6 Can’t-Miss Custom Motorcycles at the 2025 Handbuilt Show in Texas
Courtesy of Antonio Schefle
The motorcycle as a canvas for artistic expression will once again be celebrated as the Handbuilt Show returns for its 11th consecutive year. From March 28 through 30, the 100,000-square-foot Austin American-Statesman, in Austin, Texas, will display a field of more than 150 custom bikes and, for the first time, automobiles—all presented in partnership with sponsor BMW Motorrad. The curated assemblage reflects the passion of event founder Alan Stulberg, whose own atelier, Revival Cycles, is known for making world-class, one-off machines.
The exhibition, showcasing the creative work of independent builders from around the globe, will include choppers, café racers, and even some radical contraptions for which no generic description applies. Says Stulberg, “This year, we’re not just pushing boundaries—we’re redefining them.” Here, a few leaders of the pack.
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1. Aurora | Antonio Schefle
Image Credit: Courtesy of Antonio Schefle Having recently relocated stateside from Spain, Houston-based Antonio Schefle fastidiously reimagines BMW bikes, as epitomized by Aurora. The example presents a 1,000 cc BMW Airhead engine, circa 1993, combined with modern performance upgrades to create a restomod café racer that, according to the builder, “can launch you up to 130 mph while giving you the confidence imparted by a 2025 motorcycle.” Aurora’s profile is defined by a classic BMW R100, with an R90-adapted fuel tank, and a custom fairing, belly pan, and tail, fabricated in Kevlar and fiberglass. The one-off frame features a single adjustable rear shock as well as a bespoke seat using Porsche pepita fabric and burnished leather. Triumph Daytona 955 forks—with a custom triple tree—and 320 mm floating rotors comprise the front end, while laced rims and a rear drum brake recall historic race bikes. As for the machine’s proud voice, it’s delivered through a simple straight-pipe exhaust.
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2. Krauser Domani | Michael Krauser
Image Credit: Courtesy of Michael Krauser Produced from 1989 through 1997, the Domani (Italian for “tomorrow”) was developed by Michael Krauser, a sidecar racer for BMW who won the National German Championships from 1955 to 1958 and also piloted a successful motorcycle-luggage brand of his own. The three-wheeler is underpinned by BMW mechanicals and boasts a frame and chassis—featuring center-hub steering—built by Louis Christen Racing of Switzerland. Despite a fiberglass body that some say resembles a handheld vacuum, the Domani is fit with an inline-four engine from BMW’s K100 “Flying Brick,” though goosed to 140 hp by an intercooled turbo, allowing the vehicle to reach a certified top speed of 140 mph. This example, No. 1 of 135, is owned by Klaus Huenecke. “It has visited the Isle of Man under the first owner, and I have ridden it on track last year at the Barber Vintage Festival in Birmingham, Alabama,” says Huenecke. “It rides very smooth, with no ill effects at any speed.” We’ll take your word for it, Klaus.
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3. SR1 | Jimmy Messina
Image Credit: Mattia Negrini Michel Messina of France-based Messina Motorcycles has said the SR1 is “a naked street bike, 100 percent designed, engineered, and built by the late Jimmy Messina,” who died from cancer at the age of 28 in 2023. “This bike is more than just a motorcycle; it is my son’s legacy and his soul.” The concept, though, traces back to Michel’s idea of merging an American 1,200 cc V-twin engine with a unique arched-backbone frame from Voxan, the French builder of an ambitious motorcycle that never gained traction in the marketplace. Yet ultimately, Jimmy decided to build his own frame. Constructed around a Buell X1 motor, the SR1 expresses the essence of a modern V-twin café racer, with almost every component fabricated from CNC-machined billet aeronautical-grade aluminum, while the distinctive frame is sculpted in 4130 steel. The SR1 will be a template for a series of customizable lightweight, powerful roadsters that pay tribute to Jimmy Messina’s vision of what a sport motorcycle can be.
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4. Project Legacy One | Khanh Vu
Image Credit: Courtesy of Khanh Vu Project Legacy One began as Khanh Vu’s senior-thesis project for the Industrial Design Program within the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design at the University of Houston. “I wanted to create a futuristic yet realistic motorcycle that focuses on improving rider safety, combining my passion for design with a meaningful purpose,” explains Vu, who notes that he took “inspiration from the lore of Tron and cyberpunk.” The bike is equipped with front and rear cameras to give the rider enhanced visibility of their surroundings, as well as integrated LED lighting for greater road safety. As with many professional assignments, the timeline was extremely tight. “The most notable aspect of the project was the dedication it took to build a fully functional, 3-D-printed electric motorcycle in just three-and-a-half months,” says Vu. He adds that the process included “going from concept sketches to 3-D modeling, printing, and assembling both the structural and electronic components” within that compressed period.
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5. 1973 CR750 | Dalton Devore
Image Credit: Courtesy of Dalton Devore Honda’s CR750 is among the most iconic competition motorcycles of the early 1970s, and although only four factory racers were built, the manufacturer offered a scant few aftermarket kits for owners to transform their CB750 street bikes into the real deal. “I’ve had the Honda bug since I was 13 years old,” says Dalton Devore, now age 29. Inspired by mentor Mark McGrew’s own CR750 replica racer, Devore spent five years chasing down the fabulously rare parts required to build his 1973 CR750 to motorsport spec. The finished project is composed of mostly original components that include bodywork, exhaust, and Borrani rims, in addition to the original close-ratio five-speed transmission run at Daytona by the factory team. The heavily upgraded 750 cc transverse straight-four engine makes upwards of 115 hp and revs to 12,500 rpm, about twice the output of the original street bike. Devore plans to campaign his CR750 in this year’s Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man.
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6. Rango | Gordon Olliff
Image Credit: Chad Sims Made for the 2024 Smokeout Garage Buildoff contest, Rango is the quintessential hand- fabricated chopper. Powered by a Harley-Davidson Big-Twin engine, Gordon Olliff’s reductionist vision began with a basket-case 1986 Harley-Davidson FXR that the seasoned bike builder meticulously brought back to life as a one-of-one creation. The heavily modified frame is dressed in pistachio green, which is set off by the brushed-metal surfaces of the 1,340 cc “Evo” engine, the stainless-steel straight-pipes, the transmission, and the handmade oil tank. The steampunk-industrial look carries through with an unadorned front end from Harley-Davidson’s Heritage Softail model, while featuring Olliff’s novel vertical headlamp and hardly an exposed cable, brake, or fender in sight. Olliff, who constructed and painted the bike over eight months, says that “there isn’t a nut or bolt that wasn’t turned or crowned on a lathe. It’s chopped, lowered, and superclean, like no other FXR.”
Authors
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Robert Ross
