Custom Motorcycle Builds

[DaveM]

A photographer’s perspective on the Mooneyes show

Japan is a cornucopia of eye-opening delights. The people are exceedingly polite, the whisky is top-notch, and getting directions in English is near impossible. Oh, and the Japanese custom scene operates on its own level—never failing to impress, inspire and challenge.

That’s why the annual Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show (or simply ‘Mooneyes,’ after the company that organizes it), is an absolute must-visit. It’s a one-day show that crams hundreds of visitors into the Pacifico Yokohama exhibition center to gawk over countless custom motorcycles and cars.

The show knocked my socks off last year, but I couldn’t make it this time around. Luckily our friends (and top-class photographers) Marc Holstein and Christine Gabler made the pilgrimage from Germany to Japan to capture the event.

And capture it they did. The couple shot over a thousand digital exposures during their trip, plus around 14 rolls of film. And all after waking up at 5am to catch a train from downtown Tokyo to Yokohama.

Why the early start? “At Mooneyes you only have one hour to shoot before the public comes in at 7am,” Marc tells us. “It was super stressful. I was overwhelmed by the number of bikes and cars.”

“Then they do a countdown: ’10 minutes until the public come in!’”

Marc and Christine are regular fixtures on the European custom scene. But this was their first time at Mooneyes—and according to Marc, it’s unlike any show they’ve ever attended.

“We had a seen a lot of images of the show and heard a lot of things,” he says, “but experiencing it in real life is a totally different experience. It could easily be said that this is one of the best custom shows on the planet.”

“One of the highlights of the day was certainly the VIP drive-in, where the special invited guests drive through crowd into the exhibition.”

“It all started with CW Zon’s best of show 2018 motorcycle, the amazing BMW ‘Departed’ R18.”

“Followed by Bob Reisner’s rod, ‘The Twin Bathtub’—one of the Californian show cars that toured the world in the late 60s and 70s. It was recently restored by Dave Shuten of Galpin Speed Shop.”

The show was certainly stacked this year. Bike EXIF alumni 46Works, Heiwa MC and Rough Crafts all had killer builds on show (and Rough Crafts’ Winston Yeh was a guest judge too).

“There are two bikes that really stood out for us,” says Marc. “The Thompson Cycles and Alps Racing 1955 Arrow Racer (above), a land speed bike, and Tom Heavy’s 1953 Triumph TR6 custom chopper.”

“Also there was an Indonesian Norton build that was super impressive.”

Marc also pointed out a stunning Vincent from Katie’s Custom, and a bizarre BMW K 1600 B custom from Custom Works Zon.

And then there was the ‘Have Fun Flat Track’ crew (below), who also arranged a flat track race the day after the show.

“Their basic philosophy is the just have fun and enjoy flat track racing with whichever bike there is,” Marc explains.”

“Their booth showcased bikes they built from Honda Monkeys as the base, proving that you do not need a lot of cash to build a flat track bike to have fun with.”

Marc and Christine returned to Germany exhausted but deeply impressed.

“Our jaws dropped more than once due to the pure craftsmanship and creativity that has been put into these builds. And don’t forget the open-hearted friendliness of the Japanese.”

“This was our first, but definitely not our last, Mooneyes.”

Images by, and with thanks to, Christine Gabler and Marc Holstein

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Heavy Hitter: K-Speed scales up with an XJR 1300 café racer

We’ve seen some truly out-the-box builds come from K-Speed. They’ve done everything from Honda Monkey cafe racers to a Yamaha XSR155 that looks ready for the apocalypse. But Thailand’s busiest custom shop knows how to play with the big stuff too.

This Yamaha XJR 1300 was built for a customer in Phuket. It’s so tastefully executed, it’s downright unassuming—but park it next to a stock XJR, and the drastically revised silhouette immediately becomes apparent.

A stock XJR 1300 is not ugly: it’s actually a stunner as factory bikes go, especially if you’re into classic big fours. But the owner of this one had spotted a sharp Honda CB1300-based cafe racer built by K-Speed, and wanted his 1998 Yamaha to get the same treatment.

K-Speed knew they’d need to slim the retro muscle bike down a whole lot to achieve the desired effect. So every last piece of its chunky bodywork ended up coming off.

Out back, the crew hacked off the entire subframe and fabricated a new one. It cuts a neat line with a sharp taper at the end, and a few subtle kinks in its flow to keep things interesting.

Up top is a slim leather seat with a classic cafe racer hump, and stylish tuck and roll stitching.

Part of the brief was converting the XJR’s old-school twin shock setup to a mono shock. So K-Speed had to include a new shock mount in their subframe design. They braced and modified the swing arm too, then popped the new R1-spec YSS shock in.

Up front, the XJR’s stance was tweaked further by lowering the forks a little. K-Speed kept the OEM wheels (they suit this style perfectly anyway), but shod them with new Metzeler Roadtec 01 sport touring tires.

The cockpit was heavily reworked in the process too. Everything from the headlight to the XJR’s prominent twin ‘bullet’ dials was tossed. K-Speed installed a clean top triple, new clip-ons and a set of Biltwell Inc. grips.

The hydraulic clutch and brake controls are from Nissin, and the vintage-style mini switches are from K-Speed’s own catalog. (K-Speed isn’t just a custom shop—they’re a massive parts supplier too.) The front end’s capped off with a tightly mounted LED headlight, and a custom front fender.

We’re not sure what constitutes ‘street legal’ in Thailand, but this cafe racer isn’t sporting a speedo, turn signals or a plate bracket. It does have a taillight though; it’s mounted down low, on the right side of the swing arm.

As for the fuel tank, even though it looks like it was made for the burly Yamaha, it’s actually off a Honda GB250 Clubman. K-Speed finished it in an extremely chic matte red, with stealthy ‘Diablo’ logos (it’s the name of their in-house range of parts).

They didn’t fuss with tearing into the Yamaha’s 1251 cc air-cooled motor: with 106 hp on tap and a lusty 98 Nm of torque, there’s little need. But they did swap out the air box for a row of DNA high-flow filters mounted to the four Mikunis.

Gases exit via a set of curvy, custom-made four-into-two headers, which terminate in a pair of ‘Diablo Custom’ mufflers. We’re told they sound great, and we believe it.

Getting the look just right meant reworking the wiring too, mainly to tuck things away. Smaller details are well covered—even down to the color-coding of the NGK spark plug wires and rear shock spring.

The result is a clean and sorted cafe racer with serious grunt—which scores high on eye candy, but doesn’t scream for attention.

It’s not only a great example of how to rework the mighty XJR1300, but also proof that Thailand’s powerhouse custom shop can play at both ends of the field.

K-Speed website | Instagram | Images by Hipmotography

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Road Tested: Icon 1000 and Knox upgrade their bestsellers

This week, we’re looking at new and improved versions of two hugely popular pieces of gear: Icon 1000’s new Variant Pro helmet, and Knox’s updated Urbane Pro armored shirt. The originals are mainstays of many riders’ gear closets, but are the new versions better than before?

Let’s find out…

Icon 1000 Variant Pro helmet Icon 1000’s original Variant helmet took cues from the popular ‘adventure’ helmet style, and blended it with Icon’s own brand of hooliganism. And it ultimately became a hallmark piece for the Portland-based company.

So for its sequel, the Variant Pro, Icon 1000 have kept the basic recipe, but tweaked it. The general layout stays the same; a deep jaw area, wide eye port and MX-style peak. But the look is even more sculpted and aggressive than before.

It’s easily the most menacing helmet on my shelf, especially since I picked the black ‘Rubatone’ colorway—Icon’s proprietary matte finish that feels almost rubbery to the touch. The vibe is extremely covert, especially when paired with a dark smoke visor.

You can also get the Variant Pro in a black and white ‘Construct’ finish—a design that shows off the weave of the underlying materials. And if you dig into Icon’s broader catalogue (the ‘1000’ range has a very specific aesthetic), there are some wild liveries on offer too.

The shell itself made from a mix of fiberglass, Dyneema and carbon fiber, with an EPS foam liner inside. The result is a respectable weight of 1700 grams for my XL-sized unit.

Icon’s design department clearly went all-out on the Variant Pro. The chunky mouthpiece and sharp peak look well thought-out, and round the back of the helmet there’s a slightly raised cutaway at the neck, filled in by a hard plastic section that doesn’t seem to serve any other purpose than to look cool. Ditto for the two sharp cutouts on either side of the helmet. They seem like frivolous additions, but view the helmet from various angles, and you’ll notice how the various contours and details complement each other.

The helmet’s cinched down by a tried-and-true D-ring system, but even this has some slick details on it. The D-rings have been anodized red, and the press stud for stowing the excess strap length has Icon’s logo embossed on it.

My first experience with the Variant Pro, was to swap out the stock clear visor for a tinted one that Icon had sent me. It’s a really simple process: release the peak via a button on top of the helmet, rotate it forward, and pull the sides to free it from its mounting points. Then you can access the visor, which is equally easy to remove. The only trick is getting the angles just right, and knowing how much force to apply.

The process does reveal one caveat of the Variant Pro: unlike most adventure-type helmets, you can’t run it without the peak or visor, or with goggles.

Popping the Variant Pro on, it was super comfortable from the word go. Icon run three different shells throughout their size range, with an intermediate oval shape that suits my head well. (Their size chart is dependable too, so I was able to order my helmet blind.)

Icon use their own HydraDry liner inside the Variant Pro—which is both moisture wicking and super plush to the touch. There were no hot spots on my helmet and no need to break it in, and even though I’ve worn it on some hot days, it still smells factory fresh inside. The liner’s also removable, and there are even cutouts in the EPS section to mount Bluetooth comms speakers in.

Ventilation on the Variant Pro is pretty sweet too. You get three vents across the top that, even though they sit under the peak, are easy enough to open and close. And there’s a vent at the mouthpiece too—but its mechanism is a little less logical. To open and close it you need to reach into the jaw to slide it up or down. Personally, I think Icon missed an opportunity to give the Variant Pro a massive, externally operable vent on the mouthpiece. And the internal slider also means that the helmet’s chin curtain is curved up inside to make space for it. It’s not bad… it’s just weird.

Still, the ventilation system works well enough, aided by a couple of exhaust vents around the back. And the Variant Pro’s visor is fog-free as well.

Visibility is good too, thanks to a nice wide eye-port. You’d think that the visor’s bulbous design would create some optic distortion, but it doesn’t. And it has a real positive feel when opening and closing it, clicking into place solidly without the need for any sort of fixture.

Adding a peak to a helmet primarily designed for street use always raises questions about aerodynamics and lift, but Icon have done well here. If you grab the Variant Pro’s peak with your hand and shake it, there is a little bit of a jiggle—but while riding, there are enough air channels directing flow that there’s no vibration or lift.

Like any helmet with a peak, it works best in clean air (on a naked bike) or with a really generous fairing. If you’re riding something with a short screen up front that pushes air straight to your brow, you’ll feel it. And while the Variant Pro is a lot quieter than old-school dirt bike helmets like the Shoei EX-Zero or Bell Moto 3, there’s a bit more wind noise than you’d get from racier street bike helmets.

There’s really not much else to nitpick here. Summed up; the Variant Pro looks radical, works well and is one of the most comfortable helmets I’ve owned.

Price: USD 350 (Rubatone), USD 375 (Construct black or white) | Safety: DOT and ECE certified | Buy

Knox Urbane Pro armored shirt The British company Knox makes some of the best protective gear in the industry. Their armored shirts offer two big advantages over regular motorcycle jackets: the armor covers more surface area, and the skin-tight fit keeps it exactly where it needs to be in a crash.

Knox have traditionally designed these to be worn under an abrasion-resistant outer layer—but their new Urbane Pro shirt adds an extra twist. By using the right materials, they’ve managed to land it CE approval for not only impact, but abrasion resistance too. So it’s fully protective on its own, with no need to layer up.

Knox have also outfitted the Urbane Pro with their proprietary Micro-Lock armor, with CE Level 1 elbow and shoulder protectors, and a CE Level 2 back protector. It’s pretty malleable stuff that hardens on impact, so the shirt doesn’t feel overtly bulky. (There’s also the option of adding a chest pad, that attaches to a velcro strip just inside the jacket.)

The chassis is a combination of tough stretch nylon and ‘arrowmesh’ panels, with additional stretch mesh panels in between. So it’s designed to be form-fitting, but also flexible—and it lets all of the air through too, making it ideal for summer.

As for sizing, Knox’s guide is in the ballpark, but if you’re at the upper end of any particular size range, consider sizing up. I speak from experience; I’m on the cusp of two sizes and would have been happier one size bigger. But since the Urbane Pro is stretchy in multiple places, it’s not the biggest of deals—I can still squeeze into it, and it’s breaking in more with each ride.

