Speed Read, October 30, 2022

Winston Yeh of Rough Crafts takes a quick break from building menacing Harleys to design a wild Husqvarna supermoto. We also look at KTM’s bonkers new RC 8C superbike, a Harley Sportster with vintage flat track style, a Moto Guzzi V65 wrapped in aluminum, and a custom Volcon Grunt electric bike.

Husqvarna FE501 by Rough Crafts Scrolling through Instagram, our thumbs froze as we came across a lean, lithe and murdered-out Husqvarna supermoto. Standing in front of it was none other than Winston Yeh of Rough Crafts in Taiwan.

We’ve ridden the FE501’s KTM counterpart (most Huskies are just rebadged KTMs), and it’s an impressive machine out the box. It’s basically a 500 cc motocross bike with lights and a license plate—and if we had one in the garage, we probably wouldn’t do much to it.

That’s the direction Winston’s taken. He’s kept the mods minimal and tasteful, adding a hefty dose of Rough Crafts style while injecting some road manners.

Up front, the factory WP Suspension forks have been replaced with Öhlins RFX48S units and STM Supermoto fork legs. In place of the 21F/18R wheels are a pair of 17” Marchesini M10RR Kompe Motard wheels, fitted with Pirelli Rosso Corsa II tires. Braking forces are supplied by Beringer, with a four-piston caliper and 310 mm disc up front, and a two-piston caliper squeezing a 230 mm disc in the rear.

Rough Crafts installed a carbon fuel tank and frame guards from CMT, and had the frame powder-coated black. The headlight is from Koso, housed inside a custom front numberplate. And the front fender is the factory unit, albeit slightly shortened.

The engine’s stock, but the exhaust’s been upgraded; a titanium Akrapovič header is mated to an SC-Project muffler. The seat is custom, and the rear shock is an Öhlins TTX Flow item.

Driving the point home is a stunning custom graphics kit. The factory Husqvarna bodywork has never looked so good, wearing a custom vinyl wrap from MTR Custom Wrapping. The black and gold livery matches the wheels and Öhlins suspension perfectly.

It’s narrow, light, powerful and it looks damn good. Should Rough Crafts do a series of these? Most definitely. [Rough Crafts | Images by Kin Lin]

2023 KTM RC 8C What’s black, orange and sold every 0.79 seconds? If you guessed the 2023 KTM RC 8C, then you are correct.

If you don’t know the RC 8C, it’s a track-only superbike that borrows tech from KTM’s RC16 MotoGP race bike. Needless to say, it’s sold in extremely limited numbers.

Building on the success of the previous model, the 2023 KTM RC 8C has been tweaked to deliver an “even sharper Ready to Race” experience. The LC8c parallel twin engine has been upgraded with various titanium parts, with the power boosted to 135 hp at 11,000 rpm. A new Akrapovič titanium exhaust system helps keep the dry weight down at 142 kilos [313 lbs].

The electronics suite also has a few upgrades. The throttle response and engine braking are adjustable, and to help you put the power down, there are traction, launch and anti-wheelie control options.

The suspension is from WP’s Pro Components range and the braking comes from Brembo. The transmission features a reversed shifting pattern, just like a MotoGP bike, while the wheels are wrapped in super sticky Pirelli Diablo racing tires.

The rims, chain, CNC fork clamps, handlebar switches and dashboard are all new. The carbon front fender and huge front fairing wings look like they’ve come straight off the RC16 MotoGP. Further cementing the RC 8C’s track-only vibe are the crash-damage-prone parts that can be easily swapped out in the pits.

If all this sounds right up your alley, I have some bad news. All 200 2023 RC 8Cs sold out in a mind-blowing two minutes and 38 seconds. If you’d like to join the waiting list and try your luck, contact your nearest KTM dealer. [KTM RC 8C]

Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 by Duecilindri Upon hearing a name like Duecilindri, you’d be forgiven for thinking about Italian twin-cylinder bikes. However, Paolo Ghiringhelli of the Italian Duecilindri blog and YouTube channel is actually more interested in American twins—namely Harley-Davidson Sportsters.

This is Paolo’s personal bike, based on a 2007 Sportster 883—and as you can see, he’s made some changes. “The bike is deliberately simple,” says Paolo. “I don’t like excess, and I wanted it to always recall the original model.”

