An exquisite Ducati Monster from Portugal, a Honda CX500 with an 80s vibe, and a wild new build from XTR Pepo—formerly of Radical Ducati. Meet the machines that buttered our toast this week.
Honda CLR125 by Dream Wheels Heritage If The Ride: 2nd Gear graces your coffee table like it does mine, the name Dream Wheels Heritage may ring a bell. Hélder Moura and his crew from Portugal have a knack for turning small displacement commuter bikes into rolling works of art. Their latest, this Honda CLR125, is one of the prettiest yet.
Inspired by the original CityFly, ‘Serena’ is a more serene take on what a pizza delivery bike can become. On the bench, the CLR was stripped down and a new subframe and hoop was crafted to flatten its spine and provide a spot to hide the battery and loom. The tank was lifted from a Yamaha AF1 and it looks right at home on the little Honda.
Built to be more than a stunner, Hélder knew this little scrambler also needed to be a runner—so he fabricated the fenders to stop mud from being flung all over the pretty two-tone paint, and fitted Showa USD forks up front. The saddle is a work of art and the tanned leather is accented again on both the grips and the mirror stem.
To make you just a touch more jealous and give reason for repent, we want you to know the lucky SOB who owns this machine is currently getting his learner’s permit. And this is his first bike. [More]
Ducati Monster 600 by Wrench N’ Wheels Custom Garage Wrench N’ Wheels is a young shop, based in Ponte De Lima, Portugal. Helmed by Pedro Caçote, the shop opened in 2014 as the finishing touches were applied to Pedro’s own dream bike, a custom Honda CX500 he named Wind 10.
Fast forward a couple years and WNW have just released their third customer build, a Ducati Monster 600 they’ve christened Wind Rose. And after a quick perusal, at builds 1 and 2, it’s clear this Ducati is Pedro’s most ambitious work to date. Drawing inspiration from World War II fighters and some features of 1930s Bugattis, Pedro worked with Nuno Capêlo to finalize a design plan before hoisting the Duc up onto the bench.
The one-piece trellis frame and subframe of the 1996 Duc was left virtually stock; instead the tank and tail mounts were modified to deliver the aggressive and flat bone line. The stock tank wasn’t going to cut it, so a Ducati GT item was sourced to deliver a better fit. Many sleepless nights were spent hand forming the steel that makes up the seat and tail unit, and while I doubt my missus would hop up on that perch, the execution is exemplary.
Pedro currently has six more projects in the works—including a couple of R-series Beemers and a flying brick being given the brat style treatment. Rest assured we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled. [More]
BMW K100LT by Titan Motorcycles The last time we featured a build from Tom Possod and Michael Siebenhofer, the duo from Graz, Austria took the cheeky route: they delivered a knobby-shod, orange chairlift of sorts. This time, they’ve gone a little more conventional with their approach but it’s no less impressive. ‘Xaver’ may have started life as a Luxo-Touring 1986 BMW K100LT but the new slimmer and sleeker profile fits this flying brick to a T.
With the Windjammer-style plastics and panniers sent away for recycling, Tom and Mike went to work on what was lying beneath. The rear subframe is newly hand-crafted and angled to match the bike’s new, aggressive lines—starting with the equally hand-formed and scalloped tank. A lift kit was installed in the form of uprated suspension so the TKC80s would see more than cobbled stones, and a Tomaselli Enduro handlebar was fitted for total control. As is the case with most electrics these days, Motogadget was tapped to clean things up and deliver reliable performance; the signals and switchgear get their marching orders from an M-Unit now.
As the story goes, Xaver was built to put a smile on a former Road King owner’s face. We’d say going from Panzer tank to trail-ready will undoubtedly do that. [More]
Honda CX500 by Rive Gauche Kustoms The amount of nostalgia you have for the 80s depends on which side of the original Star Wars you were born on. If you were old enough to spot Greedo shooting first, you undoubtedly have a soft spot. If you’re wondering what the hell I’m talking about, you may want to just move along.
Paris-based Rive Gauche Kustoms clearly fall into the former category. Mulleted wig, knee-highs and Kool Moe Dee shades aside, this CX500 build oozes an 80s vibe with its chunky stance and rectangular halogen headlight alone. And yet there is some modern day engineering afoot here, too.
Julien Rouvelou and Vincent Hojanowaski, the minds behind RGK, are quite familiar with transforming ‘plastic maggots.’ And for this one, the pair went with a single-sided front fork set-up, with a humped cafe look out back. You’ve no doubt spotted that this CX rides on some interesting wheels—namely a pair of donuts poached from someone’s trunk. And RGK weren’t shy when it came to the red paint slathered over the transverse V-Twin powerplant.
Will it win bike of the year? Probably not. But if you have a hankering for all things 80s, this CX500 will make you smile. [More]
Ducati 860GT by XTR Pepo It’s not tough to spot that this Ducati is the work of Pepo Rosell. Signature touches like the bracketed front light stationed port side of the XTR fairing and the SuperMario exhaust are an instant giveaway.
That doesn’t mean this 1974 860GT is a cookie-cutter design. Far from it. In our eyes, it’s the meeting point between what Rosell used to serve up at Radical Ducati and the direction he’s gone of late, under the XTR badge. The framework, footrests, fairing, seat, rearsets, sprocket, mudgaurd and bits of braking componentry are all XTR originals.
The 900 Desmo Darmah L-Twin has been ported and polished. New high-compression pistons have been fitted and the crank has been balanced and blueprinted. Dell’Orto carbs feed the beast through a set of machined aluminum race filters, and draw go-go juice from the Ducati Imola tank perched above. Beringer calipers keep things reigned in up front (a vented drum unit remains out back) and the suspension has been swapped for Triumph Daytona 900 forks held in place by a Triumph Sprint yoke. [More]