Scott Hopkin

NATIONAL TREASURE: A Diesel 1959 Royal Enfield Bullet 350 by Time Cycles.

In India, the Royal Enfield is as sacred as the game of cricket and as revered as the holy cow. There’s no wonder the Bullet is the national motorbike. In the rural outskirts of Mhow, in a small town in Madhya Pradesh, is a custom motorcycle shop called...

SHOCK TREATMENT: 1984 BMW R80RT ‘Mono’ by Oneyedeer Design.

Over the past few years the BMW R series has been a popular choice for custom bike builders around the world. When built right, there’s a lot to love about a stripped-down boxer. Being inspired by the many R80 builds from the likes of Ironwood Motorcycles...

RAISING A GLASS TO MR MARTINI – Nicola Martini and his 25 year journey.

Every year, thousands of tourists descend upon the unassuming Italian town of Verona to take selfies underneath a certain balcony that inspired Shakespeare's scene of Romeo professing his love to Juliet. But in the motorcycle world, during one long weekend in...

TRICKED OUT TRACKER: 1990 Honda NX650 ‘Primera’ Dominator by Side Rock Cycles.

When you're building custom bikes for a living, the most cost-effective strategy is to stick to a specialised marque. Experience – having done something many, many times before – is valuable. But, as someone smarter than me once said, variety is the spice...

SONG OF SOSA – A Sosa Metalworks Story.

Cristian Sosa of Sosa Metalworks has been working with metal since he was 16 years old, starting his career in hot rod shops and later launching his own custom motorcycle shop with his brother Roberto. This beautifully shot video of Cristian building his...

CONCOURSE CONDITION: BMW R68 by Revival Cycles.

The year is 1951: the war is over, people have more money to spend on cars and motorcycles, and manufacturers are pushing out more powerful and luxurious models accordingly. The BMW R68 was unveiled at the 1951 German International Motorcycle Show in...

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: 1982 Yamaha XT550 ‘La Lupa’ by Francis Von Tuto.

Would you commission a custom build to someone who hadn’t finished their first bike yet? When Francesco Tutino’s good friend and renowned chef Rino found a basket case XT550, he wanted his friend to turn it into something special. Rino is no newcomer to...

SIGNATURE SERIES: Ducati GT1000 Sport Classic by Purpose Built Moto.

The story of this bike is a long one, not only because of the extensive modification we’ve done to this Ducati Café racer but also because for a long time, I delayed even starting this build. Originally, I held off taking on the project until I was sure I...

COMING IN HOT: 2002 Honda XR650R ‘Retro Tracker’ by Parr Motorcycles.

They say when you’re on a good thing you should stick to it, and Spencer from Parr Motorcycles is definitely on a good thing. He came in hot last year with two outstanding Suzuki retro-styled builds that spread like wildfire around the world wide web,...

TOUGH VINTAGE: 1976 Honda CB750 ‘M6’ by MONNOM Customs.

This story begins like many others: someone starts tearing a bike apart but soon enough realises that they don't have the time to finish the project or are in way over their head. So the bike sits in a barn or garage for years, waiting for someone, anyone, to...