Today I’m going to tell you about a Triumph Bonneville called “Scarface” that we did in 2013 in Miami.
The first idea I had was to make a Cafe Racer because at that time, in 2013, and even more so in Miami, it was a style that was not yet hitting very hard, but in Europe was already beginning to give enough “beat” what is the theme Cafe Racer.
How was customized this Triumph Bonneville Cafe Racer
And well, I got to work, we dismantled it completely and the first thing I did to get out of the way was that I didn’t want to paint the bike either in black or in typical colors like black, chrome, brown, gray…
That was Miami, there’s a lot of light, there’s sunshine, and I wanted to call attention to it. So the first thing I did before was to paint it in a white color, which I accompanied with some lines in green type “racing green” to give a little elegance to the painting.
And finally I put a lot of details in an “aged gold” color to complete everything that is the “package” so characteristic of the bike.
Double winner at Rat’s Hole Bike Show
I finished this bike practically 7 or 8 hours before starting a very famous Bike Show held in the USA, which is the Rat’s Hole. It’s very well known because it’s sometimes broadcast on the Discovery Channel.
We carry this bike and another very famous one of mine, which is the Harley-Davidson Dyna “Red Baron”. And that day, I was very happy with this bike because it was the first time I went out with it on the street and it became the second position or was runner-up in the Cafe Racer category in this prestigious Bike Show.
But also, the good thing about it is not that it only came second, but that the bike that beat it was also mine. That is to say, that day I did a double at the Bike Show at the Rat’s Hole in the USA, in Leesburg, Florida.
Why this Triumph Bonneville Cafe Racer is called “Scarface”
There was one customer in particular, Sebastian, who from the moment he saw it finished started to tell me: “You have to call this bike ‘Scarface'”. And I was like, “Why Scarface Sebastian?”
And he told me: “Very simple, you made the bike in Miami, it’s white like coc**ne, and then you put a lot of details in gold like everything that Al Pacino liked in the movies. So, it’s a good idea to put ‘Scarface’ on it.
A proud new owner
And later, I decided to put it on sale, like all the bikes I was making, I put them on sale, obviously. And surprisingly, one day I received an email from the manager of the guitarist of a famous rock group from California, telling me that this person wanted to contact me and he was interested in the bike.
And well, finally we reached an agreement, I had the opportunity to meet the future owner, he came to see the bike, he loved it and well, I sold him the bike and two weeks later he sent a transport from California to Miami to pick it up and send it back.
He was so happy with the bike, he liked it so much, that he also said that usually this kind of bike is made to measure, you always want to make it to your liking, but what happened with this bike is that it was already made. That is, he found the bike he was looking for, saw it and said “I don’t want to change anything, it’s just the bike I want it”.
This bike we have here today is a 2003 Triumph Bonneville. It belongs to a client who brought it to us a few years ago for a restyling. It was in a sorry state, it really was aesthetically to be thrown away.
The process of reconstruction of this Triumph Bonneville
And we decided to start from scratch with it, we dismantled it completely and ended up turning it into this beautiful Brat style bike, Cafe Racer / Brat which is the style it has, as it has many elements of what Cafe Racer is, but at the same time it has details, like the handlebars, that remind us a little of Scrambler.
It is not the typical Cafe Racer handlebar, or the seat either. Hence its name, Brat, a mix between Cafe Racer, Scrambler… a hybrid.
The most significant thing about this custom Triumph?
Well, the seat that has been made with the rear light embedded inside the seat, the indicators integrated into the chassis tube, odometer, an improved rear suspension with Öhlins shock absorbers.
Braking has also been improved with a Brembo brake system. A metallic black powder coating with gold glitter, and Firestone Deluxe tyres that are very characteristic of Cafe Racer bikes, or with a “retro” or “vintage” look.
If you liked this bike, do not miss the next chapters where we will present new Cafe Racer and Scramblers, built with other BMW, Japanese and even some Harley-Davidson bases.
You will be surprised and like them. We are waiting for you!
We continue with the second part of the series of videos about the best Bike Show with which Lord Drake Kustoms has won awards at the most prestigious Bike Shows around the world. If you missed the first video, you can watch it here.
Fran Manen tells us how his life changed when he won the legendary Daytona Bike Week and the Rat’s Hole, as well as his many world championships in Europe until he became the world’s runner-up.
Daytona Bike Show
There was a moment when even my wife said to me: “You have to see, with what you like motorcycles, what you had before in Spain that you had to sell it to make your dream come true and now, that you are all day making motorcycles here… and you really don’t have a bike of your own“. And I said, “Well, it’s true.” So I decided to built a bike in Miami to bring it to Spain and have it for my holidays.
And as the bike was taking shape, the customers that were coming started to tell me, “Hey Ali, why don’t you take the bike to the Daytona Bike Show at Daytona Bike Week?“ And I was like, “Don’t tell me that because… I’m gonna make a fool of myself there…” But such was the insistence that I ended up agreeing to take the bike I was working on for myself.
