Kenstomoto MechaStallion – the fourth awakens

Malaysian designer Kenny Yeoh, under the eponymous Kenstomoto label, has released his fourth special, the Kenstomoto MechaStallion. Based on the Honda CBR250R, Yeoh has taken Honda’s quarter-litre sportsbike and worked it over in the Zaku mecha-style.

For those not in the know, Zaku are the antogonist “mecha”, or piloted mobile suits, from the Japanese manga and anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and its various spin-offs. In the case of the MechaStallion, Yeoh has brought back the cyclopean single headlight, in common with the Zaku suit with its single-lens “eye”.

As is typical of Kenstomoto builds, the MechaStallion is a single-seater, with the rear sub-frame consigned to the scrap heap, along with the pillion foot-pegs. A diminutive pod, perched on two steel risers, carries the tail- and brake-lights, which are LED units.

The steel risers are actually a single piece, attached to a honey-comb 3D printed side-piece. Yeoh explains the rear bodywork was designed this way to provide strength and allow the bike to be moved around easily by placing a hand on the rear pod.

Comprising of several discrete pieces, the body work is 3D printed from ABS plastic. The front end is made up of five pieces, while the side pod and radiator cover come with six and two pieces, respectively, while five different pieces make up the tail cover.

One of Kenstomoto’s trademarks is the unique lighting setup of LEDs that began with the first P6, and continued on to the Demolisher and BOBR. The single headlight on the MechaStallion is not actually the headlight, it’s a fog lamp surrounded by four LED DRLs, with the actual headlights located on either side, above the radiator cowl.

Up top, the standard fuel tank is retained, but now bulkier with the addition of the ABS panels. In the cockpit, a diminutive Trail Tech Vapor LCD dashboard displays all the necessary information, albeit designed for younger riders, as the multi-focal wearing author had issues bringing the small figures into focus.

On the controls, Yeoh added a standard slider switch to the right-side handlebar pod to control the lighting, switching between “off”, “fog light” and “head light”. On the left, the stock light switch toggles between low and high beam.

Yeoh’s prowess with electrics and electronics shines through on this build, with all wiring neatly terminated and tucked away, using proper box-connectors. The MechaStallion was given an entirely new wiring harness, and the quality of work shows, with no weird electrical gremlins popping up, as is sometimes typical with custom builds.

Riding around on the Mechastallion revealed that this is very much a work in progress. Yeoh took pains to explain why the Akrapovic exhaust can sounded the way it did, and why it was held on by zip-ties.

“I apologise, bro, I only fitted the exhaust last night when you told me you were taking the bike this morning,” said Yeoh. That it is still very much a work in progress is something we accept from custom builds, as opposed to factory-finished products, and with that in mind, we rode the MechaStallion out.

And liked it. Removing the rear sub-frame has made this Kenstomoto build very light and nimble, slicing the traffic like a ninja and cutting like a razor blade. The suspension settings were almost spot on for fast, point-and-shoot riding.

So, yes, we liked the MechaStallion. Even the riding position is not as extreme as some of Yeoh’s previous builds. We did want more braking from the front end though, as the stock brake was overwhelmed by a bike that weighed a lot less than stock, and had to deal with last minute braking into corners.

From a styling point of view, the MechaStallion follows Yoeh’s penchant for the Japanese Gundam mechanical look. The folds and angles of the bike, despite its very diminutive size, makes for a very striking machine, which tends to polarise the beholder.

As Yeoh himself put it, “you’re either going to love or hate this bike.” This we found out as we rode it around, drawing a lot of interest from the riding public when we parked it up.

For a fourth effort, Yeoh has certainly raised the bar, putting together a small, light, and quick custom sportsbike in the Kenstomoto style. He has taken on-board comments and criticism, as well as feedback from his previous builds, and has set himself a target of continuous improvement with each build.

“My ideas come all the time, and each one I will either make a giant step forward, or a small improvement, depending on what is needed to be done,” said Yeoh. Having laid his hands on a new 3D scanner, Yeoh is ready to bring some of his ideas to life.

Yeoh’s previous builds, the P6, the Demolisher and BOBR, were previously featured in paultan.org, where the bikes proved to be a reader favourite. We certainly look forward to his next few builds, one of which will be a Harley-Davidson V-Rod that will, hopefully, come out looking like a Cold War era bomber.

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