coming out of workshops represented in TheArsenale motorcycle collection, where craftsmanship and concept meet in machines built to last and be admired.
For scrambler and tracker enthusiasts, the Heritage Spirit Scrambler from Ateliers Heritagebike and the Dream's Tracker 600 by Italian Dream Motorcycle offer comparable levels of craft in purchasable form. Both are available through TheArsenale's curated motorcycle selection.
