If you took yr average 1950s cafe racer and ground it up in a giant sausage maker, what do you think would come out the other end? For those of you who answered a ‘bunch of ground metal with small pieces of rubber, vinyl and glass, all coated in a nice oily sauce,’ then technically you’d be right. Smart arses. But what I was alluding to was more of a distillation of the bike’s Raison d’être in to something pure and unadulterated. In a traditional cafe racer’s case, I’m guessing that what you’d get is a kind of ‘essence of honest speed.’ A substance that would characterise the scene’s key traits of going as fast as bloody possible on a working-class, post-war English budget. Think those days are long gone? Think again, for as the GFC bites hard in Western Europe, there are still guys who want maximum bang-for-their-buck for as little buck as possible, and what they are coming up with still stirs the soul like their 50 year-old brethren. Here’s one of them; Sérgio Teixeria’s Suzuki GSX 750 cafe racer.

Here’s Sergio. “Saudade! It’s a Portuguese word… some say it’s the only word in all languages of the world that defines the feeling of missing someone or something! I can’t think of a better word for this bike. It was a wrecked Suzuki GSX 750 when I (Sérgio ‘Thunderbird’ Teixeira, an active member of the Portuguese forum Cafe Racer 351) bought it. After 10 months of work, Saudade was born.”

“Why Saudade? My goal was to create a motorcycle to honour my late grandfather. I thought of making a muscle bike, a scary bike, and I think I pretty much did it!”

“The tank is from a Yamaha XJR1200 with a racing cap. For the instrumentation, I chose an Acewell Computer. Rear sets, clip on’s, new shock absorbers, polished motor covers, bicycle tape instead of normal grips, custom aluminium side panels and a Megatron exhaust… she sounds great! She sounds scary! And it’s awesome to ride!”

“I only had a small budget for the build. The recession is bad, and I couldn’t afford to buy top notch items! But it still is a head turn bike!”

“All of my life has been related with motorcycles. My father is a mechanic for over 40 years. He taught me everything I know about motorcycles. He made me a motorcycle when I was 4 years old and everything started there… the smell, the feeling of the wind in my face! It was love at the first throttle! I knew that motorcycles will be my life!”

“Nowadays, I spend my days in at my ‘LA Motos,’ a small family based shop in Santo Tirso, a little, but beautiful town in Portugal, with my father, selling, repairing and customizing motorcycles.”

Bali is known as “the island with a thousand temples” but there’s only one temple most moto monks will be interested in visiting on their spiritual pilgrimage to Bali, and that’s the ‘Deus Temple of Enthusiasm‘ – it’s the place of worship for those that bow their helmet to the ‘God in the machine’. And the latest machine from the Bengkel boys is this dirty back track Suzuki DR650. Compared to most countries like Australia and America, the DR650 is not a very common bike in Indonesia. As the saying goes ‘they are rarer than rocking horse poo’, thanks to the strict Indonesian import laws making the importation of larger displacement bikes a very expensive venture due to the huge import taxes. So when one comes up for sale, Deus try to snatch them up.

Over to Dustin from the temple of grease and wax. “This is a tale of all the bits coming together for the greater good. More often than not we are in our own little orbits, each working on what is available in our own backyards. But sometimes there is a bike that is so special that it’s small wonder that we share it as a common goal. The Suzuki DR650 is one such bike.

“When you have a bike with a well designed, low-stressed engine and an excellent lubrication system. That also possesses quite the big name on the block when it comes to a long, trouble-free service life. And it’s also a remarkably friendly bike to work on, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand why, collectively, we think she’s an ideal candidate for a Deus rebuild…

Sounds too good to be true? Well the DR650 is not without issue. The main being that there are very few after-market parts available. Shy of building the bits all by hand, making her a rather expensive option in the western world, there isn’t another option. Until now…

“You know when just as it all seems lost, something unexpected happens? You guessed it, a 1998 DR650 became available locally and we wasted no time snatching it up, not so much for our own sake (well maybe a little) but rather for our brethren in the US and Australia as part of a R&D collaboration. The transcontinental scuttlebutt we’d been having suddenly became a reality. To be able to build different kits for the DR and ship them off. And you know what? We are just about there.

That’s where our Bengkel boys come in. Purveyors of the hand built, who rally at the first chance to show us how they can fashion & fabricate, this new found friend gave us them, the physical they needed to wrap our ideas around. Of course there’s a custom tank and nice new fenders. We got our fly fiberglass seat and battery box in there. They cut the frame here and welded it there. Added a nice Ventura handlebar, a custom header and exhaust. Pulled the electrics and came back with new indicators, tail light, switches and speedometer. KNN filter and grips by Posh. Some black wrinkle on the metal bits and the tank sporting a super slick spray job.

It wasn’t “hey presto” fast, as this was one we intended to take our time on. What we got though is one of the worlds best all round bikes all nicely wrapped up in a tight custom package.”

Deus Bali have turned this clunky and plastic looking stock trail bike into something you would be proud not just to ride the back trails to the local surf breaks, but also down to the town bar for a cold Bintang or two. We can see the DR650 being a popular choice for builders wanting a more affordable donor bike. Might even check out ebay now. Hmmm…

It’s hard to believe it has been over two years since we featured Holiday Customs first bike. Since then, they’ve attracted a lot of attention over the years for their fine wrenching work – in particular, their trademark Schwinn inspired Yamaha XS650. Jared from Holiday Customs has always been good at saving old bikes from extinction by recycling parts he finds around his garage. His latest project is this clean and simple single-cylinder Suzuki GN400. “I found the GN in Portland Oregon, but the bike shows some signs of being in Virginia at some point of its life.” says Jared. “There’s still a Virginia beach army parking sticker on the fork”. Instead of removing the sticker, he decided to retain this little clue to the bikes history.

Thanks to some great Oregon weather, it took a little bit longer than usual to get this project started. Here’s Jared to explain the build: “It’s a 1980 Suzuki GN 400 that we found and sat around for a while this summer while we took full advantage of one of the driest summers in Oregon since I’ve been here. I rode alot of dirt and put alot of miles on my Schwinn style  XS 650. The GN didn’t put up too much of a fight, it was pretty solid to begin with. I’ve done a few of these brat style bike’s so I stripped it down and started cutting and cleaning. After all the metal work was done I gave the seat pan off to Ginger at New Church Moto.”

“This is no show bike, like most of my bikes I’m taking old found parts and making functional motorcycles that I think look good. This one doesn’t have as many of those parts as usual though. It has a Harley headlight, Ducati/Brembo master cylinder, modified XS650 rear fender and some Harley muffler that I found. The rear tire is a Firestone and the front is a Dunlop k70. It has the stock carb, no battery, as it just runs off the mag. This little thumper is a blast to ride, makes me want to build one for myself soon.”

