Developments and custom are two main themes of what we do round right here at Bike EXIF. We’re at all times watching out for the subsequent hottest factor making waves, however on the identical time, the motorcycling passion has an intense reverence for its previous. It’s all about bowing your head to the place we’ve been, whereas imagining a singular method ahead, and I believe it’s protected to say that our high performers of December embrace this philosophy.
Trackers, café racers and choppers have been round for a protracted rattling time, and contemplating their continued illustration in our stat highlights, it’s protected to say we’ll proceed to see them lengthy into the long run.
BMW R 12 nineT Road Tracker by Tough Crafts
Tough Crafts isn’t any stranger to constructing formidable customs, however their newest mission steps exterior their ordinary all-black palette with a BMW R 12 nineT that takes visible cues from a customized safari-style Porsche 911. The bike was commissioned by GrowthRing & Provide Co., a Hong Kong-based streetwear label that already had a bespoke 911 constructed, and wished a bike to match it for the Yokohama Scorching Rod Customized Present. Winston Yeh, the frontman at Tough Crafts, knew the boxer engine within the Porsche and the BMW made an apparent pair, so he leaned into that relationship when sketching the design.
Although Tough Crafts was already engaged on an R 12 nineT construct when the GRS mission got here up, few components had been shared between the 2 bikes, as a result of the GRS machine demanded its personal distinctive particulars. The standout component is the customized gas tank, whose silhouette mirrors the 911’s roofline whereas the sculpted knee indents recall the automobile’s wheel arches. On high sits a wood-trimmed tank rack that echoes the Porsche’s roof rack and makes room for an offset Tough Crafts gas cap. The tail part is a home made cowl perched on a bespoke subframe, wrapped in luxe leather-based, with KOSO-branded LEDs doing responsibility as taillights and indicators.
Tough Crafts additionally reworked the entrance finish with an abbreviated fender and a compact LED headlight tucked into one in all their signature grills, flanked by KOSO flip indicators. The small TFT display on the R 12 nineT nestles neatly behind it. For controls and experience really feel, they used Gilles Tooling handlebars with BMW OEM switches, Tough Crafts risers, Beringer brake and clutch masters and Motogadget bar-end mirrors. The 17-inch wheels and Brembo brake calipers stay from the bottom bike, however molded wheel covers now mirror the long-lasting Fuchs wheels of the 911 with out including weight. Öhlins suspension and Gilles Tooling foot controls spherical out the dealing with upgrades.
A bespoke exhaust carries the safari theme with high-mounted mufflers below the tail that nod to some Porsche center-mounted twin-pipe designs. As soon as the bespoke components had been prepared, every little thing was stripped off Tough Crafts’ check mule and shipped to BMW Motorrad Sagamihara in Kanagawa, Japan, the place the group reassembled the bike on a contemporary donor body in time for the present. Although it was constructed to enhance its four-wheeled counterpart, the Tough Crafts x GRS R 12 nineT holds its personal by itself deserves, catching eyes and respect even with out the Porsche in body. [More]
Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 Café Racer by Omega Racer
Omega Racer has been quietly incomes respect for its handcrafted alloy components and full customized builds for greater than a decade, and their newest Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 café racer pushes their metalworking expertise entrance and middle. Based mostly in Thailand however with work seen everywhere in the world, Omega’s founder Markus Pintzinger wished to showcase his group’s capability to form uncooked aluminum into one thing that feels each radical and refined. The objective was easy: rework a 2019 Continental GT donor into a motorbike that appears bespoke with out requiring irreversible modification, providing a plug-and-play equipment that different house owners may ultimately order for their very own builds.
With that imaginative and prescient in hand, the group stripped away all OEM bodywork, leaving the engine, body and working gear largely untouched. The centerpiece is a brand new gas tank within the type of Omega’s well-liked Mugello sequence—longer and extra sculpted than inventory, with swish knee indents that give the bike a basic racer silhouette. To match, a hand-formed tail hump was formed with deep creases that echo the tank’s traces, completed off with a wealthy leather-based seat pad by long-time collaborator Songsaeng Boonthong of The Sports activities. The tailpiece sits barely shorter than the unique subframe, a refined nod to the Continental GT’s proportions whereas retaining the lean profile clear and purposeful.
