There’s no query that the Japanese customized scene is rife with creativity. Even so, there are some Japanese customized builders whose type is so recognizable, that they handle to face out in a scene that’s identified for its uniqueness. Koichi Fujita is one in every of them.
Fujita-san is the person behind AN-BU Customized Motors. You recognize his work; his type leans closely on custom sportbike aesthetics, and his customized builds have a mechanical and punk rock really feel to them. His signature fairings present simply the tiniest little bit of Bōsōzoku affect, however cease wanting crossing the road into caricature territory.
Is it a method that might swimsuit a motorbike like, say, the Royal Enfield Continental GT650? Koichi didn’t assume so when RE first approached him to customise one for his or her ‘Customized World’ initiative. Then it clicked…
“I had no thought what sort of customized bike I ought to construct as AN-BU,” he tells us. “I considered that for some time, then realized that the blokes from Customized World had seen AN-BU’s previous works and approached me. So I made a decision to construct a customized bike that might be similar to AN-BU’s, with out altering my type.”
“They stated that my customized bike might be launched at bike exhibits in Osaka, Tokyo, and Nagoya. Nonetheless, I don’t assume a motorbike constructed for a present is cool. An important idea for me is to create a customized bike that appears cool on the road, when ridden by a rider.”
“That’s the reason, for this mission, I made a decision to construct a motorbike that I feel is cool to experience, despite the fact that will probably be launched and exhibited at a bike present. I put every little thing I may into this bike, and that is what I ended up constructing with my ardour.”
The important thing to AN-BU’s signature type lies in Koichi’s background. When he was 18, he raced vehicles (and gained a championship) at Japan’s famed Suzuka circuit. After that, he labored in an automotive tuning store, the place he learnt tips on how to construct and tune race vehicles. His father then taught him the artwork of shaping and portray sheet steel.
Koichi has nicknamed this construct ‘Kai,’ which is brief for ‘Kaizo.’ A nod to his heritage, it’s a phrase he used when customizing bikes as a child, and it means ‘modification.’
“What I needed to specific with the Royal Enfield ‘Kai’ was a way of velocity,” he provides. “To specific this, I needed to create a type like a racing machine. Nonetheless, what I envisioned was not a racer operating on a monitor, however a racer operating on the road.”
“I imagined a racing machine that was used on the monitor within the Nineteen Seventies to Nineteen Eighties, however modified in order that it might be ridden on open roads.”
To convey this idea, Koichi fabricated all-new bodywork for the 2021-model Continental GT650. The aluminum gasoline tank and tail hump recall the chunky vibe of older endurance racing machine, however with a extra lithe and natural really feel. However for Koichi, modifying simply the bodywork wasn’t sufficient.
Evaluate this bike to a inventory Enfield, and also you’ll discover that their body strains differ. That’s as a result of Koichi modified the higher a part of the bike’s body to match the tank, and tweaked the subframe, all to bolster the Nineteen Seventies and Nineteen Eighties race bike look he was after.
Subsequent, he constructed a brand new entrance fairing out of carbon fiber. The headlight sits off to the aspect—one other throwback to Nineteen Eighties endurance racers, and one other AN-BU signature. It’s mounted in an aluminum encompass.
Additionally notable is the customized exhaust system. It snakes across the Enfield’s parallel twin motor, diving out and in of sections of the fairing which were modified to accommodate it, earlier than exiting by way of a single muffler on the fitting aspect.
Behind the fairing you’ll discover a set of hand-made clip-ons, a Motogadget speedo and a large endurance-style gasoline cap. You’ll spot a customized high yoke too, designed to clamp a set of 38 mm Kayaba forks, with a slight offset to make the Enfield’s dealing with a contact sportier. A set of longer, absolutely adjustable YSS shocks do responsibility out again.
Koichi additionally swapped the GT650’s spoked wheels out for a set of 18” alloys. They’re shod with Pirelli Phantom Sportcomps—tires particularly designed for contemporary classics, that mix a retro tread sample with modern grip. The brakes are a mixture of Nissin (entrance) and Brembo (rear) elements.
The finer particulars embody customized rear set foot controls, which sit alongside drilled aluminum heel plates. The small LED flip indicators and taillights come from Kellermann.
The paint job is quintessential AN-Bu. Koichi painted the fairing black, however did it in such a approach that the carbon weave reveals itself in intense daylight. The aluminum bits intentionally showcase their imperfections, juxtaposed properly towards the leather-based seat.
“The bikes I construct are designed to slot in with the town and to look good on the road,” Koichi explains. “However after all, I’m additionally within the newest racing machines. Particularly their expertise, which is at all times evolving, and their mechanisms.”
“A motorbike that’s enjoyable to experience. That is the core of all AN-BU’s customized bikes and can by no means disappear.”
AN-BU Customized Motors Instagram | Pictures by Keigo Yamamoto | Data equipped by Tadashi Kono
