Jim and Neil at Shed-X got to know each other about seven years ago at a track day near Sydney. Both had fallen in love with bikes at a young age, Jim in the UK had loved his Z1 and Neil used to borrow his brother’s Triumph Bonnie but ended up riding Kawasaki triples.

The guys got more and more disillusioned over what was available in their local motorcycle dealerships, and realised that the only way to get the kind of ride that would move their soul was to start building them for themselves. Sydney had become overrun with custom SR400s and W650s, which was fine, but these boys wanted performance too, and having fallen for Pepo’s  RAD 9 1/2 they started tinkering with Ducatis.

Like their previous build the Bastardo this build is based around an ST2 but they say is a much easier ride around town (…a bit less of a bastard then?). The donor is a 99 model, and while the motor has been left stock the rest of the bike has been heavily modded, with changes to the trellis frame, ShedX 2 into 1 exhaust, modified 999 fuel tank, Radical Ducati Montjuich seat, Radical Ducati megaphone, Ducati S2R swingarm and rear shock absorber, Ducati performance slipper clutch, Motogadget “classic” tacho/speedo and M lock , Marchesini 5 spoke wheels, Brembo gold line front calipers, Galfer front 320mm discs, with power coming via a superlight Zero gravity 8 cell Li ion battery. Yum.

The guys currently have another 5 builds underway, including a Ducati Sport Classic 1000, two ST2’s, a 1098 and a Triumph Scrambler. Deus, watch out.

See more form Neil & Jim on the Shed X Facebook Pages and here on the Bike Shed.

Josh Mott is just 22 years old, but is the proprietor of JMR Customs in Boise, Indianna in the US and aprt-time desert racer. Looking at the styling of this Goldwing custom (yes, it’s a Honda Goldwing), you won’t be surprised to hear that his background is in offroad motorcycle racing. The outcome is brute force meets tracker/scrambler. If someone rides this over the top of your car, it’s gonna leave a mark!

“This 1981 GL1100 came to us as a wreck. The previous owner laid the bike over on the right hand side and broke the valve cover and bent the cam shaft. We originally built this bike as a dual purpose machine but as soon as we got it done we realized this bike was more of a stripped-down sport bike. When you first look at the bike you think it’s gonna be very heavy and bulky, but it’s the total opposite, in fact you can get this bike into a corner so hot it will scare you. I know because I laid into a corner, touched a pipe on the ground, and it was almost game over, lol.”

1100 CCs of practical tourer, laid bare for all to see…

“The bike had a little over 40,000 miles on it and wasn’t in too bad of a shape. We rebuilt the motor, the carburetors and built a set of 2 1/4 inch exhaust pipes. Then rebuilt the suspension, added Renthal 7/8 dirt bike bars, dual sport tires, Baja designs headlight, some paint and powder coat. Basically, we put the bike on a 250 pound diet and ended up with a 95 hp, XR looking, very fast, and superb handling motorcycle that we call the GL1100X.”

So, when you get your head around the idea of a “95bhp XR1100″ it kinda makes sense. And there are more naked wings out there too. Thanks for sharing this build with us Josh, and we look forward to seeing more from JMR Customs.

Badajoz in Spain is a city of just 150,000 inhabitants, but despite the small population MOTOBIKE Badajoz has scored three builds since they launched their partnership with Mario Salorino, building cafe/brat style customs.

After showcasing Mario’s own Honda 400 and their lovely CB900F a new client turned up, with designs on turning a  Cb450Dx into a street scrambler.

This bike didn’t get any major changes or upgrades to the suspension, brakes, wheels or overly expensive accessories, but was an exercise in seeing what can be done on a modest budget – but the little Honda still benefited from a thorough mechanical restoration and elaborate new paint job as well as all the usual chopping, hiding and fabrication that goes into a “less-is-more” build.

The bike has a 1970s scrambler stance with upswept, wide bars for plenty of steering leverage and a commanding riding position.

