So it’s good to stumble across this 1978 Suzuki GS550E, built by Alan Pritchard of Stray Dog Moto in Nelson. The bike was a basket case when Alan bought it, and he originally intended to simply clean it up and get it running. But when he got the project underway, it snowballed into a major operation. And nine months later, this is how ‘Stray Dog’ turned out.

Alan de-tabbed and modified the frame, and lowered the original forks internally by 50mm. The restored spoked wheels are from a 1977 GS550, and the rearsets have been lifted from a GSX-R1100. Shocks are YSS. Alan also fitted the calipers and master cylinder from a Suzuki SV650, fed by Venhill lines. The motor got a rebuilt top end with fresh pistons and rings, and a Dyna S electronic ignition and coils. Thermal paint gives it a factory-fresh look and many other parts on the bike have been powdercoated.

Breathing is now helped by a Supertrapp muffler and K&N filters. Other mods include a custom fabricated seat, Renthal Ultra Low bars, Bates head- and tail-lamps, LED indicators, and a new electrical loom. The battery is now hidden under the seat and the bike is kickstart-only: Alan removed the starter motor.

“It took a few attempts to get the fuelling correct,” he reports, “but she now handles the twisties of the Nelson region beautifully. It’s a pleasure to ride and sounds great without being offensive!”

He also notes that the GS550 blew his budget big time. But I’d say it’s worth every penny.

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Nate runs British American Motors in Long Beach, a custom shop right next door to Lossa Engineering. He usually works on more modern machinery, but has resisted the temptation to chop the 1951 BSA up. Instead, he’s given it a sympathetic restoration that retains the charm of the original.

The bike is a 500cc thumper with a factory rigid frame. “I found this bike on eBay in Northern Cal a few years ago,” says Nate. “It was pretty rough, but it ran. It was only used for off-roading, so it had no lights and was fitted with knobblies.”

Over the past year Nate has completely overhauled the engine, fitting a new piston, rings, valves and bearings. He cleaned up the cases and the gearbox, and got everything else powdercoated, painted, and pinstriped. “We also got Cycle Art in San Pedro to help make the fender stay, so we could mount the license plate and tail light, and give it a period-correct feel,” says Nate. “Earl is an expert with over 40 years in the industry, and a pal of ours.”

The biggest problem during the restoration was the charging system, which Nate describes as ‘a real bitch.’ It uses a Lucas dynamo, and information is now hard to come by. “It was trial-and-error testing that. We found that at idle the dynamo only cranks out 0.5 volts, which isn’t even enough to flicker a lightbulb.” So Nate ended up tucking a small dry-sealed 6-volt battery between the engine and transmission, basically to power the electrics when stopped at traffic lights.

Nate wryly describes the build as ‘an education,’ but his perseverance has paid off. He now rides the BSA to his shop, and it’s his favorite bike for bar-hopping too.

Not bad for a 62-year-old, huh?

Images by Scooter Photo.

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The bike is called ‘Corsaiola,’ which loosely translates to mean ‘speedy’. It’s based on a small block 1989 V75, which was the forerunner of the Guzzi’s current V7 range. Ironically, the V75 has more power than the current bike—58 as opposed to 48 hp. That’s emissions regulations for you.

Stefano Venier is a thoroughly modern craftsman, working out the initial design in Photoshop and then using CAD to machine the parts he needs. For this bike, the frame was reworked at the back and a new tank and seat unit installed. (The original V75 was somewhat blighted by the 1980s fetish for plastic, with an especially ungainly tank.) Other custom parts include the rear fender and side panels, and custom brackets were fabricated to attach everything neatly to the frame.

The lines of the bike are simply immaculate now. They’re helped by the elegant Mistral exhaust system, hooked up to the huge cylinders jutting out to the sides. The engine has been overhauled and painted light grey; the wheels are original, albeit restored. They now run Avon Roadrider tires. (“The bike is quite fast and you need some real grip,” Stefano comments.)

The finishing touch is a simple but effective black-and-white paint job. It’s a great example of the old becoming new again—Venier’s V75 wouldn’t look out of place in a showroom next to Moto Guzzi’s current range of V7s.

Head over to the very stylish Venier Customs website to see more of Stefano’s work, and follow Venier’s news via the company Facebook page.

Images by Donatello Trevisiol.

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Santa Fe-based Charles Burkhardt found this CB450 K1 on Craigslist, and it looked like it hadn’t been started for 20 years. But after rebuilding the carbs, adding fresh oil and a new battery, it fired right up. “So I got to work right away,” says Charles, “and had everything off of the frame by the end of the day.”

That was the easy part: completing the build took months of working after-hours and at weekends. Charles cleaned up and lightened the frame, removing the tabs, brackets and center stand. He added new rearsets from a Yamaha R6 (for a more aggressive riding position) and a new seat and pad from Legendary Cycles.

The engine has been thoroughly rebuilt. That included getting the cylinders honed, and fitting new piston rings and a new cam chain tensioner. Charles has also installed a 15-tooth front sprocket for the best top-end performance without sacrificing low-end torque. The gold O-ring chain fits over a new rear sprocket and all the gaskets and seals have been renewed throughout the bike. (“No leaks from this baby!” Charles reports.)

After a light polish for the cases and head, the engine was put back together with all bolts and screws replaced by polished stainless steel allen-head bolts. The carbs were re-jetted and treated to aluminum velocity stacks. There’s a custom 2-into-1 exhaust, terminated with a chrome reverse megaphone muffler with a removable baffle. The fuel tank has been cleaned and painted and fitted with new kneepad rubbers, a new OEM petcock and new inline fuel filters.

The biggest change is at the front, which now sports a reworked CB750 front end with a single disc brake, plus a new master cylinder with an integrated brake light switch. New Shinko rubber rolls on overhauled wheels, and new fork gaiters and seals keep out the dust and debris.

