rough crafts ‘ballistic trident’ MV Agusta BRUTALE 800RR custom motorcycle

rough crafts ‘ballistic trident’ MV Agusta BRUTALE 800RR custom motorcycle: based upon the MV agusta ‘BRUTALE 800RR’, it has been reworked so radically that it now cuts a menacing sci-fi silhouette somewhat like ridley scott’s ‘alien’. the varese-based manufacturer has collaborated in the creation a number of eye-catching bikes this year, including the ‘F4Z’ collectible motorcycle made with zagato from EICMA 2016. conceived by winston yeh, owner of taipei-based rough crafts, it carries the same athletic stance; carbon-fiber finish; and bodywork creases, that have become signature of the custom bike shop.

all images © JL photography

rough crafts captures the rich racing history of vintage MV agusta, while looking at old pictures with racing vintage GP, winston noticed that these old GP bikes can be immediately identified from their full fairing. this was the biggest visual reference that he wanted for the design, however the ‘vintage dustbin’ faces a lot of side wind. additionally, the fairing needs to be made very wide, and turns must be restricted.

influenced by vintage GP bike design

winston wanted to solve this age-old issue, so this is the ‘modern dustbin’ he came up with, which turns with the forks creating super-narrow front and side profiles. from the top of the windscreen, the peak of the tank, to the top of the tail section–it forms a perfect line. 

‘modern dustbin’ looking clean

after the shaping was completed, it was time to turn attention to the finer things. winston comments, ‘all of the detail pieces just kind of fall together effortlessly, I even designed a set of vintage GP inspired wheels to enhance the look even more.’ 

bespoke rough crafts wheels

the brakes are supplied by france-based beringer brakes, which also handcrafted a set of one-off discs to match the custom 6-spokes wheels design. winston usually makes his own exhaust system for every bike he builds, but this time he found myself being drawn-back to the hp corse ‘hydro-tre’s’ undulating look, who were even willing to provide one of their very first production batches for the build.

flowing exhaust from hp corse

the front fairing itself was designed with a full-scaled 3D model, then carved from a huge chunk of wood, before it was molded into carbon fiber. the entire fairing can be mounted / dismounted in a couple minutes, with the clamp designed to fit a headlight without the fairing should somebody need to ride it on the road.