Argentina’s LBC Motorcycles leads the charge this week, with a HRC-themed Honda CB750 street tracker. We then look at the redesigned Ducati Panigale V4, a custom Triumph Thruxton from Tamarit Motorcycles, and an Indian Scout with vintage Scout chops.
Honda CB750 by LBC Motorcycles As far as customers go, Juan Taurel of Argentina’s LBC Motorcycles has some pretty good ones. One day, his mate Pipe pitched up at the LBC workshop with a sorry-looking 1981 Honda CB750 Custom, a set of Yamaha R1 forks and wheels, and a very short brief. Juan could build whatever he wanted with the donor—as long as it was racy.
The cruiser-ish presence of the CB750C was never intended for the track, so Juan stripped the bike down, lobbing parts into the bin with ruthless efficiency. With the R1 forks mounted up front, a new front fender, and LED headlight were bolted on with custom brackets. The cockpit is suitably simple, with a single round gauge and Biltwell Inc. grips.
A custom stainless steel swingarm was fabricated by Juan’s friend Omar to make room for the R1’s 190-section rear tire. A new subframe was mocked up to accept the custom mono-shock suspension, and paired with a custom fiberglass flat-track style seat. Housing the electronics and battery, it’s remarkably svelte and looks right at home against the stock fuel tank.
The engine and carburetors were rebuilt with a large stock of CB750 parts that Omar had lying around, as getting parts from Japan to Argentina can take some time. Industria Chernobyl built the four-into-one stainless steel exhaust, and the CNC-machined aluminum foot pegs are also custom.
For a bike that was covered in extra bits and bobs when Honda released it, Juan has done a fantastic job of stripping it down to the bare essentials. The seat and tank combination is perfect, and the HRC-inspired livery adds a touch of retro charm to the thoroughly modernized CB750. [Source]
Hot off the press from World Ducati Week comes the hotly anticipated update to the Ducati Panigale V4. The 2025 version marks the seventh generation of the Bologna firm’s premium superbike—if you start counting from the 1987 Ducat 851.
Style, sophistication, and performance are the three markers that Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali highlighted during the presentation. Style comes almost too naturally to the Italians—and even before it was mentioned in Ducati’s presentation, we could tell that the new Panigale V4 takes some inspiration from the iconic 916.
The headlights and fairing design are smoother and far less angular than the previous model. The shark gill slits in the fairing are gone, with the new bodywork giving strong Desmosedici vibes. Body-colored front winglets are now included on the standard model.
Aerodynamic resistance has been decreased by four percent, and a thin black panel now separates the fairing from the tank, which has been redesigned to allow for more movement. The footpegs have been moved 10 mm inwards to increase ground clearance.
Ducati Corse set new stiffness targets for the frame and swingarm on the new Panigale V4, which brings us to the elephant in the room—its double-sided swingarm. The range-topping sportbike from Ducati has had a single-sided swingarm for so long that staunch Ducatisti are rather up-in-arms about the new design. At the end of the day, if it’s good for Francesco Bagnaia’s MotoGP bike, it’s good enough for us mere mortals (plus it looks amazing).
Performance-wise, even though the new V4 engine has more restrictive Euro5+ homologation, Ducati engineers have eked out 0.5 more horsepower. The standard model now produces 216 hp, which can be raised to 228 hp with the Ducati Performance racing exhaust from Akrapovič.
The new Panigale V4 is also the first motorcycle in the world equipped with Brembo’s HypureTM front brake calipers; they’re lighter, disperse heat more efficiently, and offer more constant performance.
Starting at $25,995 the new Panigale V4 is certainly not cheap, but Ducati likes to think it’s the closest thing to a MotoGP bike that is readily available. If you want to go one step further, the new Panigale V4 S starts at $33,895. Go-fast(er) bits on the Panigale V4 S include new SmartEC3.0 electronically-controlled Öhlins suspension, forged aluminum wheels, and a lightweight lithium battery.
It’s expensive, fast, and beautiful, and we can’t wait to have a go. [Ducati Panigale V4]
Triumph Thruxton by Tamarit Motorcycles Tamarit’s latest build (numbered 151) was made for a party-going local from Ibiza who wanted to stand out from the crowd. The customer got exactly what they paid for—because the Spanish custom shop went to town on this rose-gold copper-plated scrambler.
Starting with nothing but an air-cooled Triumph Thruxton 900 engine and a bare frame, Tamarit added countless touches and plenty of custom accouterments. The wheels were the first thing to get covered in copper, matching the new belt drive conversion. Custom number plates at the front and sides of the bike sport the number 19, with the front plate including custom LED headlights to light up the Ibiza streets at night.
Scrambler bars are finished with Motogadget switches, Rizoma bar-end turn signals, new levers, mirrors, and Biltwell Inc. Kung Fu grips. A Motogadget Motoscope Mini is housed in the handlebar clamp for extra cleanliness.
The tank sports copper Tamarit badges and flows effortlessly into a custom-made single seat. Cantilevered over the back end on a new subframe, the leather-clad saddle almost overshadows Tamarit’s stunning mono-shock conversion. Engineered and perfected over many years and countless Triumph modern classic builds, the company’s single-shock swingarm is one of the best-looking on the market.
The engine was rebuilt to ensure a few more lifetimes of reliability and blacked out to match the rest of the bike. Twin exhaust headers run alongside the motor and poke out under the seat, with gorgeous heat shields that are a clever reversal of the front fork cover design. The battery was relocated and now sits under the swingarm.
Tamarit 151 is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but we still like it. Those rose gold accents are to die for, and a clear indication that the Tamarit team is still thinking well outside the box. [Source]
Indian Scout by Brittney Olsen Building a bike for a famous artist can be a daunting task. Add Roland Sands watching over your shoulder during the build, and it’s a whole other ball game. Not one to shy away from the pressure, Brittney Olsen of 20th Century Racing cracked on and built one hell of an Indian Scout for American country music star Nikki Lane.
The build is the second of three planned bikes that form part of Indian Motorcycle’s ‘Forged’ series. Inspired by Cecilia Adams (an incredible female motorcycle racer of the 1950s), Brittney Olsen has injected some serious 40s and 50s style into this brand-new Indian Scout.
Starting with the wheels, 19F/18R rims from an Indian FTR were laced to the Scout hubs. The front end is a hand-build girder setup, complete with 1940s Indian Chief springs, shock, and handlebar risers.
The custom handlebars are made from stainless steel and cleverly retain the factory dashboard. Tiny LED turn signals are carefully hidden around the middle of the girder, with a Scout headlight leading the way.
The gas tank uses the bottom part of a Scout tank (to retain the fuel pump and air intake) integrated with Springfield and Chieftain tank panels to keep the Scout Sport teardrop shape. A vintage Bates seat and rear fender pad were mounted, along with an extended rear fender and custom rear struts to really turn on the 50s charm.
Jeremy Pederson laid down the custom lettering, striping, and gold and silver leaf, which all look incredible against the custom black paint job. The polished exhaust contrasts nicely with all the black, and the factory rear lights aren’t too offensive.
Nikki Lane is thrilled with the result, which was to be expected. Brittney has nailed the brief and produced a bike so good-looking that we wouldn’t be surprised if Indian incorporated some of her designs into their factory bikes. [More]
