Suzuki GT550 custom Honduki

Suzuki GT550 custom Honduki

The best custom motorcycles have a coherent look—a visual balance and flow that literally stops the traffic. And the modifications should perform on the road as well as in front of the camera. So this bike, a mix of Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki parts from different eras, shouldn’t work. But strangely, it does—and very well too.

The core of this custom is a 1975 Suzuki GT550. It was created by MotoHangar, a Virginia-based workshop run by Pat Jones. Pat wanted to combine the old with the new, with particular attention to the suspension. “The bike handles like a modern sportbike, but with the charm of a vintage two-stroke,” Pat reports. “I wanted a more ‘road worthy’ two-stroke.”

Suzuki GT550 custom Honduki

Suzuki GT550 custom Honduki

MotoHangar completed the mods entirely in-house, including the paint and graphics. They gave the GT550 a custom subframe, and fitted the tail section from a Kawasaki GPZ. The air-cooled triple is bored .50 over, and has been boosted further with modified Kawasaki H1 expansion chambers. The seat is crafted from elk leather, and sits in a fiberglass seat pan. A Honda headlight sits up front, and the rear suspension is from a Kawasaki ZX-6R. The swingarm is a Suzuki SV650 item, and at the other end are GSX-R forks. It all helps to reduce weight, along with the GSX-R wheels.

Suzuki GT550 custom Honduki

The instrumentation is a little more down to earth, with just a tachometer and voltmeter providing information. And the oil reservoir, adding a twist of humor, is a German “Pilot’s Beer” aluminum beer bottle.

This GT550 is one of the most ambitious customs we’ve seen recently, but somehow, Pat Jones has made it work. And I bet it’s a blast to ride, too.

[Spotted on Return of the Cafe Racers.]

Suzuki GT550 custom Honduki

Suzuki GT550 custom Honduki

1973 Honda XL 285

1973 Honda XL 285

Short of cash after the build, Jake was forced to send the XL out to work in a bakery

Finding and showing the world great custom bikes. It’s what Pipeburn does. But being at the pointy end of the whole process with it’s constant search for the latest and greatest can easily make you forget about the other amazing part of the process – the part where all you guys arrive and check out the cool bikes. Now here’s the really cool part of the whole process; like some crazy custom bike feedback loop the bikes we find and feature then go on to inspire the new builds to a greater or lesser extent. Like the simple, clean, elegant Honda you see here. Except in the case of Jake Lyons and his XL it was a little more, shall we say, direct than usual. See Jake went from nothing to knee deep in grease and Shoichiro design after his first ever session of Pipeburning. So if you’ll allow us a brief moment of pride, please enjoy the bike that Pipeburn built.

1973 Honda XL 285

“I’m Jake Lyons – a Washington contactor and bike fan. While on a job site a couple years ago I began to speak with an electrician about motorcycles. Prior to this conversation I had zero awareness of any sort of vintage scene, I had only owned enduros and newer sport bikes. He insisted that I take a look at your site; arriving home that day I pulled up Pipeburn and after about 6 hours and 60+ pages later the decision was clear – I would be building a bike. I already had a sentimental old XL sitting in my shop and I began work immediately.”

1973 Honda XL 285

“I pulled up Pipeburn and after about 6 hours
and 60 pages later the decision was clear -
I would be building a bike”

“This XL 250 was in fact the first motorcycle I had ever ridden and learned to ride on back in 4th grade. My dad picked it up in the late 70′s and dragged it around the states, beating it up along the way. In late 2008, it had nearly 40 years of abuse when I pried it from under some old lawn chairs below his deck. He made me complete various tasks, including climbing and pruning cedar trees before I could have the title but I was rewarded with this 4-valve, rusty matriarch of a machine.

After getting it home I put new tires on it and drove it once before the kick starter snapped off inside the case while up in the mountains. After nervously compression starting it and getting it home, it sat for over 2 years until my eyes were opened to Pipeburn. I started the project in mid July 2010.”

1973 Honda XL 285

Won’t

1973 Honda XL 285

somebody spare a thought for the poor tuna cans…

“I started with a complete tear down. I stripped most of the excess tabs off the frame, welded in a hoop and sent that and the swing arm off to powder coating. I do all of my own work and put the majority of other components into primer, wet sanded, and then base/clear black. The tank was beat by my father and took some effort to straighten out; the blue paint being a 40’s Ford truck code. The motor was rebuilt with the JE 285 kit in trade for a parts bike I had bought for it. The seat I built using a piece of steel I yanked out of the bin at a recycling place and then plasma cut it out after making a cardboard template. I then used some neoprene foam and a steak knife to get the shape I wanted. I had all of the paint and body work supplies from my car projects. The bike fit perfectly in my shop and just came together really smoothly.

