Custom Motorcycle Builds

[DaveM]

Revealed: The top 10 custom motorcycles of 2022

The numbers have been crunched, and the results are in. And as usual, our annual roundup of the most popular custom bikes on Bike EXIF is both enlightening and eclectic.

The ten machines listed here are those that made our servers work the hardest in 2022. This ranked selection is purely data-based. We take our website stats and look at social media engagement, add everything up and voila!

By its very nature, our top 10 also acts as a litmus test of sorts for the custom scene. It tells us that the café racer trend is still alive and well, and that over-the-top customs have a place too, if they’re executed well. (Curiously, this year’s list is also devoid of any electric customs.)

Scroll through our selection below, let us know how it makes you feel, and happy holidays.

10. Renard Motorcycles BMW R100 The fact that this list kicks off with a BMW R-series café racer, speaks volumes of the longevity of both the donor bike and build style. BMW remains one of the most popular marques on Bike EXIF, and half of the bikes in our top 10 this year are café racers.

The BMW café racer you’re looking at here comes from Renard Motorcycles. No stranger to these pages, the Estonian outfit built it (and three others like it) to kick off a series of BMW R100-based builds. Renard designed these prototypes to their own spec, but each example they build moving forward will be tailored to its owner.

The bikes feature rebuilt motors, with smart upgrades like twin-spark heads, and lightened cranks and flywheels. Each one also gets a custom-built exhaust with Hattech silencers, a full rewire with a Lithium-ion battery, and LED lighting. Ceriani replica forks, adjustable shocks, Borrani rims and Beringer brakes take care of the running gear.

All the bodywork is custom—from the reimagined take on the classic BMW R100 fuel tank, to the tidy café-style tail section with its integrated taillight. Finished with luxurious paint and upholstery (and fenders), it’s one of the nicest made-to-order customs we’ve seen. [More]

9. MB Cycles Sportster hardtail Harley-Davidson manufactured their last-ever Evo Sportster this year. And yet, a rigid-frame Sportster has defiantly made our list, to remind us that the perennial Sporty has much gas still left in the tank.

The story of this hardtail goes back twenty years, when MB Cycles founder Martin Becker built it up for his brother. It was ridden for a while, then parked for years before Martin bought it back, cleaned it up and stuck a 1996 Harley-Davidson XL883 Sportster engine into it. Pretty soon a new customer snapped it up and commissioned a custom build.

The actual rigid frame originally came from the Dutch frame fabricators, VG Motorcycles. It’s matched to a replica springer front end, and rolls on 16F/15R wheels with late-80s Sportster hubs. The engine isn’t stock anymore either—it’s been jacked up with a 1,200 cc kit from S&S Cycle.

A 1930s fuel tank is matched to an aftermarket oil tank, a modified Penz fender and a custom-made sprung saddle. Sneaky modern touches include a Motogadget speedo, Kustom Tech controls and modern push button-style switches. Some of the patina on the bike is real, and some of it’s been painted on—but you’ll have a hard time figuring out which is which. [More]

8. Vtopia Vyrus From its aggressive silhouette to its hub-centered steering, the Vyrus looks pretty wild straight out the box. But then Milan-based custom shop Vtopia found a way to make it even wilder, by designing a kit that’ll fit the Vyrus 984, 985 and 987 models.

The biggest eye catcher is the new bodywork. Vtopia used a minimalistic style known as ‘low poly design,’ which is typically found in video game design and animation. The body is a single piece, made from carbon fiber and supported by CNC-machined subframes front and rear. Hiding underneath is a custom-built fuel cell, and the seat pan is a 3D laser-printed nylon-carbon fiber part.

The kit also includes a new exhaust, with two routing options. It’s fabricated (in titanium) by Spark, based on Vtopia’s design. No expense is spared, with carbon fiber handlebars, LED lighting and a Motogadget speedo all added.

Vtopia built two prototypes to develop their kit, but we prefer the one with the raw forged carbon finishes. Because if you’re going to buy a Vyrus and fit this kit, you may as well go all out. [More]

7. Yamaha GTS1000 by Aki Suokas The custom Vyrus isn’t the only oddity on this list. Finnish hobby builder Aki Suokas did the unimaginable this year, by turning the unusual Yamaha GTS1000 into a café racer. With its unusual front swingarm setup it’s an unlikely donor—but somehow, he made it work.

Despite the complexity of the GTS1000’s chassis, Aki tore into it to tweak the overall look and ride height. The front-end was rebuilt with a set of custom-made linkages and joints, and upgraded with a modified Suzuki shock. The rear wears the single-sided swingarm and rear shock from a Honda VFR800.

The wheels were masterfully pieced together using aftermarket car rims and a few scalped motorcycle parts. The setup still uses the Yamaha’s stock brakes, upgraded with stainless steel hoses. The exhaust muffler is another borrowed part—it comes from Kawasaki Z1000.

For the bodywork, Aki bought an aftermarket fairing and tail section, then modified them to suit his build. The fuel tank was cut-and-shut to shrink it, then covered with a shell made from a 1984 Suzuki GSX1100’s tank. Resplendent in blue, Aki’s GTS is somehow futuristic and classic all at once. [More]

6. BobC Custom Motorcycles Harley-Davidson Flathead It’s not often that we feature a motorcycle that is as universally loved as this fetching Harley Flathead bobber. Built by Croatian ex-pat Slobodan Cirkovic, it garnered not only the admiration of our readers, but also everyone who saw it in the metal at this year’s Malle Mile even. It was part of our Art of Machine exhibition at the Mile, and looked just as good parked in our tent as it did tearing down the drag strip in front of Grimsthorpe Castle.

Part of why it looks so good, is because it was fourteen years in the making, and underwent two full rebuilds before it reached this point. The chassis is a custom affair, pieced together using leftover tubing from Slobodan’s ex-job, where he helped fabricate Range Rover subframes. The engine is a 45.12 ci flathead, with a Linkert M88 carb and a four-speed shovelhead transmission.

An extensively refurbished springer front end offers the only bit of suspension, with disc brakes (yes, you read right) stopping the 16” hoops.

The bike is also impossibly svelte—but it’s really the little details that push this one over the top. From the stunning blue paint job, to the Brooks saddle and wooden inlays on the floorboards, it’s clear that every last choice was agonized over.

This is also the build that marks Slobodan’s transition from tinkerer to professional bike builder. Thanks to the encouragement of his friends, he officially launched his workshop, BobC Custom Motorcycles, this year. What a debut. [More]

5. Honda CB750 Nighthawk by Colin Darling The 90s-model CB750 Nighthawk is hardly the custom builder’s favorite Honda CB—but that didn’t stop Colin Darling from turning one into a modernized café racer. The Oregon-based mechanical engineer went to town on the four-cylinder Honda, radically reworking both its aesthetic and its running gear.

Most of the Nighthawk’s new chassis components come from a Triumph Daytona 675. Colin adapted the Daytona yokes to fit the Honda steering neck, then installed its forks, wheels and brakes. Out back, he fabricated all the parts necessary for a mono-shock conversion, then fitted the Daytona swingarm with a Suzuki GSX-R750 shock.

The subframe is new, as is the premium European cowhide saddle. Lighting is by way of a classic Bates-style headlight (retrofitted with LEDs), with an LED taillight integrated into the rear. All the controls are new, modern parts, as is the digital Koso speedo.

Colin nailed the ‘looks fast standing still vibe’ here—which is impressive, considering the bland nature of the donor bike. Extra style points come from the deep black paint job, executed by layering a glossy clear-coat over a non-metallic black base coat. 3D-printed tank badges drive the point home. [More]

4. ShifCustom BMW R18 trike It seems appropriate that the only BMW R18 to make this year’s cut is a three-wheeler. The sheer size of the BMW’s 1,802 cc boxer engine has made it a tricky bike for customizers to work with—and for fans of more svelte cruisers to warm up to.

ShifCustom’s solution? Lean into it, by making the R18 even bigger than before. It sounds like a goofy concept, but in practice, it works remarkably well—mainly because of the classic automobile vibe that it exudes.

ShifCustom’s customer on this project was a massive fan of BMW’s bikes and cars, hence the obvious throwback to the iconic BMW 328. The handmade aluminum nose cone sports a pair of kidney grills up front, louvered air vents, and leather straps over the top. It opens to reveal a fully bespoke front subframe and double-wishbone suspension system.

The rear wheel is a one-off, but the front wheels are modded Audi A3 items, fitted with Rudge Whitworth center-lock nuts (just like those on the 328). Other additions include a pair of Harley V-Rod headlights and a custom windscreen. Wrapped in blue and silver paint, it’s undeniably the most head-turning R18 of the year. [More]

3. Sym Wolf 125 by Charlie Huang From the biggest custom bike on this list, to the smallest; a humble commuter turned café racer. It’s the work of Charlie Huang—a student from Taichung who attends the ArtCenter College of Design in California. The donor bike was passed down to him from his uncle, and Charlie decided to give it a makeover rather than simply restore it.

Most of the work went into rebuilding the engine and transmission. Charlie bumped the capacity up to 164 cc, and added a six-speed transmission. The Wolf 125’s powertrain evolved from the Honda CB/CG series, so some Honda CB125S parts were used inside the engine.

Charlie shortened and refurbished the front forks, then designed a new top yoke and had it CNC-machined. The swingarm was pieced together from Kymco KTR parts, and is connected to a pair of adjustable RPM RR shocks. 18F/17R help get the stance just right, while a Brembo disc at the front adds extra stopping power.

