YOSHIMURA GS1000R COOLEY/CROSBY

Japanese motorcycle culture is full of little side streets and half-hidden diversions: it probably has more depth than anywhere else in the world. And when the Japanese get into something, they reallyget into it. The scale model motorcycle scene is typical: it’s huge over there, fuelled by giants such as Tamiya, and it has its own subcultures too.

One of them is the annual Modeler GP show, a competition for scale models of racing motorcycles. The standard of work is absolutely jaw dropping, and when I first stumbled across a page on the Modeler GP website, it was a full minute before I realized I was looking at a scale model of a bike rather than the real thing.

I could have picked any of those models to show here. But this Yoshimura Suzuki GS1000R (XR69) jumped out. Partly because it’s one of the most iconic racing motorcycles of the 1980s. And partly because it was steered to victory in the 1980 Suzuka 8 Hours by New Zealander Graeme Crosby—a neighbour of mine who I met for a coffee this morning.

Crosby was paired with Wes Cooley for this race, and counts the XR69 among his favorite bikes: “I rode the XR69 at a testing session and was impressed, because it had a lot of 500GP equipment on it—like brakes and forks,” he says. “I also knew Pops Yoshimura, so when Yoshimura Japan were handed the development part of the GS1000 I was stoked. We had fun with this bike.”

I’m not sure what scale this model is—I’m guessing 1/12—but the detailing is remarkable. Note the wear on the tires, and the intricate decals. Head over to the Modeler GP website and you can see abuild diary too, which even shows the internals of the exhaust system being faithfully reproduced. The site is in Japanese, but as so often with racing motorcycles, the pictures are worth a thousand words.

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DEUS BALI SUZUKI DR650

Motorcycles can be capricious creatures. But there are a handful that are essentially bulletproof—simple machines that are simple to fix, and cheap to run. One of those is Suzuki’s venerable DR650, which has been around for at least twenty years. The stock bike is as ugly as a toad, but it’s not hard to see why it still sells. In the US you can ride one out of the showroom for less than $6,000, and you’ll be riding on a wave of torque from the big aircooled single.

So it’s surprising that we don’t see more DR650 customs around. This one is a new release fromDeus Bali, and their logic in choosing the bike is impeccable: “The DR650 is a simple big motor and frame. It’s probably the biggest single-cylinder four stroke out there. The bike is very adaptable—once you strip off all the plastic, you find a frame and engine that is prime for customizing. They have power. They look great when stripped back and done up, and they’re fun as hell to ride. “

The donor bike here is a 1997 model, although you’d be hard pressed to tell it from a 2012 model. Deus dismantled the DR, pulled the engine apart, cleaned it up and painted it in a black wrinkle finish. They fitted a custom oil cooler and a reverse cone muffler “so you can hear her coming down the road”.

The suspension has been swapped out for Honda CRF bits, and the acres of plastic have been binned in favour of a custom tank and seat combo, enlivened with a splash of yellow. A fresh set of Heidenau rubber sits on wider wheels, with the rear upgraded to an 18” to match the front. Minimal instruments sit atop Ventura street tracker bars to complete the look.

The DR650 has always struck me as a bike you’d buy with your head—or wallet. But with a makeover like this, maybe there’s life in the old dog yet. See more on the Deus Bali website.

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JEFF DECKER’S BLACK LIGHTNING

For someone who doesn’t like stock Vincents, Jeff Decker builds a mighty fine Black Lightning. He’s a sculptor as well as a bike builder, and his eye for a line is evident with this beautiful salt racer. As these exclusive Horst Roesler shots reveal, Decker has managed to make the Vincent look fast even when it’s standing still on the Bonneville salt flats.

Decker has received some flak over this bike from Vincent purists. But his Black Lightning is not one of the 30-odd bona fide factory bikes. He assembled it using period-correct salvaged parts supplied by luminaries such as Marty Dickerson and Mel Helde, Jr., who was Rollie Free’s mechanic. And Decker has nothing to hide: “this bike really is a cobbled-together Frankenstein that I’m not ashamed of.”

