Sometimes it’s the simple things that you keep going back to. You buy yourself a new leather jacket, but somehow you end up riding in your old, worn one. You splash out on an expensive watch, and yet you always find yourself wearing your Dad’s old beater. It’s the same with bikes. Something a little understated can mean there’s no stress about it getting stolen or landing you in jail; you can just enjoy the ride. That’s probably why France’s Bad Winners made this; it’s a nimble little Suzuki GN125 that’ll eat up city streets while the big toys can be kept clean for those special Sundays.

As with the shop’s other small capacity builds, they are also targeted directly at younger riders who, at least in some parts of Europe, don’t need a full licence to buy and ride a bike of this capacity. Of course, this area of the bike scene is currently full to overflowing with scooters, but who in their right mind would choose an overly-plasticised step-through when they could have this?

While Bad Winners make these Suzi GNs as a ‘serie’, this particular bike was sourced locally in France for a German customer. And in quite the u-turn from their previous GN, this one’s racing-striped blue tank and Avon Roadrider rubber means that off-road scrambles will be few and far between, with urban asphalt its preferred terrain.

So what do you get for your hard-earned if you fronted Bad Winner’s Northern Paris studio with the cash in your hand? ‘You get the best of both worlds,” says Bad boy Walid. “There’s Plenty of customisation options to make it your own, but you’re also getting an original bike that’s been proven already. There’s no trial and error here; all the bugs have been ironed out”.

Donor Suzukis are stripped to component parts before a full engine rebuild is undertaken, allowing the bike’s new owner a 1 year guarantee. That alone is probably worth the price of admission, but the Bad Winners team doesn’t stop there. A whole raft of custom parts are then fabbed up and then powder coated, along with any original parts that need matching.

Meanwhile, a brand new seat is stitched together. In this case, a classic-looking loaf with a good amount of padding will be cushioning the new owner comfortably. And the original factory tank is then de-badged and resprayed. Walid tells us that if you ask him nicely and commit to the Limited Edition package, you’ll even get to have the tank pretty much any way you’d like it.

With the components back from paint and the last stretch in sight, the bike is fully rewired and then equipped with a slew of Motogadget items, including their Tiny Speedo, M-Unit control box and M-Switch buttons. Finishing touches on the Suzuki read like any biker’s Xmas list: a classic Megaton exhaust, a Bates headlight, Renthal ’bars and new LED lights on the indicators and at the rear.

[ Bad Winners – Facebook – Instagram | Photos by Guillaume Petranto ]