This week we’ve got a Gold Wing from Sweden, a Cagiva from Portugal, a KTM from the USA, a Triumph from Japan, and a Ducati from Spain. How did we manage before Google Translate?
Cagiva Alazzurra by Capêlos Garage Impeccable is a word that gets tossed around quite a bit here: We’re constantly bombarded with bikes that up the stakes and redefine the term.
This week, impeccability comes in the form of a 1987 Cagiva Alazzurra from Capêlos Garage in Porto, Portugal. Because there isn’t a bolt on this bike that architect/designer Nuno Capêlo hasn’t pored over. The 350cc Ducati L-Twin engine has been completely stripped, vapor blasted and rebuilt to better-than-new. The front fairing was crafted by slicing, splicing and shaping an existing unit to match the flow of the cradle frame.
The tank too has been re-worked and you’ll note that the rear tail (an all-steel unit crafted using a 3-D printed prototype) is grafted directly to it, creating a monocoque design. The countless details of this build could fill a tome, so in the interest of saving time and space we’ll stick with that word ‘impeccable.’ [More]
Honda Gold Wing by Adam’s Custom Shop The words ‘Gold Wing’ and ‘cafe racer’ are not often used together. A Gold Wing is a hulking half-ton of motorcycle designed to ferry riders and gear over hundreds of miles. A café racer is an exercise in minimalism, in pursuit of speed.
The contradictions obviously didn’t faze Adam Nestor. The Swedish builder behind Adam’s Custom Shop has just created a cafe racer out of a 1976 Honda GL1000—and we like it. A lot.
Almost all of the bulky Wing’s original sheet metal has been swapped for lightweight aluminum components. Everything superfluous has been lopped off and binned — even the seat is a mere four pieces of foam. To flatten the Honda’s spine, the front end was lowered on the fork tubes and a set of clip-ons replace the wide bars. The fuel tank was scalloped and put on a diet before remounting. And a bespoke tail was grafted directly to the frame to echo the silhouette and hide electrics.
KTM RC8 by Deus Customs The RC8 isn’t the first KTM you’d think of when looking for a blank build canvas. The angular Austrian superbike is already a unique piece of design work. And its blistering ‘off-the-shelf’ performance commands both attention and respect. But those high-speed credentials are why it was the perfect choice for Michael ‘Woolie’ Woolaway’s latest creation.
The design director for Deus Ex Machina’s Venice location has made a name for himself (and arguably for Deus) by placing performance as well as aesthetics on the pedestal.
Case in point: check where the bespoke seat meets the sculpted, handmade aluminum tank. It sits high and flat to make sliding forward an easy affair—so supermoto riders can wring everything from that 151hp, 1150cc V-twin, on the track or in canyons.
Of course, this is only one of the many performance features on ‘Scrappier.’ Note also the hand formed carbon fiber fenders, the custom subframe, and the new tail section. The Marzocchi forks have been shortened and re-valved to work with an Adreani Group bladder setup, and the titanium-colored Brembo calipers have nickel coatings to allow the smallest ever machining tolerances. [More]
Triumph T100 Bonneville by Heiwa You may have noticed we’re pretty big fans of Kengo Kimura’s Heiwa Motorcycles—we’ve even stopped by his place for a chat. Our adoration is for good reason. Heiwa’s characteristic ‘slammed and bobbed’ creations are visually fresh, clean and just the right amount of nasty to set our tongues wagging.
Kimura-san’s latest build is based off of a first generation Hinckley Bonneville and it exudes Japanese style in the finest Heiwa tradition. To deliver the slammed stance, the rear frame was completely remodeled with new mounts for the shortened rear shocks. From there a one-off seat was squeezed into the wedge, and a custom fender was mounted and topped off with a Heiwa taillight. Up front, the wheel sits 70mm closer to top yoke and and a 4.5-inch Betsuraito headlight lies in between.
The Trumpet’s tank is a one-off unit as well, sitting leaner and lower than the OE unit. The only thing that escapes me on this bike is why the passenger peg mounts weren’t binned with the airbox. [More]
Ducati Monster by XTR Pepo Pepo Rosell made his name at Radical Ducati—an aptly named company. Since leaving to set up XTR Pepo he certainly hasn’t lost his creative touch, but the latest Duc to emerge from his garage is remarkable not for its extremes, but for its subtleties.
‘Siluro’ is a commission from Ducati España, and many of the components can be plucked from the Ducati Performance parts bin. The carbon fiber mudguards and swingarm covers, as well as the CNC bits adorning the water pump and sprocket, are all catalog items. And even that Termi silencer was co-opted from a Multistrada, before being modified and mounted.
In true Pepo fashion though, this is far from a bolt-on affair. That gorgeous perch of a rear subframe is an XTR original. The headlight, footrests, seat and exhaust are custom too. The tank is stock, but it’s been modified to deliver a better view of the beastly 1200cc L-Twin below.
It’s a well-balanced build that doesn’t detract from the Ducati’s original form. Up close or from a distance, Siluro is obviously a Monster—it’s just an angrier one. [More]