At Bikebrewers we are fans of the stuff that Droog come out with. They strive to be different than the others and quite often succeed.

Kawasaki Z1000

The throbbing heart of the ‘DM-014” is a Kawasaki Z1000 killer inline 4 motor “with tons of torque” as our friends describe it. They buy most of the donor material online, as the engines in most cases dictate which way a build is going. The rest of the bike they use is sort of ‘extra added value’ as so much is changed anyway to fit their fantasy.

Straight from the head

The guys at Droog Moto build directly from their heads. What they have in mind goes straight into the tools, without putting anything down digitally or on paper. For the DM-014 they envisioned something to look menacing and out to seek vengeance. When asked about the rough look of the bike they reply: “You don’t want to take a bike like this and make it a flashy bright sparkly thing. It needs to have depth and look intense. “

BikeBrewers: “This bike has a strong ‘Sci-Fi’ feel to it, even slightly reminiscent of the Star Wars bounty hunter  ‘Boba Fett’, was that the outset?”

Droog:  “We strip the bikes down and let the ideas and fabrication come as we go. Our latest builds have been sleek and aggressive machines so we are keeping appearances up with this. We don’t like to categorize our work into the basic Scramblers, Cafe’s, Brats, etc… We like the bikes to be their own creation or more of a Sci-Fi feel.”

Getting outside help is something the Droog team rarely do. For the DM-014 It was for specific work such as the upholstery that they call in outside troops.

BikeBrewers: “so how happy does this bike make you? Is there anything in particular that you like about the result?”

Droog: “All of it! This bike is big and intense, but stealthy. It’s new features complement the motor and help bring out the aggressiveness to it.”

BikeBrewers: “A lot of builders seem to put those fat and knobby tires on their bikes. We like the way they make the bikes look, but we are not so sure about the riding experience.”

Droog: “ It rides like a damn dream! There are a lot of people who hate on the knobby tires on street bikes. We say don’t diss them till you ride them. They’re smooth and corner very well along with having the abilities to hit some dusty roads. You have the power and torque everywhere you could want with more to spare. DM-014 is a fierce machine that looks down right rebellious but gives you awesome riding features.”

Specifications:

The list is very long, but I will give it a try:

• DM-014 received a full build from top to bottom.
• The bike features a custom fuel cell that Droog made.
• Aluminium radiator upgrade.
• The stock subframe was cut off and a new one was fabricated in place to fit the new seat and LED lighting.
• Custom tracker plate with LED lighting and signals integrated into the triple trees.
• Handmade aluminium wheel inserts along with TKC80’s.
• Pod filters and a re-worked exhaust system help this beast breath and brings out the noise to a new level (nice!)
• Shorty brake levers along with 1 1/8” Moto bars and chunky grips.
• Aluminium adjustable rear sets were installed for rider comfort and ergonomics.
• A mini digital speedo was installed to keep the from sleek along with braided brake lines.
• The front and rear suspension was swapped out to help with handling and better features.

The post Born Aggressive: Droog Moto’s Kawasaki Z1000 Scrambler appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

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

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

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

As my first *official* motorcycle, I cherish some great moments with the Suzuki SV650. I really loved that punchy V-twin engine, and when you come from an underpowered riding-lesson machine, the 650cc twin is a big relieve and makes you think you’re on a rocket. Unless the fact that this SV650 or Gladius is a very accessible machine, we don’t see them too often being used as a base bike for custom projects. Though, we had a few: here and here.

Luckily we have the dream custom-bike-building-duo Max and Erica of Droog Moto. Regular readers know that they aren’t afraid to think outside the box when it comes to selecting a base bike. Also, many followers can point out a Droog Moto bike out of a thousand with their recognizable post-apocalyptic design. Words by Max.

We set out to build an “urban assault” vehicle to start the new year off right and chose a Suzuki SV650 as our build platform. We wanted to take the torquey SV and turn it into a raw, mean machine. The bike was transformed top to bottom from chassis to suspension and given a true Droog Moto look.

