From the Czech Republic with love
We told you to remember his name back in November!
At the time we published a post on his BMW K100RT and warned you that Marcel Galuszka would be back with more.
Well, here he is. In just a couple of months he has yet again created a very nice piece of machinery.

Suzuki GSF600 Brat BCD
Marcel gave us a call last week to announce that he would be sending us material on his latest build. He told us: “I named this motorcycle Brat Cafe, but the final form deviated a bit from the original idea and it’s more of a Brat Tracker. But you know what, the boxing is not so important, the final decision of the owner was important here, so in the end the handlebars in the style of cafe racer exchanged for more comfortable heights, which allow for a smoother ride.”

Continuing: “This is a 2002 Suzuki GSF600 Bandit, which the proprietor had left outside for a couple of years, covered up but still left to battle all kinds of weather. It was very clear that the bike had been struggling to survive many seasons of rain, snow and trying not to melt when the sun was burning mercilessly. Your can say it really scarred the Suzuki.”

Worst case scenario
As you might have suspected our courageous Czech was challenged beyond his worst nightmare when he set out to rescue the Suzuki.
The motorcycle had really suffered from the lack of TLC. The tank was perforated on the left side and it was repaired very poorly. The frame was beaten on the same side also, crooked, which resulted in work on the motorcycle lasting way longer than anticipated. Unfortunately for the owner it began to affect the investment that he was ready to make to keep it at a reasonable level without having to face the wrath of his wife.

‘Make me a café please’
When work began Marcel had no idea about the condition of the bike. The owner bought this motorcycle as his first ride with the intent to learn to ride properly.
Once he had the hang of it and he had been riding the bike for years and left it outside as described, he thought it to be a good idea to convert to the Suzuki into a caféracer. When he briefed the builder he actually wanted just minor modifications to do the trick. On his wish list was the overall caféracer look, but still have room for a pillion passenger.

From caféracer to brat
Once the work began and the concept turned into a real bike, thoughts and ideas began to shift. And so from the classic concept of caféracer, concessions gradually emerged to this final form. It had become quite a bit of a struggle for Marcel. Apart from not being very please with the state that this bike was in to begin with, he commented: “It should also be mentioned here that this Bandit is not exactly a great donor for the transformation to a cafe racer! I have grown some extra grey hairs during work on this project hahaha!”

From tank to bottom
The whole tank is completely overhauled and painted with beautifully pearl paint. The frame is completely repaired and entire rear part is redesigned to accommodate two passengers. It is sandblasted and powder-coated to stand the test of time and weather.

LED light in front, miniature Kellerman lights in the rear combining rear light and brake, but it also comes with integrated turn signals.

Nice little touches are:
– Motogadget MO.Blaze Disc turn signals in the handlebars
– Motogadget grips
– Motogadget Tiny speedometer
– Custom seat
– All electricity hidden in the space under the seat.

In short, everything that needed to be mended and taken care of was done and some nice modifications were added.
The result is a city motorcycle, which should be fun to take out on longer rides.
When compared to its original state it looks diametrically different and is very pleasing to the eye.

Says the builder: ‘Most important of all, the owner is satisfied and is riding around town with a big smile on his face. (The opening picture of this post is featuring Marcel Galuszka, not the owner – ed.) What else can I say? I’m very excited about the way the Suzuki turned out and I like it a lot!”

Builder details:
Builder: Blackout Custom Design
email: blackout@blackoutcustom.cz
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Above: the Suzuki GSF 600 Bandit before and after

The post Suzuki Bandit Brat – Blackout Custom Design appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Introducing a new BikeBrewer!

Since last year, BikeBrewers has been growing at an exponential rate. Not only do motorcycle manufacturers and motorcycle-gear producers find their way to us, but since we’ve made our content available in over 15 languages, our reach has also expanded significantly. Although we are based in Europe, our ambitions not limited to this continent. We try to go the extra mile and beyond. This can only be achieved with the right people.
It is with this in mind, that we are proud to present a new addition to our editorial team! Dutchman Daan Staffhorst is a fellow rider in the Classic Riders community and an avid motorcycle enthusiast. He and his wife Anne moved to New York in 2019, just days before the outbreak of the pandemic. Daan has agreed to take on the position as our East Coast correspondent in the United States.

