Roland Sands’ unapologetic Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 chopper

Despite its middle-of-the-road looks, there’s a lot to love about the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650. Royal Enfield’s lively 648 cc parallel-twin engine is easy to get along with, and the Super Meteor’s low seat and relaxed ergonomics give it an easygoing vibe. But there’s nothing easygoing about this Super Meteor chopper from Roland Sands Design.

Commissioned by Royal Enfield themselves, RSD’s custom Super Meteor is lean and unapologetic, with compact chopper lines, a hand shifter, and no front brake. And we’re here for it.

Roland Sands’ Californian shop is known for both its custom bikes and bolt-on parts, so they took the opportunity to use the project as a test bed for some new Royal Enfield 650-specific parts. As for the bike itself, the crew went way further than just bolting on a few look-fast parts.

Getting the look of the fuel tank and the space underneath it right was an entire saga unto itself. RSD started with a small Wassel tank, then spent an inordinate amount of time (and swearing) Frenching the OEM fuel pump into it. With a smaller tank perched on top, the frame needed a serious clean-up.

The guys hacked off everything from the steering neck down and fabricated a new single downtube, ending in a clevis that replaces the front motor mount. The design is ultra-minimal, with a new dimpled neck gusset adding a touch of elegance. Out back, the stock shock mounts made way for a custom set, tailored to the chopper’s revised silhouette and hooked up to a pair of Öhlins units.

Sitting tall and proud up front are the forks from a Harley-Davidson Sportster—but they’re hardly recognizable as such. RSD stripped them, shaved the brake and fender mounts off the lowers, and treated the uppers to a gold nitride coating. They also extended and re-valved them for good measure.

The Super Meteor now rolls on RSD’s retro-fabulous ‘Morris’ wheels, measuring 21” up front and 16” at the rear. The forks sit in super-narrow yokes from TC Bros, so RSD had to machine a custom front hub to make it fit. Firestone Deluxe Champion treads add some classic style.

Since the bike only runs a rear brake, the crew figured that upgrading it would be a smart move. The setup uses a Galfer rotor, and a nickel Brembo radial mount caliper on a custom-made bracket.

A custom fender hovers above the rear wheel, leaving just enough clearance for the type of riding that Roland Sands likes to do. A slim ribbed seat sits up top, and there’s a tiny taillight attached to the lower swingarm mount on the right.

At the opposite end of the bike, tapered handlebars are perched on a set of impossibly long risers, with a small headlight perched up front. The cockpit is as sano as it gets; there are no switches, no levers, and no speedo. RSD fitted new grips and a single cable throttle, then fabricated a foot clutch and hand shifter arrangement with custom linkages lower down.

While RSD’s fabrication team was bringing all of these ideas to life, their design team was busy sketching and prototyping a set of parts to adorn the Super Meteor. They were responsible for the bike’s ribbed engine and sprocket covers, and its points cover. They also created new ignition and battery covers, both featuring a vented design with gold mesh backing.

Smaller details included a sneaky ignition relocation, machined RSD foot pegs, and an RSD gas cap. Custom twin exhaust headers flow into a pair of RSD mufflers, and, if you look closely, you’ll even spot a tidy engine guard just in front of the motor.

It’s an audacious look for the mid-sized Royal Enfield cruiser, made even more so by the striking black and gold livery. Gold flames take center stage, outlined with subtle silver stripes. But get closer, and you’ll spot a number of gold leaf pin-stripe details too.

There’s a lot to take in, like the judicious mix of gloss and matte finishes, and the way the tank’s central rib is echoed in the rear fender. It also helps that Royal Enfield’s ‘650’ engine is one of the best-looking mills on the market right now—and that the bike’s revised layout highlights it. Then there’s the gold Cerakote finish on the wheels, which complements everything else perfectly.

RSD’s Royal Enfield Super Meteor is a far cry from the mellow vibe of the original bike—but it’s also proof of just how versatile a platform it is. It hits the mark as a no-nonsense, bare-knuckle chopper that’d be just as happy ripping around town as it would carving up canyons.

Roland Sands Design | Facebook | Instagram

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For Hooligans Only: Max Hazan’s KTM 1190 Adventure R supermoto

Most of the custom motorcycles that Max Hazan creates are eccentric masterpieces; elegant rolling sculptures with their mechanical intricacies on full display. Max is the type of designer who likes to find complex solutions to simple problems, often sacrificing comfort and practicality in the name of art. But sometimes he just wants to go fast.

