Ironwood says goodbye to older bikes with their ultimate carb’d customization. We also introduced another new Triumph from Tamarit, the Zero with a handcrafted bodywork, the new KTM 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 sites. He’s been making custom bikes since 2012 and has been pretty prolific, at least. What might surprise you is that you’re looking at the last carburetor bike that Arjan’s Amsterdam workshop, Custom motorcycle made of ironwoodwill ever produce.
For older motorcycles, Arjan partnered with Wyld Garage Co. in Arizona, who are making his original style cars to order. But Ironwood is moving away from its BMW boxer roots, and towards the ICE and modern electric motorcycle.
Arjan’s based its last ‘classic’ build on a bike I’m quite familiar with: the Honda GL500. I started my motorcycling career with GL’s poor brother, CX500. I also modified my old CX, but I certainly don’t go to the extent of Ironwood.
At the front, they’ve fitted the front end of the Ducati Monster 1200, complete with radial-mounted Brembo brakes. An LED headlight is cleverly attached to the fork, in front of the fuel tank of the Honda CB750F. The long and wide tank seems like a perfect choice, as it ends up neatly where the new rear subframe begins.
Speaking of which, the ugly OEM subframe is where most CX/GL-based builds fall apart—and it seems Arjan and the Ironwood team share this opinion. Starting from scratch, the new subframe supports a very slim, molded leather seat at the rear. The exhaust is brand new, and I love the way it ends up behind the footpegs, bringing the accompanying rear wheel to the display.
To return to the customer’s workplace, this GL took two years to build Ironwood. According to Arjan, the long-term investment has paid off dividends by improving aesthetics, great sound and an even better ride. [Ironwood Custom Motorcycles | Images by Paul van Mondfrans Lindén]
Tamarit Motorcycles’ Triumph Bonneville Research team at Tamarit been busy. Hot on the heel of the bike we featured last week, here’s another one of their differentiators to the older carb-eating Triumph Bonneville T100.
This Bonnie is more to my liking in terms of style than the previous one. Tamarit calls it one of their “craziest bikes” and has named it ‘Silenzio Bruna!’ (Bonus points if you have a reference.) While the flat track-inspired design isn’t particularly weird, there are a few details that stand out.
I’m a fan of gold wheels and metallic flake paint and Tamarit has done a great job in both aspects. The blue paint on the brass-plated wheels is impressive, and there are even more accents on the number plate, which is finished in gold flakes. The frame has been chrome plated and the engine box has been polished to match.
The real heart of the build is the monolithic saddle and tank unit. The whole thing is hydraulically supported and lifted as one piece. Not only is this very impressive from an aesthetic point of view, but it also has to be robustly practical when it comes to bike maintenance.
All electronics have been upgraded thanks to Motogadget, and the stock Bonneville cockpit has had some tweaks. The flat rails are taller and wider than the stock, mirrors, switches, throttle and grips are all new.
The gauge cluster has been replaced with a Motogadget Tiny speedometer, which sits neatly next to the crossbar. Naturally, all the LEDs and ‘headlights’ are located below the front license plate.
There are countless other details that I am considering. And while the studio shots of the bike look great, I bet it takes it to the next level when parked in the sun with all that sparkle. [Tamarit Motorcycles]
Zero SR / F by Bizarro Corp Have an all-electric Zero Motorcycle, but think it needs futuristic fuel injection? Well, we have news for you; this is a creation of very ilk it.
Based on a brand new Zero SR/F, Bizarro Corp teamed up with Zero Motorcycles Madrid to create this special aero kit. Opened in 2014, Bizarro has recently switched from fossil fuel-powered motorbikes to electric motorcycles.
One of the best things about this kit (except for the look) is that it is completely interchangeable with the original bodywork and parts. That claim was taken into account, so Bizarro left most of the base bike underneath, focusing its efforts on hand-crafting the entire aluminum body. With the low sliders and light brown rear end, it all makes for a very nice silhouette.
If this is meant for a race track, it’s done. Even if it would be quiet, unleashing 110hp and 190Nm of torque on an open stretch sounds like a lot of fun. [Bizarro Corp]
2023 KTM 450 Rally Replica The Dakar Rally is one of the hardest and most physically demanding races on the planet. It’s a two-week event held at the beginning of each year, with competitors divided into several categories. Limited to 450 cc, the motorcycle category is mainly dominated by a few brands – most of which belong to KTM.
Over the past decade, KTM has won the top spot on the Dakar podium eight times. Since 1979, they have won it 19 times. So to say that KTM is successful in Dakar is an understatement.
Based on that success are: KTM 450 Rally 2023 Replica. As the name suggests, this is a full-spec Dakar bike, almost identical to the winning movement used by the Dakar racing team. by KTM Factory. With only 70 pieces produced, this is an amazingly limited edition.
However, you will get a lot of race winning kits for the perks. This factory race bike comes with the same chrome frame, 450 cc single injection, Pankl transmission and WP XACT suspension as the team bike. And you even get the same Akrapovič exhaust.
Being a recent adventure bike owner myself, things like this leave me weak in the knees. That could be because hybrid machines like this are beautiful in their own ugly way. It could also be due to the price – KTM has yet to reveal it, but last year’s iteration was a tempting $27,000. [More]
The Crafton Atelier Crafton 01 For this week’s Speed Read, I opened the first link Wes sent me and was greeted by this silver Ducati built by Crafton Atelier. I’ve never seen this bike before, but I can tell it’s based on a Ducati Scrambler. Still, it’s oddly familiar – something about the bike’s lines and shape piqued my curiosity.
I scrolled down the page to discover that the Crafton Atelier based my idea on one of my favorite motorcycles: the Ducati 750 Sport. However, the Crafton 01 isn’t a direct copy of the 750 Sport — it’s a more modern homage to the original design. And Crafton did it incredibly well.
Using the Scrambler as a starting point, they built a new tank out of aluminum, equipping it with a recessed sub-cap. The rear end is made of fiberglass, with a beautiful glossy black leather saddle.
The exhaust system is handmade, the electric adjustment tray is neatly hidden under the new saddle. This is balanced out on a new subframe — a huge improvement on the rather uncanny factory design.
Crafton has also integrated the OEM seat latch into a new location below the electronics tray. This may seem like a small detail, but I bet it’s welcome when it’s time to replace the battery or service any other electrical components.
The lighting system has been upgraded to LED and the speedometer is integrated into the new headlight housing. This keeps the profile low and keeps the ECU happy by running everything through the stock assembly—including the ABS brakes.
The Crafton 01 is one of the best custom Ducati Scrambler I’ve seen. It’s subtly elegant — but then so is the 750 Sport. [More]
