Swiss Sense
The last few years we have been receiving less good news from Switzerland. There is some numbnut who is trying to convince the world we will only be happy when we own nothing.

Well, after laying eyes on this bike, we could not disagree more with this character and his crazy ideas. Let’s be honest, who would not like to own this magnificent machine?

Presenting the Tracker
It is the collective from Emmental, Switzerland, who are responsible for our flash of gluttony. They go by the moniker Arctos Collection, which is steady collaboration between Ulfert Janssen’s industrial design studio, Gannet Design, and Stefan Fuhrer’s custom bike workshop, Fuhrer Moto.

Ulfert Janssen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Design from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, USA
His partner is Stefan Fuhrer (Fuhrer Moto), a former racing mechanic of Dominique Aegerter and Tom Lüthi (now Moto2), with the latter he became the world champion in 2005 in 125cc class.

Under the umbrella ‘Arctos Collection’ Ulfert and Stefan are “brothers in crime” for the Gannet custom builds.

Stefan brings his racing know-how, precise engineering skills to the party and his team of artisans are the perfect addition to create what you would call a dream team. Their workshops being just around the corner from one another, makes for smooth and quick interaction.

It is likely that the client that rode in the 2021 Indian Motorcycle FTR 1200 into Ulfert’s design studio, was looking for the best of both workshops.

Brainstorm
Ulfert explains: ‘We thought it would be cool to have a flat track theme on the bike and the brand Indian Motorcycles has a strong DNA in flat track racing.
Together with the client we decided that it would be great to fully expose the beautiful trellis frame of the FTR which in original is partly covered by the plastic “tank covers” which are housing the airbox.“

Continuing: “We immediately became aware why Indian designers decided to partially cover the frame as everything is asymmetrical on that tubular frame, especially with the mono rear suspension. But we decided to take on the challenge and expose the beautiful trellis frame in full. It gave us a lot of headache, but it was totally worth it and the result with the exposed frame painted in pearl white is stunning.”

From sketches to clay
The Swiss team set out with initial design sketches. The renderings were first translated into a clay model to find the form in 3D in preparation of the metal work.

Enter the team of aforementioned artisans. This is a very specific skill and these guys worked their magic by forming and tinkering the actual parts out of metal.

One of the features we really find original is the speedometer screen. This piece of equipment was integrated into the tank cover and made it ‘inlay and flush’ as the team describe it themselves. We think it adds to the cleanness of the FTR. Its handlebar design is more pure and racing, without the gadgets that normally cloud the front end.

Another spec of this Indian Motorcycle the BikeBrewers team appreciates, is the decision to substitute the original plastic tank under the seat with an aluminium flat track racing tank and add a tail section designed by Roland Sands. You can’t lay bare the beautiful foundations of a bike like this and end up with some ugly piece of plastic in plain sight.

Stefan adds: “Our goal was to integrate all the technical requirements and adjustments without affecting the concept. That was a real challenge because of incredible tight space issues for all the components and we had to replace many parts in other locations on the bike and reroute the cables and electronics.
It was important to us that we solve and adapt the individual components in such a way that there is a coherent overall picture to get a very sleek and technically perfect racer.”

More stuff
Other details that make this FTR into a true piece of art are the Jetprime’s all-black racing control buttons and footpegs from Gilles. But also the small tail light and the two small high tech headlights from Highsider Germany add to the excitement.

Topping it off are the small tail light as well as the two small high tech headlights also produced by Highsider Germany.

We like the spoked Kineo wheels, but are less enthusiastic about the choice for two different colours (black and gold). That also goes for the fitted Michelin Anakee Wild knobby tyres. We understand the choice from a heritage and design perspective, but it is a choice which is often revised due to uncomfortable handling of the bike. But to each his own and discussions on taste are useless.

We got more hands raised in our team when we got to the exhaust system. It is a special titanium version made by Zard and gives the lovely blue tint. The slip-on is a SC-Project exhaust and gives a round note to the two cylinder engine according to Ulfert and Stefan.

Worth mentioning is the seat, which is a custom upholstery job by Zwahlen NIZ.

Prizeworthy
An interesting note is that news on the bike was picked up by Indian Motorcycle Benelux. Immediately after the first pictures hit the digital highway, Ulfert received an invitation to ship the bike to the Netherlands.

