Custom Motorcycle Builds

[DaveM]

Yamaha XS650 ‘Techno Tracker’ by Gunn Design

Did you know that the evergreen Yamaha XS650 was launched over half a century ago? Although the production line closed down in 1985, the air-cooled parallel twin is still a top choice for many custom builders, including Minnesota-based Dan Riley.

Operating as Gunn Design, Dan is a gifted freelance designer with good business smarts, too. A few months ago, he contacted Tucker Powersports and suggested a custom bike collaboration—which makes sense, because Tucker distributes custom-oriented brands that regularly appear on these pages, such as Vance & Hines, ProTaper and Renthal.

Dan pitched the idea of a build using parts sourced from Tucker brands, and suggested a platform he has worked with on several occasions—the XS650. The Tucker folks agreed, and a 1975 XS650 was bought off Craigslist for a mere $650.

Now called the ‘Techno Tracker,’ the Yamaha had to be finished in time for the annual Tucker dealer show held every January.

Dan set to work on turning his concept into reality. “It serves as an example of what can be done primarily with bolt-on parts,” Dan says, “and on a budget less than the cost of a new motorcycle.”

A few key parts are not from the Tucker catalogs, but they’re still mostly bolt-on and affordable. Dan’s used the forks from a YZ250, and has grafted on the front calipers from a bigger YZ450—using them at both ends of the XS650.

“I mounted the YZ forks using the stock triple clamps,” he explains, “milled down and with the casting marks shaved off. There’s a custom set of tapered roller cone bearings to mate them to the XS frame.”

The forks have been lowered from the stock YZ height, going down from a lofty 11 inches of travel to a more road-friendly four inches. The brake rotors and lines are from Galfer, and power hits the back wheel via a ProTaper YZ450 sprocket.

The shocks are Progressive’s 444 Series, and right above is a new seat pan designed using laser-cut ABS plastic. The rider sits on motocross-style gripper material, encasing medium density foam.

The seat pan sits on a revised rear subframe: Dan’s cut off the hoop, and also cut out the bridge between the shock. He’s replaced that with a custom piece that works as both a frame support and seat mounting bracket.

Those stylish new wheels are from Dubya: they use Talon hubs laced into 19×2.15 Excel rims front and rear. “I located new wheel bearings with the dimensions I needed, and created my own wheel spacers to work with them,” says Dan. The tires are Maxxis’ DTR-1 dirt track pattern.

We tried to ID the eye-catching little tank, but failed. Dan tells us it’s from a 1977 Yamaha YZ80 two-stroke, and it’s an inspired choice—especially with a baby version of the famous speed block graphics.

Dan’s left the internals of the engine alone, but built new exhaust piping terminated with Two Brothers Racing Comp S mufflers. He’s routed the system to the left, “primarily to keep the header heat away from the clutch basket and transmission gears.”

The carbs have been upgraded with a Mikuni VM34 kit, which should boost power and sharpen response nicely.

The engine covers, foot peg mounts and kick-start lever have been Cerakoted for a clean look, and Dan’s used stainless Allen screws on the valve covers, in place of the original studs and acorn nuts.

The bars are ProTaper’s relatively tall and comfortable EVO Adventure Highs, and the same company supplied the levers, grips and pegs. Motone switchgear and CRG Hindsight mirrors complete the cockpit.

There’s a smartphone mount from SP Connect instead of a conventional speedo, and leading the way is a halogen ‘Angel’ headlight from BikeMaster, with a bright halo effective around the lens border.

It’s a super-slick yet practical build, and a manifestation of Dan’s smart design vision. And also his entrepreneurial ability—an underrated but critical skill for any bike builder with ambition.

After months of effort in the Minnesota workshop, the XS650 was almost complete. A few days before the Tucker show, Dan drove to the Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas, but still had to ship in some parts to finish off the bike.

The XS650 was the first thing dealers saw when they arrived at the show, and our Tucker contact tells us that it was a big hit—even in that traditionally v-twin-heavy environment.

The bike now hits the U.S. show circuit over the next couple of months, and will make its first appearance at the One Moto Show in Portland in a week’s time.

For Dan, it’s Job Done and a sense of satisfaction. “There’s so much room in the used bike market to buy something and customize it to your liking, without having to fork out boatloads of cash,” he says. “Yes, this was a sponsored build—but it also shows just how cool you can make a bike with a little know-how, visualization, and elbow grease.”

Gunn Design | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Brandon LaJoie

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[DaveM]

RETRO REMAKE: Ducati 900SS Darmah Replica by Barn Built Bikes



Written by Martin Hodgson

You might meet the nicest people on a Honda, but if it’s passion you’re after then look no further than Italian marque Ducati! The Ducatisti take things to a whole new level, even holding an annual World Ducati Week, so if you’re building a custom from a Duc then there is an extra layer of pressure. But Sven and his team at Belgium’s Barn Built Bikes were more than up for the challenge and showing their confidence decided to debut the finished product at the Motor Bike Expo in Verona, Italy. The end result is this stunning mix of old and new, a Ducati 900SS built to be a Darmah replica.



“In October 2019, we decided to participate at the motorbike expo 2020 in Verona. We didn’t want to show bikes that we already built for customers. We wanted to show our idea of a custom bike. Italy means Ducati and we still had an SS900ie donor ready in the barn,” Sven explains. But this wasn’t BBB’s first Ducati dance, having already built other SS models into Cafe Racers, one with a gorgeous tricolore paint scheme.



Pipeburn editor Scott was on hand at the MBE in Verona and Sven detailed the philosophy behind the bike “because we like to refer to the past in our builds, we decided to make a replica of the 1978 SS900 Darmah. The fairing and seat are still available and we still had one fuel tank in our shop.” But that tank is no ordinary item, made in house it is a lightweight polyvinyl construction, with a see-through strip on both sides to see the fuel level. It also retains the factory fuel pump, recessed filler cap and sits perfectly over the stock airbox.



To match, the old school style seat design was the perfect complimenting feature, but anyone who has worked on the modern SS knows that the subframe is not at all conducive to a seat change. So rather than trying to rework it, the BBB crew simply cut it off and built up an all-new tubular rear section from the centre posts back. To match the lines of the tank, raised supports are used under the seat base and then it’s topped with the perfectly trimmed seat.



Moving to the front and while the modern SS comes with a front fairing stay, it needed to be totally redesigned and customised so it could support the classic ’70s unit and round headlight to match. Then it was time for paint and the quality is first class, the gorgeous deep gloss black perfectly accentuated by the gold graphics. With the Desmo decal added for good measure and the BBB shop logo on the stock front fender.



To get the bike into rolling form Sven went with a shop favourite, a set of spoked Alpina wheels with blacked-out rims, all wrapped up in sticky Pirelli rubber. The swingarm has been rubbed back to show off the raw metal finish, with the same treatment given to the heal guards. The suspension remains as it came from the factory and while not the latest and greatest, the combination of the exceptional frame working with the fully adjustable Showa forks and shock makes for a great ride.



The factory braking is just as good and with less weight to stop, the full Brembo package with braided lines has an even easier task. But that didn’t stop Sven from making some upgrades with a set of Magura reservoirs. They form part of the ultra-clean cockpit with a custom dash supporting a centralised Daytona speedo. The clip-ons are then replaced with a pair from TRW, with new grips and refurbished switchblocks.



To ensure the 900cc L-Twin could show off its best features a custom dry clutch cover was fitted and the crew pulled a Ducati custom exhaust off the shelf. But the 2-1 system was originally designed for a Monster and needed some fettling to fit. But there were some tense moments at the end, with the wheels only arriving on the Monday and seat and upholstery by Cuirconcept on the Wednesday before the show. Thankfully all was finished in time and the Barn Built Bike was a hit, “In Verona we had really nice comments on the bike. Older bikers said we did a nice Job. Non-Ducatisti thought it was a genuine old one. Even Mr Martini himself came to us to say we made nice bikes,” a smiling Sven and a happy crowd!









[ Barn Built Bikes | Instagram ]

 

[DaveM]

Chopper Rescue: A Honda CB900 revived by Purpose Built

We don’t usually go in for choppers around here—but we do appreciate the skill and effort that goes into building a truly stellar chop job. And Tom Gilroy at Purpose Built Moto on Australia’s Gold Coast gets it too.

The PBM portfolio is stacked with cafe racers and scramblers, but that didn’t stop them from tackling a chopper…and knocking it out the park. “The skills are the same,” says Tom, “and I love the style just as much—it’s just a different thought process.”

Purpose Built worked with an unusual donor bike for this project: a Honda CB900. And one that came with its own baggage, too.

The shop’s client had bought it wrecked, ten years ago, and decided to have it rebuilt as a chopper. He originally found a builder on the Sunshine Coast—but the work took literally years to complete, and the bike looked horrible and didn’t run right.

“He was never happy with it,” Tom tells us, “which, after waiting so long, is understandably a kick in the guts. One thing I will say, is that the frame that was build from scratch was very well fabricated, an amazing job.”

PBM decided to build their own take on a Japanese chopper: “Something the owner would be proud to ride and show off to his mates.” So they stripped the bike down, ripped out the dodgy wiring and got cracking.

First on the agenda was the CB’s stance. Tom and co. kept the 17” rear wheel the bike had come with, but re-laced the front hub onto a 21” rim. Both are wrapped in Avon Cobra tires.

Since the Honda’s frame had been done well the first time around, Tom focused his energy purely on rebuilding the rear section. “This whole process was foreign to me,” he says. “A new set of geometry dynamics to work with, to achieve a good and solid chopper look.”

A new subframe was fabricated using 28 mm Chromoly tube, and a pair of new shock mount spigots turned up. Then the swing-arm was shorted about 50 mm to tuck the rear end even more. Finally, Purpose Built mounted up a set of shrouded 10” shocks, from Ride Dynamics.

Next up, the crew turned their attention to the bodywork. The CB had come with a huge mustang chopper tank—but Tom thankfully swapped it out for a Honda CB750 K2 unit. “It fitted with my ideas for the bike, and it allowed the huge engine to protrude from under the tank,” he explains.

Then came the trickiest part: getting the balance of the seat, rear fender and sissy bar just right. Tom started with a lipped rear fender, then bent up some bar with a trio of curved ends that match the fender’s lip. The arrangement was finished off with a prototype tail light that’ll be joining Purpose Built’s extensive parts catalog soon.

Tom then whipped up a new seat pan and electrics tray, and shaped up the foam. Jamo at Timeless Autotrim kicked out a sublime nubuck leather cover, with pleats that run all the way over the back of the seat.

Up front, Tom designed a vintage style top yoke, taking inspiration from vintage Ceriani parts. That design was then CNC cut and polished up, and now holds a set of narrowed 1” mini-apes.

Purpose Built usually focus on simple and clean results on their cafe racer builds. But for this bike, Tom deliberately wanted to add some flair. “For a chopper, I’m thinking, ‘What is the best looking, and most elaborate way, to get this job done?’”

A lot of this approach translated into the Honda’s intricate new headlight mount. Tom bent up a set of rods that flow up over the yokes, and end in a ducktail that matches the sissy bar’s. The arrangement holds two 4.5” Purpose Built headlights.