At first glance, the Vincent DNA is obvious in this machine. Mostly in that huge engine. But park it next to a ‘real’ Lightning, and the differences become obvious. The rider sits a full foot lower on the Schwinn Sting-Ray seat than on the stock machine. The tank is several inches narrower: indeed, only the footpegs and bars extend beyond the width of the engine. The headlight is from a 1970s Honda ATC, and complements the oversized speedo better than the bulky original lamp.

Cycle World profiled this machine in an excellent article a couple of months ago, and after a barrage of criticism, printed an excellent riposte from Paul d’Orleans. As for me—I’d take Decker’s Black Lightning over the original any day. Would you?

Images © Horst Roesler. With thanks. See more of Jeff Decker’s work at his Hippodrome Studio site.

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ZPSPORT 449 ENDURO

The small German town of Zschopau is famous for its motorcycling heritage. It was home to DKW and MZ, marques whose luminosity has dimmed in recent decades. But there’s now a chance that Zschopau could return to its motorcycling glory days. This is a prototype from a new company calledZPmoto; it’s a vintage-styled enduro inspired by the 1960 MZ ES 250 Geländesport.

The ZPsport 449 is powered by a Gas Gas single which delivers around 45 hp at 6,200 rpm, feeding through a six-speed ‘box. The bike is light at 130 kg fully-fuelled, and the 860 mm seat height is rider-friendly.

The chassis is tubular steel, with a single downtube branching into twin engine supports. I haven’t heard of the fork brand MUPO before, but the adjustable rear shocks are Öhlins. The rest of the components are top-drawer: the brakes are from Brembo, and the rims from Excel—21” at the front, 18” at the back.

The prototype is finished in the classic DKW colors of black, green and white, but the production machines will be offered in other colors. The bike is essentially hand-made, and when small-scale production starts in October, customers will be able to personalize their bikes to their hearts’ content.

All this comes at a price, however. It’s been set at €22,430, which is around US$28,000. That’s even more than Ducati’s range-topping Panigale 1199 S Tricolore. But the ZPsport 449 seems to be an attractive, capable and exclusive machine. I’m hoping there are enough enduro buyers who value rarity and vintage aesthetics.

Thanks to Lars-Hendrik Schneider for the tip.

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TRIDAYS TRIUMPH SCRAMBLER

The Triumph Scrambler must be one of the hardest bikes to customize. Along with Moto Guzzi’s current V7 and the Kawasaki W800, it’s one of the few production machines that have a retro-slash-custom feel right from the start. This hasn’t deterred the Triumph Tridays team though. The Rumbler accentuates the Scrambler’s classic good looks, and cranks the performance up a notch.

The Tridays is one of the largest motorcycle events in Europe. It’s held every year in the picturesque Austrian town of Neukirchen, and organizer Uli Brée traditionally reveals a one-off custom to celebrate. This year, he’s enlisted two considerable talents: Jochen Schmitz-Linkweiler of LSL, and Jens vom Brauck of JvB-Moto.

The Rumbler is designed to compete in the Tridays Rumble: a 400-meter sprint race on grass, open to all. So it’s an unusually practical machine. LSL fitted Öhlins suspension and Pirelli studded tyres to lift the Rumbler higher off the ground than a stock bike. Custom triple clamps tweak the steering geometry, and there’s a Magura Supermoto brake system—complete with 4-piston calipers and a radial master cylinder for tremendous stopping power.

The distinctive look mostly comes from JvB-Moto parts—including the headlight, fenders, side panels and bench seat. An Arrow high-performance exhaust completes the package.

I don’t know what other machines will be competing in the Rumble, but this one will be providing stiff competition. And looking good while doing so.

