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BMW R NineT ‘The Girder’ by Moto Adonis

Adnane Bensalah — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 16:43:38 +0000

Moto Adonis
This is a story about a motorcycle we saw some time ago when we last visited the workshop of Moto Adonis in the Netherlands. Back then we were covering their immaculate Harley-Davidson LiveWire project. What Arthur Renkema (owner) told us back then, was that the same customer who had commissioned the HD LiveWire build, also ordered the build of a unique BMW R NineT. We feel that the R NineT needs no further introduction. The men of Moto Adonis, which also includes Job Leussink and Daan Borsje, were given a “carte blanche” to build something after their imagination. And oh boy did they deliver! We weren’t allowed to film or take photographs of the bike back then, however, we are proud to share this build with you now that it has been received by its owner. Artistic freedom
The wildest thing you can do to a custom bike builder is to do what they want. For the bike builder it can be great having all the artistic freedom in the world. At the same time, it could be that the results might be different than what the customer was expecting. Like a knife that cuts on both ends. Tricky, but not impossible. The only real wish from the owner was that it needed to be capable of being ridden hard. That’s it. Lean and mean
The idea to build something that looked mean and futuristic came to mind, kind of like with the HD LiveWire they built for the same customer. So, the team designed a custom girder fork, in-house. With some help from fellow builders and friends at Wimoto, the geometry got sorted. The fork got a Wilbers treatment, as did the rear shock, to make the R NineT handle like a dream. An interesting fact is that the new girder fork weighs a whopping 10 kilograms less than the stock forks! Not only that, there’s also the added bonus of seeing the insane set-up “work” while riding, very satisfying indeed. Cardboard and tape
The fuel tank and body panels are all handmade from aluminium. But before that was made, a lot of cardboard, tape, and buckets full of coffee were consumed before the final design was made. A neat and not so uncommon method to model parts before the bending of metal takes place. As a matter of fact, a number of tank designs were made before a permanent decision was made. This ties into the company’s motto: If it could be better, you should make it better! Head to tail
Once the overall lines were set, the next step was taken, which involved a lot of metal working: bending, welding, and grinding. A Motogadget speedo take residence in the fuel tank, to keep the triple clamp clean and free of distractions. Another neat feature that immediately caught our eyes is that beautifully sculpted tail section. Completely handmade, obviously, but when you look closer, the details are actually quite impressive. From the custom leather seat, made by Miller Kustom Upholstery, to the one-off, clear LED tail lights. This would be the right time to mention that ‘The Girder’ as the bike is called, had LED lights all around. Box exhaust for the boxer
Right underneath the modified subframe, a custom, stainless steel exhaust system is neatly seated, with a pair of very rectangular mufflers, curtesy of MAD exhausts. We’re heard this BMW run in real-life and were surprised the learn that the R NineT actually sounds really modest. The exhaust was made with ride-ability in mind, which explains the docile sound. You don’t want the ‘popo’ stopping you every minute. However, exhaust does come with a pair of removable db-killers, for when you really want a big smile on your face. Any color, as long as it is black!
Henry Ford, the founder of Ford automobiles once said that you could buy a Ford in any colour, as long as it was black. There’s a reason for that, one of them was that it makes anything look impressive. What Henry probably didn’t think of, was how challenging it is to pick the right kind of black! Gloss, semi-gloss, matt, metallic; the choices are overwhelming sometimes. It doesn’t help that the body has some very sharp edges. We think they chose the perfect color for this mean looking bike. The results of this project speak for themselves: this is one futuristic looking scrambler, unlike anything we have ever seen before, and that says a lot! Moto Adonis are really proud of how this BMW R NineT turned out, and rightfully so. They have been building custom motorcycles since 2012, but with this one, they just upped their game.

Photos: Mark Meisner
Video: Deep bold studio

Builder details:
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Ducati Monster Cafe Racer by Timmer Motorcycles

Ron Betist — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 10:53:30 +0000

The Dutch custom motorcycle scene is growing and growing. On every event, you see new faces and new builders. This machine here is from a new talent in town and goes by the name of Timmer Motorcycles, owned by Maarten Timmer.

Maarten has a degree in industrial design and works as concept product designer at Spark Design & Innovation. We confronted Maarten with some questions about the product.

Why did you build this bike and why this base bike?