Paolo has styled his Sportster like a road-going homage to Harley’s iconic XR750 flat tracker, and it sure looks the business. The Sportster 883’s stock peanut tank sits in front of a custom-made tail unit and seat. It’s a simple change, but it’s undeniably effective.

Up front are a pair of Brembo brakes, squeezing Discacciati discs through Goodridge braided brake lines. The suspension has been reworked, with Öhlins rear shocks and a kit from Misano in the front forks, complete with preload adjusters.

There’s a smattering of carbon fiber parts on the bike too, such as the headlight cover, side covers, air filter cover and chain guard. The engine has been bumped up to 1200 cc, courtesy of a Screaming Eagle kit. A stainless steel flat track exhaust was also fitted, terminating in a pair of Supertrapp mufflers.

Wearing Pirelli MT60 tyres and that gorgeous orange paint, this Sportster looks like a blast to ride. We’ll ask it again: why didn’t Harley release this as a factory Sportster back in the day? [Duecilindri]

Moto Guzzi V65 by 7089 Garage Antonio from 7089 Garage has an affinity for raw metal. Heavily influenced by Japanese bike builders like Shinya Kimura, Antonio has always admired their mastery of metal shaping.

Approached by a customer who wanted a “rideable show bike,” Antonio chose a 1981 Moto Guzzi V65 as the base. The V65 is basically a smaller version of the venerable Moto Guzzi Le Mans. These small block Moto Guzzis are plentiful, make a great noise and handle like a dream.

This also makes them perfect for custom builds. To make his Guzzi stand out, Antonio crafted all the bodywork by hand from aluminum. Using traditional metal shaping tools, he created the front fender, fairing, tank, tail and side covers. He also made the alternator cover, and added brass highlights to the foot pegs and rear shock bolts.

The V65 front end is spindly, to put it mildly, so Antonio swapped it out for a set of modern upside-down forks. While the forks make for a smoother ride, a twin disc front end provides a massive boost in braking power.

Covering most of the bike, the flowing bodywork has an almost organic form to it. Which is exactly why Antonio opted not to paint any of it. We’re sure the new owner would be just as happy looking at it as they would riding it. [Via]

Volcon Grunt by Revival Cycles When the Austin-based EV manufacturer, Volcon, was looking for a shop to collaborate on a custom build, they looked in their own backyard. After a brief trip to the other side of town, they delivered a Volcon Grunt to the crew at Revival Cycles with a relatively simple brief.

Volcon requested that the big tires and most of the frame stay intact, but the rest was up to Revival—as long as they built something completely unique. Fortunately for Volcon, unique is something that Revival does very well.

Leaving the chunky tires where they were, the bike was stripped down to get a good idea of what the Revival crew had to work with. They then teamed up with designer Ed Boyd to create a number of 3D models in CAD. After choosing a direction, it was all systems go.

They settled on a design that combines sleek monocoque-style bodywork with a cantilevered tail section. The bodywork is all fiberglass, built in collaboration with Calton Cases. Calton is traditionally known for their custom guitar cases, but they had all the right tools to help Revival knock out the Grunt’s new bodywork.

With that sorted, the Revival team chopped off the Volcon subframe and welded their own in place. Narrower and stronger, it supports the custom seat and tail with ease. The swingarm was inverted, with the ride smoothed out by an Öhlins TTX36 shock absorber mounted on custom brackets.

Other changes include custom stainless steel foot pegs mounted on CNC-machined brackets, and twin LED headlights. Painted in bright, flashy colors, the bike looks exceptionally fun to look at and ride. If this is what the future of electric motorcycles looks like, sign us up. [More]

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Winning Recipe: A Honda CBX 1000 café racer from France

A year after he turned his custom motorcycle building hobby into a business, Dimitri at Lys Motorcycles figured it was time to level up his portfolio. So he set time aside to build a show bike—a rolling portfolio piece that he could take to events. Going for max. impact, he took a 1982 Honda CBX 1000 and cranked it up to eleven.

It was a hit, and Dimitri was soon fielding the sort of requests that custom builders usually have mixed feelings about; “Make me something just like it, except for…” That’s the price you pay for cracking the formula.

This particular CBX 1000 is now the third one Dimitri’s built, and came with similar instructions. “The customer asked for something similar to my first CBX,” says Dimitri, “but with handlebars instead of clip-ons, and a two-up seat with a cowl. I think that was a deal with his wife.”

