If you fancy yourself a romantic, consider this: have you ever built a custom motorcycle for your significant other? Uwe Kostrewa has, and it’s an absolute peach. We all know Uwe as the guy behind Hombrese Bikes in Cologne, Germany. His style is distinct; if it’s a flat tracker or scrambler with a charming retro…
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The Quail Gathering is the motorcycle equivalent of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance: a world-class display of rarified exotica and immaculate restorations, plus a few jaw-dropping customs to spice up the mix. To win an award at The Quail is no easy achievement. But this year, Niki Smart’s incredible Honda XL500-based special won not one,…
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The Honda XL500 has achieved near-legendary status. Its front wheel is a ridiculous 23 inches, and it’s far too heavy for serious competition—but the engine is bulletproof and lives up to the old ‘stump-pulling grunt’ cliché. The guys at Deus Japan are fans of the XL500. So when they were looking for a street-legal machine…
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Tucked away in Cape Town’s quaint Bo-Kaap area lies Los Muertos Motorcycles—a relatively new custom shop with a store-front-slash-café. During my first visit I noticed a stripped down ’81 Honda XL500 lurking behind the coffee counter, with a unique twin exhaust system that immediately piqued my curiosity. A few months later Swart Gevaar* was completed…
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