Trust the Italians to make custom motorcycles in a kind of setting that seems straight out of a coffee table book. These Italian custom motorcycles come from “Mr Martini” who is a bike builder based in Verona. His roots go back to Triumph customs as he was the first Triumph dealer in the area, although clearly the fascination of custom Ducatis has made its way into the workshop.

Mr Martini’s Verona showroom is like walking into a reproduction of a Tuscan gentleman’s country home with antique furniture and original artworks. The motorcycles decked out on the carpet seem to fit perfectly. Martini has quite a collection of custom built bikes starting with a 2002 Triumph Cupercooper special.

The other custom bikes seem to have had a peak production from 2010 and there are even a couple of Martini’s creations from this year, including the 2011 Charlie R which is possibly our favourite. Go to Mr Martini’s website to see all his creations.

Mr Martini custom motorcycles from Italy

Continue reading: Italian custom motorcycles by Mr Martini

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DP Custom Cycles are new to us and this is quite an introduction to their custom building efforts. This year’s 2011 EICMA show promises a custom segment all its own and here in Europe we can’t wait to see if some of America’s best custom bike builders will come to show us just what they’re working on. The healthy custom motorcycle scene in the US is not quite the same here and we wouldn’t mind an extra insight into how things are done.

But back to DP Custom Cycles from Arizona. This Look Right bike is built around a 1982 Harley-Davidson Ironhead but has styling cues from Jacques Villeneuve’s BAR Honda Formula 1 racing car. The Lucky Stripe branding couldn’t be continued in the early 2000’s in some countries because of the ban on tobacco advertising, so we get the Look Right style instead.

The bicycle-like frame and seat hold a newly manufactured battery box, oil tank and a simple but new electronics system that was designed to keep the motorcycle as pure-looking as possible. From DP Custom bikes, Del Prado says:

We made sure the electrical system was as discreet as possible for a clean, uncluttered look. All the wires and switches are new, even the keys. For an old classic Harley, this bike is fast and actually handles pretty good, especially with the Pirellis on there. It sounds really mean and the riding position is aggressive with our clip-ons and the seat location.

DP Custom Cycles Look Right Harley Ironhead Custom

Source | BikeExif

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The 2011 EICMA show will host the new Borile B450Scrambler. Quite the retro café racer, the new B450Scrambler gets a new Ducati engine and components, and while not much has been released so far, what we do know from the preview are the following technical details. We get: bore and stroke of 98 and 60, fuel injection and electronic ignition. The front should house a 19-inch wheel, and 18 inches at the rear.

The Borile Scrambler model will be one of the first to come out of this boutique Italian motorcycle manufacturer, revived only last year. Among the retro styled bikes being developed are the road scrambler, a retro enduro, a multi-purpose bike and a custom-built B500Ricki. The EICMA show will be on from November 8 to 13 and there will be plenty to see again this year as the show proves itself the best motorcycle event in Europe.

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A KIND OF PASSION, a tribute to classic motorcycles and the people who love them from Squadra Sutge on Vimeo.

The Classic Moto event in Spain celebrates custom and vintage race bikes. The event takes place every year on the Jarama track at Madrid, and these sepia-toned pics from the Squadra Sutge are quite evocative. The Classic Moto festival looks like it has become an essential stop for anyone restoring a bike, with parts and vintage bike components on sale. The Johnny Cash accompanying soundtrack is pretty appropriate, and check out the Classic Moto website for info if you’re interested in participating in next year’s event.
Classic Moto 2011

Continue reading: Squadra Sutge Classic Moto 2011 video and pics

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Cafe cowboy from benedict campbell on Vimeo.

In a wonderful amalgamation of tradition, family history and motorcycle culture, Americans build some of the most beautiful custom bikes often inspired by European motorcycle culture. In this video, we hear custom motorcycle builder Dustin Kott describe how and why he makes his vintage custom bikes. The Benedict Campbell film is beautifully shot and was made after Campbell met Kott at a Harley-Davidson photo shoot.

Campbell is British and wanted to make the film on Kott because the bike builder is a “classic American” who rebuilds 1970’s Hondas in the style of British Cafe Racers. In the video Kott describes his early days and goes on to discuss the similarities and differences between American hot rods and British cafe racers, how he managed to make a living in the industry and why he uses Hondas. Check it out above.

Source | Jalopnik

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This Shaw Harley-Davidson Fat Boy was transformed into the Capitan America model in about 110 hours from the guys at Shaw Harley-Davidson - a UK Harley dealership. In the video though, we get to see the Fat Boy Capitan America build process in seven minutes. The model now costs about €40,000 and was made for the UK “Customising, Culture and Harley-Davidson” exhibition in Manchester (on show until September 11).

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When the story of Falcon Motorcycles’ restoration of The Black, based on a Vincent Black Shadow, emerged, there wasn’t a motorcycle blog that didn’t publish it. We took our cue from Bike Exif, being gurus in the vintage, custom sector - but they weren’t the only ones waxing lyrical about what a beautiful bike it is.

Chris Hunter made an important point when writing about The Black, saying it is the typical example from Falcon Motorcycles that “blurs the boundaries between motorcycling, industrial design and sculpture”. Since then, debates have been sparked over whether this motorcycle will ever be ridden, and whether it is more about art than a functional riding experience.

