The thought of a Mad Max-inspired motorcycle typically conjures up a very distinct image. But not every vehicle in George Miller’s dystopian film series was a scraggy death trap, covered in scavenged materials and rust. Cast your mind back to the very first Mad Max flick, and MFP officer Jim ‘Goose’ Rains’ 1977 Kawasaki KZ1000 highway patrol bike.
Goose’s bike was originally custom-built by La Parisienne in Melbourne specifically for the movie, with inspiration taken from the Bol D?Or-style endurance racers of the time. Highlights included a high front fairing, a boxy tail section, alloy wheels, and a slick silver and blue paint scheme that was a far cry from the gritty aesthetic of later Mad Max sequels.

This faithful replica is the work of Tiago Gonçalves and Luis Costa at Unik Edition in Lisbon, Portugal. And the idea to build it actually started as a joke. ?We had a 1981 Kawasaki KZ1000 in the shop,? says Tiago, ?and a passing friend asked if we knew that this bike was the same model from the 1979 movie, Mad Max. Of course we knew, and that was one of the reasons why we liked the bike so much. He jokingly suggested that it would be interesting to build a replica of the bike.?

As implied by their name, Unik Edition’s main focus is customization. But they do restoration work too, and don’t mind building the occasional replica. ?Obviously we like the whole creative process of building and developing pieces,? says Tiago, ?but...