Max’s drug of choice is supermoto, so his more eclectic work is occasionally punctuated by wild machines designed to hoon around on. This radical KTM 1190 Adventure R supermoto is one such machine.

In stock form, the KTM 1190 Adventure R is a dirt-slinging big rig with impressive numbers and an equally impressive parts spec. It wears WP Suspension components with 220 mm of travel at both ends, sports 21F/18R wheels, makes 147.5 hp, and weighs 217 kilos [478 lbs] dry. Max’s KTM 1190 Adventure R supermoto makes more power and weighs less—but it’s been reconfigured for street use.

“I’ve gotten a little grief from the adventure bike crowd about building an Adventure R as a road-only bike,” says Max. “But let’s be honest here—most adventure bikes rarely see dirt and end up riding dual sport tires on the road just like most 4×4 SUVs out there. I just figured that if it’s never going off-road, let’s make something that rips on pavement but still has the comforts of an adventure bike… plus supermotos are awesome.”

The bike belongs to an existing Hazan Motorworks client, Mike. He’d bought Max’s custom KTM ‘950SMR’ some time ago and rode it for a few years before breaking his leg while riding off-road. “At that point, I jokingly said ‘This would be a great time to build you a new custom bike,’ not expecting him to say ‘Sure, take my 1190 and make whatever you want’.”

“I’ve been dreaming of making a supermoto out of a Dakar-style rally bike for years. The lines on the new 450 race bikes are so good, I knew I had to do it with a big KTM.”

As capable as the KTM 1190 Adventure R is, it’s also rather weird-looking. Max knew that if he wanted to tweak it for street use and get the look he was after, he’d have his work cut out for him. So the 2016-model 1190 was stripped down to its frame, with most of the OEM parts cast aside—including the bodywork, wheels, and even the swingarm.

“Initially, the wheelbase was very long,” says Max. “I didn’t realize it until saw how far it stuck out of my truck bed, at which point I decided the snowmobile-length swingarm had to go if it was going to be a good street bike.”

Max was just about to fabricate an aluminum swingarm from scratch when a KTM RC8 swingarm popped up on eBay. He mated that to an Öhlins shock that was designed for the Yamaha R1, with a softer custom spring. With everything balancing out nicely, there was no need to fiddle with the front forks.

Max has a soft spot for Marchesini’s stunning M10 forged wheels, so he grabbed a pair of 17” items for the KTM. He then machined a new cush drive for the rear wheel and a set of custom carriers for a set of Ducati rotors. Brembo calipers round out the braking spec.

With the rolling chassis done, Max shifted his focus to the bodywork. Everything you see here was hand-shaped from aluminum, with a few carbon fiber bits sprinkled in for good measure. The aesthetic is angular and brutal—if big twin-cylinder bikes still competed in the Dakar Rally, this is what we imagine they’d look like.

Max didn’t just throw a bunch of panels at the chassis though. Everything is faultlessly interconnected, with the bike’s functionality woven into the design. Four fuel tanks hold eight gallons of fuel between them, while a mesh panel in the seat feeds air to the heavily reworked intake.

“I used the stock throttle bodies, and designed a lower intake system that I made to work with the big Rottweiler Performance air cleaner,” Max explains. “Most big-capacity adventure bikes have a massive airbox in the fuel tank area that makes them feel like big jet skis. I wanted to have the lines of a 450, so to flow enough air, the intake is fed through the seat as well as the front of the bike.”

The two-into-one-into-two stainless steel exhaust headers are Max’s handiwork, while the mufflers are rare rally-spec titanium Akrapovič parts. The twin radiators come from a Ducati Streetfighter and are fitted with electric fans to beat the heat in Los Angeles’ notorious traffic.

This KTM 1190 Adventure R supermoto has shed about 90 lbs and makes 15 hp more than before, thanks to some ECU fettling by the specialists at Rottweiler Performance. Max kept OEM parts like the bars, controls, speedo, and most of the electronics—but not everything made the cut.

