Hub-centre hardtail Valkyrie is one wild custom
Serdang, Malaysia - This incredibly low rider is called Valkyrie, but it has nothing to do with the 1832cc Wing-engined flat-six Honda cruiser of the same name.
It’s a one-off showbike by Kenny Yeoh of Malaysian bespoke bikemaker Kenstomoto, created for the Invitational Bike Build-off at the annual Art of Speed show in Serdang - a complete custom build with unique frame and running gear, built around a 650cc Kawasaki ER-6 parallel twin.
And the engine is just about the only thing on this bike that’s standard - well, almost; the entire exhaust system consists of two short, large-diameter header pipes that just ahead of the rider’s left foot.
Custom spaceframe is almost entirely fabricated from straight sections of steel tube - except for the swoopy front swing-arm. Picture: Kentsomoto
The long, long tubular-steel frame (2200mm between the axles) provides 70mm of ground clearance, with the rider just 500mm off the ground. It has a unique single-sided hardtail rear end mated to a Ducati 916 hub and a 17 inch eight-stud steel rear wheel, 228mm wide, shod with a 240/45 gumball.
But the front end is even more radical, with a single-sided swingarm fabricated from swoopy S-shaped bits of the same tube as the frame, a single shock and a hub centre-steered 21 inch front wheel (machined from a single piece of solid aluminium) wearing 90/90 rock-hopper rubber.
Offset final-drive chain was needed to clear the huge 240/45 rear gumball. Picture: Kentsomoto
Steering is by dual push-pull cables rather than the usual rose-jointed linkages for simplicity, although Yeoh’s not altogether satisfied with the end result. After the show, he says, there are plans for a whole new frame with built-in fittings for hydraulic steering, which should be a lot more accurate.
The front brake Brembo radial-mount calliper from a BMW S1000 RR, clamping down on a 380mm Arlen, while the rear is the standard 220mm Brembo set-up that came with the Ducati hub; switchgear and a instrumentation is by Japanese aftermarket specialist Daytona.
Surprisingly, the Valkyrie weighs only 200kg in running trim; most custom builds are a lot heavier. Yeoh attributes this to the carefully designed spaceframe and the 3D-printed body panels, which have ribs where they need rigidity and are paper-thin elsewhere.
240/45 R17 rear tyre is mounted on a nine-inch wide rear wheel. Picture: Kentsomoto