A perfect wooden Honda Motocompo tribute, a BMW R80 with new monocoque bodywork, a turbocharged Harley Sportster, and a drop-dead gorgeous classic Benelli from France.
BMW R80 by it roCkS!bikes A signature style is something every builder hopes to achieve—but only the best seem able to do it properly. For Osvaldo Coutinho and Alex Santos of Portugal’s it roCkS!bikes, that signature is found in exquisite monocoque bodywork, and we’d say it’s been honed to perfection now.
Their latest build is this slick, cafe’d airhead, which went up on the bench as a used and abused BMW R80. Working from a set of sketches, the Beemer was torn down completely before the rebuild began. The engine was given a refresh and, more importantly, punched out to a full 1000cc—to deliver extra grunt for running the ton.
To keep the bike stable and lower its stance, the suspension was also completely revised: the swingarm from an R1100 RS was fitted out back and a R1 surrendered its suspenders up front.
But it’s that bodywork that steals the show here. Aluminum was hand formed by the duo to create a truly sensuous shape that sits perfectly atop the R80’s chassis. “We like them clean, simple, elegant and fast!” says Alex. Well, so do we. And you guys nailed it, yet again.
Laser Compo by the Kirkshop Using wood on a bike always raises something around here. Sometimes it’s eyebrows, other times it’s vitriol. This time around, it’s not just a few accents with a grainy veneer—it’s the entire bike. But this one will fit in the palm of your hand, so anyone can put one together. And it will look absolutely cracking on the corner of your desk.
We figure the Laser Compo is the one bike with wood that will make everyone smile. It’s based on the Honda Motocompo—the cute-as-hell city scooter from the 80s that was engineered to fit in the trunk of equally tiny Honda kei cars.
This laser-cut model has 180 pieces and can be assembled in about 2 to 3 hours. To ensure a precise fit, designer Kirk Shinmoto has laser-cut each and every part out of maple and walnut, and the Laser Compo even has rolling wheels and functional steering. The seat folds in, just like the original.
Pop off the body panels and you’ll notice a detailed miniature wooden version of the 2.5 hp AB12E thumper. And the shocks, muffler and kicker are just as impressive. If you’re looking for something a little more involved than Lego but less intimidating than a full-size bike build, this is the kit to buy. [More]
Yamaha RX115 café racer It’s no secret that Indonesia has a thriving culture when it comes to custom bike building. The creativity and ingenuity, especially with small displacement machines, seem to know no bounds. And those skills aren’t exclusive to pro shops either.
Yohanes Prasetya Jati (aka Yohansuper) is, in his own words, just an enthusiast. But his cafe’d Yamaha RX115 tells us he’s got some damned fine skills. Built for last year’s Kustomfest, aside from the frame and engine, nearly everything here has been hand built. And the materials to build it all were plucked from the junkyard.
The tank was formed from a 1mm sheet of steel plate while the bars and new swingarm were discarded lengths of seamless tubing. Even those beautifully knurled pegs started out as steel plate before Yohanes plied his magic.
For the more mechanical items on the build, Yohanes pillaged what he could from other bikes. The front forks came from a Yamaha RX 135, and the front hub from an AS3 helped the skinny 18-inch front mount up. The work is truly impressive and Yohanes was super stoked when his two-stroke got the nod for inclusion in Kustomfest. Hopefully that spurs him to keep at it; he’s certainly got a knack for it. [More]
Turbo Harley Sportster by Bryce Schmidt Since it was the bike I learned to ride on, the Sportster has always had a spot in my heart. Even in fully-blinged ‘Custom’ trim, I could feel the racier roots that were originally baked in—and tried my best to exploit them whenever I could. Thirty-four year old Bryce Schmidt has done it better, though. He put one on his garage bench and figured he’d expose those roots in the best way he knew how: with a turbo.
The 1200cc, V-Twin now breathes through a whirring T15 turbo. And to help give it enough fuel for its more ferocious fire a 45mm Mikuni HSR has been bolted up as well. Of course, getting that impeller to spool took some creative work with the pipes; Bryce did a great job pie-cutting the custom headers to keep things as neat and tidy as possible. But there’s more going here than just a game of suck ’n’ blow.
Bryce also crafted a new subframe for his Sportster and converted the bike to a monoshock design while adding some 3.5-inches to the swingarm for stability. The belt-drive was binned in favor of a chain and sprocket and a Ninja’s rear wheel roasts rubber in the rear. Up front, a set of cartridges from Progressive Suspension replaced the old Milwaukee internals and braided lines were installed to up braking feel and performance. [More]
Benelli Quattro Corsa When my lotto numbers finally come up, after a visit to Walt Siegl I’m heading to France. Legend Motors in Lille is easily one of the finest shops going when it comes to precision vintage machinery. There is little they’re selling that any one of us wouldn’t want to buy. And even though this achingly gorgeous Benelli Quattro Corsa is no longer up for grabs, it deserves to be appreciated.
Restored by friends of the shop, Maxime and Florent Bodin, there is a lot to drool over here. The work was all done with a tribute to Renzo Pasolini in mind—hence that splendid bodywork—and every inch of it exudes that late 70s TT ethos. Since every nut, bolt and washer has been either replaced or re-engineered, the bike was listed in ‘as new’ condition.
Of course, Christophe Bodelot and his crew weren’t happy to just buy and flip this Benelli, so they took apart the engine to improve the internals. New pistons, valves and cams were slotted in and a Lionti exhaust fitted up.
We’re not sure how much this sold for, or who was lucky enough to put it in their garage. But if you’re reading this (and my lotto numbers do finally come in), please feel free to get in touch. [More]