The electrics have been upgraded too, and power is now supplied by an 8-cell Ballistic battery. (“Super light and compact, and has a 3-year warranty.”) There’s a new mini speedo and an even smaller mini tach. The grips have a ‘tire tread’ pattern and are attached to clubman-style bars.

This CB450 weighs in at a svelte 357 lbs wet, so you can bet that performance will be much stronger than the original. It’s the perfect mix of original style and subtle upgrades, and I’d take it in a heartbeat. Head over to Charles’ website for more images and details.

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Solley is known as a Harley man, but when he spotted a restored 1982 R80 on eBay for just £1350, he couldn’t resist. “After spending so much time on Harleys, I really wanted to make something different.”

And different Romeo 80 certainly is. The heavy lifting on the frame was done by Dave Batchelar of P&D, one of England’s most renowned fabricators. The tank was reshaped a little to fit the lines of the new frame, and Batchelar also created the side panels, front fender and rear fender/seat unit—which is a work of art.

Solley reconditioned the motor and carbs before cleaning and detailing them and installing the powerplant back in the frame. He added Supertrapp race mufflers to the stock header pipes, and installed custom-made bars, Oberon indicators and mirrors, and a modified Harley headlight. Sitting in the headlight bowl is a tiny Motogadget speedo.

The 23” wheels are a whopping 5” larger in diameter than the stock BMW R80 hoops, but Solley has retained hints of the classic BMW snowflake pattern. The rims were built by Steve Taylor of Taylor-Made Wheels and the two-tone paint, echoing the traditional BMW colors, was applied by Classic Cycle Works.

It’s one of those bikes that on paper shouldn’t work, but in the metal, it somehow does. To see more of Ian’s inspired creations, head over to the classy 7 Ages website.

Location image by Merry Michau | Studio shots by Mike Prior.

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“Timothée wanted a custom that didn’t look like an ‘overdone,’ shiny, vintage bike,” says the Wrenchmonkees’ Per Nielsen. “He was open to suggestions, and to get the best result he made his dream clear and left the rest to us.” The Wrenchmonkees don’t use computer mock-ups or Photoshop impressions—but take their time getting to know a client’s needs and preferences via conversations and emails.

“We talked about a Kawasaki Z1000 or a Honda CB750,” says Per. “We ended up with this CB750K7, because the CB750 #44 had most of the characteristics that Timothée was looking for.” The golden rule was no chrome, and Timothée’s favorite finishes are black and ‘burnt.’ “He came to the right place!” laughs Per.

The motor has been given a 100cc boost to 836cc with a Wiseco kit. Everything breathes easier with a new exhaust system, a 4-into-2 custom fabrication. The electrics have been given a shot in the arm too, with a complete rewire, Dyna coils and a new electronic ignition system.

The suspension has been lowered 60 mm at the front, and new 300 mm shocks fitted at the rear to adjust the stance of the bike. The tires are now Dunlops, D401 at the front and K655 at the back.

The bodywork has been extensively modified too, starting with the tank. It’s from a 1970s Suzuki GS 400/425, sitting ahead of a custom seat unit. (So those glimpses of color, I’m guessing, are not the Candy Alpha Red the CB750K7 was originally offered with.) Compact new lights front and back add to the minimalist look, and the battery box hides a tiny li-ion unit weighing just 700 grams.

When the CB750 was finished, Timothée flew up from France and rode it for a weekend right across Denmark. (“Our country is quite small,” Per notes wryly.) The test ride was a success, and the Honda took the long road home to France.

Even in hard-to-impress Paris, I’m sure it’ll be a hit.

Head over to the Wrenchmonkees website for a complete listing of all their builds, and follow the news for Copenhagen via their Facebook page.

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When I first saw this 1969 Norton, I’d have bet big money that it was from one of the established Japanese workshops. But it’s from my old backyard—Sydney, Australia.

Damian Bombardiere bought his Commando on the cheap from eBay three years ago. “The seller mentioned a bottom-end noise, but I found it was simply a loose tappet.” With non-matching numbers and a bizarre stepped backbone frame—perhaps to suit a short rider—Damian rode the Norton for a year while debating what to do with it.

“I decided to create a street track-dirt track-cafe racer hybrid. And after a year of building, here we have it.” Damian ditched the frame and picked up a stock frame with the rear loop already cut out. He narrowed and shortened the new frame, rebuilt and shortened the forks, and reinstalled the motor.

The engine seemed in good condition, so Damian just ground the valves and added a Joe Hunt magneto. But since then, a cam follower has disintegrated and destroyed the internals. “A bottom end rebuild was in order, so I called on JS Motorsport,” he says.

Damian also added lightened pistons, Carillo rods and a Stage 1 race cam. By the time he’d finished, he’d added a bucketload of extra power and shaved off around 12 kg in weight.

The headers are from BUB, and Damian converted the carburetion to a single Mikuni. There’s a Sparx capacitor with a hidden battery in the seat cowl to handle lighting duties. The pan and cowl are custom, upholstered by Damian’s wife, and new alloy rims complete the build. The only work that was outsourced was a rewire, done by Matt Joyce.

It’s a simple build, when compared to many customs. But sometimes simple is best—and this is one of the best Nortons we’ve seen for a long time.

For more images of this bike, get the premiere issue of Tank Moto, featuring the photography of Luke Ray—the man behind Fuel—and words from Geoff Baldwin of Return of the Cafe Racers. It’s got over 140 pages of custom motorcycle goodness and can be delivered worldwide. If you’re in Australia, even better: You’ll likely find Tank Moto in your local newsagent.

© Bike EXIF 2013. The world authority on custom motorcycles, brought to you by Icon 1000.