Commuter motorcycles don’t usually excel in the styling department, but they don’t need to either. As long as they’re cheap, sip fuel, and are dainty enough to weave through traffic, you’re good.
On the bustling roads of Taiwan, the commuter bike is king. One of the world’s largest manufacturers of scooters and small-capacity motorcycles, SYM, is headquartered there. And it’s also the home of Max Ma?the sole operator of Taipei-based custom house, 2LOUD.

In the short time that we’ve been following 2LOUD’s work, Max has consitently wowed us. This time, he’s created a stylish city runabout using the vanilla SYM Wolf 125. (It?s a smaller version of the Wolf 150 sold in the US for just under $3,000.) And it does run about; the owner is an interior designer, who uses it to navigate Tapei’s crowded streets as she hops from project to project.

That meant Max had to do more than just make the SYM look pretty?it needed a performance boost too. ?I hoped to make it elegant, refined and bright,? he tells us, ?and make it more versatile.?
Max started by swapping out the 2007-model Wolf’s 125 cc motor for a 190 cc unit, sourced from an obscure Chinese manufacturer. The swap was reportedly not too hard?all Max had to do was fabricate a new engine mounting bracket.

?At first, I didn’t dare to use the Chinese-made engine,? he says. ?But after a few friends used this engine, they gave it a good evaluation?and on...