Author: H312ud1

Few shops know Italian classics quite as well as Brooklyn’s Moto Borgotaro. Owner Peter Boggia has been wrenching on Italian machinery for over two decades, having cut his teeth at the Moto Guzzi Chuck House in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Peter’s custom Guzzis have graced our pages before, but Moto Borgotaro builds much more than just traverse-twin beauties. The 1979 Ducati 900 GTS café racer you see here is a prime example. It perfectly showcases Peter’s love for all things design—and his exceptionally good taste.

Two iconic designers in particular inspired Peter’s approach to this build. The first was industrial designer Dieter Rams, the godfather of the ‘good design’ principles that went on to inspire everything from the iPod to Ikea furniture. The second was American artist Donald Judd, one of the most influential minimalists to ever live.

“I decided to go with a minimalist approach,” he explains. “Thinking less about

What do a Kawasaki KZ250 engine, a car’s spare wheel and a bicycle seat have in common? You’ll find them all on this curious contraption from Valen Zhou, along with a smorgasbord of other odd bits and pieces.

Straight out the gate, Valen admits that this build isn’t particularly practical—in fact, it’s downright sketchy. But he didn’t originally intend it to be this way. The Chinese-born, Milan-based photographer and director had a very specific mash-up of styles in mind, but once he got stuck in, things didn’t quite pan out.

“The idea started many years ago, when I saw board track racing from the 1910s and 1920s,” Valen tells us. “Because I’ve always loved vintage bikes and motorcycle history, I was fascinated. But then I discovered drag racing, which made me feel the powerful charm.”

“I thought that if I could make a board tracker crossed with a drag bike,

The Harley-Davidson Street Bob is one of the most stripped-down big cruisers that The Motor Co. sells. With trimmed bodywork, little to no passenger accommodations and the tiniest speedo we’ve ever seen on a factory bike, there’s very little to remove if you’re customizing one. Which is exactly why Winston Yeh of Rough Crafts in Taiwan loves working with it.

For his latest project, Winston took a stock 2020-model Street Bob, and turned it into a sci-fi-infused custom that looks like it rolled straight out of a video game. This bold aesthetic has a lot to do with his client; the bike was built for Cooler Master, a major manufacturer of computer cases and peripherals.

They’ve been in business for 30 years, and are huge in the gaming community. Wanting a rolling showpiece to commemorate this milestone, they turned to Rough Crafts.

“For their 30th anniversary, Cooler Master asked me

We continue in our quest to bring you the most diverse Speed Read selections we can. This week includes a Honda Monkey inspired by a train, a Suzuki Freewind scrambler and a rocket-powered Harley. Staying with the Motor Co., we finish things off with sad news about the Evo Sportster.

Honda Monkey 125 by MonQey King We love seeing how creative custom builders can get with the Honda Monkey. The modern-day version of the diminutive city bike is based on the Honda Grom, and is cheap, good looking and approachable. It’s no wonder it’s so popular.

Asia is a big market for the Honda Monkey, and the workshops over there do a cracking job at customizing them. This Monkey was built by Chayakrit Kaewwongwan, A.K.A. Winny Boy, from Thailand. He runs Advance Automotive Accessories, MonQey King and a few other aftermarket motorcycle parts stores.

He’s also a big fan of

We live in a world where you can stream entire discographies of music straight to your phone, yet vinyl sales are booming. Technology might be advancing at a relentless pace, but we’re still drawn to analog things—either for their charm, or for the sake of our own nostalgia.

In this context, neo-retro motorcycles are something of an anomaly. They look vintage, but they’re loaded with features that weren’t around back then—like catalytic convertors and electronic rider aids. This BMW R18 from Kingston Custom shatters that mold.

On the surface, it looks like a gentle, albeit tasteful, visual reworking of BMW’s monster cruiser. But the real genius here, is what you can’t see—or, more accurately, what isn’t there. This R18 runs without fuel injection, traction control, electronic rider modes or ABS.

Removing all of that from a modern motorcycle is arguably far harder than changing its looks. So why did the