Revealed this week: a custom FTR India, designed by Sideburn and Cheetah. Plus a Triumph Bonneville from Indonesia, a Triumph Bobber from France and an extremely sleek Ducati Monster 600 cafe racer from Italy.
Sideburn and Cheetah’s Indian FTR One of the biggest custom bike shows on the calendar, the Bike Shed Show, ends today in London. It’s a bunch of visual treats, with builders often rushing to finish their projects in time to get them on display. This shiny Indian FTR broke cover at Bike Shed this weekend—which is impressive when you hear how far apart the collaborators who worked on it are.
The minds behind this work are Gary Inman, founder of UK-based Sideburn magazine, and Toshiyuki ‘Cheetah’ Osawa, one of Japan’s leading custom motorcycle builders. The idea was to build a bike that could play on FTR’s flat road heritage, while also giving a nod to blossoming facilities flat road scenes in Japan and the United Kingdom. Appropriately dubbed ‘Tokyo Connect’, it completely reimagines the shape of the 1,203 cc roadster, with a monolithic fuel tank and tail unit.
“Cheetah is a total pro,” Gary told us. “He explained that his workload was huge and that the only way he was able to meet our deadline was to finish the bike close to the planned Bike Shed Moto launch by flying. to the bodywork.”
You read it right. Since Cheetah couldn’t get everything done in time, he focused entirely on building the monocoque body for the FTR. The bike will also need a new subframe and a custom aluminum fuel cell to fit under the saddle, so these were fabricated for Toshihiro Watanabe at Garage Ducktail.
“In terms of design, I purposely omitted the definition of a custom bike or a race bike that requires a small fuel tank,” says Cheetah. “Instead, for the FTR, I created a larger tank cap and created a narrow line from the cap to the tailgate. A simple yet beautiful body line can be appreciated not only from the side silhouette but also from just behind or at a diagonal angle.”
While Cheetah sculpted the FTR’s new body, Toshihiro sent the fuel tank and subframe to Gary to fit in the meantime. Gary also took a look at Sideburn Rolodex, a collection of divisions starting with companies he has worked with in the past. There’s also an S&S Cycle exhaust, along with rear swingarms, levers, radiator cap and oil tank cap from the Indian Motorcycle x Gilles Tooling collection.
The front wheel has been replaced with a 19-inch one from an Indian FTR Rally, and the original rear axle has been tied up with a different 19-inch rim, thanks to Hagon wheels. Parts specs also include Dunlop DT4 tires, Neken flat handlebars and Rizoma turn signals.
When the car was nearing completion, Cheetah completed the monocoque body by adding a spinning structure to the aluminum. Atelier Tee covers the seats, S Paint Works handles the paint and Tomomi ‘Shakin’ Shimizu sets the lettering.
Cheetah flew to the UK with the final piece, fitted it to the bike, et voilà—one of the stars of this year’s Bike Shed has completed. [Sideburn | Cheetah | Images by Sam Christmas Photography]
Triumph Bonneville by Thrive Motorcycle It’s been a minute since we heard from motorcycles thrive, but the Jakarta-based store hasn’t stopped working. They just announced their latest build—2015 model winning car Newchurch with some interesting details.
The rose came from a family member of a friend who wanted to refurbish his Bonneville. Thrive retains some of the original Bonneville character, but blends some accents that embrace a multitude of styles; from street followers to classic UJMs.
Thrive kept the Bonneville’s gas tank but fitted the car with new parts at the front and rear. The headlight housings and high mounted front fenders are both hand-formed from aluminium, in a neoclassical enduro aesthetic. The tiny LED lights that protrude out front serve only as daytime running lights, with a PIAA point, mounted on the left side of the bike, giving a hand.
The rear is the reverse clawed tail that gives the classic strong feeling of Kawasaki. It’s also made from aluminum, as are the ‘side panels’, one of which is actually the bike’s new electronics box. Single seats are located above, with LED taillights hidden under the rear apron.
