Made in Taiwan: Twentytwo’s Yamaha SR150 café racer

Made in Taiwan and only sold locally, the Yamaha SR150 was a hit among commuters and delivery riders. But it was a bike bought for its affordability and practicality, not its looks. Resembling the legendary SR500 only in name, the stock SR150 looks just like you’d expect a delivery bike to; blocky and bland.

That hasn’t stopped workshops in Taiwan’s blossoming custom scene from tearing into the snack-sized SR to make it easier on the eye. And this stunning SR150 café racer shows just how much potential the donor bike has.

It’s the work of Twentytwo Custom, the custom branch of the Taiwanese motorcycle culture and apparel brand, Persist Motorcycle Company. When Twentytwo first opened shop, they promised themselves that their fifth build would be an internal project. This is that build.

“The owner of this Taiwanese-made Yamaha SR150 is one of our own staff members, Red,” explains Twentytwo founder, Dong Lin. “She has been in charge of the design business at Persist for nearly three years. Most of our visuals come from her designs.”

Given her sharp eye and her role in the company, Red obviously had a lot to contribute to the design. “Twentytwo ’05’ is an attempt to fuse and pay tribute to all her favorite things,” says Lin, “like sci-fi movies, cyberpunk comics and 90s JDM street racing cars.”

“Out of nostalgia, and a passionate love we have for this domestic-made model, finding a way to preserve the soul of its original look was an extra challenge we set for ourselves. We deliberately kept the original fuel tank, and kept the modification of the main frame to a minimum; hoping that through its brand new appearance, the original silhouette of the SR150 could somehow still be seen.”

The project was quickly dubbed ‘Neo Nostalgia,’ and work was underway. Straight out the gate, Twentytwo roped in fellow Taiwanese shop and frequent collaborator, Tough Tracker, to handle all the metalwork on the project. Together, they transformed the SR150 from daily beater to slick café racer.

With the OEM fuel tank in place, the crew set about fabricating a set of body panels to give it a sharper edge. Up front, a set of ‘winglets’ were mounted to the sides of the tank to give it a more modern, sporty vibe. Further back, Tough Tracker made a pair of origami-style side panels out of aluminum.

The tail unit looks basic, but it’s actually made up of multiple pieces that can be disassembled. “For the shape, we pulled references from 90s Japanese sport bikes—then tried to build a single seat piece that goes well with the SR150 tank,” Lin explains. A simple LED taillight is tucked in under the rear hump.

Up front, Twentytwo and Tough Tracker decided to eschew the typical bubble fairing style for something a little more aggressive. A relatively shallow 6” headlight sits inside a hand-made nacelle, designed to fit tightly with the forks and yokes.

A bone stock SR150 is hardly going to set the streets ablaze, but Lin was adamant about injecting at least some performance into the humble single. Starting with the suspension, Twentytwo installed a set of modified SYM Wolf 125 forks up front, with the yokes from a FZ-series Yamaha. The rear shocks are from MJP Factory, while the extended swingarm comes from Mark Motorcycle.

The wheels were swapped out for an 18F/17R set, shod with respectable Dunlop Sportmax rubber. A single Brembo caliper adds an extra hit of braking performance.

Not one to neglect the engine, Lin tasked Performance B in New Taipei City with rebuilding the Yamaha single. It’s been bumped to 230 cc, with a retrofitted Yamaha TW225 cylinder head and an upgraded cam shaft. Performance B also did some porting work, strengthened the crankshaft and installed an upgraded connecting rod.

There’s also a Yoshimura Keihin FCR-MJN28 carb, fitted with a K&N filter, and a reinforced clutch. The stylish exhaust system comes from another local outfit, Banai. Its flowing form was a deliberate choice, to counterbalance the blockiness of the bodywork.

Finishing off the build are a bunch of subtle and tasteful changes. A set of clip-ons and a Daytona speedo do duty in the cockpit, with new foot pegs mounted lower down. Twentytwo also trimmed the subframe, and rewired the bike.

“Imagining that this is a motorcycle that could appear in a sci-fi movie, we used both shiny and matte black, and gray, as the color palette,” Lin tells us. “Then we deliberately blacked-out other parts of the bike, so that the neon yellow Brembo caliper would pop and act as a visual highlight—bringing out the florescent, JDM-ish vibe.”

