Not your average army green
We have had a number of army men building bikes in the past. Last year we had Chris Roffey who brought us his Yamaha XJR 1300 as well as Daniel Martin and his Honda CB500T. Both servicemen are from the United Kingdom and built bikes had an army look ‘roughness’ to them.

The 1985 BMW K100RT that Joel Rosado is presenting us with has much more smoothness to it. Joel has an education in industrial chemistry and works in the US Air Force Satellite Communications division.
With the builder being born in Cayey, Puerto Rico we understand why this bike has a more silky smooth touch to it, rather than the ‘battle ready’ machines from his colleagues at the other side of the Atlantic.

A new home
The donor vehicle (picture below story) was found online in Sandisfield Massachusetts and changed ownership for $ 3.200. Over the course of the project another $ 3.000 was spend to come to the result we present you with in this article.
The bike was completely disassembled the first day arrived at Joel’s home in Puerto Rico. Without a test ride or engine pre-check our man just started off building it into a café racer. Every component from the motorcycle was disassembled, even to its most simple part, brass brushed, sand blasted, polished, painted or powder coated.
All broken parts were replaced with genuine ones, “failure is not an option in this project” Joel says.

Stimulus
His inspiration for the built came from Trevor ‘Ditstang’ Ditson whom Joel had been following on Instagram. With the bikes of this fellow builder in mind, the protagonist of this story lighted his blowtorch and started operating on the donor vehicle. Nice detail in this story is the help and advice Trevor provided any time Joel came across issues he could not resolve on his own. That’s what shed building should be all about; helping each other out in creating magnificent projects.

When we talk to Joel he explains: “I have always been looking for something new and unique to create I started searching what café racers really are all about. Digging on Instagram I spent hours every day to find which one of all different styles fills my expectations.
After all this research I found the astonishing BMW K100 “The Flying Brick” built by Ditstang. The first time that I saw it I got this I got this weird itch. I knew that I just wanted to uild that bike right away.
So I contacted him and right from the start of the build he has always been there to help me with this project. It is something that I never going to take full credit for it because this is for a large part his creation too.”

Changes
The rear suspension came from a 2005 Yamaha R1. Its length gives the BMW the damping our builder was looking for to satisfy his personal craving. For the front end he stayed a bit closer to the birthplace of the bike, as the forks of a 2014 BMW S1000R are now leading the way and give the bike an amazing handling.
Our Puerto Rican friend is especially proud of the personal touch he added by figuring our how to fit the original wheel into the S1000R forks. A custom axle and rotors spacers had to be fabricated in order to complete this task.

Puerto Rico being an island, there is water all around you. Blue is a dominating colour whenever you are at the outer edge. The magnificent blue tone of the BMW pays homage to the place it was given a second life. ‘Santorini blue’ not only matches the surrounding sea, but the golden forks as well.

Three times a charm
With every build there is always that special moment when you fill up the gas tank and press the starter button. You can only hope everything you thought of works as intended. We firmly believe that this is probably the most magical moment any builder can think of.

It took three pushes on the button to make this baby blue bike growl to life. As it did a broad smile appeared on Joel’s face which only got broader when he climbed onboard for the first ride.
That is very likely to be the second most magical moment after finishing a project. Riding your bike and finding out how it handles in real life. Joel describes his experience as follows: “Riding this bike is stunning! It feels like a racing car with sport suspension bouncing up and down. Exactly as I had envisioned it.”

The K100RT as it arrived from Massachusetts

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BOOMING business

People’s favorite
Dawid loves simple motorcycles, and frankly, so do we. No fancy computer to complicate things, no rider aids to forgive you for your mistakes. There is something elemental about such motorcycles, you either love or hate it. Now, Yamaha XJR1300’s are becoming increasingly popular with bike builders lately. And why not? They are easy to work on, powerful, reliable, and parts are available in abundance since it is one of Yamaha’s longest running models. This particular model a 20th Anniversary edition.

Too hot to handle!
Although this Yamaha looks like it just left the floor of the dealership, it is far from stock. At the front the first things that we notice are the front wheel and upside-down forks. They came from a Suzuki GSX-R 750. The rear shocks are a Yamaha original factory Öhlins, sourced from the SP-version of the XJR. A set of sticky Pirelli Phantom Sportcomp tires wrap the rims tightly, adding a bit of nostalgia and performance to the Yamaha. Another feature that is an improvement over the original bike is the brakes. They are from a GSX-R as well and they will slow the XJR down like a sledgehammer!