Yes, it’s no show bike, and I’m pretty sure there will be the usual comments about the lack of blinkers and the infamous pipewrap/firestone combo – but at the end of the day, it looks like the kind of bike that would put a big grin across any riders face. And that’s what it’s all about. This little thumper is currently for sale, so if you fancy a stripped back single, then get in contact with Jared at Holiday Customs. As for Jareds next build, he’s building another Schwinn style bobber, but this time for a lucky chap in the U.K.

Owning a motorcycle near the beach in Sydney only has one drawback. The salt from the nearby sea ends up travelling around the streets searching for anything made of metal to slowly destroy – and it doesn’t discriminate. If you don’t wash your bike regularly, this salty air quickly corrodes the parts on your bike that aren’t made of plastic or aluminium. To most people, the prospect of having rust on their shiny pride and joy is probably the worst thing imaginable. Not to Lorenzo Rapparini from Bologna Italy. He loves rust. He loves the color and the organic nature of it – so much so that he decided to use it as a feature on his GS750, appropriately named ‘Rusty Bitch’.

Over to Lorenzo to explain this Rusty Bitch build… “I’ve always been passionate about mechanics and motorcycling. I‘m unable to hold my hands. Three quarters of the things I make are totally useless, but I love them and I think that ultimately it’s all worth the effort. When you have a child, however, you have little time left and so my adventure began in the mode “I’m more in the garage than in the woods with my bike.” Yes, because I am one that ‘with your bike you should be able to go anywhere!’. I’ve ridden enduro-cross bikes and nothing else in my life, I love mud. To complicate my life, though, I decided to explore the world of cafe racers.”

“I found this 1977 GS 750, first model with the double disc brake, for the modest sum of 800 Euro by a crazy Dutch, one of those who run on wet country roads in winter. In fact the bike was really in bad conditions. During the last long winter, the one with more than a meter of snow, I began to think of a theme to give to the bike. Due to its poor condition, I gave it the name of Rusty Bitch.” 

“Here, purchased items are very little: cables, spark plugs, gaskets and little else. I personally handmade the rest, or it has been handmade by friends: stripping, painting, construction of parts, welds. I spent many hours on it, as the ideas came along the way: I have not drawn or planned anything in advance. I started working, and what it was… was.”

“The making of a tail I liked was very difficult: I have done three of them. The painting was another issue: finding a paint that simulates the rust, in fact, has been neither easy nor cheap, but I made it. And then the vintage effect was handmade piece by piece, thanks to the advice of my friend Matthew “Phantom”, I think it’s a blast – isn’t it?

“The engine remained the original one with new spare parts only: gaskets, filters, oil and polishing. Here I must thank my friend “John” lifelong repairer and the great “Pièr”, who found for me the rare Suzuki Genuine Spare Parts; my friend Rino who found for me the bearings and explained how to use the lathe, and “Giotreb” who gave me the scraps of metal of his workshop, because I am a poor guy and that’s what I got to do.” 

“The leather parts jumped out from evenings spent in the cellar of a friend of mine’s sandwich bar: my best friend “Bear” has the hobby of making leather bags and wallets, and they are very cool. I cannot list all the people who worked-helped-searched-spent their time on Rusty, but I can say that this bike is not just a bike: in a difficult moment of my life, it gave me the way of meeting new people and to appreciate strengths and weaknesses of those who already knew. In short, so many hands touched my Bitch, but after all, it’s a bitch, my bitch.“

Special thanks to Lorenzo for shooting these photographs especially for Pipeburn. Grazie tanto!

Written by Ian Lee.

The French always seem to be on the forefront of fashion. Clothes, perfume, and now custom motorcycles. Not that I pay much attention to the first two. The latest fashion in custom cycles appears to be to use a dirt bike as the base for a build. Rugged, simple design makes for an excellent platform to build on, they’re cheap as well, and the ability to get that big bore thumper note all add to the desirability. Blitz Motorcycles knows this, and has used this thinking to the best of their abilities to create a level of custom rarely seen, all from the starting point of a simple trail bike. It just makes sense, oui?

Taking a 1994 Suzuki DR650, the bike was completely stripped down, and the frame shortened by 35cm. Added to the frame at this time was the electrical box, somewhere to keep all the important bits that make the bike spark, and all without adding bulk to the aesthetic. The frame was then powder coated in shiny orange, along with a few engine and brake components. This is what really shows the theme of the colour scheme, which Blitz describes as “Lemans GT40 on acid”.

Deciding that with a new final weight of 125kg, the 4 valve powerplant was up to the task of motivating the DR without any fettling. It was opened up and examined, mainly due to the fact that the engine hadn’t turned over for 10 years, and even then the only components replaced were the clutch plates. On the intake side of things, a K&N pod has been fitted, the standard Suzuki carb rejetted to suit the aftermarket air filter. The exhaust is a 100% stainless steel handcrafted system, topped off with a Supertrapp alloy muffler.

Blitz decided on the standard 18 inch at the front, 17 inch at the rear wheels, but fitted a new monoshock to help with handling. Steering is done with a set of vintage Triumph handlebars, sitting just above a Marchal headlight from a vintage rally car. To offset the searing effect the frame has on the retinas, a healthy dose of black powdercoat has been added to the wheels, forks, swingarm and other parts dotted around the bike.

The overall look of the bike is ‘anorexic motard’, where less is more, and this shows in the Suzuki GT125 fuel tank fitted, as well as the simplified electrical wiring harness. This lightness pays off though, as Blitz describes that the bike “runs like a bullet, and roars like a dragon”. It’s simplicity, thumper sound and ability to modified is what made it desirable for the build, and by dropping their usual staple of pipewrap and firestones, Blitz have shown that they can build a bike where function and fashion can coexist – and don’t it look like a hell of a lotta fun?

[Photography by Stéphane Pelletier]

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that many custom bike builders and shops sometimes also dabble with custom cars. Less café, more drive-in diner you might say. If you ever follow the links to the builders websites in the stories we post you’ll undoubtedly see the odd hot rod, classic Porsche, or muscle car lurking around in the background. But what did take us by surprise was the way Colby Morris of Tin Shack Restorations gets his four-wheeled kicks; he has a burning desire to bring old Land Rovers back from the dead. And if this is the kind of bike that gets made when these rubber boot and pheasant hunting types aren’t, er, pheasanting then it’s fine by us. Presenting ‘a series Land Rover and motorcycle hobby run amok,’ here’s a ’79 Suzuki GS750 they call the ‘Tin Shack Special.’