In his daily-life, Daan works as a director in a finance company. A busy job, no doubt! During weekdays, all dressed up in a suit and tie, he keeps himself occupied by staring at spreadsheets, sometimes forced to make tough decisions. But on weekends, he jumps on his Triumph Scrambler and roars around on country roads, to clear his mind.

We welcome Daan as our new colleague and look forward to sharing his motorcycle adventures with us all. We start off with a first ride-report on a recent trip he made to Alaska with his wife Anne. Daan clearly is ‘trigger happy’ as he supplied us with 5.000 (!) photographs to chose from, as well as an awesome video.
Interesting fact; Daan took these drone shots while riding pillion, as Anne took over the handlebars. No mean feat!

Here’s the first part of his Big adventure:

The Last Frontier; the Alaskan mile
Whether you are on the road or on a hiking trail in Alaska, the Alaskan mile is local slang for the inability of a traveler to accurately estimate how far the next viewpoint, mountain range, or rest stop is. Due to the combination of rough terrain and the sheer size of America’s 49th state, the Alaskan mile takes longer to traverse than the average ‘normal’ mile, and will test you more, before rewarding you with it’s the state’s unparalleled natural beauty (or a hard-earned break). At the end of August, my wife Anne and I learned all about the Alaskan mile.

Looking for adventure
This is a first report on a challenging ride we had wanted to make for a long time.

As a motorcycle enthusiast who is on the lookout for new riding adventures, I came across the social media account of local Alaskan motorcycle rental company MotoQuest. Based in Anchorage, MotoQuest provides an offering of both guided and self-guided tours. My wife and I were specifically interested in one of the tours offered at the end of the riding season. The closer you get to fall and winter, the more likely you are to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights. However, on the downside – you can expect a fair amount of rain too.

Now, while I have been riding for several years, my off-road experience is limited. Coming from the Netherlands we have more asphalt than that we can enjoy testing our skills on gravel. In addition, Anne obtained her license not too long before we would be riding through the Denali Mountain range. Following an intake over the phone, we booked a Suzuki V-Strom 650 for a 10-day self-guided tour, allowing us to customize the tour and plan our days as we desired.

Into the great wide open
We started gearing up, planning, corresponding gas stations with anticipated mileage, adding more days and miles along the process. Satellite phone rental, bear mace, first aid kit, tire pump, tire patch kit, battery packs – we aimed to make sure that a worst-case scenario would not be the last scenario. In an effort to build more stamina, we went on a test ride together on our 2018 Triumph Street Scrambler. A 4-day ride covering 900 miles of backroads through the Catskills region, located north of New York City. It proved to be a useful exercise, as we learned more about the benefits of Gore-Tex and the downside of tiny pillion seats. Unexperienced in motorcycle travelling to this extent, we had prepared ourselves as much as we could.

A Dutchman in New York
Living in NYC, I wanted to go to Alaska to experience the contrast of the insanity between the hustle and bustle of the urban jungle, and the solitude of Alaska’s spruce forests, river corridors, and mountain ranges. As such, our route included the Denali Highway and McCarthy Road, both offering off-road sections and limited traffic. The itinerary targeted about 4 hours of riding per day on average: the longest day would take about 6.5 hours of riding. In addition, out of the 10 days, we ensured 2 days of rest. We planned an amazing glacier hike for our first rest day, and we would spend the second rest day on an unforgettable glacier kayak tour. So much for resting, but we would not have missed it for the world!

First leg
Prepared and packed, we picked up the bike in Anchorage and headed to Talkeetna via Hatcher Pass. Off-road, switchbacks and a steep incline made this pass a good test for our skills and the Suzuki. Impressed with the performance of the 650cc engine, both the bike and our egos got through Hatcher Pass unscathed. Feeling reassured, we aimed for the Denali Highway the next day – supposedly one of the most spectacular routes in the world.