Modern Cafe Racer
A company called Highsider delivered the LED lights at the front and rear. The subframe received a trim and a loop to accommodate for the custom-made seat. Talking about the seat, it looks very comfortable in that soft brown Alcantara. The seat nestles nicely in a hand-made cowl, adding some flair to this modern café racer. A minimalistic speedometer replaced the old twin dials to add to the overall sleekness of the bike.

All Black
At the heart of this motorcycle is the air/oil-cooled engine. It received some TLC in the form of maintenance and a check-up. No engine modifications were done since it still has plenty of grunt. These 1300cc engines are bullet-proof. Pushing out a very healthy 106hp and 98Nm of torque, there is not much left to desire. Some fresh black paint, and an upgrade of all the nuts, bolts and screws to galvanised units, is all that the engine needed. The exhaust headers have been wrapped with thermal wrap and were finished off in black as well. Overall, the Yamaha looks very serious. An interesting fact is that Dawid built this motorcycle on his own. Not a single job was outsourced, and for that we tip our hats.

Everything in-house
It is clear that Dawid puts a lot of heart in his motorcycles, you can see that the quality really matters. The combination of upgraded suspension and tires really improve the handling of the Yamaha, especially when it gets a bit bumpy. The upgraded brakes inspire confidence, and the riding position is perfect; a bit sporty, but not too straining. The sound the Yamaha makes is the stuff that makes baby angels weep, and according to Dawid, the Yamaha always attracts a crowd. This Yamaha has been received by a new owner in Paris, so make sure to keep your eyes open if you live there. We would love to see more from build from Dawid!

Builder details:
Mission Custo Moto
Instagram
Facebook

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Mad Max meets The Walking Dead

Survival Bike
Louis James, a business owner from Dorset England, got inspired by The Walking Dead and really liked the shows’ anti-hero Daryl Dixon’s modified Honda CB750. In fact, he liked it so much that he knew his next build had to be based on a Honda CB750 as well. Other builds you ask? Well, Louis likes his winter projects, and has built motorcycles in a shed before. Building a survival bike based on a CB750 was going to be a new experience, since Louis had never worked on a Honda CB750 before.

Dr. Frankenstein’s monster
This build was going to be a Frankenstein bike from the get-go. First he sourced a 1992 CB750 frame from eBay. That marked the starting point of the project really. According to Louis, the bike was built with parts from about 2 dozen other bikes! Building a bike with parts that were made for different motorcycles brings the difficulty threshold to a whole new level. Literally everything had to be modified.

Nuts ‘n Bolts
One of the hardest challenges was fitting the massive engine by himself without a hoist or even a stand at the time. That must have looked medieval. The engine came from Japan off a 2004 model CB750 with only 12,000 miles. This engine has a hydraulic clutch, which is something of a novelty on a CB750! The other hard challenge was getting the electrics working. Again, using unfamiliar parts doesn’t help with this. The list of parts used is pretty extensive:

• Frame from a 1992 Honda CB750
• Yamaha R1 front end
• Cognimoto lower clamp
• Hel braided brake and clutch lines
• Custom stainless steel battery box
• Unbranded custom modified fuel tank
• Continental Twinduro TKC-80 tires
• Pro taper Contour fat bars
• LED jeep wrangler headlight
• Square quad led spotlights with yellow lenses
• Mini LED indicators and tail and brake lights.
• Removable folding shovel as a rear fender!
• Glock holster for shoot of zombies
• Shotgun bandolier belt fitted to the tank
• Cafe Racer style seat
• Perforated stainless steel headboard
• Perforated stainless steel tank guards
• Shotgun cartridge handlebar ends covers
• Carburettors from a Honda CBX 750
• 4x pod Air filters
• Cotton gauze crankcase breather filters
• CNC billet clutch and brake levers + reservoirs
• Mini mirror
• Subframe engine crash protectors
• Modified original exhaust
• Kevlar exhaust wrap
• Light indicator instrument cluster from an old model Honda.

Apocalypse ready!
The results speak for themselves. This Honda was meant to look very tough and rough, and it does. It looks exactly how we imagined a bike built during an apocalypse would look like. With the chunky Conti’s TKC-80 and modified exhaust, this CB750 will take you anywhere whilst scaring away any uninvited visitors.

