Enrico ‘Ricky’ de Haas founded Wannabe-Choppers at just 15, brimming with imagination and unaffected by the conventions that often accompany adulthood. 20 years later, he’s still breaking the mold.
Based in Hüttenberg, just north of Frankfurt in Germany, Wannabe’s latest build is a 172 cc two-stroke land speed motorcycle with a curb weight of just 53 kilos [117 lbs]. There’s no front brake, the seat barely exists, and the bike is almost certainly not street-legal. But it is wholly awesome.

Nicknamed ‘Zwei’ (German for ‘two’), this cheeky racer is a sequel of sorts to a bike that Wannabe built a few years ago. A diminutive chopper with a deceptive electric motor, that bike tipped the scales at 79.4 kilos [175 lbs]. To celebrate the shop’s 20th anniversary, Ricky set out to build something smaller, lighter, and petrol-powered. The fabrication work on this pint-sized speeder is pretty out there. Wannabe constructed the frame out of aluminum tubing, and then cast the fuel tank, rear fender, and seat out of aluminum. The auxiliary parts are welded directly to the frame, effectively making them part of the chassis and adding stability.

Next, Wannabe took a set of Manitou Dorado mountain bike forks, polished them, modified their yokes, and fitted them to the front of the bike. A cast aluminum structure was welded to the top yoke to support the custom handlebars and chopper-style headlight (which came from CT Newman...