The carefully sculpted seat has beautiful upholstery with diamond stitch and tasteful piping, and enough padding for hours in the sadde, or a passenger.

For a budget build this bike punches well above it’s weight in terms of looks and finish, and we look forward to seeing what Mario, Juan and Ricard come up with next.

When Miguel first came to Tito & Jose of Maccomotors in Spain, they were just finishing up their chunky Kawasaki 1100ST so his little red Montessa 75 was about to take them to the opposite end of the scale in cubic centimeters, but with no less effort or attention to detail. As they put it – “from a thoroughbred horse to a grasshopper”

It was a 1976 Enduro 75L which had been sitting around in his garage for years, and didn’t run. Miguel wanted the bike fixed up and customised, but he also wanted to preserve the essence of the bike… “I want your touch on it, but I want people to say; that´s a Montesa enduro…. uhmmm, isn´t it?”

Their plan was to turn the bike into a street tracker, and to retain the Montessa red paint but in a richer, more glossy tone.

The bike was stripped, rebuilt – including the engine – and refinished with all parts replaced or upgraded where needed. Original hoop sizes were retained and wear mis-matched Pirelli knobblies. Uprated rear Marzocchi E81 shocks help keep both wheels on the ground, while a simple white-wrapped reverse cone exhaust takes care of the sound-track.

Wide, flat Rizoma bars, simple clocks and switchgear are compulsory for a smart modern street custom, as is the maccomotors-built cutdown seat.

Could she be any skinnier? The slim profile and light weight would make this the perfect city commuter.

See more from the guys at Maccomotors on their pages on the Bike Shed, their new website, Maccomotors, and their Facebook page. Next up – a Triumph Bonneville SE.

Photos credits go to Sergio Ibarra from Semimate.

Having been inspired by Deus Ex Machina and Wrenchmonkees, Mario Salorino began his collabroation with MotoBike Badajoz building his own Honda, a CM400T. This project set him up with owner Juan de Dios and mechanic Ricard as a partnership, building more cafe/brat hybrid custom motorcycles, including this lovely CB900F, reminiscent of other Spanish customs by the likes of Cafe Racer Dreams.

Having hooked up with the Juan & Ricardo and introduced them to this new custom niche, the guys were hooked and the work began.

The brown & cream paint looks rich and deep, continuing the growing trend amongst Spanish builders to use simple, retro paint schemes with timeless lines that accentuate the lines of the frame and hide or expose various bike components.

The usual minimalist lighting front and rear keeps it lean and simple with cat-eye indicators and mini-speedo.

The guy’s next project is for shop owner Juan de Dios, a Honda CB750F 82. We look forward to getting the pics. See more of the detail behind this build on the MOTOBIKE Badajoz Facebook page.

Old Empire Motorcycles in Norfolk are all about the “Pure Motorcycle”; back to basic builds, bikes stripped back to the minimum and finished at the highest levels of quality – but above all, made to ride.

Although this is their third Enfield based build it’s not down to their affordability or their abundance, but down to the challenge of taking a bike many people disregard and showing how much can be done with them once their potential is fully explored.

The same can be said of how bikes like the BMW boxer has been championed by the likes of Blitz, Kevils and UMC and Deus Ex Machina’s much emulated take on the humble SR500. Even CX500s seem to be creating some astounding machines. All testament to wanting a serious challenge.

While many of us have a love/hate relationship with our set of spanners, they describe their workshop as the House Of Assembly; “where we pay daily homage to the gods of speed and fuel. Its the place where we meet, greet, drill, weld, cut, grind, turn, mill, hammer, roll and notch to our hearts content to create and display our one of a kind pieces of automotive art in all their glory.” Amen, Brother.

To quote Alex from OEM; “I guess the most important part of why we do what we do is because we find it difficult not to modify and alter whatever comes into the workshop, regardless of what it is, its a love for anything with two wheels combined with the fascination of creating completely unique and usable works of art.”