For the bodywork, Charlie adapted an old Honda CB100 K3 fuel tank to fit the Sym’s frame. The subframe and tail section fabrication was outsourced, as was the paint and upholstery—but Charlie dyed the seat’s leather himself. Perfectly judged and tastefully constructed, this café racer punches far above its weight. [More]

2. Lys Motorcycles Honda CBX 1000 This is the third year in a row that a Honda CBX 1000 has made our hit list, and we’re here for it. Honda’s potent six-cylinder muscle bike is radical enough in stock form, but the world’s best custom builders have shown that it can be made even wilder. You just have to know when to zig, and when to zag.

Lys Motorcycles has figured out the formula. The first time Lys’ founder, Dimitri, customized a CBX 1000, it was a hit—and he quickly had orders for more. This particular CBX was one of those orders, and it’s an absolute showstopper.

Moving from front to back, Lys’ CBX wears the forks, brakes and front wheel from a Triumph Speed Triple R, and the single-sided swingarm, shock and rear wheel from a Ducati 848. As you’d imagine, there was more than a little fettling involved to make everything fit—but the setup works so well, visually, that it feels factory.

A new subframe supports a two-up seat, with a removable cowl for solo rides. Modern parts from Koso, Motone and Motogadget add to the functionality, while a completely bonkers six-into-one exhaust system adds to the soundtrack. Wrapped in a livery that’s as radical as its stance, this CBX is as good as it gets. [More]

1. Retrorides BMW K100 If you had told us a decade ago that a K-series BMW would top our annual top 10, we wouldn’t have believed it. But here we are—the ‘flying brick’ has become one of the darlings of the custom scene. And this handsome BMW K100 RS café racer from Brazil’s Retrorides by Lourenço is a lesson in how to do treat it right.

Founded by brothers Gustavo and Rodrigo Lourenço, and their father José, who sadly passed away a year ago, Retrorides specializes in K-series builds. They even manufacture bolt-on parts for the K—like the horizontal rear suspension system on this one. Just above it is a CNC-machined subframe, supporting a sharply tapered tail section.

The upside-down forks from a Honda Hornet sit up front, along with a 3D-printed headlight nacelle. Unique forward-facing handlebar clamps position regular street bars low down, where you’d find clip-ons. A smattering of Motogadget parts adorns the cockpit.

But the real trick is how clean this K’s silhouette is—no mean feat given the gawky lines of the stock bike. It’s made even slicker with parts like the 3D-printed carbon tank side panels, and the BMW’s brooding paint scheme. The only pop of color are the subtle bronze highlights… ironic, given that this K has just taken gold. [More]

EDITOR’S NOTE Ranked lists are bittersweet affairs, and a number of worthy machines inevitably just miss the cut each year. Just outside the top 10 were Purpose Built Moto’s super-sano Triumph Bonneville T140 [above], Kingston Custom’s Hagon Yamaha restomod [below], CNCPT Moto’s futuristic BMW R nineT, and MotoRelic’s Schwinn-inspired Yamaha XS650.

As always, our heartfelt gratitude goes out to the builders who create these machines, the photographers who capture them, our team of writers, and the advertisers who keep the lights on around here. Check back in a few days when we present our personal favorites from the year (data be damned).

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[DaveM]

Chemical Reactions: Wannabe’s custom electric chopper

We tend to be afraid of what we don’t understand, shying away from things that are ‘different’ or ‘foreign.’ Even something as lovely as this all-aluminum motorcycle from Enrico de Haas of Germany’s Wannabe-Choppers is hated by some—simply because it has an electric powertrain.

“Sometimes I’m even happy about the bullshit,” says a smiling Ricky, who founded Wannabe-Choppers at 15 with the aim of one day creating a completely scratch-built motorcycle. (Seriously: His shop recently started making grips in order to learn more about rubber manufacturing and use that knowledge to produce tires.)

Ricky and his team built this rigid EV for the exclusive European Biker Build-Off. For a decade he’d wanted to build an electric bike, but he didn’t think it would be the right fit for this particular event. Instead, he pursued another idea: creating a bespoke combustion engine and mounting it in a one-off frame.

Soon, though, Ricky realized he didn’t have the time to bring his ambitious vision to life, so he steered back toward the electric bike. “This bike—its stance, the way it looks—is something I had in my mind for a long time,” says Ricky. “It was just something in my head I needed to get out.”

He borrowed a jig and positioned a bare, straight-leg Knucklehead frame on the table next to him, drawing inspiration from it as he tacked up a one-off, all-aluminum frame. He picked up a hub motor from a wrecked electric bike (Ricky refuses to reveal what model) and began piecing together his single-gear motorcycle.

Every day, Ricky and his peers posted their progress on social media, without the slightest whiff of animosity—because they didn’t talk about the bike being electric. “We just said nothing. If we showed our work, they would appreciate it.”

The fact that the Wannabe-Choppers EV had what appeared to be a conventional powertrain put people off its scent. “It was pretty easy to decide which ‘parts’ had to be on the bike,” says Ricky. “Everything that’s on a regular bike. People get offended by the exhaust, but I say, ‘You wouldn’t like the bike if it didn’t have an exhaust.’”

The mock aluminum engine is a detailed blueprint for the bespoke engine Ricky hopes to build one day. The ‘gearbox’ houses the motor’s controller, the battery’s controller, and the converter for the throttle. The jockey shifter is the bike’s on-off switch, and 24 lithium-ion battery cells sit under the solo seat.

The bike’s ‘void areas’ can be used to house more battery cells for increased range. “Parts are shaped and sized like lithium cells,” says Ricky.

“You can stuff the exhaust, the whole motor, or the gas tank. You could even stuff the frame with batteries if you wanted. They’re empty housings as is, but you can give these parts a technical function.”

As the motorcycle neared completion, Ricky and his team tossed around names like ‘Hidden Power’ and ‘Fake News’ but settled on ‘AlSi9Mg,’ which is the chemical mixture of the cast aluminum parts.

When Wannabe-Choppers rolled into the Build-Off, they expected the audience to hate their creation. “But that didn’t happen,” says Ricky. “They freaked out. They loved it, but their loving it made our opponents hate it. Most of the professionals at the show hated it.”

He tells us one journalist said that Ricky’s decision to bring AlSi9Mg to a respected show was like bringing a deep-fried pizza to a master chef competition. Other builders cried to the show’s judges, saying Ricky and his team had built an electric bicycle, not a motorcycle, and shouldn’t be allowed to compete.

Then even more trolls piled on. “We had to ban people from our social media accounts because they were going on with hate speech and bullshit,” says Ricky. “It was just too much.”

Ricky disassembled the 175-lb motorcycle, packed it into four boxes, checked those as luggage, and flew to America, hoping to meet more enlightened, open-minded motorcyclists on the show circuit.

He did. “People had exactly the reaction we wanted. They said, ‘I’m not into electric, I’ve never thought about electric, but now I see this and, , I want to build something like it.’”

“This is the reaction I wanted to see. I like to see the moment when something changes in people’s minds.”

Wannabe-Choppers | Facebook | Instagram | Words by Chris Nelson | Images by Andrew Trahan | This article first appeared on Iron & Air

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[DaveM]

Full out: the 2022 Chirihama Sandflats vintage beach race

Of the 800,000 miles of thoroughfare winding across the islands of Japan, there’s only one five mile stretch where you can drive a vehicle on a public beach (legally, at any rate). It’s called the Chirihama Nagisa Driveway, and for 363 days of the year, it’s a serene little strip of coastline and a popular destination for tourists and beach goers.

For two very special days of the year, however, that serenity is replaced by the sweet music of straight-piped race bikes, while this smooth patch of sand is converted into a drag strip like no other. We’re talking about the Chirihama Sandflats, of course, which we’re also happy to announce returned in full force this year, for the first time since 2018.

So what is the Chirihama Sandflats? Put simply, it’s an annual vintage motorcycle race where riders come to test their mettle, going full throttle on 70-plus-year-old equipment down a 1/10th mile stretch of beach. The contest is simple: Two bikes line up side by side, the flag girl gives the signal, and the first bike to cross the finish line moves on to the next round.

This year, roughly 150 antique two wheelers made the pilgrimage out to the sand in Ishikawa Prefecture. Hundreds more enthusiasts and race fans lined up along to the beach to watch, and the parade of rigid frames, half helmets, and vintage style that followed was easily the coolest thing happening on the planet for 48 hours.

Riders compete in one of three classes: The first is the 45 Championship Class, which consists of Harley Davidsons built before 1952, pre-1953 Indians, and pre-1953 Triumphs up to 500 cc. There’s also the 80 Championship Class, which is made up entirely of tank-shift H-Ds and Indians, as well as pre-1954 Triumphs up to 650 cc.

Finally, you’ve got your Open Class, which is open to all Harleys, Triumphs, and Japanese domestics built before 1970. The only rules for all three classes, according to Chirihama Sandflats officials, are “no paddle tires, no race gas, and no ‘unsafe modifications’.”

You’d assume that that last bit refers to stereotypical chopper fare, like stretched forks, tall apes, and sissy bars. But looking at the selection of machines present, most of those seem to be fair game.

So how did one of the coolest motorcycle gatherings on the planet find its way to a little-known beach outside of Hakui? We’re glad you asked.

See, the Chirihama Sandflats started as a little-known motorcycle show back in 2012. For that first meeting, the races at Chirihama were just a small portion of a larger motorcycle gathering, a drop in the bucket compared to the the event we know today.

The first meet was a success overall, but the first annual running of the Chirihama Sandflats became an unexpected sensation. Images of vintage bikes racing wide open down a pristine beach spread like wildfire, which is especially wild considering social media was still in its infancy at the time.

Within a few months, talk of the races had all but eclipsed the bike show itself. Organizers were so inundated with inquiries about the Chirihama Sandflats, that when it came time to plan the follow up event, the decision was made to make the races themselves the main focus of the gathering.

