When the KZ1000 first rolled off the factory floor in 1976, it was the fastest production bike with a 1015cc inline four motor that produced a very respectable 83 horses. In recent years, these KZ’s have been in high demand and have been fetching some high prices. So when Steve Meyer from Maui, Hawaii inherited his late uncle’s 1979 KZ1000 he wanted to bring it back to its former glory but with a custom twist. He had seen the work of Sean Skinner from Motorelic and decided to give him a call out of the blue. “My first thought was ‘How in the heck did you find me?’ – and then I wondered how he was going to get the bike to Virginia,” recalls Sean. “Well, it turned out Steve was originally from Baltimore MD and the bike was there.” Once the bike finally arrived at the Motorelic HQ, they began the design process together and nailed down the final look. “We settled on a classy brat style theme that would be comfortable enough to do a cross country trip to San Diego on so he could ship the bike back home to Hawaii!”

Written by Martin Hodgson

Nobody goes for Sushi to only have just one piece, and the world’s best Kawasaki W builder has taken the same attitude to his bikes! So having crafted a killer Kawasaki powered drag bike called ‘Wasabi’ with all the fun, flavour and exhilaration of the real thing, Schlachtwerk’s Tommy Thoring decided that the second dish needed to be just the same, only available on the takeaway menu! So with his team of world-class chefs, he’s back with his second Wasabi offering and this one takes all of the drag racing hardware to the street for one hell of a traffic light GP racer.

Written by Tim Huber.

Since its release in the mid-2000s, Kawasaki’s ER-6N or Ninja 650, has been a go-to choice for riders seeking a practical, no-frills, mid-sized commuter bike. Its popularity, however, has a lot more to do with its reliable and economical nature than it does its relatively unremarkable appearance. So, with a stellar twin at its core, a well-designed chassis, and generally capable running gear, France’s Taverne Motorcycle Garage set out to give the ER-6N a visual redesign with as much character as its lively mid-sized twin.

Words by Tim Huber.

Since 2016, husband and wife team, Max and Erica Droog have been building custom bikes under the banner of Droog Moto. The Washington-based shop is known for its signature take on the post-apocalyptic look, with customs that can be best described as modern, doomsday-ready street fighters with a dash of scrambler flavor. For its latest build — dubbed “DM-015 The Urban Fighter” –– the couple has once again set its sights on Kawasaki’s Ninja 250R — Team Green’s longtime entry-level staple of a sportbike.

Written by Martin Hodgson

Take a project of any kind, particularly the weekend tinkering approach, and for generations the world over Fathers and Sons have been swinging the tools together. Whether they’re building a barn, restoring the young lad’s first car or making motorcycles, it’s as much about the relationship as the final result. But somewhere along this journey for Michael Posenauer and his son Allen things stepped up a level and they now run a shop called AMP Motorcycles in Germany. Now from the bones of Michael’s first bike comes this 1982 Kawasaki KZ440 LTD that’s been given a full Brat-Bob makeover.

Schlachtwerk’s Tommy Thöring is obsessed with the Kawasaki W650. As everyone should be. They’re dead reliable, have handling so neutral it could be described as ‘Swiss’. If you’re in Germany and you own a Dub you want chopped into something special, it’s Schlachtwerk’s number you’d be calling…

There is something incredibly satisfying about being right, and if you’re part of the cafe racer revival, then by default you are. In the 1990s, some Japanese manufacturers were already selling retro remakes and industry experts thought this to be insane. Now Germany’s Mellow Motorcycles have proven them wrong…

BGM Cafe Racers’ Tonie Wishart is trying to redeem himself. Years ago his father brought a bike home, an old Kawasaki G4TR 100, which Tonie successfully pulled apart and unsuccessfully put back together. Now, years later, Tonie and the team from BGM have turned out this…

They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step; but for one particular German it only makes sense to begin with a Kawasaki W650. Now he’s packing up his Schlachtwerk operation and heading for the Land Down Under. Sydney to be exact…

After almost ten years of blogging about custom bikes, we’re pretty confident we could count the instances of builders who have made their own engines on one hand; even a hand that’d taken a trip through a rear chain and sprocket. Put simply, it almost never happens. Unless your Indonesia’s Pap N Mam…