The day of the Bike Show in Daytona arrived, I took my bike and I registered it in the Cafe Racer category. It was a Harley Davidson Dyna, which I turned into Cafe Racer. Maybe it was the first Cafe Racer Dyna ever made in the world. I introduced it and I spent the rest of the show riding around, taking pictures and hallucinating with the works that were there. I had always dreamed of visiting the Daytona Bike Show, even as a tourist.
And a while later, my friends and my wife began to call me… “Hey Ali, come here, a journalist wants to talk about this bike”.
So the afternoon arrived and the awards ceremony and my surprise is that when they are going to give the winner of the Cafe Racer category, they announce that the winner is Lord Drake Kustoms and Francisco Alí Manén with the Cafe Racer that he had presented.
Probably… it’s one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me.
Winning that prize meant, not the implicit economic remuneration, but the great promotion that it meant… I won the lottery and it changed my life.
Because, for example, two hours after the award ceremony, I was surrounded by journalists, taking photos and recording my bike. But I was press from the biggest elite of the world… from Japan, from the USA… To the point that after that show, journalists from Germany, from Australia, from Japan came to see me in Miami… to report on that bike.
What did I get out of it?My name, which was already working quite well in Miami, was launched to the rest of the world. It changed everything and I realized from that day that that bike, without waiting, was a winning bike.
I automatically put that bike in a trailer and, from that same event, they didn’t stop inviting me to other Bike Shows that were held in Florida and other places. I practically spent two months traveling around the USA, presenting the bike and winning prizes in the biggest motorcycle rallies and bike shows in the USA.
Rat’s Hole Custom Bike Show
Two months later, another edition of Rat’s Hole, the famous American Discovery Channel Rat’s Bike Show, came to Leesburg.
And I was back with the Red Baron and a Triumph Bonneville. I presented myself to the Cafe Racer category and in that prestigious Bike Show I was again, this time not champion, but I was champion and runner-up in the same category. That is, both my bikes did a double.
The European tour
Some time later, due to the success I already had in the USA, people asked me for motorcycles, they asked me for motorcycles from almost all over the world.
It was then that I decided to open my workshop in Malaga, in Velez Malaga, my hometown. And once I worked again in Spain, I started to participate in Bike Shows at a European level.
And that same year I travelled to Saint Tropez (France), to the Harley Davidson Eurofestival, where I came second in Europe.
And so, from 2014 to 2019 and until 2020 I have achieved, among many other awards, to be four times European champion, customizing Harley Davidson and four times runner-up in Europe, also customizing Harley Davidson.
In 2016, I participated for the first time in the World Championship, which this time was held in Germany. I finished fifth in the world. And in 2019, I went back to this same World Championship and became a runner-up.
In Japan, for example, I was named one of the top ten Harley Davidson-based scrambler manufacturers in the world in 2015-2016. That included me in the Top Ten with my big TV idols in this kind of customization. And well, and as a result, I can tell you that I have more than twenty international awards and recognitions.
Homologate a custom motorcycle is one of the questions that our customers and users ask us the most.
Did you have problems passing the ITV (Technical Inspection of Vehicles) of your motorcycle? Do you think it will not be possible to ride with a modified motorcycle?
We answer to these and more questions, in this video. Homologate a custom motorcycle like Cafe Racer, Scrambler, Bobber or any other style is possible in Spain and here we explain the steps to follow.
Steps to homologate a custom motorcycle
The first thing, when the bike is finished, an engineer must come to make the project of the entire reform.
Once the engineer does the project, the next thing to do would be to ask the relevant laboratories for certificates or reports of conformity of all these reforms.
And once we have the engineer’s project, the laboratory’s compliance report and the certificate issued by the workshop, in this case by us, all that you have to do is to send it to ITV.
There, the ITV technician will check everything. If it is correct, he is going to give us an appointment, so that we can later pass the motorcycle an inspection that confirms that everything in the project and the documentation coincide with reality.
It is true that there are some restrictions when approving a motorcycle. There are things that are allowed and others that are not. But the key to all this is that when making a motorcycle you have to build it and install a series of components that are regulated by ITV and homologation laws here in Spain, for reforms.
As long as you respect the laws and rules of these reforms, you will not have problems later to approve.
If you liked the video, don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE and “Like it” so that we can continue offering you more videos like this.
Runner-up in the world in the category Best Transformed Harley Davidson, is one of the best Cafe Racer tribute to Porsche.
This Harley Davidson Sportster 883, converted to Cafe Racer and a tribute to the legendary Porsche brand, takes its name from one of the most famous models of this German brand, the “Speedster”.
This is the story of the customization of a Harley Custom Bobber built in record time to be auctioned at a charity gala organized by Antonio Banderas during Miami Fashion Week 2019.
Coinciding with the first anniversary of Lord Drake Kustoms’ attendance at Miami Fashion Week for the Charity Gala organized by Antonio Banderas, Fran Manen reveals in this new chapter of the LDK TV channel, many surprises and anecdotes from that event.
