The Suzuki GSX250 The Suzuki GSX series made its first appearance in 1980, and within a few short years the “Gixxers” had established Suzuki a rock-solid reputation as a four-stroke superbike builder. Up until the mid-70s the Japanese marque was building almost all two-strokes, from small capacity bikes right the way up to the widowmaker GT750….
The BMW R1100S The BMW R1100S was released in 1999 as an indication of the direction the German marque would take into the 21st century. It was fitted with the most powerful boxer twin BMW had made up until that point, producing 98 hp and 72 lbf.ft from its 1085cc capacity, and it was mated to…
Those of you who are active in the motorcycle side of the Instagram universe will probably have already seen Karly and her trusty Honda CB550. For those who haven’t, Karly is a Texan, a counsellor, a photographer, a mother, and an avid motorcyclist who picked up a junkyard Honda CB550 back in 2015 for $500….
The Honda Shadow The Honda Shadow isn’t a motorcycle you would usually associate with a top tier custom rebuild. Honda introduced the Shadow in 1983 targeting the lucrative American market – specifically Harley-Davidson buyers. The styling borrowed heavily from the cruiser market, with a V-twin, sweeping fenders, a relaxed riding position, and a generous helping…
The Honda CR500 The Honda CR500 first appeared in 1984, it was the most powerful model in the legendary CR series of two-stroke motocross bikes, and its 55 hp engine only had to move a (dry) weight of 102 kilograms (225 lbs). Honda’s first CR-badged bikes were the CR125 and CR250 released in 1973, both…
The Kawasaki KZ 1000 was released in late 1976, and both the motoring public and the motorcycle media quickly realised that it was the new fastest production bike in the world. Kawasaki built the K1000 as an evolution of the KZ 900, which itself was an evolution of the original big inline-4 Kawasaki – the…
There’s something immediately approachable about mini bikes. In fact they might be the only motorcycle genre that almost all motorcyclists like. The mini racing bike you see here started life as a bare 1969 Z50A Magnum frame, it was sourced from a local legend in Denton, Texas nicknamed “Minibike George”. The build is the work…
The BMW R100R was released in 1991 as a retro-styled model that harked back to the golden age of the BMW boxer twin, commonly known as the “Airheads” because the engine’s heads are out in the air for optimal cooling. In some respects the R100R represented all of the development time that BMW had invested…
The BMW K100 was the German answer to the surge in popularity surrounding inline-4 motorcycles pouring out of Japan in the ’70s and ’80s. They knew they needed a large displacement 4-cylinder to supplement their ageing boxer twins – and potentially replace them altogether. They settled on a twin cam inline-4 with fuel injection, a 5-speed…
The Honda CB750 was released in 1969 to fulfil a demand by Honda dealers in the USA for a bigger, more powerful motorcycle that would allow them to compete directly with the large-engined bikes from the US and Europe. Honda was skeptical about the potential for the new 750cc inline-4, so they didn’t fully set up a…
The Motul 800 Onirika 2853 is a bespoke custom built by Luca Pozzato’s Officine GPDesign workshop in Turin, Italy for the charitable organisation Motul Corazón Foundation. It’s a one-off design based on the popular MV Agusta Brutale 800 – a 798cc triple cylinder, DOHC naked bike capable of 109hp and a top speed of 237…
Ton-Up Garage is a Portuguese garage that has produced some of the most aesthetically well-designed customs you’ll find anywhere. Proprietors Daniel and Pedro are a friendly pair with a taste for adventure, and a deep love of classic Californian hot rod culture. This Triumph was built by the pair as a hat tip to the…
