In Jeremy Tagand’s early days as the resident wrench at Deus ex Machina Australia, the Kawasaki W650 was his bread and butter. Deus was one of the first shops to popularize the W650 as a custom project donor, demonstrating its versatility by customizing it repeatedly across a broad spectrum of styles.
This particular Kawasaki W650 has been in and out of Monsieur Tagand’s operating room a few times over the last sixteen years. It first came to Sydney in a shipping container in 2008 and was promptly booked into Deus’ workshop by its owner for the shop’s signature ‘bobber-saki’ treatment. The modifications included a peanut tank, a 21F/17R wheelset, and a hardtail conversion that’s endured today.
A decade later, Jeremy couldn’t help himself when the W650 popped up for sale. He bought it, dragged it back to the workshop yet again, and turned it into something resembling a bobber with drag bike aspirations. This time, it got a Yamaha SR500 fuel tank and the turbocharger from a Ski-Doo snowmobile.
Jeremy had his hands full though, so the project stalled and the W650 was relegated to the corner of the workshop. A new owner finally came along, bought the bike, and booked it back in for another rebuild.
This time, the brief called for a bobber influenced by traditional Japanese and American build styles; an offbeat fusion of East and West. The existing hardtail frame fit the bill, but most of the other parts would need to go. With ‘his’ W650 back on the bench, Jeremy got to work.
The first job was to re-lace the Kawasaki hubs to smaller rims. Jeremy swapped the 21F/17R hoops for a matching set of 16s, using fresh spokes and brass nipples. They’re wrapped in chunky five-inch-wide Firestone Deluxe Champion tires.
Unsurprisingly, the Kawasaki’s front forks had trouble accommodating the ultra-wide front tire. So Deus called on DNA Customs to machine a wider set of yokes, plus a matching center-mount headlight bracket. The yokes are super sano, with Deus’ logo laser-etched into the top clamp.
They’re also devoid of traditional riser mounts. Instead, a set of rabbit ear handlebars flow upwards from the fork caps. They’re fitted with leather grips and micro switches, with all of the wiring routed through the bars and out via an outlet tube that’s been welded in.
The front end also wears a Bates-style headlight, fork-mounted mirrors, and an abbreviated front fender. A Daytona speedo sits between the fuel tank and the steering neck, propped up on a custom-made bracket.
A Harley-Davidson Sportster fuel tank sits further back, deliberately positioned to expose the frame’s front triangle. Look closely, and you’ll notice that Jeremy has trimmed off the frame’s neck gussets and liberated it of all superfluous mounting tabs, all to bring more chopper sensibilities into the design.
The back end of the bike wears a bobbed leather seat on brass springs, followed by a tight-fitting rear fender. Jeremy reached out to Sydney’s Hypnic Jerk Customs to fabricate the W650’s sissy bar. Arching gracefully over the rear fender, it also houses the bike’s license plate and taillights.
A tidy electronics box sits under the seat, with the bike’s ignition barrel and starter button embedded on the left side. A pair of DNA pod filters replace the airbox, while a two-into-one exhaust system terminates in a simple classically styled muffler.
With the newly-christened ‘Nut Kwaka’ coming together, Jeremy turned his attention to the final finishes. Juds Kustom Paint laid down the W650’s creamy livery, adding a hint of green to the graphics. The frame, rims, and electronics box were all finished in black, with a smattering of brass details scattered throughout the bike—including brass caps that fill the holes where the swingarm bolts used to be.
The Nut Kwaka joins a long line of Kawasaki W650 street trackers, scramblers, café racers, and bobbers that have passed through Deus’ doors—but it’s no paint-by-numbers build. Quirky and irreverent in equal measure, we’d happily park it outside our local watering hole.
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