The build of this bike started with the passion for Ducati motorcycles. After a University project with the Ducati Factory, I decided to build my own custom Ducati café racer. The name 4Nol is linked to my grandpa, it is an homage to my grandpa named Nol, who teached me how to wrench.

The project started with a Monster 900ie, with an engine that has been completely overhauled. The simplicity of this motorcycle and the “ridable power” is key! The icon Monster needed to be the base for this project.

What was your idea or vision?

The inspiration came from the 60’s café racers, these bikes that have been transformed into sleek racers build for the ride. But I decided to design a modern interpretation of those bikes. The straight line, flowing from tank into seat, is characterizing those motorcycles. So the feel of a true café racer, but the looks of a modern one.

Where did you find inspiration for the project?

The inspiration for this build and any Timmer Motorcycles build, comes from other bikes and various other sources like products, cars, and architecture around me and on Pinterest etc. After hours and hours of sketching, I found the right lines and proportions, allowing me to start clay modeling to refine the modern café racer lines in real life.

What was the total budget?

Stopped counting when I topped the budget of a brand new Ducati…

Any interesting challenges?

Challenges are part of the development of any premium custom motorcycles. But for this project specific: the entire tank and seat are designed and sculpted in a clay model and resulted in one coherent shape. Timmer Motorcycles believes the perfect balance and stance of a motorcycle can only be achieved by a full-scale clay model. The final clay model design was translated into rough 3D CAD data, making use of a 3D scanner. This acted as the starting point for the integral digital designed one-piece body. Through this process, fiberglass molds could be made in which the final body was laminated. This body strengthens the typical café racer lines and characteristics.

The overhauled 900ie engine provides smooth yet high torque power at low revs. To make this engine run as smooth as possible, an entirely new 2-1-2 exhaust manifold system was developed for the two Spark megaphone silencers. Furthermore, this 41mm wide manifold with the K&N performance filters and Dell’ Ortho carbs are contributing to this performance. The design and manufacturing of this system was a challenge on its own for make it fit as compact as possible around the engine.

After defining the position of the exhausts the CNC milled brackets were designed in-house at Timmer Motorcycles. Two smaller versions of these brackets can be seen in front of the bike in the form of headlight brackets. At Timmer Motorcycles a lot of 3D CAD modeling, clay modeling and CNC milling are the important elements in the process of building the premium customs.

Did you got help from others or did you outsource any work?

The exhaust manifolds are developed externally. The expertise of Star Twin on exhausts and Ducati motorcycles was a key for the exhaust design.

The frame adjustments have been executed in collaboration with WiMoto. The skills and workshop of WiMoto made this a quick fix.

Along the way, I received some help from friends assisting with the sanding of the molds for example. All the elbow grease.

The tank-seat unit has been painted at TonCar, by Fred van Egmond. The devotion he puts in the paint job is unique.

What modifications are made and what parts are used?

The entire one-piece tank-seat piece has been designed and manufactured at Timmer Motorcycles.
The exhaust system is entirely developed for the best performance suiting the 900ie engine.
For the air intake Dell’ Ortho PDM 40 carburetors are used with conic shaped K&N filters.
The 4Nol is equipped with high-end Rizoma parts all over: clutch, timing belt covers, levers, clip-ons, footpegs and indicator lights.
Full new electronic systems and Koso speedometer.
The brackets for the exhausts are CNC milled, even so the headlight brackets. These head light brackets ae mounted on a sheet metal adapter on which the Koso speedometer is mounted as well.

What do you like the most about the bike?

The one-piece tank-seat unit is my favorite part of the 4Nol. It creates the aggressive stance and flows perfectly from the front to the rear of the bike. This is the design element, that one part, that makes this motorcycle unique.

And last but not least: how does it ride?

It rides easy and loud! The high torque at low revs makes the 4Nol a pleasure to ride with a smooth and direct control.

