Written by Martin Hodgson
It is home to the 21st century’s most vibrant and powerful economy, with millions of high-tech products created there every single day. Yet China is also a land with a rich history, a remarkable culture many millennia old and Confucianism that has spread great wisdom to the world; so where else would you expect to find a bike builder that likes to take modern retro machines and give them a futuristic touch! Beijing’s best builder is back, as Luo Hao of Mandrill Garage transforms a traditional Triumph T100 into an out of this world Sci-Fi slaying racer he calls Power Street.

Things are booming in the custom motorcycle scene in China, even if much of it is not seen, Mandrill Garage is proof positive of the explosion in demand for good builders. Luo tells us the team spent the first half of the year working non-stop, have a workshop full of builds underway and are well and truly booked out for the rest of the year. And it’s Luo’s particular style of bike building that is bringing them through the door. ?Now people like to customise bikes, some like to make modern bikes to retro. But I like on the other hand to make retro bikes have performance, make it more futuristic.?
For this build his client brought him a very modern retro machine in the form of a 2014 Triumph T100, complete with spoked wheels, peashooter exhausts and plenty of old English charm. Just the sort of base Luo likes to give a futuristic touch too and he imme...