Build-off Winner: 160cc Street Tracker from Garage Esquinita…
Last year around this time, we featured a contest-winning Yamaha XSR155 from Jed Patrick Oriña, a young Filipino builder who operates Garage Esquinita.
“Esquinita means a small alley, because the walkway to my shop is very narrow and you can only ride one bike entering it. That’s why I named it so.”
Jed had the honor of being just one of three Filipino builders asked by Yamaha Philippines to build a custom XSR155 for the annual Makina Moto Show, and his build, “Hella,” took home the prize.
Fast forward to 2025, and Jed was again selected for a high-profile build-off alongside two other builders, Regin King Jorge Andres of Prism Motorcycles and Luis Vito of 2K Garage. This time, Hero MotoCorp would provide donor bikes in the form of their Hero Hunk 160R 4V model, and the three builders would present their machines at the Monkey Throttle Kustom Kult Bike Show, hosted by Horhe Jacinto of Garage Monkey Kustoms. The only catch? They had just 21 days to complete the build!
You may not know the name Hero MotoCorp, but they began operations in 1984 as a joint venture between Honda and India’s Hero Cycles. Around 2010, Honda and Hero parted ways, Hero MotoCorp was formed, and the company now boasts 30% market share in the massive Indian two-wheeler industry while also exporting their machines abroad. The Hunk 160R is a sporty little naked bike with a fuel-injected four-valve 17-bhp single-cylinder engine, ABS brakes, and 7-step adjustable suspension.
With such a limited timeframe, Jed decided to focus on what he does best:
“As for the competition there are no rules and category for the build; it is open as long as you finish the build. So what I did was to stick on what I know best from the start, which are scramblers and trackers.”
For the next three weeks, Jed worked tirelessly to transform the standard single-cylinder commuter into a show-stopping street tracker, supported by a wide array of family, friends, team members, and partners whom he thanks profusely below. No builder is an island, and it’s often the unseen labor and support of family and friends that keeps the wheels of life turning while the wrenches spin 16 hours per day and more.
Though bolt-on parts would’ve been the faster and easier route, that isn’t Jed’s style. No, most everything on this 160R was built from scratch. Jed and his buddies Karlo Alignay, Rose Alignay, and Kenn Castro — aka the “Dirty Lokals” — completely cut and reshaped a stock Kawasaki tank into a sleek, teardrop shape that echoes the fiberglass or aluminum tanks often found on flat track race bikes.
As the Hunk 160R is fuel-injected, there was the added challenge of finding a fuel pump small enough to fit inside their re-fabricated tank. Meanwhile, the instrumentation was slickly relocated to the top of the tank, where it fits perfectly and keeps the bars nice and clean like a real race bike.
Next up was the rest of the bodywork. The seat, side panels, and front number plate were all formed from sheet metal — a laborious but ultimately rewarding process.
“As you can see it has curves to compliment the shape and design of our tank — hours of hammering, grinding, and chiseling it out to achieve the perfect look.”
Other highlights include the custom-fabricated fork shrouds and chainguard, along with a custom exhaust and SuperTrapp-style silencer that runs under the bike. Shinko E805 rubber and a red-hot paint scheme round out the rest of the build. Jed dubbed the bike “Deux,” as it’s his second build-off bike.
While Jed knows a longer timeline would’ve resulted in even more handmade parts, he’s incredibly proud of what he and his crew accomplished in just three weeks…and grateful to all the friends, family, and partners who conspired to make this dream a reality. All the hard work was worth it, as “Deux” took home the prize — two in a row for Garage Esquinita!
A huge congrats to Jed and the Garage Esquinita family. Below you’ll find our full interview with Jed, where he goes into deeper detail about various aspects of the build. We can’t wait to see what comes rolling from the narrow alley of this Filipino workshop next!
Hunk 160R Tracker / Scrambler: Builder Interview
• What’s the make, model, and year of the donor bike?
Maker: Hero MotoCorp India
Model: Hunk 160R 4V
Year: Brand new motorcycle, 2025
• Why was this bike built?
This bike was built because I was chosen by my friend and organizer of the event Mr. Jorge Jacinto, once again for a biker build-off challenge, which is also a company promotion for Hero Motocorp Philippines.
The company gave us a donor bike for free, which is the Hero Hunk 160r, and fortunately we won the challenge again. A big shoutout to my fellow competitor Mr. Regin King Jorge Andres of Prism Motorcycles and Mr. Luis Vito of 2K Garage.
