Written by Martin Hodgson
In an industrial area near the wharves, on a white weather beaten wall, is an old Castrol sign that looks like it marks the spot of an old English workshop. Step inside and the ’60s Triumphs and girder forks leaning up against a Pre War drill press only seem to confirm the earlier suspicions. But Newcastle upon Tyne this is not, welcome to Hiroshima and the now world famous workshop of custom builder extraordinaire Kengo Kimura. His Heiwa Motorcycles are instantly recognisable for their classic Japanese aesthetic and relentless pursuit of perfection. From an incredible portfolio comes his latest Kawasaki W650 build, his tenth, and this piece of bobbed motorcycle Nirvana is arguably his best.

A brief glimpse of a Kimura-san custom and any half serious motorcycle aficionado knows exactly who built it. But Heiwa Motorcycles are not outrageous, there is no signature colour scheme or gigantic logo to give it away. In fact there is a simple beauty that would have the newcomer thinking they could copy the look. And you better believe that many have tried and all have failed. These are machines that are built with the hands of a man who has laid them on hundreds of bikes, who has earned his reputation in the tough judging eyes of the Japanese show circuit and who approaches his craft like each move will determine his next breath. Kengo Kimura. Pipe sensei
The Kawasaki W650 is the perfect donor for Kengo to go to work on, the vintage styling and cla...