Konnections Kommunal Build, Week 2 

Wrenching till the wee hours…

Week 2 of our double-header Kommunal Build saw the flat tracker and scrambler teams wrenching until the wee hours of Thursday morning; now that’s the kind of keenness that’ll get a project across the line. Never has sneaking home just before the dawn chorus felt so respectable. If things keep going like this, the neighbours’ll be gossiping about the greasy grinning goons that roll home reeking of freshly cut steel, muttering about “Moto Gadgets” and “high pipes”.  

Arguably the most radical decision of this week’s session came from the adventure scrambler team, who voted almost unanimously on grafting a vintage Harley split tank to their ‘84 XT600. With the quiet blessing of fabricator Paul, the rest of the design started to flow through the hands of Kyle and Lydia, who channelled the team’s collective vision into a first sketch. Mad Max desert sled vibes, military-inspired details and a few sleek modern touches are where things are heading. How it’ll all unfold is anyone’s guess but at least the team are unified in their aesthetic preferences and an insistence that the finished bike has got to be capable of adventures- this ain’t no show pony, it’s a tribute to the reliable workhorse that is an XT600.  

If this Kommunal Build project is about anything, it’s self expression and making life more complicated than it really needs to be, for the sake of a unique machine. It’s the plight of an artist really, or in this case about 30 artists. 

Thanks to @Jake Simkin for the images- the man with the all seeing eyes! Our Kommunal Kustom Builds are just one part of the Kommune Konnections program funded by the DGR and Movember. If you’re keen to learn more, check this page.

Written by Tom Ansell