Chirihama Sandflats continued to grow from there. And as modern social media began to hit its stride in the years that followed, images of the race’s high style and unmistakable vintage flavor found their way to damn near every builder and enthusiast the world over.

The annual get-together continued smoothly up until 2019, when 48 hours of near constant rain forced the organizers to cancel. We’ll wager we don’t need to tell you why the race didn’t run in 2020 (hint: it rhymes with Boronavirus). But after some petitioning of the local government, Chirihama Sandflats returned in 2021—albeit with strict safety restrictions in place.

It turns out that vintage bike owners were getting just as stir crazy as everyone else during the pandemic,because the race hit record numbers on its first year back. Over 160 racers came out to compete for the Chirihama Sandflats’ triumphant return.

2022 marks the first race since 2018 that the event has been held with a full audience, and no government restrictions of any kind. If you’d like to count yourself among the lucky few who get to race next year, anyone with a qualified bike and 20,000 yen to cover their entry fee is welcome to join.

With special thanks to our good friend Tadashi Kono, who supplied both the images and information for this report.

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[DaveM]

Meet Beijing’s young Zero Engineering motorcycle riders

Miki is 26 years old, compact in size, but rides with a confident, easy strength. Her crew blasts around Beijing on near identical Zero Engineering Type 6 motorcycles; 92.63 cubic-inch S&S Shovelheads with Baker six-speeds.

The geometry of the Type 6 works for smaller riders like Miki. A rigid Gooseneck frame with a 33.2-degree rake drops the frame four inches from the street, and a mere 26 inches from seat to street. The classic Zero design Springer front end and larger 5.00-16 tires harken to a nostalgic past, while the bike’s modernized, long wheelbase and narrow width works wonders for squeaking through the old, narrow alleyways of Beijing.

Life today in Beijing changes in unpredictable ways for young creative people like Miki. They must find their footing and pivot skillfully between past and present cultural and historical narratives. For Miki and her friends, riding their Zero motorcycles through the city and beyond is a way to channel the old and new.

“Motorcycles can help young people in China find a creative life,” Miki says to me through the modern marvel of Google Translate. “I live and work in Beijing. I am a make-up artist for fashion, video, and movies. There is a group of young people like me who also lead creative lives and we ride together.”

“My tattoo artist friend, Zhou Xiaodong (AKA: Dong Dong) is an example. I live downtown in the second ring road Dong Cheng district where everything is the traditional chuantong open courtyard-style. Everything looks a thousand years old. It was affordable here ten years ago, but now it’s difficult.”

“We work and then we meet up, ride and relax,” Miki continues. “I have been riding a motorcycle for ten years, and I have ridden other brands and models. I have never found what I like in my heart. I felt something was wrong, until I found my Zero.”

Just 15 years ago, Miki, Dong Dong and their Zero group would have ridden the streets with millions of others on a bicycle. Now the city is divided into the old and new, where glitzy Euro and American cars and fashionable motorcycles dominate. The flow of traffic in Miki’s more traditional Dong Cheng area is still calm and predictable, and it’s fun for them to ride through that history.

Beijing is 6,300 square miles—20 times the size of New York City and 12 times the size of Los Angeles—with more than 21 million people. The Forbidden City sits in the center surrounded with concentric ring roads that move out 78 miles to the mountains and the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall that has stood since 1570 CE.

The Wall meanders like a dragon’s tail for 1300 miles across the semi-arid landscape and serves as a primary not-so-subtle reminder of historical continuity. But for young urbanites like Miki and her riding friends, the Wall is an ambiguous, controlling, mixed-metaphor of the past.

The Chinese economy took off during the early 2000s with breakneck 12% growth. Miki, Dong Dong and their friends had to work creatively to be a part of that opportunity. Chinese society was closed off from the rest of the world by government filters, however young people like Miki figured out how to use proxy servers to navigate on the Web and see what other young people were doing, opening them up to worlds of fashion, consumerism, current trends, styles, and a new sense of self found through motorcycles.

If you ride in Beijing, most brands are represented on the street, from aggressive, flashy-paint speed machines to upscale European and American brands. From the 1930s through 1949, the Nationalist Chinese Kuomintang Army rode Indian Motorcycles, but sighting one of those today is unlikely. The Chang Jiang side car bike had a military history in early Communist China.

Today there are stories about warehouses full of dusty, abandoned Chang Jiangs from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. The bikes are not allowed in many areas because of air quality regulations but they are seen on outer ring Beijing streets. Trendy younger kids sneak them on to the lower ring roads and it’s common to hear their boxer opposing-twin 750 engines chugging and blowing smoke on warm summer weekend nights.

Miki describes her day-to-day riding with friends: “We ride to Gui Jie (Ghost Street), the restaurant street, at night,” Miki continues. “There are 100 restaurants in the darkness. On warm nights we sit for hours next to our bikes and eat. It is called table culture, or ‘Ni chi le ma?’ roughly translated to ‘Did you eat?’”

“Everything focuses on the food, the table where you eat, and your style of eating: courtesy, endless toasting, the angle you hold your glass and at what level when you toast. Slow, easy conversation. No rush. Enjoying the food and company of friends. Life in this section of Beijing is gentle and quiet. Everything works together.”

Chinese culture can be a brutal, dictatorial arrangement for a young person like Miki. History and protocol are guides but also suffocators. Gender, social position, and family connections go both ways. Xiao Shun or Filial Piety stresses the Confucian doctrine of respect for parents and ancestors.

This attitude is particularly demanding of women. Miki risks blow-back from her marriage-obsessed parents, her relatives, neighbors, and colleagues for riding a motorcycle—especially with male friends. She negates tradition and authority but it’s not an easy move. Her shoulders are conspicuously tattooed and this drives home her point about self-determination while also finessing the culture.

“Tattoos have other meanings to me,” Miki says. “And they all have stories! Live hard, live for yourself. Accept the true self and don’t compare yourself with others. Everyone is unique and must love themselves, find their own advantages, and do what they are good at.”

“For me, motorcycles are my family members,” Miki clarifies. “They are a part of my life—a pursuit of a source of freedom. Yes, it is fun to ride in Beijing but there is something serious too.”

“My generation stands in the middle between the past and now; very different worlds we go through when we ride. If I am to be strong and become an artist, it will be from my own efforts and pursuit of beautiful things. This is how I must live and my motorcycle helps me understand and do this.”

Words by Michael McCabe | Images by Xiaoshu, Zhang Yang, & Michael McCabe | This article first appeared on Iron & Air, and has been edited for length.

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[DaveM]

WAVES & WHEELS: Kawasaki KZ400 by Jerem Motorcycles.

The top ten bikes of the year have been revealed and whether you’ve been thinking about it for a while or are a young person who’s just come of age, those beautiful machines and the Christmas period have convinced you it’s time to get your motorcycle license. The problem is you’ve got a craving for something custom, and well, most learner-legal bikes are less than exciting in terms of looks and...

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[DaveM]

Editor’s Choice: An alternative top 10 for 2022

You know the drill. Once we’ve processed the data and published our ranked list of the year’s best custom motorcycles, I throw it out the window and pick my personal favorites. And it’s never easy.

2022 has been a good year for the custom scene. My short list started with 42 motorcycles, all of them winners in their own right. In the interest of fairness, I then eliminated any bikes that already made our ranked list, and whittled the selection down.

The result is an eclectic list of customs that all stand out for their creativity, ingenuity and overall radness. As usual, they’re listed alphabetically by the builder’s name.

Dive in, and sound off in the comments if you agree (or disagree) with any of my choices.

Cheyne Speak’s Suzuki TS185 Kicking us off is a custom bike with one of the wildest liveries of the year. Australian custom builder Cheyne Speak has had a lifelong love for motocross and BMX, and it’s plastered all over this Suzuki TS185 street tracker.

The two-stroke Suzuki was pieced together from a basket case donor, using a mix of parts left over from other builds, secondhand finds and bits that friends had lying around. The build was guided by instinct; working without any sketches or renders, Cheyne simply made it up as he went. And his instincts are good.

The TS185 features a KTM 450 SX-F front end, a lengthened swingarm with Kawasaki shocks, and 19” Excel rims. Cheyne had to weld the KTM steering neck to the Suzuki frame, and had to invert the rear brake to make it fit. The engine’s had some light work done too, while the exhaust is a custom affair, pieced together with Pro Circuit muffler internals.

A Suzuki TM75 fuel tank sits up top, followed by a custom subframe that supports a super-slim aluminum tail section. The seat wears high density foam and a repurposed KTM seat cover. Visually compact and weighing just 198 lbs, Cheyne describes it as “a BMX with an engine.” [More]

CNCPT Moto R nineT CNCPT Moto is a new name on the scene, but the creative minds behind it are veterans. It’s a collaboration between Arjan van den Boom of Ironwood Motorcycles, and Timothy Somers of Powerbrick. The two launched CNCPT in spectacular fashion this year, with the release of this neo-futuristic BMW R nineT.

The sci-fi-looking bodywork was first shaped in clay, then digitized and 3D-printed in ASA thermoplastic. It’s a two-piece affair, and it attaches to the bike using the nineT’s existing mounting tabs. The hole through the center of it hosts a mesh cover that gives access to the bike’s air filter.

Lower down are new CNC-machined engine covers, and a generous belly pan. But this custom BMW isn’t just about style—the spec sheet will make your eyes water too.

The forks wear carbon fiber tubes from CeraCarbon with hydraulic cartridge internals, the wheels are 17” carbon fiber hoops from Rotobox and the tires are sticky Pirelli Diablo Superbike slicks. Beringer controls, and a Motogadget speedo and push buttons, round out the set.