(As an aside, our friends at Urban Rider have a habit of writing their own size guides, and their Urbane Pro one is right on the money.)

On the bike, the Urbane Pro feels snug, but not bulky. It is a different vibe from wearing a bigger, more traditional moto jacket though. Sliding into it sometimes involves quickly adjusting the shoulders and elbows to sit just right, and yanking your arms out the sleeves again takes a minute. But Knox have nailed the Micro-Lock armor design, and despite the size of the protectors, they’re not the least bit cumbersome.

Elasticated thumb loops at the cuffs keep the sleeves from riding up too; handy when slipping an extra layer over, or in a crash where there’s a risk of the sleeve (and therefore armor) moving.

The Urbane Pro also has belt loops on the inside bottom edge to cinch them down to your pants, but the system is far too fussy to be practical. You need to weave your belt alternately between your pants’ belt loops and the shirt’s, which is neither a quick nor easy process. A simple elastic loop with a press stud would have done the trick with less hassle. On the up side, Knox have cut the shirt longer in the back, so there’s enough coverage anyway.

Since the Urbane Pro is designed as a standalone garment, Knox have paid a little more attention to details than with past iterations. The YKK zippers have a really slick gunmetal finish, and there are small, tasteful Knox logos sprinkled throughout. You get two pockets too—a chest pocket that fits a smartphone (and nothing else), and a bigger stash pocket at the lower back.

I also own the Urbane Pro’s predecessor (the ‘Urbane’), and the Pro is a solid step forward. The details and heavier-duty fabrics are nice, but that built-in abrasion resistance is the real game changer.

Admittedly, with my, uhm, ‘fuller’ frame, I’m not ever going to wear something as form fitting as the Urbane Pro by itself. And for other riders, the mesh-with-armor look might not be their thing. But the real kicker is that if you do want to layer up, you can wear literally anything you want over it, whether it’s bike-specific or not.

Since the Urbane Pro has great airflow, on hotter days, I’m likely to throw a MX jersey or thin sweatshirt over it and stay cool. And when it gets colder, I can toss something thicker on. With the shirt itself being tough enough to protect me in a crash, my outer layer doesn’t need to be—and that makes it an extremely versatile piece of kit.

Colors: Black, black / denim, black / grey, black / grey / denim | Price: c.GBP 189.98 / USD 210.20 | Buy

Worn with the Knox Jacob base layer (GBP 54.99) Knox doesn’t just make armor—they make outer and inner layers too. So they sent me their Jacob base layer to try with the Urbane Pro. It’s a high-tech garment that uses a fabric called MerinoPerform Advantage. It’s a blend of ultra-soft Merino wool and synthetic fibers, designed to wick moisture and keep you cool on hot days, and warm on cool days.

And it works, too. The Urbane Pro’s tight chassis means that even though the mesh bits flow air, it can get sweaty under the non-mesh bits on really hot days. The Jacob base layer pulls that sweat away from your body, keeping you cool.

It has a really soft feel to it too, which makes it a comfortable way to layer up, and a neutral grey marl finish, which helps it look casual. And since it’s not a completely skin-tight fit, you don’t look like a track day bro when you strip down to it.

Images by Devin Paisley

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Keeping it in the family: A BSA Thunderbolt from Italy

If you lived in the 1900s or earlier, your career was probably dictated by the line of work that your father happened to be in. Entire lifetimes were spent honing skills that were passed down from generation to generation.

The formula bred quality and craftsmanship. But the modern world has increasingly turned its back on the concept of the multi-generational family business.

They’re seldom seen, but if you look hard enough, you can still find a genuine father and son business. And in our industry, we’re lucky to have Soiatti Moto Classiche, run by Daniele Soiatti and his son Alberto.

It was founded in the late 1970s by Daniele, a former SWM and Zundapp factory motocross rider, but Alberto (below) has recently taken over as the head honcho around the shop.

The younger Soiatti is a thoroughly modern entrepreneur and modern-day renaissance man. He holds a degree in accounting and finance, has been profiled in GQ Italy, works as a model for companies such as Condé Nast, and oversees several side projects—including a 50K+ follower Instagram account.

Based in Novara in northwest Italy, Soiatti Moto Classiche’s bread and butter is concours-level restorations on historic models, such as this Suzuki Vallelunga.

The father and son duo’s work is legitimately world class, and their restoration jobs are routinely featured in major print publications and elite European events like the Concorso d’Eleganza at the Villa d’Este.

In between breathing new life into tired two-wheelers for clients, Daniele and Alberto also accept the occasional commission for custom projects. And the latest is this absolutely stunning 1971 BSA A65 Thunderbolt restomod with a street tracker vibe.

The Thunderbolt arrived at the shop in crates; a fire damaged mess, it had been dismantled after a blaze that occurred some 15 years ago.

Nonetheless, if anyone was up to the task of returning the iconic British bike to its former glory—and then some—it was the Soiattis. They handle decrepit basket cases on a regular basis, so a plan was hatched, designs were drawn up, and the long journey began.

“The inspiration for this project came from the world of vintage American flat track racing,” Alberto tells us, “though I still wanted the bike to be suitable for daily use.”

The BSA’s parallel twin was pulled from the oil-in-frame tubing. The frame was de-tabbed, sandblasted to hell and back, and then adorned in a Cadillac blue paint. The swing-arm received the same treatment as well.

Just beneath where the subframe connects to the main chassis, the pair installed a nut with a transparent head that allows the oil level to be seen.

Before being stuffed back in the frame, the aluminum engine covers were polished and the head was cracked open so the pistons could be replaced. The bike’s original Amal Concentric carb setup was given a refresh and then paired with (screened) velocity stacks.

The rider’s quarters have been heavily revised on the bike. The rubber foot-pegs (and kick-starter peg) have been swapped out for fresh pieces, the stock bars have been replaced with a Renthal tracker unit, and the pilot now straddles a tractor-style diamond-stitched leather saddle.

The stocker’s Smiths instrumentation is still in play, though it too has been given a refresh.

The Thunderbolt tank has undergone one of the Soiatti’s signature top-notch resto-jobs, having been resealed internally, polished to a mirrored finish, and then decorated in metallic gold highlights accented by the frame’s Cadillac blue. The fenders and fork sliders also received a thorough polishing.

Alberto wanted to preserve as much of the donor’s original appearance, while slightly bolstering the Beezer’s road-holding abilities. So he’s added a set of modern, adjustable Bitubo shocks.

The same school of thinking resulted in the Bridgestone rubber. “For the tires, I wanted something that would vaguely resemble flat track items, but would still be appropriate for use on the road,” explains Alberto.

The biggest visual departure from the A65’s stock form is the custom’s front and side number plates. They’re traditional white squares with rounded edges, with the front board hiding a pair of stacked LED headlights.

The right side plate wears a number 0, which Alberto says is to symbolize someone who, after the accident that took the Thunderbolt out of commission, is sadly no longer with us.

“So the build has been aesthetically revised,” says Alberto. “But we like the fact that it’s still elegant.”

This BSA highlights the Soiattis’ restoration prowess, while simultaneously adding subtle modern visual themes. And with the junior Soiatti now taking over the reigns, the future of the shop appears to be in very good hands.

It looks like Daniele and Alberto are creating a motorcycle dynasty of their own.

Soiatti Moto Classiche Facebook | Daniele Soiatti Instagram | Alberto Soiatti Instagram | Images by Valen Zhou

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

A patina-laden BSA A10 from a DIY workshop in Bavaria

For every pro custom builder out there, there are countless hobbyists and enthusiastic amateurs. But whether you’re rebuilding a motor to factory spec or simply swapping out handlebars, you need two things: tools and space.

Not everyone has a Walt Siegl or Max Hazan level workshop at home though. And so, over the past few years, DIY-centric communal workshops have started popping up.

The Loose Screw is one such spot. Based in the small town of Dachau, about 20 kilometers from Munich, it’s home to a collective of creative people who work on everything from bikes to furniture. It’s also a spot where you can rent space to wrench on your bike—either by yourself, or with assistance from the staff on hand.

Enrico Pauli started the Loose Screw two years ago, and balances his time between helping others and working on his own stuff. This ratty-but-charming BSA is his daily rider, and the fact that it’s a little scrappy is completely intentional.

Enrico bought the 1956 A10 as a non-runner “It just stood around for a few years,” he says. “It was in ‘original’ condition, with rust and patina.”

“I didn’t want to over-restore the bike, but rather keep the patina and the charm. So that the motorcycle would look as if it had been rebuilt in the 70s. I also never have a plan how a bike should look at the end—most things develop while building.”

While this vintage Brit looks like a weathered rat bike on the outside, Enrico still wanted it in tiptop shape on the inside. So he rebuilt the motor, and added a new Bob Newby Racing primary. Then he decorated the primary cover by drilling it, dimpling it, and adding a grill to keep clothing out.

Enrico also rebuilt the electrics around a 12V system, and modified the kick-start pedal. The carb runs through a classic pancake filter, and the exhaust is a combination of the original headers and a pair of generic aftermarket cocktail shakers.

Moving to the chassis, Enrico took ten centimeters (almost four inches) out of the lofty forks, and then installed a new pair of vintage-looking Hagon shocks in the rear. The rear wheel is the stock 19-inch unit, covered by a pair of sand-tracker discs.

The front wheel’s been built up with a 21-inch rim and a Triumph Tiger 650 hub. It features a Triumph drum brake too—a mod that took a while to get right.

Most of this BSA is a pick-n-mix of well-worn vintage parts, sprinkled with a few hand-made touches. The fuel tank is off an old Husqvarna dirt bike, and still wears what little original paint and chrome it has left. But even though the solo seat looks old, it’s new; custom-made by Bad Ass Seats’ in the Netherlands.

Enrico made the chunky rear fender by hand, emulating the style of sand-track racers. The sissy bar’s custom too, and acts as a mount for a small bicycle taillight. And there’s another one-off piece lower down; a license plate mount behind the rear wheel.

There’s a Smiths speedo mounted down low on the right, next to the motor, alongside a small amp meter. Up front is the headlight from an East German 50 cc bike, the handlebars off a BMW K100 and a pair of BMX grips.

Cheeky little details abound—like the mismatched cloth spark plug cables, and a ‘guardian bell’ hanging under the tank. Enrico also fabricated a long bash plate to run along the front of the frame, riddled with holes in alternating sizes.

Yes, the A10 looks like a busted up rat bike, but it’s also as cute as hell. And it goes, too. “The bike is my daily rider—mainly in summer, of course,” says Enrico.

“It’s very agile and can be ridden rather aggressively… almost feels like a moped. No big electrics, everything reduced to the simplest.”

“I also take it on road trips with our crew, no matter where we go. I even took this thing to a classic old-timer rally in Bavaria and raced it. There’s not much more you need or have to ask for.”

Loose Screw | Facebook | Instagram | Images by August Auer

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Custom Bikes Of The Week: 22 December, 2019

A jewel-like Hartford from Cowboy’s Chopper, a body kit for Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 owners, a killer vintage drag bike and a Ducati Paul Smart still in its crate. Now that would make a nice Christmas present, wouldn’t it?

Hartford HD200 by Cowboy’s Chopper Taiwan has become a hot spot of custom motorcycle activity in the East, with shops like Rough Crafts and 2LOUD leading the charge. Now Alex Gao of Cowboy’s Chopper is becoming one to watch; this HD200 is top notch.

Made by the Taiwanese manufacturer Hartford, the HD200 is a rather pedestrian commuter that is now being exported to Europe too. But despite its budget bike status, Alex’s client was keen to see how far the envelope could be stretched.

So Alex went all-out. This little Hartford now features a hand-made tank and tail section, and a detabbed and chromed frame. Those beautiful finned side panels hide the wiring, and Alex has placed one of his signature vertically mounted rectangular headlights up front.

He also installed a 225 cc ‘big’ bore kit and a Keihin PZ30 carb to boost performance. And that swooping exhaust was made using a sand bending technique. As for the tires, while they look like Firestone Champion Deluxes, they’re actually knock-offs from a company called ‘F*ckstone’ … [More]

BSA/JAP drag bike by Kevin Busch When Kevin Busch was a kid, he used to sit on the remnants of an old BSA-framed drag bike in the corner of his grandfather’s shop. His grandfather was Jack Williams and the shop was Syndicate Scuderia, in Langley, British Columbia. And although Jack was a renowned car builder, it was the drag bike that piqued Kevin’s interest.

When the bike actually ran, it had a 500 cc JAP Type 6 single cylinder motor in it, and no brakes. (Where Jack used to race, there was more than enough run-off to slow him down). But Kevin didn’t know this until he was a teenager, and his grandfather showed him photos of the complete bike.