Follow Timmer Motorcycles:

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Photographers:

Color: Mark Kamphuis

Black/white: Mark Meisner

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BMW R100R by Moto Adonis

Ron Betist — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 08:50:18 +0000

As proud “Dutchmen” it’s always cool to publish a cool story and pictures of a bike that comes from our home ground. And with an ever-growing custom motorcycle scene, the established workshops keep on delivering top-notch work. Regular readers already know that we have some really great pro builders here like Ironwood, Wrench Kings, Wimoto and of course Moto Adonis. All these builders have been featured all over the interwebs with their creations and most of the times we get a heads up first when a bike is finished (thanks for that guys!). Today we have the honor to feature the latest build from Daan Borsje, owner of Moto Adonis; a real “gentleman’s cafe racer” based on a BMW R100R.

The project started as a long-desired wish from one of Daan’s customers to have a real one-off gentlemen’s machine that was stuffed with high-end parts to combine the idea of a classic ride with modern day technology (and comfort). The heart of this customer lied with the Bavarian boxer bikes so R100R was an easy pick. He also was a sucker for laced wheels, which made the search for this bike a bit more difficult; not many R100R’s where sold with these wheels.

To upgrade the bike’s handling, they’ve ditched the original front fork and replaced it with a Suzuki S-RAD USD fork. The fork was refurbished and adonized in black so everything works and looks brand new. For the triple tree, they’ve asked Roel Scheffers of Scheffers Engineering. Daan: “Roel is a good guy who is, of course, Dutch and lives in the bush bush of Norway, and he made us a beautiful plate with an integrated Moto Gadget Tiny Speedo in it”. The original 2 piston brake caliper was replaced by a newer 3 piston model by Tokico. The rear shock was custom made by USS Suspension, also adonized black.

To get the desired line, the massive original gas tank was put on sale and they’ve sourced the gas tank of a Honda CM400 and made it fit the bike with and welded on a Monza gas cap. The subframe was modified to fit the custom-made seat which is upholstered by master upholsterer and fellow Dutchie Marcel Miller from Miller Kustom Upholstery. For the exhausts, they’ve used their alter ego MAD-exhausts to deliver a beautiful hand-made, stainless steel 2-in-1 exhaust with the muffler right in the center under the seat.

The engine was taken apart and got a refurbishment to ensure reliability since this is no show bike. All the wiring has been replaced and they’ve added a MotoGadget M-unit to make sure it all works for a decade. The front blinkers are also from MotoGadget and in the rear, they’ve used a Rizoma unit with blinkers and the rear light integrated.

To give a little wink to the BMW heritage, the color scheme and paint job a directly inspired by the R90S series. All and all, another exquisite machine from Dutch ground to be a little bit proud of. Well done Daan and we hope the new owner will enjoy it!

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Bavarian Beauty: BMW R100RT Classic Racer by Wrench Kings

Ron Betist — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 02:14:11 +0000

With the ever growing scene of custom motorcycles, I’m proud of everything that’s “Made in Holland”. I keep in close contact with all builders like Arjan from Ironwood Customs, Wido of Wimoto, Daan of Moto Adonis and of course the Wrench Kings. Last weekend I’ve paid a visit to the last one. A friend of mine was looking for a new, one of a kind motorcycle since he knew for sure that building one himself was an impossible challenge. So we hopped in our cage (the weather was pretty damn nasty) and drove up to Bilthoven, in the center of Holland. There we found Joost, the owner and founder of Wrench Kings. We’ve talked for several hours about motorcycles, his shop and his future plans. What Joost accomplished in roughly two years is pretty impressive, and he’s damn serious about his work. But he’s also pretty serious about the future of his company and has some really interesting plans. He also showed me some pictures of his latest projects and I fell in love with this beautiful classic cafe racer based on a 1984 BMW R100RT.

It was a commissioned build for a lady with style, Karin van Kuijk, and she was looking for a real “old school cafe racer”. Since she wanted a real old school bike and no modern classic, the BMW R-series seemed a logical choice. While the R-series are known for their incredibly reliable engines, the bike also got a complete overhaul to ensure that Karin can enjoy their ride to the fullest. Since the new owner was not able to get both feet on the ground on the original R100RT, they’ve customized the frame to get a lowered seating position. This resulted in a unique frame setup with a straight line from the back to the front, something we don’t see that often on BMW R-series. On the original bike, the subframe is substantially higher than the bottom of the gas tanks on these machines but the original lumpy banana-seats cover this up. The custom made mudguard and cool half-fairing fits flawless in the design and the professional paint job (2k) and striping accentuates this perfect setup.