The paint job is as sharp as the nineT’s stance. It wears a lush silver coat, with purple accents and a combination of Alcantara and leather on the seat. [More]

Dan Mickan’s Vinduro KTM It’s certainly been a year for colorful bikes—but we’re not complaining. This vibrant throwback came from Aussie Dan Mickan, but despite how retro it looks, it’s actually a modern motorcycle. Dan started with a 2015-model KTM 500 EXC Six Days, then gave it a mammoth dose of 1980s enduro style.

Dan admits that his workshop skills are limited, so he did what he could and farmed out the rest. For the subframe, he mocked up a design using conduit piping, then sent it to a local fabricator to build out of chromoly steel. Another artisan modified an 80s Honda XL 185 fuel tank to match the KTM’s frame—and to incorporate the OEM fuel pump.

The KTM also wears a blocky new seat, custom side covers and a couple of Acerbis plastic parts. The original air and battery boxes had to be modified too, to tuck them into the new subframe. But despite the changes, Dan took extra care to maintain the original ergonomics—so that the bike could still be ridden in anger.

Dan was so determined to get the KTM’s livery right, that he even hired a graphic designer to help him finalize the design. The graphics take inspiration from past KTMs, but also incorporate a nod to the Argentinian edition of the ISDE—something that the factory bike originally did too. [More]

Fuller Moto Vincent Black Flash Vincent engines and Egli frames go together like peanut butter and jelly—but this Egli-Vincent café racer from Fuller Moto takes the concept to another level. When Bryan Fuller’s shop got the job, they were supplied a bunch of separate parts instead of a complete donor bike. And that left the door open for Bryan’s imagination to flourish.

The kit included a reproduction Vincent Series C 1,000 cc motor, a reproduction Egli frame, and a bunch of key electrical components. Fuller Moto picked the parts they were going to keep, mocked up the chassis and then did the unthinkable—they hacked off the subframe in favor of a slimmer, handmade chromoly replacement.

It was a necessary move, given the look that the shop was after. From front to back, the Vincent wears a streamlined fairing, a Ducati Imola-style tank and a perfectly proportioned tail bump. From the front, the bike is impossibly svelte; from the side, it cuts a flawless and timeless silhouette, accentuated by the swooping stainless steel pipes.

There are tons of gorgeous little details to digest. The seat wears leather from an old jacket, while the 3D-printed windshield (yes, really) sits on a birdcage-style bracket. Rare and achingly beautiful, the Fuller Moto Vincent ‘Black Flash’ is a masterclass in café racer design. [More]

Kevin Bergeron’s Yamaha XT250 The worlds of motorcycles and bicycles often intersect—but the cross-pollination is seldom as drastic as it is with this machine. Created by Kevin Bergeron, a first responder that tinkers with bikes as a hobby, this scratch-built bobber’s frame blatantly draws inspiration from fixie bikes.

Kevin machined everything himself at home on either his lathe or mill—right down to the rigid forks, which feature the sort of single-crown design you’ll find on an old road bicycle. The 21” wheels are custom items, and the braking system is a hidden drive sprocket-mounted arrangement. Attached to the frame’s backbone is a pair of split tanks; one for fuel, and one for the electronics.

The build is powered by an 80s-model Yamaha XT250 engine. Kevin rebuilt it, then fabricated an exhaust header that sends gasses into the frame’s down tube, and out via a vent at the bottom right of the bike.

Renthal handlebars and Eclat grips are some of the few off-the-shelf parts on this bike. The internal throttle, front luggage rack and aluminum flashlight are all hand made, as is the woefully inadequate saddle. Kevin’s fixie-inspired bobber might not be particularly practical, but it’s still one of our favorite customs of 2022. [More]

Kingston Custom BMW R100 Kingston Customs’ Dirk Oehlerking is a regular fixture on our annual top 10 lists. It’s easy to see why—the German custom builder seems to spend his time finding ways to outdo himself on each project. Case in point: this elegant BMW R100.

Dirk’s been on an art deco bender over the past few years, and this build is the ultimate expression of his ever-evolving style. Dubbed ‘Hommage,’ it was built specifically for the Haas Moto Museum. Founder Bobby Haas commissioned it before he tragically passed away in 2021—the loss left Dirk devastated, but he eventually decided to complete the project in Bobby’s honor.

To build Hommage, Dirk stripped a BMW R100 down to its frame, then laid big cardboard sheets against it to create a life-sized sketch of his vision. All the bodywork was formed from 2 mm thick aluminum sheeting. It’s not the first time Dirk has wrapped an old boxer in all-encompassing bodywork, but it is the longest body he’s ever built.

The front and back sections are hinged, offering access to the BMW’s serviceable areas. Dirk also moved the bike’s intake further back, and fabricated inlets and exhausts that flow flawlessly with the design. Finer details include classic BMW kidney grills, a Porsche 356 Speedster mirror and carefully placed BMW roundels. [More]

Machine 1867 Suzuki Whenever we open an email from Edi Buffon, we expect to see something imaginative and over-the-top. And this turbo-charged Suzuki GS650 bobber did not disappoint.

The most remarkable thing about this machine, is that it was built on a nearly non-existent budget. Edi started with a GS650 engine that he already had in hand, then resolved to build a custom using only parts that were lying around his shop. The bits he needed to fill in the blanks were then made by hand.

The Suzuki mill’s been packed into a custom rigid frame, with a one-off front end that was inspired by early 1900s A. Drew and Co. Druid girder-style forks. Handmade bars are welded straight to the forks, and wear custom made grips and reverse levers. (Oh, and one of those levers controls the throttle.)

Edi also built the Suzuki’s split tanks and suspended tail section. Then he gave the GS650 mill a major boost, by building his own turbo system. With a downdraught Webber carb on the rider’s right, and the stubby exhaust on the left, Edi’s creation is as sketchy as it is awesome. [More]

Satomari Shovelhead Like most of Japan’s elite custom motorcycle builders, Yusaku Sato has a knack for seeing things that the rest of us can’t. Sato-san’s svelte shovelhead is a testament to this. Its lines are a touch unconventional—yet it’s pleasing to the eye, and tastefully finished.

At its heart is a 1982 80 ci Harley-Davidson shovelhead motor. The client specced the motor (because that’s his birth year), but left the rest up to Yusaku and the Satomari team. Their craftsmanship is evident everywhere—just check out the custom intake that feeds an S&S Cycle carb, or the rectangular exhaust outlets.

The chassis is custom too, matched to 41 mm forks and a 23” wheel up front, and a 17” Dyna wheel out back. A custom swingarm, modern shocks, and twin Performance Machine brake calipers finish off the rear.

A custom gas tank sits up top, playing host to the speedo and ignition barrel. Under the seat are a custom oil tank and a custom electrics box. From the narrow handlebars, to the elegantly integrated rear fender and the nautical-inspired paint, Satomari’s handsome chopper speaks for itself. [More]

Smyth Innovations Yamaha RD400 This cheeky custom RD400 from Smyth Innovations hits the nostalgia trifecta: two-strokes, flat trackers and Yamaha’s iconic speed block graphics. The Canadian shop is run by Cam Smyth—and the closer you look, the more his industrial design background shines through. Compact and blocky (but in a good way), this Yamaha is a refreshing cocktail of classic racing style and modern design principles.

The 1976-model Yamaha RD400 was barely roadworthy when it rolled into the Smyth shop, so the team had a lot of work to do. They treated the engine to a substantial rebuild, with trick parts like performance heads from HVC Cycle and a hydraulic clutch. New wiring, oversized Banshee intakes and a custom-built exhaust system all help the RD400 perform better.

19” Sun rims are attached to a set of Suzuki GSX-R600 forks up front, and a heavily modified 1981 Yamaha IT250 swingarm at the back. Higher up is a new subframe, with a shape that mimics the RD400’s original side covers. The tank’s an original RD400 part, retrofitted with a Kawasaki Ninja 650 filler neck and a flush-mount gas cap.

The yellow paint looks like a classic Yamaha hue, but it’s actually a modern reinterpretation from Yamaha’s 2006 50th anniversary bikes. A bespoke tail bump copies the tank’s basic form, with Alcantara on the seat adding a touch of class. With gold wheels and an audacious exhaust system, it scores high on the ‘must ride’ register. [More]

Tim Cumper’s three-wheeled BMW If the fact that a trike made our ranked top 10 list this year, then look away now—because our personal selection has its own three-wheeled BMW. We had no idea this machine existed until we saw it meandering around the grounds of Grimsthorpe Castle at this year’s Malle Mile event. But once we laid eyes on it, we couldn’t get enough of it.

Tim Cumper works as a prototype model maker, so he’s well-versed in the art of creating imaginative things. But the motivation for this project was unexpected. Tim wanted to take a stab at sheet metal fabrication—and what better way to do it, than with a custom machine that required a lot of bodywork.

Drawing most of his inspiration from pre-war race cars, and a little from the Morgan 3 Wheeler, Tim sketched out multiple designs, before refining them with CAD software.

A 1:3 scale model was CNC-machined, wooden bucks were built, and the bike’s retro-futuristic body was formed from aluminum. The whole thing feels decidedly vintage Star Wars (if that’s a thing), and is stacked with thoughtful touches—like BMW 507-style side grills.

Lurking underneath is a 1993 BMW R100R Mystic, matched up the front-end from an ATV. The front wheels are Austin 7 parts, and the front and rear brakes come from their respective donors. A Kawasaki Versys windshield, a Triumph Bobber seat and a neatly-integrated Daytona speedo complete the list. [More]

EDITOR’S NOTE Our days are spent hunting for the best custom motorcycles on the planet. So it’s hard to narrow those down to just ten favorites each year—especially when the bikes ranked 11-15 are often just as good.

Three Ducatis landed just outside my top 10 this year; Cosentino Engineering’s Hypermono, Analog’s 1000 DS race bike, and Alex Earle’s burly Monster S4RS [above]. WalzWerk’s BMW R100RS (the shop’s 1000th build), also narrowly missed the cut.

