There’s something undeniably electric about the Barber Vintage Festival. The air is thick with burnt fuel, fried Southern food and more motorcycle legends than you could ever shake a torque wrench at. But in the fall of 2024, tucked inside the Isle of Triumph, a different kind of spark caught fire. Both Cigars.com and New York's own A&J Cycles had booths within the British manufacturers' enclosure, and the company was keen to get the two brands working together, so an introduction was made. And somewhere between the smell of race fuel and premium tobacco, a brilliant idea was struck: let’s build a Triumph motorcycle worth giving away.

Cigars.com wanted a bike that didn’t just look the part; they wanted something that felt like lighting up a perfect cigar. Strong. Refined. Classic, but unapologetically bold. Brad from Cigars.com knew this wasn’t going to be a slap-on-some-bolt-ons-and-take-a-photo kind of project. They needed someone who could see beyond the catalogue, someone who speaks Triumph fluently. And Brian and the team at A&J Cycles have been building killer, clean, custom Triumphs for years now. Antonio Caruso was tasked with taking care of the design, and with everyone on board, all could work towards a cohesive finish.

There’s a quiet alchemy at work in Ducati’s new 2026 Scrambler Nightshift. It’s not just a paint job; they’ve cloaked the Nightshift in Emerald Green, a hue that seems to straddle past and present, evoking British racing green but with an Italian twist. The Ducati Style Centre has clearly laboured over this shade, drawing inspiration from motorsport liveries of the 1970s while preserving the model’s clean and uncomplicated aesthetic. And with ten years of development underpinning the mechanical package, this is without doubt the most sophisticated Scrambler to date, and it hasn't lost its soul in becoming the best of the bunch.

First shown at the 2014 Intermot motorcycle show, Ducati has equipped its Scrambler with engines ranging in size from a learner-friendly 399cc all the way through to the big daddy of the brigade, the 1079cc. All have been air-cooled V-Twins, which has ensured that the famous Bologna burble and signature Ducati mechanical appearance is retained across the platform. And over the last decade, the factory has produced literally dozens of models of the Scrambler for markets around the globe.

When you walk into the Bangkok workshop of Tanadit Sarawek, better known to the motorcycle world as Eak K-Speed, you don’t just see bikes. You see a philosophy. It’s a place where black paint and matte finishes reign supreme, metal bends to human will, and factory-fresh machines are stripped of their innocence before being reborn with a darker, sharper identity. His latest subject? Royal Enfield’s brand-new Bear 650. And true to form, Eak has conjured up another monochrome monster, a back street brawler he calls Scrambler Bear.

The name tells you all you need to know about both this custom creation and the philosophy behind Royal Enfield's factory creation. Adding to their incredibly successful 650 twin line-up, the Bear isn't just a new paint job to cover up an existing model; it's a genuine effort by the Indian powerhouse to capture the '60s soul of a true scrambler and infuse it with plenty of inspiration from California's legendary Big Bear Run. In typical RE fashion, this means clever tweaks, which give you all of the thrills the name offers, without a huge hit to the back pocket.

There are two kinds of motorcycles in this world: the ones you buy to pamper, and the ones you buy to ride until they hate you. For Ales Tomis of Earth Motorcycles, his ’94 Honda Dominator NX650 was firmly in the second camp. It carried him for four years, through countless roads and a monster 8,000-plus kilometre trip to Iraq in 2024. By the time he limped it home, overheating, vibrating like a cheap motel bed and wheezing its way behind a friend’s Desert X, Ales knew the truth. “After a near-fatal engine failure in Turkey, I said to my bike: now it is your time to retire.” But in Earth Motorcycles’ language, 'retire' doesn’t mean a quiet life. It means reincarnation.

The original plan was modest: keep it close to stock, maybe a low-end scrambler with the original wheels, tank and air intake. But as any builder will tell you, plans have a funny way of being scrapped at the first spark of an angle grinder. The Dominator’s 21-inch front wheel was the first casualty. Ales swapped it for an 18-inch Moose Racing rim, paired with an Excel 17-inch rear, stainless spokes and a tubeless Pirelli MT combo. “I thought I’d keep it simple, but it just snowballed,” he admits.

If you’ve ever wandered the endless aisles of SEMA, EICMA, or the Tokyo Motorcycle Show, you’ll know the game: no matter how much time you’ve got, you’ll never see it all. Which means the big players need something special to drag you off course and into their stand. Gone are the days when a pretty model would do the trick, these days, it takes real creativity. Japanese riding gear legends HYOD had just the thing in mind. They tapped Deus Ex Machina Tokyo’s head wrench, Tomoyuki Soeda, with one simple brief: build us a showstopper. His answer? A Ducati S2R 1000 that takes the “Monster” moniker literally, a snarling brute of a bike designed to snap necks, steal spotlights, and send small children fleeing for cover.

The HYOD brand might be a new name to many, they are primarily focused on the Japanese market, where they sell a huge range of high-end riding gear, focused on the staples like jackets for all seasons, gloves, pants and a casual clothing range. But they are also master tailors, with their 'Origin Works' factory producing beautiful handmade leather jackets for those who appreciate a fine fit. Then they have a stable of Japan's best racers, for whom they make fully equipped, airbag, race suits. Think master of the rain Ryuichi Kiyonari, who has been a big winner around the world, and the seven-time slayer of the Suzuka 8-hour, Takumi Takahashi. 