To get the desired old school cafe racer look, some details were needed. So they’ve teamed up with Silver Machine to create some really nice leather details. The bike got a beautiful (and comfortable!) diamond stitched leather with a vintage/used look. The “frame triangle” got a set of leather bags of the same leather, just as the beautifully wrapped grips.

They’ve ditched the original wiring loom and fabricated a completely new one built around the Motogadget M-unit Blue, the latest electronic control unit from Germany. The bike got a set of M-blaze bar-end indicators and Motone buttons on a set of Tarozzi clip ons and a custom triple tree for a clean look in the dash. The ignition lock is removed towards the airbox. Other parts used on this machine are: 7″ Rhino headlight, Acewell 2853 digital speedo, Domino throttle, Brembo PS-16 brake and clutch levers, Melvin steel brake lines, HighsiderBullit taillight and rear indicators, Highsider mirrors (mounted on the original crash bars), M8 licence plate light, Monza gas cap, and Dunlop K70 rubber. To make sure that other road users here Karin coming, they’ve fitted a set of Megaton mufflers.

If you see this bike for real, you might think that’s 100% original and that it came right from the factory like this… Great job by Wrench Kings and I’m sure Karin has the ride of their life on this Bavarian Beauty.

More info:

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Photo’s by Bas Duijs.

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BMW K75 Cafe Racer by Moto Adonis

Ron Betist — Wed, 03 May 2017 10:29:14 +0000

Beautiful classic BMW K75 Cafe Racer by Moto Adonis. Personally, I’m very happy to see that the quality of builds from Holland is constantly growing. Maybe a bit biased, but I’ve featured a lot of bikes from our small country lately. We have some real great pro-builders like Ironwood, Wimoto, and Wrench Kings. All delivering high quality and unique machines that get noticed all over the web. Another well-known name here in Holland and the rest of the (custom) world is Moto Adonis, from Daan Borsje.

Daan, who sees his self as a “designer-builder” easily can be called a perfectionist: if he sets his mind to something, he want’s to do it the right way and commits his self for 200%. So his work is not a matter of tearing down an old machine, put some new parts on in, give finish it wit a paint job. No, Daan goes all the way from a complete engine overhaul to fabricating his own parts. So when Philip van Gelder, a local customer, broke his piggy bank for buying a custom bike, he knew that Moto Adonis was the right place.

Next to an old sock stuffed with some cash, Philip also had an old ’87 BMW K75. A base bike that’s maybe not as cool as the air-cooled boxers, but sure has a great engine. The stock model doesn’t have a name for being beautiful, the technique of the so-called Flying Bricks are rock solid. It’s no surprise that the K-series become a very popular for building a cafe racer (make sure to check out this awesome K100 Cafe Racer).

The conversion started with the wheels because the stock wheels didn’t suit Philips mindset of a classic cafe racer. In the front, Daan sourced a wheel of a BMW R1200C, which is fitted in a black Suzuki GSXR1100 USD fork to upgrade brakes and suspension at the same time. The real wheel including rear drive comes from a R1100GS, which also upgrades the brake drum with a disc. In order to get that desired classic look, Daan fitted a beautiful small headlight fairing, modified the gas tank and of course chopped up the rear end to mount a classic leather seat.

The electronic system got upgraded with the complete catalog of Motogadget. Indicators, controls, wireless switch, and grips are sticking and operating together around the M-Unit. In front, they’ve fitted an aftermarket LED headlight unit and Daytona instruments. The bike is finished in a “classic-meets-aggressive” color scheme: matt black with a yellow striping. Great job!

Follow Moto Adonis:

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Bikes of the Month – April

Ron Betist — Mon, 01 May 2017 07:34:43 +0000

Another month of 2017 behind us, another Bikes of the Month on BikeBrewers.com with some interesting machines. The interesting part is that all five machines here are built around a base bike we don’t see that often. We’ve got four (!) out of the box Honda’s: a Shadow 600, a CG125, an FX650 and an NTV650. And since I didn’t want this month to be a “Honda only”-party, I’ve got a beautiful Buell XB Cafe Racer….

