From Jakarta to Bavaria, great custom motorcycles know no borders. Our weekly round-up includes a Yamaha XS650 chopper, a custom BMW R80RT, and a modern Suzuki GSX-R1000 with retro looks. We end things off with a 1974 Ducati 750SS that belonged to one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most prolific photographers.
Yamaha XS650 by Batakastem Workshop This cheeky Yamaha XS650 chopper comes from Abraham Simatupang and his team at Batakastem Workshop, based just southwest of Jakarta in Indonesia. It’s a little more colorful and a lot more irreverent than your average Yamaha XS650 chopper—but that’s what happens when your client cites their favorite anime character as an influence.
Batakastem started with a stock XS650 but quickly decided to discard most of the original bike. The only Yamaha parts left are the front section of the frame, the engine, and the wheels.
Abraham wanted to go down the bobber-slash-chopper path, so the back end was hacked off and a custom subframe was welded in. With the back end sitting low and mean, the team shifted their focus to the front.
The new forks are, remarkably, from a Suzuki GN250—but despite their humble origins, they look lean and mean on the bigger XS650. The upper fork clamp was made by hand in the Batakastem workshop—as was pretty much everything else on the bike.
The stubby front fork brace is particularly tasty, especially laid over that vintage Avon Speedmaster front tire. Complete with a drum front brake, yellow 5.5” headlight, and narrow handmade handlebars, the front end scores a straight 10.
A tiny Sportster-style tank was installed to drive home the chopper vibe; the team fabricated the fuel cap and petcock. The engine was cleaned up and given a set of pie-cut custom exhaust headers and slash-cut mufflers, along with a few hints of color on the oil lines and ignition leads.
The leather seat is custom, as is the under-seat storage area. A cast iron taillight was bolted to the abbreviated rear fender, which is finished with a handmade sissy bar. New shocks were bolted on too, keeping that three-inch-wide Avon Safety Mileage rear tire firmly planted.
Finishing touches include chrome bullet turn signals, and handmade foot controls and linkages.
The paint scheme was based on the customer’s love for the anime show One Piece, and his favorite character, ‘Tony Tony Chopper.’ The electric blue frame takes center stage, popping against the champagne silver tank and chrome parts. We especially love the hand-painted details on the fuel tank and storage box.
It’s outlandish, tongue-in-cheek, and beautifully crafted by a group of obviously-talented people. We’ll be watching Batakastem Workshop closely from here on out. [Batakastem Workshop]
BMW R80RT by Woidwerk Hailing from Lower Bavaria, Woidwerk’s Ralf Eggl is no stranger to the world of BMW boxers. This BMW R80RT, nicknamed ‘Kini,’ is his latest piece, and it’s as tidy as they come.
Older BMW boxers lend themselves well to many custom-build styles, but there are certain mods we see repeatedly—like bolting on a custom-made subframe. Ralf decided to take a different approach with this build. He’s designed a cantilevered two-up seat support that bolts directly to the BMW’s main frame, milled from a single block of aluminum.
Topped with a brown leather seat, the unit also houses the bike’s electronics, including a Motogadget controller. An LED taillight is flush-mounted into the back, with Motogadget turn signals mounted to the sides. Set against the deep green tank and black frame, the new tail section is just modern enough to give the bike an updated feel, while still blending in with the BMW’s classic lines.
The front end is from a Kawasaki ZX-7R, complete with Tokico six-piston brake calipers and a custom front fender. A Highsider headlight sits in front of a custom top yoke, which houses a tiny Motogadget speedo. The clip-on handlebars are from LSL and are adorned with CNC switchgear, leather grips, and Motogadget bar-end turn signals.
YSS shocks prop up the rear, while Heidenau tires wrap around the factory ‘snowflake’ wheels. New rear-set foot controls are hooked up to custom linkages.