With a boost in performance, ultra-modern looks and suspension adjusted for her weight and riding style, Red now has a daily runner that we’re more than a little envious of. Who ever thought a delivery bike could look this good?

Persist Motorcycle Company | Twentytwo Custom | Tough Tracker

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Speed Read, December 4, 2022

It’s all about café racers this week, with a Harley Sportster from Thailand, a Triumph Thruxton from Hong Kong and a BMW boxer from the UK. Plus, a stock standard Ducati MH900E with one mile on the clock is up for sale.

Harley-Davidson Sportster Forty-Eight by FatBoy Design and Slayer House Last week, we reported that The Motor Co. had built their last Evo Sporty. This week, two Thai design studios are reminding us that it’ll remain popular for years to come, with one of the most radical custom Sportsters we’ve seen.

The project was conceived by Chakkaphan ‘Mark’ Rungsukcharoen at FatBoy Design, who wanted a bike to display at the 2022 Bangkok Hot Rod Custom Show. Taking heavy inspiration from the Lamborghini Murcielago SV owned by his father, Mark wanted to partner with a workshop that specialized in carbon fiber. So he roped in Nattapat Janyapanich at Slayer House.

The team had just 60 days to transform a bone stock Sportster Forty-Eight into the wild, automotive-influenced machine you’re looking at here. The idea was to build a modern café racer with a strong track performance vibe, while blending in the design language of hyper cars. Or, as Nattapat puts it, “to present Harley-Davidson in a new way, to reach a new generation with a craze for speed.”

Mark and Nattapat started by sketching out their ideas, before 3D scanning the stock bike and designing the whole project digitally. Nattapat then 3D-printed molds for the bodywork, over which the final carbon fiber parts were vacuum formed. The list includes the Sportster’s sharp new fairing, a two-piece tank cover that sits over a steel reservoir, and the flat track-esque tail section.

The bodywork’s complemented by a host of 3D-printed details, including grills, air intakes, and fins below and above the tail. Instead of painting the bike, Mark opted to adorn the carbon fiber parts with a set of race-inspired decals.

Mark also treated the base bike to a laundry list of performance upgrades. Up front are a set of shortened Showa forks, held in place by CNC-machined yokes. A set of longer-than-stock Öhlins piggyback shocks prop up the rear.

The wheels are from Roland Sands Design, and the brake calipers sport yellow paint as a nod to Lamborghini. Other bits include Performance Machine brake discs, FatBoy Design clip-ons and rear-sets, Performance Machine levers and switch housings, and a speedo relocation bracket and grips from RSD.

The engine wears a smorgasbord of goodies, including an Evolution Industries open primary, a chain conversion with FatBoy sprockets, and ‘transparent’ derby and camshaft covers from Figure Machine. A Two Brothers exhaust system, Performance Machine intake and ECU tune unleash a little more power.

Mark and Nattapat got the bike to the Bangkok Hot Rod Custom Show on time, and walked away with the ‘Best Café Racer’ award, along with a judge’s ‘Best in Show’ pick from none other than Shiro Nakajima at 46Works.

Now that that’s done, the bike’s being set up for its next objective: track racing. [Source]

Triumph Thruxton by Angry Lane The current model Triumph Thruxton is one of the best factory café racers on the market today, with little that needs changing or upgrading. But the same can’t be said for its predecessors. Earlier Thruxton models had the right look, but were awkward to ride and lacked the refinement of today’s iteration.

This 2007-model Thruxton from Angry Lane doesn’t suffer from those problems though. Angry Lane is an upmarket leather business run by French expats and brothers, Guillaume and Ben Barras. When they’re not designing stylish leather good and apparel, they build custom motorcycles.

The owner of this particular Thruxton brought it in with a very specific goal in mind. He was happy to spend money on it, but didn’t want anything wild. Instead, since the bike is his daily runner, he wanted to keep the cosmetic changes tasteful and restrained, and shift the emphasis to modern performance and reliability.

The biggest visual hit, other than the muted paint job, is the new rear section. Angry Lane shortened the subframe and welded in a kicked-up loop, then added an aluminum cowl with a bespoke LED tail light. The generously padded seat (for a café racer) features Ferrari-inspired leather upholstery.