“I’ve owned or ridden some form of motorcycle every year since 1968, the very first being a Rupp Roadster; a 5HP beast!’ says Tin Shack’s owner, Colby Morris. “I raced motocross for several years, and went to road racing school but never made it to a starting grid, I think I’ve owned pretty much every kind of bike – dirt, enduro, standard street, several crotch rockets, big adventure bikes, couple of Harleys, and a couple of full custom choppers. I also picked up a Series Land Rover habit about twelve years ago. First just driving, then improving, then modifying, and now frame up restoring.”

“The idea for the Suzuki came a little over a year ago after an old motorcycling friend told me about your site. I literally stayed awake at night (far too late some nights), scanning through your archives. I was just finishing up a particularly nasty (lots of rust repair) Rover project for a gentleman in New York and needed something fun to do.”

“I was just finishing up a particularly nasty Rover project for a
gentleman in New York and needed something fun to do.”

“I found the Suzuki on the local Craigslist, a 1979 GS 750L with just over 10k miles. The “L” model was not my first choice but it was close to home and a nice running bike; all I had to do was scrap the sissy bar, chrome luggage rack, tear drop tank, and mini ape hangars and I would have something. I wanted to end up with a bit of drag bike/cafe racer look – a point and shoot bike.”

“The bike was stripped to bare frame, wheels were powder coated black and Avon Speedmasters mounted. The first tank was an ebay gs 750E model that turned out to be a GS 1100 tank, didn’t fit, next up was the ubiquitous Benelli tank, it wouldn’t fit either so I cut out and rebuilt the backbone of the frame; I now had a cool tank with a top mount wing nut off of my early 70’s Gios Torino track bike. Tarozzi clip-ons and rear sets were ordered, along with Pingel switch gear to clean up the handlebars. The 70’s vintage dirt bike fork brace was another eBay find.”

“I have an old 1966 Bridgeport vertical mill that I used to mill down the top triple clamp, make an exhaust hanger, and carb hose manifolds, and cross drill the rotors. The brakes were treated to new EBC pads and Goodridge stainless lines courtesy of Z1 enterprises, and I replaced the reservoirs with Tygon tubing. Everything not necessary on the frame was shaved off and a rear hoop was bent up and welded on. I made a stainless tray that would fit flush to the frame under the seat cowl and house all of the electronics, including a Ballistic Evo battery laid on it’s side.”

“I made the seat cowl out of 14 gauge 6061 aluminum; it’s three separate pieces shaped, then tig welded together. The welds were ground down then filed flush, I then polished the cowl, I love the raw aluminum look, it takes a ton of time but well worth the effort. I’m sure I’ll take some flak for the seat as it’s nothing but superbike seat foam that gets the job done. Remember, point and shoot drag bike – no cross country rides on this one. The paint is Mini Cooper Royal Grey flattened a bit, with hand lettering done by Charlie Decker of One Arm Bandit Pinstriping.”

It’s amazing what you can do with limited resources and a whole bunch of commitment; that’s got to be the mantra of Studio Motor’s Donny Ariyanto. He’s a builder that’s based in South Jakarta, and if there’s anyone in the world that will be able to make a mountain out of any anonymous, out-of-favour, ill-advised motorcycling mole hill, it’s this man. In the past he’s worked miracles on Yamaha Scorpios and Suzuki Thunders, but we’re thinking that he’s really outdone himself this time. Feast your eyes on Studio Motor’s latest single cylinder miracle, the “Naughty Red.”

The bike was built for a customer who works as a film director in Jakarta. His brief was decided upon after much surfing and some close study of the city’s custom bikes. It was as clear as it was tricky. “I want to have a custom bobber that is simple and practical, but it should also have a bad ass, naughty streak.”

The Studio Motor lads began by stripping, overhauling, and re-assembling the bike, with a follow-up of powder coating and polishing for the core elements. They then fabricated the bike’s tank, seat, rear fender, and battery box themselves. As we’ve learnt in the past, the Studio boys like nothing more than pummelling metal, and will do so at a moment’s notice. They finished it off with a Sikkens matt candy apple red.

Next came a new set of forks, custom triple trees, and custom rims paired with a set of inimitable Firestone Duluxes. A bespoke swing arm was added to give the bike a more muscular stance, and a Keihin PWK 41 carby was used to replace the stock fuel atomisation set-up which, when combined with the Flash custom muffler exhaust, apparently makes quite a pleasant roar when so provoked. And, yes, it has pipewrap.

Donny says that there was a lot of lessons learnt from the engine rebuild on the bike, but obviously the end result was well worth all the bother. Apparently the client couldn’t wait to ride it to his next shoot. And could you blame him? Lucky bugger.

Written by Ian Lee.

The Suzuki GSX twin. A plastic fantastic model from the 80s, with a timeless ability to look slightly uncool enough to inhibit a comeback. On the other hand, their ridiculously good engine build quality means that many a GSX has been dusted off, started happily, and ridden into the sunset. So how do you reconcile these two qualities? Capelo’s Garage, based in Oporto, Portugal has managed to do this, by breathing new life into a well parked 1987 GSX400, dubbed ‘the Dented Brat’. Nuno Capelo, the workshop’s founder, has built into it a dark metallic aesthetic that gives a big middle finger to the bike’s polyethylene clad beginnings, and shows the whole bike, scars and all.

A year and a half ago, Nuno was in a small village in Portugal, looking over a freshly washed bike. This is a bike he had only seen in pictures, covered in dust. In person though it was much more impressive. After seeing it start first time, Nuno shook the owner’s hand, and he was the proud owner. First thing to go was all the unnecessary plastic. Blinkers and seat were given the flick, as Nuno envisioned a much darker look for the bike.

Performance wise, the mods are simple but effective. Ditching the airbox, a set of pods have been mounted and the carbs rejetted to suit. At the tail end of the combustion cycle, the original exhaust tips have been replaced with a smaller set but no silencer, which according to Nuno gives a ‘phenomenal sound’. Brakes are standard, the big change being a change to steel lines on the front brakes. The rims are factory GSX, suiting the dark metallic look nicely.

In relation to looks, the bike is definitely not the same as when it rolled off the Suzuki floor 16 years ago. The factory handlebars and mirrors are gone, replaced by Isl branded items. Sitting in place of the stock headlamp is a smaller unit, a light generally found on older 50cc motorcycles that are found in the area. Three different seat designs were considered for the build, first a trimmed cafe racer seat for one. Then a two person flat tracker seat, and finally the one person bobber style seat you see today, mounted on a rear hoop fitted by Nuno.

