Federal Moto have the Midas touch. The builds coming out of their Chicago workshop are sharp-edged, compact and big hits with our readers. But sometimes, success can be a double-edged sword. After releasing ‘The Sunshine State of Mind’ SR500 in 2016, Federal were bombarded with requests for a replica build. “But there’s no fun in building…
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Milwaukee’s Mama Tried Show is one of the most eclectic shows on the calendar. Choppers, flat trackers and café racers all vie for attention, in a jumbled sea of custom motorcycle goodness. To get noticed, you either need something extremely classy, or totally over the top. This Honda CX650 is a little bit of both—with…
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Ex-girlfriends have a habit of leaving things behind, but a motorcycle is rarely on the list. Yet that’s exactly how Federal Moto got their hands on this sweet little 1976 Honda CB360T. “This bike belonged to an ex-girlfriend. It was a basket-case project in the early days of Federal Moto,” says builder Peter Müller. “She…
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The holy grail of most custom builders is to develop a signature style. But there’s no exact science to this. It can be deliberate—like sticking to one genre of build or a single marque, or repeating specific details or colors. But it can just as easily be coincidental; a byproduct of the designer’s approach or…
Read more »The modern custom scene was built on a sturdy foundation of cafe racers, bobbers and trackers. But there’s a new wave emerging—modern…
Read more »From the moment their first build hit the airwaves, we’ve followed Federal Moto’s career. The Canadian crew has produced one killer bike…
Read more »Is ‘scrambler‘ the most overused description in the custom scene vernacular? Probably. It’s been allocated to everything from street bikes with upright…
Read more »Federal Moto’s Shaun Brandt is one of the rising stars of the custom scene, and he’s wowed us with several of his…
Read more »This is not your typical Honda CB cafe racer. ‘Fade To Black’ is probably one of the fastest middleweight vintage Hondas we’ve…
Read more »For such a solitary pursuit, it’s surprising how motorcycles bring like-minded souls together. But this Yamaha XS400 goes one step further: it…
Read more »I must confess, I get excited every time a ‘budget build’ from a professional outfit lands in my inbox. The true masters…
Read more »There’s a new name to look out for on the custom scene: Federal Moto. It’s a startup workshop from Canada, and this…
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