The engine is mostly stock but has been treated to a new set of Hattech mufflers and custom headers. The original Bing carbs suck air through a new set of pod filters, with a tidy cover sitting where the ugly factory airbox used to be. Ralf also relocated the ignition to the engine’s top cover, and finished the engine block off with a pair of subtle Woidwerk badges. [Woidwerk]
Suzuki GSX-R1000 by Cafe Rider Custom We waxed lyrical in last week’s Speed Read about a curvaceous late-90s GSX-R that was dressed to the nines. This week, we’ve got another Gixxer in the bag. But instead of a restomod, Dubai’s Cafe Rider Custom has gone the other way and turned back the clock on a modern Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7.
Fahim Rehman and the Cafe Rider Custom team have turned this 2007-model Gixxer into a late-80s GSX-R1100 ‘Slingshot’ lookalike. You could say that making an old bike look newer is easier than making a new bike look older, and you’d be correct.
Frames and fuel tanks have changed over the years, especially with the rapid uptake of electronic fuel injection systems. This has altered internal tank designs dramatically, as there needs to be space for the fuel pump and filter. And that makes a custom builder’s job a lot harder.
So Cafe Rider wisely left the GSX-R’s fuel tank alone, opting to change just about everything surrounding it.
Sourcing a set of new GSX-R1100 fairings from German supplier Ricambi Weiss Racing Parts, the crew went to work. After painstakingly fabricating all kinds of brackets and tabs to mount the fairings, the team finally got them in place and looking sharp as heck.
The headlights were donated by an original GSX-R1100, while the turn signals are from Posh in Japan. The stock 998.6 cc K7 engine pumps out a healthy 157.2 hp, so nothing is lacking in the power department. But a set of Yoshimura mufflers, sourced from the USA and fitted to custom headers, help to unleash a few extra horses.
Our favorite part of the build would have to be the livery. Finished in a classic black, white, and red that looks almost identical to the iconic GSX-R1100, the paint even disguises the factory K7 tank. Hats off to Cafe Rider Custom; this Gixxer looks fast, even when standing still.
Suzuki has habitually recycled old parts, releasing ‘new’ models that are really just old models with ‘bold new graphics.’ Maybe it’s time they did something like this instead. [Via]
For sale: Guy Webster’s 1974 Ducati 750SS The provenance of Ducati’s 1974 run of homologation specials is the stuff of legends. Most commonly known as the ‘Green Frames,’ the 748 cc desmodromic L-twins from Bologna are coveted all over the world.
From A-list Hollywood types to that one eccentric super fan who has one hiding in a shed, the 401 examples that Ducati originally built have found their way into the hearts of many. And after their spectacular one-two at Imola in 1972 in the hands of Paul Smart and Bruno Spaggiari, it’s easy to see why.
This particular example is from Guy Webster’s extensive motorcycle collection. Before he passed away in 2019, Webster was a world-renowned photographer. When he wasn’t pointing his lens at the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and The Doors, Webster was scouring the globe for sporting European motorcycles. A true aficionado, he amassed a beautiful array of bikes—including this 1974 Ducati 750SS.
It’s currently being offered for sale through Peter Boggia’s Moto Borgotaro outfit. Peter’s made a name for himself in the rare and collectible European motorcycle scene. This isn’t the first Green Frame for sale through his shop.
Martin’s 1974 750SS is extremely well-presented and in almost one hundred percent original condition—it even has the original case seal intact. The paintwork is original and has a stunning level of patination that has resulted in the silver paint fading to a pistachio-olive green. The headlight is the original JOD unit, and the 40mm Dell’Orto carburetors are still intact, complete with fine mesh velocity stacks.
We’re happy to report that despite its originality and fantastic condition, Webster and the bike’s current owner rode this bike regularly. The odometer reads a tad over 4,800 miles on the odometer, and we bet that every one of those miles was an absolute blast.
If you’d like to own this piece of motorcycling history (and make us jealous), reach out to Moto Borgotaro. [More]