Telescopic forks have become the de facto solution for motorcycle front suspension, but most major manufacturers have dabbled in alternative designs at some point. Yamaha had the GTS1000 in the 90s?a sports tourer with a front swingarm setup that was vaguely similar to hub centered steering.
The GTS1000 wasn’t a big seller when it launched, but these days it scores mega points for being rare and unusual. It’s also an unlikely donor for a café racer project. Luckily that didn’t stop Aki Suokas from tearing into his own GTS, to create this sharp blue machine.

Aki lives in Finland, and has been riding since the age of 10. He credits his father with not only teaching him how to ride, but igniting his interest in the technical side of motorcycles. So he’s been modifying his own bikes since he took up stunt riding at 16. Aki has a day job, but he dedicates his down time to motorcycling, and even races in the Finnish ice racing series during winter. Most of his builds are street fighters or race bikes?but he’s recently developed an interest in café racers. So when he found a 1997 Yamaha GTS1000 in full touring trim, panniers included, his brain went wild.

?I like to build bikes that are not only for show,? he says. ?I always want to build a bike that you can ride.?
?From the beginning it was clear I want to build a café racer-style bike from this. Anyway, I didn’t know what the bike would look like when it was ready. I had no clear visi...