A jaw-dropping Triumph Street Triple concept, an amazing Ducati 900 SS from Benjie’s Cafe Racers, and a Yamaha R15 with Royal Enfield power (yes, really). These are the machines that revved our engines this week.
Custom Triumph Speed Triple by Tamás Jakus Triumph’s Speed Triple, in stock form, can be an acquired taste. If you have roots in the mid-nineties streetfighting ring, you undoubtedly love its bare-knuckle approach to performance. If you don’t, and you prefer passivity with your aggression, then the Type 35 concept from Hungary’s Jakusa Design is probably right up your alley.
An industrial and automotive designer by trade, Tamás Jakus has transformed this Speed Triple into a cafe racer that would cause shoppers to pause before plunking down for their new Thruxton R. The carbon fiber tank and humped, one-piece seat are custom units—but there’s no call for grinders here. Most of what you see in this rendering could be easily replicated at home.
The number plates, fender, side pods and headlight units are only a click away, which makes us think. If you consider a Speed Triple S costs US$1,300 less than Triumph’s top-line new Thruxton, building a performance-driven cafe racer may be more appealing than shaking hands over one on the showroom floor. [More]
Custom Ducati 900 SS by BCR More accustomed to getting their hands dirty on early 70s Japanese iron, the lads from New Jersey’s Benjie’s Cafe Racers decided to branch out on their latest build—and we’re glad they did.
Working with a ‘tired and neglected’ Ducati 900 SS/SP they found for a bargain price, the BCR crew stripped the Ducati completely before starting with a new, aggressively angled rear subframe. The Norton inspired tank was next on their list, which they mounted low in the front, covering the iconic trellis frame, to further its rapacious stance.
The seat and tail are a one-off carbon fiber unit, and the headlight was hand-hammered. The clip-ons are unique and you’ll find no linkages for the foot controls. ‘Velocita D’Epoca’ is old school engineering at its finest. [More]
Harley Sportster by Stile Italiano Gianluca and his crew from Stile Italiano are based in Piano, Italy, and they’ve had their hands in every facet of the motorcycle industry. From sales and service to racing and restoration, Stile Italiano brings a distinct Italian passion to everything with two wheels.
That passion is evident in this custom Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200, the Bullet, which recently took home the Hot Bike trophy at the Verona Motor Bike Expo. Low, lean and undeniably sexy, this sculpted Sporty is actually a rigid framed ride. It looks deceiving but that asymmetric mounted, adjustable shock on the left side is only there to offer a touch of comfort for riders in full tuck. Clip-ons and a custom yoke keep the front end clean and continue the aggressive riding position.
Subtle touches like the machined rearsets balance nicely next to more obvious work, like that mid-mounted exhaust. [More]
Honda GL500 by Mokka Cycles The GL500 may only ever be remembered as a misstep by Honda. The ‘Silver Wing’ was ascribed duties of interstate touring, but it was never well suited and its fate was short lived. But custom builders such as Hungary’s Mokka Cycles have found that under all of that farkle lies an untouched canvas.
Of course, getting the GL500 down to its barest bones is the key. That’s why Arpi and his crew threw conservatism out of the window in their teardown. And the result is a light and nimble looking cafe racer named Birdie. To deliver the spirited ride that its diet demanded, all the original suspension and braking components were binned, replaced those with more sporting intent. A CBR954 was tapped for the front end, and an R1 surrendered its monoshock for the build.
There’s now show to match the go. The in-house upholstered seat and matching tank pads are divine and the machined heads on the CX motor a stroke of genius. [More]
Yamaha R15 by Inline 3 Customs I’d wager there aren’t many men with a pulse that don’t feel a flutter when they lay eyes on this bespoke, Enfield powered Yamaha R15. The product of Aseem Singh Pawar, of Chandigarh, India’s Inline 3 Customs, the Tony 535 Cafe Racer is an absolute stunner and a salute to ingenuity.
Working from a sketch, Pawar wanted to celebrate Royal Enfield by giving the ubiquitous motor a chassis in which it could shine. Of course, breathing a touch more life into that thumper was a given—so its internals were all swapped for high-performance units. From there, WP suspension was fitted front and rear, and paint applied to the modified chassis, tank, cowl and fender.
Sure, the pipe wrap seems unnecessary and detracts from an overall exquisite package. But Aseem’s gumption and vision are second to none. He’s already made it on here once, and we’d say he’s now two-for-two. [More]