Regular guests
It may look as if UNIKAT have a subscription on our platform. Nothing of the sort, but the Polish team just keeps on churning out pure art that we simply cannot ingnore.
This time it is a 2001 Moto Guzzi California 1100, which was transformed from a nice bike to a ‘living room worthy’ object of desire.

Take apart and rebuild
The motorcycle has been completely restored and rebuilt, with nothing more than the wheels, the beautiful engine and part of the frame remaining from the original design. According to our Eastern European friends “such a dramatic rebuild requires a massive amount of time and UNIQUE skills”. We second that motion, after all ‘UNIKAT’ is Polish for unique and you have to live up to that promise.

Director’s chair
The owner, Pawel, was very much involved in the project. It is not very often that BikeBrewers get such elaborate insights from the clients themselves. Here’s what he has to say: “My adventure with motorcycles began when my grandfather gave me a light green mini motorbike. It was a life-turning moment for me and something that made me feel special. Already then, I was very much drawn to personalize this small moped, of course everything was done using whatever materials were available to me, so I applied stickers, wraps, painted lettering on the tires, trimmed the fenders.

In the following years the passion developed with more motorcycles, i.e., Simson, Yamaha and Honda the crowning moment of which being when I finally parked a Harley Davidson in my garage.

For a few years I’ve been watching how motorcycles are customized all over the world, and already then, I knew that I would like to build such a motorcycle, but the possibilities and number of available places in Poland were limited. I could not make up my mind, and I wanted this project to be unique, stunning design-wise but also in terms of technical solutions. I wanted it to be professionally executed by a team of professionals.

I once read that there is a place in Wrocław that is quickly gaining recognition because of the projects it puts out of its garage.
When I arrived at their doorstep, I met the team, Grzegorz, Michał and I knew that this is a place full of passion, professionalism — and this is how we’ll build a brilliant project.”

Teamwork
The modifications were done under the watchful eyes of Tomasz (mechanic) and Grzegorz (designer) with the bike’s charismatic owner Paweł in his Director’s Chair.

Grzegorz: “In order to achieve the perfect look and beautiful lines of the café racer, we completely changed the geometry and design of the original frame. This required us to shorten the front suspension and use new rear shocks from Bitubo, for which we made new mounts. To complete the look, two fairings (front and rear) were made from scratch by our mate Tomasz.”

Continuing: “The use of a new accessory fuel tank was also linked to the modification of the frame by making new mounts. Since this Moto Guzzi model features a fuel injection system, we had to use an external pressure regulator and redo the whole fuel system.”
As the team were using a custom pressure regulator as mentioned above, they were able to modify the intake and exhaust system. The factory air-box was ditched in favor of a pair of K&N performance cone fitters. Out went the original exhaust to make room for minimalist slash cut tail pipes, which combined with the Guzzi V-twin, produce a unique sound!

Café racer in true style
As befits a true flesh-and-blood café racer, clip-on handlebars were mounted. These new handlebars, along with the changed frame geometry forced the Polish outfit to relocate the rider’s footpegs. As the original ones were completely unusable, a decision was made to use a set from a sports bike with a racing pedigree.

All switches on the handlebars were replaced to go for a clean and minimalistic design. Buttons and turn signals in the handlebars are from Motogadget. A new Motoscope Tiny speedometer, a LED headlamp concealed in the fairing, and a full LED rear lamp dictated creating nearly a full new wiring harness, powered by a battery that currently sits under the swingarm in a box which was custom made for this purpose.

The engine, including the transmission, did not require a complete overhaul and tuning. A proper paint job to make it shine was enough.
Wheels are from the legendary Borrani company, completed with thicker stainless-steel spokes. With such magnificent objects you obviously need a new set of tires .

Most of the parts have been polished or mirror-finished, including the wheels, front and rear suspension, valve covers, exhaust system, handlebars, triple clamps and swingarm, as well as a number of other small components. All bolts were re-galvanized or were replaced with new ones.

The bodywork, front and rear fairing were perfectly painted by Marcin, creating a coherent whole with polished and chrome-plated elements.
The entire project was finished off with a warm touch of leather elements, such as the upholstery on the seat, the construction of which was made by us from scratch, and hand-wrapped handles.