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Long run
Some of the happiest people on the planet live and work in Hamamatsu, Japan. Yamaha introduced the XJR 1200 in Europe in 1995 and has continued to sell the XJR in Europe until 2016, but not without a few changes throughout the years. Most notably, the XJR got a 100CC more lung capacity, boasting a healthy 100 hp and 108 Nm of torque. Not bad considering that the engine is an air/oil-cooled unit. Overengineered even, some might say. In a similar way to Moto Guzzi, the XJR really started to become cool again around 2015, right near the end of its life cycle. There where Moto Guzzi decided to go full throttle with their retro bikes, Yamaha pulled out the plug of the XJR model to make room for the Faster Sons-series XSR and SCR. And to be honest, the XJR wouldn’t have survived the ever-stricter emission regulations without some serious R&D money being thrown at it. Which brings me back to that very first sentence. A run of 21 years is incredible and a remarkable achievement. Yamaha’s R&D-department can be proud of itself, because we feel that the XJR has become an iconic powerhouse.

Sculpture
Being an iconic motorcycle almost automatically means that inspiration is drawn from it. And that is exactly the story behind Sergey Smirnov’s Sculpt Moto built XJR 1300, dubbed the Kintaro. Specialized in Café Racers exclusively, the Latvian based craftsman considers each of his builds as a sculpture, hence the name “Sculpt Moto”. This means that in reality, they aren’t bike-builders but artists. We dig that. So, why choose an XJR 1300? The answer is simple. The XJR is a timeless classic that carries some really nice lines already. On top of that, XJR owners usually ride their bikes for many years. This makes it a popular motorcycle that still satisfies the needs of its owners.

Samurai!
The bike we see here today is a 2001 Yamaha XJR 1300SP full fat version, sourced in Germany. The SP-models come with Ohlins suspension as standard. Being a Japanese motorcycle, inspiration for this build was drawn from legendary Kintaro samurai. This Yamaha stands for the embodiment of the ancient legend of the samurai Kintarō and the power of the mysterious mask Hannya, which is considered a strong amulet for samurai.

Overhauling
A lot of work has been done in this build. The list of modifications is extensive, given the large number of details that have gone into this project. The process began with complete disassembly of the donor bike. The sub-frame was modified, and the frame got powder coated, as well as the swing arm and forks.  The forks were upgraded with new Wirth springs, oil seals, bearings replaced, and oil. The engine was rebuilt and repainted, and the carbs received an upgrade with a DynoJet Stage-3 kit.

But there is more:

• Metal parts chrome plated
• Detachable seat cowl with handmade black leather seat – “Fish Scales”
• Exclusive custom paint in Candy-Tangerine-sandpearl-metal flake
• KINEO spoked wheels
• Adjustable ABM clip-on set
• Rizoma Mirrors
• AceWell speedo/tacho with custom bracket
• LED Headlight 7” with CNC headlight brackets
• License plate bracket
• Fork gaiters
• Custom made radiator grille
• Custom made metal side covers
• K&N Air Filters
• LSL adjustable footrest
• Chrome Dina mufflers, new exhaust gaskets
• Custom made connecting pipes and custom made exhaust brackets
• Front bikini fairing and aluminium handmade Club-Style “87” side plates

The result of Sculpt Moto’s work speaks for itself. The combination of airbrush and the colors gives this XJR 1300 a very classy look. Not only that, but the quality of this build comes near a factory finish, giving the XJR a new lease on life. The question we always ask is: how does it ride? Apparently, it rides like a powerful sports car. Sergey Smirnov, we salute you sir!

Builder details:
Sculpt Moto
Website
Instagram
Facebook

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Starting from a 1984 BMW R80, they completely rebuild this machine in a mix between past, present and future. Most appealing part of this machine probably is the gas tank and seat combo, which are in one single piece. The sharp, edgy lines come together on the classic frame pretty cool, with the same solutions of grooves, Yamaha engineers used in the new XJR1300. Other striking featured are the beautiful 17″ wheels with custom lacing, the classic BMW air-cooled front brake, and the Honda CBR900 fork.

Full story of this awesome project can be found on Pipeburn.

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Beautiful interpretation of the Yamaha XJR1300 by Speed Tractor Tokyo.

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As promised in the beginning of 2017, we’ve reserved more space for shed builds. Of course, we L-O-V-E all those professional builds, but we also think that individual builders deserve a spot to highlight their work. For the occasion, we’ve made a list of the 10 best shed builds we’ve found in 2017. We’ve not limited the list of builds only we featured here, we’ve also looked to other leading blogs about custom bikes.