Catching your eye the minute you look at the bike, is the choice of aesthetic for the fuel tank. Much thought was put into this look, with people trying to influence the builder into painting the tank, but eventually the ‘Dented Brat’ was deemed to show it’s rough inside, including the dents on the tank. The side covers were a choice that was not changed at all from the beginning, they were going to be on the bike no matter what. It was decided that apart from having the rims, frame and a small line on the tank painted to delineate it, the rest of the bike would be left. Or in Nuno’s words: ”leaving the other components with the existing patina and aspect when I bought it”.

From a dusty bike found on the internet in a small village in Portugal, to the badass ride you see before you, I’m sure you can see the quality of the work coming from the Capelo’s bike studio. A warts ‘n’ all homage to everyone who can see the potential in a bike that has been parked, and inspiration to those who haven’t looked. I’ll leave the last words to Nuno Capelos himself: ”The bike is fantastic in terms of riding. Is fairly light and easy to ride. This is not a bike with a lot of speed. That was not the objective. I proposed to build a bike to ride and have fun. And that’s what I have done”.

Words by Martin Hodgson.

Martin is the newest member to the Pipeburn team. When Martin isn’t writing for numerous motorcycle and automotive magazines, he can be found either running his auto parts import business or in his workshop building café racers from bikes that usually have one wheel well and truly in the grave.

It was the era of the wild 2-strokes, from the mid-Sixties to the mid-Seventies; if speed was your thing then you couldn’t beat a screaming oil burner. But Suzuki took a slightly different approach, they combined what they’d learnt at the race track and produced a bike that was bullet fast but also reliable, the perfect street 2-stroke motorcycle, the classic Suzuki T500 Titan. Ralph Spencer had himself a gorgeous original example and motorcycle nirvana was his until…

All bikers have experienced it, you stop for a red light at the front of the queue, nobody behind you and then comes that sound. The sound of a car getting closer and closer and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down. 99% of the time that car stops, sometimes far too close for comfort, we look around to see they’ve stopped less than a metre short of our back wheel. Ralph Spencer was the 1% and his mint condition T500 had its rare and immaculate rear fender CRUNCHED!

That was all the incentive Ralph, proprietor of Shoemaker Vintage Moto, needed to set about turning the classic old T500 into an award winning, show topping, classic café machine that was still a treat to ride on the road.

Aside from the Titan Performance polished stainless expansion chambers the engine remains relatively standard, this doesn’t mean its short on power. The torquey 2 stroke parallel twin was capable of pulling the ton straight from the factory in 1971. With that sort of power pushing you around Ralph made the wise decision of switching to a Suzuki GT750 4-Leading Shoe front brake.

To give it that genuine café racer riding position Ralph bolted on a set of Raask rearsets integrated with his own Shoemaker Vintage Moto custom mounts and links, ditched the factory bars in favour of Tommaselli adjustable clubman bars and for that final café touch added a National Cycle “Flyscreen” shield. All perfect for getting Ralph tucked in and in full control as that sweet sounding two stroke fires him down the road.

Wanting the classic look the Suzuki was fitted with an Omar’s wide cafe seat, that victim of the red light carnage the original rear fender, was bobbed and an LED tail light fitted to really catch the attention of the four wheeled terrors. The custom paint by Jim Gilbert is a tribute to the mighty Manx Norton and gives the T500 both an immaculate classic racer look and also its name, “Manx Titan”

Son and bike photographer Vaughn is understandably proud of his old man “He is an avid Suzuki fan. During my childhood and early adult years he’s had 30+ bikes, more than half of them being Suzuki’s. He currently produces fully integrated parts for the T500’s”

And as if the pictures and son’s testimony don’t convince you of just how good a job Ralph’s done, winning Best Japanese Machine at Mods vs. Rockers Cleveland 2012 and best 2-Stroke at Ton-Up Ypsi (Michigan) 2013 is further proof and just reward for a build that focusses on doing just enough to personalise without losing any of that original T500 Titan flair.

Written by Ian Lee.

Forgotten sibling syndrome, it’s an issue which I’m sure some of us can relate to. Having to grow in the shadow that someone else’s limelight casts, with little view to catch attention. This in no different in the motorcycle world, with today’s feature bike an often overlooked stablemate to the ubiquitous DR650, but in the right hands shows it can offer a far superior option. Coming out of the Vence Prodigal workshop, this Suzuki XF650 Crosswind has had a full makeover, with the final result leaving it’s sought after stablemate looking a little less desirable. With much pleasure we would like to introduce you to ‘Lady O’.

Flavio Cortiano is a builder who loves potential, with motorcycles having been his “passion since forever”. Specialising in customising the less popular models, the Italian bike builder knew that he could do something with the bike he rescued from a hard life at a motorcycle training school. Once it rolled into the Vence Prodigal workshop, the XF650 was stripped down and the work began. Flavio found his initial inspiration while studying a Moto Guzzi Lodola fuel tank, deciding the Crosswind would make a great base for a sweet scrambler project. Once the bike was pulled down, the motor was completely overhauled, with the cylinder head given the CNC treatment by MaxMotors. On reassembly, the factory ECU gained a piggyback unit in the form of a Nikki XF650 specific plug-and-play.

The reborn thumper takes advantage of it’s awesome engine noise by running a brand new stainless steel exhaust setup, allowing the bike to sound as good as it looks. To help lower the temperature in the oil cooled powerplant, an oil cooler featuring a larger exchange area was custom made. Peppered throughout the bike, you will see the original OEM bolts have been chromed, with any additional bolts supplied in brushed stainless. The fuel tank, side covers and light covers are all courtesy Metal Bike Garage, while the guards are aftermarket units. One cool touch Flavio has built into the bike is the ability to swap the tail section of the body, with the removal of four screws and disconnecting an OEM plug, the aesthetic can go from scrambler to a shorter ‘cafe style’ seat.

To give the bike a more sporting stance, the front end has been overhauled and the rake changed to reduce the wheelbase. At the rear sits a Wilber 641 suspension system, allowing for an adjustable wheel base. The wheels are factory, re-anodised and shod in Metzeler rubber, the brakes are overhauled OEM units with Frentubo piping. The control setup is attractive yet functional, the bars are flat track LSL with KungFu natural grips. The bar ends have been CNC cut from one  solid block, while the throttle control is a beautiful Tomaselli Gold unit, blasted and painted to suit the look of the bike. The foot pegs and controls are Gifrap supplied, while the sprocket cover and headlight supports were made inhouse at the Vence Prodigal workshop.