It will be exhibited at the booth of Indian Motorcycle Benelux during the 2022 Bigtwin Expo. To add a little more excitement, they have also entered the bike in the competition on behalf of the Swiss team.

Let’s see what the jury has to say; “The Netherlands, may we have your votes please?”

As far as the BikeBrewers team are concerned, this build deserves an award.
We will be visiting the exhibition to get a good first hand look of the quality to the work the Arctos team have performed.
Make sure to check out the pictures on our social platforms!

Builder details:
Builder: Arctos Collection
Website
email: ulfertjanssen@gmail.com
Instagram
Facebook
phone: +41 (0) 79 179 69 46

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Moto Adonis

Artistic freedom

Lean and mean

Cardboard and tape

Head to tail

Box exhaust for the boxer

Any color, as long as it is black!

Photos: Mark Meisner
Video: Deep bold studio

Builder details:
Moto Adonis
Website
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube

The post BMW R NineT ‘The Girder’ by Moto Adonis appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

The bike is so nice, they made it more than twice!

Polish Powerhouse
If you have just tuned in to BikeBrewers, here’s short summary of who we are dealing with. UNIKAT is a motorcycle customizing workshop in Wrocław, Poland and is specialized mainly in café racer and scrambler style motorcycles. It was established to combine the passions for speed and visual arts. As you may find in some of our earlier posts, the founder of UNIKAT, Grzegorz Korczak, is actually a cinematographer, OSCAR nominated (you know, Hollywood!) special effects director, and visual artist whose work has been exhibited in some of Poland’s most prestigious museums. Since 2013 he’s been using his skills to create some of the most visually and aesthetically pleasing motorcycles we have ever seen.

Good start!
The base bikes for these builds are the most powerful Triumph modern classics to date. In 2020 Thruxton RS is an adrenaline factory disguised as a classic motorcycle. Each piece of the bike is of superior quality. The engine is powerful, it has great stopping power, and the suspension is top notch. The first three Thruxton RS’s delivered to Poland went straight to UNIKAT! The new respective owners wanted a personalized motorcycle; they came to the right spot.

But not good enough!
Although Triumph did an incredible job manufacturing the new Thruxton, there are still some things that could be better. This is inherent to anything that is mass produced – fact. Then there are the things that make your head itch. For instance: an excess of silver painted plasti…ahum parts. That was the first point of order for Grzegorz. The second point were the large indicators. Too bulky. Third, the massive factory fitted tail light. Good to illuminate in dark rainy weather. An eye-sore for the enthusiast. Despite these points, the most important thing that needed to be addressed was the sound; too soft for a machine with this level of riding characteristics.

Uncorking the Triumphs
Modern exhaust emission and noise standards are so strict that all factory motorcycles sound like a moped. Don’t get us wrong, we are not preaching for superloud exhausts that wake up the neighbors and make kids cry. However, part of the riding experience has always been sound for us, and these Thruxtons deserve to be heard. It is probably the only thing these three bikes have in common, that’s it.

3 Flavours
Different owners have different tastes. One owner was convinced that he wanted his bike to look aggressive and cheeky; “The motorcycle must be matte black with red accents.” The second owned wanted something rather sporty but elegant – “glossy metallic deep black combined with golden elements!” To Grzegorz’s delight, both of them also opted for the tubeless Kineo wire-spoke wheels. Fitted with a set of Heidenau sticky rain tires, that also happen to perform excellent in dry condition, and in combination with the lower rotating mass, the handling has been seriously improved. Owner number three on the other hand, wanted his motorcycle to look “as vintage as possible”. Starting with old-school tires, and finishing with a top-fairing as a nod to the classic racers of yesteryear. Golden pinstripes, leather grips and classic diamonds on the upholstery are another retro details.

Perfecting imperfections
Building these bikes took more work than meets the eye. For instance, in order to remove the entire exhaust of the RS, you have to dismantle the lower sway of the frame. Sandblasting of the each part and getting the paint job just right proved to be a tedious and time-consuming job. Not that Grzegorz complained, it’s just that there is no room for error. Especially since any imperfections will pop out in matte black. More than a few times parts have been sent back for sandblasting and painting. Details make the difference!