Regardless of the bespoke alloy panels, the bike’s facet covers seem authentic at a look—however they’re new items formed to suit the polished aesthetic of each different element. For the entrance Omega took a distinct inspiration, crafting a customized fairing and aluminum fender that pay tribute to 2 very totally different machines from the Nineteen Nineties—the Gilera SP02 and the Ducati 900SS. The oblong headlight tucked into the half fairing is a daring selection that works surprisingly nicely on the Continental GT platform. Shark gill slots minimize into the fairing add an aggressive contact that conveys velocity at a standstill.
Omega Racer didn’t paint the bodywork—each panel was polished to a mirror end so the uncooked aluminum stays the star, juxtaposed in opposition to the inventory bike’s patina for further distinction. Beneath the shine, the inventory mechanicals stay largely as they got here off the showroom flooring, however the group added a stainless-steel exhaust that sheds about 40 p.c of the inventory weight and delivers a a lot better sound. When the construct was full, Markus christened the bike Promethea, impressed by Alan Moore’s visionary graphic novel, a logo of transformation and evolution that resonates with the spirit of the mission. [More]
Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 Flat Tracker by Guerilla Moto
When famed Tokyo builder Toshiyuki “Cheetah” Osawa got down to rework a Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 right into a flat tracker, he wasn’t involved in a gentle styling job or a easy road bike with off-road vibes. Osawa, recognized for his imaginative, performance-focused customized flat trackers and because the founding father of the “Have Enjoyable” flat observe occasion in Japan, approached this mission as a real track-oriented machine. The ensuing construct, dubbed the Carolina Reaper for its fiery appears to be like and angle, is a radical reinterpretation of the Guerrilla 450 that balances retro flat observe angle with considerate engineering.
To realize the precise proportions and dealing with traits, Osawa began by tearing the bike all the way down to its core. The inventory primary body was retained, however almost every little thing else was redesigned. A bespoke chromoly tubular subframe and customized swingarm changed the manufacturing facility rear setup, eliminating the inventory linkage in favor of a direct-mount shock association with a number of decrease mounting factors so rear geometry will be rapidly adjusted for observe situations. Up entrance the bike wears WP Suspension inverted forks held by KTM Duke 390 triple clamps, and the wheels had been swapped for 19-inch rims wrapped in Maxxis DTR-1 flat observe rubber. Braking is pared again to a single Brembo caliper on the rear, reflecting pure flat track logic.
The customized bodywork is equally purposeful. Osawa crafted a two-piece polished aluminum tank and fairing unit with beneficiant house to clear the outsized aftermarket air filter, seamlessly integrating facet boards, quantity plates and tail bump right into a cohesive entire. The cockpit is minimal—only a set of Mika Metals handlebars with important controls and a entrance quantity board instead of a headlight. Foot controls are bespoke with Bates rubber pegs, and the exhaust flows by a tailor-made stainless-steel header and IXRACE muffler that trims weight whereas giving the engine a agency, race-ready notice.
Visually, the Carolina Reaper lives as much as its identify. Painted with a scorching customized scheme—laid down in collaboration with S Paint Works and completed with considered crimson highlights and engine-turned aluminum accents—the construct confidently fuses Cheetah’s trendy flat observe language with hints of Seventies American racing aesthetics. [More]
TVS RR 310 Café Racer by Smoked Storage
The TVS Apache RR 310 could also be compact, however its 312 cc single-cylinder engine and nimble chassis have made it a enjoyable and reasonably priced platform the place it’s really out there. In Indonesia, Smoked Garage took that potential and pushed it towards a neo-retro café racer they name the RR310 Speedline, describing the construct as “a pursuit of velocity, purity and goal.”