“I tested the bike on track once, and it became apparent that the ABS was way too intrusive when riding the bike hard,” he tells us. “As much as I wanted to run these features, it would freak out a bit under braking—especially when sliding into corners. I ended up just shutting it off along with the traction control, but all of the hardware is still in place should we want it back on at any point.”

“I can honestly say that this is the best-handling bike I have built to date. It’s super easy to ride fast or slow, very comfortable, and now, having a windshield that the 950SMR lacked, can be ridden at highway speeds for hours with little fatigue.”

The idea of a rally-inspired supermoto might sound weird on paper, but Max has pulled it off in spectacular fashion. This 1190 has just rocketed to the top of our ‘bikes we desperately want to ride’ list.

Hazan Motorworks | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Shaik Ridzwan

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Special Order: A hopped-up Rau Honda CB900F café racer

Upgrading your suspension and brakes is a hassle-free way to eke more handling performance out of your motorcycle. But if you have the time and money, why not go the whole hog? This Honda CB900F from HB-Custom in Germany sports several upgraded parts—but its biggest drawcard is its race-bred Rau frame.

If you’re not familiar, Manfred Rau was a German frame builder who started making performance motorcycle frames in 1972. His designs took cues from the work of Egli and Bimota, with a focus on Japanese engines.

Needless to say, Rau frames aren’t easy to come by… which is exactly why Holger Breuer (the ‘HB’ in HB-Custom) had to find one for his latest project. “The client is a very good friend of mine and it’s the second bike that we’ve built together,” he tells us. “The goal was to build something really special with more or less no budget restrictions.”

“The first bike that I built for him was a BMW—but the whole custom BMW thing has become kind of boring. The goal was to follow a new direction; a four-cylinder engine instead of a boxer, a Honda instead of a BMW, and a very unique frame.”

Some deft hunting by Holger produced a 1977 Rau frame and a Honda CB900F of unknown vintage. The engine was yanked out of the CB and rebuilt to the tune of 1,062 cc. Peek inside, and you’ll find rebored cylinders and a set of forged Mahle pistons.

This Rau Honda CB900F also benefits from a set of Mikuni RS36 carbs, fed by a custom-made carbon fiber airbox to comply with Germany’s stringent regulations. Without any cam- or crankshaft fettling, it now pushes out close to 100 hp. A digital ignition and hydraulic clutch add modern reliability.

Since the Rau frame that was sourced for this project was designed for the CB900F motor, bolting the latter into the former was a mere formality. To complete the rolling chassis, Holger added the forks and yokes from a Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7 up front and installed a Wilbers shock at the back. A Wilbers steering damper was fitted too, for extra front-end stability.

The stunning 17” wheels are custom-built items from the German wheel specialists PVM. They’re wrapped in Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tires and stopped by an assortment of Yamaha R1 and R6 braking components.

Holger only used the Honda CB900F’s engine, which meant that he had to create everything else from scratch. For the bodywork, he manipulated sheets of aluminum to form a new fairing, fuel tank, and humped tail section. The bike’s new lines borrow ideas from both café racer and vintage race bike aesthetics, with a few hard edges to echo the CB’s DNA.

A generous cutout on the right side of the fuel tank offers a view of the Rau frame’s distinctive backbone. Take a closer look, and you’ll also spot a handmade ‘fuel gauge.’

The sleek fairing wears an MRA windshield and hosts an LED headlight from Koso. The taillight’s from Highsider, and the turn signals are Kellermann items. Tucked away in the cockpit are a Motogadget speedo and RFID ignition receiver, with Gilles Tooling clip-ons, Magura levers, and Highsider switches.

Gilles Tooling rear-set foot pegs are mounted lower down, as are numerous carbon fiber and drilled parts. A custom license plate bracket sits out back, while a burly four-into-one exhaust from Schüle adds the final touch.

Wrapped in a dark teal livery with subtle black graphics, HB-Custom’s Rau Honda CB900F has a subdued look that belies just how wild it is. We could stare at it for ours—and we can only imagine how glorious it must sound at full tilt.

HB-Custom | Instagram | Images by Emayat Wahab

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Speed Read: A Suzuki SV650 retro racer and more

Leading the charge this week is a custom Suzuki SV650 that has no business looking as good as it does, courtesy of Australia’s Purpose Built Moto. In hot pursuit are a carbon-clad Ducati XDiavel, a Manga-inspired Honda CB750 Hornet, and a wild BMW R1250RS drag bike.