Impressions & emotions
It is hard to describe the feeling when we crossed onto Denali Highway, McCarthy Road, or any of the other roads on our route, crossing from the tarmac onto the gravel. The promise of a road ahead that will lead you through such a beautiful region is thrilling. Valleys, forests, lakes and wildlife – we took it all in. There is a certain serenity in the unforgiving vastness of these areas. Switching seats every now and then, hours of riding fly by, racking up viewpoints, hikes, sockeye salmon, and miles as we cruised along – while learning Alaskan miles in the rain can be challenging. Slow and steady wins the race, and there is no reason to race with the hours of sunlight in Alaska during our trip.

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Daan’s Instagram

This is the end of part I.
Make sure to stay tuned for the rest of this ride-report.

The post Getting lost in Alaska: Part I appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

About the workshop

TOMA is a Brussels-based custom workshop. We transform, customize and hand finish motorcycles to create unique and personalized machines. Our artistic approach strives to extract the best potential of each bike and match the vision of their future owner’s. We aim to create unique, one-of-a-kind machines, with a clean and efficient style.

Our work mainly focuses on tracker, scrambler, and bratstyle projects. Customising goes hand in hand with transforming to us. We do not only modify the bikes, we give them a new life, a new look. We always work starting with an older, existing base and then begin adding new parts (tanks, wheels, handlebars, lights). Given the complexity of certain projects, we often create and adapt some of these parts ourselves, especially when they’re metal.

Before we even get going, we spend a lot of time with the future-owners to see where they come from, what their interests are, where and how they grew up, their tastes, what they’ve been doing in life etc. All these elements, along with a ton of aesthetic and artistic research, allow us to create the motorcycle of their dreams.

About the Owner

I’m the owner of TOMA CUSTOMS, my name is Thomas Jeukens. One and a half year ago, I decided to leave my job as Strategy Manager for a big consulting firm to open TOMA CUSTOMS and fully live from my passion, transforming and customizing motorcycles.

Mixing mental and manual activities generates a level of freedom and satisfaction that I’d never experienced before. Working as a manager at a big consulting company enriched me personally and professionally, while it also made me grow and evolve as a person. Yet, I felt it was time for me to achieve one of my dreams and to fully live my passion: combining my intellectual abilities with creativity and manual work. That’s why I decided to turn my passion into my job.

About the project

Why did you build this bike?

Gregory wanted a motorcycle that is easy to ride in town but also allowed him to go off road in the countryside. The briefing was not exhaustive but he wanted a motorcycle of small capacity, easy to drive and with strong personality.

Why did you pick this base bike and where does it come from?

After several meetings to understand the customer’s desires, we made several transformation proposals, and finally agreed on the Suzuki vanvan125 project.

What was your idea or vision?

Before we even get going, we always like to spend a lot of time with the client to know him better and understand his desires and what would be his dream motorcycle project. All these elements, along with our aesthetic sensitivity allowed us to first imagine a general guideline for the bike transformation. After that, the client gave us “carte blanche”.

Where did you find inspiration for the project?

It all happened in our workshop, in front of the bike. When the bike arrived at the workshop, we directly remove a lot of parts in order to only keep the frame, engine and wheels. That way we could analyze and imagine the general line that we wanted to give to the bike. At that time, we had to finish 2 other projects, so we let the bike naked for few days and let us the necessary time to imagine the final project in our head and by testing several combinations of tank, saddle, and parts.

Any interesting challenges?

It is not easy to tackle a transformation of a 125cc in order to make it a custom bike with strong character. Our workshop is more used to work on motorbikes with medium or large engines. But we love the challenges. And we do everything ourselves and don’t outsource anything.

What modifications are made and what parts are used?

We modified the muffler to get it under the bike, lowered the handlebars and removed any original accessories that were superfluous. All electronic components have been modified to make the motorcycle more modern and minimalist and we tailored front and rear mudguard as well as add side covers

What do you like the most?