From abused learner bike to the final product you see here, this XF650 has certainly been given a new lease on life. Big thumper sound, old school scrambler aesthetics, and the ability to change the look when required, has produced a sweet and useable ride. With so much thought put into the build, it has helped with the quality of the final product. Although we love the idea of the interchangeable seat which instantly gives the bike a different look, we much prefer the classic lines of the flat scrambler seat. Which seat setup do you prefer?

Being a self confessed fan of full fairings on vintage bikes and also a huge fan of the legendary Barry Sheene, this Suzuki TR750 was always going to resonate with me on many levels. It’s hard to believe that it has been over 10 years since the world of racing lost Barry Sheene. This stunning tribute bike has been built by a small shop in Portugal called Redonda. They specialize in building race bikes for the road, off-road and are also developing some interesting electric bikes. JP Barranca is the head honcho at Redonda and has had long career in the motorcycle industry. JP has a passion for all motorbikes but has a particular soft spot for vintage two strokes.

The base for this project was a stock 1976 Suzuki TR 750. “Since the beginning of the project, everything was about reducing the weight and increasing the speed.” says JP. The 2-stroke 750cc 3-cylinder engine was completely rebuilt  like new and all the original electrics have been updated with modern replacements.

“The construction of the tank was a big challenge because the oil tank was placed inside the fuel tank.” he says. The entire braking system has also been upgraded to give the bike race quality braking. The original wheels were swapped for a set of beautiful Borrani wheels.

The fairing is a Barry Sheene replica and obviously the livery, decals and number 7 are all homage to the two-time GP champion and motorcycling legend. JP has even created a matching helmet, with Barry’s trademark duck on it. JP recently took the bike to the track to try and put some holes in the knees of his leathers. Although he wasn’t quite as quick as Barry, he still managed to beat many Yamaha’s, Honda’s and Kawasaki’s – Bazza would be proud.

Written by Marlon Slack.

Incredibly, in stock trim the Suzuki TL1000R is as ugly as it is torquey. With its rounded, fat fairing and ungainly looking seat, in the bike symbolizes much of what was wrong with the late 90s – along with Balkan ethnic cleansing, mass flooding deaths in China and the rise of ska music. Nick O’Kane – powersports sales manager at K&N air filters – saw the potential hidden underneath all the bulbous plastic of a 2002 model TL and put together this gorgeous custom that looks great, handles beautifully and has the powerplant to match.

Powered by the extremely capable 996cc V-twin engine, the TL was released in 1998 to tackle the incredible Ducati 916. But, plagued by average race results and mediocre sales figures the heavy, awkwardly-handling TL was pulled from World Superbikes after just one year and Suzuki went back to what they did best – producing bland inline fours. Despite this less-than-stellar showing, over the years the TL has developed a dedicated fanbase who love the affordable, reliable horsepower that the Suzuki offers. But they’ll be the first people to admit the TL does have some problems.

The main issue with the TL1000 is the much-vaunted rear rotary damper. The fat, square little unit combined spring and dampening functions, designed to make the best use of the limited space at the rear of the v-twin engine. A great concept – except the damper quickly overheated and heavy braking would lead to pretty serious cases of bucking, chattering and death. Nick was quick to replace the rotary damper with a Hyper-Pro unit that vastly improved the handling. To match the rear some GSXR1000 forks were installed in the stock triple clamps. R6 calipers, EBC pads and stainless Goodridge brake lines round out the impressive list of suspension modifications that will stop the curious sensation TL owners often experience – of the bike trying to spit its owner off around corners.

And it sounds like that’s what happened to Nick’s 2002 TL1000R. Picked up as a wreck for $800 the bike was in very rough condition. It had a busted frame, it was covered in dust and had scratched and broken plastics. To tidy it up the swingarm, wheels and frame were powdercoated and the gauge mount, seat pan and top triple tree were modified in a backyard workshop. Once the fairings were removed the wiring loom of the fuel-injected Suzuki had to be trimmed back – all 400 miles of it. After an agonizing few days of cutting and soldering Nick was able to fit most of the stock connectors into the Ducati Monster headlight and the remaining wires tucked up alongside the stock airbox.

The gorgeous exhausts were provided by Roland Sands Design, air filter supplied by K&N, a power commander was fitted and the bike spent some time on the dyno to ensure the TL’s engine was drumming along comfortably. The Wes Cooley race replica paint scheme came to life through MotoGP Werks in California – and the matching patterns on the rims are a nice touch. The chequered solo seat was completed by Saddleman and there’s a myriad of aftermarket parts here too – RSD handlebars, PSR grips, gas cap and levers and VooDoo rearsets.

Nick’s created a modern, reliable bike that was affordable to build, looks tidy as hell and, with its excellent engine and new suspension, would be fantastic to ride.

Written by Martin Hodgson

It’s what makes the scene such a creative outlet; no two customs will ever look the same. It’s a philosophy two British companies share and they decided to pool their talents to create a one-off masterpiece. Old Empire Motorcycles is no stranger to Pipeburn, having built “Typhoon” last year’s number two selection in the Bike of the Year Awards and they’ve teamed up with ODFU, a clothing company that specialises in small run, hand drawn designs. The result is a 1980 Suzuki GN400 that leaves the commuter class behind and enters the world of custom classics.

With the build known as the “Osprey” the final look of the GN400 was incredibly important to both OEM and ODFU and their level of design creativity and craftsmanship meant that was never going to be a problem. One of the main visual flaws of the GN400 was quickly fixed with the decision to aggressively lower the front end. The triple trees were then modified to take a custom set of ‘wrap around’ bars along with integral headlight mount and OEM shroud. Custom warning housings were also made which set into the top tree.

The frame was thoroughly detabbed and cleaned up, while the rear portion of the frame was cut and looped over and a rear cowling made with integrated rear light and LED indicators. Under the custom seat sits a Shorai lithium battery snuggly sitting with the custom wiring harness. The stock front guard was also cut down to give a far more aesthetically pleasing look while still maintaining its functionality.

The flat black and hand died leather give the Osprey a look that harkens back to a time when you finished a hard day’s work with dirty calloused hands. The fuel tanks tunnel has been heavily reworked to sit both further forward and lower down for a sleeker look. It’s then been finished in a combination of flat black and a series of ODFU’s own hand drawn custom designs.