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KAWASAKI KZ1000 CUSTOM

Early Japanese superbikes seem to get more appealing as the years go by. The Honda CB750 is still going strong, and so is Kawasaki’s KZ series. This classy, understated KZ1000 is the work of London’s Untitled Motorcycles, and it’s owned by Anthony van Someren of the UK website the Bike Shed.

“My Ducati became more and more customized and pretty, and less appropriate for my daily five-mile commute into the West End,” Anthony says. “I needed a second bike. Something that would balance bullet-proof reliability with custom looks.”

Despite being familiar with high-powered modern machinery, Anthony hankered after the old Zeds he rode in the 90s. “Then I stumbled across an ad for a horrible imported KZ1000. It was being sold by the guy who used to service my Zeds in Camden. So I rang him up to say hello, and he persuaded me to check it out.” Being a big fan of the Wrenchmonkees’ Zeds, Anthony instantly saw the potential of this bike. “I lost all reason and agreed a price on the spot.”

The plan was to make this KZ1000 pretty but practical. That meant plenty of second hand parts: only the engine and running gear had to be 100%. “This bike had to be ridden every day in all weathers. Not just sitting outside a trendy shop to look cool on summer days,” says Anthony. “It’s what I would call ‘custom-lite’. Looks cool in pics, but down-and-dirty on closer inspection.”

Anthony had a clear picture of what he wanted: clip-ons, Raask rear-sets, a small headlight and tiny blinkers, and a long Brat-style seat. The bike already had a 4-into-1 pipe and Keihin filters on the Mikunis. “It ran really well, so no issues there.”

Anthony stripped the bike at the Untitled garage under Camden’s railway arches before the frame was de-lugged, re-welded and cleaned up. A new rear subframe was built to accommodate the seat. The electrics exposed by the removed side panels were hidden. Fenders were chopped, brackets were fabricated and a shift lever and linkage were created from BMW and Guzzi parts, matching the Raask rearsets.

“With new levers and braided hoses, the front brakes now work well,” says Anthony. “The engine is tight and strong, and she even corners quite well. So I’m more than happy with how she’s turned out. Now I just need to stick to my guns and try not to make the big Zed too perfect, or I’ll need a third bike for my daily ride!”

Thanks to Damian McFadden for the images. Head over to the Bike Shed for more custom inspiration.

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BLACK BRIDGE HONDA CB400

It was only a matter of time before the nascent custom motorcycle industry started to blossom in China. We already have Bandit9: now here’s another recent start-up, Black Bridge.

Black Bridge is the nom de plume of Beijing-based Adrien Macera. Macera has been tinkering with motorcycles for as long as he can remember, but this Honda CB400 is his first commercial build. “The bike was for a friend who owns a bunch of restaurants in Beijing,” says Adrien. “We normally ride on trackdays with a group of friends. But for this project, he asked if I could build a smaller-capacity cafe racer, for commuting around town.”

It’s a pretty impressive result for a new workshop. After all, there isn’t the parts availability or network of builders that we enjoy in the west. But this CB400 has a squat and purposeful stance that belies its capacity. A lot of that comes from the CBR600RR front end—complete with Tokico brakes fed by a Brembo master cylinder. At the back, the frame was chopped—to fit the custom seat unit—and is suspended by Showa shocks. A beautifully crafted underslung exhaust system completes the aesthetics.

There’s a lot of aluminum fabrication on this machine, not only for weight reasons, but also to reduce corrosion. That includes the tank, seat pan, battery box, headlamp bowl and assorted bracketry.

Keep an eye out for the Black Bridge name. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more from Adrien Macera in the future.

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DUCATI MULTISTRADA “BIUTA”

The first incarnation of the Multistrada was an awkward machine. But this unusual custom has transformed Ducati’s ugly duckling into a swan. It’s called “Biuta” and it was created by Carlo Roscio of Pavi, a town in Lombardy some 35 kilometers south of Milan.