The owners perspective
Being heavily involved with the project the BikeBrewers team was interested to hear his reaction to the end result.
Pawel: “We talked a lot about the technical possibilities, aspects of working with older motorcycles, what should be included in such a project and where it needs to be included to make it unique in every way possible.
We agreed that we want to choose a motorcycle that would be an excellent base and the potential to be unique, and here it is — the Moto Guzzi California 1100.

Was it worth it? For all intents and purposes, the design was great, but it was the execution that knocked me off my feet. Perfection and pure design in every element. The motorcycle impresses with its light, simple, yet detailed design, as well as with the technical solutions.

If we can call anyone artists in the custom scene it is undoubtedly the crew of Unikat Motorworks. I am incredibly happy with the end result and the roads in Poland have just gotten a bit more beautiful with this Moto Guzzi gracing them with its presence.”

The post UNIKAT”s Moto Guzzi California 1100 appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

We have seen some incredible builds the last 12 months, and we have to say that despite the world pandemic, we are very pleased to see that so many people still take time work on that what we love most: motorcycles. For 2021 we have created a TOP 5 of some of the most interesting, esthetically pleasing cafe racers we wrote about here on BikeBrewers. We looked at the number of views and shares on our website and social media channels, but also at originality. After all, the list is subjective.

So without further ado, and in complete random order, here are the BikeBrewers TOP 5 Cafe Racer builds of 2021

1. Moto Guzzi 1100 Cafe Racer by Robin Mehnert
When Robin Mehnert, the woodwind instrument maker from Germany, messaged us that he and his father had built a cafe racer based on a Moto Guzzi 1100 California, we got very excited. When you see the pictures of the Guzzi, it’s not hard to see why. Make sure to read the full article to find out more about this clean looking example of Italo-Germanic craftsmanship

2. Icon Motorcycle Triumph Bonneville Triton
Okay, so this Triumph Bonneville was actually built a couple of years ago. However, we only really heard of Icon Motorcycles last year. We didn’t know much about the outfit, and sadly their website has gone offline since. All we know is that the 2 Triumph Tritons they’ve build are unlike anything we have seen in a very long time. It’s almost like a spiritual experience. Luckily, we spent some time writing an article about the work of these fine people, that are based in the Netherlands.

3. Harley-Davidson LiveWire “Rule Breaker” by Moto Adonis
Moto Adonis has been working hard in 2021, with a number of unique projects and builds, we are impressed by the work the 2-man team from the Netherlands has been delivering. When they presented their Harley-Davidson LiveWire project our jaws literally dropped to the ground. This must be the most menacing looking electric motorcycle we have ever see. Period! It looks like a great white shark. In black. On 2 wheels. We dare anybody to show us a custom electric motorcycle that looks better than this.

4. Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 “Lilith” by XTRPepo
There is such a thing as a match made in heaven. In this case, it would be Pepo Rosell, founder and owner of XTRPepo, and Royal Enfield. Let us explain. Pepo has been building race bikes since before we could remember. He has been doing that passionately for the past 25 years. The last 6 years or so, he decided to take step back from building radical custom racing machines for high end customers, and to focus on the more “fun” side of business. Which brings us to Royal Enfield. The people’s champion as far as we’re concerned. Royal Enfield has rapidly gained popularity outside of its domestic market in India. No frills, simple, classy, and affordable. Heck, 2 of our editors bought a Royal Enfield 650 for personal use! That says something! Pepo built a period-correct racer around the Continental GT, and it looks the part.

5. Triumph Bonneville “Gotham” by Tamarit x MotoShare
Tamarit has been building bikes for a long time now, and this heavily modified Triumph Bonneville was their 81st build to be precise. The Alicante, Spain based builders were commissioned by MotoShare to build a cafe racer that provokes people. A bike that gets people talking. José Antonio of Tamarit says: “We took a 2007 Triumph Bonneville and turned it into this ominous looking machine. It was during a video call that one of the guys from MotoShare mentioned it looked like it was made for Batman. It was ‘The Gotham’ from there on.”