But one motorcycle in particular deserves special mention. MotoRelic’s Schwinn-inspired Yamaha XS650 [above] was in the running until the very last minute, very nearly made it onto our primary top 10, and went gangbusters on our sister site, Iron & Air. If there was an award for the custom bike that made us smile the most in 2022, MotoRelic’s Sean Skinner would win it.

Once again, thanks to everyone in our Bike EXIF family; builders, photographers, writers, advertisers, and you, our beloved readers. Happy New Year, and see you again in a few days.

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[DaveM]

Oriental Uppercut: A gnarly Honda CB1100 by Rough Crafts

Remember the Honda CB1100 TR Concept? Revealed in 2016 at EICMA, it was conceived by Honda Europe designer, Valerio Aiello, as an aggressive, flat track-inspired take on the Honda CB1100 modern classic. Not only did it never make it into production, but Honda eventually stopped producing the CB1100 altogether, just last year.

The spirit of the TR Concept lives on in this gnarly Honda CB1100 RS custom from Rough Crafts in Taiwan. When Rough Crafts’ Winston Yeh was commissioned to customize the CB, his thoughts immediately turned to Valerio Aiello’s design.

“If you ask me which is my favorite custom CB1100 in the world,” he says, “my answer will always be the one that wasn’t actually built by any custom builder; the CB1100 TR Concept. The flat track-style bodyworks, plus the super aggressive performance components, make for such an appealing package.”

“So I decided that that’s the direction I want to go with it—but with a bit more Rough Crafts flavor. The rest was about finding the right components, and the right balance between ‘race’ and ‘custom’.”

If you’re not familiar with Rough Crafts (you must be new here), Winston’s style is dark and menacing, with deeply scalloped bodywork and a very selective color palette. Working with a collective of local craftsmen and regular collaborators, he started by wrapping the CB1100 in fresh bodywork. The look is quintessential ‘Rough Crafts,’ with just enough of a hint of the TR Concept’s vibe present.

But the real magic here, is how compact this CB1100 looks. The 540 lbs big four is anything but svelte, but Winston’s fettled its proportions with a slim tail section, and wide rubber at both ends. It’s still a big machine, but it’s tightly packaged.

MS Pro was responsible for the custom tank, tail and side covers, all of which were hand formed out of aluminum. Gold pin-striping traces the CB’s new silhouette—from the dipped wings that flank the fuel tank, to the elegant ducktail that caps off the tail. The design is cohesive too, with a short fender up front, and the rear section doubling up as an inner fender.

The parts wear forged carbon veneers, hand-laid by Simon Fiber Craft. Rover Works Custom Paint handled the rest of the paint job, including the gold leaf work on the striping and the tank logos. Diamond stitching on the seat’s synthetic leather upholstery adds an extra stylistic touch.

Winston worked with another Bike EXIF regular, 2LOUD Custom, on the assembly of the bike—which included throwing a smorgasbord of high-end parts at it. You’ll find blacked-out Öhlins suspension at both ends, with a set of custom-machined yokes holding the forks in place. The setup is slightly lower than stock too.

The Honda rolls on a pair of luscious 17” carbon fiber wheels from BST, wrapped in grippy Pirelli Supercorsa tires. A pair of Beringer Aerotec brake calipers adds extra stopping power to the front end. A blacked-out RK Takasago chain and KCT rear sprocket add an extra hit of color-coding.

The Honda’s OEM handlebars were also redone in black—but they’re the only stock part left in the cockpit. The team installed Rough Crafts risers, Beringer brake and clutch controls, and a speedo, switches, grips and bar-end turn signals from Motogadget. A signature Rough Crafts headlight does duty up front, with three-in-one Koso LEDs acting as taillights and rear turn signals.

Other add-ons include a set of Sprint filters, Over Racing foot controls and a Rough Crafts gas cap. Then there’s the exhaust—a burly four-into-one titanium system, built by MS Pro and capped off with an SC-Project can. It looks like it’d be deafening, but Winston had it modified with a dB killer, so that the bike would be city-friendly.

Winston reports that the CB1100, now nicknamed ‘Oriental Uppercut,’ is easygoing out on the road, even with its 160-wide front tire. It helps that the mods have shaved an estimated 44 lbs off its curb weight.

Rough Crafts’ portfolio has far more Harley-Davidsons in it than anything else. But this Honda is proof, once again, that Winston can take just about any make and model of motorcycle, and douse it in gallons of Rough Crafts style.

Rough Crafts | Facebook | Instagram | Photos by JL Photography

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[DaveM]

SPANISH SPORTY: Harley-Davidson 883 by Tripleme Motors.

There are some motorcycles that you just can’t seem to escape no matter how much you try, so you may as well embrace their presence with everything you have. Whether it’s the first bike you ever owned or the one that keeps coming up for sale that you just know should be parked in your own garage, certain bikes seem to never quite escape our orbit. For Spanish custom builder Manel Molina it...

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[DaveM]

Cool as ice: A GSX-R750 Slingshot from the Netherlands

A boxed aluminum frame, round headlights, three-spoke wheels and and bold graphics; nothing epitomizes the dawn of the 90s like the 1990 Suzuki GSX-R750. The 115 hp Slingshot was the first GSX-R with upside down forks, and the last one to put its twin lights on full display. It demands attention, even today—so if you’re going to customize one, you’d better make it unmissable.

That’s Michel Szozda’s theory, at least. He customizes motorcycles as Cool Kid Customs, working out of a space that he shares with other creative friends in Haarlem, near Amsterdam. His style is anything but conventional, and his bikes are typically wrapped in eye-popping liveries.

This project ended up in the Cool Kid workshop almost by accident. Michel’s client had booked in his Yamaha Ténéré for a makeover, and had picked up the GSX-R to act as a daily runner while the Yamaha was being worked on. But once Michel saw the Suzuki, he suggested that it’d be a better option for a custom build.

The client agreed, and the ‘Rad Racer’ project was underway. But Michel had more work ahead of him than he’d expected. “The Suzuki looked clean when he came to drop the bike off,” he tells us, “but on further inspection, it had damage on almost every part.”

Some of the bodywork was beyond repair—so Michel ordered a full race replica body kit with a solo seat. But there’s no way it was going to go on without at least some modification. For starters, the front fairing only wears the upper sections, with the belly pan removed to expose some of the GSX-R’s working bits.

The headlights were in a bad state too, and looked dated. So Michel fitted a modern LED headlight on one side, and a 3D-printed cover on the other.

More work had to be done out back. Once Michel had the aftermarket tail section mounted up, he decided that it was too long for the look he was after. So he cut it down to size, leaving him with a gaping hole to contend with.

“I decided to use molding clay to design the backside,” he tells us. “Then I made a mold of that, and copied it in chopped carbon fiber.”

Chopped carbon fiber consists of small fragments of carbon fiber, rather than sheets of it, accounting for the unique texture. The new parts include a boxed piece to close up the back, and a vented insert up top. Michel built an X-shaped LED taillight to finish things off; a concept he’s been wanting to try out for a while.

“After the tail was done we needed more carbon parts to match it,” he tells us. “So we made a custom carbon windscreen, and made a copy of an 90s Yoshimura oil cooler vent that I had laying around.”

The GSX-R’s wheels, brakes and forks were still usable, but the rear shock was leaking. It was swapped out for a newer GSX-R part, which left little room for the old, chunky battery. Michel built a new battery tray under the seat, moved all the electronics there and installed a small Lithium-ion battery.

Staying below the line, Michel also removed the Suzuki’s airbox. Its Mikuni ‘slingshot’ carbs now inhale via a set of K&N filters, and they’ve been tuned with fresh jets, springs and needles.

Moving to the cockpit, Michel tossed the OEM speedometer in the bin (it had a broken needle). A digital KOSO unit sits in its place, mounted to a custom-made carbon fiber dashboard. The original clip-ons and switches are matched to new fish scale-style grips, while the stock mirrors have been swapped for slim CNC-machined items.

The Suzuki was also treated to braided stainless steel brake hoses, and new Pirelli Angel GT tires. For the exhaust, Michel coated the stock four-into-one headers black, then fabricated a stainless steel link pipe. The silencer is of undetermined origin; “I don’t know the brand, but it looked cool—so I slapped it on there.”

Michel needs little encouragement to wrap a sportbike in bold graphics—but this lively paint scheme was actually request by his client. “He only had one small, 300 x 300 pixel picture of a pattern that he liked,” he tells us. “After googling the whole day, I couldn’t find a better quality version of it. So I fired up Adobe Illustrator and made it myself.”

It takes moxie to wrap a custom motorcycle in pink and yellow, but this design is about as 1990 as it gets. Michel did it himself too—from the matte black base, to the geometric shapes and patterns.

Outrageous and unapologetic, Cool Kid Customs’ Slingshot looks just like a sportbike from the same era as Vanilla Ice and parachute pants should; radical.

Cool Kid Customs | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Duy Vu Dinh

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[DaveM]

Precious gem: A shimmering Triumph Bonneville by Tamarit

The value of a precious stone is rarely negotiable. Diamonds, rubies, and sapphires are priced based on cut, clarity, color, and carat weight. But this Triumph, dubbed ‘Emerald,’ is something different altogether, with a value waiting to be defined at the Bonhams auction house in Paris.

Tamarit Motorcycles is a custom-bike-making powerhouse in Alacante, Spain, focusing exclusively on Triumph’s air- and oil-cooled Bonneville platform. Emerald is the 129th build to roll out of the shop since it was founded in 2019, and the 13th to bless the pages of Bike EXIF.