Jack passed away in 2014, but as much as he wanted to, Kevin just couldn’t gather the cash to buy the leftovers of his grandfather’s BSA-framer. He told the guy that bought it to give him a call if he ever decided to sell it—which he did, one year later. The sale included the bare frame, a pair of wheels, and the forks that Jack had originally drilled into (presumably to shave weight).

So the fact that this vintage dragster looks as good as it does now, is a testament to Kevin’s skill and dedication. Unable to find a Type 6 motor, he settled for a JAP Type 4B mill from a speedway bike. Then he made the primary cover, chain guard, linkage and seat from aluminum, and added a BSA drum brake at the back.

Kevin also gave the bike, dubbed ‘Zeus,’ period-correct Avon and Dunlop tires, and a brass Amal carb. But he hasn’t run the bike yet, because it actually needs an Amal methanol carb to run properly. With the wrong timing or incorrect fuel mixture, he could bend the valves or wreck the piston. There’s no telling when he’ll get that sorted either—he’s already got his hands full with a 1961 Triumph T120C Bonneville project.

There’s a lot more to the story; our friends over at Iron & Air have the full scoop and more images.

Honda XL600V Transalp by Rusty Pipes Garage First introduced in 1987, the Honda Transalp quickly made a name for itself as a robust, do-it-all workhorse. The first Transalp was a 583 cc V-twin that borrowed styling from the Paris-Dakar race bikes of the 80s, and some people love those older ‘600s’ even more than the later ‘650’ and ‘700’ models.

This is a 1994-model XL600V, and it’s been given the scrambler treatment by Leonidas Panagiotopoulos at Rusty Pipes Garage in Greece. It was built for a customer that already had the bike, but had grown bored of the stock looks.

Leonidas started by switching the original 21” front wheel out for a custom-laced 18” unit. He made adaptors to run the stock brakes, and shortened the front forks a touch too. Out back, the stock subframe was cut-n-shut, and topped off with a new seat.

Leonidas is particularly proud of the fuel tank, because it’s the first one he’s built from scratch. Other custom touches include the old-school external fuel gauge, the side covers, and a set of burly radiator guards. There’s also a custom intake and exhaust, and a rear fender that’s mounted to the swing arm. It’s a far cry from the original Transalp, but it’s no less charming. [More]

Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 kit by Autologue Design The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 is a pretty neat cafe racer out the crate. And we’ve seen multiple examples of what customizers can do with them already. But how about a kit to amplify the GT’s classic racer appeal?

Autologue Design of Pune in India have just the thing. Their kit, dubbed RECK (Royal Enfield Cafe Kit) is a simple, yet elegant, upgrade. Taking cues from Triumph’s wildly popular Thruxton, the kit includes a fairing and tail section, and all the requisite hardware to fit them—making it truly plug and play.

The parts were developed using contemporary digital techniques. First, Autologue did a 3D scan of the bike, then designed the parts using 3D software, and then 3D printed the prototype parts, before creating the final molds.

The bike you’re looking at here is their test bed and demo bike. In addition to the kit, it wears a few other new bits; a Motogadget speedo and mirrors, an LED headlight, and the taillight from a Royal Enfield Himalayan. The finned covers aren’t part of the kit, but they can be bought separately. Oh, and the flip-flop paint job is an especially nice touch too. [More]

An in-the-crate Ducati Paul Smart 1000 LE Released in 2006, the Pierre Terblanche-designed Paul Smart 1000 LE was built to commemorate Paul Smart’s 1972 victory at the Imola 200. It’s arguably one of the most stunning stock motorcycles ever made, backed up by a decent parts spec and adequate enough performance.

The Paul Smart was based on the Ducati SportClassic, with a 992 cc L-Twin at its core, fuel injection and a six-speed transmission. You also got Öhlins suspension and Brembo brakes…but it was the Paul Smart’s looks that pushed it into uber-desirable territory. Between the turquoise frame, deep silver paint and period-correct logos, it’s still one of the best examples of a modern classic ever made.

Ducati only built 2,000 Paul Smarts, and they’re so sought after now, that some have even appreciated in value. We doubt there’s a single example out there that’s worth what this one is though. You’re looking at an zero miles 2006-model Paul Smart 1000 LE, that’s still in its factory crate.

It’s never been started, and it’s never even been in daylight—so there’s not even a hint of sun damage on the paint job. The only thing that’s not 100% stock, is that it has three signatures on it: Paul Smart, Pierre Terblanche, and what looks like it could be Miguel Galluzzi’s. If you can scrape together between $25,000 and $33,000 at Bonhams, it could be yours. [Via]

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Revealed: The Top 10 Custom Motorcycles of 2019

It’s always the hardest article to write, but also the most fascinating to research. Our annual roundup of the most popular customs on Bike EXIF reveals the dominant trends in the scene as well as the builders who have their fingers on the pulse.

This year, outside of the top two builds, the competition was tighter than ever before. Some builds that dominated site traffic barely registered a blip on social media; other bikes that went haywire in our social channels simply didn’t translate to solid web traffic.

As always, this Top 10 is driven by data alone, rather than the personal preferences of our writers. It’s based on page views, comments, incoming links, and shares on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. If there are dead heats, we weight the rankings according to long a bike has been ‘live’ on the site.

Everyone will draw their own conclusions from the Top 10, but a few things stood out for us. Firstly, the generic ‘café racer’ category is well and truly dead. Many of the most popular bikes combine elements of different genres.

The offroad vibe is on the rise, whether it’s hints of classic Dakar styling or a trend towards rebuilding enduro/dual sport machines. And classic racing in general, from flat track to endurance to MX, is having an increasing influence on builders. Functional styling (with a twist) and authenticity is increasingly appreciated.

Read on, and you’ll see the ten bikes that revved our readers’ engines the most over the past year. Some you may have expected to see, but others may be a surprise.

10. Yamaha XSR155 by K-Speed How many workshops finish over 50 builds a year? Hardly any. The number that can keep the quality high is even smaller—probably on the fingers of one hand.

K-Speed is the most visible of those high-volume builders, and despite the relentless pace in this Bangkok workshop, the output is fascinating.

Several K-Speed bikes were in the running for this year’s Top Ten, but the winner is this chunky XSR155, which edged out the Honda Monkeys to claim its spot. It was a commission from Yamaha Thailand to boost the launch of the smallest XSR, and confirmed one of the biggest trends we’ve seen over the past 12 months: smaller bikes are hot property.

This build follows a relatively standard formula—new subframe, seat, exhaust, bars, wheels and accessories—but the K-Speed secret sauce lifts it to a new level. Shop owner ‘Eak’ knows how to whip up the ingredients into a tasty recipe, and our readers were hungry for more, with over 16,000 giving their approval on Instagram alone. [More]

9. Scrambler Ducati by Slayer House Nattapat Janyapanich is a pro motorcycle designer who has works for manufacturers in Southeast Asia. He builds customs in his spare time as Slayer House, and this Ducati caught the imagination of our readers.

Long and low, it hits the sweet spot visually—but there’s an equal amount of trickery on the mechanical front. The forks are from a Ducati 999R, with an Öhlins monoshock to match, and the single-sided swingarm is from a Monster 796.

Nattapat also raided the Ducati parts bin for the tank, which is the simpler (and more appealing) Scrambler Sixty2 item, but built the rear end and its bodywork himself. Other upgrades include OZ Racing wheels, BMW S1000RR brake components and clip-on bars.

It’s a deceptively clever rather than flashy build from a guy who knows what he is doing, and even has an autoclave to make his own carbon fiber parts. [More]

8. Brad Peterson’s Yamaha TZ750 flat track racer The TZ750 is one of the most fearsome race bikes of all time: Kenny Roberts hit 145 mph on one, and it was so fast that it was banned after a single major race outing.

That was enough to cement its legendary status, and also enough to spur Brad Peterson into commissioning this very classy replica. The frame is an accurate copy of an original Champion frame, and it cradles a 1977 TZ 750D Scott Guthrie Racing engine.

Builder Jeff Palhegyi’s handiwork is everywhere—from the frame recreation to the expansion chambers.The engine has also been retuned to make it tractable on the street, with the help of Lectron carburetors, but even so, it’s still a handful.

“When the revs hit about 7,000, it lights the back tire up violently—and at the same time lifts the front wheel, pulling hard all the way to 11,000,” says Brad.

Magnificent stuff in an increasingly sanitized world—and we need more of this. [More]

7. Indian Scout Bobber drag bike by Workhorse Speedshop The Sultans Of Sprint drag series in Europe always throws up some amazing builds. Despite strict regulations designed to keep costs and horsepower under control, builders on the continent keep coming up with jaw-dropping machines that assault the eyes as well as the senses.

Our favorite this year was this Scout from the Belgian builder Brice Hennebert, a man who marches to his own tune. Looking like a V-twin that has crashed into a jet engine, ‘Appaloosa’ gets extra juice from a nitrous system—and despite the massive fairing, weighs a whopping 42 kilos less than a stock Scout Bobber.

The aluminum body alone took Brice seven weeks to build, and takes inspiration from 1920s trains, 1940s Formula One cars, and the F-86 Sabre fighter. The tank looks stock but has been narrowed by 10 centimeters, and there’s a custom swingarm to increase the wheelbase and help get the power down.

There’s custom CNC machined parts everywhere, the suspension is Öhlins all round, and Akrapovič built a one-off exhaust system too.

Even with Randy Mamola as pilot, the Scout couldn’t quite win the drag race championship—but it took home the ‘Best Style’ award, wowing racegoers as well as our readers. [More]

6. Suzuki DR-Z400 by Federal Moto There’s a lot of love out there for the evergreen, bulletproof DR-Z, and Federal Moto felt the full force of the neurotransmitters when they released ‘Big Suzie’ on these pages.

The Chicago shop completed the build for a local client, who wanted a stylish urban wheelie machine that could also handle the occasional rough stuff. So Mike Müller and his crew whipped up a new bolt-on subframe, installed an SR500 tank, and a Honda VFR400 radiator.

New fenders keep the muck at bay and the cockpit has been upgraded with Renthal bars, Biltwell grips, Motogadget electrics, and MSR controls. A killer paint job and smart grey powder on the frame makes the humble DR-Z look a million dollars. [More]

5. BMX motorized bicycle by Down & Out The English builder Shaun Walker has been immersed in the custom scene for over 20 years now, and is best-known to our readers for his ballsy, fat-tired retro roadsters.

But Shaun has built just about every type of custom in his storied career, and he’s not afraid to try something new. And in this case, it was a big swerve away from his usual fare.

Shaun’s a long-time BMX fan, but could never afford one when he was a kid. This build realizes the dream for him, but adds in a Honda clone motor, a polished raw steel frame, Honda Cub brakes, and … big wheels. This baby has 17 x 5 rims on custom hub spacers, shod with 180/55×17 Pirelli MT60 tires.

Better late than never, as they say. And our Instagram followers felt the same way: over 15,000 people hit the like button. [More]

4. Royal Enfield Himalayan by Fuel The ‘new’ 650 twins get most of the custom love these days, thanks to Royal Enfield’s fantastic support program for bike builders. But it was a humble Himalayan that resonated most with our readers.

It comes from the Spanish outfit Fuel, who are no strangers to these pages. As well as building classy customs, Fuel are famous for organizing the annual Scram Africa expedition—a 4,000 km dirt tour running through North Africa.

Fuel chose the Himalayan as the base for this scrambler because it’s simple, easy to repair and relatively compact. After all, there’s no point in having the best-looking bike in the desert if it turns into a sand anchor.

The styling recalls 80s enduros and Paris Dakar bikes, but Fuel have added some neat functionality too—such as custom switchgear for turning the ABS off if required. Very clever. [More]

3. Harley Fat Bob by Rough Crafts If there were a marathon event for custom bike builders, Winston Yeh would win it. Each year brings a small but delectable selection of new Rough Crafts builds, and we get to see his signature style applied to new platforms while remaining utterly consistent.

This Fat Bob was the second most widely viewed article on the site in 2019, and as soon as we clapped eyes on the shots, we knew it was going to be a hit. Harley customs tend to occupy a niche of their own—especially the larger bikes—but this build also appealed to folks who would never dream of stepping into a Bar and Shield showroom.

‘Mighty Guerrilla’ is a distant relative to the Sportster that launched Yeh’s star into orbit nearly a decade ago—the ‘Iron Guerrilla.’ It’s a murdered-out 2018 Fat Bob 107, rolling on chunky 16-inch rims with five-inch wide tires.

