Founded and headed up by Tom Gilroy, Purpose Built Moto has long been one of Australia’s most renowned bespoke bike builders, touted for its immense range and factory-grade finishes. And while the Gold Coast customs shop already boasts an incredibly diverse portfolio of builds, the Aussie outfit is now branching out even further with the debut of a new sub-label known as GRID Cycles that focuses exclusively on custom electric motorcycle projects — the latest of which sees Tom and the gang turn KTM’s Freeride E-XC into a retro-style scrambler.
Unlike previous builds from PBM, GRID Cycles has left the sub-245lb donor’s powertrain completely untouched, instead, placing its efforts into the Freeride’s visual redesign. Starting with its framework, the EV donor’s chassis has been gifted a new hooped Chromoly subframe that utilizes the bike’s stock mounting points, supports a custom, ribbed, scrambler-style seat, and features connection points to mount a removable surfboard rack. Other additions include a neo-retro take on a high-mounted MX-style fender, a 5.75” Flashpoint LED headlight, micro-LED indicators front and aft, and a replica Yamaha XT500 tank that sits over the KTM’s battery, is mounted on a flip-up hinge, and conceals a smartphone satchel. The final piece of the puzzle was laying down the scrambler’s livery, which is a black and orange scheme with red highlights — a clear nod to the designs from the 1970s. According to the team at GRID, the goal of the project was to deliver a classically styled scrambler that’s capable of daily commuting as well as some off-road and beach riding duties — a brief the crew absolutely nailed.
Christened the GRID E-Scrambler, this KTM-based project is currently for sale in Australia through the builder for approximately $19,400. And, based on the success of its early EV bikes, we can’t wait to see future builds from GRID Cycles.