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
As for the competition there are no rules and category for the build; it is open as long as you finish the build. So what I did was to stick on what I know best from the start, which are scramblers and trackers. The 1st biker build-off I joined was in 2023, and I built a street tracker/scrambler out of that Yamaha XSR155, which you featured on your site before. This time we built a fully functional and street-legal flat/dirt tracker from the Hero Hunk 160.
• What custom work was done to the bike?
First of all thanks to my loving wife Angel Donato Oriña for allowing me and supporting me again financially and morally throughout this competition. Shout out to my family, my mom and my tatay, my brothers and sisters, in-laws, aunt uncles nephews niece, my wife’s family, Donato family, in-laws, all of my friends, thank you guys for all of your neverending support 🙏🙏🙏
We only had 21 days to build the bike, which is very challenging for prepping and making custom parts. So we worked almost 16 hours a day just to get it done. This bike is all handcrafted, made from scratch.
Special thanks to my brothers from DIRTY LOKALS (Karlo Alignay, Rose Alignay, and Kenn Castro) for helping me throughout this build again. I made the decision to make it a flat dirt tracker so we can execute the build faster, since a flat tracker only has a few panels and accessories to make.
The first major fabrication was the tank. It was very challenging to make, as the tank comes from a Kawasaki BC175. The tank was stock, and we modified it to form a sexy teardrop design. We cut it almost halfway down to reduce the height of the tank, and also to achieve that flat tracker tank look, which usually has a shorter design.
Also we cut it the middle part to make a V-form just like a teardrop, and then made the tunnel underneath it. Then we made a custom gas cap which has breather on top of it to nail that classic look, which has the hose hanging on the side. The most challenging part of building this tank was to find a fuel pump that would fit inside, since we lowered the height of the tank. The stock fuel pump of the Hero Hunk is very tall; luckily we found a small one that fit perfectly.
Second was the seat panel/cowling. We formed it out of a plain galvanized sheet metal, and we also made the front and side panels. As you can see it has curves to compliment the shape and design of our tank — hours of hammering, grinding, and chiseling it out to achieve the perfect look.
We also fabricated fork shrouds for telescopic protection when riding off-road. We only cut the subframe to make the bike look shorter and sexy. No other major fabrication for the frame since it’s already very sturdy.
For the exhaust, thanks to my brother Alain Torres for handing me over this slick exhaust. We ran it under the frame to look more aggressive. We fabricated a simple looking chainguard and changed the size and the tread of the tires. We used Shinko E805 tires for a much better on and off-road flat tracker look.
And painted it red, same as the color of the stock Hero Hunk 160.
• Does the bike have a nickname?
I have named it “Deux,” the french word for the number two, since it is my second biker build-off bike. My previous biker build-off bike was “Hella” and it has the number 1 on its panels.
• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?
It’s makes you want to ride aggressively because of the styling. It feels like you’re on the track when you’re riding it.
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
I am proud that we executed all of the plans and the designs for this build, but if we had more time then maybe we would be able to fabricate even more parts we’d also be proud of.
• Builder Partners and Sponsors
- Big shout out to Mr. Horhe Jacinto of Garage Monkey Kustoms / Monkey Throttle Kustom Kult Bike Show.
- Hero MotoCorp Philippines for the donor bikes.
- A huge shout out to my partners, especially Fineline Industrial Marketing Inc. for handing me over all those tools that I need, check them out.
- My detailing partner Ben Pagsuyuin of Ben’s Care Auto-Detailing, check them out.
- My apparel from my brother Jeffzen Mangahis of WARSAW.PH.
- Vinyl stickers sponsored by Max Hernandez of Dos Tres Stickers.
- Paint Materials from sir Arnold Acosta of M-Coat Paint.
- Seat upholstery from Mr. Romeo Ampong.
- Paint services from Mr. Angelo Almodovar.
- Brad Works for making the bike running.
- Rafaelito Souza of Raffy’s Machine Shop for some of the machined parts.
- Roger Campomanes of Jerone Powder Coat.
- JGL Racing Pipe for the headers, shout out to my brother Paolo Labador and Rey Enao.
- Shout out for the photography shots, Kenn Castro and Max Hernandez.
Follow the Builder
Instagram: @jedpatrickorina
Facebook: Garage Esquinita
Photography: Kenn Castro and Max Hernandez
Funky and fun! I like it.