The post TOP 5 Cafe Racers 2021 by BikeBrewers appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Racing Heritage

Renaissance
Unlike with most other motorcycles, Guzzi owners can be ambiguous when it comes to modifying their motorcycle. They often own or have owned multiple Guzzi’s. Some of them might stay in stock form, while others get wildly modified. Both ways work out great most of the times! In the last 10 years we have seen a strong revival of the old air-cooled machines from Mandello del Lario. Nostalgia has hit hard with the classic crowd, and more people are finding their ways to the Moto Guzzi dealerships. Who doesn’t like the looks of the new V7 or travel ready V85TT?

California dreaming
We absolutely love some of the Moto Guzzi cafe racers we have been seeing here over the last couple of years. The latest edition of the king of cool, is this fine sample built by father and son duo Bernd and Robin Mehnert. Robin and his dad are both woodwind instrument makers and run a small business in Ottenback Germany. Ever since Robin got his drivers-license, he has been eye-bawling the new Royal Enfield Interceptor 650. By chance Mehnert senior received a call from a friend who had a Moto Guzzi California EV 1100 laying around, which he was willing to part with for cheap. A decision was made, and the California was soon in the Mehnert workshop.

Tonti
Once the Moto Guzzi was in their possession, the ideas started flowing. Robin already had a vision for a 1960s style café racer. Heavily influenced by Axel Budde from Kaffee-Maschine Moto Guzzi café racer, dad and son knew what kind of look they wanted to go for. The California EV is one of the last Moto Guzzi’s with the nearly unmodified, infamous Tonti frame; the race winning steel tube frame designed by Lino Tonti. That’s right, a frame designed for racing. This is the one of the main reasons why the Moto Guzzi California handles more like a fast bike than a cruiser. It also has a long swing-arm, excellent for high speed handling. Taking this into consideration, modifying a Moto Guzzi California into a café racer makes total sense.

Sugar, spice, and everything nice
The recipe for this café racer project was incredibly simple: make the Guzzi as light and as fast as possible. The fuel injection system was maintained as this would allow Robin to finish the project faster. No tinkering with carbs needed. So, the California EV went on diet, where most parts got binned and replaced with lighter weight aluminium parts. The front fork got lowered, and the standard California running boards were removed too, since they don’t fit the stance of a café racer. The list of mods is fairly simple:

• WBO Café Racer fuel tank
• GFK Aluminium seat cowl with leather seat by Dynotec
• Öhlins 36PRCLB shocks
• Mistral exhaust system
• Modified airbox with hi-flow air filter
• CNC Aluminium rear set
• LSL Aluminium fenders
• Aluminium side covers
• Verlicchi clip-ons
• Le Mans lower frame tubes
• EFI programming by Dynotec
• Custom paintjob by Dynotec
• A dozen of custom-made brackets

GO!
The results of this seemingly simple job are astonishing. In a mere 5 months, Robin and his father managed to change a rather dull looking California cruiser into a ready to race café racer. This is unmistakably a Moto Guzzi; looking low and lean, with that immense V-twin stealing the show. The 1100cc mill went from a standard 68hp to a healthy 86hp. The top speed moved from 185 km/h to 210 km/h, and the total weight dropped from 250 kg to a good 210 kg; that’s a whopping 40 kg weight loss! We are looking froward to seeing more builds by the Mehnert family, because this Moto Guzzi just looks fantastic!

Photo credits: Robin Mehnert

Builder details:
Bernd and Robin Mehnert
Instagram

The post Moto Guzzi 1100 Cafe Racer by Robin Mehnert appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Tough as Nails

A different kind of Bobber
Being a tinkerer, Nick has had his fair share of wrenching. In the past he had restored a Triumph T140 Bonneville, which he considers to be his first “real” motorcycle. Some of his fondest memories are of that Bonneville. Fast forward to the present, and we can see that all of the hard work has paid off. We present to you, the Gentleman’s Rat bike. The idea was initially to build a Moto Guzzi Bobber. There aren’t that many Guzzi Bobber’s riding around, especially with a hard-tail. But having seen the “Peter F.” bike by Mandello Cycles in Bremervörde, Nick got some inspiration for his own build.