Honda Shadow Special

Grabbing a cruiser like the Honda Shadow and turn it into something sporty isn’t easy, but not impossible. The guys from D-I Motorsport from Kuala Lumpur saw this as a cool challenge and started building a Shadow 600 from the ground up. The result? Well just take a look! [read more]

Buell XB Cafe Racer

Amazing creation by Ask Motorcycles from Japan based on a Buell XB. A mixture of a classic cafe racer and a modern supersport. Owner/builder Rad Yamamoto really pushed his skills in metal fabrication with the alloy body. He tried to create both “slick” and “organic” lines. A design that worked out well on the machine. The machine is named “Kanna”, which means “No God” in Japanese. On the annual Hot Rod & Custom Show in Yokohama, the bike even was the reason to create a new category in the awards section. [read more]

(p.s.: like custom Buell’s? Check out this one, this one, and this one!

Honda CG125 Cafe Racer

We all know the usual suspects for building a cafe racer, with the Honda CB-series and BMW R-series as the most popular platforms. Small displacement bikes are usually skipped, but in my opinion, a small bike can also be a great base for building a custom motorcycle. And if we’re talking about small displacement motorcycles, you roughly have two places on the world that pop-up: Asia or Brasil. On these places small bikes are a common way of cheap transportation. Luckily there are some people out there who are not afraid to turn these practical (and rather ugly) machines into something special, just like Fernando Casado, a product design student from Brasil. He took a 1980 Honda CG125 and turned it into a beautiful looking, classic cafe racer. [read more]

“Fusqvarna”

This may look like a strange name for a bike that’s actually a Honda FX650. But it’s not the frame or the engine that’s in the center of this build, it’s the mythical gas tank of the Husqvarna back in the 70s and 80s. Since that’s the only Husqvarna part of this machine. The builder, Le Garage Félix (which you may know from this KLR650 Scrambler) made their own version of the Husky; Fusqvarna (with the F from Felix). For a second they were thinking about calling it “Fucksvarna”, but they didn’t want to disrespect the heritage of the brand. And the result is this minimalistic Honda FX650 Scrambler…[read more]

Honda NTV650 Cafe Racer

Another cool machine built by our Dutch friend Wido Veldkamp, owner of Wimoto. The project was born to surprise his wife for her birthday and the donor is pretty unusual: a Honda NTV650. “An ugly bike with no potential. At least, that’s wat most people think” says Wido. First he wanted to build a scrambler of it, but after fitting some new parts, he changed his plans and mounted a beautiful half fairing which soon changed the aesthetics of the bike making it more looking like a cafe racer. “The Green Goblin” was starting to take shape… [read more]

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Top 10 Ducati Cafe Racers

Ron Betist — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 18:14:05 +0000

A Ducati Cafe Racer is probably one of the most desirable custom motorcycles. A combination of the exclusive Italian brand with a strong heritage and the classic looks of a vintage racer. The last few years, Ducati aims to be part of the ever-growing custom motorcycle scene with their Ducati Scrambler. The Scrambler offers a strong base for customization, and Ducati offers a wide range of variations. In the beginning of 2017, they even launched the Scrambler Cafe Racer; a turnkey machine combining modern day technology with the classic vintage racer look. But even back in 2003, Ducati already had a modern cafe racer with their Ducati SportClassic (which still is one of the best machines I guess).

Enough about stock bikes though, let’s take a look at the best custom built Ducati Cafe Racers I’ve found to date! This is a subjective list and if you think that a bike should be listed, let me know!

#10: Ducati Pantah 600 by XTR Pepo

November 2015 – If you search around the web for custom Ducati’s, I’m sure that you’ll stumble upon some machine by the hand of Jose Rosell, a.k.a. Pepo. Jose has created an impressive list of custom motorcycles and he simply keeps on going strong. Jose was part of the former Radical Ducati, so he has a strong relationship with the Italian brand. After Radical Ducati, Jose started his own workshop called XTR Pepo.