The stance is slightly slammed, the brakes are upgraded, and the bodywork and exhaust system are all-new. It’s edgy and aggressive, from the signature headlight grille backwards. (The heavily modified tank, intriguingly, started life as a Sportster fitment.)

Congratulations Winston on a decade at the top of the game! [More]

2. Ducati MH900e by Onehandmade It’s a brave builder who dares to tackle a machine as iconic as the MH900e. Only two thousand were built, and half the production run sold out in less than an hour.

‘Chun’ Hung of Onehandmade is one of the world’s finest metal shapers, but even he tried to dissuade his client from messing with his MH900e. But when his client insisted, he went all-out. The new aluminum bodywork flows seamlessly, looking elegant yet aggressive.

Mechanical upgrades include higher spec Öhlins suspension and Brembo brakes, custom triple clamps and clip-ons, and a stunning titanium exhaust system.

Onehandmade entered the Ducati into the Café Racer category at the AMD World Championship of bike building but, bizarrely, it only placed fourth.

Our readers were quicker than the AMD judges to spot the brilliance of this build though, and an absolute torrent of web traffic and social shares followed. [More]

1. Yamaha MT-07 by Andrew Stagg A surprise hit late in the year, this Yammie from Australian builder Andrew Stagg struck a massive chord with readers—especially our fans on Facebook, who gave it 24,000 thumbs-ups. And this was the most widely read article on the site in the whole year.

Everything on this machine is top-notch, and it looks like the kind of bike you’d see on a manufacturers’ stand at EICMA, as a concept to test public opinion.

Stagg is a one-man band, although he has history in the moto industry: he raced bikes in the 90s, and has worked at Smoked Garage in Brisbane for a couple of years—building mostly bobbers and hardtail conversions. He’s also worked for Holden Special Vehicles, amping up his engineering and fabrication skills still further.

The styling is spot-on, the fit and finish is superb, and it looks like something that Yamaha could build tomorrow. And maybe that’s the source of its appeal: this MT-07 is not an impractical fantasy, but a machine that could happily sit in a showroom.

The stock MT-07 is very much a ‘Marmite’ bike, with styling that polarizes opinion. But Stagg, working with Brisbane shop Black Cycles, has shown it’s possible to give the MT a new set of clothes with wide appeal.

The people have spoken: will Yamaha take the hint? [More]

EDITOR’S NOTE The toughest part of these roundups is seeing the bikes that didn’t quite make it—because a lot of them are personal favorites. The winners are bikes that scored highly across all criteria, smashing not only page views, but also social shares across all major platforms.

There were a few bikes that just missed the cut because they didn’t have the “full hand” for some reason, even if they scored hugely on one or two other criteria.

This year, that included Jake Drummond’s Yamaha MT-07, VTR’s BMW S1000RR and S1000XR pair, Krom Works’ Royal Enfield Continental GT 650, Craig Rodsmith’s front-wheel-drive motorcycle, and JvB-Moto’s Yamaha XSR900.

It’s also worth noting that both Triumph and Honda seem to have some catching up to do, while Yamaha and Royal Enfield are on the rise. As are builders from the Southeast Asia region.

We’ll finish with a note of thanks. Particularly to the builders and photographers who create and capture these fascinating machines—and to the advertisers who keep our servers running and the site free for you to read. Please support these people as they support us.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this year of custom motorcycles, and we’ll be in touch again in a few days, when Wes will publish his Editor’s Choice for 2019—an entirely personal view, free from the constrictions of data and social media.

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

SuperStrada: Revisiting the Ducati 900 SS, 25 years on

Mike Vienne is a man obsessed by weight. His specialty is turning blunt knives into razor-sharp scalpels: or rather, improving sportbikes by stripping off everything that slows them down.

He runs L.A.-based Championship Cycles, which “began from the idea that less is more. Because more is heavy, and heavy is slow.”

Normally he focuses on removing parts compromised by regulations and cost restrictions. But occasionally he’ll dig deeper into a bike and come up with something completely different—like this Ducati 1100 ‘SuperStrada’.

“Last year, the owner of a 1995 Ducati 900 SuperSport contacted me,” says Mike. “It’s also one of my personal favorites, and he had a desire to create something unique.”

The bike had been sitting for many years though, after the air-cooled L-twin motor had given out. “A good portion of the original bodywork was damaged too,” says Mike. “The tank and carburetors were caked solid with the evaporated remains of five-year old fuel, the suspension was leaking, and anything not covered in oil was rusted.”

Despite this inauspicious starting point, the owner’s goals were very ambitious. “He was asking a lot from a 25-year-old motorcycle. But this wasn’t meant to be a restoration, so I had some creative latitude.”

Mike proposed a modern reworking of Ducati’s own 900 Superlight—a sportier, more aggressive version of the 900 SS—and chose to focus on handling and lightness as the foundation of the build.

“As Lotus design engineer Colin Chapman once said, ‘simplify, then add lightness.’ That’s my mantra,” says Mike.

Rather than attempt to rescue the old 900 SS motor, Mike decided to install a newer, fuel-injected dual spark engine from a Monster 1100. It’s good for 95 horsepower in stock form.

Mike describes the engine swap as a “relatively easy” fit with the 900 SS chassis and swingarm, and as a bonus, the bigger engine is actually lighter than the older one—due to newer manufacturing processes. “You also gain reliable fuel injection, plus a mappable ECU.”

The very cool 2-into-1 exhaust system was fabbed up by a friend of Mike’s—“the relatively unknown moto talent named Max Hazan!” Mike reflashed the ECU to match it.

With the more powerful engine installed, it made sense to step up to fully adjustable suspension and radial brakes. Fortunately, as enthusiasm for the bike grew so did the budget—and more money was allocated to the project.

Mike ended up removing the stock fork internals and replacing them with a Mupo cartridge kit. And while the suspension was apart, he decided to anodize and titanium nitride coat the external pieces.

The brakes were upgraded with a Brembo 19RCS Corsa Corta master cylinder, plus Brembo GP-4RX billet calipers matched to BrakeTech’s CNC-machined ductile iron Axis rotors.

The stock oil cooler has been up-specc’d to a higher capacity Febur unit, to keep engine temps under control on hot Southern California days. Mike has also added a Yoyodyne slipper clutch, a quick shifter, a set of performance air intakes to help the engine breathe more freely, and a 520 chain conversion.

In the continuing efforts to keep weight in check, all of the bodywork is now carbon fiber. “I was able to find a perfect set of original Ducati Performance carbon side panels, and had a tail and nose fabricated to match,” says Mike.

“The fuel tank has been replaced by an exceptionally light Kevlar fuel cell. Combined, those items alone shed roughly 20 pounds of unnecessary weight!”

Mike then went into the smaller details to lighten the 900 SS: he detabbed the steel frame, and tore out nonessential wiring and componentry. He also fabricated a bunch of bits out of lightweight aluminum, to replace heavier steel factory parts. Discreet LED lighting and a simple racing seat pad help matters too. “Essentially, I stripped the Ducati down to its core elements.”

Ultimately, there’s room to gain even more weight savings in the future—via lighter wheels than the Marchesinis, for example. But right now the bike sits at 352 pounds wet, which is just 160 kilos with a full fuel load. (For reference, the stock 900 SS was 415 pounds/189 kilos dry.)

With everything screwed back together, Mike took the Ducati up north to Willow Springs Raceway for a few shakedown laps on the big track.

“The suspension, brakes and overall lightness come together remarkably well,” he reports. “You can dive into a corner much deeper and later than was possible before. It may not outrun a modern liter bike down the front straight, but you’ll certainly out-brake them going into the first corner, and get it turned and back on the power ahead of them.”

Realistically, this Ducati is more likely to spend time carving roads in the nearby canyons than on the track. So Mike and his client stepped away from the obvious Superlight moniker, and chose SuperStrada as its new name.

The paintwork and graphics are just as well judged as the mechanical upgrades: they’re a nod to the post-1985 ‘Cagiva era’ Ducatis, reworked with a slightly more modern feel.

We’re totally sold with the concept and even more with the execution. Now, if someone could produce a kit for the current Monster that captured this vibe …

Championship Cycles | Instagram | Images by (and thanks to) Shaik Ridzwan of The Mighty Motor

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Super Scooter: A NOS-fuelled Piaggio NRG drag racer

The words ‘drag racing’ and ‘scooter’ shouldn’t belong in the same sentence. But if you ask us, the idea of boosting micro-sized machines to race instead of commute sounds like buckets of fun. Especially when your race bike makes five times its original power, runs nitrous, and weighs next to nothing.

This plucky little sprinter started out as a Piaggio NRG—a 50 cc scooter from the mid-2000s—but it’s come a long way. Power is up from the stock 4 PS to a heady 20 PS, and the curb weight is just 56 kilos—124 pounds.

The story revolves around friends and contacts in Cologne’s motorcycle scene. It starts with Nick Xiromeritis—an automotive designer who’s worked as far afield as Japan and France.

“On eBay I was selling a Honda NS400R fairing and exhaust,” Nick explains. “I was contacted by Mirko Toth, through a mutual friend of Jens at JvB Moto here in Cologne.”

“Mirko purchased the fairings, and saw what I’d been working on. Then, a few months later, he approached me about doing a project together.”

Mirko had been working at Scooter Centre in Cologne for years, and had a lot of experience building scooter drag racing motors. He’d just bought the Piaggio; it had already been ‘converted’ for drag racing, with a makeshift hardtail setup that consisted of a steel table leg where the rear shock once was.

Nick and Mirko got talking, and before long had mocked up just how the NRG should look. Nick was so stoked on the idea, he stole the tank and tail he’d been working on for his NS400R, and began repurposing them for the Piaggio.

But first, the guys had to drastically rework the scooter’s frame. Not only did the table leg get tossed, but also the original engine brackets—so the entire back half of the frame is new.

The original elastomer engine mounts were repurposed to hang the motor, and whole lot of reinforcing and lightening happened from front to back. Nick and Mirko also narrowed the seat perch, shortened the steering head and stretched the overall chassis by a couple of inches.

For the forks, they installed a set of Aprilia units, shortened them to just 80 mm of travel, and shaved off their brake mounts. The handlebars are ape hangers from a Honda V30 Magna—shortened, narrowed and mounted upside down on a mountain bike stem.

The wheels are stock, with the rear wrapped in one of the last 13-inch race slicks to be found in Europe. (They’re reportedly becoming more and more rare in that size).

With the rolling chassis sorted, Nick set about adapting his tank and tail to fit the NRG. The tank was originally adapted from a Kawasaki AR50, but the tail unit is a complete custom job. Nick made it from carbon fiber, and bolted it to an aluminum seat pan.

The seat pan attaches to the frame via three titanium quick-release fasteners, giving easy access to the motor. Getting the fuel tank off is equally simple—it hooks into custom-made tubular mounts up front, with just one bolt holding it at the back.

As Nick started buttoning up the last bits of the chassis and shell, Mirko turned his attention to the motor. He went to town, starting with a Polini Evolution 70 cc kit with longer con-rods and a stage six crankshaft.

The exhaust consists of a Metrakit Prorace chamber with a Jim Lomas carbon muffler, and there’s a Malossi Delta CVT clutch in play too. Mirko also installed a Keihin 28 mm flatslide carb, a Motoforce adjustable intake with a carbon reed box, and an Italkit ignition.

The block, cylinder, intake, exhaust and piston were all ported and flowed, to bring the original NRG motor up to 20 PS. And the clutch is set up so that it’ll launch from 6,000 rpm, with power peaking at 9,300 rpm.

The NOS system comes from Dynotune in Florida. “I was researching who has experience with NOS and two-strokes,” Nick tells us, “and they seemed to be the only ones. Plus Mirko had never done one before and always wanted to give it a go.”

“Unfortunately this also meant the we needed to get the bottle filled here in Germany, as you cannot ship a full NOS bottle (not really a surprise).”

Nick made an intake funnel and nose mount for the system, using a Ducati 999 funnel as a base. The boost is solenoid-activated via a switch on the bars, and will only run off the Keihin power jet. “This gives us the ability to tune the NOS separately from the motor,” Nick explains, “so we don’t run too lean.”

Mirko’s actually still tuning the NOS setup, but the guys are expecting eight to 10 more PS when it’s ready. And then it’ll be time to go racing.

To make sure it looks the part, Nick treated it to a two layer purple and candy paint job, over a chrome base. The paint, all the fabrication work, and details like the custom ignition cover, were all done in-house.

Nick called in help for one detail; tattoo artist and pin-striper, Von Maze laid down a pin stripe and a stunning pair of tank graphics, all by hand. The logos read ‘ANX Prototypes’—the name of the bike building business Nick is launching.

