Photo: Philipp Wulk
Although we love pretty much everything about this beauty, its paintwork may just be our favorite trait.
Street bikes transformed into scramblers are the order of the day in the custom bike world, but we don’t often see a dual-sport getting the road-oriented, cafe racer treatment. Nonetheless, that’s precisely how Diamond Atelier of Munich chose to tackle the project we’ll be looking at today. As a starting point, co-founders Tom Konecny and Pablo Steigleder picked a 1992 variant of Suzuki’s DR650 range.
Turning it into the sporty one-off pictured above was no walk in the park, of course, yet Tom and Pablo aced the customization process from start to finish! We’ll dive straight in since there’s a lot to cover here, and you’ll immediately notice that every piece of stock bodywork has been deleted by Diamond Atelier’s specialists.
Once the teardown was complete, the guys turned their attention straight to the footwear department. Gone are the DR650’s factory hoops, making way for a fresh pair of aftermarket substitutes that measure 17 inches at both ends. The rims have been laced to the stock wheel hubs, and they’re hugged by top-grade Racetec RR tires from Metzeler.
Diamond also got rid of the motorcycle’s OEM suspension hardware, replacing it with shorter 41 mm (1.6-inch) forks up north and a premium aftermarket shock absorber at six o’clock. To further improve the DR650’s handling characteristics, its new telescopic forks got fitted with modern internals before the suspension work was wrapped up.
Next, the main framework has been revised to bring about a sportier posture, while the subframe was ditched altogether in favor of a custom alternative. Look up close, and you’ll spot a discreet LED taillight recessed into the rearmost tip of the tubing – almost invisible when turned off, but as bright as you could want once it’s on.
As far as bodywork goes, that vintage-looking gas tank was donated by an unidentified Honda from the seventies, and it now features a flush-mounted filler cap. We also find a groovy fairing with integrated LED lighting at the front and a pointy tail unit out back, both of which were made from scratch using metal sheet.
In between the fuel tank and tail, Diamond Atelier’s artisans placed an elegant solo seat upholstered in cowhide. The DR650’s cockpit houses digital Motogadget instrumentation and a custom top clamp, along with countless goodies from ABM’s catalog. These include clip-on handlebars, adjustable control levers, and new switchgear – all complemented by billet rear sets from the same brand at the back.
The electrical equipment was rewired through a Kellermann control module, which is hidden out of sight beneath the tank. After they’d rebuilt the specimen’s single-cylinder mill, Tom and his teammate finished it off with a K&N air filter and high-mounted exhaust plumbing that ends in a SuperTrapp muffler. Finally, there’s the paintwork – a mesmerizing black and grey mosaic accompanied by turquoise accents.
Turning it into the sporty one-off pictured above was no walk in the park, of course, yet Tom and Pablo aced the customization process from start to finish! We’ll dive straight in since there’s a lot to cover here, and you’ll immediately notice that every piece of stock bodywork has been deleted by Diamond Atelier’s specialists.
Once the teardown was complete, the guys turned their attention straight to the footwear department. Gone are the DR650’s factory hoops, making way for a fresh pair of aftermarket substitutes that measure 17 inches at both ends. The rims have been laced to the stock wheel hubs, and they’re hugged by top-grade Racetec RR tires from Metzeler.
Diamond also got rid of the motorcycle’s OEM suspension hardware, replacing it with shorter 41 mm (1.6-inch) forks up north and a premium aftermarket shock absorber at six o’clock. To further improve the DR650’s handling characteristics, its new telescopic forks got fitted with modern internals before the suspension work was wrapped up.
Next, the main framework has been revised to bring about a sportier posture, while the subframe was ditched altogether in favor of a custom alternative. Look up close, and you’ll spot a discreet LED taillight recessed into the rearmost tip of the tubing – almost invisible when turned off, but as bright as you could want once it’s on.
As far as bodywork goes, that vintage-looking gas tank was donated by an unidentified Honda from the seventies, and it now features a flush-mounted filler cap. We also find a groovy fairing with integrated LED lighting at the front and a pointy tail unit out back, both of which were made from scratch using metal sheet.
In between the fuel tank and tail, Diamond Atelier’s artisans placed an elegant solo seat upholstered in cowhide. The DR650’s cockpit houses digital Motogadget instrumentation and a custom top clamp, along with countless goodies from ABM’s catalog. These include clip-on handlebars, adjustable control levers, and new switchgear – all complemented by billet rear sets from the same brand at the back.
The electrical equipment was rewired through a Kellermann control module, which is hidden out of sight beneath the tank. After they’d rebuilt the specimen’s single-cylinder mill, Tom and his teammate finished it off with a K&N air filter and high-mounted exhaust plumbing that ends in a SuperTrapp muffler. Finally, there’s the paintwork – a mesmerizing black and grey mosaic accompanied by turquoise accents.
Google News