Getting a record in the customization of a motorcycle in just 3 days, the result was the spectacular “Rusty Rush”. A Harley Davidson Sportster converted to Bobber style, which was auctioned at the Antonio Banderas gala during the celebration of 2019 Miami Fashion Week and which was exhibited on its catwalk during the entire duration of the parades.
This event was a before and after for Lord Drake Kustoms, since, apart from receiving great recognition, it was the seed of other future projects.
In this new LDK TV broadcast, Fran Manen (owner of Lord Drake Kustoms) explains the customization process of this BMW K100 converted into a Cafe Racer or “Neocaferacer”.
It is the first motorcycle of this BMW model as the K100 or K75. From the front fenders, V-Rod headlight, half-handlebars, odometer and rev counter… to the handcrafted manufacture of the seat and tail cowl.
If you liked this BMW K100 Cafe Racer, do not forget to “Like” and subscribe to our channel so as not to miss the next videos that are on the way… It’s time to rock custom motorcycles!
Tell us your impressions in the comments about this BMW K100 Racer!
In this new video from our LDK TV channel, we will learn the incredible story of one of the last bikes modified by Lord Drake Kustoms, a Suzuki Cafe Racer.
It is a Suzuki GS750, a classic motorcycle from the late 70s that has been converted into a beautiful Cafe Racer.
Fran Manen, tells us about the problems her owner faced when trying to bring it from Mexico to Spain, a whole adventure worth knowing.
If you liked the video and would like to see more videos like this one about Lord Drake Kustoms motorcycles, give it a “LIKE” and subscribe to our channel. We need your support to continue making videos like this … Thank you very much!
Fran Manen, explains in this first episode dedicated to the best custom bikes awards by Lord Drake Kustoms how he started in the world of motorcycle customization and what were the first Bike Show where he participated, getting his first awards.
From its beginnings in Spain for various motorcycle festivals to its establishment in the United States where it had its first motorcycle workshop in Miami. Here is a transcription of the interview’s video.
What is a Bike Show
In the world of motorcycle transformation or customization, there are some competitions where the best custom bikes are chosen, or the best motorcycle customization and transformation works, with different categories, different brands and at different levels, from local to global levels.
There are competitions where a selection of judges, who are usually other builders or media journalists specialized in the world of motorcycle transformation, usually determine which work or which motorcycle is more spectacular, or is more beautiful, which has the best painting. And all these types of competitions are usually held at events related to the world of motorcycles.
The first thing I did, as soon as I finished it, was to take it to a Bike Show, because it was something very curious. I was new to this world, I did not dedicate myself professionally to it, but I heard that that same year, one or two months after in Fuengirola, the European Harley-Davidson Rally was going to be held for the first time in Spain.
It means that it is the largest and most official Harley Davidson rally in Europe. And there, in that event, a Custom Bike Show was held where Harley-Davidson chooses the best modified and transformed Harley in Europe.
Then, immediately I registered my motorcycle, and well … I arrived and honestly I was in paradise. But I was in paradise, not because of my motorcycle, but because I was with my camera taking photos of everything I saw enter there.
What was my surprise: it was the first motorcycle I did, it was the first time I competed in a Bike Show, and when they went to deliver the prizes, they say that Europe’s second position in the Harley-Davidson Softail category is Fran Manen. Well imagine … I hallucinated. I mean, I figured this is the beginner’s luck.
From there, with that same bike I dedicated myself to go to others local or national events where the most I got to achieve was the official Spanish Harley-Davidson Rally or Bike Show, where I stayed Champion of the Bike Show of the Softail category and also, I awarded a first prize “Best of Show”, the best of the entire contest.
Bike Shows in Miami
In 2010 – 2011 when I started to make motorcycles fully in my Miami workshop, I already made the first motorcycle with which I believed I could participate in a Bike Show and also, in the United States, in America, where the cradle of this type of events and where the most prestigious Bike Shows in the world are.
The first bike I ever made and brought there was a Harley-Davidson Softail Heritage, and I took it to the Poker Run Custom Bike Show, held in the Florida Keys, at the Key West, and the same thing happened.
I put it in the trailer, the whole family went, some friends and I took it back … it was the second time that I competed in an event of such prestige, and I won the prize for the best Softail, in Miami, Florida, in an event like is the Keys Poker Run.
So, I started participating in various American Riders Bike Shows, in Florida and in the United States because at that time I was working and I only had my workshop in the United States.
In this first episode of LDK TV we talk about one of the most demanded custom motorcycles lately, it is the BMW R100 Cafe Racer / Scrambler.
Lord Drake Kustoms made this BMW in his motorcycle transformation workshop in Malaga (Spain). Fran Manen tells us details about this BMW R100, based on a model from the 80s. Finally, he got a bike with mixed Cafe Race and Scrambler styles.
Don’t forget to visit our YouTube channel and subscribe and like so that we can continue to upload more videos like this one about Lord Drake Kustoms motorcycles and many more surprises … Thank you very much!
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