Being my first bike, each decision took at least 10 times as long to make as the actual building took. I got the bike into a roller within a month and then took an additional year to really finish it, working in the evenings. The 13 year-old across the street, Harrison, usually helps me with projects and this was no different. He was a huge help and came over to work pretty much any time my garage door was open.”

“After a battle fitting the front CB 18″ wheel I got for free, using a CB 360t front end and some pro bono millwork by my friend Mike, I finally fitted the 4:00×18 Avons I had been drooling over. I had it dyno tuned a couple of times before the bugs were worked out for the 285 kit but now it first kicks and runs super strong. It even picks up the front end into second, which was not quite an option before the build.

I’m completely addicted to these classics now and have several other projects in varying degrees of completion. A 1968 Yamaha YCS1, a 1974 Honda CB550SS, and a 1981 Honda CB750k. I love the energy of these bikes, they have a distinct soul in comparison to their modern day successors.”

1973 Honda XL 285

So there you have it. And do we feel like proud new fathers of a beautiful, bouncing baby bike. Scott’s just lit the stogie and I’m on my third glass of single malt. Jake, the mother in this case, is doing well though he’s obviously a bit tired and definitely needs his rest. Quiet now – you don’t want to wake her…

Ducati 450 Desmo Corsa

Ducati 450 Desmo Corsa

This 1970 Ducati 450 Desmo Corsa is one of the phenomenal vintage motorcycles being offered up from the private collection of former Ducati factory test-rider and Ducati dealership owner, Carlo Saltarelli.

The Ducati 450 Desmo Corsa will be accepting bids at the Monaco RM Auction, taking place between the 11th and 12th of May 2012 in the tiny European principality, many of the greats from the world of motorcycles and motorcycle racing are expected to be in attendance.

This is shaping up to be one of the largest Ducati auctions in history, with over 100 motorcycles spanning 30+ years being offered for sale. As the prices these bikes will fetch are expected to be somewhere in the jillion-bajillion-dollar price range our only hope may be an Oceans 11/Italian Job style heist. Who’s with me?

Ducati 450 Desmo Corsa

Ducati 450 Desmo Corsa

And a Video of a similar bike to give you a idea of the sound!

2013 Victory Judge

2013 muscle cruiser launched

2013 Victory Judge

VICTORY promised it would launch its first 2013 model at the weekend and this is it – the Victory Judge.

cruiser, muscle bike and flat-tracker styling wrapped around Victory’s usual 106cu in V-twin engine, it’s not going to be to all tastes – the overall look is less gaudy than the usual Victory styling, but we’re not convinced by the number board (if that’s what it is) below the seat.

Victory is going hard on the ‘muscle’ angle, so presumably this is a competitor for Harley’s V-Rod Muscle. Ducati’s Diavel probably isn’t going to be to worried when it comes to real power and performance in a cruiser shape, though.

Even the name – Judge – is designed to evoke images of old-skool American muscle cars, particularly the Pontiac GTO Judge (one of the icons of the muscle car genre, for those of you who aren’t familiar with it). Other cues include the 16-inch wheels and raised white lettering on the tyres. Unusually, the wide front tyre is matched to a relatively narrow rear, so both ends are almost the same (the front is a 130, the rear a 140 section).

2013 Victory Judge

In the States the bike costs $13,999.

The Desmo Hog

Now I’m not saying that some customs can be easy to build, but very few get into the level of engineering that Chris Barber from Crossbreed Cycles often goes, in this case by deciding to mate two Ducati 900ss Cylinder heads to a Harley big twin bottom end, and mounting it all in a hard tail chassis. Quite what possessed him to do this is a mystery, but it’s a work of insanity and/or genius.

What’s even more impressive is that Chris does everything himself, from drawuing up CAD images of what he wants to build, to engineering it all himself, while licking all his own stamps and making his own brew and sarnies – but the outcome looks more like the work of a huge team of Americans in a hangar-sized chop-shop in Cali.  Bloody impressive stuff.

The Desmo Hog

The Desmo Hog

The engine uses Carillo Rods, with stock stroke crankshaft and flat top Keith Black pistons, providing 10:1 compression ratio. Axtell cylinders are made to Chris’ own design from ductile cast iron.

The Desmo Hog From the drawing board… to the workshop

The Desmo Hog Two rear 900ss heads are used because the front has vertical fins, the front mounted head is turned through 180 degrees and runs a cam from the front cylinder of a 900ss. Lubrication is via a high volume pump running high ratio gears for more scavenging.

The Desmo Hog Ducati cams run off the reduntant Harley cam via a series of gears and toothed belts,the train of gears of various tooth numbers, allows for fine adjustment of valve timing… Apparently it’s also a bit confusing to time!

Chris is clearly driven by a passion for machines, and the beauty in his engineering is a match for the beauty of his bikes as a whole.

Check out more of his work at Crossbreed Cycles.

The Desmo Hog