With the help of his brother, Carlo has built a mongrel of a machine. The suspension is Honda-spec Öhlins all round—with forks from a VTR1000 SP-2, and shocks from an unspecified CBR. The headlight is from a Yamaha MT-03, and the tail is modeled on the Aprilia RSV unit, recreated using carbon fiber.

The side-mounted oil cooler is a racecar fitment; the sinuous exhaust is a hand-made one-off from Zard. A Beringer braking system keeps the forged aluminum Marchesini wheels in check.

There are some very pricey parts there, but the Roscio brothers have stayed on the right side of the line. “Biuta” is beautifully judged, and is no doubt tremendous fun to ride.

It’s a classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. And who’d have thought there’s a Multistrada under there?

Spotted on the excellent Il Ducatista, via Ducatimultistrada.it.

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ROKON TRAIL-BREAKER

I’ve always been fascinated by the Rokon Trail-Breaker. It’s got charmingly oddball looks, and it’s two-wheel drive. But there’s a surprising dearth of information about these curiosities on the interwebs. So I was overjoyed when Robert Galbraith of Rochester, Minnesota, emailed me with images of his own Rokon.

Galbraith’s interest in Rokon was piqued in the mid-90s after he read an article in the Old Bike Journal. “Like many others, I had occasionally seen pictures of the Trail-Breaker in motorcycle magazines when I was younger—but gave them very little thought. I was amazed to find that the machines are still being made today.” Galbraith promptly bought himself a new 1996 Trail-Breaker.

The beautifully-restored Rokon we’re looking at here, however, is much older—a 1972 model. The story starts when Galbraith was tipped off by a work colleague, who had seen an older Trail-Breaker being ridden nearby. “The next weekend I went knocking on doors trying to find the owner. I not only found the owner, but also discovered that he wanted to sell the machine. It was running and complete, but with the blemishes of decades of service.”

The bike was just asking to be restored, so Galbraith bought it and set about the task. He sandblasted and powder coated the frame, restored all the chrome, recovered the seat, and laid on fresh paint. “The most time consuming part of my effort was the endless wet-sanding and polishing of the aluminum parts to bring them to a mirror finish, including the hollow drum wheels,” says Galbraith. “This bike looks better than any factory fresh example.”

Rokon Trail-Breakers only have around eight horsepower. But thanks to the super-low gearing, they’re almost unstoppable. “It’s particularly fun to come up to a tree, give it some throttle, and simply walk up the tree trunk,” says Galbraith.

To find out more about these amazing machines and their creator Charles Fehn, head over to theRokon World website. [Many thanks to Jim Bainbridge for the images.]

PS: Bike EXIF is now on Pinterest. We’re showcasing the best motorcycle images and links from around the net, as well as our own greatest hits. Check out our boards here.

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CUSTOM BMW R100/7

The French have an interesting phrase for an unconventionally attractive woman: jolie laide. The English equivalent would be “pretty ugly,” but the ambiguity of the French meaning is lost in the translation.

The phrase sprung to my mind when I first saw this BMW, a 1978 R100/7 that lay in bits and pieces in a garage for years. Restored and running again, it’s far from beautiful—but it has a transfixing quality that would stop the traffic even in blasé Paris.

The bike was discovered by Nico, one of the founders of the French moto lifestyle website 4H10. It was the Rickman racing tank that first caught his attention and prompted him to buy the BMW. “I wanted an old but reliable bike that was light but powerful enough to awaken the streets of Paris,” he jokes.

Nico fitted twin-spark cylinder heads from an R80GS and a slim, custom exhaust system in stainless steel. (“Loud, but street legal,” he says.) The original rear frame loop was shortened, and a custom two-up seat fitted—slimmer than the stock two-tier BMW seat, but still comfortable. Short aluminum fenders have lightened the look of the R100/7 still further and the headlight is from an old Ossa, wrapped in a vintage grille of unknown provenance.

The result might not be conventionally beautiful, but it’s certainly striking. Oui?

Images courtesy of Carl Ringdahl & Elodie Matyjasik, CremProd.

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