Surely they’d choose the KTM Adventure bike platform. Big enough for a Spartan. Tons of power and range: a 150 horsepower dirt bike with a 6-gallon gas tank. Surely Master Chief himself would be smiling under that helmet from the moment he laid eyes on it, the moment he threw a leg over, the moment he started it, and the moment he twisted the throttle.
I’m tempted to take off my helmet to feel the wind in my hair!
said Master Chief never
A year ago I decided to wrap my KTM Adventure 1190 with a custom graphics kit based on the Warthog in the Halo video game. A close friend, Rich, recommended I get with Greg at M7Designs to start crafting what that could look like because, as I understood it, Greg was one of the few folks who had the 1190’s factory graphics template specs locked into his design platform.
That was actually a surprisingly smooth process, especially since I had no idea how to get from “Halo bike like a warthog!” to an actual physical graphics kit coming to me in the mail.
Mockups from Greg…
In the mail…
On the bike…
Compared to the Halo Warthog…
Not bad, eh?!
You might be thinking, “it’s not a perfect match, even the color is off.” I cannot argue with that. I’ll explain why I’m happy with the result.
First, that green drab color is so overdone today. I found it refreshing to have a green that felt alive. The brighter forest green looks good on this bike. The only challenge I’ve experienced with this green color is if you care to find matching green gear to wear, it’s almost impossible. Meanwhile, there’s tons of drab green gear to get your hands on. Noted to self.
Second, like working with a tattoo artist, you show your respect and appreciation to the art and artist by allowing the artist some creative freedom. Greg actually knew and loved the Halo game series, and was excited to take this on. I set my own expectations to accept what I received in the mail as the final product, no questions asked.
How about a shot of the beast in the wild of BC Canada?
The kit brought a couple of loves together for me: motorcycling and Halo. I couldn’t be happier with the result. It freshened up a machine that I’d put nearly 30,000 miles on; made it feel like a brand new bike. The graphics kit was also a fraction of the price of painting the bike.
There’s not another adventure bike like this (that I know of) and that’s kind of cool, too.
What I’ve struggled with is what to name the beast. Halo has the Warthog and the Mongoose, both 4-wheel vehicles. They’re also companions of sorts in the native sub-Saharan Africa Desert. Where does a Halo motorcycle fit in all this? Still thinking on that one.
If you have a name recommendation, drop it in a comment!
Some of my tagged IG posts with this beast #halomotorcycle