Bling Bling
The easiest task was probably the assembly of the fairing, which is a one piece uni. The LED indicators and brushed steel bar-end mirrors are just a few of the fine details we like on these builds. Another detail are the handcrafted leather grips with threads in the color of the upholstery, which has become something of a UNIKAT trademark. The rear of the bike looks scary thanks to two LED tail lights. They are, allegedly, the smallest tail lights in the world, and they are EU approved (DOT in the US). The black and gold RS received a gold-colored DID chain. The red RS is equipped with a Bitubo suspension set; custom made to the riders’ specs. A great piece of accessory are the quality levers, provided by Poland’s own Womettech.

All three Thruxton are full of hidden Easter-eggs; little details that you may not notice at first, but the more you look at the bikes, the more you find. UNIKAT has done an exceptional job creating these three seemingly identical Thruxton RS’s. Although they look the same, they really are individually unique in many ways.

Builder details:
UNIKAT Motorworks
Website
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube

The post Triple Trouble: UNIKAT Triumph Thruxton RS appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

BMW R80ST
So why not start with the R80 G/S that was already at hand? The answer is simple: the G/S now holds a sentimental value. Modifying it to something else would be too painful. So a different bike was going to be needed. He managed to find a 1985 BMW R80 ST, which in many ways is nearly identical to the R80 G/S he did his trip on. Matias knew the R80 inside and out and felt confident in using it as a base bike. Being a perfectionist, Matias wanted to do as much of the work himself, including the welding, grinding, and electrics. A graphic designer by trade, Matias first started with a couple of sketches and drawings. Once he knew what look he wanted to go for, the project could commence.

Long traveller or long travel?
Building the perfect overlander is not an easy process. Every part of the build needs to be well thought of, and often takes many hours before a final decision is made. First, the R80 ST got stripped to its bare bones. To improve the overall handling, the chassis needed some beefing up. 16 (!) reinforcement plates were welded in 6 different stress points on the frame. To improve front end responsiveness and increase suspension travel, the stock forks were replaced with a set of WP open chamber forks, now delivering a proper 250mm of travel. At the rear, a custom made Wilders shock was added to increase the rear wheel travel by 50%. The rear swing-arm has been extended with 100mm. All of which improves handling and stability at both low and high speeds.

Takasago rims on Talon hubs in the front and rear are held together by heavy-duty stainless-steel spokes. Interesting detail is that the rear wheel has a slight offset, allowing for a wider section rear tire. A Brembo 4-pot front calliper and a 320mm front brake disc give this BMW some modern stopping power.

No replacement for displacement
1001cc. That’s how much volune the boxer engine now measures. The cylinders were bored out to fit high compression 95mm pistons from Moorespeed. The crankshaft, rods, piston, and flywheel assembly were all dynamically balanced together for a smooth and responsive feel. This engine now pulls a healthy 72hp at the rear wheel.
The displacement and flow increase, required larger carbs. Since this is ultimately a touring bike that will have to cruise at both 20 and 80mph, Matias decided to go with classic 40mm Bing units instead of more aggressive options. Bings are consistent, fuel-efficient, and easy to maintain.
To improve the gas flow, the heads were ported, an open air filter were added, and a new Siebenrock exhaust was placed.  The new exhaust system helped get rid of the collector box, and simplified the removal and installation of the whole system on the road. The weight reduction of 11 lbs was an added bonus. With travelling across Africa in mind, Matias thought of a way to deal with poor fuel quality. The ignition was upgraded to a dual curve ignition. This can be switched from the dash to retard the timing and avoid pinging with poor quality fuel.
DAKAR vibe
Looking at the pictures Matias sent us, we can’t help but notice the aesthetics of this BMW. First, there is that magnificent HPN 43 litre (11.3 gallon) nylon fuel tank, which was painted by the same people that paint Walt Siegl’s bikes. A nice detail is a small strip that was left unpainted at the front, to act a as a visual aid to check the fuel level. The rear fender also comes from HPN, but uses stock BMW taillight and indicators. Matias left the dash pretty essential. He wanted it to be easy to read and operate, with gloves on. It’s housed in a HPN Acerbis Cockpit with the stock ST gauges. Matias also added a dual-port marine USB hub, a hazard light switch, and a switch for the second curve on the ignition were added.

