This isn’t Sebastien’s first rodeo. He has built a stunning Yamaha XS650 before, completely in Jap-style. It was featured in many magazines back in 2020, and for good reason too. There is definitely no lack of imagination when it comes to his old build, but also this more recent creation.

We are a sucker for nose art. Especially those from around World War 2. The first nose art started at the beginning of the 20st century, during World War 1. When fighter planes where being used in close combat. Pilots would paint their planes with menacing texts or imagine instilling fear into their opponents. Nowadays we don’t see nose art anymore in the military, but it is still regarded as art among enthusiasts around the world.

To see nose art being used on a custom motorcycle makes our hearts beat a little bit faster. But there is more to this machine than just the nose art, which has a symbol of the rising sun on the left, and shark mouth on the right, a nod to both east and west. Sebastien has managed to source a racing fairing of Norton Commando and has modified it to fit the Kawasaki seamlessly. The combination of nose art and matt green paint has been done incredible well by Cedric B Ink.

The rear of the KZ650 has been chopped and lowered, using custom shock absorbers. There is something special to these shock absorbers. They are modified for air-ride, which allows the rear of the bike to be raised or lowered at the flick of a switch. At its highest point, the clearance between the exhaust and the ground is a mere 10 centimeters! A neat feature we see in the custom car scene, but not often on a motorcycle.

The rear cowl comes from a Kawasaki Z1000ST and has been modified to fit the KZ650. The custom seat has been made by Dérouillée Sellerie and looks astonishing on this bike. The Delkevic exhaust has been modified to fit this KZ perfectly. Combined with the DNA air filters, this Kawasaki definitely breaths better now.

The front of the Kawasaki has also been lowered to accommodate for the lower stance Sebastien was going for. The fuel tank has been heavily modified, and now incorporates a fuel level indicator on the side, and a pop-up gas-cap. The electrics of the Kawasaki have been replaced with a simplified wiring harness that accommodates for the micro switches. We love the minimalistic look, especially with the large tacho front center. The Kellerman LED lights and indicators further contribute to this look. The levers are now Brembo’s, which are adjustable.

When you look at the pictures closely, you will see that the kick-starter pedal looks custom. That’s because it is, courtesy of T4 Motorcycles. What’s also custom, is the Ruroc 2.0 helmet which Sebastien has made to match the look of the bike. Small detail, but with great results!

Sebastien admits that with the ground clearance, the Kawasaki is more suitable for slow strolls than racing. Still, with the way this KZ650SR has turned out, we wouldn’t be surprised if it commanded anyone to move to right as it appears in your rear-view mirror. And all of this with a budget of no more than €6000,-.

Photo Credits: SKM

Builder details:
Seb Kustom Motorcycles
Instagram
Facebook

The post Shed Built: Kawasaki KZ650 Bomber appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Polish Perfection

Not an XT500
The motorcycle we are seeing in front of us is NOT a Yamaha XT500. We know, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck… The little surprise we have here is in fact a Yamaha SR500. Technically related to the XT500, but designed with a completely different purpose. This unit is from 1982 and would be perfect for what the owner had in mind. At least, that was until he changed his mind and pulled the plug on the project. The SR500 got cold-stacked and spent 2 years in a storage before another customer decided to take over the project and commissioned the build to continue.

Legendary
In the past 5 years we have only covered a couple of builds that are based on a Yamaha XT. It is one of Yamaha’s biggest success stories and a legend. Yamaha introduced the first XT, the XT500, in 1976 with a 500cc single cylinder air-cooled engine. It was known for its tractor-like torque and power delivery. The XT also had a reputation of being absolutely bulletproof. Production halted in 1989 when the XT600 took over.

Rebuild
So how do you change an SR500 into an XT500? The answer is far simpler than you’d think. Most of the XT500 looks where achieved by cleaning up the SR frame and by adding an original XT500 fuel tank. The custom seat played a major role in achieving the desired look. To make it all work, the necessary mounting points had to be fabricated as well as adjusting the subframe to make the seat pan fit.

An original XT500 triple clamp was sourced to allow for taller suspension at the front. Original XT500 wheel and forks with progressive springs added flavor to this build. The rear wheel is an original SR500 unit, but the rear shocks aren’t. A set of fully adjustable YSS shocks which are longer than the original shocks help increase the ground clearance. While the rear end was being reworked, a chain tensioner was added to the rear swingarm.

Vintage
The bodywork was completed with a vintage replica of an ufo enduro headlight, an original XT500 front fender, and a customised rear fender fitted with a TT500 replica tail light. In the rear they attached the famous Supertrapp 3″ series dirt bike exhaust and set it up to work with the carb. To create a real vintage look, the builders looked closely to some of the original Yamaha XT color schemes, and then decided to go with the famous 1980 XT500g monochromatic white/black/brushed metal look.

Performance work
To improve the XT’s reliability and performance, the engine was rebuilt, and the carburettor was equipped with a new set of jets. The airbox was replaced with a K&N pod filter. The wiring loom was modified to keep all the cables nearly invisible. There is no battery anymore, just a condenser. It goes without saying that the SR-turned-XT is light. Very light! It is also nimble, and has a strong pull. According to Christian, the exhaust sounds pleasing to the ear in the low and mid revs and is not too loud in high revs. It is quite easy to start, once you get the idea on how to do it correctly. Its torquey engine and comfortable riding position makes it a functional enduro bike for light trails and occasional rides. This project took about 1 year to complete.

Partners who took part in this project:
Welding – Adrian Figura from Scrambler74
Photography – Bartek Zaranek Photography
Paintjob – Lukasz Okrasko

Builder details:
86 Gear Motorcycles
Website
Instagram
Facebook

The post Yamaha SR500-turned-XT Vintage Scrambler by 86 Gear Motorcycles appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Kawasaki and Royal Enfield love child
Since this build was to look similar to the 1979 Kawasaki the Virginia based outfit already built before, the new project really didn’t need to much designing. Bob shipped a Royal Enfield Continental GT gas tank to Motorelic and Sean got to work cutting it up to fit the KZ frame. The tanks outside dimensions fit the bike very well. The tunnel, not so much. It requires a completely new tunnel to fit the KZ’s frame; the frame needed new mounting points. Once the tank was fitted and had the right clearance to the forks, the seat could be built. The new seat needed to be able to lift up using the stock lock and modified hinges. It received a new black leather cover, upholstered by Counterbalance Cycles. The subframe needed to have a cafe style loop welded in to finish off the look and help hold the custom rear fender which houses a Motone tail light.

Anchors
This particular Kawasaki didn’t come with a right side brake caliper and rotor. Finding a good used caliper for the right side can be difficult and expensive. Sean lucked out finding one on eBay that was mislabeled as a left side, what are the odds?!. He hit the buy-it-now button quickly! Another rotor was quickly sources and the whole package got sent to TrueDisc to be resurfaced and drilled. The KZ1000 is not a soft kitten, so the braking power is much needed. Sean lowered the front forks internally about an inch and a half and used new Ikon Dial-a-Ride shocks on the rear to give the bike a nice stance.  This Kawa should have the handling it deserves.

Kawa in Red
Once the fabrication was finished and the lines of the bike were to Sean’s liking, he dove into disassembly. All of the parts that would be black were cleaned up and taken to Right-a-Way Powder to have that gloss black applied. The body work was given to Danny at Knights Kustoms. Bob, the owner of the Kawasaki, had chosen to paint the bodywork Ford Raptor Red. It’s a beautiful color that showcases the classic look of the bike. Since everything was out getting shined up, Sean got started on the engine rebuild. The top end got removed for inspection, turned out that everything was well taken care off. New pistons and rings were installed and the cylinder got honed. All new gaskets and seals were used and fresh paint was applied to finish it off. Browning Polishing added a bright new shine to all of the engine covers and new stainless hardware fastened everything down.

Some assembly required
The fit and finish on this Kawasaki is extraordinary. The wheels received new stainless-steel spokes and a set fresh set of Conti GO tires were wrapped around the black rims.  The classic MotoGadget mini speedo looks the part and a new wiring harness made all the electrics work as designed. Biltwel grips and some aftermarket switches cleaned up the bars.