BOOM!
The Gentleman’s Rat first started its life as a 1982 Moto Guzzi 1000SP. A completely different machine than what we see here today. Some interesting and cool features on this Moto Guzzi are for instance the fuel tank, that originally left the factory on a CZ, and was left with the original patina-rust on it for authenticity. Or the tubeless wheels and oversize Brembo brakes, that came off a Moto Guzzi California EV1100. The most notable piece of equipment on this Guzzi has to be the Girder fork. Nick told us that it wasn’t an easy job to get the fork to fit correctly, since it was originally intended for a Boom Trike. For those of you that don’t know what that is, a Boom Trike is a German built trike that uses Volkswagen and Ford engines.

More comfortable than a cafe racer
There are more interesting features on this build. The handlebar for instance, is a tall unit that, in combination with the yellow headlight, is supposed to be a nod to the 1940’s. The engine itself was kept as standard with the exception of a pair of pod air-filters. For the sake of simplicity, the original contact breaker with ignition points was maintained. A new battery box underneath the unidentifiable seat was fabricated by a fellow Guzzista. If that went by too quickly, the seat was bought off the internet and came off an unknown motorcycle. Looks comfy though! All other electrics are housed in that box as well. The subframe of the Guzzi was cut, bent, and welded to align with the new struts, turning the 1000SP into a hard-tail. Nick did mention to us that the Guzzi rides more comfortable than his Moto Guzzi Le Mans 3 Café Racer. To finish the look off, the exhaust headers received a wrapping treatment, while the mufflers were replaced with a pair of open pipe exhausts, making this one loud bobber.

Never-ending project
According to the goldsmith from Emmen, the Netherlands, this project is a never-ending story and he intends to keep it that way. At the moment of writing, he has already changed out the handlebar and fuel tank to try a new look. We have to admit that this Guzzi looks exceptionally beautiful, in its own unique and raw way. It is hard to believe that this bike is a genuine shed-built bike. We would love to see more of this kind of builds if it was up to us!

Photo Credits: Gert de Weerd

Builder details:
Nick Keen
Instagram
Facebook

The post Moto Guzzi Gentleman’s Rat by Nick Keen appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Running a store from the shed

We have been following Ferry Westerlaken for quite some time now. Not so much for his wrenching skills, but more from a business perspective. He runs ace-caferacerparts, an online shop from his hometown Dussen in the Netherlands, where you can buy lots of interesting goodies for your bike projects. His store became even more interesting when he became the agent for those lovely handcrafted  Vonzeti seats.

Racing and riding

But as a rider and a builder Ferry has made his mark too. As a fourth generation gearhead, he was initiated to two-stroke fumes at the early age of eight. His parents took him to the famous Dutch TT in Assen, something he looked forward to every year from then on.

With all this ‘indoctrination’ it is hardly surprising he started to race himself too. He first joined the racing team as their PR and sponsorship guy. His involvement with the team really whetted his appetite. Our guy took over the team and soon could be seen howling his Suzuki GSX-R100K7 around the track and speeds around 300 km/h himself.

Into the shed

Riding this bike on the track brings back fondest memories to Ferry. But there is a secret siren that lures him to the shed with her thunderous songs and entices him to take her out on public tarmac.

Years before he set out to work on this Italian lady, Ferry had could be found in his shed advancing his skills as a spanner on his grandfather’s ’79 Honda CB250N. It must have been hard work to turn that bike into a decent caféracer, but it was done with lots of love as it was the last bike his granddad rode. The chore was not made easier by the fact that it had been in hiding in the old man’s pigeon loft for more than five years.

After that came his father’s Honda VT 600 cruiser. It must have been an interesting sight, seeing Arjan riding around town this bike considering his length of 6’5 (approximately 195 cm).

Secret Mistress

Leaving his Honda history behind,  our friend turned his sights on southern Europe. A Moto Guzzi 1000SP made him fall in love with Italian design and heritage. A lot of time was spent with this mistress before she was brought out for us to admire her sparkling persona. When our wrencher purchased the bike from its previous owner, work had already been done on the engine and the chassis. Unfortunately, the results were not entirely positive.

Ferry just took the bike completely apart again and decided to rebuild it according to his personal taste. The engine received a full overhaul and whilst in the process of rebuilding, was fitted with a decent ‘Lava’ camshaft.

As part of the building process, Ferry had to make some adjustments to the riding position. With his length and the constraints in the flexibility of his left leg due to racing accidents, he decided to increase the seat height by three centimeters, making it just right for him.

Final result

Amongst all the nice stuff that was added, real eye-catchers are the handmade alloy fuel tank and the very chic Vonzetti seat.

