I can hear you thinking, “What is he talking about?” Well if you’re the least bit familiar with Jim Guiffra and his company, AFT Customs in Jackson, California, you already know what I’m yip-yapping about. Jim not only specializes in wild customs of the metric persuasion, but his company also specializes in providing a talented selection of TIG-welding, wrench wielding, custom...

     This is not the first, by any means, or the last Yamaha XS650 based custom that’s been featured on Barnett’s Magazine Online nor will it be the last. Any bike having a long production run like the XS 650 (1968-1985) did in various guises is sure to have its own cult following whether they’re purists or customizers. The basic simplicity of the 650cc air-cooled vertical twin is...

    This little glittery gem of an XS 650 is courtesy of fun guys at Monstercraftsman in Baltimore, Maryland, who specialize in every aspect of this particular model bike. In case the name Monstercraftsman (www.monstercraftsman.com/) rings a bell, it’s probably because Barnett’s Magazine Online recently did a feature on another of their builds we called “Simple, Brutal &...

    The sub, sub-compact built by Cincinnati industrialist, Powel Crosley Jr., at his factories in Marion and Richmond, Indiana, was a fountainhead of wild ideas. Oh you know little things his first CoBra engine (no, not that one), a water-cooled 724cc single-overhead cam inline four-cylinder that had an aluminum crankcase/cradle with a Copper Brazed stamped steel block back in...

      Someone really put a hell of a lot of thought into this build before beginning the ground-up frame as this whole design really hangs cohesively together from one end to the other with no eye-ball twitching design moments along the way. With a minimum of tubing, a stretched, sleek overall profile was established with a stance that could only say “chopper.” Everything just...

    First, I have to give a thumbs up to the unknown builder for building something this over the top, yet it’s not over the top. The vintage-looking frame was built from a pile of tubing and not some old crock although it does resemble a ‘50s bicycle frame I have out in my garage. There are curves just for the sake of curves and that’s okay as whoever built it surely wanted to...

     Tim Bradham of TBC Hot Rods & Bikes in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is the man to point a finger at if for some stupid reason you hate anything non-Harley. Tim’s been turning out a bunch of Harley customs along with race cars and hot rods to die for so he’s got an open mind and I can only hope you do to. Getting back to the Triumph aspect, most bobber/chopper Triumphs...

     I don’t know about you, but I know I was totally flummoxed that the first major motorcycle manufacturer to showcase a running/riding fully electric motorcycle (not a scooter or something silly) was the company known for air-cooled pushrod V-twin motorcycles. The last H-D shocker back in 2001, the V-Rod, has the Revolution engine with its water-cooling and engine architecture,...

      Linda Dady has been riding for years and also married to Brian Dady, owner of the Motorcycle Clinic in Kissimmee, Florida, so she technically qualifies as someone who might not be more involved with the mechanical side of things other than dropping off her keys at the shop Brain’s owned since Richard “I am not a crook” Nixon was still in office. Over the past four decades,...

     This is not the first time Barnett’s Magazine Online has featured a custom based on a Yamaha’s venerable twin, but this has to be the baddest bad ass XS 650 hot rod we’ve run across. Devon Eckert, owner of Whiskey Tango Choppers in Thomasville, North Carolina, built a race-style bike like a lot of XS owners do, but it’s not the typical street tracker or café racer you expect....