In Jeremy Tagand’s early days because the resident wrench at Deus ex Machina Australia, the Kawasaki W650 was his bread and butter. Deus was one of many first retailers to popularize the W650 as a {custom} venture donor, demonstrating its versatility by customizing it repeatedly throughout a broad spectrum of kinds.
This explicit Kawasaki W650 has been out and in of Monsieur Tagand’s working room a number of occasions during the last sixteen years. It first got here to Sydney in a delivery container in 2008 and was promptly booked into Deus’ workshop by its proprietor for the store’s signature ‘bobber-saki’ therapy. The modifications included a peanut tank, a 21F/17R wheelset, and a hardtail conversion that’s endured at the moment.
A decade later, Jeremy couldn’t assist himself when the W650 popped up on the market. He purchased it, dragged it again to the workshop but once more, and turned it into one thing resembling a bobber with drag bike aspirations. This time, it bought a Yamaha SR500 gasoline tank and the turbocharger from a Ski-Doo snowmobile.
Jeremy had his palms full although, so the venture stalled and the W650 was relegated to the nook of the workshop. A brand new proprietor lastly got here alongside, purchased the bike, and booked it again in for an additional rebuild.
This time, the temporary referred to as for a bobber influenced by conventional Japanese and American construct kinds; an offbeat fusion of East and West. The prevailing hardtail body match the invoice, however a lot of the different elements would wish to go. With ‘his’ W650 again on the bench, Jeremy set to work.
The primary job was to re-lace the Kawasaki hubs to smaller rims. Jeremy swapped the 21F/17R hoops for an identical set of 16s, utilizing contemporary spokes and brass nipples. They’re wrapped in chunky five-inch-wide Firestone Deluxe Champion tires.
Unsurprisingly, the Kawasaki’s entrance forks had hassle accommodating the ultra-wide entrance tire. So Deus referred to as on DNA Customs to machine a wider set of yokes, plus an identical center-mount headlight bracket. The yokes are tremendous sano, with Deus’ brand laser-etched into the highest clamp.
They’re additionally devoid of conventional riser mounts. As an alternative, a set of rabbit ear handlebars circulation upwards from the fork caps. They’re fitted with leather-based grips and micro switches, with all the wiring routed via the bars and out through an outlet tube that’s been welded in.
The entrance finish additionally wears a Bates-style headlight, fork-mounted mirrors, and an abbreviated entrance fender. A Daytona speedo sits between the gasoline tank and the steering neck, propped up on a custom-made bracket.
A Harley-Davidson Sportster gasoline tank sits additional again, intentionally positioned to show the body’s entrance triangle. Look carefully, and also you’ll discover that Jeremy has trimmed off the body’s neck gussets and liberated it of all superfluous mounting tabs, all to deliver extra chopper sensibilities into the design.
The again finish of the bike wears a bobbed leather-based seat on brass springs, adopted by a tight-fitting rear fender. Jeremy reached out to Sydney’s Hypnic Jerk Customs to manufacture the W650’s sissy bar. Arching gracefully over the rear fender, it additionally homes the bike’s license plate and taillights.
A tidy electronics field sits below the seat, with the bike’s ignition barrel and starter button embedded on the left facet. A pair of DNA pod filters substitute the airbox, whereas a two-into-one exhaust system terminates in a easy classically styled muffler.
With the newly-christened ‘Nut Kwaka’ coming collectively, Jeremy turned his consideration to the ultimate finishes. Juds Kustom Paint laid down the W650’s creamy livery, including a touch of inexperienced to the graphics. The body, rims, and electronics field have been all completed in black, with a smattering of brass particulars scattered all through the bike—together with brass caps that fill the holes the place the swingarm bolts was.
The Nut Kwaka joins a protracted line of Kawasaki W650 avenue trackers, scramblers, café racers, and bobbers which have handed via Deus’ doorways—nevertheless it’s no paint-by-numbers construct. Quirky and irreverent in equal measure, we’d fortunately park it exterior our native watering gap.
Deus Customs | Fb | Instagram