The Thruxton’s new running gear includes Öhlins suspension, with custom 17” wheels from Canyon, wrapped in Pirelli Angel GT tires. Beringer brake discs and calipers handle stopping duties, thanks to a custom caliper bracket from Lossa Engineering.

Angry Lane also ditched the air box for a pair of K&N Filters, then rebuilt and re-jetted the carbs. The mufflers are from the American Triumph modern classics specialist, British Customs, and the entire exhaust system has been ceramic coated black.

Up in the cockpit you’ll find a LSL clip-ons, with a Motogadget speedo, grips, switches, and bar-end turn signals and mirrors. The crew rewired the bike with a Motogadget controller too, installing an Antigravity battery and a Mosfet regulator in the process. The Thruxton also wears an LED headlight, LSL rear sets, and a new bash plate and chain guard.

It might not be the most outrageous Triumph café racer out there, but that’s why we love it. Rather, it’s a classy sleeper that’ll go, stop and corner harder than your garden variety first-gen Thruxton. [Angry Lane]

BMW R80ST by Kunst Maschinenbau Boxer customs are a dime a dozen, but seldom do they take 700-plus hours to build. John Nixon had no interest in building a half-baked airhead when he took on this project though.

For his day job, John works as an armorer on Hollywood film sets. But thanks to his technical know-how and professional motor vehicle engineering training, he tinkers on bikes too. And when he does, he tends to go deep.

For this project, John took a 1984 BMW R80ST, and turned it into a classic concept bike of sorts. There are shades of classic race bikes and café racers here, but the real hook is that this boxer has been redesigned as a pure riding machine. Think of what HPN did to turn stock R-series BMWs into rally-ready machines, and apply that to a road bike, and you’ll have the right idea.

There’s too much work to list here, but highlights include the frame work, which involved stripping, bead-blasting, de-tabbing and then reinforcing it. John moved the engine mounts 25 mm forwards and 45 mm upwards to improve weight distribution, then welded in additional diagonal brackets. As a result, he had to make the lower frame members detachable, so that he could get the engine and transmission in and out.

Suspension upgrades include Race Tech internals for the stock forks, custom-made preload adjusters, a FlatRacer brace and a Toaster Tan yoke. A Harrison six-pot brake caliper runs up front, with a custom-built Wilbers shock installed at the back.

The bodywork includes a BMW R45 fuel tank, with a custom fairing and tail inspired by the iconic Ducati Imola design. The subframe is custom, while the seat wears Alcantara.

The engine was rebuilt by Richie Moore, who’s well-versed in making airhead motors fast. This one’s been bumped up to 980 cc with a laundry list of internal and external mods. The carbs are Dell’Orto PHMs, and the exhaust system is a hand-made stainless steel affair. We could go on for hours about the details, but we’ll sum it up by saying that this 1980s boxer now makes 90 hp at the wheel, and weighs just 160 kilos dry [353 lbs].

So what’s it like to ride? “It requires a booster battery to start it from cold, it ‘idles’ at 1,800 rpm and has total loss ignition,” says John. “It will run on pump fuel—if you flick the switch to ignition map ‘B’, but its natural diet is Sunoco 102 race fuel.

“That’s not the problem it seems, because you’ll run out of sparks before you run out of petrol. Maximum range is about 70 miles before the battery, and hence the ignition, dies—easily enough for a weekend on the track or a blast on a sunny Sunday. In short, you only get on this bike when you want to ride. You go out, you ride and, satisfied, you come home.”

If that appeals to you, this BMW is now for sale. Tempted [Kunst Maschinenbau]

For Sale: Ducati MH900e The Ducati MH900e is arguably one of Pierre Terblanche’s biggest hits. The legendary South African motorcycle designer first penned it as a homage to Mike Hailwood’s 1978 race bike, putting his own spin on it rather than creating a direct replica.

Ducati showed the concept at the Intermot show in Munich, then ran a survey on their website to figure out if they should produce it. The response was positive, so the MH900e went into production, with only 2,000 units being produced.

1,000 of those were sold out via Ducati’s website in just 31 minutes… so finding a clean example for sale these days is a rare treat. And this one is very clean.

If you’ve been jonesing for an MH900e, it’s for sale right now over here at Iconic Motorbike Auctions. And it’s possibly the freshest example out there; turn the key, and you’ll spot that the odometer reads a mere 2 kilometers [less than a mile].