If this boosted two-stroke doesn’t look like the most fun thing on two wheels, maybe check your pulse. And if you’re in Europe, look out for it on the sprint scene—and let us know how it sounds!

ANX Prototypes Facebook | Instagram | Photos by Tim Davies

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Editor’s Choice: An Alternative Top 10 for 2019

This is tough. Week on week, we strive to curate only the best custom motorcycles for you, our readers. So even though Chris and I don’t always agree on what’s hot (and what’s not), every bike on these pages is, in some way, a favorite.

That makes picking the ten best bikes of the year an impossible task. We get around it by leaning purely on stats to compile our ranked ‘Top 10‘ each year. But once that’s done, I have the thankless task of rounding up my personal favorites—an editor’s choice that ignores web stats and social media buzz.

It starts with a ‘short list’ of about 25 bikes. Once Chris compiles the stats and publishes his list, I eliminate any bikes that made both lists, to level the playing field. This year, those were Brad Peterson’s Yamaha TZ750, Workhorse Speedshop’s Indian Scout drag bike and Andrew Stagg’s jaw-dropping Yamaha MT-07.

Like the stats-based list, my selection is extremely light on café racers—but loaded with flat trackers and street trackers, and bikes that take cues from those styles. There’s been a big push towards performance in the scene this year too, and some of the bikes below would be proper fun to ride. As an added twist, two of the machines that made the cut are electric.

The list below isn’t ranked, it’s simply alphabetical (by builder name). So read on and soak up my ten favorite custom motorcycles of 2019. Then hop into the comments and tell me if you agree with the selection.

Alta Redshift by Blatant Moto When electric manufacturer, Alta, shut their doors, three ex-employees were left with a laundry list of untested ideas. Luckily, those guys also had the skills to execute their ideas, and access to a bundle of prototype and sample drivetrain parts from the company’s promising Redshift model.

The three formed Blatant Moto, and debuted with this radical flat tracker. Ironically dubbed ‘The Death Rattle,’ it’s a refreshing twist on a popular genre, but it’s also a glimpse at the design potential that electric drivetrains offer.

With fewer moving parts, and no need for frivolous things like a fuel tank, Blatant were able to build something truly minimal. The only real bodywork is a custom made tail unit, and a small cover that protects vital electronic components. Since there’s no clutch or front brake, the cockpit is sano to the max (and even the onboard charge port has been removed).

This team’s packing a serious skill set too—the chromoly trellis frame and the swing arm were done in-house, and the overall design and color scheme are inspired. We’re keeping a keen eye on Blatant Moto in 2020. [More]

Honda CR500 by Deus ex Machina USA Deus USA’s in-house bike builder, Michael ‘Woolie’ Woolaway, is as down to earth as he is talented. And as someone that actually races too, he knows what works and what doesn’t. So when Red Bull asked him to collaborate on a custom motorcycle for MotoGP star Dani Pedrosa, it was never going to be mild.

Since Dani’s raced with Honda throughout his entire career, Woolie picked the extremely potent Honda CR500 as a donor. Then he yanked out the motor and stuck it in a custom chromoly frame from master frame builder, Jeff Cole.

The parts list is mouthwatering; a custom carb from Lectron, Öhlins forks in adjustable triples and a Race Tech shock. Everything’s tied together with an array of hand-made bits, that covers everything from the aluminum bodywork to the custom exhaust system. Woolie also tapped the best in the biz to handle things like the motor porting and custom radiators, so nothing was left to chance.

Not only does the bike look absolutely mental, but it’s a wild ride too. Luckily, its owner knows things about riding motorcycles fast… [More]

Ducati Multistrada 1000 DS by 46Works It’s hard to explain 46Work’s signature style—or even why it speaks to me so much. It has a lot to do with builder Shiro Nakajima‘s background. He was the founder of Ritmo Sereno, he lives in big old wooden building in the Japanese countryside, and he races both classic cars and bikes.

Add that all up, and you get bikes like this striking Multistrada 1000 DS. Somehow, Nakajima-san has taken a fourteen-year-old motorcycle, shed its awkward lines, and made it look both more retro and more contemporary at the same time. According to him, his original idea was to build a modern interpretation of the classic Ducati 750 GT.

There’s so much to love here, from the custom tank and frame mods, right back to the new swing arm and twin shock conversion. Shiro also fitted 18” wheels, setup a custom braking system and added Öhlins kit at both ends.

Given that the Multistrada motor is peachy enough out the box, and the handling and ergos have been properly seen to, this one should be a good runner. But it’s the details that send it over the top—like that Ducati motif on the back of the seat. [More]

Royal Enfield x Harris Performance Harris has been building high-performance motorcycles since the 70s, but have remarkably never built a flat tracker… until now. Judging by this sharp Enfield-based flat track racer, they’ve come out the gate running.

Harris is owned by Royal Enfield‘s parent company, and actually developed the chassis for the Continental GT and Himalayan. So this bike was built in collaboration with Enfield’s technical center in Leicestershire. That makes it a ‘factory custom’—and it has us praying that it makes it onto showroom floors in some form.

It’s powered by Enfield’s new 650 twin, boosted to 750 cc by S&S Cycle, who also supplied the exhaust and a custom-mapped ECU. Harris built the frame with brazed steel tubing, then matched it to adjustable yokes and Öhlins suspension. And Enfield’s UK design team made the carbon fiber bodywork.

The result is a slick race bike that ticks all the right boxes, but looks fresher than your garden variety flat tracker. Enfield have already been spied running laps on track, but they haven’t given any word about whether they’re actually going to race it. We’re holding thumbs. [More]

S&S Cycle Knucklehead by Hazan Motorworks Max Hazan is a regular feature on our annual top 10 lists, and with good reason. His creations are elegant mechanical beasts that often show just how far he’s able to stretch his imagination.

This masterpiece has shades of Italian sport bikes, but it’s actually powered by a Knucklehead motor. And it’s no run of the mill Knuckle either. Max started with a 74 ci motor from S&S Cycle, and then rebuilt it to run two front heads and two carbs. All because he had spoken to someone that loved both Knuckleheads and old Vincent motors, and figured he’d build something in that vein.

The conversion required extensive (and some pretty unique) mods to work, but there’s just as much work in the rest of the bike. There’s a bespoke chromoly frame, matched up to an aluminum swing arm and a set of Enfield forks. All the polished aluminum bodywork is custom too, as is the stainless steel exhaust system.

A set of 18” Morris mags add a dose of retro track style, while mods like the Indian Scout transmission match-up and home-made clutch actuator have us scratching our heads. See you again next year, Max? [More]

Yamaha MT-07 by Jake Drummond Who is Jake Drummond? Just a twenty-five year old kid from Wisconsin, who knocked our socks off with this utterly ridiculous MT-07.

The story behind the bike is as crazy as the end result. It involves shaping a 1/10th scale model from stainless steel, buying a new MT-07 when a crashed one couldn’t be found, and dropping out of school to finish the project. It all paid off though.

Jake’s design revolves around a hand-built aluminum perimeter frame, flowing straight into an aluminum swing arm. The engine’s mounted onto a forward subframe, with a stainless steel rear subframe to support the seat. Upgraded parts include R6 forks, 21F/18R RSD wheels, and a custom-built stainless steel exhaust.

Nicknamed ‘The Omen,’ this MT-07 is also sporting a custom tank, seat and tail. The stance is flawless, but so is the clever mix of contrasting finishes. [More]

Indian Scout by Luuc Muis When Indian Motorcycles launched a custom design contest in the Benelux region, Luuc Muis jumped in with both feet. He designed a 1910s-era boardtracker with a modern twist, and won. The prize: a brand new Scout and 20 weeks to translate his concept into a finished bike.

Working after-hours (Luuc has a full-time job) out of Outsiders Motorcycles’ shop, Luuc built one of the most extreme examples of a board tracker we’ve seen.

Other than the Scout’s motor and axles, everything else is custom. The frame’s particularly nuts—it was designed digitally, then an engineering firm in Norway milled the 16 aluminum parts that it’s constructed from. The fuel tank forms part of the frame, and has different sections to hold fuel, the electronics and the air intake.

Titanium exhausts from Akrapovič, carbon forks and a rear shock linkage that borrows its design from mountain bikes; there’s truly some crazy stuff happening here. Add to that a classy red paint job and period-correct leather seat, and you have a winner. [More]

Harley-Davidson Street Rod 750 by Noise Cycles Scott ‘T-Bone’ Jones made his name building extremely cool Harley-Davidson customs. And then he took up Hooligan class flat track racing—and since then, an inordinate amount of his focus has been on racing.

That means his personal race bike has constantly evolved. This is the latest iteration, and it’s so far outside the box that it’s borderline genius. When I saw this Noise Cycles bike in the metal at the Mama Tried show earlier this way, it stopped me dead in my tracks.

The biggest drawcard is the dirt-bike bodywork. Scott and his teammate, Brandon ‘Gonz’ Gonzalez, had the crazy idea of using the body kit from a Husqvarna FC450. So they borrowed the plastics for one from a friend, and it turned out to be a close to perfect fit.

Scott trimmed a few bits away, then built a stunning aluminum fuel cell to fill all the available space it could, while holding the bare minimum for racing. Scott had previously flipped the Harley’s heads to run a left side exhaust, but didn’t like it anymore—so he built a new system that exits left and runs through to the right.

As for the rest, it’s just a whole lot of really cool race sh*t, that Scott’s figured out as he’s gone along. [More]

BMW R18 by Revival Cycles BMW Motorrad have spent all year teasing their upcoming big boxer ‘R18,’ and part of that campaign has involved giving the motor to customizers to do awesome things with. Revival Cycles built this, and it is, indeed, awesome.

They’ve called it ‘Birdcage,’ named for its wireframe chassis, constructed from 138 pieces of titanium. It’s sort of freeform, but it’s also very intentional; everything the bike needs to function is bolted to the birdcage frame.

The front suspension mimics BMW’s own telelever system, using a mix of BMW and custom parts. The forks and handlebars were shaped as a homage to the famed Ernst Henne Landspeeder, and the seat is carbon fiber. There are crazy details everywhere, like the right side hand-shifter and the custom valve covers.

Revival built Birdcage to intentionally look like it’s not functional. Except it is—even if it does have a really tiny fuel tank that’s hard to spot. [More]

PACT by Walt Siegl Walt Siegl builds bonafide dream machines. So when we caught wind that he was working on an electric motorcycle, anticipation levels were sky high. He’s partnered with industrial designed Mike Mayberry, and so far the results have been every bit as excellent as we’ve come to expect from Mr Siegl.

Mike and Walt are driven by a simple ideal: to make electric motorcycles that speak to them on an emotional level. And ‘PACT’ sure is loaded with finishes and touches that evoke emotion. Take a look at the marbling on the bodywork; it’s not paint, it’s the natural finish of the ‘forged’ carbon used for the parts.

PACT is powered by an Alta Redshift drivetrain, cradled in a custom chromoly frame. All the brackets that hold critical components were first 3D designed and printed, test fitted, then CNC’d from steel. Even the rims were custom machined specifically for this project.

The bike makes about 50 hp and weighs just 251 pounds, and has been designed specifically with street-focused geometry. It’s also achingly beautiful. [More]

Editor’s Note: I did mention that picking a top ten is tough, and there are always a handful of top-shelf builds that just quite don’t make it onto the list.

This year, those include Hookie Co.’s kooky take on the Yamaha XSR700 [above], Nick Graveley’s Zero FX flat tracker, CW Zon’s Buell S1 Lighting, Rough Crafts’ H-D Street Bob custom and Huge Moto’s cutting edge Zero FXS supermotard [below]. And Ben Giese’s Triumph Scrambler deserves an honorable mention for being a cracking example of a subtle, real-world custom.

As you can tell, it’s been a mega year for us. Thanks for joining us for the ride, and we’ll see you in 2020 for more.

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Master of metal: Royal Enfield Electra 350 by J&D Custom

The past few years have seen a big change in the way a lot of custom motorcycles are created. Technology is everywhere, with many builders now using computer-aided modeling and machining to create and replicate parts faster and more accurately.

But some builders prefer to keep the traditional craft alive. In the USA guys like Craig Rodsmith and Max Hazan are wizards with traditional tools, and in India, we have Jay D. Patel of J&D Custom Co.—the builder of this raw and beautiful Electra 350.

Based in Vadodara, a city in western India, Jay eschews digital assistants and sticks to decades-old methods of craftmanship.

“I’ve called the bike ‘Handmade,’ because I hand-built everything from scratch, apart from the the engine and wheels,” he tells us.