To kick things off, Dimitri sourced another 1982-model donor—the sport-touring version of the CBX that featured Honda’s ‘modern’ Pro-Link mono-shock system. From his workshop in the northern French region of Hauts-de-France, he applied the same philosophy to this CBX as he did the last one.

The goal was to create an aggressive café racer, with upgraded running gear and an emphasis on the Honda’s mighty six-cylinder motor. Dimitri knocked it out the park; this one’s a total ripper.

For starters, he overhauled the engine with new sundries, then painted the outside with a mix of gloss and wrinkle black finishes. The carbs are original, but they’ve been improved with a Dynojet kit. They inhale through six billet air intakes, covered with gold mesh screens.

Lower down is a burly six-into-one exhaust system that could rival Medusa on a good hair day. The headers were fabricated by frequent Lys Motorcycles collaborator, Irnox, while the muffler comes from Spark.

Under the hood is a fresh wiring harness, built around a Motogadget control box and a Lithium-ion battery. Both are stashed away in a custom-made box underneath the seat.

Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of older Hondas will immediately notice that this CBX has shed its original composite wheels. It now rolls on 17” alloy hoops—and although they damn near look like a matching set, they come from two different sources.

The front wheel’s from a Triumph Speed Triple R, which also donated its upside-down forks and twin Brembo brakes. But the back wheel, single-sided swingarm and rear shock were all scalped from a Ducati 848.

As you’d imagine, the process wasn’t exactly plug-and-play. The CBX now sports a completely new subframe, with extra effort going into perfecting the custom shock mounts.

Sitting on top is a custom two-up seat, upholstered in a perforated vinyl with contrasting stitching. A removable cowl covers the passenger seat, adding a hint of café racer style. The bike features removable passenger pegs too.

The stock tank sits up front—but despite its inherent heft, it blends well with Dimitri’s changes. Just in front of it are upright bars from TRW, fitted with Motone switches, and Motogadget grips, bar-end mirrors and turn signals. The speedo and LED headlight are both Koso parts.

Out back is an adjustable license plate bracket, which also hosts a pair of three-in-one LED taillights. A set of repurposed Honda CBR rear-sets round out the list.

The CBX’s new livery is as striking as its stance. The bodywork’s covered in gloss black, punctuated by hand-painted gold scallops and red pin-striping.

Dimitri’s ticked every box—this CBX looks sharp, is well-equipped and probably sounds bananas. If he keeps this up, his order books are going to burst.

Lys Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram

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Three in one: A BMW R100R bobber with an adaptable tail

A design can be elevated by taking elements away rather than adding them. Sometimes it’s about what’s there, and sometimes it’s about what’s not. This custom 1993 BMW R100R falls into the second category—built by Niks Motorcycles in Barcelona, Spain, it’s an essay on minimalism.

If you’re not familiar, the R100R was technically BMW’s first go at building a ‘modern classic.’ It was essentially the road-going equivalent of the R100GS, with an air- and oil-cooled 980 cc boxer twin pushing 60 hp to the back wheel via BMW’s modern (at the time) Paralever shaft drive. The R100R also traded its stablemate’s adventure bike trim for smaller wheels and a smattering of chrome.

The Niks Motorcycles R100R is a considerable departure from the original. But it’s not just a looker—it also hides a neat party trick. At per the client’s brief, this boxer can go from bobber to passenger-friendly at the drop of a hat.

But before Niks got to that, they rebuilt the engine with a 1,000 cc Siebenrock high-compression piston kit. The upper engine cover was replaced with a slimmer unit, with the battery now housed under the swingarm. The exhaust was made by the Niks team and is appropriately short, matching the lines of the frame and exposing the beautiful BMW single-sided swingarm.

The front end is stock, but since the client called for a long and low design it was lowered internally by about five inches. With the reduced travel, the front springs were wisely swapped out for progressive items, along with preload adjusters. The fork lowers were smoothed out for a more classic look.

The Paralever rear end and mono-shock were carried over from the factory bike, but with improved performance courtesy of a Wilbers item. The rear end was also modified slightly to allow a 5” wide tire to fit.

The factory cross-spoked wheels were disassembled, painted black and reassembled with stainless steel spokes and Firestone Deluxe tires. The Brembo front brakes were torn down and rebuilt too, with fresh brake lines and a Beringer master cylinder. Naturally, the calipers got a fresh coat of black paint to match the wheels.

