Enrico ‘Ricky’ de Haas founded Wannabe-Choppers at just 15, brimming with imagination and unaffected by the conventions that often accompany adulthood. 20 years later, he’s still breaking the mold. Based in Hüttenberg, just north of Frankfurt in Germany, Wannabe’s latest build is a 172 cc two-stroke land speed motorcycle with a curb weight of just…
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Remember the Yamaha RXZ Twinboss twin-cylinder two-stroke? Neither do we, because it never existed—except in the mind of Irwann Cheng. The Malaysian custom builder, who operates as FNG Works, has masterfully combined two Yamaha RXZ 135 engines with such panache, that you’d be forgiven for mistaking this for a factory unit. But what impresses us…
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The Yamaha RD56 cemented itself in the annals of motorcycle racing history when it carried Phil Read to Yamaha’s first-ever Grand Prix championship title in 1964. But that wasn’t the RD56’s only accolade that year; it was also the bike that Canadian racer Michelle ‘Mike’ Duff claimed their first Grand Prix race win on. Duff…
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They say that there’s no replacement for displacement. By that logic, the best way to improve a single-cylinder Puch moped is to turn it into a five-cylinder Puch moped. At least, that’s Uwe Oltmanns’ theory. Based in Northern Germany, Uwe is a moped enthusiast with an extensive resume. He’s a professional toolmaker who’s worked at…
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The last time we heard from Sean Skinner, he’d just built a Yamaha XS650-powered replica of the 1960s Schwinn Stingray Orange Krate…
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This might just be our most eclectic Sunday round-up yet. We start with a Guinness World Record-holding 48-cylinder Kawasaki two-stroke, then look…
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The Glemseck 101 is the European event for anyone who loves fast, impractical, and highly imaginative machines. Those who partake in it…
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Only available in Japan and limited to just 1,600 units, the mid-80s Yamaha RZV500R is as rare as it is iconic. Based…
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If you suffer from the misconception that Germans don’t know how to have fun, you’ve clearly never experienced the German sprint racing…
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The bicycle is the first freedom machine most of us experienced, but you never look at life the same after your first…
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There’s something for everyone in this week’s edition of Speed Read. We’ve got a Yamaha Banshee-powered street tracker from the UK, an…
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Competitive off-road racing is hard on equipment and harder on your body—a young man’s sport at the end of the day. But…
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