To start things off, we swapped out the front end from a Hayabusa to give the bike a more aggressive look but yet add to the handling department. The rider now has full adjustability at their disposal. Along with the fork swap we built a raw steel tracker plate that houses 9 LED lights that are housed in a burly steel cage. New 1 1/8″ handlebars, Biltwell grips and a small digital speedo give the bike the aggressive look we were after.

The fuel tank was stripped down and given our authentic raw look and to add to the bikes appeal. We wanted to make it look weathered and with a story to tell. To flow with the bikes main frame we ditched the stock subframe and made a new one from steel. We wanted it sleek but extremely sturdy. This along with the main frame are given a weathered, war-beaten look. The wheels received handmade aluminum wheel inserts and then wrapped in Metzler Karoo tires that are killer for blasting across open terrain and general city riding. A new exhaust was fabricated and then heat wrapped along with burly aluminum guards for much-needed protection. A new larger aluminum radiator was put in place with a handmade guard that is well ventilated. New CRG levers and braided brake lines give this bike an awesome feel.

Suzuki SV650 Brat (7)

The post Suzuki SV650 Brat by Droog Moto appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Max & Jérôme, owners of custom motorcycle workshop and café HIDE Brussels, create awesome machines with their very own raw twist. Just like Droog Moto, they have their own signature on their builds. I can’t really give it a name, but if you take a look at their past builds, you recognize a certain theme. It’s a bit rough, brass and “rat”. Check out this Honda CM450 Custom and Husqvarna 450SMR I’ve featured earlier. The bike right here is based on a Honda CB400 and has a unique look with a cool nice lowrider stance which makes this bike stand out from all like-minded Honda cafe racers.

The front end comes from a Honda CM450 (yes, from their other build!) with a drum brake front wheel (18″). They’ve mounted a Bates headlight and crafted their own inverted handlebar. To change gears on this bike, the rider has to use the suicide clutch lever. Cool gimmick! The gas tank comes from a CX500.

The complete subframe has been removed and the frame was modified to relocate the rear shocks and the cool leather Brooks bicycle saddle. The swing arm was extended a couple of inches to get the desired lowrider look. The 16″ rear wheel also got Shinko E270 vintage tires, just as the 18″ front wheel. Since the bike is built for promotional offers, they didn’t need to keep it road legal. So cutting off the exhausts was not really a problem. These “sawn offs” produce a roar that will make the rider deaf… But no worries, it’s just a feature for the local barbershop. Though that’s a shame for such a cool bike…

The post Honda CB400 “VanDyke” by HIDE Brussels appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Max & Erica of Droog Moto seem to be unstoppable. Yet another cool build from the husband and wife with their recognizable post-apocalyptic touch on their creations. This time it’s a Kawasaki KZ440 Scrambler. Words by Max:

We had a customer reach out to us from New York City a while back who was really into our rough and ready styled bikes. He stated that he liked a few of our moto signature builds so we began going over lines and a few rough ideas. The donor bike needed to be a smaller style bike but that was still very capable of going on/off road and downtown city commuting! We began our search for a donor bike and found an awesome Kawasaki KZ440 LTD.

It had killer lines for what we wanted and jumped on it immediately. We decided to make this bike slim, tall and still a rough burly look. The bike was stripped down completely and gone through top to bottom. The motor was taken apart and given new seals, piston rings, cylinder honing, valve guide seals and some head work. The subframe was chopped and we decided on a mono-shock treatment to really set this one apart from other KZ builds. The stock low slung exhaust was removed and we fabricated dual high mount style pipes to keep ground clearance up and a better visual appearance.