The real magic is happening in the middle section of the bike. Niks built a custom tank that’s less than half the size of the original, and looks totally fantastic. Between the skinny silhouette, the Monza fuel cap and the custom fuel gauge on the left side, it’s a true work of art.

Onto the BMW’s party trick: its tailor-made three-in-one tail setup. Niks’ client liked the idea of a solo seat, but also enjoys riding with his partner. To cover all bases, the team came up with a removable subframe and passenger seat.

It can be configured as a solo seat, a solo seat with a luggage rack, or a full two-up setup. It bolts on in minutes, and opens up a world of convenience. Ingenious stuff.

The front and rear fenders were made in-house too. The rear unit, and a custom-made license plate bracket, attach to the swingarm on the right side only. Again, the bike’s design is elevated by both what is there, and what is not.

A single round headlight sits up front, with a Motogadget tiny speedometer embedded into the top. A set of relaxed, beach cruiser-style handlebars are adorned with Motone push button switches and Beringer levers. The bars are capped with glassless mirrors and LED turn signals, both from Motogadget.

The seat, grips and foot pegs are all covered in the same Italian leather—though the pegs feature stainless steel fasteners for extra grip.

Examine each element of the bike by itself, and you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s nothing special. Combine these elements though, and they come together to create something unique.

Finished in stunning blue paint, the frame, swingarm and tank blend together beautifully. We love how the tank’s so skinny, it almost feels like part of the chassis. It must be wild to look down and see those big boxer pistons sticking out each side.

Niks Motorcycles have taken a different approach with their R100R and it’s paid off in spades. We bet the new owner is happy—because we can’t think of a better way to see the sights of Barcelona.

Niks Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram

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Speed Read, October 23, 2022

From a Cyberpunk-inspired Honda scooter, to a mind boggling Yamaha R1 café racer, we’ve got a little something for everyone this week. In other news: a Yamaha RZ350 goes on auction, a documentary about the late Jessi Combs launches, and a couple of bike nerds unbox a 40-year-old Yamaha for the first time.

Honda Spacy 110 by Rainbow Moto Builder It’s no secret that we have a soft spot for custom scooters—which is why you’ll see them on these pages regularly. But even though we like to cast our net wide, we’ve never seen anything quite like this.

That’s right: lurking beneath the bodywork of this sci-fi-inspired machine, is a scooter. Specifically, an unassuming 2012-model Honda Spacy 110.

In stock form, it’s just another commuter scooter with generic looks, designed for doing little more than getting from A to B. But Indonesia’s Rainbow Moto Builder saw potential for more.

Taking inspiration from the Cyberpunk video game series, the crew wrapped the Spacy in a full complement of hand-shaped sheet metal body panels. It’s covered from head to toe with neat little touches, including a plethora of vents and an array of fasteners that, from a distance, mimic the rivets on aircraft bodies.

Poking out the front are two super-bright LED headlights, inspired by the titular character from the animated film, WALL-E. Just behind those, cutouts make way for a set of clip-ons, fitted with goodies from RCB and Rizoma. The ignition sits on the left said of the main fairing, with an upgraded speedo embedded on top of the tank cover.

There’s a surprising amount of detail for such a humble donor bike. The tail section features an integrated LED taillight, plus a cowl that can be removed to accommodate a passenger. Further down are rear sets and upgraded passenger pegs.

Rainbow Moto Builder also bumped the engine capacity up to 135 cc, and installed an aftermarket exhaust. The Spacy rolls on new wheels too—but they’re wider than stock, so the team had to work their magic on the forks and swingarm.

It’s a wild take on a scooter, but we’re all for it. And it’s not the first time Rainbow Moto Builder has done something this over the top—scroll through their Instagram feed, and you’ll spot a few more bikes that look like they rolled out of an animated sci-fi movie. [Rainbow Moto Builder Instagram]

Yamaha R1 by Robert Catanese and FrameCrafters Some guys are happy to slap a tail bump and clip-ons onto an old Honda CB and call it a café racer. But not Robert Catanese. His idea of a café racer is something that blends modern performance with vintage panache—like a Yamaha R1 repacked into a completely bespoke chassis.

Based in Chicago, Rob is a big fan of both motorcycle racing and custom motorcycle culture. He also has some pretty wicked contacts—like the father and son team over at FrameCrafters in Union, Illinois. So this project was never going to anything other than extreme.

