Speed Read, January 29, 2023
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This weekend’s edition of Speed Read starts off with four of our favorite words—“Suzuki Katana” and “AC Sanctuary.” We also profile a vintage Triumph Tiger, a rare BMW R68 ISDT Special, and a tastefully modded Triumph Street Twin from Deus.
Suzuki Katana by AC Sanctuary What happens when a legendary Japanese workshop customizes an iconic motorcycle? Magic, that’s what. Pure retro magic.
The commission for this particular Suzuki Katana project came from a source close to AC Sanctuary. The bike belongs to Mr Wang—who not only runs a hugely successful motorcycle dealership in Taiwan, but is also the country’s only licensed AC Sanctuary dealer. Given their tight relationship, he was happy to give AC Sanctuary’s Hiroyuki Nakamura free rein on the project.…
No one upcycles quite like Roland Groteclaes. Based in Belgium, he’s a multi-talented creative that splits his time between illustration, design, painting and sculpture. And the latter is almost always done using salvaged parts.
This approach to his art is reflected in the custom bike he’s just built. Dubbed ‘Foray,’ it’s best described as a Bimota/Ducati hybrid. But this wasn’t a simple engine swap job—instead, it was pieced together almost entirely with leftover parts from multiple donor bikes.
The inspiration for Foray came from a particularly unusual source. “A friend form England gifted me a used Honda F1 carbon fiber heat exchanger,” Roland tells us. “He thought I could use it in a sculpture, but it was more than clear to me that I should give this piece a new identity, as an upcycled motorcycle fuel tank.”…
On paper, a 10 hp motorcycle with a seat height of 30 inches doesn’t sound particularly exciting. And yet the Honda Grom remains one of the funnest and most adored motorcycles on the planet.
If you can’t understand why, stop reading right now and go take one for a spin. It’s zippier than its diminutive stance and 12” wheels would imply, and is sure to elicit more smiles than bikes twice its size (and price) at your local watering hole. Oh, and it’ll go for miles on nothing more than a whiff of petrol.
Honda updated the Grom last year with a slew of upgrades, and a major styling refresh. The third generation Grom puts the emphasis on customization—with body panels that are clearly designed to be swappable, and various graphics kits available straight from the factory.…
