Unique Buell M2 Cyclone-Powered Bobber Wraps V-Twin Muscle in Hardtail Skeleton

Ever since the days of the Ford Model T, people have been tweaking motor vehicles to better suit their needs. Some do it out of pure necessity, while others see enhanced performance as the ultimate goal and thus dispose of any unessential creature comforts to reduce weight. This objective is precisely what gave birth to the first bobber motorcycles after the Second World War, followed by the more extreme choppers a few years later.

Generally speaking, the line dividing these two categories is fairly blurred, as they both revolve around the principle of stripping a cruiser naked of any hardware deemed superfluous. Bobbers tend to retain a decent chunk of what made the original bike practical, but a chopper won’t hesitate to adopt characteristics like crazy rake angles and hardtail frames.

Many years ago, Harley-Davidson's machines were by far the most popular platforms for these types of conversions, though that’s not necessarily the case today. Custom motorcycle builders love to push boundaries when conceiving a bespoke jewel, so they’ll sometimes have the least expected candidates transformed into full-blown chopper-style artwork.

For example, we’ve recently admired a dazzling BMW R nineT-powered showstopper crafted by Nigel Petrie – a talented Australian with a great eye for detail. Honestly, it’s difficult to express just how much we dig Nigel’s two-wheeler charmer, but the creature we’ll be inspecting below is no less impressive! This sexy thing was put together by a German specialist named Martin Becker, who runs Eppelheim-based MB Cycles.

The chosen donor for the exploit pictured above was a former Glemseck 101 race bike, sporting a hardtail framework and a 1996 Buell M2 Cyclone’s air-cooled 1,203cc V-twin engine. Martin procured this specimen in preparation for a future development, and a faithful customer who owns a number of his builds just so happened to pay him a visit two days later. Upon seeing the machine at MB's moto lab, the client simply couldn’t resist the urge to commission yet another project, so it was game on for Becker.

Having been given the freedom to utilize the canvas however he saw fit, the craftsman began by upgrading the twin-cylinder powerplant with a myriad of aftermarket parts. These include a Dyna S ignition setup, premium S&S Cycle coils, and a Keihin Constant Vacuum carburetor, which is topped with a high-grade K&N air filter. At the other end of the combustion cycle, the reworked intake is appropriately complemented by one-off headers and a snazzy exhaust muffler from Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde.

When his work on the engine had been concluded, Martin turned his attention to the chassis. In the footwear department, he installed a 21-inch Rev Tech front wheel and a Harley Breakout’s fat rear module, both of which are hugged by Avon’s top-shelf Cobra Chrome tires. The brakes were assembled using brand-new discs, along with a four-piston Beringer caliper up north and a twin-piston Performance Machine item down south.

As the Cyclone’s front suspension featured exceptional Showa forks, these goodies have been kept on the motorcycle alongside the V-twin mill to this very day. However, Becker carbon-coated their lower sections and shortened the stanchions so that the titan’s bottom-most frame tubes lie parallel to the ground. In between the fork legs, we find a V-Rod's tweaked fairing that wears Kellerman turn signals, flanking a 4.5-inch headlamp.

On the opposite end, the bespoke marvel received a beefy rear fender with integrated LED lighting, as well as an eccentric license plate holder and one gorgeous leather saddle. Underneath the solo seat, there’s an aluminum oil chamber that’s been manufactured in-house, while a tiny bolt-on fuel tank can be spotted above the 1,203cc power source. The cockpit packs clip-on handlebars and digital Motogadget instrumentation, with the finishing touches consisting of an Antigravity lithium-ion battery and LSL foot pegs.