Remember the Cagiva Elefant? The legendary Dakar-winning dual-sport was built while Cagiva owned Ducati, and was powered by the latter’s widely used 904 cc Desmodromic L-twin engine. It epitomized the rally raid style of the 90s—especially with giant “Lucky Explorer” graphics splashed on the side.
The Ducati DesertX is probably the closest thing you can get to a modern interpretation of the Elefant. But thanks to a confusing jumble of red tape (MV Agusta owns the Elefant name), Ducati couldn’t call it that. Luckily Paolo Balbo isn’t bound by such corporate trappings; he’s called his latest creation an Elefant, even though it isn’t technically one.
Based in Parma, in Italy’s stunning Emilia-Romagna region, Paolo customizes bikes as a hobby. At a glance, his Elefant looks like a tidy restomod.…
Here’s a custom motorcycle matchup we never expected: the wily custom bike builder, XTR Pepo, and the monstrous BMW R18. But the results are in, and they are jaw dropping.
We have 911 MX Factory to thank for this. They’re a new outfit out of Madrid, Spain, with a mission to design and build one-off customs—regardless of how outrageous the brief is. 911 MX Factory’s founder, Diego Mena, takes inspiration from Ferdinand Porsche’s famous saying; “I couldn’t find the sports car of my dreams, so I built it myself.”
There’s a context for that mantra. Diego worked for Porsche Spain for over a decade, and now plans to bring that same sense of exclusivity to the custom motorcycle scene. So he’s partnered up with top builders, like Pepo Rosell of XTR Pepo, to bring these dream machines to life.…
Riding a motorcycle is about more than just getting from A to B—it’s an experience. Someone who truly understands this sentiment is David Sánchez at Bottpower in Valencia, Spain. They’re known for creating some of the wildest custom motorcycles on the planet.
When David isn’t spinning spanners in his workshop, he’s spinning spanners for other people. Last year marked his 16th season as a data and race engineer on the European Superbike and Supersport circuit. On top of this, Bottpower’s XR1R won its class at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and finished 4th overall in 2017; David knows a thing or two about making well-engineered bikes.
This is the latest build in Bottpower’s XR1 series. For those who aren’t in the know, Bottpower XR1s are based on Buell’s XB12 series of bikes.…