The leather work is simply exquisite with dual tool rolls acting as side covers and even the hardware they carry is vintage. The frame is notched perfectly for the belts and buckles, while the grips are also leather-bound fixed with neatly wrapped race wire. Then there is that seat, hand died leather, perfect stitching and shaping – it’s utilitarian in its beauty.

The 396cc donk was treated to a simple refresh, rescotching the cases, blacking the barrel and head and a pod breather take care of the look. While stripped and vapour blasted carburettor with K&N air filter and custom heat wrapped exhaust give a little extra pep and a much rortier sound.

An upgrade to the lightning circuit from 6V to 12V helps powers all the ancillaries, including the now yellow-lensed headlight and the stunning combined analogue/digital solo gauge.

Even the tyres, Dunlop KTT’s in an 18 inch size, fit the design brief and philosophy of both companies to a T. Their bold tread give the bike a purposeful feel, while they remain completely functional for all matter of road and weather conditions. And that is exactly what OEM and ODFU bring to the table; one-off designs with abundant creativity, executed brilliantly, but still built to be fully functional. It might be the first time they’ve collaborated, but the “Osprey” is proof that it’s a match made in custom creation heaven.

Want a quick and easy way to sort bikers into ‘buyers’ and ‘builders’? It’s easy – just talk about a tragically unpopular model. See, a buyer will judge a bike on its factory form. These are the guys that think showroom looks are somehow hard-wired into a bike’s DNA; the guys who will dismiss an entire model or range because they don’t like the size of the headlight or the shade of red on offer. Then there’s the builders. These are the guys who can see beyond the superficial to appreciate the soul of a bike, no matter how ugly it’s superficial, outward appearance. Italy’s Anvil Motociclette fancied themselves as the latter, and to test the theory they took on the challenge of customising the optimistically named Suzuki GR650 ‘Tempter’. It didn’t tempt us before, but it sure does now.

The Anvil ‘Pixie’ Seiemmezzo (or ‘Six Fifty’) was originally a Suzuki GR650 from 1984. The donor bike wasn’t exactly loved by the Anvil boys at the start of the build. “It is definitely the worst starting bike we’ve ever worked on,” says Anvil’s Marco. Calling it after one of the world’s greatest bands sure raised the bar, as did naming it anything but ‘Tempter’.

“The only reason why we decided to bang our heads in frustration to get this bike looking beautiful and loose hours of sleep in the process was its engine.” Large parallel twins like this scream ‘classic motorcycling’ from the rooftops in an unmistakable British accent, guv’nor.

The boys had eyed the model even before the build began, flagging it as a possible base for a customer who was after a bike with a traditional aesthetics wrapped up in a fresh, Anvil treatment.

“We’d come across this unfortunate model launched by Suzuki in 1983. It was so unpopular in Italy that it was available for only two years. So we started toying with the idea of ​​a two-cylinder build, a choice motivated by trying to give the customer a lightweight and manoeuvrable.”

On paper alone, it’s not hard to be impressed. 650cc’s, 51CVs (Italian for cavalli vapore, or steam horses – a tax horsepower measurement) and only 180 kilos – on paper it has Kawasaki’s infinitely more popular W650 licked. But those aesthetics. Oh, the horror.

“After the purchase of the bike we started the complex task of the transformation. First, we completely cut the back of the frame off and then we rebuilt it from scratch with a new set of lines that suited our look a whole lot better.”

From the Japan-meets-Harley, chopper-esque beginnings, Anvil have clearly worked hard to transform the GR into a light and compact café racer with a touch of brat. The factory handlebars have been replaced with two Tommaselli clip-ons. The stock ‘chrome spittoon’ headlight has gone – replaced with an agricultural item that’s now small enough to be able to fit between the middle of the front forks.

“Instead of the old ‘elephant saddle,’ we made a seat tailored in a ‘Giuliari 70’ style and the rear fender is now a brushed aluminium unit. The horrendous mufflers were removed and were replaced with two torpedoes from an old Norton. The filter box and tray under the seat were dismantled and removed. Now thanks to two stainless steel flanges, there are cone filters that help with the new muffler’s freer flow.”

Thanks to the 16″ rim at the rear, they were able to mount a tire with a nice, deep profile. This change has clearly helped delete the bike’s original Easy Rider stance and has given the build a much more sporty appearance. Pronto!

‘The visual strength of the bike is definitely the tank; it originally belonged to a Kawasaki S3 two-stroke. We reshaped it on the inside to allow it to fit on the new the frame and, as with all our builds, we left the wear and tear intact before painting and decorating.”

“The bike now looks better, and the mods make it agile and great fun to ride. It looks fast, but it’s enjoyable even if you do not want to travel at ten tenths. The riding position, without rear sets, is quite comfortable. And while it’s not a bike you’d welcome on long trips, this set-up does not exclude weekend get-aways from the city should the mood take you.” And we guess that with a bike like this, it would take you. Often.

It’ll come as no surprise to regular readers that we sometimes feature bikes that incorporate elements from other subcultures. Be it surfing, camping, or in today’s case skating, some of the most inspiring and original builds we’ve seen happen when two unexpected yet cool pastimes collide. In the past, we’ve seen bikes with boards attached to them, seats built on decks and even chain tensioners made from their wheels. But we think it’s fair to say that today’s Suzuki takes it to a whole new level, or ramp, as the case may be. So please get righteously gnarly for Portugal’s Yellowood and their DR650 ‘Skate Goat’.

“I’ve been a skateboarder for 27 years,” says Matosinhos local Philippe De Goyri. “Nowadays, I own a company called Yellowood. We specialise in the production of fingerboards and skateboards. Here in our beachside town east of Porto, we enjoy skateboarding & surfing a lot. It’s our life. And because of the sun, we like to call it ‘yellowlife.’”

Philippe mentioned that he’s an artist and someone who likes a challenge. Needless to say that this was his first proper bike build. “The bike that inspired me was the DR650 from Deus Bali, mainly because of the classic Suzuki yellow colour scheme.”

And here we were thinking you needed opposable thumbs to skate

“I got my first bikes around the same time I developed a skateboarding habit and I always connected both riding and skating with those moments when I felt truly free. It was also a lot of fun to ride my bike while sitting on my skateboard.” Then last winter, Philippe found himself with enough free time to develop a crazy idea. “It was simple – I’d make a bike using skateboard decks.”

“I bought a DR650 from a farmer in the middle of Portugal and immediately started designing the bike. First, I used some of my fingerboard decks to make a small model _ I had to see if the idea would actually work. It was surprisingly easy to cut decks and model the new parts of the bike I’d be making.”

