The 2018 Handbuilt Motorcycle Show, which took place during Austin’s MotoGP weekend last month, proved to be the biggest and best yet. Hosted by Revival Cycles and BMW Motorrad USA, the Handbuilt Show aims at reviving the culture of physical craftsmanship and the beauty formed by human hands.
For 2018, the show moved from the Fair Market in East Austin to the larger Austin American Statesman right downtown. With three times the space, the show was able to host 150 hand-built motorcycles and more than 30,000 fans. Below, we list some of our favorite builds that qualify as scramblers, dual-sports, or adventure (ADV) bikes — one of the hottest genres at this year’s show.
All photos courtesy of Revival Cycles and Alan Stulberg (@revivalan), designer/founder and chief motonerd of Revival Cycles.
Handbuilt 2018: Custom Scramblers & ADV Bikes
Yamaha XS650 by @krossover_customs. We’ve seen a shipload of XS650’s over the years, but never one quite like this. Builder KC Elkins of Kentucky has made a mono-shock, ADV-ready XS650 we can’t wait to feature in detail on the blog.
BMW R75 Scrambler by @eli22carver. One of our favorite builds from the show — we actually featured this beauty earlier this year. Eli was probably was one of the few featured builders to ride his build to and from the show!
Ducati Desert Sled “ADV Alaska” Prototype by @earlemotors. Features a 21-inch front wheel, six-gallon fuel tank, rally navigation tower setup, custom saddle, high-mount exhaust, and a Warn winch!
Harley-Davidson SX1250 “Dirtster” by @lc_fabrications. We first saw this build at The Forged Invitational, and she’s simply stunning, loaded with hand-laid carbon fiber, luggage racks, and even a kick-starter. Builder Jeremy Cupp of Virginia is an avid mountain-biker, and this build reminds us of an overgrown MTB, ready for the Virginia hills!
The Adventure by @waltsieglmotorcycles. Featuring an 1100cc Ducati L-twin, 345-lb curb weight, 6.5-gallon fuel capacity, 21″/17″ wheel combo, and high-tech navigation system.
Honda XR250R “Sugar Tits” by @codyrrussell. Featuring a 1971 Honda CL 450, hand-painted, and 17″ Sun rims with Conti TKCs. Pie-cut exhaust, vintage-style muffler, and sweet custom front fender. Full feature coming soon on the blog!
BMW K-series “Pack Animal” adventure build by Spoken Moto, whose incredible nitrous two-stroke supermoto we featured.
More Custom Scramblers / Adventure Bikes
A few more from the show. If you have info on the builders of these bikes, please let us know in the comments!
My favorite bike is the red Triumph, please tell us more about it if you can find the builder.