Two thumpers lead the cost this week; a KTM 640 Duke from Spain and a Suzuki DR650 from Australia. We additionally check out the restricted version MV Agusta Tamburini Corse F43, and Heiwa MC’s newest Triumph.
KTM 640 Duke by Ønix Design Within the KTM household, the 640 Duke is a little bit of an unpleasant duckling. The filth bike styling cues, road-friendly 17” wheels and awkward front-end design simply don’t mesh. We’re positive it’s a hoot to journey—however the styling division was asleep on the day they designed the KTM 640 Duke.
Fortunately Iñaki Bellver, a 30-year-old engineer from Valencia, Spain, might see the wonder that lay beneath.
For many, making the 640 look good could be a tall order, however not for Iñaki. In his spare time, he runs his personal {custom} storage; Ønix Design. Looking out for a motorbike to construct a road tracker with, Iñaki spied a 2000-model KTM Duke 640 on the market, and set to work.
The manufacturing facility solid wheels had been tossed in favor of {custom} 17” spoked hoops, shod with Mitas tires. The filth bike-style suspension was dialed again, with the entrance finish swapped for USD forks from an Aprilia RS. Stiffer springs and {custom} fork yokes had been additionally fitted. The flat monitor entrance quantity plate is {custom}, and was laser reduce from aluminum.
The tank was sourced from an previous Rieju TT505 and appears unbelievable, particularly with a contemporary coat of BMW metallic gray paint. To distinction the gloss tank, the remainder of the bike was painted in textured matte black. A single-piece flat track-style seat (with fast launch mechanism) was created from cast carbon, and perched on a {custom} subframe.
The dashboard was shrunk right down to only a single Motogadget gauge, with a gear indicator and LED warning lights. Easton handlebars and riser clamps had been fitted, together with a scrambler-style mirror, and a brand new radial IRC grasp cylinder for the entrance brakes.
The engine breathes simply by a brand new DNA filter, a {custom} stainless-steel exhaust, and a titanium muffler from Arrow. Iñaki needed to maintain using the KTM on the highway, so he fitted essentially the most minimal lighting he might, choosing a full LED setup.
“The bike has an ideal energy to weight ratio, with a a lot decrease and aggressive using place, so it’s tremendous enjoyable to journey,” beams Iñaki. “With the proportions and extremely loud noise, it turns heads!”
This isn’t the primary time Iñaki has graced Bike EXIF’s pages… and we’re positive it received’t be the final. [Ønix Design | Images by Juan Llobell]
Suzuki DR650 by Function Constructed Moto Australia’s Function Constructed Moto is again—this time with an journey bike-cross-street tracker. The client (who has commissioned PBM bikes up to now) needed a stripped-back road tracker that would additionally deal with long-distance adventures. Tom Gilroy, head honcho at Function Constructed Moto, was eager to tackle the problem.
The bottom bike? A model new, last-of-its-kind Suzuki DR650.
“Whenever you purchase one software to do two jobs, you find yourself with what we name a ‘shammer’,” explains Tom. “You should use the software as a shovel however you can even use it as a hammer. Nevertheless, it does each of these jobs fairly poorly.”
Don’t let Tom’s self-deprecating humor idiot you although—this DR650 is a real Swiss military knife. In simply 20 minutes, the bike could be reworked from a minimalist road tracker, to a kitted-out journey machine.
The svelte rear finish is the place many of the magic occurs. The journey package features a pannier rack, and a rear fender that doubles as a 6 liter [1.6 gallon] auxiliary gas tank, with a quick-connect becoming. Specced with a RotoPax gas cell and a Kriega pannier, this bike can go a great distance earlier than needing to cease.
The bike additionally comes with two units of wheels. The primary set is the DR650’s commonplace 21F/17R pairing, with Pirelli MT21 off-road tires. The second set makes use of gold Excel-rimmed road wheels, with 17” Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires.
The entrance fender could be adjusted up or down, relying on which wheels are fitted. Sitting above it’s a {custom} headlight setup, courtesy of the PBM workshop.
