As someone who spent his teen years with a skateboard under his feet, I see parallels between the skate and custom bike worlds. As with surfing and art, there’s a common thread lurking just below the surface.
But the influence is usually very subtle. It’s more evident in the riders, their personal philosophies and the clothes they wear, than the actual motorcycles themselves. So what happens when the worlds of motorcycling, skateboarding and art collide"

This audacious Triumph Thruxton from down under, that’s what. If you’re of the school of subtle customization, avert your eyes. But if like me you still wear Vans, and have a skateboard gathering dust somewhere in the house, read on.
It’s the result of a collaboration between Rogue Motorcycle’s Billy Kuyken and Hans Bruechle, better known as HandBrake the Artist. The pair crossed paths twelve months ago at a motorcycle show in Western Australia, where the seed was planted for a joint project.
?I was walking up and down the street at the York Motorcycle Festival, and the one thing that caught my eye was Billy?s bike,? Hans recalls. ?He had all these retro helmets on his truck, so the first thing I said to him was ?what do you think about me painting a helmet"?
That was it?we got in touch and well, the helmet thing never really happened, but it kind of evolved and I really wanted a custom bike?the time was just right.?

The pair threw mockups and ideas back and forth to se...