Building a custom bike that does one thing well is an achievement in of itself, building a custom motorcycle that is capable of being different is somewhat exceptional, from the very first build this is exact what guys of Mean Green Customs, of Mumbai, are doing. After the bobbed 500cc Royal Enfield, we’re lucky enough to see the next creation by them ~ a 225ccc Karizma turned into a super cool untarnished Cafe Racer! Lets hear it from them ~
“Sliver” – 225 Karizma Caferacer
When I started thinking about this build I knew I was making a cafe racer but then I also wanted to make something more radical. This bike started as a thought turned into a sketch and then took birth to reality. As our second bike I wanted to explore my skills and add as much as detail to the bike, keeping it clean and vintage at the same time.
The engine is from a 223cc Hero Honda Karizma. Karizma has the tried and tested, but slightly detuned version of 223 cc SOHC air-cooled engine from the CRF230 series of enduro/MX/supermoto bikes that are sold in the USA and South American markets. It has a five-speed gearbox in place of the CRF’s six-speed. The engine is an all-aluminium, under square engine (bore 65.5 mm or 2.58 in and stroke 66.2 mm or 2.61 in) running a compression ratio of 9:1. It features a Kehlin CV carburettor with a CCVI switch. The top speed is around 130 km/h and the 0–60 km/h is achieved around 3.8 seconds.
I think the goals were achieved very well on this bike. I’ll start off with the front suspension as you can see the custom made old school girder fork is blending well with a new design and a shock absorber rather than a spring which works pretty smooth. The rear swing arms were designed to match the overall look and the front girder fork.
Coming to body parts which are usually the main feature of any motorcycle, didn’t really wanted to go with the common café racer tank and cowl which is seen in lots of home builds nowadays; I decided to go with sharp edges and aggressive curvy lines.
The exhaust sits clean in a matte black coated tapered shape with a classic linear patterned chrome shield and precisely machined silver aluminium tip.
The seat upholstery sits thin on high density foam looking clean in dark brown quilted leather. The top of the tank is covered with a racing stripe style leather strip.
The logo sits well on the tank with the leather behind exposing the through the nicely cut stainless steel adding some depth and texture to the Mean Green Custom’s logo lines.
As many riders nowadays want to take off the side mirrors of the bike coz they are too big and messes the appearance of the bike so I decided to design some small and clean bar end mirrors which would complement the bike and wouldn’t look like a burden on the handle bar. That’s not it; the mirror itself is the indicator at the back for the front side which is one of my favourite pieces on the bike with the MGC logo engraved in the center. The rear indicators are located at the tip of the footrest for the rear vision.
Have a lot to say about the bike but I’ll let the bike speak for itself.”
You can catch up with Aditya of Mean Green Customs for any query or quotation:
meangreendesigns@gmail.com
Photo Courtesy :Mean Green Customs
Note : Please mention us (350CC.com) when you contact Mean Green Customs.