Ferry decided to go for a build that would stand out from the crowd. Admitted, most of us at the Bikebrewers’ headquarters are suckers for Moto Guzzis, but even the neutral observant will voluntarily admit this shed builder has succeeded in bringing his lovely vision to life.

The final and most important question: “How does it ride”? Simple answer: “like a dream come true. Not only does it run like a charm, but the sound is magnificent too.” Ferry adds. Job well done. Keep an eye out for Ferry, his bike and his store too.

Modifications

The list of modifications is long, but here are the highlights:

• Lava camshaft
• Handmade alloy fuel tank
• Vanzetti seat unit
• Brembo brake units
• Borrani rims fitted with Firestone Champion deluxe tires
• Hyperpro suspension
• 

The post An Ace From Dussen appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

As a Moto Guzzi V7 Racer rider myself, Guzzi’s always get my attention. This V9 Gannet Moto Guzzi is a pure racer with tight stance and proportions.

It is a radical transformation from a relaxed cruiser configuration of the Moto Guzzi V9 “Roamer” donor bike, which got designed into a pure racer, reduced to the essentials with some retro elements and spiced up with the finest herbs of racing parts.

The Team:

The bike is designed and built by Ulfert Janssen – Gannet Design and Stefan Fuhrer – Fuhrer Moto.

Gannet Design’s partner is Stefan Fuhrer (Fuhrer Moto), a former racing mechanic of Dominique Aegerter (now Moto2) and Tom Lüthi (now MotoGP), with the latter he became the world champion in 2005 in the 125cc class. Now Stefan is the “brother in crime” for the Gannet custom builds. His racing know-how, precise engineering skills and his team of artisans are the perfect partner for the Gannet shenanigans. Ulfert´s design studio and Stefan´s workshop are just 100m apart, so it is a perfect set up for smooth and quick interaction. By putting heads together and great teamwork between Ulfert and Stefan made this build a precise translation of the initial design concept.

Design:

The project started with some loose sketches by Ulfert to find a good way for morphing the Roamer proportions into a forward-leaning racer look. Ulfert: “First I worked on the stance and changed the frame angle from slanted backward into a forward leaning angle. I cleaned up the architecture and made a major diet of all the unnecessary parts. I designed a new strong retro racing tail section and new exhaust system as a signature which sweeps along the bike like a swoosh. Once the overall direction was settled, I made detailed design renderings which we used as the base for the building process. I first modeled the racer’s new tail section out of hard foam to find the good proportions and it was then used as a template for the metal work.”

Building Process and Parts:

The entire tail section is out of aluminum and it is shaped and hammered purely by hand very precisely by artisan Bruno Bertschy. A new rear sub-frame supports the seat and cowl in the elevated position for a more racing height seat configuration and fitted with a thin brown kilted seat which matches the Biltwell grips on the handlebar

Stefan: “Our goal was to integrate the technical requirements and engineering goals without affecting the design concept. The fabrications of all hardware parts are sometimes complex, but always tangible, such as the frame construction, adjustment of the footrest system and preparation of various special parts. The conversion of fuel injection back to the carburetor was a challenge, where in addition to the adjustment of the transmitter wheel, also the electronics, ignition and especially the sensor had to be worked on and fitted.”

The fine paintwork, by Walter Oberli, is a rare mixture of “scrubbed” and high gloss shine with a thick layer of clear coat, which blurs the perception and gives the rugged and scruffy design a very smooth appearance. The tail section and details are painted in a soft gradation of blue and the cylinder heads were also given the same touch of blue in combination with an aluminum protection bracket – Rhapsody in Blue.

The lower part of the main frame was newly made, cleaned up and adapted with the new racer ergonomics position of the footrest by CNC Racing (Pramac MotoGP racing supplier). The gear shifter got modified and adapted to fit the Moto Guzzi gearing setup. The front fender got shortened and equipped with a new anchoring to fit the Öhlins forks. A new racing triple clamp by IMA with a custom-made steering stem to fit the V9.

For the clip-on’s we got sponsored by ABM Fahrzeugtechnik who equipped us with their multi-clip and some fine Synto Evo brake/clutch levers in silver/blue/black to fit the color scheme of the bike. The all-black racing control buttons from Jetprime give a menacing detail and a reference to the fast forward theme.