The stock KZ gas tank was too tear drop shaped to re-use so we went with a vintage Yamaha gas tank that really flows nicely with the lines of the seat and subframe. The front end was re-done as well with a custom steel tracker plate, 6 LED lights and mini LED turn signals. The rider has HI/LOW light options which will be awesome for NYC riding! We chose to go with Bridgestone Trailwing tires as they are good for on and off road riding! A small digital speedo was installed and a new set of 1 1/8″ fat bars and Biltwell grips. This bike is a ton of fun to ride. It is light and torquey and a blast on the service roads and tight twisty roads!

The post Kawasaki KZ440 Scrambler by Droog Moto appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

In a short period of time, husband and wife Max and Erica of Droog Moto were able to create custom bikes with a real authentic signature. All their creations have a cool, raw industrial look and look like they are directly taken from The Walking Dead. Take a look at some other builds we’ve featured here. Their latest build is based on the Yamaha MT-09. Since the introduction of the MT-9 (or FZ-09 in some regions) back in 2015 it got a lot of positive reviews from all around the world. It was especially the all new triple cylinder engine and the high standards of the MT-09 that gave the bike credit. This awesome MT-09 Scrambler sure got that cool Droog Moto touch. Personally, I’m a big fan of their work and I’m happy to feature another build by Max and Erica.

Words by Max:

This bike started as a completely stock 2014 Yamaha MT-09. The bike has received so many amazing reviews and we knew that the bike had a killer platform to build off of. We didn’t really know what direction to take this one so it has continued to evolve over the last year. The 3 cylinder 850 was another reason why this one has become one of our favorites!

The first concept of the build was more tracker than anything and really wasn’t what we were after. We knew we wanted the bike to be aggressive and tough in appearance so we got rid of the stock subframe and fabricated our own and did something different than just a generic tube hoop. We went with a solid style construction which also conceals the electronics and battery and then went with a short style brat seat. The tail/brake light is integrated into the rear to keep things clean. The gas tank was stripped down to raw and given the Droog Moto treatment and we did away with all the bulky unsightly plastics. We had gone through a few different tracker plate ideas and finally settled on the one you see now. We wanted it rough and aggressive looking. We opted with 4 small LED lights that are extremely bright at night and a small front fender.

The speedometer was also relocated to the tracker plate to give it a low and sleek appearance. The wheels were re-powder coated black and then we wrapped them in a set of chunky TKC80 tires. The TKC’s are an awesome option for anyone who does commute on pavement but also wants a good off road savvy tire. They perform extremely well in corners and off the beaten path! We went with a carbon style pipe on this bike which sounds amazing and is nice and light as well. This bike is a freaking blast to ride. You have the posture of a super-moto but the engine of a sport bike. The triple is one of the best sounding engines we think and is an amazing power plant for this particular build. We are sure this bike will be ever changing as the company grows but we finally got it to be one of our favorites.

This MT-09 Scrambler is for sale!

We are doing a limited 3 build series on this MT-09 Scrambler. It will consist of three MT-09 donor bikes that will match our bike but each will be unique to their own. We have more info and details about that on our website as well! This build series will offer people to each get their own custom and unique MT-09 that no one else in the world will have. You get the amazing power plant 3 cylinder engine with a rough and ready type of ride.

Follow Droog Moto:

Web | Instagram | Facebook

The post Yamaha MT-09 Scrambler by Droog Moto appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Husband/wife Max and Erica of Droog Moto quickly made fame with their custom motorcycles. They’ve opened up their shop last year and delivered a handful of machines with post-apocalyptic looks which are best to be labeled as scramblers. It all started with this Honda CM400. But they don’t focus on one specific brand or type. They’ve put their signature on a wide variety of models: a Honda XR500, Yamaha FZ09, KTM 690 Duke (2x), Kawasaki KX750, Kawasaki KLR650, Honda CX500 and this Suzuki LS650 Scrambler. This is their latest build, based on a 2013 Triumph Bonneville T100.