The bike I’ve listed here is a real classic Ducati cafe racer, based on a 1983 Ducati Pantah 600. The bike is called Bol d’Or as a reference of its endurance-theme, a style Jose uses a lot for his projects. [more images]

#9: Ducati 900SS “Barn Built” Cafe Racer

October 2015 – The title may be a bit misleading, since this Ducati 900SS Cafe Racer is not a barn-built machine, it’s only referring to the name of the workshop: Barn Built Machines from Belgium. It’s the combination of the beautiful half fairing, laced wheels, color scheme and upgrades that make this Ducati one of a kind. I think that this bike definitely deserves a spot in this list. [more images]

#8: Ducati Scrambler “Hero 01” by Holographic Hammer

June 2015 – This project was initiated by Ducati France for the annual Wheels & Waves festival in Biarritz. It’s the result of a cooperation of Holographic Hammer (a design studio) and Moto Heroes from France. Holographic Hammer, known for the concept images got the chance to put one of their projects into life. It’s based on a Ducati Scrambler and is stuffed with high-end parts and components. A modern machine with a classic cafe racer twist. [more images]

#7: Ducati Sport1000 by Walzwerk Racing

December 2012 – A tribute to Detlef Louis (owner/founder of the German Louis.de, a major motorcycle parts dealer) based on the Ducati Sport1000 and called, how obvious, “Louis 75”. Louis himself asked Marcus Walz from Walzwerk racing to build a custom Ducati Sport with “a combination of tradition and future”. Since Detlef will be celebrating his 80th birthday this year, I hope to see another creation like this. [more images]

#6: Ducati 900SS by Wimoto

September 2016 – As a proud “Dutchie” I’m happy to list this awesome Ducati 900SS Cafe Racer built by Wimoto. Master builder Wido Veldkamp built this machine for one of his customers and had two clear objectives: reduce weight and improve performance. Project “Wheels of Fortune” was born. Wido managed to drop the total weight with 35kg (!) to just under 150kg. Together with some serious frame adjustments and improved suspension, the overall handling of the bike is improved. [more images]

#5: Ducati 750SS “Imola Evo” by Vee Two

January 2017 – A bike from Down Under with pure racing genes. Built on their own designed “Ritorno” engine with a genuine ’81 900 MHR frame, this “Emola Evo” by VeeTwo is a classic racer built for the track. Great lines and high-performance parts make this bike not only look good, it’s also capable of doing serious lap times.

While it’s based on the 750SS, technically speaking this is a brand new bike build around a genuine ’81 900 MHR frame. Though heavily modified: they narrowed the steering angle, shortened the wheel base 100mm, cut off the rear, relocated engine brackets and removed all unnecessary brackets and of course put that beloved Ritorno engine in place. [more images]

#4: Ducati Sport Classic by Corse Motorcycles

November 2013 – A beautiful machine based on the already cool Sport Classic 1000 and built by Anthony Warnock, a former SB/GP mechanic. With over 10 years of experience and some “job hops”, Anthony decided in 2012 to start his own custom workshop; Corse Motorcycles. A built that utilized the original concept of the Sport Classic, with some real high-end upgrades and a design to die for. Or better in Anthony’s words: “it’s subtle but unique, sounds and rides beautiful and draws a crowd where ever it’s parked.” Cheers to that! [more images]

#3: Ducati Scrambler “Fuel Strada 800” by Fuel Motorcycles

September 2016 – This Ducati is built by Fuel Bespoke Motorcycle from Barcelona, Spain as a submission by Ducati Spain for the “Custom Rumble” project: a contest by Ducati to show the world what possibilities the Scrambler has. The so-called “Fuel Strada 800” is one of the five finalists in this contest and really is a piece of art. Inspired by the 900SS from the 70’s, Fuel delivered a real classic looking cafe racer with modern technology. [more images]

#2: Ducati Pantah 350 by Capêlos Garage

July 2016 – Another bike based on a legendary Ducati Pantah, but this based on a 350 model. In terms of aesthetics I think that this is not only one of the best looking Ducati cafe racers, but also one of the best looking cafe racers in general. It’s A Ducati in the mix with a Cagiva resulted in this “350 Pantah”. The bike drew a lot of attention during the 2016 Bike Shed London and melted down social media.

The bike finished #5 in our Top 10 Customs of 2016 and deserves a top spot on this list too. It’s built by Nuno Capêlo from Capêlo Garage [more images]

#1: Ducati 848 “Evo Racer” by NCT Motorcycles

January 2017 – While this may be the latest Ducati Cafe Racer in this list, I’ve listed it #1. NCT Motorcycles from Austria simply hit a sweet spot with their “Evo Racer” a mixture between a high-performance modern sports bike and a classic look. It’s based on a Ducati 848 (!), good for 140 horses on the rear wheel… It may be not a 100% vintage cafe racer (I think that adding laced wheels will make it just perfect, but that’s just my opinion), I’m pretty sure that the “racer” in this bike is obvious. [more images]

So that’s it: my personal Top 10 of Ducati cafe racers, I hope you like it and if you have any suggestions, feel free to comment!