Suzuki SV650 by Purpose Built Moto In production since 1999, the Suzuki SV650 is a do-it-all bike that mostly flies under the radar. But that cannot be said for Purpose Built Moto’s latest creation. Tom Gilroy and the Gold Coast-based team have turned the nondescript SV650 into a stunning retro racer.

Tom started by going over their customer’s list of requirements to wrap his head around the brief. “While he didn’t have a completed picture, the list of items on his brief screamed retro racer to me,” he explains. “After a conversation and a few ideas from my end, we got to work on creating a track-worthy Suzuki SV650 retro racer, but with all the modern necessities needed for the street.”

This custom Suzuki SV650’s big drawcard is its beautiful bodywork. Gone are the sharp angles of the early-2000s, with retro fairings from Airtech Streamlining taking their place. The front fairing is mounted on custom brackets that tie it in perfectly with the stock fuel tank.

A KTM headlight-shaped hole was cut out of the fairing, with PBM Hollow-Tip LED indicators taken from the Purpose Built catalog. The windscreen was made by their “windscreen guy” in Sydney and is unique to the build. The new dashboard is also custom; a Daytona digital speedo relays all the necessary info to the rider.

A fiberglass tail section sits on a new subframe, built from scratch to get the angle just right. The custom seat was trimmed by PBM’s usual supplier—Timeless Automotive Trimming.

Tom likes to plan ahead, so the subframe was designed from the get-go to accommodate a high-mounted exhaust system. The headers terminate in a pair of PBM Torpedo mufflers, mounted alongside turn signals and a taillight from PBM’s catalog..

With such track-focussed Suzuki vibes, PBM chose a Barry Sheene Heron Suzuki-inspired paint job. The classic livery (complete with Fabergé logos) looks ravishing laid over the retro bodywork. To complete the build, the engine was upgraded with an MWR airbox, Power Commander ECU, and a tune, care of Dynomite Moto.

With 74 hp at the wheel and weighing just 175 kilos [386 lbs], we’re more than certain this retro racer rides even better than it looks. [More]

Ducati XDiavel by Bad Winners Founded in 2014, the Paris-based custom shop Bad Winners is fast approaching its 10th anniversary. To celebrate, founder Walid Ben Lamine is planning to release a limited run of 20 custom Ducati XDiavels. It’s the second Ducati XDiavel we’ve featured in as many weeks—but this one is the polar opposite of the last one.

For this series, Walid has chosen to focus on lightweight body design, usable performance upgrades, and ergonomics. He’s no stranger to kit-built bikes; he once built a Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 for F1 star Charles Leclerc, which you can now buy in kit form. And he has a particular penchant for carbon fiber bodywork, so that’s approach he’s taken with the Ducati XDiavel.

Sitting up front are a carbon fiber front fender, perched above a twin Beringer front brake setup. A Bad Winners headlight and nacelle sit up top, with custom radiator shrouds and a redesigned belly pan mounted lower down.

There’s more carbon fiber further back, where a custom fuel tank and tail section replace the OEM items. The angular design of the tank carries through to the short flat track-inspired tail, which is cantilevered over the back wheel. The changes continue around the back, where a carbon fiber blank-off plate keeps things tidy and hosts twin vertical taillights.

The cockpit parts are stock, but Walid has installed Ducabike rear-set pegs to improve the riding position. Finished with a leather seat and with the carbon textures fully on display, Bad Winners’ XDiavel looks downright menacing. But there’s even more work under the carbon bits, where a plethora of custom-made mounts and brackets keep everything in place.

Given the amount of carbon fiber here, the weight loss along would be significant. But Walid has gone a step further, by having the ECU reprogrammed to the tune of 178 hp. Hot air exits through a full titanium exhaust from Arrow.

If you can see yourself astride this dark horse, we’re sure Walid will let you choose any color you like (as long as it’s black or carbon). We’ll take the chef’s choice, please. [Bad Winners]

Honda CB750 Hornet by Viba The new Honda CB750 Hornet is a nicely packaged machine. Its 755 cc 270-degree parallel twin engine produces good power, it has decent suspension, its 190 kg [419 lbs] curb weight is promising, and it’s even priced well.

Its only downfall? Aesthetics. It’s decidedly modern and a little bit bland, falling neatly into the category of bikes that look like insects.

