A Honda CB650R scrambler inspired by the Dakar rally, a quirky shovelhead from Keino Cycles, and a peek at the latest bikes from rising Austrian brand Brixton Motorcycles.
Harley-Davidson Shovelhead by Keino Cycles New York-based Keino Sasaki has several classic Harley builds under his belt—but most of them are choppers. For this personal project, Keino wanted to do something different while still maintaining his signature style. And he wanted to build a bike that’d be a blast to ride, too.
Keino started with a 1968 88-inch Shovelhead, then grafted on the front end from a Dyna Sport. The rear was given a boost via a pair of Öhlins shocks, and a pair of nine-spoke alloy wheels with dual front disc brakes went on.
The sharply-contoured bodywork is all custom, and is finished in a minimalist matte paint job with pin stripes to accent the lines. Keino opted for mid-mounted controls with custom linkages, and a set of his own ‘Real McCoy’ handlebars for an aggressive riding position. Other upgrades include a set of Performance Machine controls, and a new starter from Tech Cycle.
The engine was treated to an open primary belt and clutch kit from Belt Drives, Ltd, and two-into-one headers that terminate in a Cone Engineering muffler. It’s a fresh take on the venerable Shovelhead donor—sort of a vintage V-twin with a modern street tracker bend. Unsurprisingly, a customer put money down for the bike before Keino had even finished it. [Via | Images by Ryan Handt]
Honda CB650R by Honda Wingmotor Honda claimed victory in this year’s Dakar Rally, but they did it with a purpose-built, single cylinder race machine. This bizarre scrambler is a four cylinder road bike posing as a rally machine, and we love it for that.
It’s based on a brand new CB650R—Honda’s current middleweight naked, which is so well-styled it could almost be called a modern classic. The custom work was done by a Lisbon dealer, Honda Wingmotor, as part of a custom build-off in the region. It’s both skilful and daring.
The CB retains its OEM tank and some of its bodywork, but it’s been augmented with MX-style panels up front, a high fender, and a reworked seat and tail. There’s also a sump guard of sorts lower down, wrapped around the four-into-one headers that extend back into an Arrow muffler.
Honda Wingmotor kept the original 17” wheels, but they now wear TKC80 rubber. Up top are a set of hand guards, along with a full nav tower and screen, complete with road book holder. The race-replica livery serves to commemorate Honda’s 2020 Dakar victory, and the graphic on top of the tank is a tribute to Portuguese Honda racer Paulo Gonçalves, who lost his life in the very same rally. [More]
Yamaha XT550 by Francis Von Tuto In 1982, Yamaha upgraded the XT500 and released the XT550. It had 59 more cubic centimeters, made six more horses and featured a mono-shock rear end—but it looked way different too, and doesn’t hold nearly the same vintage appeal now.
This XT550’s been giving a serious dose of its predecessor’s style by Francesco Tutino—an Italian who runs Francis Von Tuto Moto Works in Australia. The bike belongs to a friend of Francesco’s, who nearly didn’t take the project on, because the donor looked like “a rusty pile of white sh*t.” But the friend insisted, and Francesco successfully turned the rust pile into a respectable vintage scrambler.
Francesco’s first job was to get it running—from the dodgy wiring right across to the dirty carbs. The engine also came without a clutch cover, with broken fins, and with a ton of rust. But it looks better than factory now, thanks to a full rebuild and resto. Francesco also built a high-slung exhaust system, exiting in twin reverse-cone mufflers.
A Yamaha YZF250 lent the XT its upside-down forks and rear shock, and a new set of 19F/18R wheels were laced up. Francesco trimmed the subframe up top, then added a new seat and a XT250 fuel tank, finished in XT500 replica graphics. The fenders are repurposed Harley items, the headlight’s a modern Koso LED unit, and there’s a Daytona LED speedo behind it.
The overall effect is both more classic, and more modern, than the forgettable donor was. [More]
The Brixton Crossfire 500 Brixton Motorcycles is a relatively new motorcycle manufacturer, but all of their bikes have a stylish throwback feel. The Crossfire 500 (above) and 500 X (below) are their latest offerings, and their largest capacity motorcycles so far.
Brixton threw the wraps of the Crossfire at last year’s EICMA convention, and it’s now officially heading into production. It’s an eye-catching bike, with styling that places it somewhere in between Husqvarna’s two ’pilens, and Yamaha’s XSR range. The motor’s a 486 cc parallel twin, good for a claimed 35 kW, and the listed weight is 190 kilos.
There’s precious little information out there about Brixton: we know the company is part of the Austrian KSR Group, which imports several Chinese brands and has a design center in its home country. But the Crossfire looks good, with accoutrements like LED lighting and a digital speedo.
Autoevolution are reporting a RRP of €6,249 (US$6,990) for the base model, and €6,549 ($7,320) for the ‘X,’ which appears to sport a few styling upgrades.
There’s no word on pricing or availability outside of Europe just yet, but if those numbers are anything to go by, it should be competitive. Color us curious. [Brixton Motorcycles]
