Viktor Van Trimpont (fantastic name) is an amateur builder from Belgium who’s on the verge of going pro. At 18 years of age, he went to study interpreter Spanish-English at university, but soon realised it wasn’t for him and chose archeology instead.
Viktor is obviously drawn to older things as it was about this time that he started buying old motorcycles, fixing them up and making them look pretty damn cool.The bug first bit when he got his hands on a Yamaha TTR125. It went like stink but looked like it too, so he fixed it up, restored it too it’s former glory, and was surprised to find he made a small profit too. The seeds were sown…
For a while, Viktor was content fixing and restoring bikes, but then realised he was more interested in making something unique. Not just fixing bikes, but making them look ‘bad ass with real personality.’ One of his first projects was a pig ugly kawasaki Ltd 305, a bike that rode ok just as long as you never caught a glimpse of your reflection in a shop window . Viktor gave the bike a new colour scheme, new handlebars, and a flat track seat. Sounds cool, send us a picture Viktor.
The tipping point came when he discovered thebikeshed, BikeExif, Pipeburn, and great builders like Blitz, El Solitario and Valtoron. Seeing so many stunning bikes out there inspired him to knock archeology on the head and sign up for a course in motorcycle technology, which Viktor is still doing today. While on the course, he got hold of a ’79 Kawasaki Z200 with the idea of turning it into a flat tracker, but soon changed his mind and went down the cafe racer route instead.
The tank is from a Honda cb350 which Viktor sanded, polished and fitted to the Z200 without any problems. The handlebars were swapped for clip ons. On went new wheels, new tyres and a new exhaust. Viktor says he didn’t give an angle to the exhaust because he feels the flatter line gives the bike a more classy look, naming Royal Enfield’s as his inspiration. He then fitted a small headlight which he found at a bike show for 8 euros, and removed the gauges for a cleaner and more simple look. Most of the man hours went on the seat. 4 days non stop apparently. It fits perfectly, but then I guess it should after that amount of time!
Viktor says he wanted the bike to be simple and as small as possible, but he also wanted to make it look classy and ‘badass’. With this brief in mind, he fitted the 8 Euro headlight almost between the front forks for a more aggressive look. The seat was cut high at the back to make the rear light mounting look very raw on the frame. The controls on the handlebars are no nonsense and very simple, not even a light switch. And he didn’t fit grips that match the seat because that would make the bike too ‘playful’ in his opinion. The bike isn’t perfectly finished, but that was intentional. Viktor wanted the bike to look raw and rough around the edges.
Viktor says he is planning to make more bikes in the future. Please do Viktor. More like this please. Small, simple, no fuss, yet achingly cool and full of attitude. We’d love to be blatting into town hunched over one of these. Thanks for sharing with the shed.
via PIPEBURN