Rob’s project started out completely analog; a sketch on a napkin done over beers with a friend. Armed with that sketch, and a near perfect 2012 Yamaha R1 donor, Rob headed over to FrameCrafters to spec out the rest of the build. In the end, the R1’s motor, ECU and a few key “geometry points” were all that remained.

The 182 hp four-cylinder engine now sits (as a stressed member) in a custom-made chromoly frame. It’s not just gorgeous either—Rob has an aggressive riding style, so the chassis was built to cope with that. The swingarm is a hand-made chromoly unit too, and everything’s been nickel-plated as a nod to old Rickman frames.

FrameCrafters then adapted a Ducati 750SS replica fairing and tail unit to fit the bike, matched to a hand-made aluminum fuel tank. An alloy air intake hides underneath it.

Continuing the performance theme, Rob threw a laundry list of exotic parts at the build. It rolls on carbon fiber wheels from BST, and stops courtesy of Beringer brake calipers and Brake Tech rotors. Other upgrades include Attack Performance yokes, an Öhlins rear shock, GP-style foot controls from Vortex, and a bunch of Lightech and Motogadget bits.

Rob also fitted a custom titanium exhaust, and had the bike chipped and tuned. It now weighs 50 lbs less than a stock R1, and makes around 200 hp.

Best of all, it gets ridden all the time. [Source]

For sale: 1985 Yamaha RZ350 If you prefer classic performance bikes over café racers, the folks over at Iconic Motorbike Auctions have a treat for you. They’re currently auctioning off a 1985 Yamaha RZ350.

Sure, the RZ350 is the most iconic two-stroke that Yamaha ever made, but it’s still special in its own right. For starters, it was one of the last two-strokes that Yamaha built, before tightening emissions requirements started choking the market. The RZ350 made it by the skin of its teeth, partly thanks to the fact that it featured one of the industry’s earliest catalytic converter-equipped exhaust systems.

It was a goer too, according to Cycle World, who put it on their cover in July 1984 and rated it a “perfect 10 on the fun scale.”

Yamaha marketed the bike in the USA by hinging off the reliable ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ sales model. So the US-market RZ350 wore a yellow ‘speedblock’ livery, with Kenny Roberts’ signature on the fairing.

The example for sale here has 7,859 miles on the clock, and is mostly stock. The only obvious changes are an Allspeed exhaust, braided hoses and new grips.

The crew at Iconic have given the bike a good once over, and note that while the tires are good, the fluids are fresh and the electrics all work, there is a carb leak that’ll need sorting. The bike ships with a handful of spares too, and a new battery’s been installed.

Judging by the close-up photos on their listing, the Yamaha could do with a solid cosmetic clean-up too. But if you’ve got a little money to spend, and can jump on it before the auction ends in three days, this might just be the perfect little winter project. [More]

The Fastest Woman on Earth Known as “the fastest woman on four wheels,” Jessi Combs died tragically in 2019 while attempting to set the women’s land speed record in a jet-powered car. Before the fatal crash, she recorded a speed of 522.783 mph [841.338 km/h]—breaking a record that had stood since 1976.

Streaming now on HBO Max, ‘The Fastest Woman on Earth’ is a documentary that chronicles Jessi’s seven-year quest to break that record, and reflects on her extraordinary life. And her life sure was extraordinary.

Born in South Dakota, and obsessed with speed from a young age, there’s almost nothing that Jessi didn’t do during her time here. She was an accomplished racer, fabricator, artist, photographer and TV personality. And although most of her achievements happened on four wheels, she was deeply embedded—and extremely loved—in the motorcycle scene.

She lived her life at full speed and, even now, still inspires others to do the same. [Image source: The Jessi Combs Foundation]

Uncrating a new 40-year-old Yamaha SR500 Not too long ago, our friends at Silodrome reported on a brand new, crated Yamaha SR500 that was going up for sale. That bike was actually one of two, originally bought by a gentleman back in the days when a manufacturer would still let you assemble your own bike. His intention was for him and his son to take up motorcycling together on matching bikes—but they never did, and the bikes stood.

One of them was recently bought by the guys behind the YouTube channel, Beards and Bikes. Once they had it in hand, they did what many of us would secretly love to do, but might not be brave enough to: they uncrated, assembled and started it. In the process, they had to contend with everything from mouse excrement to a missing set of keys.

Pour yourself a beverage, kick back and indulge in the fun below.

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