For the lighting system we got sponsored by Highsider and the speed gauges are by Daytona (Paaschburg&Wunderlich) which were fitted into a custom made bracket. Electrical components are by Motogadget, such as m-lock for keyless starting, bar end blinkers, m-blaze and m-unit for the control box.

The 18″ front spoke wheel is specially made by Kineo to fit the new fork distance of 210mm. The rear is also a 18″ Kineo spoke wheel which got special aluminum cover plates. The wheel is supported by two Öhlins Blackline rear shocks.

Although the bike is from 2016, we went “back to the roots” and provided it with artificial respiration help by two Keihin carburetors. These will give the bike the necessary boost for the sprint races and give the conversion a flair of nostalgia. The transmitter wheel was adapted with the according to different gearing. The flanges were specially made as well as the racing-inspired air intake tubes.

The pronounced round sweep of the exhaust pipe design gives a strong visual impact and enhances the fast forward dynamic of the bike even at a standstill. The twin pipes were bent and welded and smoothly blend into two Leo Vince GP Pro trumpets, which make already clear from a distance that there is a two-cylinder approaching. Stefan: “What I like best about this custom build is the coherence of the whole bike, where from the front wheel to the rear wheel the smooth transition from one component to the next passes through. It was important for me and Ulfert that we solve and adapt the individual components in such a way that they give a coherent overall picture.”

Ulfert: “What’s special about this conversion is that it’s a reduced and minimalist design at first glance, but at a second glance you can see many custom parts and special details. These remain discreetly in the background to give a pure and strong first impression. However, if you dive into the bike, you can discover the sophistication in detail.

Special thanks as well to Bruno Bertschy (metal work) and Walter Oberli (paint) for their contribution and fine work.”

Gannet Design:

www.gannetdesign.com

Facebook: gannetdesign/facebook

Instagram: gannetdesign/instagram

Fuhrer Moto:

www.thal-garage.ch/moto

Instagram: fuhrermoto/instagram

Photo credit: Arnaud Mouriamé and Gannet/Fuhrer

The post Moto Guzzi V9 Racer appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Lucky Custom from Argentina, but their Honda VF750 Cafe Racer still is one of the most popular posts here on BikeBrewers. With this machine, they went viral and the bike still pops up all around the interwebs. Today I received some images of their latest project, based on a Moto Guzzi V7. As a V7 rider myself I may be a bit biased, but I couldn’t resist. This is an absolute masterpiece if you ask me.

For this project, they got a brand new Moto Guzzi V7 Stone from their local Guzzi importer, Motoplex Tigre. The most challenging aspect was to turn the tour-oriented Stone into a full-on racer with likewise handling. So it got the necessary upgrades like a big fat adjustable front suspension and a completely customized lateral monoshock on the rear. Both front and rear hubs and wheels were customized and fitted with a cool custom lacing pattern. Since the original rear end of the chassis was removed, it needed some reinforcement to keep the rider in his position and fit the custom bodywork. Another challenge was to relocate lot’s of original parts since the new shock setup runs completely through the heart of the machine. Same goes for the exhaust system. It takes a trained eye to see where it stops, but it ends just underneath the engine.

I think this bike could only have one name: Lucky Number 7. And if you live in Argentina and are lucky enough to buy one: I strongly suggest doing so!

The post Lucky Number 7 appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Oh, and we didn’t number them from 1 to 21, this was totally impossible for us and kept us arguing. And next to that: we didn’t want to place one custom bike above the other. So if you don’t mind: find the best one for yourself!

BMW R168 by Kacerwagen

[more info]

BMW “Alpha” by Mark Atkinson and Mehmet Doruk Erdem.

