Some custom builds are about status and power. Others like to shout through noise and look-at-me colourways. Then there is this: a labour of love that’s nothing less than an ode to joy. Taipei-based bike transformers 2Loud Customs took a client’s humble commuter bike - his first ever motorcycle - and transformed it into a bespoke big-tyred scrambler that’s like nothing else on the road. And as ever with custom builds, it’s the details that astound.
The basis is Taiwan’s take on the workaday Honda CB125S, known on the streets of Taipei as the SYM Wolf 125. Air cooled, 125 cc, five-speed gearbox, ubiquitous. Thing was, the client had held on to his particular Wolf 125 since first riding it, aged 18, back in 1995. Time for an adult update to create a motorcycle for the future. First idea came to define the project: those oversize balloon tyres. Once that had been decided on – “like donuts”, was the client’s request – all else followed so that the humble commuter is no longer recognisable.
Max Ma and his team at 2Loud Customs took this SYM Scrambler build every bit as seriously as their more conventional work, on-big engined Harley Davidsons and Triumphs. Basic frame is – just about – untouched but nothing else is. That fat rear tyre rides on 2LOUD custom swingarm suspension, with GJMS shock absorbers. A just about end of life Yamaha TW200 provided the front end, not least because its standard hefty tyres fit the bill. But it’s the engine that’s the real surprise here.
Gone is the frankly weedy 125 cc that’s standard. And in comes a Chinese built Haojue 280 cc single cylinder thumper, driving through a six speed gear box and fitted with a fully customised exhaust that ingeniously curves sculpturally under the custom saddle – insulated against heat and vibration – to exit neatly just to the rider's lower right. And just look at the hand stitching to the new brown suede seat. As we said, it’s the details that matter here.
Custom green paint, flecked with gold and carrying a discreet gold '2Loud Customs’ logo adorns the Sym Scrambler replacement fuel tank, sourced from a classic 1970s Yamaha RD50. Suede seat and tank look like they were made for each other. And of course they were. Up front a set of high-rise handlebars add presence. Throughout, hand finish to aluminium tail light, fuel cap and exhaust among others add yet more character with a distressed finish.
And the price for such a piece of motorcycling art? Naturally 2Loud Customs are way too discreet to disclose a the cost of a private build. No doubt they’d be delighted to take your call if you have a bike handy. We’d suggest you make sure to have at least £15,000 available. Of course you could buy a formidable new bike for that, but where’s the fun in something everyone else has?