Jay’s father owns an engineering workshop, and that’s where Jay learnt fabrication and other technical skills. The litmus test was restoring his dad’s Land Rover Defender: “One of the greatest experience of my lifetime! It taught me a lot of lessons.”

Jay quickly moved on to building custom motorcycles from scratch, and first caught our eyes about three years ago with his ‘Baroda Bobber,’ based on a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350.

He’s now honed his skills still further with this compact and elegant Bullet Electra, which was RE’s best-selling model for many years.

“The concept for this bike was to showcase the true craftsmanship of building,” says Jay, “without ‘layering it’ or hiding anything. Whatever I have learned in the past five years, I have tried to implement in this build. It’s a pure labor of love, representing the era of motorcycle development in small garages—without any high tech tools or software.”

For bike builders, it’s critical to have clients who are ‘on the same page,’ and Jay got lucky with the guy who commissioned this bike. “He follows the same work and design philosophy as me,” says Jay. “He’s a well known architect and designer who works with brass and wood, and admires hand-built things the most.”

He approached Jay after seeing the Baroda Bobber build. “We decided to do the next expression of that build, using my improved skills to achieve better results in terms of craftsmanship.”

This is Jay’s first full-frame build, and he’s used 304 seamless stainless steel tubing. “I did some research and made a frame jig to perfectly align the frame,” he recalls. “But as I was used to working without professional tools, I ended up only using the jig for joining the neck to the front rail.”

While crafting the frame, Jay started figuring out the dimensions for a springer fork setup. “It was my dream to build a springer front end: I wanted to spend a good amount of time to make it perfect in the working sense, as well as aesthetics,” he says.

Luckily, Jay got it close to perfect in his very first attempt, and he reckons it’s the most beautiful part of the build. It’s also made out of 304 stainless steel, with the springs coming from a local specialist, built to Jay’s specs.

Then Jay started working on the shape of the tank, splitting the unit into two portions, to make it easier to hide electrical items and the battery.

The left side portion is the actual fuel cell, which can hold around six liters (1.6 gallons), while the other half is a cover to hide all the electrical gear. There’s a pop-up gas cap to keep the lines clean, and the fuel petcock is an antique item that Jay found on Amazon.

For the rear portion of the frame, Jay wanted to try something different to the usual hardtail frame. After figuring out the curves and axle plate placement, he cut the backbone and grafted on two rear pipes. It’s a simple and seamless look.

The arc welding is just as neat. “I tried to make every weld perfect, so that I don’t need to grind them to look good. I just left the welds as they are, to look real raw.”

To keep the bars clean, Jay has used an internal throttle assembly and inverted clutch cable setup. “But since I was using an internal throttle, it wasn’t possible to use an inverted lever for the front brake setup,” says Jay. “And hydraulic brakes can’t work that way. So I decided to link both the front and rear brake operations using a single foot pedal.”

Jay used a perimeter disc brake setup for the Baroda Bobber, which he believes is the only one of its kind in India—as well as unique for an Enfield. So he’s replicated the setup on the Electra, to give the build a signature touch.

Jay has also made the hand and foot controls, using aluminum and a lathe. The velocity stack air filter is made out of a solid bar of aluminum too.

The 19-inch wheels are one of the few stock fitments, and the exhaust is an original Enfield part too. “I just love the flow of the stock bend pipe,” Jay explains. “I had to cut it in the middle and re-join it at a specific angle to match the lower frame lines, though.”

We love the understated style of this machine, and the way it has been crafted bit-by-bit, without so much as a Photoshop sketch beforehand. “I don’t work with renders or drawings,” says Jay. “I do that process in my head, and start putting elements together one by one, to achieve the final design.”

It’s a brave builder who leaves his bikes unpainted, but Jay has the skills to pull it off. “For me it shows the craftsmanship of the builder. There are no layers of filler or anything, and you can see all the joints, welds, bends and lines.”

We’re all for pushing the boundaries of modern tech, but we also love to see that traditional skills are alive and well too—a refreshing touch of analog warmth in an increasingly digital world.

J&D Custom Co. | Facebook | Instagram

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Holy smoke! A radical BMW K1600 B from CW Zon

The BMW K1600 B is both odd and magnificent. Odd, because the ‘B’ stands for ‘Bagger,’ when it’s really just a low-slung variation of the brand’s popular K1600 GTL tourer. Magnificent, because it’s a totally bananas ride.

Powering it is a 1,649 cc inline-six, which makes 160 hp and absolutely howls at full chat. It sounds and feels like nothing else out there, and it doesn’t take long to get up to speed either (I’ve ridden the K1600 B, and can confirm).

This absolutely wild custom from Custom Works Zon looks like it’s ridden straight out of a Batman movie. It takes the K’s unique personality, and meshes it with radical new looks and ergonomics.

Based in the Shiga Prefecture in Japan, builders Yuichi Yoshizawa and Yoshikazu Ueda attracted global attention in 2018 with their BMW R18 concept ‘Departed,’ which debuted at the Mooneyes show. They call this latest BMW ‘Stealth Crow,’ and describe it as “a bolt-on custom that is easy and cool.”

It’s a flippant statement that belies how hard this custom would have been to pull off. But everything you see here bolts on to the stock frame. The idea, according to Yoshizawa-san, is to be able to replicate and export the parts for customers to modify their own K1600 Bs.

“I think this is an opportunity to take Zon’s custom motorcycles around the world,” says Yuichi.

With that goal in mind, CW Zon took a leap of faith and purchased a 2019-model K1600 B with their own money to base the project on. That’s right, this project had no client—just a couple of Japan’s top customizers with a zany concept.

“The concept of the design and tuning is a luxury racer,” Yuichi explains. “The image of a quickly flying crow, like a stealth machine.”

The project took the guys three months to complete, with the hardest part being designing everything to sit on the OEM frame.

In the process, the bodywork went through two iterations: an aluminum set that debuted with the bike at last year’s Mooneyes show, and the final carbon fiber set you see here.

From a distance, the K looks like it’s somehow wrapped in a monocoque structure. But it’s actually covered in multiple panels that sit tightly together. Yuichi and Yoshikazu worked closely with Studio Allica, a nearby custom auto specialist, to create the carbon fiber forms.

It’s a huge departure from the K1600 B’s original silhouette—but it’s also clever how CW Zon have incorporated all the necessary accoutrements.

There’s an LED headlight embedded in the main cowl, and just behind it, a set of custom-made handlebars that mount directly to the steering stem.

Further back, the original dash has been integrated into the area behind the bars. (The BMW’s keyless start button now sits on the left side of the bike.)

Next up is an original BMW roundel, followed by a slim, pleated seat from Skunk with a subtle kick in the rear.

CW Zon have also built a new air intake under the hood, then capped off the stock exhaust headers with a pair of custom, sportbike-style mufflers. The tail end is capped off with the original BMW fuel filler cap, which provides access to a custom-built reservoir sitting under the bodywork.

There are a few smaller details that you might miss at first glance. CW Zon stripped the forks and swing arm of their black finishes, and polished them. Then they fabricated a new front fender, and a bracket out back to hold the plate and taillight.

M&K Custom Signs helped wrap up the build with quintessential BMW double white pinstripes, laid down over the exposed carbon weave.

CW Zon have a habit of building motorcycles that are way ‘out there’—like this Buell S1 Lightning from seven months ago—and Stealth Crow fits the mold. Its stance and riding position are far more aggressive than any other K1600—and it’s surely shed a few pounds too.

Sign us up for a test ride, please!

CW Zon | Facebook | Instagram | Photos by Hiromitsu Yasui | Thanks to Tadashi Kono

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

A Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 built for F1 ace Charles Leclerc

He’s just 22, but Charles Leclerc is one of the fastest drivers Formula 1 has seen in decades. It was only in 2018 that he made his F1 debut, and last year he was fast-tracked into the Ferrari team. And he promptly scored more race wins and points than his teammate—the four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel.

Like many super-quick Formula 1 drivers, Leclerc is also an avid motorcyclist. Past and present pilots such as Senna, Schumacher, Hamilton, Button and Webber have shared this passion, but Leclerc is also part of a even smaller group.

Along with Kimi Räikkönen—who ironically vacated his Ferrari seat for the young Monégasque—he’s a fan of custom bikes.

We know this because Leclerc has just commissioned a custom Vitpilen 701 from one of our favorite French builders, Walid from Bad Winners.

“It started with a simple message on Instagram,” Walid tells us. “A message from Charles Leclerc to the Bad Winners account! At first I thought it was spam.”

“Charles said, ‘I’ve been following you for a while, and I really like your motorcycles. Would it be possible to make me one?’”

Walid was not convinced that this was the real Charles Leclerc. He sent through his number, and then his phone rang. Leclerc was on the other end of the line.

He told Walid that his favorite bike was ‘The Apex,’ the Yamaha FZS600 Fazer from around three years ago. And he’d like to use that bike as inspiration for a build based on the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701. Project ‘Apex 2.0’ was underway.

After a few days of reflection, Walid started work on the lines. He presented a concept to Charles (above), who gave it the tick.

There is some trick electronic work going on with the instrumentation, but the most obvious changes are in the silhouette. “We worked on the shapes in 3D modeling, before launching our 3D printers to get master parts ready for the manufacture of the molds,” says Walid.

The new bodywork is even more angular and futuristic than the shapes crafted by Husqvarna’s design studio Kiska, and from the KTM Duke 790 headlight backwards, it’s all in carbon. Because as every racing driver knows, weight is the enemy.

“Charles wanted carbon parts, as well as carbon wheels,” says Walid. “Having always worked with Dymag in the UK, I asked them to manufacture the wheels. All other parts of the carbon trim were made in-house.” The CA5 five-spoke wheels weigh around six pounds each—less than three kilos.

The slender rear frame is manufactured in-house too, and incorporates a laser-cut 1.5mm steel plate and a custom leather saddle. Behind is a taillight in CNC’d translucent red Plexiglass, with four integrated LEDs, and the tiny rear module also hides an Antigravity eight-cell battery.

At the engine level, Walid has disconnected the catalytic system and made a stainless steel pipe to eliminate the cat itself. SC-Project jumped on board and supplied a carbon CR-T muffler, closely related to the systems it supplies to MotoGP teams. A Dynojet Power Commander V keeps everything in perfect tune.

The most complex work was in the cockpit, though—because Walid has developed a new speedo setup.

“Who has dreamed of being able to change their speedo and handlebar controls, without having to cut out the wiring of their motorcycle?” he says. “It’s especially hard on a current model such as the Vitpilen 701—modern motorcycles are rolling computers.”

So Bad Winners have developed a separate motherboard that communicates with the motorcycle’s ECU, without any change to the original wiring harness. And matched it to a 4.3″ LED ultra-bright screen.

And although you can wire in new pushbuttons on the bars, standard functions like the traction control and ABS are unaffected.

On Leclerc’s Vitpilen 701, the speedo is integrated directly into a custom upper triple tree, next to Renthal racing clip-ons. But in the coming weeks Walid will be releasing versions for the standard Vitpilen and Svartpilen.

There will also be versions for the BMW R nineT, the ‘new’ Enfield twins and the Scrambler Ducati 800—and some notoriously hard to modify recent Triumphs, including the T100, T120 and Thruxton.

The stock Vitpilen is no slouch, but Leclerc’s new steed will be considerably faster. Walid estimates that the power is up from 75 to around 85 horsepower, thanks to the de-cat and Power Commander.

And with the carbon bodywork and wheels, reduced exhaust plumbing and smaller rear frame, dry weight is down from an already impressive 157 kg (346 pounds) to a featherlight 130 kg (287 pounds).

Bad Winners can replicate this build, including a new Vitpilen 701 and all the carbon parts, for €20,990—around US$23,400. (The Husqvarna manufacturer warranty is unaffected.) If that’s too steep, three alternative configurations will soon be available, going down to €14,690 (around US$16,400).

The Vitpilen is a terrific bike straight out of the box, as we discovered when we reviewed it. With even less weight and a smidge more power, this custom sounds like the perfect machine for blasting around the tight Monaco streets—and the switchbacks of the nearby mountain passes.

Monsieur Leclerc has made a most excellent choice.

Bad Winners | Facebook | Instagram | Photos by Guillaume Petranto

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Turning Honda’s awkward NTV 650 into a funky roadster

Honda have made some truly beautiful machines over the years, but they’ve also had their share of aesthetic bungles. The mid-70s CB750, for example, is downright elegant; the mid-90s Nighthawk model, not so much.

This didn’t stop Kaspeed Moto from hitting a home run with a Nighthawk cafe racer last year. They turned it into a limited series of made-to-order builds, and it paid off—they’ve already filled three orders, with two more bikes currently on the bench.