Once satisfied, Philippe handmade the decks to be used for the project with a grey dyed veneer to match the rest of the bike’s colour scheme. Although he notes that he really doesn’t like to destroy decks unless absolutely necessary. “I have a lot of respect for skateboarding, so I used broken boards to make up the templates. In the end, I only used three fresh decks to make all the final components for the bike.”

“For my projects, I always like to use yellow. On this bike I really wanted more yellow, but just on the details and as a highlight colour. So I decided to yellow anodise all the bike’s bolts and nuts. It was quite a challenge when the box came back with all the pieces mixed together. But I really liked the effect, and for the rest of the build I tried to prepare all the components before building the finished product.”

Love that logo

The rest of the build pulls no conservative punches, either. “The gas tank was from an old Maico and it was restored inside out. Then I hand-painted a goat riding a skateboard because that’s really how you feel when you ride it.” Okay – maybe that’s a Portuguese thing… “The frame was then cut in order to match the deck for the seat with the deck for the tail at the correct angles. The tail light was made using an old Independent skate truck.”

Up front, Philippe adapted a radiator from a VW beetle to cool the thing down and topped it off with an old Hella rally headlight. The final touch was to independently shape all the boards to fit the overall look of the bike.

Philippe flees after noticing the ‘No Skateboarding or Livestock’ sign

“In the end, the bike turned out exactly the way I envisioned it. It was a good technical challenge and I had a blast doing it. I’m already planning to make more bikes using skateboards, that’s for sure.”

Struggling to find a donor motorcycle for your next build? Asking prices for ratty old SR400’s making your shake your head? Refuse to spend all your time and money on a glorified old Honda commuter? Thankfully there are better starting points for your next project. Big bore trailbikes. They’re reliable, they’ve got a bit of poke and they’re still very affordable. So here’s a guide on how to turn an old chook-chaser into a blacked-out side street carver like this 1994 DR650 ‘Arsenale’, put together by French company Blitz, makers of some of the nicest switchgear you’ll ever mash your thumbs against.

Step 1. Ditch the old surf swirl graphics that keep the DR looking like it’s wearing an 80’s leisure suit. Gut the air box and break out the grinder, cutting off all unnecessary tabs and mounts hanging off the frame. And while you’re there cut down the rear subframe and weld in a loop, with dedicated holes to sneak in some LED brake and indicator lights. While the TIG welder is out and sparking make up a battery case under the seat to cradle a lithium-ion battery.

Step 2. If you haven’t already, form a relationship with your local powdercoater. They’re an odd bunch no matter where in the world you are. Try taking them a small present like meat, alcohol or an unwanted child. Then tear the rest of the bike apart and get everything blasted and powder coated gloss black. And I mean everything. The fork legs, engine covers, swing arm, side stand, hubs, foot pegs and triple clamps.

Step 3. While everything is off getting electrified, sprayed and baked, turn your attention to the key part of a good DR tracker build. Replace the huge 21” front wheel that makes DR650 cornering so lazy for something smaller. On this bike, Blitz are running 17-inch wheels on the front and back. It’ll make it turn in quicker and will offer a much better selection of rubber.

Step 4. Freshen up the engine. Cross yourself, look skywards and thank the flying spaghetti monster that you’ve decided to dedicate your attention to a single cylinder engine. One piston, one set of rings, some rockers and one bespoke stainless steel system is all it takes to get a DR drumming along nicely. At this stage, I’d recommend visiting a friend lavishing attention on an old Honda four watch them eat pot noodles for a month to afford the same set of parts.

Step 5. By now you should have gotten everything back from the powdercoater. Bolt it all up and admire the progress you’ve made. Swap the tank for something a little lighter, more beautiful and significantly less ‘dirtbikey’ than standard. An old Suzuki GT125 tank worked just fine for the guys at Blitz.

Step 6. Bolt everything back into the frame. Affix a small speedo keeping the front end looking nice and light. Find an old auxiliary headlight from a ‘70’s rally car to mount up and strip the loom back to its bare essentials. Install some lightweight, slim French-built controls from Blitz on a pair of old Triumph handlebars you have lying around. Step back and admire.

Step 7. (Optional) Lend your newly created pride and joy to one of the world’s most famous motorcycle racers when he’s in town and looking for a set of wheels. Someone like, say, Roland Sands. Then, at 20km/h and in first gear, let the man crash it on some light gravel right before its first public debut at the screening of a motorcycle film.

And there you have it. You’ve got an affordable head-turner that’s quick, exotic and still manages to bark into life every time you thumb the starter. And if you do piece together a bike as cool as Blitz’s ‘Arsenale’ and can’t track down a former US #1 plate holder to drop it, I know of a semi-employed motorcycle journalist who would be happy to help.

[Photos: Gary Jézégabel]

There’s not many things in the custom bike scene that instantly prove a builder has big cojones. So it’s hard to argue with someone who picks to build up a renown ugly duckling, combines five different styles in the design and then rolls out a gorgeous all-purpose machine with no front brake to speak of. Welcome to the world of Vida Bandida Motocicletas from the picturesque city of Córdoba, Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas and on the banks of the majestic Suquía River. This is where they tossed aside the idea of a Honda CB, detoured around the fabled Kawasaki Z’s and picked the late to the party 4 stroke of the decade, a 1978 Suzuki GS400 from which they’d fashion something truly special.

If Suzuki was playing catch up to the Honda CB’s and Kawasaki Z’s the one area they undoubtedly failed to match their rivals was in the looks department. On classic bikes the tank can make or break any build and the GS item is not a thing of beauty, but rather than swap it out Vida Bandida chose to use it as an opportunity to display their fabricating skills. The first step taken was to lower the tank on the frame to improve the lines of the entire machine; the front is then notched to meet the neck while the bottom of the tank is trimmed to run parallel to the ground. The top is further flattened to give an even lower look and the sides are pumped out for a more aggressive profile and to restore some of the lost volume.

The new tank sports some of the many brass elements added to the build and the T logos can be explained by the name of the bike, “Tocho” which means Billet. The brass T logos on the tank are complimented by a stunning brass gas cap with another T cut into the headlight support that is held down by a drilled brass wing nut. The headlight itself is a small, heavily grilled, yellow-lensed item while custom clip-ons with minimal controls and brass foot pegs keep the clean looks of the build. The tank has been sprayed in a matte brown that was laid over a black base coat to give a truly vintage look. To match the classic metal finishes the seat, which makes a perfect junction with the tank, is stitched in slightly weathered look classic brown leather.

One of the advantages of the GS400 over its contemporary commuter bikes was the engine development that it shared with the flagship 750 model. Having been late to the twin cam 4 stroke market compared to their Japanese rivals, Suzuki learnt from the mistakes of others and technology like the gear driven counter-balancer, cam design and near square bore make it a smooth little 398cc motor that loves to rev.

