KAWASAKI W800 CUSTOMS BY DI FERRO

By Wesley Reyneke | Rather Be Riding

We’ve waxed lyrical about Kawasaki’s W800 before, and how great it is as a custom platform. It’s simple, reliable and looks good straight off the showroom floor, with a gorgeous engine. For these reasons, Italian shop Di Ferro Motorcycles have selected it for their latest project—spinning it three different ways.

Moto Di Ferro was established in 2010 by Marco Lugato, a former motorcycle racer who’s work we’ve featured in the past. Marco’s been building bikes since 2004 and decided it was time to put a team together—opening a workshop near the heart of Venice’s industrial area. After a few bespoke builds the focus shifted to creating a limited run of ‘production customs’ based on the W800, shortening the brand’s name to simply ‘Di Ferro’.

The Di Ferro W800 is available in three different guises—Bobber (above and top), Tracker (below) and Scrambler (bottom). Each model can be ordered as is, or personalized further by changing various components. All three are distinctly raw in nature—stripped back to just aluminum and leather with their own unique, hand-crafted tank and seat combinations. The Tracker features a CNC milled tail unit, while distressed brown leather was chosen for the Scrambler’s seat.

Hand built wheel sets account for each bike’s unique stance—the Tracker and Scrambler roll on 18” rims at both ends and the Bobber on 16”. The W800′s traditional 19” / 18” pairing is available as an option on the Bobber. Both the Bobber and Scrambler’s front wheels are also wider than stock—Di Ferro fabricated wider triple trees to accommodate the change. Suspension duties on the Scrambler and Tracker are taken care of by Öhlins rear shocks and front cartridges with adjustable preload.

The two-into-one exhaust systems are all completely hand made—with the exception of the Bobber’s Supertrapp muffler. The bikes all share the same air filters and custom side covers, while the remainder of the parts—such as the fenders, handlebars, clocks and lights—are tailored to each one’s unique style. German specialists LSL have also supplied a few choice bits.

Di Ferro will be producing limited numbers of their W800 models—less than 100 a year—and are looking to add other marques to their range in the future. With ‘made in Italy’ flair and practical upgrades (the Scrambler weighs a mere 183kg), I’m sure they’ll have no problem filling up their order book.

Scrambler and Bobber photos by Giuliano Berarducci. Tracker photos by Andrea Vailetti.