The detail work on this chop-job could fill volumes. The cockpit features leather wrap grips, modern Purpose Built switches with internal wiring, and reverse levers with a cable operated master brake cylinder hidden under the fuel tank. And there’s a whole bunch of smaller brass parts scattered throughout the bike.

The horrid exhaust has been ditched too. In its place is a four-into-four system with straight through cans, finished with turned brass end caps. “It’s obnoxious and loud,” admits Tom.

The engine was cleaned up and refinished in black with some mild polishing in places, and treated to a set of Keihin CR carbs with DNA filters. Then the whole setup was run and tuned by the team at Dynomite—so it runs like a dream now.

Tom admits that this bike doesn’t corner as hard as PBM bikes normally do, but it’s still a joy to ride.

“Something I hadn’t understood until now was the allure of riding a chopper. I’ve always loved winding roads, fast paced corners and a bike that handles great. But on this bike, it doesn’t matter where you’re riding, it’s about what you’re riding.”

It also doesn’t hurt that the paint job is flawless. Tom chose red as a nod to the original CB900, then Justin at Popbang Classics laid it down with a deep candy finish, and gold leaf accents.

Not surprisingly, Purpose Built’s client is over the moon with his revived chopper. But more than that, Tom is stoked that someone trusted him enough to step outside of his own comfort zone.

Purpose Built Moto | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Made Social

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[DaveM]

Custom Bikes Of The Week: 2 February, 2020

A beautifully modified Honda Dominator from Spain, a CB1000R commissioned by Honda Italia, a $58,000 Laverda SFC, and news of a collaboration between Zero and Filson.

Honda NX650 Dominator by KoolT Creations The evergreen Dominator is a simple but utterly brilliant bike, easy to locate secondhand, and deservedly popular with bike builders. Unfortunately that means there are quite a few botched custom jobs out there: Dommies that have traded most of their practicality for dubious aesthetics.

This sharp-looking build from Barcelona-based videographer Stefan Lantschner hits the sweet spot, though. No stone has been left unturned: the engine was removed from the frame, which was cleaned up, and fitted with a new back end and new mounts to take a Honda CG125 gas tank.

Since his lovely Yamaha XT600 tracker build, Stefan has taught himself to use an English wheel. So he made a set of new side panels, and while everything was sent off for the luscious paint, his friend Salva upgraded and repositioned the electrical system. Stefan’s also completely revitalized the cockpit area with a mix of ProTaper and Renthal parts.

The engine keeps its airbox to maintain rideability, but there are new header pipes now hooked up to a CRF muffler. With refurbished suspension to match the slick work elsewhere, this NX650 finally has the looks to match its potential. [More]

Honda CB1000R by Imbarcadero 14 Venice The Honda CB1000R previously looked like a dozen other sports/nakeds, but on the latest model, hectic angles have given way to tasteful contours. It’s a goer too—with 143 hp and 104 Nm on tap, backed by electronic rider aids and decent handling.

So when Honda Italia commissioned a custom CB1000R from the Italian custom shop Imbarcadero 14 Venice, there was one big caveat: don’t mess with its bones.

Imbarcadero 14 is a crew of three, and they’ve called the CB ‘Reversa’—because all the new bodywork can be removed via a handful of fasteners. “The project was really challenging,” says shop boss Maurizio Carraro, “because of the limits required by Honda. But these limits were also an incentive to build an avant-garde motorcycle that you can ride daily on public roads.”

The new body kit takes inspiration from 1980s Lamborghinis. All the pieces you see here were shaped and welded by hand, without any bucks, wireframes or 3D printed molds. The main aluminum monocoque that incorporates the original taillight and the new fairing is fabricated from titanium—which is why it bears ‘Ti22’ graphics on the sides.

This CB’s kitted with a few smaller custom parts too. It now wears a new top triple clamp, custom-machined clip-ons and foot controls, and an exhaust from Nano-Tech S.p.a.—a company more used to building carbon components for a major Italian sports car factory. [Imbarcadero 14 Venice | Images by Giovanni Federici]

The $58,000 Laverda SFC We’ve always had a crush on classic Laverdas and this bright orange SFC is one of the best we’ve seen. It was recently listed by renowned classic Italian specialist Peter Boggia of Moto Borgotaro for a heady $58,000 on eBay.

Boggia knows his stuff, and says, “To me the SFC is the pinnacle of 70s Italian sport bikes—it hits all the marks and it’s built like a tank. This is the closest bike in feel to a Lamborghini Miura.”

Super Freni Competizione translates to ‘super competition brakes’ and the SFC was basically a race bike for the road. Early machines had substantial magnesium brake drums, and the component selection is top-notch—from the Borrani wheels to the Ceriani forks and Nippon Denso electrics.

This 1974 SFC has a great provenance, with one careful owner over the past ten years and a lot of work done by another Laverda specialist, Scott Potter. Boggia himself has fettled the bike into tip-top condition: “I decided to give her a once over, and clean and replace the jets, and set the points. After putting in some fresh fuel, this beast roared back to life.” Definite dream garage material. [Via]

Zero DSR x Filson collaboration Electric bikes tend to be associated with short-range commuting duties. So it’s significant that Seattle-based outdoor gear maker Filson has chosen to work with Zero to launch its new ‘Alcan’ moto gear range.

Zero have done a light mod job on this DSR, adding auxiliary lights, new crash bars, a rear luggage rack and knobby tires—plus side brackets to hold Filson luggage. The same luggage material is also used as a seat cover and there’s a subtle but very smart custom paint job.

Zero quotes a city range of 204 miles (328 km) for the DSR, which should be enough for a day of moderate trail riding with a loop back home, or even a jaunt out to a tranquil spot for an overnight camp. And the thought of being able to do this in virtual silence is very appealing.

Might be a bit of noise from that petrol-powered Stihl chainsaw, though … [More]

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[DaveM]

N, NOT STIRRED: BMW K100RS by Tossa R



Written by Tim Huber.

Unlike most creative mediums, custom motorcycle building isn’t taught in classrooms, and is instead of a mishmash of semi-related skills, often acquired over many years in other careers before being applied to one-off two-wheelers. For Tossa R’s owner, Tudor Dunev, that training and preparation came in the form of an illustrious four-wheeled motorsport career of building — and piloting — championship-winning drift and rally cars.

The Bulgarian racer’s accolades include a VW Lupo Cup championship, five consecutive Bulgarian Touring Car championship titles, and the title of 2010 European Drift King, among many others, the most recent of which being the 2019 Bulgarian Eco Rally which Dunev also took first in. So, after spending years churning out highly-competitive race cars engineered to take on extended abuse in some of the world’s toughest environments, Tudor has applied his skill-sets to running a successful customs shop with a proven history of quality and craftsmanship.



Tudor’s operations are split into two separate divisions: there’s Top Drift Services which repairs, tunes, and preps drift and race cars; and Tossa R, which focuses exclusively on custom motorcycles. Since the shop’s inception, it’s completed a variety of BMW-based bikes, all of which bare a similar theme but are each distinctly different. And Tossa’s latest Bavarian-based build is this lovely K100RS.

Though the donor bike looked to be a fairly decent shape, its age and extensive milage ultimately prompted Tossa to call on a full engine rebuild, tearing the lump apart, replacing the lion’s share of the internals with refreshed items and bestowing the mill with new gaskets and seals throughout. Once pieced back together, the engine’s exterior was hit with a coat of fresh black paint.



The stock respiratory bits are no more, with air now being sucked through an aggressive-looking forward-facing, cruiser-style pod filter that hangs on a custom extension piece. In place of the factory exhaust is a bespoke set of four-into-one pipes feeding back into a carbon fiber muffler that pokes out on the right side from underneath the single-sided swing-arm.

An elaborate custom subframe was drawn up before being reproduced with new tubular stock, along with a thick seat-pan-esque piece. The new framework cleans up the aft end of the build, provides support for the rider’s seat, and acts as the mounting point for the BMW’s revised rear suspension setup. Though the original swing-arm remains in play, it’s been reinforced via a new supplementary tubular structure that links to a non-offset modern, adjustable mono-shock arrangement.

Completing the rolling chassis is a beefy set of contemporary upside-down gold forks slotted in custom triples. On top of the improved handling, the build also sees its stopping power upgraded in the form of a modern dual-disc setup bit by four-pot calipers. Later model, split five-spoke rims and Pirelli Diablo Rosso rubber also help to bring the Beemer’s performance prowess into 2020.



The K-series now affords a markedly more attack-ready riding position, with a new hunched-forward triangle resulting from new clip-ons and a set of black-anodized adjustable rear-sets. The cockpit has also been treated to new Barracuda grips, modern switchgear, bar-end mirrors, new levers, and a round analogue tach/digital speedo combo. Perfectly following the contours of the new seat-pan and subframe is a minimalistic, ultra-low-profile, bobber-meets-scrambler-style seat adorned in gold accent stitching running up the center of the saddle and outlining the edges of the leather.

Like the powertrain, the frame, modified swing-arm, subframe, and wheels have all been powder-coated or painted in a gloss black. The bulk of the stock tank wears the same dark glossy hue, though the knee dent areas now boast a metallic gray, separated from the rest of the black via gold accent striping and gold “007” script that add a dash of color to the mix and compliments the build’s new inverted front-end. There’s also a new set of monochrome Roundels, furthering the build’s murdered-out theme.



With 95% of the build completed, the Tossa crew set out about polishing off the finishing touches. This included relocating the battery to custom housing that now rests just above the swing-arm pivot and installing top-shelf Rizoma-style reservoirs. There’s also new lighting across the board: out front a classic round headlight bucket houses a modern bulb, while front turn signal duties go to a pair of Motogadget m-Blaze pin indicators. Out in back, small circular taillights cap off either end of the back of the one-off subframe, serving double duty as turn signals and utilizing the new framework, back tire, and bottom of the new seat-pan to illuminate light off the red LEDs, creating a unique glowing effect.

The completed RS wonderfully demonstrates Tossa R’s proclivity for breathing new life into tired old Bavarian bikes. Looking at the shop’s earlier works, it becomes abundantly clear that lessons have been taken away from each project, all of which have now been applied to this latest work. The level of sheer craftsmanship and engineering on display doesn’t hurt either. Whether he’s getting sideways on four-wheels or organizing another bespoke two-wheeled project, we’re looking forward to seeing what Tudor has got in store next.

 

[DaveM]

Building a Street 750 custom with a No. 8 wire mentality

In rural New Zealand, where I am writing this, you often hear that someone has a ‘number eight wire mentality.’

‘Number 8’ is a 4.0 mm gauge wire that was used for farm fencing decades ago. More importantly, it was also co-opted by clever types for general repairs and unusual fixes. A forerunner of duct tape, if you like, and now part of the Kiwi cultural lexicon.

So when I saw that this very smart Harley Street 750 was from a company called No. 8 Wire Motorcycles, I knew instantly that the builder had to be a Kiwi—even though the email came from Montana, USA.

Colin Cornberg is indeed an expat Kiwi, although he’s been working in Missoula since 2013. He runs a full service moto-stroke-fabrication shop, and also does the odd custom build.