The work that’s gone into this bobber – the EFI – speaks for itself, from the deep white and blue paint to the finish on the metalwork and the choice of components and controls.

Brooks grips ooze quality with stamped leather and machined logos.

Polished cases boast British heritage – despite it being preserved in India, where the last of the old empire still casts a long shadow.

We defy anyone to not look too-cool-for-school on a laid back, low slung bobber with fat Avon tyres and tucked-in headlamp that can be kickstarted into life.

Check out more from Old Empire Motorcycles on their website, and you can see them in the flesh with a brand new build, (soon to be featured here), at the Bike Shed BSMC Event in Shoreditch this May 18th & 19th.

Adam, Rex & Anita have been beavering away under the arches for a while now, turning unwanted R-Series BMWs into badass street-munching urban brat/scrambler hybrids, and this picture-perfect R90 is the latest to roll off the bench, commissioned by Antonius all the way from Germany.

We’ve been lucky enough to see every UMC machine built to date, and while we’re big fans of Adam’s rugged street-machines with unpainted tanks this slightly more refined machine is one of our favourites, combining practical class with urban cool.

The guys have an eye for detail and like everything neat, with wiring hidden away and simple. Add uncluttered controls, bare metal fenders, lights that work, and their customised headlights, with instruments and warning lights neatly incorporated.

The donor bike is an 1975 BMW R90/6 but has been fitted with an R75 tank. After stripping the bike down to the frame, the engine was completely overhauled with head, barrels and gearbox all removed and checked over, and all mechanical parts repaired or replaced with upgraded items, like the stainless steel pushrods and new valve guides. Metalwork was vapour blasted or wire brushed while the frame and various fixings were powder coated.

Rather than chopping into the original subframe, this was kept to one side while a new one was sourced to be chopped and shortened by 15cm with a kicked rear loop, and then delugged. The guys did this, keeping various original parts, so the bike can be returned to it’s original spec, but we predict a many years of metalwork being kept in the attic in cardboard boxes, never to be used again.

A custom seat was made to spec by Glenn Moger, to accommodate the new subrame and mate neatly to the R75 tank, which was painted in a modern, and rather modest, BMW silver.

The trademark UMC custom headlight was modified with extra warning lights to accommodate tough German type approval laws, while the bars are British made and wear British switchgear, with the wiring and loom re-made and hidden away by Anita and all the control cables hand-cut to length. New indicators had to be positioned to pass the TUV tests, as did the number plate bracket. Powder coated wheels are re-laced with stainless steel pokes and nipples, and wear Dunlop K75s. The ignition switch and starter button have been moved to the sub frame.

It’s a really lovely bike, and even prettier in the flesh than these photos show, with deep paint and showroom quality finish. It looks like a new bike. Great work and top marks to Untitled Motorcycles – and yes, we are biased, but it’s all true.

Looks like the guys down at Kevils in Paignton have been enjoying themselves creating this retro homage to the late, great Mr McQueen, but with a German twist. Although the bike is, of course, a BMW, this 1977 R75/7 has actually got quite a few Triumph parts grafted onto it including Girling rear shocks.

The bike was built in time for the Stafford show for the MotoLegends Barbour/Belstaff promo stand so she was rushed out the door, but not before a mammoth amount of work went into the bike, including newer spec heads, nicasil coated barrels and other trick parts. Most people at the show seemed to think it was a late 1940s bike.

Like any war time machine the bike was built for business, and apparently on rations too as there are no unnecessary luxuries like clocks or indies, just an amp gauge in the headlight, plus a rear rack (for grenades?) and under the mudguard there’s a stabiliser bar to stop the fender wobbling on landing after jumping any barbed wire fences.

Even the UK reg plate looks kinda German…

We’ll leave the last word to Kev Hill… “Umm it’s a great ride!, honestly I felt like Steve riding around Paignton on the test ride I just couldn’t find a fence to jump, or any Germans to out run.”