Smoked Storage started with the rolling chassis, changing the unique wheels with a set of customized alloy rims mounted with race-slick tires, becoming a 200-section tire within the rear. The broader rubber exceeded the clearance of the inventory swingarm, so the group fabricated a brand new aluminium swingarm from scratch and paired it with an Öhlins shock for contemporary compliance and suggestions. Up entrance, the forks had been upgraded and braking was enhanced with RCB four-piston calipers and a customized air duct to assist cooling, sharpening each really feel and efficiency.
With the chassis sorted, the aesthetics had been reimagined from the bottom up. The inventory sportbike bodywork was eliminated in favor of a handmade café fairing that flows cleanly right into a newly-shaped gas tank with a rounded, basic profile. Composite physique panels and radiator shrouds tidy up free edges and emphasise the bike’s new traces, whereas the fairing homes a spherical LED headlight and lets the digital dashboard sit unobtrusively behind it. Low clip-ons, Groza levers with shiny crimson Smoked grips and a minimalist cockpit tie the using place to the café racer ethos.
The rear part is completed with a bespoke tail unit and built-in LED lighting, two-tone upholstery and a modern stomach pan that reinforces the construct’s purposeful silhouette. A large-open stainless-steel exhaust offers the RR 310 a extra assertive soundtrack, and the colourful crimson and silver livery with late-90s-inspired graphics offers the bike a timeless race aura. The result’s a machine that feels cohesive somewhat than chopped; a radical reinterpretation that respects the RR 310’s inherent strengths whereas reshaping its character. [More]
Royal Enfield Basic 650 Chopper by Customized Works Zon
On the 2025 Yokohama Scorching Rod Customized Present, Custom Works Zon unveiled one of many wildest builds in current reminiscence: a Royal Enfield Basic 650 fitted with two parallel-twin engines. Store founder Yuichi Yoshizawa wished to make a press release that went past stretched land-speed machines or easy energy mods. As an alternative he imagined a dual-engine chopper that used the elegant, character-rich Basic 650 parallel twin as a basis and repeated it for a dramatic visible and mechanical affect.
The premise for the construct was comparatively easy: two full Basic 650 engines positioned entrance and rear, however the execution required a number of inventive workarounds. To maintain the general chassis from ballooning in measurement, the group staggered the peak of the engines—utilizing solely the crankcase and chain drive of the entrance unit and retaining the total gearbox on the rear. Yoshizawa and his crew fabricated a customized extension for the entrance crankshaft and a major drive gear to hyperlink the 2 powerplants mechanically, guaranteeing each delivered torque by a single related drivetrain. A single ECU powers each engines, and Yoshizawa relays that this a part of the method was really fairly simple.
With the thermal and mechanical coronary heart of the bike sorted, consideration turned to the chassis. The inventory Basic 650 body was not ample, so Customized Works Zon constructed a completely new hardtail spine and matched it to a bespoke girder entrance finish that blended energy with visible stability. The forks, crafted from thick metal plates that had been bent and carved by hand, imbued the bike with a presence that felt equally purposeful and stylish. Rolling inventory is daring and outsized—26-inch entrance and 18-inch rear wheels with Efficiency Machine calipers and Scorching Dock discs.
The bodywork and end converse to a philosophy of fabric honesty. Fairly than disguise each floor below paint, the group left metal, aluminium and wooden largely unpainted, celebrating their pure textures and distinction. A gas reservoir below the seat replaces the normal tank place, whereas a field the place a tank would usually sit homes important electronics. Mahogany trim and masterful leatherwork add heat and refinement, and a sculpted aluminium fowl motif evokes movement even at relaxation. Named Vita—Latin for “life”—this twin-engine Basic 650 is as a lot a sculpture of metallic and wooden as it’s a rolling machine, a construct that pushes each design and fabrication boundaries whereas sustaining the allure of its Royal Enfield roots.
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