Culmination of hard work
When the project is coming to close the excitement builds and you go over the mental list of all that you have done or have to do. You have touched every single part and you hope that all went according to plan. Adding gas to a freshly welded, sealed and painted tank. Adding oil to a just rebuilt engine. Brake fluid in rebuilt calipers. These are all things that have the potential for hiccups. But once the bike was running and Sean heard the sweet 1000cc sound ripping through the new Delkevic exhaust and all the fluids stayed in their place, the stress levels immediately dropped. Taking the bike on its first couple rides sheds light on anything that needs to be addressed. But this time the only thing was a main jetting change and it was ready to be shipped back to Colorado. With long distance builds, the only thing Sean could wish for is seeing his customers’ first reaction, like a kid at Christmas, opening that one special gift.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Thorpe

Builder details:
Motorelic
Website
Instagram
Facebook

The post A luscious red Kawasaki KZ1000 by Motorelic appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

The post Home appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Although Suzuki is one of the largest motorcycle brands, we don’t feature a lot of customized Suzuki’s. In fact, it was back in January since we’ve featured one. So I was glad to receive a submission of this Suzuki GS1000 Brat from Tom Gilroy, owner of Purpose Built Moto.

The GS1000 is one of those early-day superbikes from an era that all manufacturers were building fast and high-powered 4-stroke bikes with big displacements. Suzuki was the last brand of the Japanese “big four” to join the club of 1-liter-machines. Honda had its GL1000 Goldwing, Yamaha a powerful XS11 and Kawasaki had the KZ1000. With a machine that was slightly lighter than the GS750 (!) and 90hp, the GS1000 was a very serious weapon. Tom, riding a GS550 himself, was thrilled when his customer rode in his ’78 GS1000 for some tweaks. No huge transformation, but some TLC and a few style adjustments this 40-year-old machine is back on the road for some decent touring. Read the full story on Tom’s website.

The post Suzuki GS1000 Brat by Purpose Built Moto appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

In a world where everybody is looking at each other through a little screen, it’s becoming harder every day to be original. Same goes for building custom motorcycles, it’s hard to build something that’s not been done before in one way or another. Another difficulty is that everybody seems to know what is good or not. Luckily, our Dutch buddy Sergei Papyan, owner of Ruthless Customz based in Rotterdam (NL), was not afraid to start working on an ’83 Virago XV920.

With a pretty filled stack of skills and a budget of around 7,000 euro’s, Sergei started working on the Yamaha. He wanted to create “an aggressive modern cafe racer“. Let’s sum up some of the most striking mods: the front end comes from a 2007 Yamaha R1. “This was my biggest challenge,” says Sergei, “I’ve never done it before and I wanted the bike to be 100% safe. So swapping something pretty new to something pretty old made me put a lot of effort into this mod”. The gas tank comes from a KZ650R which is mounted at an angle that, together with the custom rear end, give the bike that aggressive stance Sergei was looking for.

Another out of the box item is the headlight. We usually see around, classic looking headlights on custom Viragos. But Sergei didn’t want that; to keep it aggressive and bold he mounted a more modern looking headlight which you may know from Diamonds Atelier machines (this one and this one). To keep the bike as clean as possible, the bike was completely rewired with even the ignition put out of sight; it’s below the seat. The whole bike got a new paint job with a tight, two-tone palette of black and grey.

Follow Ruthless Customz

Web | Facebook | Instagram

The original post was featured earlier on Pipeburn, but as you may know, we always like to give fellow Dutchies some extra attention.

The post Yamaha XV920 by Ruthless Customz appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

If I think of Sweden I usually think about my Volvo and that huge wholesaler of Chinese firewood kits. Despite the fact that these two are completely opposite, I would say that Swedish people, in general, have a pretty good taste and an eye for design. The guys from PAAL Motorcycles in Malmö definitely have. Owner Frederik Persson grew up with motorcycles and his passion for customizing them started when he was a child. He used to cut off parts of his toy bikes and colored them with waterproof markers. When he grew up, it was just a matter of time before he started working on real motorcycles.

But Fredriks career started on a completely different path: he became a chef that was looking for recognition in Michelin stars while working at high-end restaurants. He didn’t have time even thinking about bikes, but after working his ass off for many years, he became tired of the cuisine and he decided to go back to his old love: motorcycles. His first project was a bit ambitious because he didn’t have any professional experience working on bikes. So to get his skill level up to speed, he started working in a local motorcycle workshop for an unpaid (!) job for over 8 months. After 8 months Frederik was offered a full-time job at the shop to keep his cash flow on a healthy level. His experience gave him the confidence to start building his own custom shop.

Till today, Frederik has an impressive line-up of 14 projects. This Kawasaki KZ650 is numbered 13, and I instantly fell in love with it. This beauty is put together with a great taste of design. The color palette used materials and parts perfectly fit together without being a cliché.

