Urban Flame: “Dohwa” Yamaha SR400

A Blaze-Green Scrambler from Deus Korea x Garage94…  

Deus Ex Machina is one of the most recognizable, revered names in the custom motorcycle world. In 2006, the brand opened their first space in Sydney, Australia — the Camperdown “Temple of Enthusiasm,” dedicated to the intersection of custom motorcycles, surfing, skating, auto racing, and other “pursuits of fun.”

“The Deus Ex Machina showroom/cafe/headquarters in Sydney immediately became a shrine to ‘run-what-you-brung’ resourcefulness and street-honest industrial art.” -Deus

Deus produced custom bikes from the very beginning, but the company was about more than metal — the founders hoped to foster a culture of machine-oriented creativity far from the corporate takeover of motorsport.

“The Deus philosophy recalls an era before the various pursuits of fun – motorcycling, surfing, skateboarding, whatever – were marketed into fundamentalist factions. All are welcomed under the Deus roof, where there’s simply respect for the honesty and enjoyment of the machine.”

Over the years, Deus has spread all over the globe, with “temples” in Bali, Brazil, Italy, France, South Africa, the USA, and more. In Seoul, South Korea, they first opened the “Foundry of Fortuity” in the Hongdae district, and now the massive seven-story flagship temple, the “Chamber of Eternal Combustion,” in the Seongsu. 

Deus has a long history of collaborating with local custom builders on custom projects, and Deus Korea is no exception. They’ve partnered with our friends at Garage94 to produce a pair of builds. The first was “Soban,” a Daelim Honda DH88 step-through created by Garage94’s Lee Woo-seok, aka Usuk (@usuk_garage94). 

Today we have the second build to grow out of the collaboration, a Yamaha SR400 dubbed “Dohwa” (都火) built by Garage94’s Myunghoon Kim, aka Smith (@smith_garage94).

“‘Do’ (都) means city, and ‘Hwa’ (火) means fire. The name represents the freedom of riding through the city and the energy of a flame. I also liked the idea that the bike could feel calm when it’s standing still, but reveal a completely different kind of energy once it starts moving.”

There are several design influences at work here, and Smith has balanced them incredibly well: the classic SR400 silhouette, 1970s tracker / scrambler styling, a modified ’77 XL125 tank, and the flame graphics. Nearly every part of the bike had was modified and built from scratch — Smith gives us all the specifics below.

The result is a custom bike that combines the glitz of a 70s bobber with the burliness of a period scrambler or desert sled. It’s a bike that will burn bright on the streets of Seoul.

“What I like most is that it isn’t trying to be the fastest or most aggressive bike. It’s fun even when you’re riding slowly, and when you find an interesting road, it makes you want to turn and keep going. It feels like the kind of bike that starts in the city and makes you wonder how far you could go.” -Smith

That’s exactly the kind of machine we love best, Smith — the kind that makes you want to twist the throttle and ride until the sun sets on undiscovered roads. Below you’ll find our full interview with Smith about the build. We apologize for the relative dearth of photos — only a few photos came out of the Deus Korea photo shoot. 

Yamaha SR400 “Dohwa”: Builder Interview

• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop

My name is Myunghoon Kim, and I go by Smith. I’m one of the builders at Garage94, where I work on custom motorcycles and restorations. Garage94 is a small workshop in Korea focused mainly on old, classic, and vintage motorcycles. We like to respect the original character of older bikes while reinterpreting them in our own way for modern riding.

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For me, building a motorcycle is less about simply replacing parts and more about bringing everything together — the proportions, details, and overall character — until the bike feels like one complete piece.

• What’s the make, model, and year of the donor bike?

The donor bike is a Yamaha SR400.

• Why was this bike built?

This was not a customer or personal project. It was an official custom motorcycle project created to celebrate the launch of Deus Ex Machina Korea. The first official motorcycle project built in Seoul for DEUS Korea was Soban, and Dohwa was the second bike to follow that project.

The idea was to create a motorcycle that could represent the identity of DEUS in Korea while also showing something about the local custom motorcycle culture and the way we approach building bikes at Garage94.

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

The concept came from the name itself: Dohwa (都火), which means something like “city fire.” We wanted it to feel like a tracker made for the city, but one that was always ready to leave the pavement and head toward the fields or wherever the road takes you.

We kept the classic lines of the SR400 but mixed in elements from vintage trackers and off-road motorcycles. We then added the strong flame graphic along with chrome and polished metal details to create a balance between a calm, vintage character and something more energetic.

One of the key design elements was a vintage fuel tank from a 1977 Honda XL125. We carefully modified the tank and combined its old-school shape with the new flame graphic. I liked the contrast between an old part with its own history and a completely new interpretation of the motorcycle.

• What custom work was done to the bike?

We modified almost every major part of the motorcycle, including the frame, fuel tank, wheels, suspension, bodywork, seat, exhaust, and electrical system.

The stock rear frame was cut and reworked with new U-bending fabrication. The swingarm was extended to 600 mm, and we used 345 mm chrome rear shocks together with a 30 mm extension kit to improve the suspension setup.

The vintage 1977 Honda XL125 fuel tank was carefully modified and fitted to the bike. The frame, tank, and fenders were finished in British Green.

The 19-inch front and 18-inch rear spoke wheels were rebuilt and fitted with IRC off-road tires. The front forks were completely disassembled and finished with chrome polishing.

We also fitted a 5.75-inch Bates-style chrome headlight, a small cat-eye tail light, and a wide tracker handlebar inspired by 1970s designs.

The racing seat, Bates-style footpegs, full custom exhaust, brake pedal, and shift pedal were all made as one-off pieces specifically for this bike.

The electrical system and wiring harness were simplified as much as possible. The cylinder head and carburetor were rebuilt and finished with heat-resistant paint.

Other major metal parts, including the top bridge, wheel hubs, and kickstarter, were polished to bring out the natural shine of the metal.

• Does the bike have a nickname?

Yes. It’s called Dohwa (都火). “Do” (都) means city, and “Hwa” (火) means fire.

The name represents the freedom of riding through the city and the energy of a flame. I also liked the idea that the bike could feel calm when it’s standing still, but reveal a completely different kind of energy once it starts moving.

• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?

It still has the light and simple riding character that makes the SR400 so enjoyable, but it feels a little longer and more planted than a standard SR400. The extended swingarm, suspension setup, and off-road tires make it comfortable on the pavement while also allowing it to naturally move onto dirt roads.

What I like most is that it isn’t trying to be the fastest or most aggressive bike. It’s fun even when you’re riding slowly, and when you find an interesting road, it makes you want to turn and keep going. It feels like the kind of bike that starts in the city and makes you wonder how far you could go.

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

I’m particularly proud of how we brought all the different elements together into one motorcycle. There were a lot of different influences — the classic SR400 shape, 1970s tracker styling, the vintage XL125 tank, the off-road setup, and the flame graphic. Because of that, I spent a lot of time making sure that no single element felt out of place and that everything worked together as one bike.

I especially enjoyed the process of modifying the frame and building the one-off parts one by one, then adjusting the proportions of the bike as everything came together. In the end, I think a custom motorcycle is less about having individually special parts and more about how well all those parts work together. In that sense, Dohwa came together very close to the way I originally imagined it.

Follow the Builders

Custom Builder / Myunghoon Kim (Smith): @smith_garage94
Garage94 / Usuk Lee: @usuk_garage94
Deus Ex Machina Korea: deuskorea.com | @deusexmachina.kr
Photographer: Deus Ex Machina

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