The Motor Co. releases their shiniest particular version but—the Harley-Davidson Fats Boy Grey Ghost—whereas a well-established Japanese workshop turns a Honda CB750 Customized into a pointy café racer. Our weekly dose of motorbike goodness additionally includes a uncommon Voxan Café Racer prototype and an enthralling customized Triumph Bonneville T100.
2025 Harley-Davidson Fats Boy Grey Ghost 35 years on from its launch, Harley-Davidson is including a particular Fats Boy to their Icons Bike Assortment. That is the restricted version 2025 Harley-Davidson Fats Boy Grey Ghost (spoiler alert: it’s actually shiny).
Harley didn’t count on to maintain making the Fats Boy previous its first iteration in 1990. But it surely’s proved so well-liked, that it’s been by means of three engine generations, and lives on right now within the present Harley Softail lineup.
It’s been so profitable that this shiny gherkin isn’t all that totally different from the Fats Boy Arnold Schwarzenegger rode to fame in Terminator 2. The (largely) strong wheels, twin shotgun exhaust and stepped leather-based seat all stay. Even the yellow particulars on the rocker covers, engine covers and tank console insert pay homage to Willie G’s unique design.
Harley has upgraded the Grey Ghost over the usual mannequin with a solid-mounted Milwaukee-Eight 117 Customized powertrain, newly tuned suspension and selectable journey modes. However extra importantly, this lacquered lance is dripping with chrome.
Utilizing a course of that H-D calls ‘bodily vapor deposition’ (a flowery identify for powder coating), the bodywork and a lot of the surfaces on the Grey Ghost function a mirror end that fares higher over time than conventional chrome plating.
The solar reflecting immediately into your eyes if you’re driving is perhaps barely problematic, however a minimum of you’ll look cool. Jokes apart, although a totally chromed manufacturing facility motorbike is one thing solely Harley could be inclined to make, the end is definitely rising on us. Take this bike anyplace at dawn or sundown, and it’ll look unimaginable. [Source]
Honda CB750 by A Beard Customized Cycles It is perhaps laborious to inform, however this smooth café racer began life as a 1981 Honda CB750 Customized—Honda’s try at including 80s American cruiser styling to the formidable CB750. Its new lease on life is because of Fumihoko Ueda and his legendary workshop, A Beard Customized Cycles, which has constructed a few of Japan’s finest customs from their base in Hatsukaichi Metropolis since 1996.
Ueda-san began by stripping the manufacturing facility bodywork away, leaving a naked body. The manufacturing facility 19F/16R rear Comstar wheels stay—as do the air-assisted entrance forks, which have been rebuilt. Fats vintage-style treads elevate the rear just a little, whereas clip-on bars decrease the driving place.
The gas tank is from a Kawasaki ZRX400, nevertheless it has been chopped and altered a lot that it appears to be like like a bespoke piece. The seat, aspect covers, and rear cowl are all scratch-made. The entire package deal creates an aggressive silhouette that ties in with the sharp design of the DOHC engine.
The entrance fairing is from GOODS, nevertheless it has additionally been modified to swimsuit the bike’s proportions and handled to a customized dashboard. There may be recent lighting throughout, with a pair of stacked LED taillights peeking out from the rear cowl and tiny flip indicators that solely eagle-eyed readers will spot.
The rebuilt engine wears polished instances, contrasting towards the darkish blue and black paint job. A black ceramic-coated quad exhaust snakes its manner beneath the bike, with the mufflers stacked on prime of one another to extend cornering clearance. A brace of FCR 37 mm carbs (with pod filters) provides a bit of additional juice and magnificence.
The bike was unveiled to an adoring crowd at this 12 months’s JOINTS Customized Bike Present in Port Messe, Nagoya. It’s simple to see why it was such a success. [Source]
1997 Voxan Café Racer prototype When you keep in mind the Suzuki TL1000S and have all the time needed a better-looking, French model, we’ve obtained a deal with for you. This can be a 1997-model Voxan Café Racer—a 996 cc sportbike produced by the French producer between 2000 and 2009.
The place the Suzuki TL was (like most Suzukis) cobbled collectively like a elements bin particular, the Voxan Café Racer was utterly made by hand. This explicit instance is particularly uncommon. Not solely does it solely present one kilometer on the clock, however its VIN reads ‘001.’ That’s as a result of it’s the full-sized, totally functioning prototype that was launched on the Paris Bike Present a number of years earlier than the bike formally went to market.
The beautiful body was constructed by Charles Laurent, and the engine was provided by Sodemo Moteurs, a French engine-maker and tuner. The liquid-cooled, 72-degree V-twin pumped out a wholesome 100 hp, which was the restrict dictated by French legislation on the time.
This DOHC prototype reportedly comprises titanium valves, a billet crank, cast pistons, Pankl rods, and a quad fuel-injection system (which the manufacturing facility mannequin by no means obtained). Moreover the artfully made body and swingarm, the bike is supplied with an extended checklist of elements from top-tier producers like Marchesini and Beringer.
The French design workforce was undoubtedly onto one thing with the Voxan Café Racer. It appears to be like nice for a 28-year-old motorbike, particularly on this burnt orange shade scheme.
The bike is being offered by means of Iconic Motorcycle Auctions, so when you’re out there for a hand-built piece of French motorcycling historical past, now’s your time. And sure, it comes with a floppy disc to tune the ECU (which is peak 90s).
Triumph Bonneville T100 by FCR Unique The French workshop FCR Unique has simply unveiled their newest mission—a shocking customized Triumph Bonneville T100, designed in collaboration with Brett Eyewear. The bike’s been constructed as a advertising and marketing device for the retro motorsports-inspired eyewear model, however we’d simply as quickly choose it for weekend jaunts alongside the coast.
The T100’s body has been nickel-plated, giving it a distinctly old-school desert racer vibe. A Bates-style headlight with a yellow lens shines by means of a headlight grill, which sits in entrance of a Motogadget speedometer.
The tank is painted a stunning shade of blue that was developed within the FCR shade lab, with brushed knee dents and painted by hand Brett logos. The high-mount chrome steel exhaust and mufflers are customized, whereas the engine covers have been engraved with a sample impressed by designs discovered on Brett eyewear. A customized leather-based seat with an embroidered emblem sits upon a modified subframe.
Customized-built Shock Manufacturing unit 2win shocks are bolted onto the again, with Continental TKC80 tires spooned onto the laced wheels. The wheels are powder-coated mild gold—a delicate modification that makes a huge impact. The engine’s merely been upgraded with Okay&N filters and new mapping.
Cross-braced handlebars sport new grips, Motogadget switches, and new mirrors. The entrance and rear fenders are customized, each rolled from aluminum. A skid plate, customized radiator grill, and painted by hand ‘007’ quantity plates tie the whole lot collectively.
It’s not the primary time FCR has collaborated with Brett Eyewear, and it hopefully received’t be the final. [FCR Original | Brett Eyewear]
