CAFÉ RACER 76

Martin Gomez from Argentina is a 3rd generation biker so it was no surprise to his family and friends that he set up on his own, building bikes. Bunch of Five Garage has completed its first project, a 1981 Kawasaki GPZ550. Well, a box anyway, with GPZ550 written on it, Martin hoped that the rusted, grubby and grease encrusted metallic skeleton presented to him was in fact Kawasaki’s venerable half-litre four banger.

Inspired by dirt and street trackers, Martin stripped, cleaned and rebuilt the contents of the box, powder coating and painting in black as he went. All nuts and bolts have been replaced rather than scrubbing up the old ones, up-close the attention to detail and finish is really rather good, especially for build no.1.

Stripped and rebuilt carbs suck through K&N style filters and wide-bored two-into-one megaphones improve the Kawasaki’s theme tune. As there are no instruments or dash, a mission control switchboard on the left side takes care of the electrics with battery cut-off, ignition toggle switch and a push button start. If you’re devoid of the theatre of kickstarting it’s good to have a pre-launch sequence, rather than a hum drum press-and-go.

We presume Corpses From Hell featured somewhere in the inspiration for the tank, which was painted by a local tattoo artist onto bare steel before a few coats of lacquer. Nice artwork which makes the boxy shape blend neatly into the rest of the bike.

With Brat and Tracker seats getting ever thinner Martin has opted for the non haemorrhoid inducing option with some foam under a stitched brown vinyl, note the nice dimpled detail at the rear (of the seat, not Martin). It looks comfy enough to take him to Tierra del Fuego and back without a doctors visit. New shockers were fitted just to be sure.

Up front, bars with a relaxed, classic tracker geometry were fitted, with trick, adjustable levers and gummy grips. It all adds up to a clean look and ultimately, a very usable machine.

Martin is very pleased with how his first effort, The Indian Rabbit, has turned out and is already underway with the next Kawasaki, a 1976 KZ750 twin. The custom scene is growing rapidly in Argentina and customers plentiful, if Bunch of Five Garage carries on like this we’re sure they will be back in The Bike Shed before too long.

See more from Bunch of Fives on their Facebook Page.

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.

Cafe Racer Triton 650 Pre Unit

Sometime before, Soft Tsingos had completed her amazing project “Cafe Racer Honda CB550” with the help of her father. This time round the tables has turned and it’s Sofi’s father’s turn to step into the spotlight. He built a true café race named “Triton 650 Pre Unit Cafe Racer”.

Details of cafe racer Triton 650 Pre Unit:

Classic Norton Featherbed frame 1966
Front wheel Norton, rear wheel Triumph (redone hub for installation front brake mounting John Tickle Racing)
Tidy Smith
Original fuel tank handmade
650-cc engine Triumph Pre Unit 1961: redesigned balanced
Transmission Triumph T140 1960
Lucas Competition magneto
Pair of Amal carburettors

Unfortunately, this story is not the happy ending. Sophie’s father, owner of the cafe racer Triton 650 Pre Unit, has cancer. Thus, Sophie decided to build another cafe racer to sell it to a charity auction, and the money to fund research to give cancer treatments.