Real seven-spoke wheels To be from a vintage Kawasaki. Measuring 19 inches at both ends, they are tailored to the Triumph through custom spacers, painted white and wrapped in Pirelli Scorpion Rally tires, selected to meet the demands of every move. anytime and anywhere. Öhlins’ rear shock absorber is also stealthily located at the rear of the car.
The control area has a new holder for the OEM speedometer, Brembo clutch and brake controls. Footrests and turn signals from Thrive’s own spare parts catalog, as well as twin mufflers, are mounted on custom heads. Custom aluminum sump guards add a bit of off-road protection.
Bonneville Newchurch is a special edition launched with very eye-catching red and white paint tones. Not wanting to spoil it, Thrive instead painted the new parts in a matching cherry red color scheme with black and white details.
It’s a style we haven’t seen in the venerable Bonneville before—but again, we’ve learned to expect the unexpected from Thrive. [Thrive Motorcycle | Images by Iqbal Mughniy]
Triumph Bobber by FCR Original A Triumph is a little harder to customize than a Bonneville, that is Winning Bobber. It’s a really nice bike, with almost no disassembly or modification required. Your best bet is to make lots of small, clever changes—which is exactly what France’s FCR Original has done here.
Original FCR known for manufacturing and stocking a wide variety of bolt attachments for different types of bikes, so they used their stockpile to heavily upgrade this Bobber. It has a pair of black FCR stock exhausts and FCR gas caps, plus LSL handlebars and lifters, Behringer controls and some Motogadget parts. The front fender is another FCR product, while the original rear fender is undulating as much as possible.
One obvious change is the seating. FCR reshaped it, wrapped it in stylish nubuck leather, then modified the saddle with a custom backplate. It’s a small detail that makes a big difference.
More subtle are FCR’s changes to the rolling frame. Take a closer look, and you’ll spot a fully adjustable upside-down fork up front, fitted via three custom clamps. The FCR has a black anodized top, while the bottom is treated with a diamond-like black coating.
The team also swapped the stock axles to new 17-inch rims, then replaced with Michelin Road 6 tires. An adjustable shock absorber from 2Win sits under the seat, where you’ll also spot a pair of group filters and There is no obvious wiring. At the bottom, the Triumph’s leash has been replaced with a belt drive.
FCR credits the streetwear and skating culture as the inspiration behind the build, which probably explains the lemon yellow paintwork. It’s a refreshing change from the shortcuts we often see on bobbersand hints at the thrill of driving this Triumph. [Via]
Ducati Monster 600 by Officine GP Design have some Ducati monster remarkable, desirable or downright iconic patterns. And the Ducati Monster 600 is not one of them. Released in the late ’90s as a more affordable starting point for owning a Monster, the Monster 600’s only claim to fame was that it was (and still is) cheap.
That said, there’s nothing cheap about this amazingly gorgeous custom Monster 600 from Officine GP Design in Turn, Italy. Run by Luca Pozzato, the shop prides itself on building bikes it calls “just for you”. To date, they have created more than 100 customs only once, and each one proves just how keen Luca’s eye is.
The summary of this Monster comes from Roberto Passaro, who runs DucatiSpecial’s social media channels. Roberto wanted “an eye-catching black motorcycle,” and Luca and his team delivered.
Nicknamed ‘Lucenera’, the Monster’s transformation started with a custom bib, fuel tank and tail section, designed to transform it from entry-level naked to luxury. cafe racer. LEDs are embedded at both ends, with the FG Racing clip-ons located behind the apron, fitted with some Rizoma parts.
The Monster 600 clutch covers and buttons are from STM, the footpegs and sprocket cover are Ducabike parts, and the clutch transmission and frame cover are from AEM Factory. The Ducati also features HP Corse silencers, Jonich wheels and a full set of Pro-Bolt screws.
But it’s the tiny 600s paintwork that really stands out for its weight. It is finished in a combination of gloss black and matte black tones, with an olive gold color scheme for the frame and pinstripes.
As an added bonus, Officine GP Design even painted Roberto’s helmet to match—and the bike comes with a matching cover, display mat, riding suit, and watch. Bellissima! [Officine GP Design]