Numbered as “1200 of 2000,” this particular MH900e is completely stock and has never been ridden. It’s so green, in fact, that it still has the plastic protective bits that it came with from the factory. Heck, even the radiator is still wrapped up. Iconic got their hands on it via a shipment from Japan, and detailed it before putting it up for auction.

Oh, and if you’re wondering it it actually runs after sitting for two decades, hit the video below. Doesn’t that sound sweet?

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Functional design: Moto Borgotaro’s Ducati 900 GTS

Few shops know Italian classics quite as well as Brooklyn’s Moto Borgotaro. Owner Peter Boggia has been wrenching on Italian machinery for over two decades, having cut his teeth at the Moto Guzzi Chuck House in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Peter’s custom Guzzis have graced our pages before, but Moto Borgotaro builds much more than just traverse-twin beauties. The 1979 Ducati 900 GTS café racer you see here is a prime example. It perfectly showcases Peter’s love for all things design—and his exceptionally good taste.

Two iconic designers in particular inspired Peter’s approach to this build. The first was industrial designer Dieter Rams, the godfather of the ‘good design’ principles that went on to inspire everything from the iPod to Ikea furniture. The second was American artist Donald Judd, one of the most influential minimalists to ever live.

“I decided to go with a minimalist approach,” he explains. “Thinking less about motorcycles, and more about the design language of industrial designers and fine artists. I also wanted a classic low silhouette that was purpose-built, with a nod to both the new and old school Ducati designers and engineers.”

In keeping with this inspiration, Peter knew he wanted a well-designed but economical chassis, with a worry-free motor to match. He decided a bevel-driven Ducati would be the ideal platform for his vision, and hunted down a 1979-model Ducati 900 GTS in the classifieds.

Once Peter got the bike into his shop, he set about stripping everything down and shaving off unnecessary bits where he could. Frame tabs were removed, the Marzzochi triple clamp was ground down and re-welded, and a new mount was welded up to stash the battery box under the gas tank.

The frame was powder coated in a special matte black finish, as a homage to the original enamel-black frames of the period. The tank and fenders were repainted to match, with a subtle play on the Ducati’s original livery. Instead of the traditional blue and silver front-to-back stripe motif, Peter opted for an understated gloss black effect.

The forks, triples, and headlight were all redone in black, as were the wheels, after receiving a fresh rebuild from Woody’s Wheel Works in Denver, Colorado. Finally, Peter handed the factory seat off to his friend Corinna Mantlo at Via Meccanica upholstery, who recreated a minimalist take on the style and shape found on Ducatis of the era.

With the main aesthetics sorted out, Peter turned his attention to the Ducati’s running gear. The non-Desmo 900 GTS motor already fit in nicely with his economical-and-minimalist approach, so Peter chose to keep it simple with a basic refresh. (It helped that it had barely any mileage on it.)

New bearings and seals went in, but the internals were kept completely stock. Peter added a touch of performance via a pair of 36 mm Del’Orto carbs, topped with K&N filters and a set of Staintune Conti exhaust pipes. A Silent-Hektik ignition and Nology Pro-Fire coils were installed for added reliability.

From there, Peter set to work preserving as much of the 70s Ducati charm as possible, while modernizing the bike where he could. Vintage-style single-pot Brembo calipers were installed front and rear, running through Spiegler lines. Modern Brembo radial master cylinders were fitted for an optimal blend of old and new, and a modern Kawasaki clutch perch was added to accommodate a matching Brembo clutch lever.

The OEM front forks stayed on the bike, but the internals were replaced with Works Performance springs. A pair of Öhlins shocks with piggyback reservoirs were fitted to the rear. The stock lights were given a refresh, but Peter left the faded CEV tail light lens in place to maintain an old feel for his new machine.

Finally, Peter turned his attention to the electronics. The decision was made to spec a full Motogadget system for the build, with the German company’s dash, turn signals, and switches all running through their mo.unit control box. It makes for a super-clean look, with all-weather reliability.

“The idea was to pay homage to the design of the past,” he says. “The greatest compliment would be someone looking twice at it, and not being certain whether it is a newly built motorcycle or completely vintage.”