See more from Kevils here on The Bike Shed, or head over to their Wesbite for more of their eclectic collection of BMW customs.

Everyone loves a big Zed, so we were very chuffed when brothers Tito & Jose saw fit to send us photos of their very first build under the brand Maccomotors, a 1982 Kawasaki Z1100 ST shaftie.

The brothers hail from Chiclana de la Frontera, Cadiz, in the south of Spain and have clearly been busy trying to get things right from their very first outing in the cafe custom world, and with so many other talented Spanish builders around it’s impressive that they’ve made such a credible start in this good company.

Like many of us who love the individuality  the custom biking scene allows, Tito & Jose decided that they had to start building their own machines and then share their hard work with the rest of us, via a new website, Maccomotors, and of course they have a Facebook Page you can follow too.

The donor bike, a Z1100 ST, came from a neighbour and wasn’t even a runner  due to valve issues – but at least it was a good price. Their goal was to create something beautiful, retro and functional, but to hang on to the aggression that 1100cc of musclebike provides.

They started out with a complete engine rebuild running Meiwa filters and a 2 into 2 Mivv exhaust, while the rear subframe was shortened to accommodate a Maccomotors seat.

Rear suspension comes courtesy of Marzocchi with a pair of E81 units with the wheels running Metzler Lasertech tyres.

Up front, Renthal Ultralows wearing Beston style grips help keep a low profile in comfort, complemented by a small single speedo, Bates headlight and ShinYo mini cat-eye turn-signals at both ends and Texas lamp at the back.

For a first build from a new shop it’s a superb bit of work, but Tito & Jose also tell us that in less than a month they’ll be adding a brat-style Montesa Enduro 75 to their stable (and hopefully our pages), plus they’ve started work on a Triumph Bonneville and have a Yamaha TTR lined-up to start work on in the next few days.

Photos are by Sergio Ibarra from Semimate

The dilemma of whether to go solo and have that pure, bump-stopped, cafe racer rear-end or whether to consider the need to take a svelte young hottie on the back of your pride’n'joy has sweated many of us at one time or another. Sadly, with custom bikes you don’t always get the slip-on/off cowl option, so step-up Michael Mundy & Co at Steel Bent Customs to take such serious matters head on, and to produce one of the first convertible cafe/brat hybrids we’ve seen.

However, it’s not all about the pretty babes, this bike is a bit of a stunner in it’s own right. Beginning life as a 1982 Honda CB750 Nighthawk wasn’t the greatest start but thanks to the wrenching skills of the SBC crew this bike was destined to become one of the 12-15 bikes that the guys would chose to give a facelift to in 2013.

The plan was to get a little creative, and Michael had his eye on a centrally mounted cat’s-arse exhaust outlet to change things up a little. Clearance to the tyre worked out fine, as did the sound once the bike was fired-up, sounding very similar to their more traditional four into one setups. They also wanted to use a mono shock without switching out the rear swing arm. The whole thing fits together seamlessly.

Once the guys had sorted the removable hump to meet the convertible brief, they had their upholsterer give a diamond stitch pattern to the two separate seats and their painter finished off the bodywork in a wet-look gloss black & silver two-tone with a red stripe.  The complementary red pod filters & shock spring also add a little class.

Up front they went with a motocross bar set up and added a screen protected headlight for a look they describe as the “urban cafe” – ready to assault the city streets.  Neat controls, tiny clocks and a small bar end mirror are in keeping with the SBC minimalist style.

She was purchased by a guy overseas before she was finished and will be shipped out soon. This new bike adds to the Steel Bent Customs’ catalog of builds and lets new clients have a few more options when it comes to their own bespoke design. And the final word from Michael: “We have started 3 new builds for clients.  We are always booking builds -with 1/2 down, you too can reserve your spot in line.” Now, where’s that number for my bank manager….?

Photos by Erick Runyon of Choppershotz. See more of Steel bent’s bikes HERE on the bike shed, and here on their own pages.