More to come…
With the completion of this build, a new era has started for Matias Corea. The responses to this BMW “Myth 001” were overwhelming, leading Matias to start a new company: Myth Motors. Customers can now order their own custom-built BMW “Myth” motorcycle, built to their needs. Something tells us that we will see a lot more from the Myth Motors workshop in the near future!

Photo Credits: Ryan Handt

Builder details:
Myth Motors
Website
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube

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Somewhere slightly hidden away in an industrial park in the Northern part of Amsterdam little bits of magic lighten up the workshop. Hunched over his sewing machine Jeroen Bouwmeester of ‘Silver Machine Custom Seats’ creates the custom seats for a worldwide audience of bikers and builders. It is his true craftsmanship that has awarded him a loyal group of fans and clients.

Born in the south of the country, Jeroen decide to move to Amsterdam at some point and has not regretted it ever since. Four long years he was slaving away finishing his studies in fashion, management and design. Jeroen started out on two wheels at a young age. However the forward movement was created by human energy rather than an engine. As a fanatic BMX expert, that’s how he learned to keep his balance on rubber. In all honesty that’s where his time and money were spent as a youngster. Motorbikes came at a later age and again the catalyst was the BMX world. Our saddle maker worked at a popular BMX shop in Amsterdam. One of his colleagues at the time was the now well-known owner of Pan Cake customs.

It was Boy who sparked Jeroen’s interest in riding motorbikes and got him to buy a bike even before he had his driving license. It took Jeroen until August 2013 to hit the streets legally. Until then he was doing practice laps in and around Amsterdam.

The bike that was supposed to start a career on bikes with an engine was a Honda CX500 which was purchased for just € 125,–. The fact that is was not running did not pose a problem to Jeroen. As a matter of fact it still doesn’t as it is still in a corner of his workshop in the same condition, serving as an perpetual guilt memento. “one day I will finish this project” Jeroen adds.

In the meantime he can often be seen riding his Yamaha XT600 at variable speeds in Amsterdam and the rest of Europe. Even the national dirt track in Lelystad is familiar turf to Jeroen’s XT. It was fun and he was doing well. Just up to the point where he encountered ‘Mrs. Highsider’ and launched himself into the haystacks.

Not walking away from a challenge our Golden Boy still came to the conclusion it might be better to stick to what he could do best and has full focus on creating wonderful seats for bikes in his studio.

Jeroen is a very easy going guy and Bikebrewers have visited him regularly to interview him for this story. On the subject of stories he told us a true classic one:

After attending a friend’s birthday party far away in France, Jeroen was riding back to Holland. He was scheduled to meet a customer in Belgium who wanted a custom seat for his bike. The biker turned out to be the Ambassador to Argentine and he was living in this gigantic and luxurious villa.

After taking the measurements, Jeroen asked the ambassador for advice on a good camping site nearby. Unfortunately the guy had no idea, and why would he? He did offer our friend to spend the night in his little tent on the  premises next to the swimming pool. Quite a good idea!

To his surprise, the legal camper was woken up the next morning by the ambassadors servant who was outside the tent offering a silver tray with a full breakfast! We bet not many bikers can say this about their camping trips!

Back to the shed

As stated before, it was his friend Boy from Pancake customs who sparked Jeroen’s interest in riding motorbikes. But it the same boy who later on became our hero’s launching customer when he opened shop. Shop being at home at the kitchen table, merrily sewing away on his grandma’s Singer machine.

In those days Jeroen was already happy to be able to produce a decent seat that would bear the approval of his customers. Nowadays he challenges himself to constantly improve on what he has achieved already. Each and every seat which leaves his workshop has to look and feel better than the one he did before.

Jeroen is a meticulous guy and constantly makes notes on conundrums he encounters or how he could improve on certain technical issues. Getting better with each seat produced is what drives this man.

Dreams?

“Absolutely!” Jeroen replies. “If money weren’t the problem I would build myself a bigger workspace where I can do more than just make seats. Just manufacture anything that I could do an let my imagination run wild. How cool would that be?”

