Winston Yeh’s Rough Crafts halted building menacing Harleys to design a wild Husqvarna superbike. We also get to see KTM’s new RC 8C superbike, a Harley Sportster with classic flat-track styling, an aluminum Moto Guzzi V65 and a custom Volcon Grunt e-bike.
Husqvarna FE501 by Rough Crafts Browsing through Instagram, our thumbs froze when we caught sight of a thin, sickly and murdered Husqvarna supermoto. Standing in front of it is none other than Winston Yeh of Rough handicrafts in Taiwan.
We drove the FE501’s KTM counterpart (most Huskies are just reworked KTMs) and it’s an impressive machine out of the box. It’s basically a 500 cc motorcycle with lights and license plates — and if we had one in the garage, we probably wouldn’t do much.
That was Winston’s direction. He’s kept the mods minimalist and tasteful, adding in a huge dose of Rough Crafts style while injecting some road manners.
Up front, factory WP Suspension forks have been replaced with Öhlins RFX48S forks and STM Supermoto forks. Replacing the 21F / 18R wheels are 17 ” Marchesini M10RR Kompe Motard wheels, shod with Pirelli Rosso Corsa II tires. Braking is provided by Beringer, with a four-piston caliper and 310 mm disc at the front, and a set of two-piston calipers pressing the 230 mm disc at the rear.
Rough Crafts installed a carbon fuel tank and frame guard from CMT, and the frame is powder coated black. The headlights are from Koso, located inside the custom number plate up front. And the front fender is factory-made, albeit a bit short.
Neck of the engine, but the exhaust has been upgraded; a titanium Akrapovič header is combined with an SC-Project silencer. The saddle is custom and the rear shock is from Öhlins TTX Flow.
The Home Score Guide is a beautiful set of custom graphics. Husqvarna’s bodywork at the workshop has never looked so good, wrapped in a custom vinyl wrap from MTR Custom Wrapping. The black and gold color scheme perfectly matches the Öhlins wheels and suspension.
It’s narrow, light, strong, and looks great. Should Rough Crafts do a bunch of these? Most certainly. [Rough Crafts | Images by Kin Lin]
2023 KTM RC 8C What is black, orange and is sold every 0.79 seconds? If you guessed the 2023 KTM RC 8C, you were correct.
If you don’t know the RC 8C, this is a race-specific superbike that borrows technology from KTM’s RC16 MotoGP race car. Needless to say, it is sold in extremely limited quantities.
Building on the previous model’s success, the 2023 KTM RC 8C has been tweaked to deliver an “even sharper” Race Ready experience. The LC8c parallel twin has been upgraded with various titanium parts, with power increased to 135 hp at 11,000 rpm. New Akrapovič titanium exhaust system helps keep dry weight at 142 kg [313 lbs].
The electronics kit also has a few upgrades. Throttle response and engine braking are adjustable, and to help you reduce power, there are traction control, launch, and anti-wheel control options.
The suspension is from WP’s Pro Components and the brakes are from Brembo. The powertrain has a reverse gearshift, like a MotoGP bike, while the wheels are wrapped in super-sticky Pirelli Diablo racing tires.
Rims, chain, CNC fork clamps, handlebar switch and dashboard are all new. The carbon front fenders and large front spoiler look like they came out of the RC16 MotoGP. Adding cement to the RC 8C’s race-only vibe are crash-prone parts that can be easily replaced in the pits.
If all of this sounds right down your alley, I have some bad news. All 200 RC 8C 2023 units were sold out within two minutes and 38 seconds. If you want to join the waitlist and try your luck, contact your nearest KTM dealer. [KTM RC 8C]
Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 by Duecilindri When you hear a name like Duecilindri, you’d be forgiven for thinking of Italian two-cylinder bikes. However, Paolo Ghiringhelli of the Italian blog Duecilindri and YouTube channel is actually more interested in American twins — namely, Harley-Davidson Sportster.
This is Paolo’s personal bike, based on the 2007 Sportster 883 — and as you can see, he’s made some changes. “The bike is very simple,” says Paolo. “I don’t like redundancy and I want it to always be reminiscent of the original model.”
Paolo styled his Sportster like an on-road homage to Harley’s iconic XR750 flat tracker, and it certainly looks business. The Sportster 883’s fuel tank is located in front of the custom-built rear and saddle. It’s a simple change, but it’s undeniably effective.
Up front is a pair of Brembo brakes, squeezing Discacciati discs through Goodridge braided brake lines. The suspension has been reworked, with an Öhlins rear shock and a kit from Misano at the front fork, complete with a preload adjuster.
There are also some carbon fiber parts on the bike, such as the headlight cap, side covers, air filter cover and chain guard. The engine has been upgraded to 1200 cc, using the Screaming Eagle kit. A stainless steel flat exhaust is also fitted, ending with a pair of Supertrapp silencers.
Wearing Pirelli MT60 tires and a gorgeous orange paint job, this Sportster looks like a blast to drive. We’ll ask again: why didn’t Harley release this as a Sportster that shipped on that date? [Duecilindri]
Moto Guzzi V65 by 7089 Garage Antonio from 7089 Garage has a fondness for raw metal. Heavily influenced by Japanese bike builders like Shinya Kimura, Antonio has always admired their masterful metal-forming abilities.
Approached by a customer who wanted a “removable sports bike”, Antonio chose one in 1981. Moto Guzzi V65 basis. The V65 is essentially a smaller version of the Moto Guzzi Le Mans. These small displacement Moto Guzzis are plentiful, make loud noises, and handle like a dream.
This also makes them perfect for custom builds. To make his Guzzi stand out, Antonio crafted the entire body in aluminum by hand. Using traditional metal forming tools, he created the front fenders, fenders, fuel tank, tailgate and side panels. He also made the alternator housing and added brass accents to the footpegs and rear shock bolts.
The V65’s front end was rather slim, to put it mildly, so Antonio swapped it out for a modern set of inverted forks. While the suspension fork provides a smoother ride, the front end features double discs that provide twice the braking power.
Covering most of the bike, the flowing bodywork has an almost organic form to it. That’s exactly why Antonio chose not to paint any of them. We’re sure new owners will be just as happy to see it as they were when they rode it. [Via]
Volcon Grunt by Revival Cycles When Austin-based electric vehicle maker Volcon was looking for a shop to collaborate on custom construction, they looked in their own backyard. After a short trip to the other side of town, they delivered a Volcon Grunt to the crew at Revival cycle with a relatively simple summary.
Volcon requires large tires and most of the frame remains intact, but the rest is up to Revival – as long as they craft something completely unique. Fortunately for Volcon, originality is something Revival does very well.
Leaving the hard tires in place, the car was removed to get a clear idea of what the Revival team had to work on. They then teamed up with designer Ed Boyd to create some 3D models in CAD. After choosing a direction, all systems went.
They decided on a design that combines a sleek monocoque body with a steering wheel-shaped rear end. The bodywork is entirely fiberglass, built in collaboration with Calton Case. Calton has traditionally been known for their custom guitar cases, but they’ve got all the right tools to help Revival knock out Grunt’s new bodywork.
With that arrangement, the Revival team cut apart the Volcon subframe and welded their frame in place. Narrower and stronger, it supports custom seats and tails with ease. The swingarm is reverse engineered for a smoother ride thanks to a custom rack-mounted Öhlins TTX36 shock absorber.
Other changes include custom stainless steel footpegs mounted on a CNC machined stand and twin LED headlights. Painted in bright, flashy colors, the bike looks especially fun to look at and ride. If this is the future of electric motorcycles, sign up with us. [More]