The tank is from a Honda CB550 that was severely rusted out. The PBM workforce selected to restore somewhat than exchange it, and whereas they had been at it, they fitted a Motogadget speedo to it. The seat and aspect covers are additionally {custom}.
To provide the previous DR a bit extra pep, a Yoshimura RS-4 was retrofitted, together with a {custom} bracket and hyperlink pipe. The carb obtained a stage two efficiency package, with the fueling kinks labored out after a little bit of tuning.
Bulletproof reliability, purposeful beauty and an enormous dollop of versatility. We adore it. [Purpose Built Moto | Images by Brandan Trudinger]
MV Agusta Tamburini Corse F43 A few years in the past, in the beginning of my motorcycling pursuit, I noticed a motorbike that stopped me in my tracks. It was crimson and silver, with a single-sided swingarm and 4 mufflers protruding from underneath the seat. It was an MV Agusta F4.
Initially designed by Massimo Tamburini, the MV Agusta F4 sequence was produced from 1999 to 2018. Together with the Ducati 916 and a slew of Bimotas, the inline-four MV Agusta was considered one of Tamburini’s most well-known creations.
To commemorate the twenty fifth anniversary of the F4, MV Agusta is teaming up with Massimo’s son, Andrea Tamburini, to launch this: the MV Agusta Corse F43 Tributo. The brand new F43 seems to be nearly an identical to its predecessor, however eagle-eyed F4 followers will observe the delicate variations—just like the addition of rear wings on the tail. The brand new design is barely extra angular and aggressive than the unique too, however that’s not a foul factor.
There are solely going to be 25 bikes produced, with 5 colours out there; Tamburini, Veltro, Serie Oro, Mamba and Viper. If we had our selection, we’d go for the F43 Serie Oro. Hopefully (judging by earlier Serie Oro fashions) it would have the ever present crimson and silver two-tone paint and gold wheels… scrumptious.
When you’d wish to be one of many 25 fortunate few, greatest get in contact along with your MV Agusta supplier, pronto. [Source | Images from Andrea Tamburini on Facebook]
Triumph Thunderbird by Heiwa MC Kengo Kimura, founding father of Heiwa Bike, is thought the world over. Working from Hiroshima in Japan, Heiwa bikes are so gloriously improbable that Kimura-san has grow to be a well-known face on the prestigious Yokohama Scorching Rod Customized present.
Folks wait with bated breath for the subsequent Heiwa bike, and it’s simple to see why. To prime all of it off, he’s one of many nicest guys you’ll ever meet.
That is Heiwa’s newest construct, named ‘Seven Star 7.’ It’s a 1954 Triumph 6T Thunderbird, however little or no of the unique bike stays. The body is totally {custom}, as is the attractive hand-formed aluminum bodywork. The slim tank and tail are quintessentially ‘Heiwa,’ but additionally completely distinctive.
The seat and aspect covers are additionally {custom}, and if that swingarm seems to be too lengthy to be manufacturing facility Triumph, then you may have an excellent eye. It’s one other handmade merchandise, suspended by MDI Lowdown shocks that had been particularly designed for this bike.
Chunky Continental tires had been mounted on contemporary 18” rims, with modest-sized brakes fitted to the {custom} hubs. A classic set of Paioli forks had been tailored to {custom} fork clamps, to maintain the entrance finish as slim as doable. Kimura-san additionally made the headlight and entrance fork brace and fitted a Motogadget speedo to the bars, tucked right into a custom-made housing.
The engine, which is a murals in itself, was torn down and utterly rebuilt. Fueling is ready by means of a brand new Mikuni VM32 carburetor, sucking in air by a hand-tuned velocity stack. To prime all of it off, Kimura-san constructed a brand new exhaust from scratch, with an uncommon, however attractive, split-design muffler.
As we’ve come to anticipate from Kengo, there are such a lot of good particulars on this machine, that we might spend hours poring over it. The entire thing simply screams high quality craftsmanship, however in a delicate approach (if a scream could be delicate). Completed in mustard-yellow with polished particulars, that is up there with among the greatest Heiwa builds of all time. [Source]