This particular Hornet doesn’t suffer from that affliction. It was built by the French custom shop Viba—commissioned by the Nouveau Monde La Rochelle Honda dealership to enter Honda France’s Hornet custom design contest.

The bike was inspired by a character from the Japanese manga Cat’s Eye, written by Tsukasa Hojo. The story of Cat’s Eye shadows the three Kisugi sisters—Hitomi, Rui, and Ai—and their adventures. They are virtuoso art thieves, trying to collect all the works belonging to their missing father.

Inspired by the agile and fearless eldest sister, Rui (or Sylia in some translations), Viba turned the Hornet into what they thought she would ride.

“Cat’s Eye left an impression on me when I was a teenager, probably because they are strong women, much like the muses that inspire our creations,” says Viba’s designer, Yann. “In the manga, the three sisters ride motorcycles—Hondas to be precise. I had that in mind for a while. When my friend Michel told me about the contest, it was a no-brainer.”

Viba specializes in 3D printing, so they played to their strengths on this job. The bike’s insectile headlight was replaced with a much more subtle round LED unit, as a nod to the original Honda Hornet. The rest of the cockpit was similarly overhauled, with the dashboard now sitting on top of the tank in a new 3D-printed housing. The front fender was redesigned to follow the lines of the Hornet’s tank covers, with 3D-printed MotoGP-inspired brake disc covers mounted on either side.

The rear wheel now sports an “aero wheel” cover, which Viba designed to give the back end more visual mass. The tail section sports a custom cowling that replaces the passenger seat, and a 3D-printed taillight housing with three vertical LEDs, paying homage to the three sisters.

Then there’s the Honda Hornet’s alluring new paint job. Viba picked an aubergine purple hue, in honor of the color that Rui/Sylia often wore. It appears black in some lighting, but shift the bike into the sun and it pops like crazy. Holographic lettering on the tank (spelling Honda Hornet in Japanese Katakana) adds to the Manga vibe.

Incredibly, once the bike was designed it was sourced and built in just five weeks. It’s a testament to Viba’s design acumen, skill, and experience in the area of 3D printing. As far as a heist escape vehicle goes, we can’t think of a better one. [Viba | Images by Victor Sellier]

BMW R1250RS by Kraftstoffschmiede and Man and The Machines The Sultans of Sprint drag racing series produced some of the best-looking custom bikes we’ve ever seen. That’s because points weren’t just awarded for winning races, but also for style. So over all the classes that took to the 1/8th-mile drag strip, we got everything from mild to unquestionably wild.

This BMW R1250RS falls into the latter category. We’ve technically featured it, and its predecessor, before. Dubbed ‘Hercules II,’ it’s the evolution of the bike that Phil Ludwig (Kraftstoffschmiede) and Kris Szews (Man and The Machines) keep racing, rebuilding, and refining.

The Sultans of Sprint series ended in 2019, but thanks to Phil and Kris, the incredible machines designed and built for the series have found a new home. The boys started Rocket Race Club in 2022, picking up right where Sultans of Sprint left off. Hercules II took the top step of the podium in the first year of Rocket Race Club, but Phil and Kris weren’t going to rest on their laurels.

For 2023, Hercules II was optimized to compete in the Brand Bash class. The new class includes more modern bikes, with liquid cooling and no limit on engine displacement. Phil spent hours in the dyno room, with Hercules II pumping out 160 hp and a whopping 200 Nm of torque, thanks to the NOS tank slung beneath the seat.

The bike also uses the shorter-ration transmission from a BMW R1250GS, and the suspension is slammed to the moon; perfect for drag racing. Hattech supplied the custom twin exhaust, which snakes around the bottom of the bike and over the top of the swingarm.

But the main upgrade on this iteration of the build is Hercules II’s new bodywork and BMW M-inspired livery. A small fuel cell sits low in the customized frame, which is draped in a carbon monocoque body. The carbon fiber was laid-up in a custom mold that Phil and Kris milled out—so they can build more of these if they want to.

After his victory at the end of the 2023 Rocket Race series, Phil now has back-to-back wins in the Brand Bash class. Can the team keep up its winning streak? Regardless, we’re excited to see how Hercules III turns out. [Source | Images by Uwe Fischer]

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