In the comments section you hear it all the time, “Why would they use that bike as the donor for a show machine?” The truth is there are a million reasons why someone might choose a particular make and model for their big dollar, one-off, custom bike build. For Indonesia’s Radite Octavanka it’s all about family and this 1973 Suzuki A100 was the first motorcycle that his father ever owned, before handing it down to his motorcycle-mad son. Radite (RAXE97) is a motorcycle designer and creates concepts for some of the biggest builders in Southeast Asia. His father is a bike builder behind the brand 69NERAKATAU INC, so with their nation’s biggest show, Kustomfest, fast approaching, they needed a donor bike. And which machine could possibly make more sense than the all-in-the-family A100, that is now a monocoque-bodied, futuristic cafe racer, with plenty of two-stroke madness.
The humble Suzuki A100 was part of a trio of small, single-cylinder smokers to come from Japan, and proved incredibly popular as commuter bikes all around the world. The engines in all of these mini machines were very tuneable and attracted the attention of many a young builder, keen to pull a motor into pieces and have a go at their own hop-up work. And it was for this reason that Radite’s Dad purchased the Suzuki many many moons ago. “It was my first motorcycle which my Dad (the builder) bought for himself and gave to me when I was in middle school.”
Having been part of the family for so long, it’s actually undergone a number of full builds, and back in 2012 was built into a very cool cafe racer. It was then given a good thrashing around the streets until it was eventually left at the back of the garage and all but abandoned. Thus, for this show-stopping build, Radite decided to give the bike an all-new name, Resurrection! Just like the first build, the only stock parts that remain from the original A100 are the frame and the engine, and very clearly these have been modified too. The pressed steel frame has been given a beef up, with a set of engine plates mounted on the lower side of the single-cylinder, to add some extra rigidity.
To get things rolling, a couple of other small bikes came to the party, with the wheels taken from a more modern Yamaha F1ZR, and have been wrapped in Swallow tyres. The front forks are taken from another Yamaha, an old leading axle V75. But it’s the rear end that has undergone a massive transformation, with the horrible old pressed steel swingarm shown the door. In its place is a son-designed, father-built, masterpiece, manufactured from stainless steel no less. It’s not an easy metal to work with, but the team made it look effortless, beautiful flowing bends and precision welding lead to an incredible result. And it’s another Yamaha, this time a Mio, which donates its mono-shock, now hidden in the frame.
The stunning monocoque body was next to go on, but Radite’s design would never simply bolt up to the stock frame, so first a host of special mounting points had to be fabricated, which are designed to be hidden once the body is fitted. Then the crew got to work on the stainless steel body and the long, unbroken lines, from the headstock to the tip of the tail are a brilliant piece of workmanship. Being a single piece, there’s nowhere to hide bad welds or dodgy joints, and months were spent getting the entire piece arrow straight and massaging out any imperfections. The rear features a very cafe racer like tail, with an integrated tail light.
That section plays a crucial role in providing the hump, which allows the seat to be recessed and helps to prevent the rider from flying off the back. The seat itself is a tastefully stitched black leather item, all designed for the mounts to be completely hidden from sight. Moving forward, the tank section features a pop-up filler cap and the rounded front edges act as the gateway to the next element. That’s the beautiful cafe racer front cowl, a brilliant mix of flowing lines and out-turned sides that are blended back into the tank.
Radite’s father took care of the paintwork too, laying down the black, pinstriping, company logos and even producing a Japanese anime character for the top of the tank. Plenty of polishing work has gone into giving the stainless a beautiful shine, and Radite even designed a set of custom artisan badges for the sides of the tank. Not ready to stop there, he also wanted to add a different material to the build, and the dash is handmade from timber, with a single gauge surrounded by backlit push buttons to operate the bike’s ignition and light controls. There is even timber used on parts of the engine and as a finishing touch to the exhaust’s heat shield.
And that brings us to the engine. A hell of a long time was spent designing a custom twin-cylinder conversion, and a friend of the workshop has a running example. Eventually, it was decided it would be too complex to complete, but the second barrel remains and serves as a coil cover. On the side of the engine, the rebuilt carb sits in its own chamber, with a clear cover added to let you watch the magic happen.
An old piston serves as another cover and the entire exhaust, including the expansion chamber, was all hand fabricated on site. The goal was always to prove that an old, small-capacity machine could be a show stopper and Radite walked away from Kustomfest with the top trophy in the Cafe Racer class and another, as the pick of the show from Japanese legend Toshiyuki ‘Cheetah’ Osawa.
