Bike exif

There’s a marvelous history of smaller motorcycle manufacturers in France, and the tradition shows no sign of abating. Mash Motors is probably the best known outside La République, but the most interesting company right now is DAB Motors. DAB is based in the beautiful city of Bayonne, in the Basque region of southwest France. We’ve already showcased their sharp-looking LM-S scrambler, but this new electric concept is the most significant step forward yet for founder Simon Dabadie and his…

Named after the famed International Six Days Enduro, the KTM 500 EXC Six Days is one of the best enduro race bikes money can buy. Highlights include a 510cc single-cylinder motor, a featherlight chromoly frame, WP Suspension parts, and a ludicrous dry weight of 246 lbs. It looks the business too—if modern off-road bikes are your thing, of course. Most people probably wouldn't pick it as a donor for a retro-styled custom scrambler. But Aussie Dan Mickan did, and ended up with this spicy take…

Just revealed: our Top 10 Custom Motorcycles of 2019! Here's one of the winners, a wild BMX framer from Down & Out Motorcycles.

A ballistic cafe-slash-streetfighter Ducati Panigale. Very nice work from Thornton Hundred Motorcycles!

Ironwood says goodbye to older bikes with their last carb'd custom. We've also rounded up another fresh Triumph from Tamarit, a Zero with handcrafted bodywork, KTM's new 450 Rally Replica, and a modern homage to the Ducati 750 Sport. Honda GL500 by Ironwood Custom Motorcycles Arjan van den Boom is no stranger to these pages. He’s been making custom bikes since 2012 and has been rather prolific, to say the least. What might come as a surprise, is that you're looking at the last carbureted…

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is madness of the highest order. Racers blast through the 12-mile course at breakneck speed—climbing 4,720 feet and navigating 156 turns, right on the edge of disaster. Tackling it on two wheels takes tons of skill, massive cojones and a few loose screws. And a motorcycle that can go really, really fast. Today we're profiling one such bike: the Bottpower BOTT XR1R, which Travis Newbold recently piloted to a win in the Exhibition Powersport class. You…

North East Custom have never been bound to one style. We've already seen the Italian outfit build cafe racers and street trackers—but they seem to have the most fun when they're building scramblers. That's because brothers Diego and Riccardo 'Riki' Coppiello are passionate dirt bikers. When I met them at the Italian Wildays festival a few years ago, they spent more time riding the enduro course than they did manning their stand. So when they build out dirt bikes, they're designed to be…

With 154 horses on tap and impeccable handling, the Honda CBR954RR Fireblade is a prime candidate for customization—if you're building an off-the-wall street fighter. But if your proclivities lean towards cafe racers, you'll have your work cut out for you. Wenley Andrews will attest to that. He first started thinking about a CBR project eight years ago: “I was really into street fighters,” he says. “I even had the custom parts made, without a donor bike. The whole build was being put…

How do you turn an already good bike into an exceptional bike? This pale and interesting Triumph Thruxton custom from Kiddo Motors of Barcelona is one answer. There’s some interesting thinking on this bike. The spoked wheels are from Alpina Raggi, using a proprietary system that allows them to run tubeless tires—Dunlop Arrowmax in this case. It’s also the first custom bike we’ve seen that’s fitted with the Motogadget m-Lock, a contact-free digital ignition lock that uses radio technology…

Kymco isn’t a big name in the West, outside of scooter circles. But it’s a different story in their home country of Taiwan, where this custom Kymco KTR 150 hails from. The KTR is one of Kymco’s more popular models there—and as you can tell, it lends itself fairly well to customization. Taiwan’s custom scene is rapidly expanding, and the shop behind this KTR 150, Twentytwo Custom, is dedicated to the cause. They’re the custom branch of Persist Motorcycle Company—a Taiwanese motorcycle culture…