SUZUKI ST400 BY SPEEDTRACTOR

Tokyo has one of the world’s most vibrant custom motorcycle scenes. It’s dominated by names like An-Bu, Ritmo Sereno, Sanctuary and Sundance. But here’s a new entrant worth keeping an eye on—Speedtractor.

This Suzuki ST400 Tempter is one of Speedtractor’s first builds, and it’s a beauty, in a chunky kind of way. The client wanted a street scrambler that he could hit the dirt with on the way home: believe it or not, Tokyo has some “in-the-know” dirt tracks along the beds of the rivers that run through the urban sprawl. And that’s where this machine, called the T61 Catalina Special, gets to play dirty. The tracks are “run” by locals, but the police generally turn a blind eye.

The Suzuki 400cc single motor—best known for its presence in the Savage bikes in the West—puts out plenty enough grunt, so motor upgrades were kept very modest. Speedtractor retained the airbox due to wet riding conditions, but opened it up a bit. The filter has been replaced with a free flowing K&N element, and the carb jetted up to make use of the custom pipe’s fondness for expelling hot gases with haste, despite internal baffling.

The front shocks were overhauled and internal spacers modified to give the maximum travel possible. The oversize front tire is to help compensate for the lack of front suspension travel, and the rear twin-shock suspension is now dual rate long travel. Frame-wise, all the metalwork behind the rear shock mounts was removed and a simple looped sub-frame fabricated. It gives the bike a clean visual line, parallel to the exhaust, from front of the tank through the short seat to the stop light.

The bars are now in the low-rise tracker style, and get the rider’s elbows up and out, ready to muscle the bike through the next corner—and as it’s no featherweight, muscle is the operative word. Up front, a vintage headlight shell has been mated with a mini-speedo. It’s all-analog, but with integrated warning lights. And since the photoshoot, the owner has agreed to having a removable front fender fitted …

According to Speedtractor’s Matt Roberts, the Suzuki’s now bearing a few scars: it’s had “a little lie-down for a rest occasionally.” The owner rides it with enthusiasm, and is no stranger to mud. And every now and then, he takes it back to the shop for a little tweaking and improvement.

I think it’s pretty much perfect as it is. To see more, head over to the Speedtractor website.

from BIKEEXIF

Suzuki GT 185 1978 by Studio Motor

Foto: Studio Motor
via Racing Café

Suzuki GT750, Endurance Racer Pictures and Specification

Motorcycle Suzuki GT750 Endurance is a new project of Rassie van Aswegen, a talented custom motorcycle builder from South Africa. The bike was very substantial: 750 cm3, devil tactics, liquid-cooled, modern suspension, great brakes.

Rassie bought a motorcycle Suzuki GT750 last year on property in Tennessee. In spite of the Year (1976), the bike was in excellent condition, so van Aswegen, bought it without even thinking. Rassie decided to make a Suzuki GT750 motorcycle endurance racing-style bike Suzuki TR750, where Barry Sheen raced in 1975.

Project details:
• Redesigned frame, installed seat Rickman
• Fork yoke, front brake and wheel from the Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa 2005
• Fairing – a combination of components and Ducati 750SS 1997 Airtech
• Almost stock 3-cylinder engine
• Many small things

from BIKEGLAM

Deus Bali Suzuki DR650

Motorcycles can be capricious creatures. But there are a handful that are essentially bulletproof—simple machines that are simple to fix, and cheap to run. One of those is Suzuki’s venerable DR650, which has been around for at least twenty years. The stock bike is as ugly as a toad, but it’s not hard to see why it still sells. In the US you can ride one out of the showroom for less than $6,000, and you’ll be riding on a wave of torque from the big aircooled single.

So it’s surprising that we don’t see more DR650 customs around. This one is a new release from Deus Bali, and their logic in choosing the bike is impeccable: “The DR650 is a simple big motor and frame. It’s probably the biggest single-cylinder four stroke out there. The bike is very adaptable—once you strip off all the plastic, you find a frame and engine that is prime for customizing. They have power. They look great when stripped back and done up, and they’re fun as hell to ride. “

The donor bike here is a 1997 model, although you’d be hard pressed to tell it from a 2012 model. Deus dismantled the DR, pulled the engine apart, cleaned it up and painted it in a black wrinkle finish. They fitted a custom oil cooler and a reverse cone muffler “so you can hear her coming down the road”.

The suspension has been swapped out for Honda CRF bits, and the acres of plastic have been binned in favour of a custom tank and seat combo, enlivened with a splash of yellow. A fresh set of Heidenau rubber sits on wider wheels, with the rear upgraded to an 18” to match the front. Minimal instruments sit atop Ventura street tracker bars to complete the look.
The DR650 has always struck me as a bike you’d buy with your head—or wallet. But with a makeover like this, maybe there’s life in the old dog yet. See more on the Deus Bali website.
via BIKEEXIF

EXTEMPORAE SUZUKI DR650

One of the fastest-growing custom workshops in Italy is Extemporae, based in the Varese region that’s also home to MV Agusta and Husqvarna. The company’s first two builds, a Yamaha TT600 and a XT550, were published in the influential Italian magazine Riders in 2011—and from that point on, there was no looking back.

This is Extemporae’s latest, a 1994 Suzuki DR650. The DR650 is one of those ‘sleeper’ bikes just begging for customization: Like the Honda Dominator, it’s an unsophisticated but effective all-rounder, and lends itself well to a diet and makeover.

For this machine, Extemporae took inspiration from a car: the lightweight, stripped-down Caterham Seven. Hence the Caterham/Lotus-spec green paint and the emphasis on ‘adding lightness’.

Up front, the chassis has been modified to take a 1970s Yamaha 400 tank, and at the back it’s been slimmed down to give a lower line and accommodate a hand-made seat unit.

The bars are from an anonymous 70s dirt track racer, refinished in black. The front fork has been rebuilt and shortened and custom fenders fitted front and rear. The overhauled engine is now hooked up to a cone-type air filter and Extemporae fabricated not only the exhaust system, but also the oil radiator.

“This bike is simple, light, funny and cool,” say Extemporae’s founders, Alex and Paolo. I’ll second that, and hopefully we’ll see more DR650 customs in the future. Keep an eye on Extemporae’s Facebook page to see what they come up with next.

from BIKEEXIF

POINT OF NO-RETURN!

Suzuli scrambler