Many of Tamarit’s builds are approachable bikes—comparatively affordable machines with tasteful and practical mods. Many of the parts used on them are available to customers, and the general shapes are attainable. Emerald, however, joins previous Tamarit builds ‘Jade’ and ‘Circe’ in an elite group, referred to as the ‘Jewel Collection.’

These motorcycles are built to the highest standards. They are rolling and functional sculptures with more creativity, talent, and time invested than any spec sheet or quick wrap-up could encompass.

Starting with a carbureted Triumph Bonneville donor, Tamarit sketched out a design, then created a digital render to guide the project. While Jade, the first of the Jewel Collection, was an upright café racer, Emerald gets many of its design cues from Circe—a stripped-down bobber with a floating solo seat.

Emerald is immediately striking. Every metal surface shines in polished gold, brass, or chrome; large speed holes adorn the swingarm, skid plate, fender support bracket, and saddle mount. Foot controls are mounted high and toward the bike’s rear, with low handlebars that give it an aggressive stance.

But with over 650 collective hours into this build, by eleven craftspeople, the devil really is in the details. Take a closer look at the handlebars. They’re welded directly to the top clamp, but expanded upon to now serve as a headlight cage too, with vertical rods covering the lens and connecting to a bar below the light.

A Motogadget speedo is integrated into the top clamp, keeping the rider’s view clean and clear, while still allowing for a variety of instrumentation. Like most of Tamarit’s builds, this bike also features a Motogadget mo.unit as the ‘brain’ of the machine’s new electronics system, greatly simplifying the wiring. The switches, bar-end turn signals and mirrors [not pictured] come from the German brand too, while the classy controls are KustomTech parts.

As we saw on Circe, a new oil-cooling system replaces the front down tubes of the bike’s frame, allowing it to run cooler overall. The battery now sits behind the engine toward the bottom of the bike, out of sight. Dual Keihin FCR39 carbs are fitted, with long velocity stacks that extend back toward the gold spring on the new Hagon shock.

Two pieces of heavy gauge chromed steel serve as the mounting points for both Emerald’s custom mono-shock setup, and its suede-covered solo saddle (the same suede is integrated into the fuel tank’s knee pads). The extended swingarm is a custom part.

Peek behind the chromed seat pan, and you’ll spot an integrated taillight and turn signals, and the bike’s unique nameplate. A custom fender hugs the enclosed rear wheel.

With so many modifications made to the Bonnie’s chassis, Tamarit wanted to ensure the frame was still strong enough to handle a thrashing. So they reinforced it in places, then sent the bike into a laboratory to stress-test it.

The Bonneville engine was completely rebuilt too, for performance and reliability. Oversized pistons were set in realigned cylinders, with a flattened cylinder head and fresh valve seals.

A one-off exhaust system was handmade, short and loud with a slight flare toward the end of the tube. The heat anodization on the exhaust just happens to match the chrome and brass finishes perfectly, while a shimmering green paint job covers the tank and fenders.

How does one put a price on a machine with 650 hours of labor and so many creative ideas implemented? Well, you don’t.

Tamarit has decided to let the people define the value through the famous British auction house Bonham’s, in Paris in just under a month. Circe and Emerald will both find themselves on the auction block, available to the highest bidder.

Tamarit Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram

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[DaveM]

QUICK FIX: Royal Enfield GT650 by Purpose Built Moto.

For millions of bikers around the world, strolling into a big motorcycle dealership with all of those sweet machines on the showroom floor is a little like walking through the gates of heaven. But for all of the people who walk through the door, only a very small percentage will sign on the dotted line and buy a brand-new bike. An Aussie named Jefferson recently did just that and slapped down his...

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[DaveM]

Speed Read, January 8, 2023

The first Speed Read of 2023 kicks off with a handful of parallel twins. Unit Garage debuts a custom kit for Yamaha’s successful Ténéré 700 adventure bike, Wedge Motorcycles works their magic on the Royal Enfield Continental GT650, and JSL debuts a sunny yellow Kawasaki W800. Lastly, the story of the 2022 Malle Mile comes to us as the brand’s latest short film, covering the festival of speed in a fun and exciting way.

Yamaha Ténéré 700 kit by Unit Garage Unit Garage is known for their well-engineered custom bike kits. Their kits can transform a stock bike into café racer, scrambler, or vintage-inspired build, with a much smaller budget and shorter timeline than a full one-off custom. It’s a relatively painless way to add extra function and style to a now-huge range of motorcycles.

The latest custom kit from Unit Garage brings classic Ténéré style back to Yamaha’s current mid-sized adventure platform. And what better way to demonstrate this kit, than to build a maximalist Classic Ténéré?

Unit Garage’s Ténéré 700 ‘Classic’ utilizes the brand’s full kit, which comes in Icon Blue, Midnight Black, or unpainted. The kit consists of all the graphics seen here, a high mudguard, classic side panels, plus an LED headlight and the classic cowl that fits around it.

There’s also support for the bike’s original instrumentation, an aluminum radiator guard, MotoGadget front turn signals, and all of the hardware needed to put it together. Replacing the stock parts removes about 4.5 kilos [9.9 lbs] of weight.

This demonstrative model sees a handful of other modifications as well, such as a Unit Garage muffler, rear luggage rack, license plate relocator and more. The kit is available now on Unit Garage’s website, so hit them up if you’re looking to get a little old-school cool for your T7.

Royal Enfield Continental GT650 by Wedge Motorcycle Our next non-British Parallel Twin comes from Wedge Motorcycle in Japan. Over the last 13 years, Takashi Nihira has been building motorcycles that look almost perfectly classic. Bikes completed with such cleanliness and attention to detail that they look like they could have rolled out of the manufacturer’s factory.

Such is the case with this latest build from his Tokyo workshop—a classic standard built around a 2020-model Royal Enfield Continental GT650.

Enfield’s GT650 starts its life as a factory cafe racer with attractive lines and a classic silhouette, which Nihira-san sought to expand on. Most of the custom work here was done in a way to highlight the original style, subtly enhancing the aesthetic without alerting the design language established by Royal Enfield. To accomplish this, the lower seam of the gas tank was removed and new mounting points were fabricated, allowing the gas tank to sit lower on the frame with a cleaner bottom line.

The long tail end of the GT650’s subframe was removed and replaced with a smaller, more compact loop. The stock café-style seat was then replaced with a slim solo saddle, fitting the new lines of the tail section. A smaller fender was attached to the rear, fitted with new license plate mount and smaller, tinted taillight and turn signals.

The stock intake was swapped for smaller pod filters, and a custom battery box was fabricated in the center of the chassis. A custom exhaust system was fabricated in-house, in a similar pea-shooter style to stock, but more compact and free flowing.

The original wheel sizes remain—18” both front and rear—but now in a raw, brushed finish that matches the bike’s engine, exhaust, and fork tubes. A set of chunky Shinko 270 Super Classic Cruiser tires balance out the proportion wonderfully. [Via]

Kawasaki W800 by JSL Moto Some bikes are made to climb mountains. Others are made to win races. But still, for many of us, the bike we may find most enjoyable is the one simply built to go out for a cup of coffee. Our next build is just that—a Kawasaki W800 from JSL Moto in Germany that was built for pure, simple enjoyment, classic style, and casual daily use.

Jochen Schmitz-Linkweiler is the founder of LSL motorcycle parts in Germany, and the builder behind the custom shop bearing his initials: JSL Moto. While JSL has built around Triumphs, Yamahas, and other twins, he still defines the W800 as “without a doubt the most characterful parallel twin of our time.”

Modifications to the Kawasaki platform center around perfecting the rider’s ergonomics and enhancing rider comfort—without changing the classic style too much.

A vintage-style swept-back handlebar and LSL mid-mounted foot controls put the rider in an upright and relaxed position. A universal Daytona Velona W speedo tackles instrumentation duties, blending analog style with modern functionality. Custom headlight mounts hold a new 110mm LED headlight, while 18” spoked wheels run at both ends, with a new set of shocks at the rear.

Lastly, the aptly-named ‘Coffee Bob,’ was given its defining paint job in two-tone sunny yellow and café-brown, with subtle red pin striping. As unpretentious café-hopping motorcycles go, this one’s tough to beat. [JSL Moto]

2022 Malle Mile short film The smell of burning gas, loud music, flinging mud—the Malle Mile Festival got pretty wild this summer. Whether or not you were able to attend, you can now experience The Mile in this short film from Malle. With a rocking soundtrack from festival headliners Public Service Broadcasting, the film covers all the wild activities happening on the stunning grounds of Grimsthorpe Castle.

For those new to the ‘most inappropriate motorcycle’ race in Great Britain, The Malle Mile features over 1,000 motorcycles racing (with no real winner, mind you), bands and DJ’s, brand exhibitions, art, photography, beer tents, wild swimming, trials courses, a 10km off-road scramble and a lot of custom and classic motorcycles kicking up the dust, on and off the track.

We were there to curate the finest custom motorcycles from the UK and Europe in ‘The Art of Machine’ exhibition, hosted in the big tent at the heart of the festival. But, here’s the kicker… in this exclusive invite-only exhibition, if you’re invited to show your work, you’re also expected to race in ’The Art of Sprint’ on the Saturday night.

It’s a head-to-head drag race on the royal entrance of the castle. No trailer queens here, just custom bikes that were built to inspire and built to go fast!

The bikes raced are always a highlight, ranging from full custom race machines to pristine classics pulled from private collections. Some of our favorites included the first Triumph Bonneville ever made, SN:001, raced by Dimitri Coste, and Bad Winners’ nitrous-powered Royal Enfield drag bike.

Tickets have recently gone on sale for the festival this summer and at the time of writing, there are still a few race spots left. See you in the dust or on the dance floor! [The Malle Mile]

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[DaveM]

PERFORMANCE PHILOSOPHY: Kawasaki 1100 ‘Shozo’ by 72 HKG.