[more info]

Honda Rebel 300 by Zeus Custom

[more info]

BMW K100 by Retrorides

[more info]

Ducati 848 Evo Racer by NCT

[more info]

Moto Guzzi “Dustbin” by Craigh Rodsmith

[more info]

Yamaha XSR700 by Ironwood

[more info]

Yamaha XV920 by Ugly Motors

[more info]

Ducati 900SS by Deep Creek

[more info]

Yamaha TR1 by Moto Adonis

[more info]

Honda CR500 by C’s Garage

[more info]

“Fusqvarna” FX650 by Le Garage Felix

[more info]

Honda CB750 by Ace Custom Shop

[more info]

Moto Guzzi 950 by Stile Italiano

[more info]

Honda CBX1000 by Michael Kopec

[more info]

Yamaha XSR700 by Motomax Metz

[more info]

Honda CB750 by Wrench Kings

[more info]

Yamaha DT125 Scrambler by Ranger Korat

[more info]

Honda GL500 Silverwing by Motoism

[more info]

Yamaha WR400 by Meccanica Serrao d’Aquino

[more info]

Kawasaki Ninja 250 by Mr. Ride

[more info]

The post 21 Best Custom Motorcycles of 2017 appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Boys will be boys

When it comes to his background Tim Woolener shares a common ground with many of us I guess. Starting off at the age of 12 riding a Rayleigh runabout moped on some wasteland near his childhood home. Sounds familiar?

He has come a long way since then though. When it comes to more serious licensed riding, he hit the tarmac on a Yamaha Dragstar 650. Nice first bike, soon to be traded in for some truly heavy stuff; The Triumph Rocket III. Must have been challenging for a youngster riding such a beast.

Trip down memory lane

We love asking our interviewees about their past. It adds color to the picture of a builder. Questioned about fond memories on bikes, the Brit immediately recalls the times on his Harley Davidson Softtail deluxe Bobber. Fighting for the top spot are the trip to Germany and the time he rode into his daughters’ school on this bike. Not because he had a problem with the teachers, but just making sure she made an ‘entrance’ riding pillion celebrating her End of School Prom.

On the saner side, Tim burned some fuel while visiting nine countries in Europe in just nine days, circling through France, Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, Austria, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and back to the UK. And all that on a KTM 1190 Adventure. Nice!

Life in the shed

For some reason our wrencher takes real pride in the ‘magic’ he performed on a 1959 Lambretta LD150. This was his first endeavor into customizing. His main tools? A hammer and a chisel which he used to hack off the leg shields and pillion seat to turn it into a dirt bike. OUCH! He now regrets not having the bike anymore, but no word about the mistreatment. Fortunately for Tim #MeToo was still light years away.

Coming of age as a builder

This Englishman clearly has a broad taste in bikes and styles, or does he just have a problem making up his mind? Currently, his garage harbors a 2015 BMW R9T, a 2016 Triumph Bonneville, a Honda XL 600R and, last but not least, a magnificent Moto Guzzi Le Mans Mk3.

It’s the latter that caught our attention. We love Italian bred bikes, especially when they are treated with excessive love like the one Tim worked on. After the success with his Triumph Bonneville Scrambler as a runner-up in the 2017 Bike Shed Show in London, he felt he could do even better.

“…and they called it Guzzi love”

Inspired by the Donny Osmond song with nearly the same opening line, Tim sketched the outlines of the Guzzi Le Mans cafe racer he had been dreaming of. He loves the stuff our friends from ‘Kafeemaschine’ in Germany put out. However, the ultimate hook was put in much closer to home. London based ‘Auto Fabrica’ have the Guzzi ‘Type 9’. This was exactly in line with Tim’s vision, although with a slightly more steampunk look.

The hunt

The Guzzi in original state

As soon as the drawing board phase was done, he set out to find the perfect donor vehicle for his plans. He finally found a Moto Guzzi Le Mans III via eBay in the Netherlands. In spite of the Guzzi reputation, this specimen would hardly classify as sexy. It looked more like another means of transportation its adventures described in the Beatles song ‘Yellow Submarine’. But still, the Italian formed the perfect base for what our friend had in mind; a British built drive’ cafe racer with a Mediterranean heart.

“Gentlemen, light your torches”

Taking apart a project is one thing, but then shaping it into your dream is quite another. Most of the work he could do himself, but some of the more specialist details had to be outsourced. ‘So-low-choppers’ from Stanton in Suffolk worked on the frame hoop, the seat and were responsible for the pipes, bent from solid tubes of stainless steel, which Tim describes as “awesome”. And we agree. But their involvement did not stop there. The electronic ignition was completely rewired to give the machine reliability and to top it off, the engine and gearbox were powder coated and subsequently, vapour blasted. An excellent choice which gives the Guzzi just that little extra.

