Category - Rat

BEELZEBOB. Madhouse Motors’ ‘Devil’s Advocate’ 1957 Indian

I have long thought that the original Mad Max is the best bike movie ever made. Improving on it would be harder than climbing Everest in roller skates. But there is one thing I think just might up the ante on the original, and Boston’s Madhouse Motors have...

ASYLUM SEEKER. A Rat Cafe BSA From Boston’s Madhouse Motors

There's a certain amount of irony in the fact that Boston's Madhouse Motors is little more than a mile from Harvard University, as the contrast between the two couldn't be more different. And while Harvard has a whole string of amazing medical firsts under...

RIDER ON THE STORM. A Harley Sportster Tracker from JSK Moto Co.

All or nothing. It's a phrase you'd probably take to mean ‘no middle ground’. But it seems more and more builders are using it as a yard stick to define new genres for custom bikes. All of the popular styles rolled into one, or maybe none of them at all....

YOU DIRTY BRAT. Kick Start Garage’s Do-Anything Yamaha XT500

It's the fourth month of 2017 and we're calling it. Mash-ups. Hybrids. Cross genre. Call them what you will, but it's pretty clear to us that less and less builders are interested in conforming to typical bike categories. Our case in point? When we interview...

‘Mad Max’ BMW R65 – Delux Motorcycles

If you've ever visited outback Australia, you'll realise just how a movie like Mad Max could come about. With nature's brutal extremes an always-present reality, and dusty old Australian cars the only real means of transport, things tend to get rather...

‘72 Honda CB750 – Thirteen and Company

Maybe if JFK hadn't kept his cool in those crucial thirteen days at the height of the Cold War and a nuclear holocaust had eventuated, this is the sort of post apocalyptic motorcycle the Russian police just might be riding today. Thankfully that scenario...

‘79 BMW R65 – Shadow Motor Paris

The real charm of a Rat bike is to pick up something cheap, get it up and going on the smell of an oily rag and retain all of that true mechanical character without a care in the world for high-end paints jobs and overpriced components. Sadly the concept has...

‘78 Honda CX500 – Patrick Sauter

Despite what the movies or books may have you believe about tortured artists, the one real killer of great creative ideas is more often than not the disease of over thinking. Forget writer's block, drugs or a clichéd battle with sanity; we'd wager that...

Triumph T25 Blazer SS – Tredici Custom Castings

Most of us will start a custom bike build with a genre, fashion or style in mind. You might want something that oozes classic café racer. Or maybe you're thinking of a creation in a brat style with a touch of tracker thrown in for good luck. Hell, if you're...

‘72 Harley Sporster – Ilovedust vs Boneshaker Choppers

It seems fitting that for our first bike of 2014, we've chosen a matt black Harley with hand-painted artwork. Not only does the bike look amazing in its own right, but it also harks back to one of our all-time favourite posts - Jed DePyper's infinetly badass...