Australia
KREATIVE EXPRESSION: BMW K75C by JAX Garage
Written by Tim Huber.
Building custom bikes means different things to different people. For some it’s a way to make a living, while for others it’s a means of blowing off steam and getting to unleash a little creativity upon the world. For Australia’s Jas Babalija, it’s very much the latter. The Melbourne-based bike enthusiast holds a number of largely clinical positions by day, leaving little to no room in his work life for any form of real self expression.
FULL BLOWN. Supercharged Honda CB550 by Popbang Classics
Written by Martin Hodgson | Photography by Kenny Smith
All that glitters is certainly not gold; what was supposed to be a quality custom café racer built by a hot shot from California arrived in Australia a disappointing mess. Some carefully taken photos and a host of hidden problems meant this wasn’t discovered until the CB550 had crossed the Pacific. But Justin Holmes of Australia’s PopBang Classics came to the rescue and every time the owner asked him to up the ante, he delivered. The finished product is a supercharged 1975 Honda Hot Rod that finally has the Hollywood happy ending.
MOTO PHOTOS. 2019 Machine Show, Braidwood, Australia
The same thing happened every year. I’d promise myself that I’d go to Australia’s Machine Show and then at the very last minute the reality of travelling three hours south of Sydney would kick me in the family jewels. With a six-hour round trip, it’d either be a seriously big day or I’d have to organise accommodation…
Animal Farm. Purpose Built Moto’s Yamaha XT250 MX Scrambler
When you mention a Yamaha XT to any bike enthusiast a few things come to mind. Yamaha’s XT series set the bar in off-road racing for a long time, and since then they’ve been synonymous with durability, performance and reliability. So of course, I have one rolled into the garage that looks anything but…
PIPEBURN REVIEW: Triumph’s 2019 Scrambler 1200 XE
“THIS IS NOT A SCRAMBLER!” is what I shout to myself on repeat as I hit the first few corners of the famous Great Ocean Road in Australia’s south-east. Not a car in sight, my right wrist is only just warming up. Luckily, my hands are already comfortable thanks to the bike’s heated grips…
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. Pop Bang Classics’ ‘Borg’ Honda CB450
Living next to the ocean is gorgeous, but as any surf-girted motorcycle nut will tell you, all that salty sea breeze just destroys motorcycles. It eats chrome, dulls aluminum and causes rust to flash up in weeks. So what’s the point of a polished custom if it’s just going to get eaten by the sea?
MOTO VIDEO: ‘Handcrafted’ – A Custom Motorcycle Film
It’s not often these days that we post videos, but sometimes something comes your way that just make you sit up and pay attention. For us, it was an email from Tom at Brisbane’s Purpose Built Moto. Already a Pipeburn favourite, the passion and enthusiasm we noticed…
ALTERED CARBON. Purpose Built Moto’s Immaculate Honda CX500
Australia’s Purpose Built Moto have created a Signature Series to delineate their uncompromising world-class builds from their other services, often built to suit a budget or a client’s specific needs. Enter Signature Series build No. 1, head honcho Tom Gilroy’s vision of the ultimate Honda…
MOTO PHOTOS: Australia’s Dean Walters
During our recent trip to Australia’s Broken Hill on Triumph’s Bobber, we were lucky enough to be able to work with Dean Walters, a local Melbourne photographer who seems to have quite the knack with cameras and motorcycles. We got to spend the week with him while bashing around the Aussie desert and trying not to crash bikes we didn’t own. After seeing him in action, we can say that the guy’s definitely ‘got the gift’. Watching him turn two idiots messing around in the dirt into jaw-dropping shots was a sheer pleasure to behold. So we asked him to give us his best-ever shots and a quick interview; this is what we got.
SAND & DELIVER. Triumph’s New Bobber Vs The Australian Desert
If on buying a new Triumph Bobber it wheeled itself into your house, drank all your booze, shagged your wife and set fire to your cat, people would still want to buy it. Motorcyclists are frothing over it. It’s the highest selling Triumph of recent years, and the preorders have even outstriped those for the incredible new Thruxton. But such a high demand for the Bobber means press bikes are in short supply and we only had a pair of shiny new cruisers for three days. What could we do in that time? How about we take it into the Australian outback and beat the crap out of it.