So scroll down and check out the bikes that are built by guys like you and me! Click on the images to read more about the bike, the challenges the builders faced and of course; more images.

PS. Just like the 21 best customs of 2017, this is a completely subjective list. We’re not biased by Honda, but this seemed to be the most popular brand to pick as a base bike among shed builders.

#1: Yamaha SR400 by Joseph Savor

[more info]

#2: Suzuki GS750 by Michiel van Son

[more info]

#3: Honda CB750 by Bryan Moses

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#4: Yamaha XJR1300 by Dawid Kazmierkowski

[more info]

#5: BMW R80RT by Mark Ceilinger

[read more]

#6: Honda CB200 by Chris Tope

[more info]

#7: Honda NX650 by Martin Kvarnhult

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#8: Honda CX500 by Will Nicholson

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#9: Honda CB550 by Eli Carver

[read more]

#10: Honda CB750 by Fre Fonteyne and Karel Willems

[read more]

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While the title/category of this bike seems a bit off, I really don’t know where to put this. Alloy wheels with racing slicks,  mono-shock suspension, a massive 1300 high-performance engine and an aggressive stance make this bike more look like a serious track weapon than a classic cafe racer. Last week I’ve published another Yamaha XJR1300 Cafe Racer, which is a completely different bike, based on the same donor. But let’s get over that issue and take a look at this awesome Yamaha XJR1300 built by Eak, owner of the Thai K-Speed. Regular readers may know K-Speed from this radical Suzuki SV650 Scrambler earlier this year.

Now Eak took the massive XJR1300 and took it to a fitness training. The bike lost a lot of weight and got nothing but high-end performance parts. Unfortunately just some photo’s, I hope to get some more specs soon. Luckily I was able to get a short video with the sound of this monster.

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Yet Another exclusive feature of my buddy’s at Wrench Kings. This time it’s a Yamaha XJR1300 from 1999 and with this build, they show their capability of creating custom motorcycles that look like they were meant to be like this. Owner Frits wanted something else with his bike and headed over to the Kings. It was 100% original and the assignment was even simple as complex: make a real one-off eye catcher. That looks pretty simple with that MASSIVE 1300cc engine, (knowing that a lot of cars have less cc’s these days of downsizing), but the stock XJR1300 is just another face in the crowd. A typical challenge for Wrench Kings.

In the design stadium, they’ve decided that the bike should be a real single seated performance bike with a short seat and a gas tank with knee dents in it. Lights should be integrated into the design and some real classic racer elements like custom rear sets, clip ons, a half fairing and a custom seat cowl that suited flawless in the design of the gas tank. Getting the right color palette for this bike was based on trail and error, while they were looking for a retro touch. Looking at the result I may conclude that they succeeded. Very well. That’s also what their client thought and he gave the Kings a -GO-.

Just like with all builds from Wrench Kings, no part was skipped and got a complete overhaul. The frame got some necessary modifications to make it a bit shorter and keep hold on all the new handcrafted aluminum bodywork parts. The seat/tank combo and both fenders come from The Custom Factory/Stewin BV. All original parts of the bike got a new (powder) coating and/or refurbishment to make sure the “Wrench King Quality” is assured. This makes the end result look as if it’s a completely new bike. The bike also got a new wiring loom, built from the ground up. Of course with a Motogadget M-Unit in the center. This simplified the wiring setup which made it easier to fit in the clean look of the machine.

A little summary of the modifications: DNA filters, DNA carter vent, Tarozzie rear-sets & clip ons, Motone 3-way switch, Hell brake/clutch levers, Highsider bar end mirrors, 7″Rhino headlight, seat and grips by Silvermachine, Daytona Velona speedo, LED indicators, Monza gas cap, LED integrated tail light, M8 licence plate light, Öhlins rear shocks, Cobra SP exhaust system. 

The Kings about the result:

Due to the complete new aluminum bodywork, there’s nothing much left of the original bike. We’re absolutely happy with the result and quality of the machine. The combination of the colors and the bodywork give the bike a beautiful retro look with a modern touch since the motorcycle kept all of his original handlings. With the massive engine between your legs and the powerband of a V2 rocket, this bikes makes you smile every time you open up the throttle!

For those guys who are in the neighborhood or traveling trough Holland, feel free to visit the Wrench Kings shop in Utrecht. They have regular BBQ’s and they organize a bunch of cool things. And the shop is always open for likeminded people:

More info:

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Photo’s by Bas Duijs.

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