The end result is a stylish—yet ridable—bevel-drive Ducati, which Peter says “reeks of quality and 1970s Italian attitude.” We couldn’t agree more, and we’re not the only ones that think so—a friend of Peter’s saw this build at Moto Borgotaro, and immediately commissioned one of his own.

If you’re feeling left out, there’s good news: this particular Ducati 900 GTS is for sale via Moto Borgotaro’s website. If you fancy your custom bikes with a touch of utilitarian flair, it’s ready to ship anywhere on the planet for just $30,000—and with just 3,047 miles on the clock.

Moto Bogotaro | Instagram

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Loco velo: A totally bonkers sprint motorcycle concept

What do a Kawasaki KZ250 engine, a car’s spare wheel and a bicycle seat have in common? You’ll find them all on this curious contraption from Valen Zhou, along with a smorgasbord of other odd bits and pieces.

Straight out the gate, Valen admits that this build isn’t particularly practical—in fact, it’s downright sketchy. But he didn’t originally intend it to be this way. The Chinese-born, Milan-based photographer and director had a very specific mash-up of styles in mind, but once he got stuck in, things didn’t quite pan out.

“The idea started many years ago, when I saw board track racing from the 1910s and 1920s,” Valen tells us. “Because I’ve always loved vintage bikes and motorcycle history, I was fascinated. But then I discovered drag racing, which made me feel the powerful charm.”

“I thought that if I could make a board tracker crossed with a drag bike, it would be super cool—even if it might not be possible.”

Valen had some ideas about how the frame should look, and how the steering should function. But it soon became apparent that things weren’t quite going to pan out. So he changed tack, and decided to treat the project as a concept bike of sorts.

“The entire motorcycle is actually my imagination,” he says. “It is my own concept bike. I am not a professional engineer or a real designer, but because I love motorcycles, I just want to realize my idsprintea—and I hope everyone who sees it finds it super cool.”

At the core of the bike is a handmade steel frame, built partially with jigs, and partially freehand. Most of the inspiration came from Valen’s road bicycle—which accounts for the custom-built dropped bars, and the bicycle saddle and seat post. The wrapping on the frame’s backbone is there to add extra grip while pushing the bike around.

For the suspension, Valen effectively made it up as he went. “I basically built the suspension freehand, just like playing with Lego,” he says. “It’s completely designed according to my own imagination, so there will be big problems, ha ha.”

The front wheel comprises a Honda CG125 hub, a ‘regular’ motorcycle rim, and a pair of aero bicycle wheel covers. A half-size car spare wheel does duty out back, mounted to a single-sided swingarm. There’s only one brake; a repurposed motocross part at the rear.

At the heart of the build sits the motor from a Kawasaki KZ250—a 246 cc single that makes a modest 19 Nm of torque. The engine’s another reason that Valen changed direction on the project; its output would have been insufficient for the original chassis design that he had in mind.

The Kawasaki mill is mostly stock, save for a new velocity stack and a custom megaphone exhaust. Fuel is stored in an aluminum bottle, mounted behind the frame’s seat tube in a bicycle bottle cage. “I designed it this way to save weight,” says Valen, “but it was also inspired by road bicycles.”

“You take it off and refill it, just like refilling a water bottle. Each bottle only holds 500 ml [about 17 oz], which is only enough for one run. So I prepare many bottles, and replace them after each run—just like athletes drink water.”

Valen’s sprint bike is loaded with eccentric details like this. On the handlebars, you’ll find a custom-built throttle that uses gears, and a reversed clutch lever.

If you’re looking for the foot controls, they’re way higher than you’ll usually find them. The riding position here is impossibly compact—much like a fixed gear or time trial bicycle.

“It’s not very comfortable,” Valen concedes, “but it feels like the wind resistance is very little. Your arms get particularly tired though!”

It seems like a waste to spend so much time on a project (it took literal years to complete), only to admit that it’s not particularly usable. But that wasn’t the point here. Now that Valen has let his imagination run wild, he has an arsenal of ideas spooled up for the next bike—and he’s well aware of what works, and what doesn’t.

“This motorcycle took a long time from idea to completion,” he adds, “and it is also my favorite one. Although it has many problems and cannot be driven on the road in a real sense, everything about it represents my knowledge of motorcycles… and my love for them.”

Valen Zhou Instagram

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