Talking about ‘crazy cool’, one of the things Jeroen would love to do is putting together a wild ‘Bosozoku’ bike. We at Bikebrewers are crazy about original and left of center design, but this Japanese style is a step too far for us.

Icons

During the interview we touch the topic of inspiration and icons. When given the option to choose between James Dean or Marlon Brando, Jeroen retorts “Lemmy! He truly was an icon man! If you want to know why, just check out the 2010 documentary on the  Motörhead front man.”

As far as inspiration goes, the saddle maker follows some of his peers in the US. According to Jeroen they really nail it when it comes to getting it just right up to the tiniest of details. He loves to watch and learn from them.

He tries to make his seats to reflect his inner self. He is a quiet and easy going guy. That’s how he prefers to do his seats too. Preferably not too loud or gaudi. If clients insist, Jeroen will obviously do everything to make them happy, but only after they have had a good chat about alternative solutions.

His personal slogan: “Silver Machine has got you covered”.

The post Custom Crafts: Silver Machine’s Golden Boy appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Struck by a blue flash

An active lad on Instagram, I had noticed his posts and like what he produces and how Sjoerd is marketing Motolifestyle, his small custom bike business. “Small” is actually not a very apt description of his online following. Picked up on Instagram by @caferacersofinstagram our man hit an audience of over 900K enthusiasts and topped it off with @black_list entry showing his creation to over 2.4 million petrol minded geeks.

While getting ready to ride the 2017 DGR Amsterdam ride I was admiring some of the nearly 1.000 bikes that would take part. Unexpectedly a striking blue and very retro 70’s Opel GT cruises the parking lot. A lovely sight.

Even better was its tow. A trailer carrying a similarly retro Honda CX500 in an identical color scheme! How’s that for coordination? Such was my first real-life encounter with our builder from the South of our country.With an entrance like that, our friend deserves some editorial attention on our platform. His good taste and zest for harmony in his builds is clear. Just check out the much-shared pictures on social media.

High octane blood

Like so many custom aficionados, Sjoerd Veenstra grew up dreaming of bikes “making 4-stroke engine sounds” revving the internal motor running for more. With a dad alternating between a Ducati racer and Honda Enduro motorcycles while wrenching on old English bikes it will come as no surprise the boy was destined to follow in those footsteps. By the way, the Opel is the car his dad owned when he was in his twenties. It remained in the family and is now lovingly owned by Sjoerd.

Being a good boy, our wrencher started riding bikes at the age of 17, off road on a Honda XL 250 to be exact. Nice,  legal(-ish) and a great way to learn how to practice mastering two wheels. Although already 21 when he actually started riding on the road, Sjoerd caught up quickly.

Buying, selling, buying, selling etc.

Starting with a Yamaha R6 as his dream bike at the time he managed to own over 25 bikes in just over five years. His current collection of bikes is evidence to the widespread interests of the builder. Besides the Opel and the blue Honda CX500, the workshop harbors a Honda CBR600 (track-only) race bike and a KTM E-XC Freeride electric enduro.

Choosing between riding or working on bikes is equally challenging for the owner of Motolifestyle. Struggling with technical issues or with unexpected track conditions offer satisfaction when disentangled.

Sjoerd has had his track training from the best guys in motorcycle racing in the Netherlands. He has fond memories of the ‘Meet the Speed’ week in Almeria (Spain) organized by Wilco Zeelenberg and his extensive team of race instructors.

He lists his highest recorded speed ever at “299+”, which was on the open road before he discovered the fun of riding on a (much safer) track.

Inspired by the track

His antics on the track, in the dirt and on public roads fire up the inspiration in this Southern Dutchman. As stated he loves both revving his bikes as much as he does juggling his spanners in the workshop. Cafe racers are his ‘thing’ for sure. He just loves creating something out of the ordinary and lets his passion lead his creative vibes. A lot of the building takes place in in his head rather than struggling with sketches on paper.

It all seems to come naturally to him. Asked about his preference to build a bike for a well-known person with an unlimited budget, to our surprise Sjoerd replies that he finds the thought boring. He would rather let a bike tell a story, whether it be a personal one or a brand philosophy. Budget restraints would just add stimulus to a project.

The prefers this challenge more than putting together a bike while not having to worry about spending.