PS. Are you more up for a Honda cafe racer? Check out my Top 10 of Honda CB Cafe Racers.

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/IQcG2m4dDrg” width=”740″]

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Top 10 Customs of 2016

Ron Betist — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 11:35:56 +0000

2016 was an awesome ride! The custom motorcycle scene is more alive than ever and BikeBrewers.com is very successful in becoming a well-known place to find inspiration for custom bikes. Just like 2015, I want to look back at last year with a top 10 overview of the best custom motorcycles we saw. I didn’t focussed on BikeBrewers.com only, just like in the Bikes of the Month section I’ve looked around the entire web and base the ranking upon likes, responses, buzz etc. But different than last year, I picked 30 motorcycles that I personally loved and let you guys vote for a top 10. So no hard data or statistics, simply a subjective view where the ones with the most “voting power” wins. The result is the top 10 below:

#10: BMW R100 by NCT Motorcycles

A radical looking BMW R100 built by NCT Motorcycle from Germany called “Black Stallion” stuffed with high-end parts and materials like Öhlins suspension, hand crafted exhaust systemem, Akrapovic muffler, MotoGadget M-unit wiring etc. This won’t be the best bike for your daily miles, but it sure will draw attention when riding it. This machine made it to #10 with 723 votes. [read more]

#9: Honda CB550 by NCT Motorcycles

Two machines of one builder in the top 10? Yes, I know that this looks arguably. But I did mention that this list is a bit subjective? This is another cool creation of NCT Motorcycles and based on the beloved Honda CB550. It’s one of those machines that has something special, but it’s not really one thing that you can point. Maybe it’s the simple and classic “cafe racer look”, or maybe it’s just because of the red details. Anyway, you guys liked it: 807 votes [read more]

#8: Moto Guzzi “MGR 1200” by Radical Guzzi

As a Guzzi rider, this one was my personal favorite. Not really retro, but also no supersport. It’s a class of its own. The so-called “MGR 1200” by Radical Guzzi shows a perfect mix between the legendary Moto Guzzi heritage and modern technology. 1009 votes for the MGR1200. [read more]

#7: Yamaha RD350 Cafe Racer by Iron Custom Motorcycles

An extraordinary piece of engineering from Ukrain with almost nothing original or stock on it. Based on a Yamaha RD350 but transferred into a 555cc triple cylinder machine. A little machine with some serious power and brutal 2 stroke sound. Finished on #7 with 1476 votes. [read more]

#6: Benelli BN600 Streetfighter by Kenstomoto

An awesome creation from Malaysia; a brutal looking Benelli BN600 Streetfighter built by Kenny Yeoh from Kenstomoto. A BN600 as a base bike, some funds of a client and a carte blanche started all this. It’s called “The Demolisher” and finished #6 with 1604 [read more]

#5: Ducati 350 Pantah by Capêlos Garage

If you ask a child to draw a cafe racer, it probably looks like this bike by Capêlos Garage. Beautiful stance and lines and of course that half fairing is topping of the aesthetics of this bike. It’s A Ducati in the mix with a Cagiva resulted in this “350 Pantah”. The bike drew a lot of attention during the 2016 Bike Shed London and melted down social media. This small machine got 1921 votes; good enough for #5. [read more]

#4: Buell XB9 Cafe Racer by Iron Pirate Garage

On of the most eye-catching machines I’ve featured here with a lot of likes on social media. Even our friends of BikeEXIF picked up this machine and gave it a place in their “Bikes of the Week” section. It got 2001 votes, good to be listed #4 in this overview. [read more]

#3: Suzuki GS550 Boardtracker by Wimoto

A wicked machine from Holland, built by Wido Veldkamp of Wimoto. I saw Wido work on this bike and I instantly realized that this was something special. And you guys also liked it. Wido’s Suzuki GS550 ended #3 with 2568 votes. [read more]