Other parts replaced were the battery, which had t make room for a smaller lithium pack. Easier to conceal underneath the gearbox. No Italian breed should be without it, so yes, a leather seat was added to the list of new additions. The tank is made of hand-shaped aluminum by ‘Tab II Classics’ in Wales.

Although the Wrencher from Albion will be tinkering with this already gorgeous piece of work in his shed this winter, we are sure that this mirage is prize bound in many competitions. 

Guzzi Le Mans Cafe Racer Mods:

• Rear part frame cut off and hooped
• Frame and wheels powder coated satin black.
• New Firestone tires
• Engine and gearbox soda blasted
• Refit engine and installed electronic ignition with lithium battery
• Tarozzi clip ons and rear sets
• Tomaselli throttle
• New Brembo brake master cylinders + clutch and brake levers
• Bespoke stainless exhaust pipes (So-low-choppers)
• Tab classics handmade aluminum fuel tank with aero filler (Tab II Classics)
• Seat pan and seat upholstered and hand stitched diamond pattern oxblood colored leather
• Carbs Sonic cleaned, re-jetted with new bell mouths
• New high ratio starter
• Total rewire with micro switches, led taillight, new cafe racer headlight and brackets hidden ignition
• relocation of lithium battery beneath gearbox
• Brembo brakes refurbished
• Final polish up of alloy parts

The post Moto Guzzi Le Mans Cafe Racer: From Albion With Love appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Yes! Another cool build from our friends at Wrench Kings! And it’s another beautiful Moto Guzzi V7. It’s a project commissioned by Vanguard Jeans and the Kings worked closely together with Gannet Design from Germany. 

Ulfert Janssen from Gannet:

“In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Moto Guzzi V7 and new Vanguard jeans, we designed a one-off custom bike which bridges between the first V7 Guzzi model and the Guzzi bike from today. We changed the stance of the bike and created a slightly forward leaning angle for more sexy proportions and racer look.The design is a bit retro fitted and some details throw you back a couple of decades. Yet the overall design keeps the connection to the contemporary donor bike, which gives a feeling of a timeless mix.The custom cafe racer tail section and the “bikini fairing” underlines the racer style with a touch of vintage form language.

The custom cafe racer tail section and the “bikini fairing” underlines the racer style with a touch of vintage form language. Furthermore, we integrated key design elements of the new Vanguard V7 jeans into this exceptional bike, such as the special denim blue, quilted leather on the seat matching the leather patch on the jeans and V logo in the rear light, just to mention a few. As a special feature, we designed a custom 2-into-1 exhaust system with a solid roar and it announces the approach of the head turner even from a distance. The bike got built by the Wrench Kings with great attention to detail. In essence, the Vanguard Guzzi V7 has a super stylish and clean look with a mix of timeless classic and modern elements, and it fits perfectly to Vanguard Clothing.”

Wrench Kings about the project:

“After we agreed with the design in collaboration with Gannet Design and Vanguard Clothing we started the build. As usual, we start the build by cutting the rear sub frame, it gets disassembled, lowered and shortened. Then the fitting part starts with the new front fairing and the new rear end. The tank of the bike is original but, we needed to customize the tank so we could fit the Monza cap and place the type plates off the bike with the Vanguard logo and information.As seen in the design of Gannet the rear light with the Vanguard logo is cut out of the rear end, hand crafted.

As seen in the design of Gannet the rear light with the Vanguard logo is cut out of the rear end, hand crafted. Most of the bolts are blue anodized in the color of the buttons of the V7 Vanguard Jeans. The pattern of the seat is also processed in the jeans. There are many details and components used in the jeans, which can be found back in the bike.”

– Design by Gannet Design:
web: www.gannetdesign.com
facebook: gannetdesign/facebook
instagram: gannetdesign/instagram

– Built by Wrench Kings:
web: www.wrenchkings.com
facebook: wrenchkings/facebook
instagram: wrenchkings/instagram

– For Vanguard Clothing:
web: www.vanguard-clothing.com
facebook: vanguardclothing/facebook
instagram: vanguardclothing/instagram

Photo credit: Vanguard/Gannet Design

The post Moto Guzzi V7 Vanguard by Wrench Kings & Gannet Design appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.