For Jorge and Antonio of Spain’s 72 HKG Performance, there is a simple philosophy that underlines all of the work they do, building unique bikes for unique people. There are many ways to run a custom shop and no single one is right or wrong, but the guys don’t build cookie-cutter machines, they don’t seek to make parts kits or establish a product line. For this pair of performance-minded bike...

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[DaveM]

Street Style: A custom BMW G310R from Buenos Aires

To describe Argentina’s capital city of Buenos Aires as busy is an understatement. The 78-square-mile city has a population of over three million people, with over 15 million occupying the greater metro. As you might expect, motorcycles can be a fun way to get around such populous areas—especially smaller-displacement, highly agile bikes that can slice through crowded city streets.

That’s exactly what we’re looking at today; a custom BMW G310R street tracker made to commute on, from the team at STG Tracker in Buenos Aires.

Manufactured by TVS in India for BMW, the G310R is the smallest bike in the German marque’s arsenal. Its single-cylinder mill puts out 33.6 hp and 28 Nm—plenty for inner city jaunts. The stock bike borrows its styling from BMW’s bigger naked bikes, but this one’s been radically transformed by STG.

Although the donor bike only had 500 km [310 miles] on the clock, it wasn’t a completely blank canvas. Another workshop had started work on it already, but the client had paused the project and brought it to STG instead.

The previous crew had made the custom carbon fiber tank cover and tail section. But while the client was happy with the general design, nothing was fitting as it should. Shop boss Marcelo Obarrio kicked things off by building a new fuel tank to sit under the cover, then fabricating new mounting tabs on the frame to mount everything.

The standard BMW bodywork is angular and sporty—but the custom cover softens those hard lines, while retaining just the right amount of edginess. Finished with a few choice parts from Driven Racing in the USA, it’s certainly fit for purpose.

Marcelo turned his attention to the rear end next. The pre-existing tail unit was massaged into place, with a new subframe fabricated to accommodate it. Capping it off is a new Alcantara seat cover, with a hexagonal stitching pattern that matches the inlet grills at the front of the tank.

Hidden beneath the seat is a Motogadget controller, while the battery now lives under the swingarm. The imperceptibly small turn signals are also from Motogadget, while the taillight has been integrated into the rear end for a slick, factory look.

The stacked headlights are bolted to custom-CNC’d aluminum brackets, with STG choosing to reuse the stock dashboard. We’re getting a slight insectoid vibe from the front end—especially with the subtle honeycomb pattern on the tank cover.

The original front fender was reshaped into what you see here, but the upper fork yoke is custom. A set of carbon fiber bars from Driven Racing are bolted onto taller risers, to get the riding position as upright as possible. They’re capped with Motogadget grips, mirrors and switchgear.

One of the G310R’s most notable features is its ‘backwards’ cylinder head; the intake port is ingeniously placed behind the radiator with the exhaust port at the back. BMW claims that this moves some of the weight rearwards for improved agility, which, if true, is perfect for a street tracker.

To make this party piece more obvious and to improve performance, STG fitted a custom-built stainless steel exhaust. It pops nicely against the blacked-out engine and rear shock, and probably sounds great.

To give the client more confidence over sketchy terrain (and to complete the tracker look), a pair of Continental TKC70 tires were fitted. A carbon fibre sprocket cover and adjustable rear-sets from Driven Racing USA round out the parts list.

The eye-catching paint was designed and laid down by the talented Ale Minissale. “He had total freedom on the design, which was inspired by BMW track cars, and he nailed it.” says Marcelo. “You either love it or you hate it!”

We love bold takes on new bikes, and STG Tracker has delivered in spades. Whether you’re a fan or not, using this bike to rip around the busy streets of Buenos Aires would be crazy fun—and that’s what motorcycles are all about.

STG Tracker on Facebook | Instagram | Images by Darío Rodriguez

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[DaveM]

ESPRESSO RACER: BMW S1000RR ‘Nurburg’.

To be good at this craft, you have to know exactly how to use the machinery to create the perfect foundation, then the product not only has to perform exactly as desired, but the visual aspect also needs to elicit just as big a smile. Thrown in an amazing customer service experience and the life of the barista is not that far removed from a custom bike builder. And lucky for us...

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[DaveM]

Hardly simple: The Dyna that won ‘Best Detail Work’ at Mooneyes

What does it take to win the ‘Best Detail Work’ award at the illustrious Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show? You’ll need oodles of imagination, ingenuity and skill—and Takuya Aikawa isn’t short on any of those.

Aikawa-san runs the Japanese custom shop Sureshot in Chiba, just east of Tokyo. With two HRCS ‘Best in Show’ awards already under his belt, he entered this custom Harley-Davidson Dyna in last month’s running of the event. He might not have bagged the overall this time, but an award for the best details at Mooneyes (as the show is commonly known) is nothing to sneeze at.

Dubbed ‘Phase III,’ this 1998-model Harley-Davidson FXD Dyna Super Glide follows Sureshot’s mission to build custom bikes that are “fast, lightweight, and skinny.” But that’s not all it has going for it. The closer you examine it, the more you find the plethora of neat details that earned it its award.

The mono-shock swingarm and twin downdraft intakes are obvious changes, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice that the frame’s been tweaked. But you’ll need a sharp eye to spot the non-standard front suspension, or the radical custom hand-shifter design.

At the heart of the machine, Takuya rebuilt the motor with a pair of burly billet aluminum cylinder heads from Speed and Science. Next, he fabricated a custom manifold to fit a Keihin FCR41 downdraft twin carburetor with velocity stacks, and a handmade cover to keep things tidy up top. The twin slash-cut exhausts are custom too.

The bike runs with a standard five-speed Dyna transmission, while the clutch has been upgraded to a hydraulic system. The left side sports a menacing 2” open belt primary from Ultima—but it’s the mechanism mounted above it that’s really interesting.

Attached to the left side of the engine is a hand shifter setup of Takuya’s own design. Using a series of connecting rods and CNC-machined linkages, it puts the shifter right next to the gas tank for quick access. A dimpled, leather-covered shifter knob rounds it off.

There’s more machine work up front, where Takuya fabricated his own front suspension system. It’s a leading link design of sorts, with a pair of air shocks from RacingBros adding dampening. It also reportedly took a lot of fine-tuning to make sure it wouldn’t nosedive under braking.

The bottom yoke is integrated with the fork legs, which are held in place by a custom top yoke. The cockpit is super sano, with custom bars wearing little more than an internal throttle and the front brake lever. Everything has a made-to-fit vibe—like the machined attachment point that holds the bike’s LED headlight.

Even the solid machined wheels are one-offs. Measuring 19” in the front and 18” at the back, they’ve been designed to carry all their accoutrements on the left side only, leaving the right side open. The front wheel’s brake disc mounts directly to tabs on the wheel itself, without the need for a rotor, while the back brake hides behind the sprocket.

Not much of the original frame remains either. Takuya fabricated a new backbone from oval tubing, and redesigned the subframe to taper down to a custom aluminum swingarm. The OEM twin shock arrangement is gone, replaced by a single RacingBros shock with a custom tune.

A slim tail unit sits up top, with an equally slim fuel tank positioned in front of it. Both are custom pieces, hand-formed from aluminum. The seat wears horsehide leather, while the tank’s adorned with a custom gas cap.

The Harley’s also kitted with smattering of less noticeable machined parts, like the side-mounted plate holder and the custom foot pegs. You’ll find the SureShot logo on the points cover—and a couple of other sneaky locations.

All of those parts come together harmoniously to create a fresh spin on the cruiser genre. Takuya’s Dyna cuts a lithe figure, with a flawless stance and just the right amount of flat track influence. There’s a hint of hot rod styling in the mix too, via the deep metal flake green paint on the bodywork.

But it’s the auxiliary finishes that really testify to Takuya’s attention to detail. Take note of how the fuel tank’s pin stripe also runs over the aluminum cover adjacent to the intakes, and how all the pin striping matches the color of the powder coated frame. Even the wheels are clever; they look like regular nine-spoke alloy hoops from a distance, revealing a secondary snowflake pattern as you get closer.

There’s also a mix of finishes at work here—including variations on black, raw metal, polished metal and magnesium—but nothing feels overplayed.

It’s clear that SureShot knows when to zig and when to zag. And it’s clear that the Mooneyes judges know brilliance when they see it.

Sureshot | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Kazuo Matsumoto for YENC Magazine, with special thanks to both.

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[JackRobbin]

Don't berate me for asking this but have any of you ever tried installing a sissy bar Motorcycle Sissy Bars - Sissy Bars for Motorcycles - Viking Bags ? I know what sounds odd but I have seen a twenty-one classic with a sissy bar installed and I am wondering if there are any anchors available for installing it or if that was a custom job.

 

[DaveM]

RESURRECTION: Triumph Daytona by Kott Motorcycles.

Founded in 1885, the Triumph company is approaching its 140th birthday and it’s hard to think of a time when the British company has been doing so well. This, with their storied history, is a huge compliment, but well deserved given their incredible retro range, street bikes, groundbreaking electric sportbike program and supplying the engines for the entire Moto2 category. But such a long life is...

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[DaveM]

On a roll: Two custom Ducati Monsters from deBolex’s dB25 series

It takes a healthy measure of skill and talent to successfully run a custom motorcycle workshop. But even some of the industry’s top shops frequently outsource specialized tasks—particularly things like upholstery and paint. Those that can handle every last job in-house are a rare breed.

deBolex Engineering counts themselves among those ranks. The team of Calum Pryce-Tidd and Des Francis is currently neck deep in creating examples of their Ducati Monster 1200-based dB25 series bikes for customers. Each bike is tailored to its owner, with everything from the carbon fiber work to the seat trim happening inside the English workshop.

