Bike EXIF

Bike EXIF is a showcase for the world's most exciting custom motorcycles, from cafe racers to bobbers to street trackers

1. Road Tested: Saint Unbreakable Coretec armored motorcycle jeans

   
   We’ve kept a close eye on Saint since they first hit the scene roughly a decade ago. The Australian gear company’s catalog has grown steadily over the years, but one product has remained core to their brand—riding jeans that are both stylish and protective.

   Saint’s approach is to use high-tech fabrics with abrasion resistance baked in, producing single-layer garments rather than stacking regular denim over Kevlar. It makes their riding pants not only comfortable, but also stealthy enough to pass for casual wear. I’ve owned, worn, and ridden in several pairs of Saint motorcycle jeans, and they’ve all scored high.

   
   The new Saint Unbreakable Coretec jeans epitomize this approach. At $385 [US] or $549 [Australian], Saint’s new premium denim is their most expensive—but it’s also their most protective, achieving a AAA CE safety rating.…

2. Tokyo Triple: A 2010 Triumph Street Triple 675 café racer from Japan

   
   The mid-sized street bike market is one of the hottest on the planet, and the Triumph Street Triple is near the top of the list. It’s light, makes great power, sounds awesome, and seems generally great to live with. Heck, even the Street Triple’s most divisive feature—its distinctive dual headlight design—has grown on us over the years.

   Not everyone is a fan of the styling though; you either love the Street Triple’s bug eyes, or you don’t. Junichi Nomura falls into the latter camp. After buying a stock standard 2010 Street Triple 675 from a friend, he spent a year giving the perky triple a facelift.

   
   “I’m not a professional bike builder,” Nomura-san admits. “I’m just a Japanese guy who likes to modify bikes in my garage at home.”…

3. Repeat Business: Two gnarly performance choppers by MB Cycles

   
   Given how long the chopper scene has been around, builders are spoilt for choice when sourcing parts for their projects. But finding the right engine, frame, and running gear for a custom chopper is only half the struggle. You need to know exactly which parts to pick—and you need to know how to combine them to create a cohesive machine.

   Martin Becker at MB Cycles excels at this. The German custom bike builder is a matchmaker of sorts, combining bits from wildly different sources to create jaw-dropping V-twin performance choppers. He’s a master of stance, proportions, and details, and knows how to make modern and vintage details harmonize.

   
   The two performance choppers pictured here were built using one of Martin’s favorite combos—a West Coast Choppers CFL frame and an S&S Cycle V-twin motor.…

4. 62 ci Crocker Twin: The Fastest American Motorcycle of the 1930s

   
   The 1930s proved to be a golden era for V-twin-powered American motorcycles, and if you’re fortunate enough to own one, you’re sitting on a substantial pile of dough. Harley-Davidson’s 1936 EL Knucklehead is regarded by many as the single most desirable classic HD and the right Indian Four will net over $200,000 these days. But that’s relative chump change compared to a little-known marque named Crocker, as one of these precious V-Twins can be worth a half-million to the full seven figures.

   Founded in 1901 and 1903 respectively, Indian and Harley-Davidson enjoyed tenured dominance over any would-be newcomers to the American market. Still, Albert Crocker took the opportunity to learn from both marques. An engineer by trade and an accomplished rider on the weekends, Crocker found himself rubbing elbows with Oscar Hedström and Charles Hendee and secured a job at Indian.…

5. Have Fun, Cheetah Style: A Buell Blast flat tracker from Japan

   
   Few motorcycles can claim the notoriety of the ill-fated Buell Blast. Propelled by half a Sportster engine and aimed at beginner riders, the Blast was such a disappointment that its creator, Erik Buell, signaled the end of its production by publicly tossing one into a crusher. Then, to drive the point home, he offered a limited run of crushed and autographed Buell Blast ‘cubes’ for sale.

   The Buell Blast’s infamy—and rarity—are precisely what tempted Toshiyuki ‘Cheetah’ Osawa to customize it. Based in Tokyo, Japan, Osawa-san is the brains behind the ‘Have Fun’ flat track racing event. He also builds some of the most imaginative flat trackers around.

   
   The Blast is hard to find in Japan, so Cheetah imported one from the USA earlier this year.…