“This build started with a bone stock Street 750 that I got through a friend at the local Harley dealership,” Colin tells us. “After building two XG750 commissions—one supercharged—I wanted to have a go at building one under my own direction. How I’d want it if it was my ‘daily’.”

Colin regards it as an experiment too, since he rarely builds customs that aren’t commissioned. “My shop is about 50/50 service and customs. And with such a competitive market for custom builds, I’m still trying to find my niche.”

With this sleek, minimalist build, we reckon Colin has found his métier. It’s clean and uncluttered, throwing the focus onto the v-twin engine rather than cluttering the view with fussy details.

The long subframe and extended rear fender of the stock XG750 is gone. The new rear end is short, with repositioned shock mounts on both the frame and swing arm, but still provides protection from road muck.

Colin built the new tank and seat cowl out of aluminum, and the tank also houses a Sportster fuel pump. “The shape of the tank is based on the old Harley XR100 and the XR750 flat track bike; it holds about three gallons.”

Most of the electrical components, the coolant overflow tank and the lithium battery are housed in a polished aluminum tray under the seat. This also doubles as a splashguard for the rear wheel. The upholstery is a typically smart job from New Church Moto.

Next up was the front end. Cognito Moto made a new set of triples and handlebar risers, which now house a Motogadget display and blinkers. The forks are a major upgrade: they’re from a 2007 Suzuki GSX-R750, and Colin has completely rebuilt them.

He’s also machined new spacers for the front wheel and brake rotor, and had to trim the front brake caliper slightly to get it all dialed in and safe.

“I kept the stock handlebar controls, with the budget in mind, and they work well,” says Colin. “But I upgraded the master cylinder to a Magura unit and went with Biltwell grips and Motogadget m.blaze turn signals.”

To give the 749 cc ‘Revolution X’ engine a power boost, Colin has installed a K&N-style washable air filter (with a handmade aluminum cover) and custom stainless 2-into-1 pipes with a new collector. The low-key muffler comes from Cone Engineering.

To keep everything in optimum tune, Colin has added a Vance & Hines Fuelpak FP3 Autotuner. But when the bike is sold, he’ll suggest an even better upgrade: “I’ll try to talk the buyer into a ThunderMax, which completely replaces the stock ECM.”

The last job in Colin’s shop was the handmade front fender, attached with brackets made out of stainless rod, and a new license plate bracket out back.

Then the Street 750 went off to local paint experts Action Auto Body Shop for finishing. “They knocked out the paint job—which incidentally was the first time in years I got to choose the color of a bike!” The slightly desaturated blue suits the XG750 perfectly, giving it a fresh but understated look that’s anything but agricultural.

We’re thinking that this style suits the Street 750 perfectly. If Harley revamps the six-year-old model soon, perhaps there are some styling cues that could be stolen here …

No. 8 Wire Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Athena Lonsdale

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[DaveM]

CLASSICALLY TRAINED: ‘The Deuce’ Yamaha RD350 by James Berreau



Written by Martin Hodgson

It’s easy to look at big workshops full of the latest tools and be envious, imagining if only you had them at your disposal. But as MacGyver showed us on TV, if you really know what you’re doing you can save the world a thousand times over with just a Swiss Army knife and some miscellaneous objects. Working out of his garage in Minneapolis, James Berreau brings that sort of attitude to the custom bike building game. With just his second build he’s whipped up this stunning 1974 Yamaha RD350 nicknamed ‘The Deuce’ that is oozing classic cool.



Just like ‘Mac’ on the TV show, James has military training having served as an aircraft electrician for six years in the US Air Force, before attending the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Phoenix, AZ. Now having spent 15 years in the R&D division of a major company as a senior test technician, he brings a wealth of skills to the table as he launches his custom bike building career. And in his home garage sits just one bike lift, a TIG welder and his Grandpa’s vintage WWII era lathe.



Picking up the donor bike that had sat idle in a garage since 1978, James quickly set about putting his talents into action, stripping the bike, then “I cut the tail off the frame and added a hoop. Then drilled holes and added tubes in the rear hoop to integrate the LED tail/brake lights.” The stock seat pan was shortened 5in before being topped with the same distressed leather as the grips. While the front fender brackets were his own design that were cut by water jet, and he then welded in a new filler cap for the tank and sent the tins off for paint.



The forks are from an XS650, with all new internals and polished lower legs. “I had a hard time finding a full billet triple clamp, so I found the stout upper and converted into a lower. Machined the stem hole to accept a GSXR aluminum stem and then I machined the upper portion of the stem to the RD specs.” While the rear end uses a set of the ever popular YSS shocks to keep the tyre planted.



That rubber is courtesy of Avon, the RoadRiders giving the perfect match between the classic look and a modern compound. The hubs themselves have been sanded and polished before being laced to the powder-coated rims that give a real pop of colour. While braking was always a weak point of the old 2-stroke street bikes, not here, a Brembo front caliper and full-floating rotor conversion with radial master cylinder provide serious stopping power.



But if it wasn’t for the engine, it’s unlikely the RD would ever have been popular in the first place, let alone having created a cult following now. So rather than messing with it too much, it’s been rebuilt back to stock specs for reliability and avoid the tuning dramas of a hotted-up smoker. There are new gaskets and seal on the repainted donk with titanium bolts pulling the engine covers tight. While the beautiful twin pipes are ceramic coated to keep the heat inside.



With a new chain and sprockets, affixed with more titanium bolts, the power gets to the rear wheel via a custom built Barnett clutch just for the application. While clicking through the cogs required some creative thinking and a hammer, “I combined two different manufacturers for the rear sets during finally assembly, there was some slight interference with the rear brake arm and the exhaust. The muffler needed to be persuaded to accommodate some needed space.”



But its the functionality of the bike that is light years ahead of ’70s commuter machines. The custom-designed and machined switchgear is simply a work of art and pairs up with a new wiring harness and additional fuse blocks for the different circuits. The ignition has been converted to a Newtronics CDI unit and the regulator/rectifier replaced with a newer integrated style unit. With the frame powder coated, the bodywork only came back just in time, with the stunning paintwork finished so the ‘The Deuce’ could be displayed at the J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show. James picked up the second place trophy in his category amongst some incredible competition and this MacGyver of the bike scene is off to a hell of a start in his custom career.



[ Photography by Sam Bendall at Live Moto Foto ]

 

[DaveM]

A Hero Karizma scrambler from an Indian back yard

Some folks are dead set on making a career out of customizing bikes, even if they don’t have access to professional tools, a solid cashflow, or an easy supply of aftermarket parts.

Mohamed Adhil is one of those enterprising types, and we reckon he’s got a shot at making it work too—because he’s resourceful and he’s persistent.

This neat Hero Karizma scrambler is his first build. It took over two years to complete, went through a couple of major revisions, and shattered the budget. And Adhil did most of the work in the back yard of his home in the coastal city of Calicut, in India’s Kerala province.

The bike started life as 2012 Hero Karizma R. Unless you live in India, you probably don’t know this machine, but it’s a 223 cc road bike powered by a detuned version of the Honda CRF230 motor, and with styling supposedly inspired by the VFR800.

“A friend of mine asked me repeatedly to work on his bike,” Adhil tells us. “He wanted to convert it into a scrambler. I kept saying no, as my focus was on getting a regular job to make a living. But in the end, I said yes, because I knew I would regret it if I didn’t take the opportunity.”

Adhil thought the project would be simple: he would figure out what needed doing, and find craftsmen to execute his vision. But then he stripped the Karizma down, and realized that he wanted to be hands on with it. “Once all the body panels were removed,” he says, “all that was left was a skinny, low slung chassis with mag wheels. A lot of things had to be changed to make it a proper tough scrambler.”

Adhil bought a small vise, a vernier caliper and an angle grinder. “And I borrowed a drill…that was pretty much all it took to get the build done.”

His first mission was to change the Karizma’s stance from small sports tourer to scrambler, so he starting sourcing parts from current and older motorcycles common in India.

The 19” front rim is from a Honda Impulse, the 17” rear is from a Royal Enfield Himalayan, and the hubs are from a Honda CB Unicorn. Adhil fitted the rear shocks from a 150 cc Yamaha commuter, but the front proved to be more challenging.

He figured out that a set of Hero Impulse forks would do the trick, but couldn’t find a set. What he did manage to source was a new set of triple clamps—so he fitted those, and modded two other sets of forks to build what he needed. But after all that effort (and after these photos were taken), a set of Impulse items popped up, and have since been swapped out.

Next up, Adhil jumped onto the frame—trimming off the excess, and shortening and looping the tail. He also fabricated a new seat pan, shaped up the foam, and then set to work on smaller custom pieces to tie everything together. And he cut the front and rear fenders from a single Royal Enfield Bullet item.

Adhil’s fully aware of his own limitations, and one of those is welding. So his process was to lay everything up on the bike, then take it all over to professional welders to finish off.

Those floating side panels are his own creations though. They double as heat shields too, and hide away the blacked-out exhaust muffler boxes. The rest of the exhaust system is Adhil’s own work, fabricated from stainless steel.

He even built his own air box. “I feel like open pod filters don’t work properly on carburated bikes in dusty Indian riding conditions.”

Adhil has finished the Karizma with off-the-shelf handlebars, grips, lights and turn signals, and a tank that he bought off a scrap dealer. He made a host of small changes too; a custom gearshift linkage, custom passenger pegs, and a full rewire. But he wasn’t happy: “I still felt like the tank was a bit too long, and with the seat stitching badly done, I felt like it was too basic and too common of a design.”

“At the very beginning of the build, my plan was to build something that was ‘common,’ but build it really clean and technically right—up to international standards. Which is not commonly done in India.”

“People here still feel like customizing will ruin a bike, so I wanted to prove to everyone that it can be done—and also prove to people that I can get it done.”

Adhil tore into phase two, and soon spotted a bike on Instagram that had the perfect tank for his build. It was a Yamaha RD 175, sold in India in the 80s under the Rajdoot brand. The new tank went on, the side panels were reshaped to complement it, and the seat went through three more iterations at the upholsterer before it was perfect.

Adhil named the bike ‘Katalan,’ which, in his native language of Malayalam, means ‘a hunter born in the wild.’ It’s also the first build from Adhil’s newly formed brand, Fernweh Bespoke Motors.

And if this is what he can do with a handful of tools in a back yard, we’re looking forward to seeing him grow.

Fernweh Bespoke Motors Instagram | Images by Farhan Muhammed Tk

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[DaveM]

Hyper8: A race-ready Ducati Hypermotard from Analog

There’s an unspoken truth about building custom motorcycles: you don’t have to change everything. Sometimes it’s enough to just switch up a few parts, and leave others alone.

But Tony Prust feels differently—he’s an extra mile kind of guy, who works with a sharp eye and meticulous hands. It’s an especially good approach when you’re building a race bike, like this Ducati Hypermotard—because everything you do in the workshop matters on the track.

The ethos comes from Tony’s time as an avid track rider, before an injury prompted him to dial things back and open his custom shop Analog Motorcycles in Chicago.

“When you get into track riding and don’t have a lot of money,” he says, “you learn to do a lot of stuff yourself. I got pretty good at taking things apart—cleaning, tuning and rebuilding.”

