It’s been a few weeks since we’ve had a crazy European in The Shed, and now we have two. Welcome back Lex and Richard of Left Hand Cycles, who have produced some pretty interesting bikes, we’ve featured a few here. Renowned Dutch DJ Lars tracked the brothers down and requested they build him a bike. The brief; It must be a four stroke and the tank has to be bright orange, proper Haz-Chem orange.
Some searching later unearthed a decent Suzuki GS550 that was ripe for customising. The thought of this pair loose with an angle grinder is making me slightly uneasy, luckily the Suzuki’s subframe bore the brunt of their enthusiasm before being looped back together and sent off for black powder coat.
The loudest orange paint available was sourced for the tank, lets hope Lars has a Biltwell Gringo to match. The edging strip on the tank seams is a neat touch, covering up mass production techniques whilst introducing a subtle line. In fact it does look like the edge of a Gringo.
Clipons and vintage grips look just right on bikes of this period, and this example is no different.
The exhausts were made in house and painted matt black and according to Richard & Lex “Sounds like a haunting Bison, mean and full of anger!”
The minimal wiring loom was remade just in time for Lars to arrive for an inspection and announce he wanted indicators and a horn. Some soldering and swearing later (the guys have never added such adornments to their builds) later and his wish was granted, at least they match the paint.
Standard wheels are clad in old faithful friends, the Dunlop K70. A neat and flat Brat seat looks like its just long enough for Lars to offer a lift to a groupie post-gig, and as he’s Dutch (not THE Dutch) perhaps he could do shuttle runs to avoid anyone feeling left out. There’s even a small saddle bag for disco-biscuits and a couple of Redbulls.
So, there you have it, short and sweet; Left Hand Cycles Agent Orange, luckily less offensive than its namesake. Keep up with Lex & Richard on the Bike Shed or head over to their blog or Facebook page.
the bike shed
