We’ve got all shapes and sizes this this week—starting with a slick Triumph Bonneville kit, and finishing off with the cutest electric cafe racer. Amd a Yamaha dirt bike, a Grom and a Suzuki SV90 wedged in between. It’s a weird week for sure.
Triumph Bonneville Kit by Unikat If the impeccable fit and finish of Triumph’s Factory Customs raised your brows—but the prices slammed them back into an expression of disgust—we may have a solution. Wrocław, Poland based Unikat Motorworks have developed a bolt-on cafe racer kit for both the T100 and T120 Bonnies. And it’s damn sweet.
Working closely with Triumph Poland, Grzegorz Korczak and his crew wanted to develop a limited run kit (only 11 will be built), that would create a classic cafe racer with modern performance and reliability. And that would maintain that all-important Hinckley warranty.
The most radical portion of the changes were made to the rear subframe, where a new loop was grafted in, complete with integrated LEDs. A custom front fender hugs the new Takasago Excel rim up front, and the bars have been swapped out for a set of Unikat clip-ons. The gauges have been lowered too, and the triple clamp has been polished to mimic the one adorning the Thruxton R.
To make sure that each bike differs from the next, customers will have options, including the livery, color and type of leather on the seat, and grips. If the liquid-cooled 900-powered T100 is your cuppa for a base build, it will set you back around $16,000 including the bike itself.
The Goof Bike If a three-wheeled Grom doesn’t tickle your fancy, maybe this beach bound Suzuki RV 90 will do the trick? It’s the result of a collaboration between Aussie alternative artist Paul McNeil, and House of Deus denizen, Jeremy Tagand.
Since its fat tires are destined for sussing out the choicest of breaks from the confines of the sand, the RV’s signals and mirrors were binned. Then a canopy-style surf rack was fitted, mounted up off its tail.
Little was changed on the mechanical side of things, save for the new straight-pipe exhaust—fitted to scare off any kooks, no doubt. And since it’s a monkey bike, ape hangers and a chunky seat were a must, for both comfort and style.
Speaking of style, that speckled red, white and blue paint—which is signature McNeil—fits the Goof Bike perfectly. And it only strengthens our faith in the recent rise of small bikes. [More]
Yamaha YZ125 by Max Miille Hillsboro, Oregon, sits just over 30 miles outside of Tillamook State Forest, which is home to some of the PNW’s most incredible dual and single track off-road trails. So it’s not surprising that Max Miille has a bit of a thing for dirt bikes—as is evident by this YZ125.
Working from a $500 donor he liberated from a friend, Max decided early on that his ‘Blue Duck’ would put his fabrication skills to the test. The idea was to build a full-blown custom that could handle all of the abuse he wanted to throw at it. Max’s dad lent a hand on fabricating new wheel spacers, and New Church Moto stitched up that seat—but outside of that, Max handled the bulk of the work.
The stock subframe was chopped and a sleek new tail was welded up. From there Max turned his attention to aluminum shaping—bending and welding up the Yammi’s new tank, side covers and number plate. That custom pipe was Max’s work too, and the anodized finish fits perfectly with the traditional color scheme.
My favorite bit is the work Max did on the Blue Duck’s intake. Considering he’s only 26 and this is only his second build, I expect things will only get better as time marches on. [More]
Project GUS Grom by Industrial Moto Few things in this world go together as naturally as a smiling face and a Honda Grom. You could have just been fired and figured out the Easter Bunny is bunk—but lay eyes on one of Honda’s diminutive fun machines, and I’d bet your lips would curl. And if you spotted this one, even the Cheshire Cat would be jealous of your grin.
Project GUS (‘Grom Utility Sidecar’) is the genius work of Tyler Haynes, from Virginia’s Industrial Moto. Sold as a kit, the GUS features a removable side-hack that runs on its own matching wheel, mounted to independent suspension that can be adjusted for toe-in/out.
Fitting it means losing the passenger pegs, and the version here also has modded plastics, bar-end LED signals and a custom exhaust. Depending on what or who you’d like to parade around town (or the pits), your GUS can be setup with a seat and grab-bar, LED lights, a rear cargo rack, or any combination of the above.
We wouldn’t want to take it anywhere where speed is essential, but I can’t help but feel that GUS is one of those things everyone just needs. Best of all, the unit retails for a scant $ 1,600 to $ 1,920. Which, if you’ve priced a Ural lately, is downright reasonable. [More]
Super73 Racer by Roland Sands Paul d’Orléans recently presented his curation of battery powered pro-builds at the Petersen Automotive Museum, and the sheer caliber of bikes was mesmerizing. There’s little doubt in our minds that a two-wheeled Electric Revolution is in the works. And that could very well be a good thing—especially if it gets more riders on bikes.
Looking to help that cause is Roland Sands and his SoCal-based RSD team. Working with Super73—a pedal-assist e-bike maker—they built a stylish, all electric cafe that any one of us at BE HQ would welcome into our fold.
Using their Pikes Peak project as inspiration (yes, really), the Super73 Racer has a monocoque design for the tank and tail. The pedals were ditched in favour of rear-sets (the Super73 can run with a throttle), the rigid forks were swapped for actual suspension, and the high bars were replaced by low slung clip-ons.
With no license required, the Super73 Racer is best described as low risk and high fun. The 1,000 watt rear hub motor packs more than enough oomph for the sub-seventy pound racer, with a range of 35 to 40 miles. With racier looks and slick-shod hoops, it sure would be a blast to lean over on a short and quiet canyon run. [More]