The Protagonist

The main character in this story is the second bike the wrencher ever built. An exquisite Honda CX500C. Sjoerd really digs turning these ‘ugly ducks into elegant swans’.

In this particular case, he started off with an old and rusty two-wheeled apparatus. He decided he wanted to produce a clean as possible bike while trying to limit himself to the parts he had in stock in his studio.

With a little help from his dad, Sjoerd managed to create the outlines of what he had been fantasizing about. Nearly all the work was performed by our artist himself; from the sandblasting to the paintwork. The base he worked from is described by Sjoerd as a ‘silk black sweet café racer’.

As a board builder, he started shaping the bike into the right proportions. One of the main eye-catching features is the gas tank. A replica Benelli ‘Mojave’ specimen took the place of the original Honda canister.

Stock or homemade?

Seats are utterly defining the look of a bike. Although no fan of stock aftermarket material, Sjoerd still decided to use the one as seen on the Honda now. Reason? Because he likes the way it fits the profile and because he had it lying on a shelf somewhere.

Making up for using stock material the builder set out to make a lot of the parts himself from aluminum sheets. A decision was made to mount homemade copper fuel lines too. To avoid electrical problems with this old Honda, all wiring was renewed.

Not surprisingly it took our Motolifestyle hero less time to sell the bike then he needed to create it. For nearly a year a BMW S1000R rider is saddled with the problem of having to decide which bike he wants to ride.

Rather than exhausting ourselves in further descriptions of this build we will let the pictures tell the rest of the story. They are worth far more than a 1.000 words…

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It’s been a while since I’ve featured a bike from Danny Ariyanto, the owner of the Indonesian Studio Motor. Danny has built a lot of custom motorcycle the past few years and he worked on a wide variety of machines. From a small Vespa to a big fat Harley-Davidson; Danny can work on anything. But if you take a good look at his work, you see that a lot of his customers come in with small displacement machines. Pretty obvious; in Indonesia, it’s common to get your ass from A to B on a cheap and efficient way. Nevertheless, Donny can turn these cheap (and often rather ugly) machines into something that stands out. Take a look at the bikes I’ve featured earlier here. His latest project is based on the small Kawasaki Z250. This tiny machine shares the platform with the more sporty Ninja 250 (which recently served as a platform for a cafe racer built by Mr. Ride). But the stock bike contains a lot of plastic and looks a bit futuristic, and fits in perfectly in today’s lineup from Kawasaki. But we’re not here to talk about stock bikes, aren’t we? Donny wanted to bring the Z250 back to its bare essentials with a raw edge which resulted in this cool looking Z250 scrambler.

The frame is pretty much standard with only a customized subframe to shorten the overall look and bodywork. He went for an all-black color scheme with a little gloss. The original fork is re-used with a set of new, progressive springs.  To align the rear end, he upgraded the rear suspension with a set of adjustable YSS G-Series shocks. To get rid of the all-plastic-look, he removed most of the bodywork and hand-crafted a completely new gas tank with cool vintage knee dents. The custom leather seat matches perfect in the new design and together with the scramblerish rear fender, the bike looks a lot more agile and fun. To give the rider a feeling of more control, Donny mounted a wide handlebar. The bulky headlight unit was also ditched and replaced with a small 5″ aftermarket DRL headlight and the front also got a custom-made fender.

And luckily Danny also ditched the two most ugly parts of the machine: the casted wheels and huge stock exhaust. The wheels are replaced by TK Japan rims (18X3.00 and 18X3.50) and wrapped up with a set of Shinko E804 Big Block tires (120/80-18 & 150/70-18). The exhaust system is also fabricated by Donny. All and all the result is a cool, small and humble scrambler which looks a lot better than the original plastic monster… One thing I don’t get is why he used that ugly, OEM-blue oil filter… :s

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Small motorcycles usually are built for very specific regions like Asia or South America. Instead of “built for fun”, like a lot of motorcycles are, these small machines are “built to move the owner from A to B”. So if a custom workshop takes one of these small urban transportation machines as a base bike, I usually get excited. Simply because you don’t need +1000cc to have fun. Two wheels and something in between that powers the rear are the only two ingredients needed for fun.

This one is built by Katros Garage from Jakarta, Indonesia. A small workshop that builds custom bikes and parts. They focus on small, original and fun ideas. For this project, they’ve sourced a Yamaha Scorpio. A small commuter bike. Never heard of it? Check this link AND make sure to check out this Scorpio cafe racer.

The post Yamaha Scorpio Scrambler appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Fast scooters… There was a time here in Holland that everybody had one. Tunes machines with 50 or even 70cc to ride (or better) race the open streets. Since regulations about speeding got a lot tighter, and youngster can get their car drivers license on the age of 17, it seems that the scooter died a quit dead here. So I was glad to see custom bike builders sometimes put their hands on an old Vespa or even better, a Lambretta.

Thinking of Lambretta as having demonic performances is something that only a limited number of enthusiasts can. Imagine joining the knowledge of a 1950s motorcycle champion, a designer from the new millennium, whose features are quite extravagant but at the same time conventional and try to guess the final result. For the spec lovers: this Lambretta has a TS1 performance kit with 225cc (stock is 200cc) and puts out a smashing 37hp. On a 70kg scooter!! The project has a long history and took almost three years to complete. Words by Tomás:

Lambretta has always been linked to the world of scooters, but far away is the year 1947, when Innocenti presented the model A. At the time the aim was only to provide an easy to use means of transportation which only needed basic maintenance. But like everything that has engines and wheels – and is born in Italy – the phenomenon has grown rapidly and the interest for competition has developed in the most diverse forms. Only two years after the introduction of the pioneering model of the Italian house, there was already a huge legion of fans to compete in the competition of the famous Lambretta. This came to be seen throughout the history of the constructor of Milan, first with private pilots, then with the entrance of the factory itself in official competitions, whether in tests of speed in the circuit, records of pure speed or even tests outside of the road.

Portugal did not escape this rule and perhaps one of the most striking names ever associated with Lambretta was Alfredo Baptista Rodrigues. After starting out in motorsport in 1954 on motocross with a 250cc BSA, the rider went on to the races reserved for scooters. These races were quite fashionable in the early 60’s and late 50’s and clubs like Sporting Clube de Portugal, Sport Lisboa e Benfica and even the Club 100 à Hora were just some of the organizers of major motorsports events that attracted huge numbers of fans. Alfredo soon began to look at the commands of a Lambretta 125, having gained evidence as the Tour of Portugal and signed an excellent performance in Lisbon-Porto-Lisbon, and these last races were already disputed when he was official pilot of the Lambretta. Later, he joined the brand Gilera, since the company Moto Lambretta Portuguesa, Lda was representative of the two brands. But the heart of Alfredo continued to be connected to the brand created by Inocentti and many years later, he was one of the great responsible for the creation of the Lambretta Clube de Portugal. That’s where he meets Tomás Da Costa Lima, a brand enthusiast who dreamed of building a Lambretta “unlike any other around.”

Tomás began to pressure Alfredo a few years before 1999. He went several times to Belém, where Alfredo had his boat business and his motorcycles of choice, to try to persuade him to move forward with the project. It should be noted that the project at this time was the same project, on paper and everything, and perhaps it was the enthusiasm of Tomás and his model of the future Lambretta that awakened the keen mind of Alfredo, who after a short time later decided to get to work. The tasks for the development of the bold project were thus launched: Tomás was in charge of the aesthetic part, while Alfredo was responsible for the technical part of the most daring Lambretta in Portugal. To that end, they commissioned various material from England, a country where the cult of scooters and transformations was at a fairly high level.

After the project had taken its first step and the material ordered had arrived in Lisbon, it was time to start “getting to work”. For this, three Lambretta’s built between the years of 1963 and 67 were necessary. The chassis chosen for the prototype was that of a Lambretta 150 DL, while from Li, the headlight was removed, as well as the handlebar and the side covers, and this last item served also to make the fuel tank caps. The front fork came from the more modern SX200 and the front fender came from a Luna which also helps to cool the radiator. As for the engine used, the base was a block of a Lambretta made in Spain. These machines were given the designation of Servetta and the chosen was one of the propellant units manufactured with 200cc of capacity. All other material was purposefully made for the prototype.