Some comments on Bike Exif say:

• I don’t know what to think about Falcons. The standard of craft on show is so mind-warping it makes carping about the bike’s functional aspects (let’s start with the position of that monoshock) seem churlish. Still, no one’s actually going to ride it are they? Or are they?
• I think “form” was a clear priority here. Function…? Well, at least this one has some form of suspension. That said, why must everything be functional? If so, we would all be riding Honda Deuvilles. Isn’t it enough that it’s absolutely, gobsmackingly gorgeous?
• Ridden? Not with the present rear suspension set-up … Other than that awesome build quality, work of art.

More after the jump.

Continue reading: The Black Falcon: art or a "real" motorcycle?

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Originally the project for the new Falcon Motorcycles model, The Black, started life as a conversion of the Vincent Black Shadow. But it got to be much more than that. It’s the third model in a series of ten concepts from Falcon Motorcycles, and as Bike Exif says, it “blurs the boundaries between motorcycling, industrial design and sculpture”.

The Black Falcon custom built bike took a year to build, and is now equipped with a 1952 Black Shadow engine which was found in pieces and which had been modified over the years. It is now stronger and lighter, and has 75 hp, and combines with two separate fuel tanks - one for everyday riding and one for drag racing.

This Falcon Motorcycles creation has just one first place in the custom class at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering in California. If we needed converting to custom bikes and tuning in Europe, something like this would be completely effective. We’ll see what the 2011 EICMA inaugural custom space brings, but it will be difficult to see a beauty like this. See Bike Exif for all the details, and go after the jump for a video of the Black Falcon. See more details and pics on the Falcon Motorcycles website.

Continue reading: Falcon Motorcycles Black Falcon

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The 2011 EICMA show might seem a long way off but this year a new customizing area will be open to the public. Perhaps more in the American motorcycle tradition, custom bikes and their culture are becoming more fashionable in Europe and the first EICMA Custom space recognises that.

It will be an area dedicated to international custom tuners, aftermarket bike parts sellers and artists. EICMA is Europe’s biggest, if not the world’s biggest, motorcycle event and the absence of a dedicated customizing space at the show is finally being addressed. You can find the EICMA Custom area in hall two, with event spaces open for visitors wanting to meet the industry’s various customisers, and with plenty of room for custom and cruiser bikes.

Separate bike show events will be open to the categories of Chopper, H-D Modified and Café Racer, where we expect the latter to have more of a European appeal and presence. Each different category will be voted on by a jury, announcing a winner at the end of the show. Special guest at the 2011 EICMA Custom event will be Custom Chrome Europe, who is providing prizes and a personal classification of winners. The 2011 EICMA show will take place in Milan from November 8 to 13.

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It would be difficult to actually choose a top ten vintage and custom bike list from the vast choice available, so Bike EXIF has decided to keep things confined to just what they’ve published so far this year. And it’s a curious but beautiful mixture.

We’ve got a bit of a soft spot for vintage bikes - there’s something about the idea of bygone times and old-age beauty that appeals to anyone of all ages. And as for custom bikes the creativity and imagination, not to mention hard work, that is evident is impressive.

The top five from Bike EXIF are:

1. The Hammerhead Jack Pine - a Triumph T100 Scrambler
2. Ducati 750 Sport - a Desmo Special from Mike Cecchini (described as “just…wow”)
3. The BMW R100/7 Scrambler which somehow managed to go from tourer to scrambler.
4. Deus Triumph Bonneville custom
5. Falcon Kestrel - an exclusive look

See after the jump for the next five and a gallery of all the bikes. If you love vintage and custom bikes, get over to Bike EXIF and check it out.

Continue reading: Top 10 vintage and custom bikes from Bike EXIF

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We all know that Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt is a super aficionado of custom bikes and was caught cruising the streets of L.A. by the paps with this one off bike designed by custom guru Roland Sands.

Pitt’s garage may not have all the bikes that Jay Leno has, but it looks like he’s working on it. We do know that he does have at least three Ducati’s ranging from a Monster 696 to the Desmosedici RR, a couple of Confederates and a series of hot custom bikes including a Shinya Kimura café racer.

Updated: Dutch, editor of Iron Horse Magazine sent us a message saying that Brad’s bike is actually a Jesse Rooke design and made by Swift Motorcycles and it’s called “Scrambler.”

Thanks Dutch.

Source | rolandsandsdesign via motoblog

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Verona is currently hosting the 2010 Motor Bike Expo, and an entire area of the fair will be dedicated to “Kustom Kulture”, managed by Low Ride magazine and the Custom Sickles site. Everything from tuning, to custom bikes, tattoos and paint jobs will be on display to celebrate the cultural movement which started in the US in the mid 50’s and names such as Von Dutch (Kenny Howard).

The Motor Bike Expo for 2010 largely involves the artistic side of motorcycling, after last year’s workshop theme where live bike assembling and building took place. You can find plenty to see from sculpture to pinstriping, painting, live art and famous personalities.

Among the artists present are: Custom Design, Danx Pinstriping, El Cheapo, El Rana, Empire32, Giampo Coppa, Massimo Gurnari, Massy Zeta, Rica VonSpades, Riccardo “Ricky” Brodini and The Arch Villani.

Kustom Kulture al Motor Bike Expo 2010

Continue reading: Kustom Kulture at 2010 Motor Bike Expo

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