When Moto Guzzi re-released the V7, we figured it would slide neatly into the custom scene alongside all the other modern retros. But for whatever reason, it never really found its footing. To my mind, any motorcycle sporting a V-twin deserves a tough stance and a bit of menace, and the V7 has always come across as a little too polite. Enter Noel Muller of Australia’s Black Cycles, a man who can make any donor bike look like it’s just been dipped in cool. Handed a battered and bruised V7 III Stone, he’s given it the glorious makeover it’s always deserved, blending masterful craftsmanship with a mean streak that finally gives this Guzzi some proper attitude.

The story of this V7’s transformation starts with drama fit for a Netflix special. Owner Toby, a café owner in New South Wales, had the bike stolen right from outside his business. For a week, it was brazenly ridden around town until a sharp-eyed officer recognised it and engaged in a dramatic chase. Forty-five minutes later, the thief was in handcuffs, the Guzzi was back, and Toby was left with a slightly battered but salvageable motorcycle. The real kicker? The damage from the theft paled in comparison to years of corrosive beachside living.

Motorcycle manufacturers, if you're listening, we have a word of advice. There is a custom bike builder in Australia who, time and again, has shown he can literally turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. Now, in past generations, this might not have been such an in-demand skill; the '60s, for example, were filled with showrooms of beautiful machines. But in a some what back to the future period in time, modern motorcycles are a bit like the '80s, when designers didn't seem to have a handle on how to make new technology fit into a neat package. Enter Noel Muller of Black Cycles Australia, not only is he one of the world's most prolific bike builders, but he never ceases to amaze us with his ability to make any bike look brilliant. And his latest creation is no different, a 1986 BMW K100 RS that is simply a scrambler sensation.

The K series is no stranger to the custom world, as their R series cousins have become rather ridiculously expensive, builders have been turning to the other Bavarian to serve as a donor for all manner of one-off creations. And there are some big positives to the mighty K, that engine will not only run forever, but the smooth power is addictive as hell. But in stock form, they've never been a looker, earning the 'Flying Brick' nickname early in their lifetime. And despite the challenges, many have pulled off some brilliant bikes using them; however, this just might be the most cohesive design and execution we've ever seen.

You don't have to be Einstein to observe that certain motorcycle makes and models are clear favourites, with endless examples of such customised from mild to wild. And you can easily see why offerings from the likes of Triumph and BMW are so ubiquitous. But this also means many people are skipping straight past some pretty damn good bikes, and one model I've always felt deserved more love in the custom world, is the Moto Guzzi V7. Well, for bike mad Tomasz, already owning a V85 meant he knew a Guzzi was a good thing. So, to transform a factory fresh V7 into a scintilating scrambler, he turned his bike over to UniKat Motorworks, and the results speak for themselves.

Based in Wroclaw, Poland, Unikat Motorworks has been around since 2013, and not only are they a full service workshop, but they have more than 200 full blown custom builds to their name. They've worked on just about every bike you can think of, but the guys tell us in recent years “Bonnevilles, Scramblers, and Bobbers from Triumph” have become their bread and butter. And it was one such bike that inspired this very build. “Tomasz reached out to us after being inspired by our Triumph Scrambler 900 build, which has been getting a lot of attention online. That project became the foundation for the overall vibe of this bike”

Chef and legendary traveller Anthony Bourdain left the world having passed on many lessons for life, and perhaps his most profound was simply to explore 'Parts Unknown'. And it was with this sense of adventure and discovery that Loek Janssen ventured to Japan and headed for the nighttime back streets of Tokyo, to explore the way the locals live. He then ventured to a small village to experience the quiet life that is also on offer in the land of the rising sun and came away with a new appreciation for the country that birthed his 2017 Yamaha XSR700. Returning home to Portugal, he wanted to combine his love for simple motorcycle technology with all that he'd learned on his travels, and teaming up with UNIK Motorcycles, they've built this neo-punk street Scrambler known as Nikkō.

What Loek loves about the Yamaha product is that it provides all of the reliability of a modern motorcycle, while retaining a raw analogue feel, not overloaded with endless tech and rider aids. “I wanted to pay respect to Japanese engineering and Japanese quality, and I wanted the bike to be related to my memories of my travels in Japan. Traveling alone I spent some rainy days in the darker streets of Tokyo sampling food and beer with the locals, which served as the main inspiration for the neo-punk Tokyo vibe that's embedded in the bike's ethos. After the Tokyo visit, I took a trip to Nikkō, a very lush and rainy offroad-heaven village north of Tokyo which is a big contrast to the narrow and dense streets of inner Tokyo.”

They field teams in Moto2 and the Dakar Rally, produce a large range of motorcycles, scooters and e-bikes and have been around since the '60s, and yet very few people seem to have heard of Fantic Motor. It's always been a bit rocky for the Northern Italian firm, but the last few years have seen the brand grow from strength to strength, and with a global dealer network in place, Fantics have never been available to so many riders. One of those dealers is MOTOBOX Inc, a proudly Verona-based business, that has been selling motorcycles and custom parts since 1952. And to celebrate their long association with their fellow Italians, they've built this stunning pair of 2023 Fantic Caballero 500s, both Rally variants, each pays tribute to a Fantic legend of days gone by.

A huge part of the recent success of Fantic can be attributed to how they've developed their engine program, working with Chinese manufacturer Zongshen, and acquiring Italian motorcycle engine manufacturer Motori Minarelli from Yamaha in 2025. This has allowed the small firm to very quickly build a large stable of models, with Motocross and Enduro bikes available in two and four-stroke variants, as well as modern Motards, Street bikes and Scramblers in a host of engine sizes. Combine that with their racing programs in Moto2, with world number two Arón Canet, and a growing dirt and Dakar squad, and you have one very nice recipe for success.