The handlebar was shortened and received a hydraulic front brake pump. It should be noted that the two steering dampers came from a Suzuki. As for the mudguards, this one was created from scratch. The frame is built from aluminum, while in the rear of this Lambretta was created from fiberglass and can be removed to access the fuel tank and engine. In order to get the rear suspension the way they were looking for, Alfredo was confronted with some setbacks. He had to manufacture three types of springs until they hit the one that is currently mounted on this machine. It’s made in Portugal by APV.

Another important item was the exhaust, an important component on this machine since it could help improve the performance significantly. In a first phase, it was installed on the right side of the engine, but it was no ideal position since it was on the same side as the kick starter. So they’ve changed the entire system in order to place the exhaust on the left side. They’ve also explored the possibility to mount a disc brake, but this was abandoned since it gave too much complexity to the machine and it would mess up the aesthetics of the bike.

Meanwhile, Alfredo passed away and Tomás found himself ready to finish the ambitious project. After a photo shoot in the studio, he decided that it was time to explore the potentialities of his machine. By the irony of fate, the Vespa Clube de Lisboa took a party to take two rounds to the Autodromo do Estoril, integrated into the races of the National Classic Motorcycle Trophy. The occasion could not be better and after having taken the Lambretta from a third floor without an elevator, it is finally time to put it in operation on a stage of excellence. With the feeling of a kid who would finally test his toy. After fitting the fuel tank properly, and after a few kicks on the kick pedal, the engine with 37 bhp gave a signal of itself, attracting the attention of all those who were at the race track. We even went so far as to say that the Lambretta captivated more attention than the Yamaha TZ there.

At the end of the day, Tomás revealed the audience with a smile from ear to ear: “It’s amazing! 37 bhp to about 70 kg, which is revealed in a great driving sensation. From 4,000 rpm, the engine does not stop evolving and it does not feel like I’m on top of a scooter. I have been in the 160-170 km/h at the end of the straight but I did not force the progress because as this is an unfinished work, could easily ruin everything in case of unforeseen events. It’s really amazing this Lambretta and I bet Alfredo would like to be here to try out his machine”.

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Another great piece of work from Donny Ariyanto of Studio Motor, the rockstar builder from Indonesia. From a design perspective, you just like it or not. But from an objective perspective, this custom Harley XL1200 is something special. Unlike most custom bikes we see these days, this is not based on a factory-model. Most builders pick a certain base bike and customize it their way. But not this machine. This bike was build from scratch. The only turn key element of this machine is the Harley XL1200 engine (2006). From front to rear: almost every part of this bike was build from scratch. The bike literally started off as empty sheets, straight pipes and bare metal plates. Donny’s goal was to deliver a bike exactly as his customer wanted it. A true unique, one-off bike. The challenge with true uniqueness is that you just have to create everything yourself.

From front to rear: almost every part of this bike was build from scratch. The bike literally started off as empty sheets, straight pipes and bare metal plates. Donny’s goal was to deliver a bike exactly as his customer wanted it. A true unique, one-off bike. The challenge with true uniqueness is that you just have to create everything yourself. 

Some words of Donny:

For the first, we made a rolling chassis with hardtail model as a designed with boardtrack style, this frame made more lower and also give more space for wheelbase to accentuated the strong impression. We choose seamless pipe 1.25” and 1” with 3.2 mm width for chassis material. In the front suspension, we made a classic strong girder front end and matched with TK Japan Rims 19 x 2.50 inch for front and 19 x 2.5o inch for rear to emphasize the slim boardtrack style. For the tires, we choose Metzeler Marathon 100/90-19 for front and rear. After we’ve done with chassis and suspension, and then we continued to make all body parts, with galvanize plate 1.2 mm for gas tank, oil tank and rear fender based on a concept. After the bodywork was done, Komet Studio made his move! We choose classic white from Sikkens. After painted was done decorated all body with a patina technique red and silver lines and put classic Harley Davidson font at the side tank by our nice partner, 69 Nerakatau. An engine we painted it a doff-black with powder-coating painting techniques. Completed the project, handmade handlebar was selected to provide ‘the enjoyment of riding’. Jute Classic headlights was attached at triple tree and custom exhaust 2 in 2 was made to drag up the classic theme with a strong sound.

This is not Donny’s first “Harley from scratch”, check out this bike I’ve featured earlier.

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