Tony had always wanted to race seriously, but never had the means. Then last year he decided to enter his first ever race. He ran his KTM EXC530 in the supermoto class, because it was “the closest race-worthy machine” he had available at the time. He finished a creditable 7th.

A customer-slash-friend, Del Thomas, went along to spectate—and got in touch soon after. “Del called me and said: ‘I think I want to build a race bike,’” Tony tells us. “I said, ‘Maybe you should try a track day first,’ but he replied, ‘No, I want you to race it!’”

“Del wanted to fund a custom-built bike that I would get to race—it was like a dream come true. I wanted to sit down and grab dinner first to iron out the expectations, but after that, it was game on.”

As an engineer, Del is a numbers guy. So as soon as he and Tony had agreed on the terms of the project, Tony was flooded with spreadsheets detailing all the ARHMA classes, and what bikes can compete in them.

“We honed in on what we could build that he would like (a Ducati), that I would want to ride, and that could be competitive in its class.”

They settled on the ‘Battle of the Twins 2’ class; air-cooled twins up to 900 cc. Ducati’s 796 motor with an 840 cc kit would give the best possible power-to-weight ratio in the class, but Tony had to figure out which bike to start with. Since he likes the ergonomics of supermotards, a 2010 Ducati Hypermotard 796 turned out to be just the ticket.

The L-twin motor was treated to the planned 840 cc upgrade, along with a MotoCorse performance intake, and a quick shifter and PCV from DynoJet. It’s also sporting titanium bolts, and a 520 chain conversion with new sprockets from Driven.

Tony fabricated a new breather box, and a new mid-section for the exhaust. The two-into-one system now terminates in a stainless steel muffler from Cone Engineering.

Moving to the chassis, Analog swapped out the suspension and triple clamps to those from a Ducati Hypermotard 1100S. Both ends got upgraded with internals from Race Tech, along with a Ducabike adjustable linkage for the rear.

They also borrowed the 17-inch alloy 1100S wheels, because they’re lighter, and the Brembo brake calipers. The tires are Metzeler race slicks, the master cylinders are top-shelf Magura HC3 items, and the brake lines are from Spiegler.

Everyone knows the best thing to add to a race bike is lightness, so Tony went to great lengths to trim what little fat the Hypermotard had.

He swapped out the tank panels, top section and rear hugger for lightweight carbon fiber parts. The front fender’s also carbon fiber (from a Ducati Streetfighter), and is mounted up on custom-made brackets.

The rear fender, side number plates and front nacelle are all custom pieces, shaped from aluminum. But Tony’s already looking for ways to replicate them in carbon fiber, and add them to his Analog Motor Goods catalog.

Other add-ons include a iOneMoto belly pan, and R&G axle sliders and engine protectors. Tony also picked a WireCare cable management system and WireCare heat shielding, and installed Magura bars and CNC Racing rear sets.

Dane Utech at Plz.Be.Seated whipped up a stunning new perch, while Ron Siminak handled Analog’s tasteful paint and graphics. There’s not a hair out of place—and there are probably a hundred little details that Tony hasn’t told us about, too.

The Hyper8 will debut at Laguna Seca in California this weekend—a track Tony has always dreamed of racing on. But are he and the bike up to the challenge?

“We did a bunch of work to get this machine into race trim, and as good as we can make it, in the time we had,” he says. “We’ll spend this season fine tuning and working out any kinks. We went from a 418-pound machine with 71 hp to a 385-pound bike with 83 hp, which should perform and turn heads while doing it.”

“Hopefully I have the skill to pilot it quickly and safely around the track!”

Analog Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Daniel Peter

A message from Tony: We want to thank all our sponsors who have hopped on board for the 2020 race season. Our title sponsor WireCare has been amazing in the shop and we look forward to working with them more. Our long-time shop sponsor Spectro Oils for all the fluids. Magura, R&G Racing, Metzeler tires, Cone Engineering, and Race Tech. And of course, Mr. Del Thomas for this incredible build and this experience.

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[DaveM]

Custom Bikes Of The Week: 9 February, 2020

The BMW that took home the Best In Show award at Verona’s Motor Bike Expo, plus a Kenny Roberts-inspired XS650 from Japan and a gorgeous Suzuki DR650 from Oilbro Motorcycles of France.

Yamaha XS650 by Rocket Motorcycle This Kenny Roberts-inspired XS650 is pushing all our nostalgia buttons. It comes from Yutaka Hoshi at Rocket Motorcycle in Japan, who built it as a tribute to King Kenny’s illustrious career with Yamaha. It’s a mash up of history; the donor is an XS650, as a nod the bike that Roberts piloted to flat track victory in 1973, but the overall look is a hat tip to his iconic TZ750 track bike.

Hoshi-san built it specifically for the track, to compete in the recently announced ‘Legend of Classic’ series to be held at Fuji Speedway. So it’s been given a power boost, via a 750 cc rebuild, a performance cam, and a pair of bell-mouthed CR carbs. The stunning twin exhaust system is all custom.

The XS also got a suspension boost, with new front internals and rear shocks, all from Öhlins. The wheels are Excel rims laced to the stock hubs, and the tires are Dunlop TT 900 GP items.

The look is more of a homage to the TZ750 than a direct replica. Hoshi-san sourced a TZ replica fairing, but removed the lower half. Then he fabricated an aluminum tank, and a fiberglass tail that’s more waspish than the boxy piece on the TZ. Obviously the XS650 now wears a speed block livery, but it’s been done with gold rather than yellow; an inspired choice. [More]

BMW R1100S by Officine Mermaid and Radikal Chopper Building a custom motorcycle is difficult enough—but when there’s a major motorcycle show in the bike’s future, the stakes are raised. Officine Mermaid and Andrea ‘Radikal Chopper’ Radaelli are up the task though.

This BMW R1100S was commissioned by a client to go straight to the Motor Bike Expo in Verona, where it promptly snagged the coveted ‘Best in Show’ award.

It’s easy to see why—the two Milan-based shops went deep, leaving very little of the original BMW behind. There’s a lot to digest here, from the two-piece chassis with its flowing trellis front part, to the hand-made girder front end. Every last part flows in unison—like the BMW’s new alloy bodywork, and the twin exhausts that terminate under the seat with slash-cut mufflers.

The motor’s been treated to custom valve covers and a custom ‘breastplate.’ The front fender and headlight cluster are one-offs too, and the build also features clip-ons, upgraded levers, a ‘clean’ top yoke and Discacciati brakes.

This BMW’s detail work is also outstanding. Most of the bike’s finished in polished aluminum, but there are just enough bronze touches to keep things interesting. Look closely, and you’ll even see a pair of roundels up at the front of the fuel tank, poking out from behind the frame. Some might find the overall effect gaudy, but we reckon it works, and extremely well. [More]

Harley-Davidson Sportster by Injustice Customs One of the reasons for the Sportster’s incredible longevity is that it’s so interchangeable. Whether you’re swapping parts between Sportsters, or picking bolt-ons from any number of aftermarket companies, the possibilities are endless.

Swedish shop Injustice Customs have taken full advantage of that on this build. It started out as a Sportster Forty-Eight, but has an entirely different stance now, thanks to the 19F/18R wheels from a Sportster Roadster. They were acid dipped to shed their black coating, and then finished in a glorious matte gold.

Injustice kept the stock forks, but shortened them and coated them with a Ti-Nitrid coating. Adjustable Öhlins shocks were installed to pick up the rear, and the subframe was trimmed down. The original stubby fuel tank’s gone, replaced by a longer item from another Sporty. The tail section’s a RSD part, trimmed down heavily to suit the build.

Other bolt-ons include clip-ons, and a new top yoke and exhaust from RSD. The air filter is from Vance & Hines, and there’s a Screamin’ Eagle tuner to help it run right. Injustice also trimmed down the wiring loom, and fitted new cables and brake lines.

It’s a pretty tidy example of a Sporty cafe, complete with a slick livery from Image Design that includes checkerboards as a nod to the original cafe racer culture. [Injustice Customs]

Suzuki DR650 by Oilbro Motorcycles Suzuki’s venerable DR650 is bulletproof, easy to work on and extremely versatile. But in the looks department, it’s far more utilitarian than it is stylish. So this sharp DR650-based street tracker from Oilbro Motorcycles is a breath of fresh air.

Oilbro is a crew of five friends based in Toulouse, France. For this build, they decided to narrow this 1990 DR650’s focus purely to urban use. So they swapped out its big wheels for a pair of 17” hoops, swapping the tires out for dual-sport rubber that’s good on the road, but can hit the dirt when needed. They upgraded the suspension too—with a set of 2000 Ducati Monster 600 forks, and custom linkages at the back.

The motor was cracked open and refreshed too, and is now fed by a Mikuni BST-40 carb and a BMC air filter. A hydraulic clutch was installed too, and the brakes were upgraded with Brembo bits.

Oilbro’s goal was to build something classic and unfussy, and the bodywork reflects this. The tank’s from a 1971 Suzuki TS 250, complete with original stickers and patina. The seat’s custom, along with the floating rear fender and the number board. The latter’s mounting system is nifty—it’s been 3D printed, and designed that it mounts without any visible bolts.

The Suzuki also features chunkier foot pegs, high and wide bars, and an exhaust fashioned from an old Ariel 1000 Square Four unit. As for the speedo, good luck finding it, because we couldn’t—apparently it’s a tiny Apple Watch sitting in a custom mount. [More]

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[DaveM]

NEW LEASE ON LIFE: 1979 Kawasaki KZ1000 by Motorelic



When the KZ1000 first rolled off the factory floor in 1976, it was the fastest production bike with a 1015cc inline four motor that produced a very respectable 83 horses. In recent years, these KZ’s have been in high demand and have been fetching some high prices. So when Steve Meyer from Maui, Hawaii inherited his late uncle’s 1979 KZ1000 he wanted to bring it back to its former glory but with a custom twist. He had seen the work of Sean Skinner from Motorelic and decided to give him a call out of the blue. “My first thought was ‘How in the heck did you find me?’ – and then I wondered how he was going to get the bike to Virginia,” recalls Sean. “Well, it turned out Steve was originally from Baltimore MD and the bike was there.” Once the bike finally arrived at the Motorelic HQ, they began the design process together and nailed down the final look. “We settled on a classy brat style theme that would be comfortable enough to do a cross country trip to San Diego on so he could ship the bike back home to Hawaii!”



If you know Sean’s work you’ll know he doesn’t like using the stock tank, so that was his first order of business. “Steve was pretty set on using a stock tank but I happened to have a Royal Enfield Continental GT tank from a previous build sitting on the shelf. I removed the stock tank and, though the GT tank didn’t just slip on, it was close enough to get an idea of how great it would look. Steve was hooked!” To make the tank fit Sean had to remove the tunnel and fabricate a new one. “I was able to use the KZ stock rubber mounts at the front and the GT mount at the back. The shape of the tank fit perfectly between the frame rails.”



Next on the list were the wheels. The 1979 KZ is an LTD and had cast wheels and a tiny 16 inch rear wheel. Sean scoured the internet and eventually found a complete rear hub from a ’78 KZ. With a new rim, spokes and spacers. the wheel fit. The frame was modified a bit and a hoop was added to the back.