But the German crew was presented with an even tougher challenge recently. They had to build something decent with an even more awkward mid-90s Honda—the rather ugly NTV 650 Revere.

The SOHC, V-twin NTV 650 is a weird mash-up: a retro sport-tourer back end, and a barebones roadster front end. But it’s also been praised for its reliability as a daily runner, and even though it only makes 50-something horses, it’s a fun ride.

That (and the fact that it uses a shaft drive) prompted one of Kaspeed’s clients to buy a 1996-model NTV 650, and drop it in their laps.

“We just needed to make it look, sound and ride more fun,” Kaspeed’s Jimmy Dressel tells us. “And get rid of some weight, of course!”

Jimmy, his twin brother and their father run Kaspeed from their workshop in Glauchau, Saxony. Their first hurdle was just figuring out a direction to take the build in.

“This wasn’t an easy job,” Jimmy admits. “We couldn’t just take our Honda CB750 cafe racer plan out of the drawer and start. It wasn’t easy to create a pleasing design and stay within budget at the same time.”

The guys settled on a roadster style, while taking subtle cues from scramblers and street trackers too.

To keep the costs to a minimum, they decided not to make any major frame or motor changes. With that distinct box frame and those split tri-spoke wheels, this NTV 650 now has just the right amount of 90s weirdness—but the overall package looks a lot fresher.

The only major chassis changes are happening at the back. Kaspeed lifted the rear end with a new linkage and an adjustable shock, instantly giving the NTV a much more aggressive stance.

The crew also rebuilt the subframe, and they did a damn neat job too. There’s a small kick in the rear that’s sporting a more rectangular form than your garden-variety cut-n-shut job. Finishing off the rear is an aftermarket fender from JvB-Moto, kitted with an LED taillight.

The new seat’s more generously padded than most custom jobs, and was designed to mimic the ergonomics of the Ducati Monster’s perch. It’s sporting leather on the sides, with Alcantara on top.

Kaspeed kept the NTV 650’s original fuel tank, but they ditched the side covers for a custom set that exhibit just a smidge of flat track style. To create them, the team shaped a pair of foam forms first, then built the final pieces with fiberglass and Kevlar laminate. They have an OEM feel to them (there’s even a cutout for the fuel tap on the left side, complete with guide markings).

To complement the NTV 650’s new stocky vibe, Kaspeed fitted JvB-Moto’s signature headlight and shroud. Just above it are a speedo and tacho from Daytona, mounted on a custom bracket. The handlebars are from LSL, with Daytona grips, Kellermann bar-end turn signals and Probrake levers.

There’s a host of subtle tweaks tying the build together. Kaspeed trimmed the front fender, refinished the forks, wheels and subframe in black, and added a splash of red to the valve covers. There’s a new license plate bracket too, which hosts a pair of teeny Kellermann LED turn signals.

For the exhaust, Kaspeed simply added a carbon fiber Leo Vince muffler, sans its baffle. “Deep and almost supermoto-like would be how I’d describe the sound,” Jimmy tells us. “We were impressed at the first start!”

As for the new livery, it’s nothing short of inspired. Kaspeed wanted something modern that would make the bike look more agile, so they borrowed ideas from Honda’s new generation Africa Twin.

It suits the NTV 650 to a tee—but then again, so do all of the mods. From little touches like the decision to run dual clocks, to the side covers that perfectly match the tank and frame’s lines, this 90s Honda has an incredible OEM feel to it.

Which has us wondering: why didn’t Honda just build it like this in the first place?

Kaspeed Custom Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Jimmy Dressel

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Candy Crush: The last CB750 Origin8or will ever build

When Bike EXIF lit a fire under the custom scene ten years ago, Honda CB750 cafe racers showed up everywhere. And there was a simple formula for customizing them: ditch the fenders, loop the subframe and slap on a bench seat. Then add pipewrap and Firestone Deluxe Champions for extra credit.

We’ve entered a new decade now, and that recipe is well and truly played out. So here’s a fresh look at the iconic 1970s Honda, from Rob Chappell of Origin8or in Ontario, Canada.

Instead of leaning on clichés, Rob’s given the CB750 hits of 80s and 90s muscle bike style, with some contemporary performance upgrades in the mix too. Only fitting for a bike that’s widely know as the world’s first ‘superbike.’

Rob originally founded Origin8or alone, but these days he’s helped by a South African transplant, Adrian Taljaard. And they pieced this 1974 CB750 together from almost thirty boxes of parts that arrived in the back of a van.

“When a customer says they’ve taken it apart,” Rob says, “I usually think the motor is out of the frame and the forks and wheels are separate. In this case every single nut and bolt was bagged and tagged, in their own boxes.”

“The customer had it sitting that way for about three years, and finally gave in to the fact that he was never going to finish it, and so he called me.”

Rob and Adrian went to town, overhauling the bike from the inside out. The engine parts and carbs went off for vapor blasting, before everything was reassembled with new bearings, gaskets and ring. The cylinders were honed, the valves lapped, and new valve seals installed.

Origin8or also installed a set of finned engine covers from Vintage CB750, and a set of CNC aluminum valve tappet covers from J.Webster Designs. Hindle came to the party with a custom four-into-one exhaust system, executed in a modern style.

The wiring was overhauled too, and now runs off a Motogadget controller, with a small Lithium-ion battery powering it.

Moving to the chassis, the crew refurbished and installed the complete front end from a 2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000. They brought over the Suzuki’s yokes, forks, wheels and brakes, with a few custom modifications thrown into the mix.

The top triple was machined to remove its ignition mount, and to accommodate a digital speedo. And a custom bracket was built lower down, to mount a Ducati 748 fender to the upside-down forks. The brakes were upgraded with EBC pads and braided stainless steel hoses.

Origin8or went to town on the back half of the Honda too. They took a 2015 Kawasaki Ninja 650 swing arm, shortened it by 3.5”, and installed it via a totally custom pivot setup, using new needle bearings and spacers. It’s connected to a Ducati 821 shock, which in turn bolts to a mounting point on the all-new subframe.

The rear wheel’s from a 1994 Suzuki GSX-R. Rob had to make custom spacers and fettle the sprocket setup to get the offset right, while Windmill Motorsports supplied a pair of custom-made axle plates.

That sorted the CB’s stance and handling, while a new set of clip-ons and adjustable rear sets took care of ergonomics. But it’s the hand-made bodywork that sends this build over the top. Rob fabricated a new aluminum gas tank and an oil reservoir, capping the former off with a flush mounted pop-up gas cap.

The tail section is Rob’s work too. It’s shaped from fiberglass, and takes cues from the classic Kawasaki KZ-series. For the seat, Rob turned to his brother Chris at Tuffside, who whipped up a special order with both contrast stitching and a pretty unique pattern.

Finishing touches include an LED headlight, bar-end turn signals, and an integrated taillight. Every last bit was powder coated or polished—or, in some cases, both. (The engine covers were first powder coated, but then the fins were polished for contrast.)

This would have been an impressive build in black and white even, but that luscious paint scheme is what sets it apart. Even if it wasn’t exactly what Origin8or’s client ordered… “The customer allowed complete creative freedom,” Rob says, “even down to the color—sort of. The original request was a cafe racer in green.”

“Close to the finish line I called him and asked: ‘Are you certain you want a green bike?’ To which he replied: ‘Do what you like, I trust you.’”

So Rob picked House of Kolors’ ‘pagan gold,’ with lime and racing green stripes, executed flawlessly by Mat Tobin at Jensens Custom. “So in the end, he got some green stripes as a nod to the original request,” he quips.

It’s not the first time Rob’s whipped up a CB with this neo-retro vibe (he’s built not one but two CB900Fs like this before), but it’s probably his last. And his reasoning is simple: he’d rather create something new each time than get stuck in a rut.

We get it, but we’re also bummed out—because we reckon Origin8or are onto something here. And it’s a damn sight sweeter than the scores of me-too CB750s out there.

Origin8or | Facebook | Instagram | Photos by Joe Cantin

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Custom Bikes Of The Week: 12 January, 2020

A Gucci-inspired Ducati Monster S2R from Estonia, a classic Triton from one of Britain’s best builders, plus a short appreciation of Colin Seeley, who passed away last week. You could also win the personal Triumph T140V of Dare Jennings, the founder of Deus, in a raffle to benefit three Australian bushfire charities.

Win Dare Jennings’ Triumph T140V If you follow the news, you will know that Australia is burning. The bushfires have ignited around 11 million hectares so far, which is around 27 million acres—an area larger than the Netherlands or Switzerland, and similar to Vermont and New Hampshire combined.

This is sadly relevant to us because Australia is also home to several of the world’s top custom builders, including one of the pioneers of the current custom boom—Deus, which is headquartered in Sydney.

Dare Jennings is one of the co-founders of Deus and he’s raffling off his personal Triumph T140V to raise money for bushfire charities. Every cent from the proceeds will be split between the Australian Red Cross, Save the Animals and the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.

As you’d expect, the bike is an immaculate restoration, and goes as well as it looks thanks to a rebuilt engine. It’s currently in Sydney, and a raffle ticket costs just AU$50. Even if you don’t win, you can rest assured that your money is going to an incredibly deserving cause. Enter here before 17 January.

Ducati S2R 800 by KickassTuning The Monster is a brilliant platform for a light custom job, and this S2R from 28-year-old Ingo Kikas immediately prompted us to scan the local classifieds when it landed in the EXIF inbox.

Based in Estonia, Ingo spends his days building and painting project bikes for local dealers and custom shops. But for the past couple of years, he’s also been creating his own customs and the latest is this machine called ‘Gucci.’

The commission started with a simple re-paint job on a client’s S2R, which quickly morphed into something much more involved. Ingo has given the Ducati a new exhaust system that sits under the engine, a custom solo seat on a truncated rear frame, clip-ons, and brake and clutch master cylinders from a Ducati 1199.

The headlight is from a Scrambler Ducati, and Ingo’s also added an Acewell speedo and small custom fender. The Gucci theme is (thankfully) low key, apparent in the seat upholstery and that lovely ultra-luxe green and gold paint. [KickassTuning Facebook]

Ultimate chopper: Bones’ Harley-Davidson VL panhead The days of choppers selling for crazy money disappeared around 15 years ago, along with mainstream interest in the genre. But occasionally an interesting bike with real history pops up, like this ’30 VL panhead built by the late William ‘Bones’ Coddington of Bones Legacy in Las Vegas.

Spotted on eBay, it’s a faithful reproduction of the bikes that used to scoot around the Bay Area of San Francisco in the 1960s. It took over two years to build, and uses many of the same components that builders employed half a century ago.

Some are familiar—like the Morris Magneto—while other parts are obscure, such as the SU carb lifted from a Triumph TR3 car. The finned aluminum rocker box covers are from Custom Cycle Engineering, and another authentic ‘60s fitment.

It’s not our usual style, but we’d agree with Easyriders magazine calling this pan the ‘ultimate chopper.’ It’s picked up a claimed 17 bike building awards in the US—from shows such as Born Free and the Dave Mann Chopperfest—and sold for a cool $30,000 a few days ago. [Street Chopper profile]

Jim Hodges’ Triton cafe racer When it comes to classic customs, the ‘Triton’ is about as classic as it gets. This beauty comes from Jim Hodges of Team R&D Motorcycles in the UK, a low-key but very reputable operation.

Jim’s bike deviates a little from the standard recipe: although it has a Norton ‘featherbed’ frame, Jim and his two colleagues have squeezed in a Trident T150 motor rather than a traditional pre-unit engine.

The motor is tuned with uprated cams, pistons and rods, plus a lightweight crank and high-spec ancilliaries and electrics. A tough Quaife five-speed gearbox handles the dyno-proven 80 rwhp output.

There are too many other lovely details to list here, but this isn’t a museum piece: since completing the bike, Jim’s put 3,000 trouble-free miles on it—including several laps of the Isle of Man TT circuit. Bravo. [More]

RIP Colin Seeley, 1936-2020 One of the most influential motorcycle identities of all time passed away last Tuesday in England. Colin Seeley was a renowned racer, designer and constructor, who learnt to ride at the age of 16 on his father’s Vincent Rapide.

In the mid 60s, Seeley switched from sidecar racing to building frames for conventional racebikes, using mostly AJS and Matchless engines. By the late 1970s he was selling kits direct to riders wanting to uprate their sportbikes, and put several Honda-powered machines into low volume production—such as a ‘Phil Read Replica’ roadster based on the Honda CB750F2.

On these pages, Seeley’s influence has been mostly felt through the work of Kenny Cummings, who runs NYC Norton. Kenny’s built some of the most popular bikes we’ve featured over the years, such as the blue and silver Seeley G50 and a modern, monochromatic take on the classic Seeley Mk II Norton racer.

