Custom motorcycles take many forms, depending on the ‘style’ or ‘look’ wanted by the stylist or designer. In the case of the Kenstomoto Demolisher, Malaysian vehicle designer Kenny Yeoh wanted it to look like a “Zaku”, a military mobile suit from the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series.
Starting with a 2013 Benelli TnT600, Yeoh received a commission from a customer to “do as you wish” with the naked 600 cc sportsbike. With a blank canvas, Yeoh stripped the TnT600 apart, and carefully considered how to integrate the look he wanted into the base bike. It’s clear how unique it is, photographed here alongside a 2015 Benelli TnT600S that retails for around RM32,000.
Leaving the engine and gearbox alone, Yeoh went to town on the rear sub-frame and head unit. Using local resources at his disposal as a full-time heavy vehicle designer, Yeoh replaced the stock headlight with a custom projector unit surrounded by DRLs. The stock instrument cluster was relocated lower, just above the lights, giving the cyclopean-look common to Zaku helmets.
Yeoh fabricated a custom set of brackets that look like OEM units to hold the lights, and these were bent and folded at the facility where he works, then powder-coated. A gear-shift indicator was placed in a custom housing in the handlebar clamps, and the bars were replaced with clip-ons set low on the up-side forks.
Turning his attention to the back of the bike, the sub-frame was shortened, and a custom fibre-glass tail-piece molded to suit. The quality of the work is so good that even upon close examination, no gaps or wavy moulding could be discerned. Using the original seat attachment points, the Demolisher retains its stock front seat, now covered in leather.
A new chain-guard was fabricated, and the bike’s name, along with the Kenstomoto brand, laser cut into the rear half. The wheels were left stock, although treated to a new coat of contrasting red and black, and the Italian tri-colore pin-striped on the wheel edge.
The huge rear-facing exhausts were deleted, replaced with custom piping that routed the exhaust below the swing-arm pivot and to the side. A nice finishing touch was a custom-painted helmet at the client’s request, proudly displaying the Kenstomoto logo and name.
Being a vehicle designer, Yeoh has the advantage of local access to parts and fabrication machines not accessible to most custom-builders, simply because such machines are not cost-effective for one-off custom builds. Concentrating solely on the design elements, styling and components, he prefers to leave the mechanicals to the professionals, admitting that engine work and performance mods are not his forte.
Preferring to emphasise quality over quantity, Yeoh tends to work on one custom build at a time, and he chooses his customers with exactitude. Kenstomoto as a brand is a passion for him, and Yeoh is working hard to build recognition. The Demolisher is a wholly Malaysian design, using components and parts sourced locally and overseas.
Currently Yeoh provides a build kit that replicates the look of his first build that came of a Kawasaki ER-6N, which is available for order from the Kenstomoto Facebook page. Having handed over the Demolisher to its owner a few weeks ago, Yeoh is currently working on another Kawasaki-based custom-build, which he hopes to unveil during the Art of Speed 2016 in May, held at Malaysia Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS), Serdang.
GALLERY: 2015 Benelli TnT600S
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