What we like the most is the general line of the bike. The most important first step, according to us, was to modify the driving stance of the bike and rework the “v” line formed with the tank and the original huge saddle. So, we straightened the tank and made a custom seat base that we then sewed by our workshop to have the new general line of the bike.

Anything, in particular, you want to share about the project?

The rear tire for us was initially one of the weak points of the original bike, that we had proposed to change. But then after a lot of thinking about it we decided to finally keep it and do exactly the opposite, we decided to make it the most visible possible. It was at this point that we completely changed the direction of the project, we decided to make the project as minimalist as possible and visually lower and more compact than the original bike.

And last but not least: how does it ride?

This bike is so fun to ride, with such a fat rear tire and the more aggressive driving stance

List of modifications

• bespoke seat with Alcantara leather
• bespoke front and rear mudguard
• adapted muffler to get it under the bike + black exhaust wrap
• new flat/lower handlebars
• removed a lot of original accessories that were superfluous
• tailored side covers
• modification/ shortening of the rear part of the frame
• bespoke plate holder
• new bates headlight and rear light
• new bar end mirror
• new speedometer
• new set of indicator lights

The post Suzuki VANVAN125 by Toma Customs 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.

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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)

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

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

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

#1: Yamaha SR400 by Joseph Savor

[more info]

#2: Suzuki GS750 by Michiel van Son

[more info]

#3: Honda CB750 by Bryan Moses

[read more]

#4: Yamaha XJR1300 by Dawid Kazmierkowski

[more info]

#5: BMW R80RT by Mark Ceilinger

[read more]

#6: Honda CB200 by Chris Tope

[more info]

#7: Honda NX650 by Martin Kvarnhult

[read more]

#8: Honda CX500 by Will Nicholson

[read more]

#9: Honda CB550 by Eli Carver

[read more]

#10: Honda CB750 by Fre Fonteyne and Karel Willems

[read more]

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A couple of weeks ago I’ve featured this awesome GSX-R1100 Cafe Racer. This bike went viral on the interwebs and I stayed in close contact with the builder, Dino Maltoni, owner of Dino Cycles in Argentina. With this machine, they put their shop on the map and I looked forward to their next project. After some teasing on Facebook and Instagram, they’ve presented their latest build; a beautiful GS400 Cafe Racer. Words by Nicolas Fernandez:

We present you this excellent Suzuki gs 400, 1978, our last work of the workshop (Dino Cycles) of Dino Maltoni. Everything was born from a publication of a friend Facundo Giorno in which he tagged me, and there was a project disarmed that was not I could finish in which the engine had been rectified again, I loved it since the bike was unarmed but its parts were in perfect condition, I got into the car trailer and on the fly I called the number that came out in the publication I was attended by a man to whom I told him that I was interested and that I would like to see her. The very kind told me that he had no problems and that he was waiting for me, once at the home of the subject, he invites me to go and meet the motorcycle. He already had two more bikes and he was thinking of restoring it but due to divorce and not being able to pay the lawyer, he made the decision to sell it urgently, we fixed a fair price and I brought it to him.

Once entered the workshop we dismantled it and sandboxed the painting, which was shortened, modified and painted in the oven as a factory, we had the crazy idea of giving it a retro look when we placed those huge rolled Pirelli wheels, 15 with Cruce de rayos de época which made it seem robust and compact both we used to call Pitbull and the dog, the inverted front suspension with disc brake and back with gas holins that give an excellent ride very comfortable, the chassis was cut on the back, to the original colin I will return it leaving a cabado, which in the background is made of stainless steel to reflect the lights of the LED’s hidden in it, a detail that I liked a lot as it was, the candy blue was chosen, for the motorcycle with a golden outline around the black lateral drops, back pedals, semi handlebars, handcrafted to give it a sporty handling, dashboard with speedometer and rpm rpm count, brake handles and clutch with regulators of opening and deposit, low mirrors, and a very short exhaust that when listening to pass in front of one looks like a racing car.

