Photographs by Brad Miskiewicz
Anyone who’s a fan of Tank Moto Magazine knows it’s a quality publication that, lets face it, is in the porn industry. Motorcycle Porn! Oh we guys love to drool all over those fine lines and sexy add-ons don’t we? We fantasize about riding them and lets be honest, we don’t want our wives to know.
Well recently one of my close mate’s Billy (Marijn) Kuijken from Rogue Motorcyles in Wangara WA has his latest creation, The Hooligan, published in Tank Moto.
To read the whole story you'll have to get Issue 12 of Tank Moto. But allow me to indulge you in a little eye candy in the meantime. Presenting Billy's DR, The Hooligan.
It should be immediately obvious that Billy's specialty is fabrication. He's been welding since he was a lad in his native Belgium. And it shows. His pipe work is something that attracts a lot of work to his Wangara Garage.
The Hooligan started life as stock standard Suzuki DRZ400E. Billy's aim was to challenge the interpretation of a street tracker. True to his metal-mania passions, you'll have to search the machine with a magnifying glass to discover any remaining plastics.
"One of the reasons I chose the DRZ400 is the bolt-on subframe, because the new subframe, I was going to design for it, was going to be one of its main features. The water cooled engine also contributes to the futuristic look I was going for." Billy Kuijken
The taillight channels RoboCop! It was filled in with resin and flushed back, a flawless execution of this technique and a perfect look for the tail.
"When the seat was in place, which was made by Andrew Di Bono from Beyond Trim, the bike really started looking a lot like I had planned.
The tank was then treated, with brushed stainless steel inlays and a new weld-in fuel cap + bung was put in place. It was painted gun metal grey by Jack Johnson from Kingston Kustoms, UK."
The headlight kit was supplied by Motogadget with the lens plate fabricated by Billy himself.
If you want to know more about this unique build read issue 12 of Tank Moto for a blow by blow account of how it was made. If you want to see The Hooligan in the flesh (or perhaps own her) visit Rogue Motorcycles in Wangara, Perth, Western Australia.