Now with the ride height set, the tank mounted and the frame ready, Sean started building the seat pan and shaping the seat padding. Once the seat was shaped and ready Steve was able to take it for a test ride to make sure it was a good fit. The seat was then shipped off to Counter Balance Cycles in Rhode Island to have stitch master Weston Boege do his thing. It was covered in Horween Horsehide – a very interesting texture, almost like waxed canvas or oilskin.



The stock side covers of the KZ are plastic and follow the lines of the stock tank and tail section. Since none of that was being used Sean had to hand make a set of aluminum side covers that popped into the stock locations. Steve requested to have a cut-out on the right panel to expose the brake master cylinder. It’s the little details that make a custom bike your own.



The suspension was upgraded with a pair of Ikon Dial-A-Ride shocks and resprung stock front forks. Since the bike has more of a vintage/resto-mod feel to it, Steve decided to go all in and have Sean install a set of vintage Firestones. “Definitely not the tire of choice for a 1000cc powerhouse, but not every bike has to be ridden like a race bike,” says Sean. The exhaust is using the header that was on the bike when his uncle had it. Sean kept the header and remade a mid-pipe and then installed a Big Mouth muffler from Cone Engineering.



Once all the fabrication was done and they were happy with the look and stance, the bike was fully disassembled to have the frame and all the related parts powder coated. That job fell on the shoulders of Right Away Powder Coat in Middletown MD. With the bike apart, it was time for the once-over on the stand. New rings were installed, the cylinders were honed, the bare aluminum got a bright polish and the other bits were splashed with a fresh coat of paint. Once the new gaskets and seals were all installed along with stainless steel bolts, the bike’s engine was running better than it had in over 40 years.



The gorgeous paint was laid down by Danny Knight of Knight’s Kustoms in Winchester VA. The paint they ended up choosing was a 2019 Fiat 500 color called Granito Grey. The classic tank emblems were metal and came off a 60’s Kawasaki 250. The number “6” on the plates was in memory of Steve’s late uncle and has a special meaning.



With all of the parts back from powder coating there was only one job left to do: put it all back together. “It’s my favorite part,” Sean tells us. “All the pieces just click together like a box of legos. Each piece precisely fitted before the teardown so you know it will fit later. The first ride is a bag of mixed emotions. What’s going to happen, did I tighten that bolt, is the engine going to leak, how dirty is it going to get? Most of those thoughts vanish right when you turn out onto the road because the months leading up to this moment were, at times, more stressful. So this moment in time where the engine is revving clean and the bike is just floating down the road makes you forget about all of the worry you had and lets you breathe in deep and twist that throttle a little more.”



[ Motorelic | Instagram | Photos by Jonathan Thorpe ]

 

[DaveM]

Daily Driver: A KTM Duke II street tracker from Dubstyle

Twenty years ago, street-legal supermotos weren’t really ‘a thing.’ But in Europe, change was in the air—and the KTM Duke II was one of the catalysts. The rough-and-ready 625 cc single was huge fun on short trips, and helped set the template for future supermotos.

Over the past couple of years, custom supermotos have become more common, delivered by builders who value performance as much as aesthetics. And one of those builders is Garett Wilson of Dubstyle Designs in Colorado, USA.

“These Dukes have a cult following, but not many people really know them,” he says. “Google the things—they were nothing short of ugly!”

This Duke is Garett’s daily rider now, but he had a vision for a KTM street tracker years before he began this build. It gave him time to research and collect parts, so when the spanners started spinning, he had most of what he needed.

He started by ditching all the plastic and planning new bodywork. For inspiration, he turned to the past and the days when the bodywork of Austrian off-roaders was relatively conventional.

“I based the design on a 1979 KTM,” he reveals. “I’m also a fan of vans with side pipes, boat flake paint jobs, and girls with feathered bangs. So of course, I had to go with an old school, retro paint scheme.”

On a more serious note, Garett has two main goals with each bike build: make it lighter, and increase performance.

“My plan with every bike is to make it perform better,” he says. “The stock Duke II weighs 320 pounds dry—and even with a full tank of gas I was able to get this one down to 305 [138 kg].”

To level out the stance and proportions, Garett has swapped out the stock 17-inch mag wheels for 19-inch Sun rims. They’ve got Buchanan spokes laced to KTM hubs, and spacers machined to fit.

Durelle Racing lowered the high-spec WP suspension about two inches front and rear, and Garett machined up a set of fork guards on his lathe. He’s also painted the monoshock spring to match the rest of the bike.

A new subframe was fabbed up to follow the lines of the fiberglass tail section. “I also added material to the back of the tail section, making room to flush in the turn signals and LED tail lamp.”

Garett sourced the tank from a salvage yard, taking it off a 1978 Honda Hawk. He then had to narrow the front of the tank, so that the forks would still work lock-to-lock. “I also added clearance underneath the tank, to have room to mount some electronics.”

The headlight is set into a carbon fiber number plate; Garett added a couple of extended mounts to set the plate away from the forks, creating room for the lamp to be recessed behind the plate.

The Duke II is not short of performance, thanks to a strong power-to-weight ratio. But Garett’s boosted it a little further by improving the breathing.

“On the four-stroke bikes I build, I like using exhaust cans designed for the Yamaha R6,” he says. “So I paired an FMF Apex muffler with a Megabomb header, and fitted them together with stainless steel. Combine that with the Keihin 41mm FCR carb, and further into the RPM range the Duke pulls a lot harder.”

Cooling down the motor proved to be trickier. “I took a tape measure to the salvage yard and measured a lot of different radiators, to find one that would fit between my forks and the new tank,” says Garett.

“It took a while to find one that would give me enough capacity without being an eyesore.” He finally settled on an aftermarket aluminum radiator from an old Honda Magna.

Dan White handled the paint. “He kills it on my paint jobs every time—he’s super meticulous, and will do whatever it takes to make the paint perfect. All the graphics on this KTM are painted on,” Garett reveals. “But after taping off the tank I should have unmasked it sooner.”

“By the time I took the tape off, the humidity had created some surface rust on the inside of the tank. So the night before I had to have the bike running, I had it soaking in some as-seen-on-TV rust remover!”

“The next morning I was butt naked in the shower with my freshly painted gas tank while I flushed it out. It’s environmentally safe, nobody freak out—but that’s one story I never did tell my painter!”

We reckon the Duke is close to perfection, and Garett is reasonably satisfied. “With each build I’m trying to class it up a bit to make a more ‘finished’ product. I build my bikes out of the home garage so there are always challenges.”

“#1 on that list is my 5-year-old Cam, who is obsessed with tools—and he helps by snagging all of the 10 and 13mm sockets he can get hold of!”

“My favorite thing about the Duke is that it’s always ready to go,” Garett says. “I ride it to work every day that Colorado lets me. It’s got the right stance, it sounds mean as hell, and just rides nice—which to me is the whole point of having a motorcycle.”

“If I build something that looks crazy but is unrideable, then what’s the point?”

Dubstyle Designs Instagram | Images by (and with thanks to) Sam Bendall



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[DaveM]

PROJECT TALOS: Honda CBX750 by Spitfire Speed Shop



Written by Martin Hodgson

You see them advertised all the time, usually on eBay, a project that is 95% complete according to the seller and just needs a couple of things to finish. Often they’ll even go so far as to claim just how much it’ll be worth upon completion and highlight the bargain you’ll be getting. But rarely is it true, 95% complete without any mention of all the real problems that prevented them from finishing the build in the first place. So when a bike with a similar tale arrived at the UK’s Spitfire Speed Shop, they decided to do it all properly this time around to create a stunning Honda CBX750 called Talos.



More than just a motorcycle shop, Spitfire does their own custom line of bikes as well as those individual projects for customers. While also stocking a full range of wicked merchandise, skate decks and even their own brand of coffee beans! So you truly get the full experience of the cafe racer lifestyle, but all of that is not much fun if you’re bike doesn’t run. And as the team tells us, “This bike came to us in a sorry state bought by our customer off eBay with the intent to do the build himself.”



It had a custom seat, a huge set of twin pipes and some race tape around the dials but it was one of those builds that was definitely good from far, but far from good. And that was just the visuals, it was the mechanical side of things that was the real disaster. So the only way to get a great looking bike that ran like a dream was to start from scratch and have the SSS guys take on the bike and complete the build from start to finish.



Stripping the bike down to the last bolt allowed the boys to see exactly what they were dealing with and the first port of call was to get the engine running sweetly. This meant a full engine rebuild, not as easy as it might sound with parts availability nothing like as plentiful as the earlier model CB750s that are still so popular to this day. But with all the gaskets, seals and a host of components thrown at it the ‘advanced for its time’ donk is spitting out the best part of 100hp.



This is helped out by allowing the engine to breathe more freely with a set of stunning velocity stacks for the carbs and a full exhaust system that exits via a barking GP style muffler. The whole thing looks brand new with the cases repainted black, a full set of new bolts and every last fuel line, oil feed and wire re-routed to perfection. To finish it all off the ignition is relocated and the loom simplified to allow the disposal of those ugly big dials.



Before the new motor was bolted back in, the frame was de-tabbed and tidied up before a new coat of black was laid down. At the rear, an all-new single shock set up does away with the old school pro-link in favour of a design of SSS’s own creation. The space this left allowed the exhaust to be run tight to the centre post of the frame and the swingarm and hubs have been given the all black treatment. Ditching the horrible Comstars goes a long way to improving looks with new spoked wheels wrapped up in Bridgestone rubber.



But it’s the beautiful bodywork and that stunning colour that gives the bike its name straight from Greek mythology. Talos the guardian warrior of Crete gets his full representation with the muscular tank now wearing twin filler caps that are perfectly welded in. Sitting on the custom subframe the rear tail section blends its lines flawlessly at the join with the tank like few others before it and it’s topped off with a form-fitting seat. But it’s that Talos inspired bronze paint that makes the whole thing pop and perfect bodywork preparation leads to an incredible result.



With the Honda not being a lightweight machine from the factory, the decision was made to strip off any of the unnecessary additions. “We made some triple clamps and the Moto Gadget digital dash was dropped into the top.” The rest of the controls are just as good with the clip-ons wearing only the very best minimalist products, while a custom set of rearsets look trick and allow the bulky stock pieces to be thrown aside. But the CBX750 is still a major presence on the road, there is no escaping the sheer size of the big Honda, only now he wears the beautiful bronze armour of a warrior and has all the punch to back it up!



[ Spitfire Speed Shop | Instagram | Photography by Reel Rebellion ]

 

[DaveM]

Beach Cruiser: An Upcycled Suzuki GS650 from California

It’s not unusual for car guys to transition to motorcycle customization: after all, the skills required are similar. Johnny Nguyen proves that theory—he’s worked on cars most of his life, but lately he’s been building some pretty slick bikes.

Johnny operates Upcycle Motor Garage as a one-man-band out of his workshop in Anaheim, California. This stripped-down 1981 Suzuki GS650 GL is his latest work, and it’s a total product of its environment.