Words by Max:

We had a customer reach out to us from Canada wanting to do something rad with his 2013 Triumph Bonneville T100. He was into our raw minimalistic approach to our builds and we happily took on the challenge! The Bonneville has been done by so many builders so we knew we had to make ours stand out a bit. We stripped the bike down to frame and motor and quickly got to work. First thing to be done was change out the stock subframe, seat and rear shocks. We chose to go with a fully enclosed hoop and integrated an LED taillight into it as seen. We went with a new scrambler style seat and new seat mounts as well. The stock rear shocks were then swapped out with a pair of Progressive 490 series which really accent to the build. All the electronics along with a new super small Shorai battery have been tucked into a custom electronics tray under the seat.

We wanted to open up the middle of the bike to expose the pod filters and keep the bike more visually appealing as most choose on keeping them to hide their electronics and battery. We then moved to the tank and went with a bit of a different approach on this. The customer wanted something dark but with a rough look to it. This tank ended up being a perfect match to the bikes design. It looks worn and weathered but still very appealing. We chose to also go with a custom low mounted dual exhaust which was then heat wrapped. The front was then matched up to the tank. We built a custom tracker plate with a round styled headlight that has been recessed into it and then installed a small front fender. The handlebars have been swapped out with a set of 1″ tracker style bars and chunky Biltwell grips and a CRG bar end mirror. We removed the RPM tach from the bike and just went with the speedometer and a custom low style mount. We chose to go with black wheels on this build which we then wrapped in a set of burly trail tires that perform well on and off road. This bike kicks ass we think, it is the perfect mix of raw and ready meets clean and visually appealing all in one package. It rides excellent as well. It has plenty of power to get you on and off the road along with a fun weekend getaway. The new Progressive rear shocks and Progressive front fork springs really make this bike feel more controlled as well. This bike was a blast to build and we hope to get our hands on another one some day!

Follow Droog Moto:

Web | Instagram | Facebook

The post Triumph Bonneville T100 by Droog Moto appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Husband/wife Max and Erica of Droog Moto quickly made fame with their custom motorcycles. They’ve opened up their shop last year and delivered a handful of machines with post-apocalyptic looks which are best to be labeled as scramblers. It all started with this Honda CM400. But they don’t focus on one specific brand or type. They’ve put their signature on a wide variety of models: a Honda XR500, Yamaha FZ09, KTM 690 Duke (2x), Kawasaki KX750, Kawasaki KLR650, Honda CX500 and their latest one is this Suzuki LS650 Scrambler.

Despite the fact that the LS650 Savage is a pretty cool base bike for customization, we don’t see them too often. A big fat 652cc air-cooled single cylinder which puts out around 31hp and a massive 50Nm of torque to move a pretty slim 160kg in a stock trim. True, it’s a pure cruiser with typical lines that makes it hard to imagine that this could be a cool cafe racer or even a scrambler. But that’s just what Max and Erica like: go the other way around. That beefy engine was the main reason for choosing the LS650 as a base for this project. That massive single simply delivers one main ingredient: FUN! It’s more than capable for some serious off-road fun as well as using it for everyday commuting.

The donor was a 2000 LS650 and the biggest challenge was to handle with the controls. Turning a low-rider into a tall upright bike required them to remake all the controls. The front fork was taken from a GSX-R 750 to improve the handling and braking of this machine. To keep the rear in track of the front, they’ve converted the dual shock setup to a mono shock setup. The rear wheel comes from an old Suzuki GS550. Both front and rear wheel got some hand-made aluminum inserts to give it that typical post-apocalyptic look. On the front, they’ve mounted a cool hand-made tracker plate with an integrated LED headlight and tiny mudguard. A wide 1 1/8″ LSL handlebar was mounted and the gas tank got the rough metal look (the Droog Moto signature) just like their other builds. Of course, the subframe and seat with integrated LED tail light are also hand-made by themselves. To magnify the capabilities of the bike, it got a custom, straight exhaust pipe. Brutal! They’ve simply nailed it!

Follow Droog Moto:

Web | Instagram | Facebook

The post Suzuki LS650 Scrambler by Droog Moto appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.