Follow PAAL Motorcycles:

Web | Facebook | Instagram

The post Kawasaki KZ650 Cafe Racer by PAAL Motorcycles appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

This beauty is built by Martial De Campenaere. He was bitten by the cafe racer bug about a year ago and he decided to build one for himself. He did his research and soon found out that the Honda CB’s are the #1 pick for building a cafe racer, especially when it’s the first project. And that’s an obvious choice: lot’s of them are still out there, there is a huge amount of information to find, just like parts and references.

He sourced the interwebs and found a cheap machine for €500. He didn’t have a clear plan and was simply inspired by projects of others. When we asked him about the budget, he had a hard time to tell. “It didn’t cost that much, really. I simply did everything myself”. He stripped the bike and refurbished most parts and repainted the engine and frame. The engine was in a very good shape, so he only gave it some TLC with fresh gaskets and liquids. He took a gas tank of a CB750 KZand adapted it to the CB frame. After that, he hand-crafted the seat and rear hump out of polyester with custom leather upholstery. Just like the frame, he did the painting all by himself. Custom cafe racer parts where source from all over the internet like the head light, grips, mirrors, rear shocks, pod filters, mufflers, exhaust wrap (yes, it actually suits this build!), and the license plate holder. Not bad for a low budget cafe racer project!

Can we expect more from Martial? Oh yes! He’s already working on a new project! We look forward to it!

Don’t forget to check out Martial’s Instagram

The post Honda CB750 Cafe Racer – Done Right appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

That the Kawasaki KZ440 is a great base to build a scrambler was already confirmed by Droog Moto a couple of weeks ago. Today I received another cool KZ440 scrambler built by Pierre Forme from Bordeaux, France. Pierre has a technical background and got involved with motorcycles at the age of 13 with an old Solex 3800 (which actually is a bicycle with a small engine on the front wheel). He started customizing bikes simply because he didn’t have the budget to simply buy the bikes he desired. But that was a long time ago according to Pierre. His “motorcycle career” went on and on, but after riding new bikes for years, all bigger, faster, heavier, more expensive, and stuffed with electronics and plastics, he decided to change gears.

“I decided to give myself a new sensation of motorcycle riding by getting into the fashion of cafe racers and scramblers“. A while back he was offered a rather bold Kawasaki KZ440 D1 from 1981, which you can see below.As you can see, nothing special, nothing sexy and a little worn out. His plan was to create a smaller and lighter machine with a huge fun factor on small, dirt roads. And next to fun riding it, it should also be a joy to watch when not riding it.

Pierre completely stripped the bike and literally touched every single part of this bike. In fact, it looks more like a restoration project than a customization: All bits ‘n bites are cleaned, polished or sandblasted, the engine is completely rebuilt, the wiring is completely rebuilt. He also hooked up a set of beautiful laced wheels and really did his homework on the paint job with a classic Kawasaki look. If your French language is up to date, you can read the complete story of this project here.

The post Kawasaki KZ440 Scrambler by Pierre Forme appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Another piece by Droog Moto. Should I say more about Max & Erica? Nah… Bragged about them already in this, this, this, and this post. Words by Max:

This bike was built for a customer out of Seattle, WA. He already owned the donor bike and was after a cafe racer styled bike. He contacted us regarding the build and what we could do to give it the Droog Moto treatment. The motor was bored out with a Wiseco kit 816cc along with a lot of top end work and other various things. We set out to build this bike into a mean, fast looking machine. We chose a different path on this bike by going with clip-ons as we are usually accustomed to using 1 1/8″ fat moto style bars. A custom steel tracker plate was fabricated to accommodate two small 2″ LED lights that feature HI/LOW options. For the front turn signals we went with the MotoGadget M-Blaze signals. The rear lighting is also LED and features integrated turn signals. The bike has been re-wired with the Motogadget M-unit and a custom wire harness. The original tank was removed and we went with a different GS750 year tank. We had to fabricate custom mounts for proper alignment and clearance. The fuel tank was then given our signature weathered look. The subframe was also rebuilt and new rear shocks installed. Custom 4-1 exhaust which has been heat wrapped with POD filters really allows this monster to breathe along with associated jetting. We decided against our strongest urges to install thick knobby tires but instead went with a set of Dunlop K71’s. They are an awesome tire choice for everyday riding. The wheels were then given the handmade solids which really sets this bikes features and appearance off.

This will probably be the closest thing to a cafe racer that you will see from us, but it was nice to do something a little bit different and we really dig how it turned out!

The post Suzuki GS Brat/Racer by Droog Moto appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.