The dB25 series is a move from deBolex to offer their signature timeless style and high-quality finishes, at a slightly reduced cost and with a quicker turnaround. But it took some doing to get the series off the ground. The guys originally built a prototype with aluminum bodywork, then used it to build jigs and tooling to replicate the work in carbon fiber.

It now takes Calum and Des around three months to create a dB25 build. They start by producing the 22 carbon fiber body panels that adorn the Ducati Monster 1200 donor bike, and then do a ‘dry’ build to check the final fit. Finally, the Ducati is stripped for paint and trim.

These two bikes are numbers six and seven in the 25-unit series. As per the dB25 design, they share the same carbon body kit, polymer fuel cell, CNC-machined subframe, and a plethora of smaller laser-cut and CNC’d parts. But their spec sheets diverge from there.

Resplendent in blue, ‘No6’ [below] is specced as a clean and classy runner. It wears its original forks and wheels, anodized black and gold respectively, with a new Maxton shock out back.

The engine’s been treated to a K&N air filter, with a titanium exhaust from SC-Project that the owner’s neighbors are sure to hate. It’s been tuned too, via an UpMap ECU chip.

The cockpit wears a CNC-machined top yoke with Gilles Tooling clip-ons. deBolex has repurposed the OEM speedo and switches, but the interchangeable bar-ends and bar-end mirrors [not pictured] are Rizoma parts. No6 also sports Magura brake and clutch master cylinders, Motogadget turn signals, and a full complement of stainless steel fasteners from Pro-Bolt.

Classy liveries are a deBolex hallmark—and the clearest way for each customer to personalize their dB25. No6 looks especially tasty, with Alfa Romeo’s ‘Bluette’ color on the bodywork and main frame, and taupe striping that matches the Alcantara seat. The nose cone and the fairing’s air intakes are finished in orange, taking inspiration from the BRM Formula 1 cars of the 60s.

The new aluminum subframe is Cerakoted, along with a number of smaller parts (it’s the one task that deBolex outsources). Each dB25 also features deBolex’s signature OEM-style seat latch system, which guarantees quick access to the electronic bits.

It’s not just their liveries that set these two bikes apart though. ‘No7’ [above] has a wild parts spec to match its fiery paint job.

It rolls on BST carbon fiber wheels, with new Maxton suspension components doing duty at both ends. There’s a Toby steering damper too, and its Brembo brake calipers grip upgraded Brembo Serie Oro discs. “All singing and all dancing, as my dad would say,” quips Calum.

No7’s engine has also been treated to a K&N filter, an UpMap power tune and a titanium SC-Project exhaust system. But it also sports a new throttle spacer and a Translogic quick-shifter. There’s a full set of Pro-Bolt fasteners on here too, but these are all titanium.

Like No6, No7 is specced with Magura controls and a smattering of Rizoma parts, with the addition of a gas cap and foot pegs from the Italian parts manufacturer.

No7’s primary color is ‘Rosso Dino’—a swatch taken from the 1960s Ferrari Dino, which was named after Enzo Ferrari’s son. deBolex painted the ‘Dino’ logo onto the tail section too, as a homage to this. The bright blue stripe and Alcantara seat were also inspired by early Ferraris.

Extra Cerakote finishes on this dB25 include the engine covers and swingarm, with white accents sprinkled throughout the bodywork. Both No6 and No7 were sold with paint-matched paddock stands, and No7 even has a matching helmet.

There’s no rest for Calum and Des though—they already have the next three dB25 builds booked in, with each headed to a different country. Looking at how good No6 and No7 turned out, is it really surprising that they’re busy?

deBolex Engineering | Facebook | Instagram | Photography by Simon Jessop

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[DaveM]

Speed Read, January 15, 2023

Performance and utility are the words of the week. We kick off with a 1100 cc Kawasaki endurance racer, followed by a farm-built Honda mashup, a street-legal electric utility bike from Cake, and a Ducati Scrambler turned dreamy café racer from Motocrew.

Kawasaki Zephyr 1100 by 72 HKG Performance This Kawasaki café racer project began just like so many before it, with the simple question of “what else ya got?” Jorge and Antonio, the builders behind the Spanish workshop 72 HKG Performance, had taken a small road trip to pick up a project car, when they found this Kawasaki tucked away in the garage, covered with a blanket of unrealized potential.

The machine that started its life as a Kawasaki Zephyr 1100 was taken to a shop years ago for a full custom transformation—but it never reached a point that the owner was satisfied with. So after purchasing the project car, Jorge and Antonio loaded up both machines and took them home.

Picking up someone else’s custom build is rarely easy, but it often begins the same way: by stripping everything off. So the guys got to work undoing, unbolting, and bringing the Zephyr back to its bare bones.

HKG worked with the bike’s owner, going back and forth before deciding on classic endurance racer style for the build, which meant a full fairing. So once the bike was stripped down, the guys fabricated a custom frame to house the bodywork, which would determine the width and remaining lines of the build. All of the hand-formed aluminum bodywork took over 200 hours to create, but fits the build perfectly.

The fairing is formed around the handlebars, with considerations for cooling, the air intake and the bike’s exhaust system. The stock gas tank was modified for smoother lines, with the filler cap removed and replaced. A custom leather seat was made by Senen Leatherworks and attached to the new endurance-style tailpiece.

The Zephyr’s 1100cc engine was completely rebuilt, and fitted with small pod air filters and a full new exhaust system, capped with a titanium Akrapovič muffler. As expected, the original owner is finally happy with his custom built Kawi. [Via]

Honda Bros 400/Africa Twin by Jonny Kerins If we had a dollar for every amazing shed-built bike that we’ve featured, well…we might be able to buy a bigger shed. This next build comes from Jonny Kerins, a woodworking teacher from Ireland with an obsession for 80s and 90s superbikes.

Although it looks factory, it features a frame and engine combination that Honda never produced themselves. The chassis comes from a Honda NT400 Bros—a 400 cc version of the Hawk, available outside of the US. But the engine is a 742 cc twin, borrowed from a 90s-era Honda Africa twin.

For Jonny, building a Bros 400/Africa Twin hybrid was the result of a long-spanning love for the small Honda platform, and a perfect opportunity at the local moto scrapyard. Years ago, Kerins had owned and restored a Honda Bros 400 for himself, so he was well familiar with the platform, but had always wanted a little more juice for the squeeze. So finding a Bros chassis and an Africa Twin engine got his wheels turning.

With the right amount of finesse, he could harness the additional power of the Twin’s bigger engine in the chassis he had loved so much—and of course, all in the early superbike style that he loves so much. Coincidentally, he picked up the project just as a global pandemic shut the world down, giving him plenty of time to work on it.

The Bros chassis was equipped with a handful of high-performance parts from various machines. Forks from a Yamaha R1, wheels off of a Honda VFR, and bodywork from various Honda models were modified to fit. A custom exhaust, subframe and fairing brackets were all fabricated in-house.

Jonny even painted the bike himself, in the classic Rothman’s Honda livery. Buttoned up, it looks like a classic Honda racer from an alternate universe. [Via]

Cake Åik e-bike CES is one of the largest tech events in the world, often hosting some of the year’s largest announcements. This year we see Cake, manufacturer of electric motorcycles, announce a new addition to its lineup for 2023: a street-legal utility bike with extensive range and no required registration.

The Cake Åik is essentially a step-through eBike equipped with a variety of tools to help stow, tow, or carry loads. Sure, it’s not technically a motorcycle—but it is an interesting take on utilitarian two-wheeled transport.

The Cake Åik is built around a forged 6061 aluminum frame with a mid-mounted motor providing 100 Nm of torque through pedal assist. An automatic and stepless Enviolo Extreme gearbox on the rear wheel promises smooth shifts, to optimize power output and maximize battery life.

Between one and three batteries can be installed, for a maximum claimed range of 360 km [224 miles]. Without a battery, the bike weighs 30 kg [66.1 lbs], with each battery weighing an additional 5.2 kg [11.5 lbs].

For moving large loads, Cake offers a variety of racks, saddlebags, trailers, passenger seat, and more. Cake claims the rear rack can handle a load of up to 60 kg [132 lbs], while the front rack can take up to 20 kg [44 lbs].

If you like the look of the Cake Åik (and have some stuff you need to haul around), it’s available to order now on Cake’s website at a starting price of $6,470.

Ducati Scrambler by Motocrew Ducati’s Scrambler has proven itself to be both versatile and capable as a custom platform. From scrambler to desert sled to café racer, Ducati has done a wonderful job of highlighting what this platform can do—and the custom world has run with it.

The latest Ducati Scrambler to bless our inbox comes from Chris Scholtka at Motocrew. The mission began with the seemingly basic objective of building a customer’s dream bike. The only challenge is that the customer stands nearly two meters tall—and the Scrambler is compact.

To give the bike more of a traditional café racer vibe, a small fairing was mounted directly to the bike’s upper triple tree. The stock gas tank was mounted higher up to line up with the new bolt-on subframe, which also helped with fit by lifting the seat height. The custom rear shock, made by Black T, is 3 cm longer than stock, also contributing to the taller fit and aggressive forward-leaning line of the bike.

Perhaps the most dramatic feature is the custom-fabricated exhaust system, extending from the cylinder heads like lobster scales, and snaking down toward a short Leo Vince muffler. As this bike is designed for daily use, the Scrambler’s frame was cleaned up with small Motogadget turn signals, and a license plate mount bolted on near the bike’s axle.

The final cap on this build is a paint job inspired by Porsche’s Cream White, further contributing to the bike’s classic feel. As for the signature Motocrew chevron motif on the Scrambler’s swappable tank panels, that was done with a vinyl wrap, so that the customer can easily change it in the future if he wants to. [Motocrew | Images by Sascha Nagel]

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