#2: BMW R100 Twin Turbo by Boxer Metal

Built in just 7 weeks for the One Motor Show. That is a challenge, but putting on 2 turbo’s on the machine made things tricky. An extraordinairy design and “hard tailed”. This is a bike that created a lot of buzz both online and offline. A respectable 2nd place for Boxer Metal with 2662 votes. [read more]

#1: BMW K1100 Cafe Racer by De Angelis Elaborazioni

A machine not only built for the looks, but mainly for performance: the awesome BMW K1100 by De Angelis Elaborazioni. They’ve turned the so-called “Flying Brick” into a serious track weapon. De Angelis has a strong fan base which resulted in 3701 votes to rocketeer this machine to the #1 of this top 10. [read more]

#BONUS#: Harley Davidson Café Racer by Zadig Motorcycles

This awesome Harley Davidson Café Racer is circling around the web, but there isn’t much to tell about. The only thing I know is that it’s built by Zadig Motorworks and that it’s called “Balboa” (yes, from that boxing movie). The aesthetics of this machine are outstanding and I thought it was worth noticing as a bonus in this top 10.

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Honda CB750 Super Sport Café Racer

Ron Betist — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 05:37:32 +0000

I’m always happy to see creations from The Netherlands, and with all the talent lined up, we can expect some real cool machines the coming time. We’ve seen some amazing bikes from workshops like Wimoto, Ironwood Custom Motorcycles and Wrench Kings. This Honda CB750 Super Sport Café Racer comes from the last named shop:

Modifications:

Everything is powder coated, even the brackets for the teller and the blinkers
Cool Firestone tires
RFID tag wireless key
Custom seat with oil reservoir by Marcel van der Stelt
Custom water proof leather upholstery by Toni’s Custom Works
Custom oil lines
Hidden blinkers in front
Modern, electronic Daytona speedo
Stylish tail lights with integrated brake lights and blinkers
A custom made license plate bracket (which we took in production!)
A big yellow head light
Polished cylinder heads
Overhauled engine
Rear shocks
Brake and clutch levers
Double brake discs in front
Extended foot peg mounts with Tarozzi foot pegs
DNA power filters
Stainless steel brake lines

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Bikes of the Month – September

Ron Betist — Sat, 01 Oct 2016 09:59:19 +0000

A BMW from the Bavarian mountains, an undefined but complex engineered 3 cylinder 2-stroke from Ukraine, a Kawasaki Vulcan S from Germany and an out of the box Suzuki GS550 from Holland. Meet our best custom bikes of September 2016.

BMW R100R Café Racer “DA#7” by Diamond Atelier

Since the guys from Diamond Atelier started in the summer of 2013, every single creation is simply spot on. We’ve featured some of their builds here and we see them back on sometoplists we’ve published. Their third build, the “DA#3” literally melted down the web. Just like this one, it’s based on a BMW R100R and is already their 7th bike. [read more]

An undefined 2-Stroke, 3 Cylinder Rocket

Do yo remember this cool RD135 Café Racer? A real dapper 135cc 2 stroke machine. This little machine produced an impressive 18hp. But what if you take the engine of his bigger brother, the RD350, and redesign the engine to a 555cc triple cylinder? Well, that’s exactly what the guys from Iron Custom Motorcycles (ICM) from Ukraine did. The result? “Project Beckman”: a lightweight, 50hp 2 stroke rocket that runs over 200km/h! [read more]

Kawasaki Vulcan S “The Underdog” Sprint Machine

A bulky Kawasaki Vulcan S as a sprint machine? That would not be my first guess… But maybe you remember the awesome Vulcan S Cafe Racer built by Oficina MRS? In terms of style this creation shows us that it is possible to make a beautiful cafe racer of the Vulcan. But what about true speed? The guys from Essenza from Germany took the challenge to built a sprint machine for the Essenza 1/8 mile sprint races we saw at the Glemseck festival. [read more]

A Different View on the Suzuki GS550

A while bike on the Dutch “Motorbeurs” I spoke to Wido Veldkamp, owner of Wimoto, about his ongoing project that he was displaying there. It was not finished at all, but it was very clear that he was working on something different. Most eye catching feature of this bike, which was a Suzuki GS550 in the early days, was the odd front suspension and the cool stance of the machine. I advises Wido to wait with posting pictures of this machine and that he should submit his project at Bike EXIF. And he did… He got a big fat feature here. Great work! [read more]

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