Rick is the perfect example of a self-taught man. He used to live in Johannesburg, South Africa, and hang out with Marnitz Venter?whose lovely vintage Triumph bobber we featured a year ago.
But Rick moved back to London in 2016, disillusioned after his restored BMW 635CSi was stolen. ?I have always been restoring and modding cars and bikes, but decided to take the plunge and start doing full nut and bolt builds when I got to London,? he tells us.

It?s an interesting counterpoint to Rick?s day job?he works remotely for a Californian tech start-up, and until recently, traveled all over the world. ?It’s quite different from building motorcycles, but also requires painstaking attention to detail and quality project management.?
Rick picked up a couple of Kawasaki W650s for a song; one was a runner, and the other one wasn?t. So while riding the runner all over the UK, he decided to resurrect the dud.
The two main things that need sorting on a factory W650 are the brakes and the suspension. (?The standard suspension is acceptable at best, but the brakes are dire.?) So Rick has developed a Big Brake Kit for the W650 and big brother W800, with a custom offset, 300mm floating disc. Rick has even machined the fins on the caliper to match the master cylinder.
The caliper is a custom-built 6-piston billet piece from Harrison, and the master cylinder is a 14mm K-Tech unit. ?The change in braking feel and performance is phenomenal. I usually use a 17mm Nissin radial master on...