Photos by Franco Martínez

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Still traveling while Europe is covered in a blanket of snow confirming that the riding season is still far away… Not too many words again, but some eye-candy of this beautiful Suzuki Bandit cafe racer built by Tony’s Bike Design.

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I think no motorcyclist could have missed that Milan was the center of the motorcycling world with the EICMA the past few days. There is a lot of cool stuff happening and we can expect a wide range of fresh retro-machines like the Honda CB4 and the CB4 Interceptor, the Kawasaki Z900Rs, the Husqvarna 701 and 401, the new 1100cc version of Ducati’s Scrambler and the all-new Royal Enfield Twins. But yes, these are bikes that belong in this overview. Of course, they’re also a great base for customization, they’re still bikes that you can actually buy. So at the EICMA, we’ve also put a keen eye on the real custom bikes that were out there, just like this beautiful Suzuki GSX750 by Officine GP Design.

The challenge for Officine GP was difficult since the Suzuki asked them to build a custom bike on the latest GSX750, which tells the story of Suzuki’s #1 selling model over the last few decades. It should be clear that it tells the story of the past, present and future of Suzuki.

Luca Pozatto, CEO of Officine GP Design: “the challenge was difficult, almost impossible. Telling the story of this bike from his beginning in 1985 until today is a firm task. All the different stylistic elements that were used the last three decades are endless: from square lines to bold round lines and everything in between”.

The starting point is a modern day motorcycle with spot-on specs and a very powerful engine. The history kicks in with the headlight, which looks like a vintage “bubble visor” racing helmet. It’s equipped with an integrated LED halo light and contains a full-digital instrument system. The bodywork is created out of aluminum and is completely handmade. The color palette is a sparkle to the dominant Suzuki colors, white, blue and black, but then a bit “vintage” looking.

The cast wheels are 17″ OZ Gas Titanium with Michelin Power RS tires: 120/70 in front and 200/55 (!) in the rear, which makes it clear that Suzuki is all about racing. The titanium exhaust is a one-off project from SC Project, a well-known MotoGP supplier. A cool gimick is the use of a double fuel cap, recalling Suzuki’s victories in the endurance races. Other GP characteristics are the massive swing arm and the levers, mirrors, rearsets, and protectors, provided by Lightec.

All and all, the impossible is made possible with this beautiful Suzuki GSX750 that truly tells the story of a very successful motorcycle brand.

Also, check out the video of the project:

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My friend Pepo Rosell from XTR Pepo is one of those builders that simply keeps on going and going. You can almost set a timer on it to expect a new build from him. While he has a strong legacy with Ducati’s, he’s never afraid to take on a non-mainstream base bike to turn into something special. Today he surprised me with this awesome Suzuki Bandit Cafe Racer called “Grey Flash”. Unlike a lot of XTR’s builds, it’s has a more classic and less race look, but as you may expect, the modification list is pretty extensive. He took a ’98 Suzuki Bandit 600 and turned this rather boring forensic machine into a real desirable bike with up to date specs.

The bike was completely stripped and a lot of parts from a ’92 GXSR750 were used like the USD fork, brakes, front and rear wheel, front mudguard, swingarm,  and rear sets. Of course, he ditched the subframe and created a new one to fit the beautiful custom (Italian) leather seat with a nice “caferacerish” rear hump. The GSXR swingarm was a bit modified to fit a CBR600 rear shock. This will give the machine a way better handling and more serious braking performance. The original gas tank was kept in place and got a nice raw steel finish, which perfectly suits the brown leather seat.

And of course, Pepo used his usual list of mods like:

• Frentubo brake lines
• Custom brake and clutch levers
• Custom clip ons
• LIPO battery
• Spark megaphone muffler
• K&N filters
• NG brake rotors
• MASH headlight on custom bracket
• Vicma LED indicators
• T&T speedo and control lights
• Tsubaki gold chain
• Montesa rear light
• And a lot of custom brackets…

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