The world works in strange ways these days, so Seeley’s death may revive interest in his engineering genius. We hope to see more Seeley-related builds, to keep alive the name of one of England’s best automotive engineers.

Continue reading...

 

[CarlS]

That is a gorgeous Triumph!

 

[DaveM]

Extreme Green: A Kawasaki ZRX1200R by deBolex

After a while, a lot of custom designs tend to blend into a homogenous soup: variations on a standard recipe, slightly tweaked by the individual chefs.

A handful of top builders specialize in less mainstream flavors though. One of them is Calum Pryce-Tidd of the south London workshop deBolex Engineering, who often starts with unconventional ingredients—such as an Energica Eva or a Yamaha MT-10.

The latest build from Calum and his offsider Des Francis is based on the mighty Kawasaki ZRX1200R, an intoxicating bruiser that was sold for a few years after the turn of the century.

Although it was something of a throwback, the big green machine was no slouch: it could run the quarter mile in less than 11 seconds, and pass the timing light at 125 mph.

That’s comfortably faster than Kawasaki’s current Z900RS retro replica, thanks to around 122 horsepower hitting the back wheel, courtesy of a water-cooled inline four fed by quadruple 36mm Keihin CV carbs.

That would be enough for most folks even today, but Calum hasn’t just given the ZRX a distinctive new look—he’s lifted its performance to an entirely new level.

“It was a commission from a friend, the London collector Alex Shepherd,” he reveals. “We met while on the Malle Rally a few years back, and that led to this project.”

Alex bought his ZRX1200R new and later sold it. But he regretted the sale, and bought it back a few years later—luckily with very low mileage, and still in great condition. He met up with Calum, and proposed using the ZRX as a base.

Calum is also fan of the ZRX, and the retro muscle bike vibe in general. “I’ve always loved the big AMA Superbikes,” he tells us, “so this felt like a good chance to ‘flex’ that design. We wanted the Kawasaki to have the ‘classic superbike’ feel, but with our unique design touches.”

As with all deBolex builds, that meant a lot of metal shaping. “The ZRX was probably one of our more challenging projects,” says Calum. “Features such as the quick-release headlight cover, and the tank and tail designs, took some head scratching to achieve.”

The mechanical upgrades are also substantial, notably in the suspension department. Up front are Maxton superbike forks with separate rebound and compression damping pistons, built to order and fitted with GP20 cartridge internals.

The forks are hooked up with custom CNC’d yokes, and braking now comes from an ISR system with six-pot calipers and twin 310 mm disks. The 17-inch wheels are the lightest aluminum models that Dymag make: the same UP7X spec used on some WSBK racers and finished in gold. The front rim is attached via a quick release spindle.

The rear end is suspended with a pair of alloy bodied, piggyback gas Maxton WR26 shocks. These are adjustable for rebound damping, compression damping, preload and ride height.

With a little CNC magic, Calum and Des converted the rear brakes to an ISR two-pot caliper system, and completed the roadholding upgrade by installing Metzeler Racetec RR suspersport tires. This ZRX1200R is going to be generating a lot more g-force than the factory bike.

The low-mileage engine is still strong, so deBolex have left the internals alone and just given the cases a Cerakote polymer-ceramic coating (along with the swingarm and various brackets). They’ve upgraded the fueling too, switching from Keihin to a stunning Yoshimura Mikuni TMR-MJN38 setup.

Gases now exit into a custom stainless exhaust system, terminated with a pair of high-riding Arrow mufflers.

The new bodywork is a medley of intriguing, unusual shapes that bear closer inspection. As you’d expect on a classic Kawasaki, the color is green—but this is a more militaristic olive green, with white and gold highlights. And the frame is painted to match.

“All work is carried out in-house,” Calum explains, “from design sketches to CAD to the metal shaping stage, and then onto paint and trimming. Keeping these processes in-house enables us to achieve exactly what we set out to achieve—and keeps us pushing to perfect our designs and finish quality.”

There are quick-release systems for the seat and tail, which help that part of the build to run smoothly and allow for a neat install of electrics and ancillary components. The tail houses a small Shorai lithium battery and a Motogadget m.unit blue control box.

The electrics are hooked up to a Scitsu rev counter and
 Daytona ‘Nano’ speedo ahead of the drag-style Rizoma bars. They’re finished with Renthal grips, a Domino quick-action throttle and tiny Motogadget blinkers.


Calum’s famed for his attention to detail, and you can see it everywhere on the ZRX. It’s in the little things like the Samco classic black silicon hoses, and even the fasteners have all been replaced with new Pro-Bolt items.

The ZRX1200R is a one-off of the highest order, and carries the ‘1/1’ designation given to unique, unrepeatable deBolex creations over the past eight years. But there’s going to be a delay before we see another 1/1.

“This will be our last 1/1 for now, while we focus on creating a ‘Series’ run of motorcycles,” says Calum. “We’re aiming to bridge the gap between production bikes and one-off customs, with a much quicker time frame and a better cost—while keeping quality and design our #1 priority.”

Details of the series bikes will be revealed soon: if you’re interested, flick Calum an email via his website and he’ll keep you updated. And while you’re waiting, take a moment to savor the details on this delicious Kawasaki.

deBolex Engineering | Facebook | Instagram | Photography by George Romain

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

A street tracker with race-tuned Yamaha MT-07 power

Building a competitive flat track racer is downright scientific. Countless factors like weight, geometry, power delivery and gearing all have to be optimized to the nth degree. But building a street tracker is simpler; as long as you have the flat track look and feel locked in, whether or not it can actually hold its own on a dirt track is inconsequential.

Unless, of course, your name is Michael ‘Woolie’ Woolaway, and you’re the head wrench at Deus in Venice Beach, California.

Woolie’s idea of a street tracker is a race bike with lights—and that’s pretty much what he’s delivered here.

We’re not exaggerating. Nicknamed ‘The Framer,’ this Yamaha MT-07-powered machine was designed as a properly competitive AMA flat track mile racer, which could do double duty on the street too. So it’s a completely ground-up build.

Woolie started with the motor from a 2017 MT-07—a widely acclaimed power plant that’s similar to the one in Yamaha’s AFT MT-07 DT factory race bike. To get the 689 cc parallel twin up to race spec, he tore it down, then rebuilt it with a factory Yamaha racing kit.

The kit includes oversized pistons, a ported cylinder head, upgraded valves and cams, and a revised electronics package to enable custom engine tuning.

Every moving part inside the engine was sent to WPC for an advanced micro shot-peening anti-friction treatment, to improve both performance and longevity.

For the frame, Woolie called up a friend: legendary flat track chassis designer, Jeff Cole. Jeff helped work out the layout and geometry, then a jig was made for Woolie to build the actual chromoly frame and swing arm with.

Extra care had to be taken to accommodate a larger-than-normal fuel tank, since it needed to hold an acceptable measure of fuel for street riding. This frame is also extra special, in that it’s the last design Jeff produced before his retirement.

Finishing off the chassis are a set of Öhlins forks, and a custom-made shock from Race Tech. The hoops are 19” Roland Sands Design ‘Traction’ numbers, wrapped in DOT-approved Mitas dirt track tires. Woolie installed full-floating Brembo brake systems at both ends, with a quick-release setup at the rear.

All of the bodywork you see is custom, hand-fabricated from aluminum to spec. That includes the fuel tank, tail section, and a couple of neat side panels to hide away the MT-07’s overly complex electronics. Flat track stalwarts Saddlemen supplied a handcrafted seat pad to cap things off.

Up top, Woolie kept the OEM MT-07 speedo—but the rest of the cockpit is kitted with top-shelf bars, grips and controls. And yes, the bike is street legal; there’s a small spotlight in the hand-made nacelle, bar-end turn signals, and a removable taillight and plate bracket that’s not pictured here.

The exhaust system is custom too. Woolie pieced it together using parts from various suppliers, and mounted it with an extremely neat hand-made hangar.

There’s also a hand-made carbon fiber front fender, mounted on custom brackets. Keep looking, and you’ll spot tons of really slick details—like the engine protectors, front sprocket guard and upgraded shifter nub. (You might even notice that Woolie added some vintage Bates footpeg rubbers.)

Woolie’s Yamaha-powered street tracker has a purpose-built vibe that hits all the right notes. So it’s only fitting that it wears an equally matter-of-fact livery—a simple, deep coat of ‘Black Candy.’ (It’s a special paint that doesn’t reflect light as much as regular gloss finishes do.)

The Framer also closely resembles another of Woolie’s builds: Dani Pedrosa’s wild Honda CR500 tracker. Woolie calls this a “big brother version” of that bike, explaining, “whereas his was a short track racer, this is a proper mile bike with third gear wheelies all day.”

We’d pay good money to see that. In fact, we just want to see The Framer ridden in anger—and we don’t care if it’s on a dirt track, or on the street.

Deus Ex Machine USA | Facebook | Instagram

Continue reading...

 

[DaveM]

Day-Glo dirt machine: A Hercules GS250 with an 80s vibe

There’s a constant tension in the custom world between motorcycles that are meant to be ridden often, and those that will spend most of their lives parked, on display.

This neon-flavored Hercules GS250 scrambler is an enigma though. It’s tidy enough to do duty as décor in a trendy moto-cafe, but it’s actually heading into a riding season full of abuse.

It belongs to Enrico Pauli, proprietor of The Loose Screw—a communal DIY workshop and creative co-working space in Dachau, near Munich. And even though Enrico brought it back from the dead, he reckons it’s going to be back on the bench, come next winter.

“This year the bike is to be ridden again off-road and on various tracks,” he says. “And therefore, unfortunately, it will be a little bit destroyed again.”

“But that’s why we build motorcycles; to ride, not as dust catchers.”

Enrico found the donor bike almost by accident. He was inspecting an entirely different bike, owned by an older gentleman who had a number of vintage machines in his collection. The sale didn’t work out and Enrico was about to leave—then the old timer told him about a 250 cc motocross bike that had been standing in his basement for the past 25 years.

“After a short inspection—and a price I could not say no to—we carried the motorcycle up the stairs,” says Enrico. “Carried, because the brakes were completely locked up.”

Hercules was a German manufacturer that was bought by ZF Sachs in 1963, and eventually shuttered in 1996. Hercules had been using Sachs motors before the buyout, and this 1970s GS250 was powered by a Sachs single-cylinder two-stroke.

This is a good thing, because Sachs motors are easier to come by than complete Hercules motorcycles. So Enrico was able to source a second motor via eBay, which he used as a parts donor to rebuild the one in his bike.

As for things like rings, seals, gaskets and bearings, those were all sourced from online suppliers.

Once the internals were tighter than a pair of spandex leggings, the motor was repainted in black. But the real trick was getting it back into the frame. The engine mounts were totally shot, so Enrico had to fabricate new brackets and weld them in.

Despite the period incorrect paint, this Hercules is actually more of a restoration than a mod. Enrico refurbished the original Bing carb and the exhaust system, only shortening the silencer a touch for aesthetic purposes. Everything looks factory fresh, and there’s also a newer 12V electronic ignition wired in.

Moving to the suspension, Enrico rebuilt the OEM forks and upgraded them with progressive springs. The GS250 didn’t originally come with Bitubo shocks at the back—but this one had them fitted, so he refurbished those too.

The wheels were re-laced with black-chromed spokes, and shod with Metzeler’s all-terrain Unicross tires.

The Hercules’ bodywork is a mix of original and new parts. Enrico kept the fuel tank, but he swapped the seat out for an aftermarket item. It’s been adapted to fit the bike, and recovered in white vinyl.

There’s a new plastic fender up front, and a classic KTM rear fender that Enrico managed to match up to the Hercules’ rear frame. Since the scrambler’s destined for off-road use only, it’s wearing nothing more than a scrappy number plate up front.

There’s an interesting story behind the handlebars—they’re from a vintage Wasp sidecar rig. Enrico found them at a swap meet, but they were badly warped. So he hacked off the cross brace, straightened them, and welded a new brace in. They’ve been powder-coated black, and wear new grips and controls.

Enrico sent the frame, rims and a few other key parts off for white powder coating. Every other part’s been cleaned up, restored or refurbished, right down to the Hercules’ original sump guard.

As for the zany 80s-style paint scheme, that was beautifully executed by Viktoria Greiner at VAim.me. It’s over the top in the best possible way, and will no doubt turn heads out on the trails as it zooms by.

We applaud Enrico for breathing life back into this neglected classic, and with such a meticulous approach too. The fact that he’s willing to get his white bike dirty is just the cherry on the cake.

Loose Screw | Facebook | Instagram | Images by August Auer

Continue reading...