“Fujin (green: god of wind) and Raijin (red: god of thunder and lightening) are often portrayed as demons in pop culture but they are actually two of the earliest/oldest gods of Shinto religion and are sworn to protect Japan and it’s supreme god, the god of the Sun,” explains Canadian expat Mike Wyckoff. He built this custom Honda Forza as a tribute to Japan’s resilience post-earthquake. :continue:
Our favorite custom bike builder is teaming up with one of our favorite fashion brands to build a motorcycle. There’ll be free beer too this Thursday and the remaining two Thursdays in May as Hammarhead goes hands on at Dunderdon NYC. James won’t tell us what he’s turning this Bonneville into, but it’s apparently not just another Jack Pine. :continue:
So far as ADV riding goes, you can’t get a lot better than the proven reliability and simple ruggedness of the BMW G650GS. But, momentum is still your enemy and dropping the 423lbs bike at speed is going to break stuff. It’d also be nice to be able to carry a few things without those things being stolen. Enter Touratech, which has thrown its entire catalog at this Sertao in an effort to make it round-the-world capable. :continue:
Back in February, Grant and I flew up to Portland to party with Thor Drake, Drake McElroy, Roland Sands and a bunch of other friends. It was The One Show, a bike show for people that don’t need to pay to see girls in tight shorts and don’t have much use for plastic. Now, here’s video and photos from the show. See if you can tell which one of the interviewees wanted to be Grant’s boyfriend the mostest. :continue:
It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of the high-end custom bikes coming out of Philadelphia-based Hammarhead Industries. Much more than just looks, they’re genuinely boosting the functionality of the Urals and Triumphs and Hondas they’re based on to a whole new level. All that while remaining super tasteful and understated. You can apply the same plaudits to the company’s burgeoning range of accessories, like this new backpack. Waxed cotton and leather construction will make it water resistant and incredibly strong, but keeping the logos off it and the colors all black means you can use this equally well off the bike too. Handmade by D’Emploi in Brooklyn, quality should be as high as Hammarhead’s bikes.
Built to showcase a new, American-made moped parts company, the bike you see here is based on an old Bultaco 125 frame. It’s quite possibly the hottest moped we’ve ever seen. “Indigan is a return to manufacturing in the USA,” explains our old buddy Dan Kastner, who’s involved with the project. “Fun parts made that fit.” :continue:
Continental now offers its very capable TKC 80 dual sport tires in sportsbike sizes: 120/17-17 and 180/55-17. To promote that, the German tire making commissioned bat shit crazy German custom builder Wunderlich to build this dual sport S1000RR. In addition to mounting the tires, ditching the fairings and bolting on an accessories catalog’s worth of anodization, the Germans display a typical inability to let a good joke be — various decals warn of inevitable death to any rider, including a “life insurance mandatory” sticker covering the tachometer.
Are we witnessing the birth of a new trend in custom bike building? First, Icon mounted knobbies and a beater fairing on a VF1000R, turning it into sort of a post-apocalyptic, high-speed dual-sport. Now, Parisian builder Rive Gauche has done this semi-rat build to a Honda CX500. Unloved ‘80s beaters as big, heavy dirt bikes? :continue:
One of the stars at last weekend’s The One Motorcycle Show in Portland was this 1986 Honda VFR1000R built by the guys at Icon. Sort of a post-apocalyptic, comic book take on a police interceptor — the Main Force Patrol would feel right at home — the Magnificent Bastard is at once reminiscent of extreme function while being relatively functionless. That’s a continental knobby designed for a dirt bike’s rear wheel mounted on the Bastard’s front. :continue:
Magnus is the second custom Chang Jiang from Beijing-based builder Bandit9. A more raw, brutal take on the Chinese 750 than their first bike, Loki, Magnus adapts fine sculpture technics to achieve a burned finish, contrasting that with chrome for exposed mechanical components like the front fork springs. It’s a chopper, but thanks to plunger rear suspension and modern brakes, a functional one. :continue:
