Los Angeles’ Outlier’s Guild Custom Motorcycle Show – better known as the “OG Moto Show” – has quickly become one of the most renowned customs shows on the West Coast, despite 2017 being the events inaugural year. In addition to a large crowd of fans attending the inaugural event, the show also garnered some big sponsors including Honda Motorcycles, Roland …
1963 Norley
Post Sale Update: After 11 bids on eBay, this “Norley” sold for $5,300. Combine a HD 1200 Sportster motor and a Norton Featherbed replica frame and you get a Harton. Wait, I got that backwards – it’s apparently actually called the Norley (or the Project Manxster, as it was dubbed in the pages of Cafe Racer magazine). This bike was …
The Bullitt Build – 2016 Ducati Monster 821 Dark
Exactly a year ago, I featured a beautiful custom Triumph built by Patrick Flynn, founder of The Bullitt. Here we’ve got his newest creation, a Ducati Monster 821 Dark that is a triumph of subtlety.
Unexpected Custom – 1983 Yamaha RX50
Post Sale Update: after being relisted, this little Yamaha sold for $2,200 on eBay. Japan enjoyed some weird 50cc bikes in the 80s, and some of the weirdest were the baby choppers like Suzuki’s OR50. Yamaha’s entry to the market was released in 1983 as part of a promotion for the “Midnight Special” cruiser line. They called it the RX50, …
World Ducati Week Garage Contest Winner – 2001 Ducati “Grit 944”
Ducati’s 900SS has become an increasingly popular platform for building customs, and despite having seen quite a few bespoke builds of the air-cooled, 80hp classic, this build from CC Racing Garage has to be my favorite. Apparently I’m not alone in my enthusiasm as this one-off example took home first place at the Ducati Garage Contest at the 2016 World …
Woody Custom in Australia – Braaap ST250
The use of wood as a major body (or body panel) was once popular on cars, though the trait has yet to pick up steam or be widely emulated by the two or four-wheeled customs scene since the days of the iconic Woody Wagons. There was a slight resurgence of wood (or faux wood) on SUV’s a few decades ago …
1 of 10 – 2014 MV Agusta Bol d’Or by Walt Siegl
Post Listing Update: This incredible custom did not meet reserve with 4 bids up to $28,888. I love the look of endurance racers and I love Walt Siegl’s work, so you can probably guess how I felt when Walt debuted the Bol d’Or back in 2014. Just like with his Leggero series, just 10 were built. Here’s numero uno, and …
Zuma-Powered, Composimo-Built – Custom Honda Ruckus
At any given point you can find dozens of custom Honda Ruckus examples floating around on Craigslist and eBay. Extended swing-arm conversions and bespoke paint jobs are pretty run of the mill modifications and I’ve never given much thought or attention to bespoke Ruckus examples, but today’s thoroughly modified build is a different story altogether.
Land-Doo – Custom Sea-Doo Trike
Built by placing a Sea-Doo body on a homemade frame (isn’t that a sentence that inspires confidence?), this custom trike would be an amusing way to get around town before you were inevitably arrested and tested for a DUI.
“Cavallo Nero” – Pro-Grade 1975 Ducati 860 Build
Bryan Fuller is one of the better-known names in the custom car and motorcycle worlds. In addition to owning Full-Bore Publishing – an outfit that publishes various how-to-build books – Fuller also now owns Fuller Moto, a renowned customs shop that builds bespoke two and four-wheelers, and also offers hands-on classes to pass on their skills. The Atlanta-based shop has …
SR400 Build – 2010 Deus Ex Machina Grievous Angel
Post Listing Update: This Deus build did not meet reserve despite 60 bids up to $8,600 on eBay. In addition to a multitude of one-off customs, Deus has some ‘signature’ builds for specific models that anyone can call up and order. The signature build for Yamaha’s SR400/500 is the Grievous Angel, amusingly adorned in what Deus calls “Henry Ford pink” …
Unexpected Motor – 1986 Porsche 928S Powered Trike
Porsche has gotten involved in motorcycle engine design before – they were brought on to help develop the Revolution motor for Harley-Davidson’s V-Rod back in 2002. That liquid-cooled motor developed a very non-Harley number of 120 horsepower, and that might be what inspired the creator of this crazy build to build a trike around a different Porsche motor – the …
Buford – 1975 Honda Gold Wing GL1000 K0 Custom
I’m working on my review of the 2018 Honda Gold Wing, which is why I had to feature this crazy custom from the first year of Wing production. Named “Buford”, this interesting Gold Wing custom has nearly covered 500,000 miles…and it’s covered by 10 square feet of Icelandic goat fur. Now that’s a sentence I never thought I’d type out …
Little French Tracker – 2014 Mash Seventy Five 125cc
Mash Motorcycles is one of those manufacturers you’ve probably never heard of before. First founded in 2014, the low-volume boutique manufacturer offers good looking inexpensive motorcycles powered by small-displacement (50cc, 125cc, 250cc, and 400cc) Chinese crate engines. Think Cleveland CycleWerks, but French. In its handful of years since being established, Mash has released a surprisingly expansive lineup including factory ADV …
Street Scrambler Elsinore Tribute – 1985 Honda VF500 Custom
What we have here is an ’85 Honda VF500 V30 Magna-based, 500 Interceptor-powered Street Scrambler build. This example – which was built as a 1973 Honda CR250 Elsinore tribute – very much looks the part of your typical scrambler while boasting performance closer to that of a mid-’80’s sport bike. The V4-powered sled has received a lot of work and …