Built as a personal project rather than on commission, Johnny’s concept was pretty straightforward. “I wanted a fun and aggressive bike to ride up and down the SoCal coastline,” he explains. So it’s no surprise that the Suzuki now has a strong two-wheeled hot rod vibe going on.

As donors go, the GS650 GL is as quirky as they come. Like many manufacturers at the time, Suzuki took a mid-sized UJM (the GS650), and chopper-fied it. So you get a four-cylinder DOHC motor with a shaft drive…but you also get swept-back bars, a teardrop tank, a king-and-queen seat and a smaller rear wheel.

Johnny scored big at the start of this project, though—he managed to pick up a donor with a mere 1,100 miles on it. But that laid-back stance had to go, so he still had his work cut out for him.

He started by dropping the forks 3”. Then he took the time to fiddle with the preload, air gap and oil weight, so that the bike would still handle and feel comfortable.

There are even bigger changes lurking at the back. Johnny wanted a seat that looked like it was floating, but the arrangement had to be structurally sound. So he designed two subframe rails that would support the seat, and provide a mounting point for the new monoshock setup.

The rear shock, and its linkage system, are from a 2003-model Yamaha R6. Johnny modified the swingarm to accept it, and added some latticed bracing for extra strength.

Finishing off the rear end is a super-slim perch finished in leather, and a pair of brake lights sunk into the ends of the frame rails. The rear hugger is actually the Suzuki’s original chrome front fender, cut down and held up by an asymmetrical bracing arm.

Up top, you’ll find the GS650GL’s OEM fuel tank, lifted a touch at the rear to balance it out. Everything below the line is extremely tidy, too.

Johnny rewired the bike around a Motogadget m.unit Blue controller and an Antigravity lithium-ion battery, all tucked away under the tank.

The motor itself was treated to a deep clean, and now looks good enough to eat off. The airbox is gone, replaced by a row of velocity stacks. And the exhaust is a custom four-into-one system, featuring pie-cut headers and a stubby aftermarket muffler.

Johnny kept the cockpit pretty minimal too. He fitted new clip-ons, then trimmed down the top yoke to shed its bar mounts. Add-ons include Biltwell Inc. grips, CNC Racing levers and a set of bar-end turn signals.

The headlight’s been mounted upside down, tucking it in tighter, and there’s an off-the-shelf speedo mounted to the left of the tank. Keen eyes will also spot a reservoir on the clutch side too; Johnny went to the effort of installing a hydraulic clutch.

For paint, he opted for a pinstriped ‘surf blue,’ leaving a little chrome in the rear fender, and finishing the original star-shaped wheels in white.

As a slick and simple ride for chasing sunsets and hunting tacos, Upcycle’s Suzuki GS650GL is as good as it gets.

Upcycle Motor Garage Facebook | Instagram | Images by Ryan D. Cheng

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[DaveM]

FIGHTING SPIRIT: Yamaha XV750 by Beekhof Motorcycle Builds



Written by Tim Huber.

Building custom motorcycles allows for an immense amount of creativity and self-expression, though with so many new builds appearing each week, it’s become increasingly difficult to produce something that’s truly unique, thereby greatly mitigating the individuality aspect. When a concept has been employed by countless customs shops, the style becomes less representative of the builder and their tastes and preferences, and is hard to view as anything other than just more of the same. And it was this desire to create something thoroughly different that served as the core ethos behind the latest two-wheeled work from the Netherland’s Beekhof Motorcycle Builds.



Founded in 2016, the Dutch customs outfit is headed up by Boaz Beekhof, who, after cutting his teeth in his teen years customizing and tuning mopeds, moved on to churning out full-size custom motorcycles under the Beekhof Moto Builds banner. “After building some custom choppers and bobbers, I wanted to make something different, so I bought a cheap Yamaha XV750 to start with. I honestly, hadn’t done much research into the model, but when looking around online I came across a -load of cafe’d XV’s, leading me to take things in a more novel direction.” Boaz tells us.



Wanting something more modern that would be unique and super clean, while still offering solid performance, Boaz ultimately settled on a cafe fighter. Though, with a relatively small budget and limited access to tools and equipment, Beekhof knew he would have to be creative. He started by stripping the Japanese V-twin down to the frame, before proceeding to pull the stock suspension and wheels. The original subframe was also hacked off during this same period.



Bringing the XV’s handling into the 21st century is a beefy inverted front-end off of an R1, complete with a thoroughly-modern four-pot caliper and dual disc setup. Out in back, the stock mono-shock was swapped out for a modern adjustable unit that came off a late-model Kawasaki Ninja. “To get everything to work, I had to make a lot of parts myself in-house using my milling and lathe machine, and I had to modify the (front) rim quite a bit but I managed to pull it off,” gleams Boaz.



Steering clear of played-out custom practices, the Pinksterbloemstraat-based builder instantly knew he wasn’t interested in tacking on a traditional hooped subframe and instead selected a design in which the frame rails meet at a sharp, waspish point at the very ass-end of the bike. Horizontal sections on either side of the new aft framework were cut out to make room for LED strips that now serve as both the brake/taillight, and the rear signals.



As a main focal point of any build, Boaz spent a great deal of time scrutinizing over the tank and mid-section of the bike. Wanting to give the thing a more muscular-look, he wound up selecting a larger tank off of an older Suzuki model, though with its knee-dents and tapering form, the cell lends itself particularly well to a cafe fighter-style custom, especially after Boaz made a few tweaks to it. “After modifying the tank, I found out there was actually a lot of usable space available, so I decided to stash the lion’s share of the electrical components in there,” explains Beekhof.



Next, Boaz shifted his attention back to the front-end. “The headlight arrangement on a cafe fighter is another crucial element to get right, and after not being able to find an existing headlight unit that I liked, I started drawing one myself. I then bought a 3D printer that I experimented with for a while before producing a handful of 3D-printed parts for the bike,” says Boaz.



This includes the headlight nacelle, which also acts as a small windscreen and perfectly accommodates an aftermarket round tach with an integrated digital speedo. The 3D-printed piece also sports a heavily-raised “Beekhof” script badge, and the brackets used to hold the new stacked projector headlight setup were also modified and now house a trio of micro LED lights on either side which act as the front indicators. A number of other small parts and brackets were also produced using additive manufacturing.



Nothing remains of the original rider’s quarters, with the bars having been replaced with a set of clip-ons that now sport machined grips, bar-end mirrors, and Adelin CNC-machined adjustable levers and master cylinder. And in addition to top-shelf GP-style switchgear on the left side, the Yamaha also boasts another two buttons discreetly set flush into the top triple. And rounding out the new rider controls is a set of machined rear-sets that, when combined with the new clip-ons afford the XV a markedly more aggressive riding position which is right in line with the cafe fighter vibe.



After receiving a thorough once over, the engine was gifted a new transparent Figure Machine air cleaner, and a 90-degree-laden two-into-one exhaust — made from over two-dozen hand-worked sections — that was originally capped off with Toce muffler tips, but has since seen the black slash-cut item replaced with a low-slung SC-Project can. “I’m well-aware that this style of exhaust (routing) on an XV has been employed on tons of other one-off builds, but still, in my opinion, it’s just a beautiful exhaust design, so I made one myself from scratch,” says Boaz.



The new tail section was another challenge Boaz faced himself in-house. After mocking up a design in modeling foam, the final piece was created and then dropped into place. For the seat, Beekhof called upon Marcel Miller of MillerSeats to whip up a one-off saddle, resulting in the lined, reptile skin-esque unit that now adorns the build. “After seeing the bike, my girlfriend said it looked like a turtle on steroids, so I ended up naming the bike “Raphael” after the sai-toting red Ninja Turtle,” relays Boaz.



With everything else in order, Beekhof turned the XV over to his pal, Jacco from Royal Kustom Works, who laid down an elaborate, multi-layered and striped livery, with a burgundy base coat decorated with brighter hues of gradiated red, and gold outlines and pinstripes — furthering the red Ninja Turtle theme. Now shod in ContiMilestone (Continental) rubber, the stock wheel have also been repainted in a matching burgundy with gold perimeter striping, too.



While there’s no denying that Beekhof’s latest work isn’t for everyone, it is hard to argue that Boaz didn’t succeed in what he originally set out to do; turning a once-tired three-quarter-liter XV into an aggressive, high-performance street racer with subtle nods to both the cafe and chopper genres. The integrated lighting and controls also allow for a remarkably tidy build. And, at the end of the day, Boaz couldn’t be happier with his latest work, and in our book, that is what custom bike building is all about. This is one young builder we’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for in the future.



[Photos: Sik Bloemsma from 13 and a half Magazine & Floris Velthuis from Bigtwin Magazine ]

 

[DaveM]

Ducati SS1000: Redesigning the SportClassic GT1000

Like any proper cult vehicle, the Ducati SportClassic was hugely under-appreciated when it was first released. That’s probably because it was ahead of its time—blending retro style with contemporary performance, just before modern classics were as popular as they are now.

Or maybe it’s because its looks simply didn’t gel with everyone. Most pundits think of the Terblanche-designed SportClassic as timeless and elegant—but others write it off as awkward and portly.

Take the crew at Greaser Garage in Genoa, in northern Italy. They love the bones of the GT1000 model, and reckon it has potential—but the potential is “hidden under a bulky body that makes it heavy and not very pleasant to look at.” Ouch.

Greaser Garage founder, Giorgio Pellegrino, has been working on bikes since he was fifteen. He started the shop as a sideline gig ten years ago but is now full-time with five permanent staff and two outside collaborators.

That gives the workshop the ability to tackle just about any task ‘in-house’—and that meant they could go to town on the Ducati.

“The GT1000 is built on a very flexible base,” says Giorgio, “more or less the same you can find on many air-cooled motorbikes coming out of Borgo Panigale.”

“Once you remove the fuel tank and the fat saddle, you find a good old steel tube frame, the iconic two cylinder motor and pretty much nothing else—except for a giant plastic air box.”

Greaser Garage wanted to create something special, but their client had one major request: keep the bike as usable as possible, by not screwing with the mechanics. That meant no internal engine mods and no messing with the fuel injection…so that giant plastic air box had to stay.

Undeterred, the team threw themselves into reimagining the Ducati’s bodywork first. Drawing very loose inspiration from the legendary 900 SuperSport of the mid-70s, they sourced a half-fairing that would form the basis of their design.

Using it as a guide, Greaser Garage did something they’d only done once before: clay shaping. “It was an incredibly challenging step,” Giorgio tells us, “but it allowed us to get a realistic idea of the final silhouette.”

“Our focus was to keep together two opposites: designing something classic, but in a very personal and distinctive way. The key point was the idea to connect the fuel tank and the fairing with a unique curvy line and to replicate it on the tail.”

“That specific line required hundreds of tries and a lot of re-thinking, but when we defined the ultimate one we knew it would work great.”

With the shapes defined, the crew used the clay forms to produce molds for the fairing (yip, they re-created it), tank and tail. Then they built the final parts out of carbon fiber reinforced polymer, including a second tail section with room for a pillion, which can be swapped out.

The tank and tail were finished off with a brushed aluminum section up top, an aftermarket gas cap was fitted, and the seat was done up by OV Leather. Lower down, Greaser Garage rebuilt the subframe to match the new rear section, capping it off with an integrated LED tail light and turn signals.

