Welcome to Pipewrapped, no, not the heat proof material you all know and hate that gets clamped to the odd exhaust pipe. But our wrap up of cool customs killing it on social media in the last seven days. As well as the latest new bikes on the showroom floor and whether they’ll be a hit in our scene, the best and most exciting action from the world’s race tracks and some kick ass videos to sink your sprocket teeth into. You might even want to share your weekly finds in the comments section. It’s Pipewrapped, to keep your week custom cool.
Slaying the Socials
The first custom to catch my eye as I soaked up the sun and trawled social media on the weekend was this gorgeous 1945 Harley-Davidson WLA from Verona’s @rock_hard_custom. Beautifully restored and built to be a daily rider, it oozes all kinds of vintage goodness, sans muffler perhaps?
The other bike I couldn’t swipe by was this daily ridden resto-mod monster, owned by @sonic_tarbo, who racks up the miles all over his home country of Japan. Nitro swingarm, Ohlins suspension, fully built engine and looking a million dollars, what a way to see the stunning sights in Land of the Rising Sun.
‘To be or not to be’
As new bikes are released by manufacturers, we will take a dive into what they offer to customisers and whether they’ll be the scenes next bike du jour or fade into obscurity. First up is Aprilia’s Tuono 660, that puts its remarkable parallel twin into a stripped-down package.
An incredible chassis, 95bhp on tap, lightweight and an electronics package to die for, the Tuono has a lot to offer. But clearly, it’s the looks that need to be overhauled and we can imagine the likes of Rough Craft with a one-off all black body or JVB Moto with a slick custom bolt on kit, making this machine an absolute winner.
Race Wrap
It’s Dakar Rally time once again and while the live results are available for all to see, here at Pipeburn HQ we are blown away by the performance of recently retired MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci. He finished the first stage in the sand 13th of 144 riders, and second amongst KTM rider’s, including beating out fellow factory rider and two-time winner Toby Price.
After technical issues cruelled his charge and a near miss with a Camel, Petrucci came out all guns blazing in Stage 5, putting on an extraordinary display of speed and bike control to take the win. The Italian was understandably emotional and just months after swapping paint with Rossi, Marquez and the boys on tarmac, the Italian is proving his incredible talent on two-wheels to be making such a quick and successful switch to the sand.
Must Watch Moto
There is so much amazing video content online, with YouTube alone packed with hours of custom cuisine to dine in on. This week our pick is the first of a two part series by Japan’s 46works, as they document the build of their incredible BMW R75/6 that was displayed at the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show in 2021. This film is mesmerising.