It’s almost time for Fuel Bespoke Motorcycles to kick off their eighth annual Scram Africa expedition. It’s a 4,000 km dirt tour that happens in North Africa, specifically for classics and modern classics. So it’s also a great excuse to build a new custom bike.
The Spanish shop has just buttoned up this retro-fabulous scrambler, and it suits the Scram ethos perfectly. It’s based on a 2018 Royal Enfield Himalayan, chosen for its simplicity and relatively compact proportions.

The Himalayan’s 411 cc single only makes 24.5 hp and 32 Nm; they’re not big numbers, but neither is the purchase price ($4,499).
?We think it can perform pretty well in the Atlas mountains and Morocco desert,? says Fuel boss Karles Vives. ?Speed is not as important as lightness, maneuverability and simplicity.?
While the Himalayan makes sense on paper, it’s a bit hard to figure out visually. Still, Karles and his team saw potential right away. ?From the first time we saw the Himalayan,? he says, ?we thought that inside that bike there was a potential rally bike from the 80s.?
?It calls to mind motorcycles like the Yamaha XT500 or Honda XL, prepared for the first editions of the Paris Dakar. Simple, light and functional bikes.?

Fuel’s work on the Himalayan is clever rather than exhaustive. They’ve kept the stock tank and most of the original subframe?but ditched the gawky headlight fairing and accompanying frame-slash-tank guards.
Up front, you...