Bali Flat Trackers - 5 bikes for 5 brothers
Five custom Kawasaki KLX 150 Flat Trackers, representing each of the countries we have a Flagship store in; Australia, Italy, US, Japan and of course here in Indonesia. We built them for the Deus SlidetoberFest, and if the truth be known, to mainly compete amongst ourselves. The public, well you know, that was more an optional extra. Slidetober is when our brothers from other countries come to Bali and who's going to pass up a little sibling rivalry.
Especially when it includes motorbikes. Five brand spanking new bikes were bought and before any of them had a click on the clock, we'd whisked them into the Bengkel and the builds had begun. But as everyone knows to build you first got to break them down. The process begins with all the superfluous parts being cast aside. From five bikes we were left with a mountain of plastic in the corner, which is still there today. The bikes were broken down into their basic components, only then was it time to reverse the process. We went analogue with these builds. Starting with outlines on card, cut to make templates. Finetuned with some snipping and careful chopping until things fitted and worked. Fastened in place and held by hand, all the while refining a silhouette, slowly the inner phoenix rise. With the shapes locked in we committed to sheet metal. Thus began the arduous task of bashing out five sets of tanks, side plates, front plates, tails, and seats.
This is where Arwin, Koko and the other Bengkel boys work their magic. When lined up with the west, their fabrication tools might be construed as basic at best, a hammer and a massive block of iron word. Who needs an English wheel, especially when no one knows how to use it? The enduro rake needed to be drawn back in. Levelling out the front and rear with eighteen MTR Rims shod in Swallow tires made major inroads into doing just that. Custom wide Hurricane bars from Japan shod in Scott grips gave ample leverage to be able to jam the front tire to the right for some serious sliding fun. Reverse cone exhausts were hung right up high to keep the insides dry.
The final fixtures were kept the same across the five to give us a level playing field when they took to the ground in the Inaugural Deus Flat Track Event so we decided to dress them all up just that little bit distinctive. Five offices in five different countries gave us the inspiration for the colour-ways. Paint schemes were more, Tip of the hat, rather than screaming right at ya. We knew the size of our 150cc KLX's was contrary to the bikes raced around the rest of the globe, but then again, so was our track. But let's not forget, the KLX's are tough, weaky and when you give it, you get a nice power band delivering in spades. They might not be what you'd ride at your flat track, but for us, they are exactly what the doctor ordered. You can see a post about the build‚ HERE and catch the days racing HERE
Especially when it includes motorbikes. Five brand spanking new bikes were bought and before any of them had a click on the clock, we'd whisked them into the Bengkel and the builds had begun. But as everyone knows to build you first got to break them down. The process begins with all the superfluous parts being cast aside. From five bikes we were left with a mountain of plastic in the corner, which is still there today. The bikes were broken down into their basic components, only then was it time to reverse the process. We went analogue with these builds. Starting with outlines on card, cut to make templates. Finetuned with some snipping and careful chopping until things fitted and worked. Fastened in place and held by hand, all the while refining a silhouette, slowly the inner phoenix rise. With the shapes locked in we committed to sheet metal. Thus began the arduous task of bashing out five sets of tanks, side plates, front plates, tails, and seats.
This is where Arwin, Koko and the other Bengkel boys work their magic. When lined up with the west, their fabrication tools might be construed as basic at best, a hammer and a massive block of iron word. Who needs an English wheel, especially when no one knows how to use it? The enduro rake needed to be drawn back in. Levelling out the front and rear with eighteen MTR Rims shod in Swallow tires made major inroads into doing just that. Custom wide Hurricane bars from Japan shod in Scott grips gave ample leverage to be able to jam the front tire to the right for some serious sliding fun. Reverse cone exhausts were hung right up high to keep the insides dry.
The final fixtures were kept the same across the five to give us a level playing field when they took to the ground in the Inaugural Deus Flat Track Event so we decided to dress them all up just that little bit distinctive. Five offices in five different countries gave us the inspiration for the colour-ways. Paint schemes were more, Tip of the hat, rather than screaming right at ya. We knew the size of our 150cc KLX's was contrary to the bikes raced around the rest of the globe, but then again, so was our track. But let's not forget, the KLX's are tough, weaky and when you give it, you get a nice power band delivering in spades. They might not be what you'd ride at your flat track, but for us, they are exactly what the doctor ordered. You can see a post about the build‚ HERE and catch the days racing HERE
