Dustin Kott returns with the bike he said he’d never build. Plus a sleek Harley Super Hooligan racer, and a Benelli restomod from a pair of Barcelona dental surgeons. It’s a toothsome selection this week.
Benelli Tornado by Elegant Apparatus When the topics of dentists and motorcycles intertwine, it inevitably involves something to do with weekends, fringed-leather fetishists and beastly baggers. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. Take Barcelonian brothers Facundo and Guillermo Falcó: they are dental surgeons, and the men behind Elegant Apparatus and this jaw dropping Benelli Tornado restomod.
At first glance, it would appear that los hermanos Falcó simply buffed and restored an old classic. But closer inspection reveals a bevy of purposeful tweaks that set this particular apparatus apart. The seat and subframe are all new units, and the pillion pegs are fully removable, positioned a few notches higher to make room for a homemade, upswept exhaust. Up front the clip-ons are also a homebrew kit, and have had a set of switchgear internally fitted. Just below those controls sits a hand-rolled fender that matches its rearward counterpart.
An interesting tidbit about this build: when the donor was found, it was missing its front end. Which is not a big deal, in itself—except Guillermo just happened to be sitting on one from a scrap purchase some thirty years prior. Well, that just makes us smile. [More]
BMW R100/7 by Dustin Kott Exquisite Honda CB builds and Dustin Kott go together like moonshine and Mason jars. Aside from the sexy Triumph he built for Deadpool, nearly all of his projects have been Big Red based. So we had to check twice when we read that his hands were responsible for this tasty slash-7 airhead.
The finished product meets the Kott standard of excellence, but that’s not why our doubts arose. It’s because Dustin once said he’d never attempt an airhead.
First things first: the proportions here are perfect. With the touring plastics in the rubbish pile, the swap to a chunkier XJR1300 tank is an inspired choice. It lends visual heft up top, and creates a much sexier silhouette—which tapers divinely into the tail. A new GSX-R front end was fitted up to modernize handling, and the twin-disc Tokico brakes made the journey too. Dustin machined the rearsets himself, and figures he shaved 35 pounds off of the Beemer by redoing the electrics alone. [Kott Motorcycles]
Yamaha XT 600 by Nicolò Pego If the recent waves of scrambler and tracker style builds are prophetic, then ‘Bandit Run’ from 25-year old Nicolò Pego may be our next Genesis.
Based on a Yamaha 1997 XT 600, Nicolò turned to the enduros of the 70s for his inspiration—and specifically the XT 500 Cross.
He’s whittled down its modern successor to the barest of essentials. Devoid of clutter after a stripdown, Nicolò reshaped the XT 600 subframe to tidy up the bike’s overall shape. Helping slim things down was the move to a YZ125 tank which, coupled with a TIG-welded exhaust system by Nicolò’s uncle, creates an incredibly thin profile. An integrated LED lighting strip sits just above the front-end number board, and an almost imperceptible line of red diodes has been fitted in the rear.
It’s a simple and subtle affair and, finished in a lovely soft yellow, exudes a solid seventies vibe. Nicely done, Nicolò. [More]
Harley Street tracker by Standard Motorcycle Co. Based in Orlando, Florida, Standard Motorcycle Co. is a collective community that offers up shop space, tools and advice for local DIYers. It’s been known to crank out an impressive custom, too. The latest creation is a flat tracker built by SMC founder Jason Paul Michaels, and it has us hankering for some slideways action.
This Harley was built for the Super Hooligan race series, and the base for the build is a fresh 2017 Street 750. In keeping with the rules governing hooliganism at the oval, you won’t find any front brakes, and most of the frame remains stock. Outside of that though, Mr. Michaels has flexed his creative chops.
Aiming to make it look (and perform) like a factory Skunk Works project, Jason breathed his OCD magic just about everywhere. The tank is now a modified unit swiped from a Sportster, and the front end features a mix of Yamaha R6 forks and custom GPS Racing triples to hold them in place. Many of the other parts come from SMC’s 750 Cheater range, which was designed specifically for flat track conversions. The subframe/swingarm combo, foot controls, brakes, exhaust and intake all come from that line. RSD wheels carry the Dunlop rubber, and the seat is a bespoke piece from Newchurch Moto. [More]
Yamaha Scorpio by Purpose Built Moto Frustration with ‘off the rack’ parts spurred Australian Tom Gilroy to develop his 3D modeling and CNC chops. He wanted his bikes to stand out from the crowds of bolt-on builds, so he went to work. Purpose Built Moto is the result and Tom has developed quite a catalog of his own.
On top of that, he’s turned out this lithe little number, a Yamaha Scorpio 225, that took him about five months to build. Aside from paint and the diamond-stitching on that deep blue leather seat, everything on this Scorpio has been hand fettled by Tom.
The electrics have been re-routed and, all of the lighting and switchgear are Purpose Built products. The top clamp was machined in-house and features an integrated Motoscope Mini from Motogadget; other Purpose Built touches are found capping the exhaust, which has even been fitted with an anti-reverb chamber. The little thumper puts out a little extra grunt as well, thanks to the flat-sided carb that Tom mounted.
The finished product looks the business and I’ve added a few of Tom’s items to my digital cart already.
