Kymco is not a big names in the West, outside the scooter world. But it’s a different story back home in Taiwan, where this custom Kymco KTR 150 originated. The KTR is one of Kymco’s more popular models out there — and as you can tell, it’s pretty customizable.
Taiwan’s custom scene is rapidly expanding, and the shop behind this KTR 150, Twentytwo Custom, is dedicated to this goal. They are the custom branch of Persist Motorcycle Company – a Taiwanese apparel brand and motorcycle culture. Collaborating with Tough Tracker from Taichung, they set out to create street watcherswhich they named ‘Urban Drifter.’
The client gave Twentytwo mostly free of charge to double-check the bike’s design. “He only had two requests,” says Twentytwo’s lead designer, Dong Lin. “A bike suitable for his height; 1.82 m [6,1 feet]here is above average in Taiwan and black is the overall color. “
“The rest is our creation. We decided to build a bike that represents the modern, urban lifestyle. We kept the main frame and front suspension intact but all the other parts on the bike have been redesigned and replaced.”
With KTR’s popularity, finding a sponsor is easy. Since the plan was to customize it, they landed on a rather tired looking vehicle from 2007. Dong drew up the blueprint and worked out a battle plan, then handed the vehicle over to Tough. Tracker to bring your vision to life.
Directly ahead are the Bates-style headlights, which are attached to a neat bracket from another Taiwanese outfit, Custom 2LOUD, which also contains the new forward indexes. Behind the lighting setup is a Daytona digital speedometer and Twentytwo’s custom-designed handlebars. And the upper part of the fork tube has been painted black to match the new fork.
Above is a Suzuki BS125 fuel tank, modified to fit Kymco. It fits the bike perfectly, plus it carries more fuel than the stock tank — and no one complains about the extra fuel.
As Dong previously alluded to, the entire rear part of the bike was chopped off and thrown away. The new subframe comes from another Taiwanese motorcycle shop, Kick Garage. But Dong and his teammates had to work hard to make it blend in with the rest of the bike.
“For us, the challenge was to maintain the visually compact feel and try not to make the car look empty with the larger frame,” he said. “So we welded two extra rods to the subframe.”
The new slats sit just below the side panels and cleverly fill in the space below the saddle. These side panels are hand-made from sheet aluminum, as are the rear fenders with integrated taillights.
Replacing the original cast wheels are 19” in front and 18” in rear; really leaning towards the feeling of street watchers. Wrapped in Firestone-esque rubber, they look very polished (pun intended), especially compared to the new black rims.
There’s not much on this bike that isn’t hand-made, and the saddle is no different. Built on an aluminum pan with a custom-made suede finish, it’s a lot taller than most builds in this style, with almost desert sled-like proportions. Not only does it match the design of the bike, but it certainly feels more comfortable for long-legged owners.
The rather curvaceous exhaust is also handcrafted, and along with the foam filter on the carburetor, should extract a few more horsepower from the 150 cc engine. New shock absorbers from Taiwanese brand MJP make a comeback.
The Marques Brownlee-approved ‘everything matte black’ theme is continued throughout the bike. The only exception is the glossy black fuel tank, which adds a moderate shine to the build.
There’s been a shift in sentiment towards smaller, lighter motorcycles and that’s a good thing. After all, riding a small fast bike is more fun than riding a slow big bike. Kymco’s 150 cc single is more than enough to take the lucky owner through the streets of Taiwan, especially on a bike with a good look like this.
Our only complaint is that the Kymco KTR 150 is not available outside of Taiwan.
Persist Motorcycle Company Instagram
