STREET FIGHTING MAN. Custom Operational Group?s ?Hooligan? Yamaha XTZ660 Cafe Scrambler
Written by Andrew Jones
The military vibe of Poland’s Custom Operational Group?s name is not some mere affectation designed to be cool or edgy. On the contrary, shop owner ?Piotr? is an honest to goodness army man who builds bikes when not on duty and answers our interview questions from some remote Polish forest during a break in training exercises. Nor is the name an empty threat. Piotr?s approach to building custom bikes is no-nonsense and ruthlessly efficient, too. He designs his bikes like he’s designing a combat vehicle, except the fog of war is swapped for the thrill of the ride. Here’s his latest salvo; a Yamaha Tenere XTZ660 he calls the ?Hooligan?.
Piotr takes the stresses and troubles of military service and uses his garage to render new lives from dusty, tired classics. Mostly wrenching on Japanese bikes from the 70s and 80s along with some Harley iron, the garage is equipped with nothing but basic equipment. Most of the necessary parts are made by hand, according to the oldest of old school custom motorcycle construction rules. From the locksmithing and welding through to the electrics and painting, everything is handmade by Piotr. And when he’s not dodging bullets or building bikes, he’s spreading the word about custom culture in Poland.
Piotr?s donor here was a Yamaha XTZ 660. And to say that it’s an unusual starting point for a custom build is like saying a Russian tank is a little bit noisy. Far from it being a conscio...
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