It’s a remarkably cohesive design, with each part’s contours flowing seamlessly into the next. That clunky air box still had to be hidden away though, so the team fabricated a pair of aluminum side covers to complement the new design.

Up front, they installed a modern LED headlight into the custom fairing, then covered it with some vintage yellow fish-eye glass. Everything’s held in place by two sets of brackets; chromed ones up top for the fairing, and blacked-out ones for the light and dash.

Behind the fairing is a Motogadget Chronoclassic speedo, a set of Tommaselli bars and Brembo levers.

Greaser Garage left the SportClassic’s stock suspension, wheels and brakes alone. But they did work in a few sweet upgrades along the way—like a Kbike dry clutch system for a Ducati 848, adjusted to work on this bike. And they replaced the stock timing belt covers with a pair of carbon fiber units, too.

The sharp two-into-one exhaust system was made by Mass Exhaust, but it’s not an off-the-shelf piece. Mass built it to order, working off Greaser Garage’s design.

With everything coming together beautifully, Giorgio began agonizing over a livery. In the end, the blue and silver combo from the 1979 900 SS turned out to be just the ticket. He admits that getting the colors to trace the unique lines of the SportClassic’s new bodywork wasn’t easy, but the final effect is a knockout.

‘SS1000’ is a reminder of how great the underlying fundamentals of the SportClassic are—and if you don’t swoon over the original, proof that there’s more than one way to cut the ‘retro’ cake.

Greaser Garage | Facebook | Instagram

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[DaveM]

STROKE OF GENIUS: Yamaha RD350 by Jake Shellito



Written by Tim Huber.

While it’s not his first custom two-wheeler, Jake Shellito’s entire bike building career had been leading up to this candy red Yamaha project. The result of a mild fascination and curiosity that later became a near-obsession, this two-stroke build can be traced back to Jake’s first-ever build — more specifically; an RD tank.

“I first learned about Yamaha’s RD line after I bought a ’75 RD250 gas tank with an awesome paint scheme at a salvage yard. While researching that paint scheme, I started learning about the RD350 — or ‘Giant Killer’ — and I just had to have one. And about a year later in 2015, I found one,” explains the Colorado-based builder.



By this point, Jake had long ago finished his virgin build, and had moved on to other projects that he’d also since completed, all the while collecting parts for the RD build that he hoped would eventually come to fruition. Even after picking up the 350 oil-burner — a 1974 example — the component stockpiling continued. By 2018, he now had the donor and the lion’s share of the desired parts needed, though he’d still require one last ounce of motivation to push him over the edge before fully committing.



“In the fall of that year I’d just ordered some JL expansion chambers, just more puzzle pieces, and around that same time Old Bike Barn opened submissions for the 2019 Greasy Dozen, which looks for small two-man shops or garage builders with stalled or dormant projects. I literally sent a photo of a roller with empty cases, expansion chambers, and the tank, and a month later I was selected,” recollects Shellito.



And just like that, Jake had a hard deadline. And though the project already had some of the work done and many of the parts had been sourced, there was still a very long road ahead, and relatively little time, with the event only five-months out.

“Five months isn’t a lot of time when you have a full-tine job, a wife, and two kids that are involved in lots of activities. Honestly, if I hadn’t been selected, there’s a really good chance that this bike would still be unfinished,” admits Jake.



Before even receiving the invite, he already had a solid vision for the project. “My intention for the build was to put a modern spin on a vintage two-stroke bike,” reveals Shellito.

Jake had already started pulling apart the two-stroke parallel twin shortly after it came into his possession, so with the clock officially ticking, he set about getting the rolling chassis in order, starting with the front-end.



“I also had an idea of using USD forks off of a Honda Grom as I felt the small diameter of the fork tubes would fit the size of the RD quite well. This was a bit of a gamble whether it would work and it required that I remove the Grom’s steering stem, machine the RD steering stem, and re-weld into the Grom lower,” explains Jake. “Axel spacers were turned on my lathe to accept the RD Front wheel as well, and in back there’s a new set of 13” adjustable shocks from YSS that’ve been dabbed with a little gold to tie into the front-end.”



Mounted to the swing-arm is a splash guard that’s made from the original front fender, albeit re-purposed and modified. The front fender is an item borrowed off an unknown dirt bike circa 1970s, now held in new custom mounts and stainless struts. Not wanting to stray too far from the period Yamaha two-stroke family, Jake opted to go with a tank off of a 1970 R5. “I like that it has a bit more shape on the front and a twist-off cap sporting Yamaha’s Tuning Fork logo,” relays Jake.



The original handlebars have been replaced with a chrome item wrapped in black rubber grips — both courtesy of Biltwell. The stock headlight bucket has also been modified in order to accommodate a small round Koso gauge — an analog tach, digital speedo combo — sunken into the very top of the headlight bucket. The headlight’s also been made to accept an LED unit, and its aluminum mounts have been shaved down in order to bring the bucket in closer to the forks, affording it a sleeker, more low-profile silhouette. Jake also custom-built the turn signals, and the brake/taillight which doubles as the rear indicators.



“I really like the look of a clean, open frame so the stock oil tank had to go. To make this work, I figured I could make one and stash it in the tail section. So I picked up a used english wheel and started shaping. I had made a wood buck so I knew the shape I was after. I made a dimple die to recess the oil sight glass, welded in a bung, and topped it off with a Mooneyes spinner oil cap (thanks LowBrow for the hook up). I finished off the tail section by shaping the foam, and upholstering the seat,” explains Jake.



For the wheels he went with a set of shouldered 18” aluminum Excel hoops, powder-coated and laced with stainless spokes, European-market-only RD400 disc brake hubs front and back, and Brembo calipers and master cylinders. A Yamaha rear disc also had to be machined and drilled in order to properly fit.

Wanting to complete the new rider’s controls setup, Jake hopped online and started hunting for a pair of rear-sets, though after not being able to find anything that struck his fancy, he opted to instead make his own. “Starting with some stainless rod and some raw aluminum, I built my own set which also includes integrated mounts for the JL Exhaust,” says Ben.



By this time Ben returned to the engine with even grander ambitions. “I rebuilt the crank with all new bearings, rods, and trued it. Installed new clutch, springs, and cable (thanks to Old Bike Barn), along with a PowerDynamo Ignition and charging system. Also added a set of ProX pistons and installed carbon fiber V Force 3 reeds and cages. Machined the side covers to add a retro speed block look, and finished off by powder coating them a bronze color that matches the chain and hubs,” states Jake.



Despite all the custom metalwork, Jake says the most challenging decision he made over the course of the build centers around the choice of livery. In the beginning, he was keen on a royal blue scheme, but in the end decided to go the more-retro route, staying more in line with the original factory hue, albeit while employing a more modern PPG candy color for the tins with painted graphics, while the frame’s been adorned in a coat of deep carbon black metallic.



“Honestly, I’m still kinda on the fence about the color choice,” admits an overly-self-cricital Jake. “I jokingly call it ‘The Raisin’ because in direct sun light its got a nice ruby red glow, but take it out of the sun it turns a deep purple kinda color like a raisin. My wife likes to call it ‘The Mistress’ (for obvious reasons), but usually it’s just referred to as the ‘RD’.”

With everything else completed, Jake spent the night before leaving for Ohio getting the last details in order. When it finally came time to fire the thing up for the first time, it was no dice. After repeatedly trying to no avail and with work the next morning rapidly approaching, Jake called it a night.



“The next morning at work I’m telling a friend how it wouldn’t start. I pulled up a picture of the carbs to show him and realized I’d installed the floats upside-down. When I got home I flipped them and it fired up within a few kicks. So, I took a quick lap around the block before I loaded it into the trailer to make the 20 some hour drive,” recalls the husband, father, and builder.



In the end, Jake’s story of the build that almost never was had a happy ending. The “RD” made it to the show, in running shape and in one piece where it was oggled by legions of fans and enthusiasts. And, arguably even more importantly, the builder successfully achieved his goal of delivering on a modernized two-stroker.

“There’s a ton of custom work on this bike, but at the same time — aside from the inverted forks — it looks like it could have come from the factory this way. I just really like a lot of subtle details but like the vintage look too.”

The bike was the runner up in the Custom Classic class in the US Championship in the J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show at the Progressive International Motorcycle Shows.



[ Photography by Sam Bendall at Live Moto Foto ]

 

[DaveM]

Euro style, down under: Ellaspede’s BMW R100R

In the thriving world of BMW R-series customization, there’s a strong design trend in Europe that hasn’t taken off in other countries yet. The core features are a floating single seat, chunky tires, small guards, lots of black, offset lights and super clean lines. Builds from the Amsterdam shop Ironwood are the perfect example.

The style hasn’t made it down under to the big Australian shops—until now. Ellaspede’s latest build hits a bulls-eye on the European style, with a crisp and understated finish as good as any from a northern hemisphere builder.

“We’ve ticked off a few individual ‘Euro’ items on recent builds,” says Ellaspede’s Hughan Seary. “But our client Sam was the first person to come to us with a vision that ticks all the boxes.”

Sam explained his reasoning: “Most modern road bikes have never really appealed to me, which is why I’ve always wanted something custom. I think the BMW R-series makes some of the nicest customs, and I like the shape of the boxer engine. The semi-scrambler style appeals to me too, from growing up on dirt bikes.”

Sam settled on the ‘later’ model 1992 BMW R100R as a donor. In stock form, it doesn’t have the classic R-series shape tank or the popular snowflake wheels, but there’s more to like, especially if you’re doing a custom build.

Sam’s R100R came with 41mm Showa forks, a Brembo front brake and floating discs, Paralever rear suspension, and GS-style spoked wheels—plus early style ‘round’ valve covers.

Once the R100R was stripped down in their Brisbane workshop, Ellaspede worked on getting the ‘core’ elements of the bike right. An earlier model tank was sourced, lined up on the detabbed frame, and a Biltwell solo saddle was slotted into a custom seat unit.

“Sam is quite a tall gent, so we made the unit adjustable forwards and backwards,” says Hughan. “It also houses the hidden tail light and rear indicators, with internal wiring.”

The ‘outside spoke’ wheels were taken apart for a freshen up, with new seals, stainless spokes and nipples, while the rims and hubs were powder coated. Then they were fitted with chunky (but grippy) Continental TKC80 tires.

“The outside spoke design is particularly hard to lace and true, so our usual wheel guy told us to go to a specialist,” says Hughan. “We eventually sent them to the other side of the country to be done. No easy task in Australia!”

Making a custom bike for the road (and not just for Instagram photos) always presents extra challenges, and Ellaspede explored their options for a new rear fender and number plate holder that didn’t disrupt the looks too much. A custom swingarm-mounted guard was the only option.

To get the stance right, the forks were sent off for a rebuild, getting a 70 mm shortening with progressive springs, re-valving and all new seals. The top triple tree is an aftermarket item from Retrofit Collective in German, while the bottom was powder coated and pressed with new stem bearings to complete the overhaul.

