One-Off Kawasaki W650 Bobber Is Dripping With Vintage Charm and Graceful Touches

Being among Taiwan’s finest bike-modding artisans, Ma Yicheng and Lu Yongyu were perfectly capable of bringing his vision to life. The commission didn’t present any specific instructions as far as design goes, because 2LOUD’s client had full faith in the duo’s abilities. He simply wanted it to look rad and be finished before his birthday, while all the stylistic decisions were made at the shop’s discretion.

As the project’s starting point, the guys went with a 2006 variant of Kawasaki’s W650 lineup. The machine’s air-cooled 675cc parallel-twin came with 49 ponies and 41 pound-feet (56 Nm) of torque out of the box, giving it a top speed of 110 mph (177 kph). Those figures are all pretty decent, for sure, but Lu and Ma sought to spice things up in the powertrain sector before addressing the cosmetic and structural changes.

For starters, they blessed the twin-cylinder engine with a comprehensive rebuild, fitting an 803cc kit from Posh in the process. On the intake side of the equation, we now find Keihin FCR flat-slide carbs measuring 37 millimeters (about 1.5 inches) in diameter. These bad boys were topped with high-grade K&N air filters, and the mods got even saucier when it came to the exhaust.

Keeping the fabrication work in-house, the pros over at 2LOUD came up with some gorgeous stainless-steel pipes, an accompanying heat shield, and drilled brackets for the silencers. Next up, they busied themselves with cleaning up the frame and revising its rear-end geometry to suit the bobber theme. The subframe was trimmed and then topped with a custom black leather saddle, while the stock swingarm got ditched in favor of a handmade stainless-steel substitute.

In that area, suspension duties are assigned to adjustable aftermarket shock absorbers from Ohlins’ inventory. Staying true to the retro vibe, 2LOUD attached a traditional drum brake to the swingarm and proceeded to apply a similar treatment at the front end. The vented drum you’ll see there was taken from a Yamaha SR400, then laced to the factory rim via stainless-steel spokes just like the rear unit.

The wheels received Shiko dual-purpose knobbies fore and aft, but some mild suspension tweaks took place at the front end, as well. Although Ma and his teammate kept the standard W650 forks, they performed a comprehensive refurbishment inside out and had them shortened to get the Kawi’s stance just right. A tailor-made fork brace adds some structural rigidity down low, and there’s no front fender to speak of.

A small mudguard can be spotted at the back, though, sitting right beneath the solo saddle and accompanied by a circular LED taillight on the right-hand side. Moving northward, we come across a snazzy peanut-style gas tank with an integrated Motogadget speedometer up top. The cockpit area is home to a billet aluminum top clamp and a new stainless-steel handlebar manufactured from scratch.

Black rubber grips and minimalistic switches adorn the latter, while a vintage-looking headlamp can be seen a bit further ahead. Other bespoke parts found throughout this build include a slim chain guard and CNC-machined foot pegs with built-in rear turn signals. This is a very unusual placement for the blinkers, adding an extra pinch of uniqueness to the whole package. All the electronics were linked to a Motogadget controller hidden below the seat.

Shorai provided a compact lithium-ion battery, which lives in a handmade box close to the swingarm pivot. The skilled 2LOUD duo really went to town with the fabrication work on this bobbed Kawi, clearly setting it apart from builds that rely heavily on off-the-shelf hardware. With all the bits pieced together, the final step had to do with the bike’s color scheme, and this is where the guys called in reinforcements.

To get the best possible result, they outsourced the paint job to the experts over at Line & Circle. The fuel tank and rear fender were wrapped in a stunning mixture of blue and silver, joined by gold leaf and light blue detailing that looks absolutely superb. The motorcycle itself was officially complete once the paintwork had been applied, but Lu and Ma had one more trick up their sleeves.

They sent the key to Metalize Productions, where it was fitted with a brass- and silver-plated embellishment whose shape echoes the original tank badges. The number three is engraved into it, as it holds some sort of personal significance for the W650’s owner. Great attention to detail is among 2LOUD’s many strengths, and this little add-on offers an excellent example of how far it can go!