AMS Garage builds a show-stopping café racer…
Introduced in 2014, the Zero SR was the highest performance model in the company’s lineup, featuring a Z-Force® motor with 67 hp and 106 ft-lb of torque on tap. Though it was no sport bike, the first-generation electric roadster could do 0-60 in less than four seconds and hit a top speed of just over 100 mph — comparable to other ICE roadsters.
“Around town, the SR is a fun and fast commuter. Stoplight to stoplight, the SR will smoke just about any automobile, and we love its stealthy manner.” —Cycle World
Recently, we talked to Ajus Mulyawarman of Bali’s AMS Garage, builder of the Husky 501 “Silver Wolf” we featured in 2019 and several show-winning customs with a variety of donors. For this build, Ajus decided to depart from his internal combustion roots and build something on the Zero platform:
“The concept is Neo Futuristic Cafe Racer, because in recent years electric motorcycles have become popular in Indonesia, and immediately I got an idea in my head of a racing motorbike for the future to come.”
The battery pack and motor (for once the right term) are held in a bespoke chassis handmade from 6063 aluminum alloy, heat-treated in the oven of a bicycle factory to strengthen the frame. Says Ajus:
“I’m especially proud of the aluminum frame, which I made for the first time. The character of this material is very different when welded than an iron frame, as I usually make.”
The bodywork is also aluminum, hand-shaped in the long, flowing lines for which AMS Garage customs are known. The front fork is a USD unit from a Ducati, and the wheels are custom one-offs, cut from billet aluminum in a CNC machine.
The bike is nicknamed “Narasimha,” a part-lion, part-man incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, known as the God of Protection and Destroyer of Evil. Says Ajus:
“It’s fast, shiny, and silent — just like the narrative character of the mythological animal.”
Below, we talk to Ajus for more details on this futuristic café racer.
Zero SR Café Racer: Builder Interview
• What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?
Zero Motorcycle type SR 2015
• Why was this bike built?
Customer project.
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
The concept is Neo Futuristic Cafe Racer, because in recent years electric motorcycles have become popular in Indonesia, and immediately I got an idea in my head of a racing motorbike for the future to come.
• What custom work was done to the bike?
Frame/chassis is handmade from series 6063 aluminum tube. After finishing it, we did a heat treatment in a big oven in a bicycle factory in Indonesia to make the frame stronger.
We also used aluminum for the bodywork, shaping it to be sloping and sharp, and for finishing the bodywork, we used hairlined polished AL.
For the front fork, we used a USD unit from a Ducati and did a custom air suspension setup. For the front and back wheel, we made the rims with a CNC machine from billet aluminum material.
The headlight and stop light are handmade from acrylic, and we used Metzeler slick tyres.
• What is the meaning of the name Narashimha?
Narasimha is a mythological animal in our culture here in Bali, and in the old stories they are wild, fast, and like king lions — the same as the concept of a motorbike I made.
• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride Narashimha?
It feels fast, shiny, and silent — just like the narrative character of the mythological animal.
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
I’m especially proud of the aluminum frame, which I made for the first time. The character of this material is very different when welded than an iron frame, as I usually make.
Follow the Builder
- IG: @ams_garage
- Facebook: AMS Garage
- Photography: Yoga Askara
Looks “Alien”!
Electric vehicles suck!!!!! The reason I started riding motorcycles in the first place back in the sixties was because of the sound, smells and vibrations emanating from an internal combustion engine, not some damned annoying electric motor whine and the smell of overheated wiring!!! I’ll quit riding before I’m forced to ride an electric bike!!! Don’t fall for the socialist commie globalist would be tyrants B.S.!!! Mankind and “fossil fuels” do NOT have a single thing to do with climate change and the archaeological record bears this out!!!
This is mind bending and, don’t take this the wrong way, mind numbing. I honestly think this cannot be captured with pics, it has to be viewed in person. The metal work on this is maybe off the charts, unfortunately I think there’s a lot that’s lost and not conveyed via photos.
If I just want to be critical and dismissive I’ll agree with Joe Shuta that it does simply look Alien. Potentially this thing is a real show stopper, a bike that could really elicit long, appreciative, discovering stares. But the pics don’t show that.
Such vision; and the skills to make it happen.
Wow.
NO!
Not even close to a cafe bike!