The popular CV style carburettors have been rebuilt and jetted to suit the rest of the engine build and breathe through a pair of foam pod filters. But the pièce de résistance of the mechanicals is the beautiful lobster cut full length exhaust system, both pipes are internally baffled to avoid the need for mufflers. The pipe work snakes its way through the frame to avoid pipe burn and the tips are finished off with two brass outlets that look like the mouth pieces from giant Tubas.

If Suzuki got the engine right they made an absolute mess of the wheels on the GS, a weird cross between a five-pointed star and what could possibly be the symbol of a strange 70’s cult. Antonio had a better idea, his boardtracker/café/rat/bobber/tracker would wear traditional spoked wheels and in the Vida Bandida tradition of doing things differently they wear matching rubber front and rear, heavily treaded 130/80/18’s.

Then comes the part that proves Antonio has the minerals, the rear brake remains the barely adequate 160mm standard drum while the lack of brake lever is yes, perfectly normal, because this here bike has no front brake at all. It certainly keeps the front end tidy, it’s in keeping with the boardtracker elements of the build and the bike definitely gets ridden hard… Ladies and Gentleman don’t try this at home!

Then there are the clever touches that you notice the more you study this machine, the cut out that exposes the sprocket cover, the front on view of the clip-ons that gives a single bar look, the fact nothing from the motor extends out past the frame allowing the mechanicals to be viewed as a solid unit and the clever clear cover that lets you witness the points in action. Because what’s the point of having a big set if you don’t have the brains to design a machine you can ride like a mad man in style. It’s loco, it’s muy peligroso but ultimately Vida Bandida’s little Suzuki is perfecto!

[Photos by Romina Bianchi]

Words by Martin Hodgson.

Rarely is customising a motorcycle a wallet friendly activity, but for the cost of a crappy 90’s hatchback you could be riding this Yoshimura Suzuki race replica, that’s definitely hard to argue with. Patrick Sauter of Germany is no stranger to these pages – having built a very polarising CX500 rat bike a year ago – but this time he has turned his hand to a whole new style of bike and done it for a very lucky family member.

Pat was flicking through photos of Yoshimura race bikes from 1985 when his uncle mentioned he had a hankering for a new motorcycle. Well there’s a man after the heart of a legend, because Hideo “Pops” Yoshimura used to love building wild street bikes just as much as he did his race winning machines. The founder of the famous Yoshimura brand and ace tuner/director of many a winning team Pops loved Suzuki’s of all shapes and sizes. So Pat offered his uncle a deal he couldn’t pass up, he’d build him a road legal race replica of the 1985 Yoshimura AMA bikes and he’d get it done for just 2500 euros including the purchase price of the bike.

Pat started bike hunting for just the right GSX-R for the job but the bikes of the 1980’s are starting to become hard to find and the ones that are available tend to be either in mint condition demanding mega dollars or well past their used by date. So the sensible decision was made to find a later model bike and then convert it to give the old school feel. For just 700 euros Pat found a nice 1994 GSX-R 750, a GR7BB German model with the bigger carbs and no emissions gear like the US bikes.

A Yoshi special is nothing without the right body work and it was this area that was significantly different across the 80’s and 90’s machines. So Pat set about disassembling the entire machine to ready it for some retro parts for the ultimate road legal race bike look. He found exactly what he was after from large supplier Airtech Streamlining in the US who make a replica fairing kit of the AMA Yoshimura F1. With the kit shipped to Germany and fitted up to the later model Suzuki it was time for paint and graphics. First order of business was to paint all the panels in arctic white, before vinyl graphics in Suzuki’s racing colours were applied along with the right sponsor decals.

The Gixxer now looked the part but to be user friendly required a few additions to that of a race machine to make it work on the street. A small hole was cut in the front fender that allows a small headlight to poke through for night time blasts. A tiny LED rear light is mounted to the license plate bracket that supports the perfect set of numbers and letters for the build, GSX R 750. While it was common in the 1980’s for a rider to sit on pure fibreglass Pat has added some seat foam to both the base and the hump to keep his uncle relatively comfortable.

Extracting a few extra ponies is not too hard out of the well-engineered 750 engine and the slightly larger carbs at 38mm fitted to the German model make it that much easier. Helping them breathe is a pod style air filter that gives a rorty induction noise and a raceier look. If there is one thing you could absolutely NOT leave off any Yoshimura build it’s the mufflers that have kept the company famous long after Pops passing. The Suzuki’s 4-2-1 manifold exits at the right side with a Yoshimura USA race can barking to the sky taking pride of place.

Fully adjustable inverted forks at the front and an adjustable rear shock mean the GSX-R was a good handling machine in its day and remains so some 20 years on. Factory brakes were also class leading with a 3 disc setup including twin 310mm Tokico’s at the front. But one area that has improved rapidly with time is tyre technology and Pat has treated his uncle to a set of Pirelli’s new sport focussed, extended mileage tire, the Angel GT. They wrap a set of factory 3 spoke rims that are in immaculate condition for their age, that Pat had powder coated in tiger gold for a stunning finish.

With the build done all that was left to do was for Pat to hand his extremely lucky uncle the keys. Sure he could be driving the streets in some basic 1990’s Volkswagen listening to AM radio. But for the same price and a little hard work by his very talented nephew, Pat’s uncle is hammering the German streets race style on a tasty Yoshimura machine – Pops would be proud.

You can tell a lot about a country by what motorcycle marque the police ride. The German Polizei obviously hit the autobahn on BMW’s. The Italian Polizia stylishly chase down the mafia on their Guzzi’s. But when it comes to Colombia, the police ride the reliable dual sport Suzuki DR650 – it probably says a lot about Colombia’s mix of city and country roads. So when the guys at Garaje57 got their greasy hands on a DR650 police bike they wanted to do something completely different with it.

The post ‘Mamba’ Suzuki DR650 – Pasquale Motors appeared first on Pipeburn.com.

Written by Martin Hodgson.

They say there is more than one way to skin a cat, which is both true and also a very disturbing thought when you think about it. But hot on the heels of yesterday’s sensational Radical Guzzi project comes another machine from Germany, also with factory backing and built for exactly the same competition. While it’s essentially a design competition in which members of the public vote online, many of the bikes in Essenza also compete at the Glemseck 101 sprints. The rules are simple.

The post ‘Little Bastard’ Suzuki SV650 – Krautmotors appeared first on Pipeburn.com.