Slavo Danko’s one-man The custom motorcycle shop has the most appropriate name in the biz: Free Spirit Motorcycles. He marched to the beat of his own drum, building bicycles purely to satisfy its needs, with no one telling him what to do. That explains why this Suzuki GN250 took almost 4 years to build, went through three different designs and looks like nothing out there.
Based in the small village of Zohor, just outside the Slovak capital Bratislava, Slavo works as a business strategist for a large advertising agency. But on Thursdays and Fridays, he builds bicycles, often assisted by his son, Matúš.
“He helps me when he can, but he’s more of an opponent,” explains Slavo. “Since FSM is only a one person program, I needed a friend to give me a second opinion — and Matúš is a product designer, so his opinion is valuable. treat. I need that tension and positive feeling of discomfort to push things forward.”
Slavo certainly pushed things forward in this project. All that’s left of the Suzuki GN250 is the engine, some frames and front forks, brakes and wheel hubs. Everything else is scaled from elsewhere, redesigned or built from the ground up.
Getting the point of the GN250 is high on the list, so Slavo started by looking to purchase a pair of 17” rims from a Suzuki DR-Z400 superbike. He attached them to the front axle of the GN250 and the rear disc brake set from “several Italian bikes” that he had placed around his workshop. The stainless steel spokes were made to order by craftsmen in the small Czech town of Hvězdonice.
Slavo is more equipped supermoto bit: a set of Dunlop Mutant tires and swingarm from a Husqvarna SM 125. “It did two things,” he explains. “It lengthened the whole car so it didn’t look too stable, and it removed the two rear shock absorbers that didn’t match the neat design I planned from the start.”
Implementing clean design is the hardest part of the project. Slavo started out with a 2D sketch, but quickly realized that “actually 3D, not 2D”. That’s why it takes so much effort to get it right.
Each time, Slavo would alternately build frames to anchor the bodywork and craft cardboard models of various pieces. He had success with his second frame and third cardboard model—so he started over again and built the final frame.
Hidden beneath the bodywork is a mesh frame design that not only supports the floating seats, but also houses all the electronics. Packaged in which there is a Motogadget mo.unit control unit, Lithium-ion battery and Suzuki OEM power bits.
The bodywork looks like a monolith, but it’s not – the tank is actually two separate pieces, fitting together with the saddle like a giant Meccano set. Slavo used a combination of old and new techniques to create the aluminum bodywork, by CNC machining some parts and hand forming others. Then he soldered everything together and sanded away the welds until the whole arrangement looked seamless.
The saddle attaches by sliding into the space between each side plate of the fuel tank and screwing down with just two pins. It is padded with several layers of rubber foam and covered with a perforated synthetic leather. An integrated LED at the rear obscures it, covered by a glass lens.
Slavo downplayed the tank’s design by CNC machining a matching cap for his custom-built silencer. “I had to learn how to design in 3D,” he told us, “so as not to distract Matúš from the smallest detail. It completely changed my life — ever since, I’ve been able to execute my ideas in an instant! ”
There’s more CNC work and visual tricks in the cockpit. Handlebars look like one piece, but they’re actually a detached design, attached to custom spokes. The aluminum dashboard holds the Motogadget speedometer and fake bike lights.
Slavo also fitted Motogadget switches, handles and end-of-bar turn signals, but couldn’t find a throttle to match them. So he built his own to fit the switch box diameter perfectly — then he made a matching ‘necklace’ for the clutch face and machined his own levers.
Even the headlights are custom… mostly. Slavo purchased a CE approved headlight, CNC machined it a new shell and rolled the outer shell in aluminum. The front fenders are made in the most classic way possible: using hammers, sandbags and English wheels.
Slavo went the extra mile when he built his own fuel hose system, so he could keep the tank looking like a sano. Hidden underneath is a solenoid valve that opens when you turn on the bike via keyless RFID ignition. There’s also a manual override, just in case.
Naturally, the GN250’s engine has also been reworked and given a matte black paint job, new Mikuni carburetors, hydraulic clutch and custom oil filter cover. Credit Slavo Vagabund Moto for their tips here — and Cognito Moto for the bike’s new footpegs.
For the final finishes, Slavo wanted to show the metal without oxidizing. So he brushed it up with a Scotch-Brite pad, and used a clear Cerakote coating to protect it.
Dubbed the ‘Cubus’ for obvious reasons, the Suzuki GN250 is a huge step outside the Slavo comfort zone. He admits that the unique, geometric aesthetic won’t appeal to everyone… but he’s not too flustered.
“You can go down the paved road and make small customizations with fancy and expensive parts, and make dozens of those parts to please every bike lover. Or you can take the hard road: be bold and be yourself, but be ready for polarizing opinions. I would never be able to make a copy of another bike — that would be a waste of my time on this planet. ”
Free Spirit motorcycle | Facebook | Instagram | Picture of Jakub Klimo | Thank Tim Huber