Up top, Ellaspede converted the R100R to hold one-inch Biltwell Tracker bars, and installed Motogadget Mini switches, bar end indicators and a Motoscope Tiny analog tacho. Motogadget also supplied the grips, which are matched to Grimeca levers.

Out front is a 7” side mount headlight with some custom internals. “Sam liked the look of the older style R100 headlight mount ‘ears,’ so we sourced some and flipped them to position the headlight a little lower,” says Hughan.

Continuing the Euro style is a single-side fog light, mounted to the factory crash bars. Along with all the other electrics, it’s powered by an Antigravity 12-cell battery hidden under a new cast aluminum airbox cover, at the back of the motor.

The engine was given a once-over to ensure everything was in order, with new seals and bearings fitted, and full rebuilds for the gearbox and carbs.

New exhaust headers mimic the factory style before flowing into a slash cut twin system. “This enabled us to get the muffler tips sitting super snug to the rear tire on the left hand side,” says Hughan.

Everything was finally stripped down, and sent off for paint and powder-coating. The R100R has a mix of satin and matte finishes, with touches of gloss black and polished surfaces to provide highlights.

“I really like the matte finish with select silver components,” says client Sam. “I wanted to keep the original style pinstripe that borders the side of the tank, and introduce some matte silver to break up the black.”

New BMW roundels on the tank add a hint of color; that unmistakable Bavarian blue.

For a bike with such subtle finishes, Ellaspede’s R100R has a real presence. It’s also good to see inspiration from the top European shops filtering down to the custom scene in Australia.

This is a machine we’d love to blast around the hilly streets of Brisbane—and with a pair of proper fenders in play, perhaps along the hardpack trails of the local plantation forests too.

Ellaspede | Facebook | Instagram

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[DaveM]

INVITATION ONLY: 1947 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead ‘SourKraut’ by Union Speed & Style



When you get invited to take your bike to Germany to compete in the AMD World Championship of custom bike building, you know you have created something special. That’s what happened to Jordon Dickson from Union Speed & Style earlier this year. Their beautifully proportioned 1947 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead dubbed the ‘SourKraut’ – a tongue in cheek name based on the local cuisine in Deutschland. Jordan and his team at Union started the build with a simple premise; to build a motorcycle that looked like it could have been a factory race bike from the late 40’s. They also wanted to stick to the Union mantra which is to manufacture and fabricate as much as possible in house using raw materials.



“I’ve always been a fan of early factory race bikes,” Jordan explains. “There’s just something about the stripped down purpose built nature of them that I’ve always gravitated towards. One of Jordan’s favourite vintage race bikes was the Joe Petrali landspeed streamliner knucklehead. “The frame on that bike had nice sweeping lines to it, and that’s where the inspiration for this frame came from. I wanted the frame to still look reminiscent of the original knuckleheads but have some of that sweeping elegance that the Petrali land speed bike has.”



After working out a clear design it was now time to make it happen, starting with fabricating frame. “I started by machining out a steering neck and bending up some tubing,” Jordan explains. “The main sweep and lower radius for the frame by the engine mount were such large radius that I didn’t have standard bender dies to just jam them out quick, so I had to make some bucks and hand bend them. The angle of the down tubes ends up coming into the neck at such a severe angle compared to a factory neck that the best option was to just fabricate a neck to look similar to a factory forging but with all the proper tubing inlet angles to fit what i was doing. So I machined the neck out of about 9 separate pieces and then welded them all together and smoothed them out so we ended up with a seamless piece that could easily be mistaken for a forging when done.”



Once the frame was completed it was time to move to the front end. Jordan started with a factory Harley VL fork that needed a fair bit of repair. “I love the look of the VL fork but for this bike I wanted a narrowed up skinny front end for it. So I cut apart the entire fork assembly and enlisted the help of my wife to draw up some new connecting trees and spring mounts just like the factory pieces but 1″ narrower than stock. After we had a CAD drawing all ready to go, I sent it off to my buddy Chad Pearson to machine the parts for the fork.”



Now Jordan had a complete roller it was time to start hammering out the sheet metal. “In keeping with the era, I wanted the bike to look like it has a set of split tanks with a custom dash piece, but it is in fact a one piece tank.” Once he had the general shape of the tanks completed, he then started making dies for his Pullmax to hammer the detail shapes into the tank and dash-piece. Next he created a fender which took some inspiration from early Harley tin with “a little bit of Knucklehead and JD styling for inspiration.”



The oil tank design was made to have a vintage HD look, taking the classic Harley horseshoe oil tank silhouette with some extra detail. The foot controls needed to have a factory forged look, so they cut some levers out of 3/8″ plate and then tapered the edges into an ellipse, welded together all of the pieces and textured the final product to pass off as a set of forged pedals. “At this point we were pretty committed to going full nerd, so we machined every single bolt on the bike to have a convex domed head.”



Up front, the beautiful handlebars are of course made in house. Jordan wanted them to have a little bit of hill climber style. “We ran an Exile Cycles internal throttle to keep the bars clean and sanitary and then we machined some radiused ferrules to finish off the ends of the grips.”



To give the bike a nice bark, the exhaust utilises some knucklehead exhaust domes from their friends at Carl’s Cycle Supply in South Dakota. With some help from his buddy Jake Boyd who helped with the exhaust when we they were pushing it to get the bike done by the looming deadline.



Once all of the fabrication work was completed, it was time to take the bike apart and start everything out for paint and plating. The engine cylinders, heads and foot controls were plated in electroless nickel. The frame, forks, and black bits were sprayed by Mike Stodolka. While the tank, fender paint and hand lettering were handled by Jeremy Pedersen at Relic Kustoms. All of the brightwork on the bike is nickel plating, as well as some polished stainless on a few pieces. The seat leatherwork was taken care of in house at Union Speed and Style.



One of the most impressive things is the bike was built after hours and on weekends, while still working on customer projects and maintaining deadlines during usual business hours The finished bike is exactly what they set out to achieve; a beautiful 40’s looking vintage knucklehead racer. In Germany at the AMD Championships, the build got the attention of the judges. They only give out awards to the the top 10 bikes in the freestyle class, and out of 66 competitors from all over the world, the ‘SourKraut’ placed 8th – which was a great result as it was one of the more subtle bike entries (If you’ve seen the AMD bikes you’ll know what we mean). Not only did it kill it at the AMD, it also won the US Championship in the J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show at the Progressive International Motorcycle Shows. We look forward to seeing what Jordan and his team at Union come up with next.



[ Union Speed & Style | Photography by Sam Bendall at Live Moto Foto ]

 

[DaveM]

Switch eSCRAMBLER: the best-looking electric bike yet?

Electric motorcycles still seem like a brave new world in some quarters, but the technology is maturing fast and the novelty is wearing off.

Shanghai-based Kiwi expat Matthew Waddick has been building street-legal electric customs for years now, and knows this well. “Electric bikes are not new anymore,” he says. “You can’t wow people just by being electric—you need to do better than that.”

So Matthew’s ramped up his operations, set up a production company called Switch, and just released this stunning ‘eSCRAMBLER’ prototype. And we reckon it looks as good as any petrol-powered bike out there.

That’s because the design comes from Michel Riis, a former Yamaha Japan designer—and Danish flat track champion. The brief was for a mid-size motorcycle with similar proportions to Shanghai Customs’ eTRACKER concept, but with a more powerful motor, belt drive, and a more refined design.

The ‘real world’ performance had to tick several critical boxes: a top speed of around 150kph, 0–100 kph in 3.2 seconds, and minimum range of 150km per charge. And the bike had to be production ready, which meant catering for tooling up, CNC welding jigs and molded parts.

“There are a ton of electric scooters, light electric motorcycles (mainly in the off-road segment), and expensive electric sports bikes,” says Matthew. “But there still isn’t much in this high-level ‘custom styled’ mid-size segment. And nothing I’ve seen in production so far.”

This is mostly due to design challenges: it’s very different to make an electric bike look good while delivering speed and range at a price that buyers can accept.

Michel started off with basic dimensions and proportions, before sketching and working in CAD. “The design was not as easy as it looks—in fact, it was incredibly difficult,” says Matthew. “Making a complex product look simple is one of the hardest things to do, and that’s especially true with electric bikes.”

The ‘tank’ on electric bikes always seems to get a lot of comments. “Putting a gasoline tank on is just ridiculous,” Matthew explains. “But at the same time, and particularly with this style of bike, some sort of heritage or natural evolution of design is required.”

“This ‘tank’ is another Michel Riis special and he spent a long time on this with numerous designs and trials before we got it right.”

The aluminum battery box is finished in a semi-gloss anodized dark grey, and the ‘tank’ in a Volvo metallic blue to accentuate the sculptured shapes.

The power pack has proprietary internals, and is rated at 11kWh going up to 13kWh—the same as the Zero SR. And the ‘mid drive’ motor outputs a whopping 50kW, which is good news for speed freaks.

Most electric bikes use a drop in/perimeter style frame, where the ‘box’ slips in the middle and the controller sits on top under a ‘tank.’ But Matthew wanted a double cradle-style tube frame: “I’ve always loved them. They’re super strong and add a retro/soulful element that most electric bikes just don’t have.”

With clever use of lines, bends, radiuses and angles, Michel was able to make it work … with a little help from the engineers who make the Zero frames.

Michel wanted the motor and its axle in the center of the swing arm pivot, with the belt coming directly off the motor—as opposed to a complex gearing or pulley system. Again, it was easier said than done, but carbon fiber belt maker Gates helped to find a solution.

The rims are 18-inch aluminum KTM items, front and back, and KTM forks are matched to a central mono shock. “We plan on releasing a twin shock eTRACKER variant though,” says Matthew, “with other subtle modifications, in the near future.”

The detail work is as good as the engineering: on not only obvious items such as the leather seat, but also things like the controller cooling and under-seat electronics pan, and CNC’d foot pegs and mounts and brackets.

Matthew and his team still have a little way to go before they are at full power and a 0-100 of 3.2 seconds, but they’re getting there. “The bike has integrated wi-fi, so we are able to see real-time performance globally—lap times as well as battery monitoring and diagnostic information from anywhere in the world.”

“Michel can be thrashing around the track in Aarhus, Denmark while we can be monitoring, adjusting his settings from Shanghai in real time after each lap.”

The bike is also equipped with built-in GPS tracking, a digital display, three speed modes, cruise control, and a battery level indicator. Plus USB phone charging, and all the other gadgets that you would expect from a high-end electric motorcycle.

The battery cells come from Panasonic, and the controller company Mopibus (one of the best in the world) is working with Switch on the tech. They’re even developing the ABS system at the moment with Bosch.

The eSCRAMBLER is now entering the homologation stage, which will take several months. “The big thing is the ABS system, which takes a minimum of nine months. You can’t just buy an existing ABS system and hack it on: the whole thing is painstakingly matched and tested under all conditions,” says Matthew.

Switch will be releasing the road legal eSCRAMBLER in 2022, but before then, they’ll be running the bike on the Scandinavian flat tracking circuit—with some world champions already lining up to have a thrash.

We’ll be lining up in the queue too, because this is one of the most promising developments we’ve seen in the electric space, outside of the major manufacturers. Here’s hoping that Switch get this one over the finishing line.

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