The trouble with racing motorcycles is that after the event you’re always left with a little bit too much time to yourself and that’s when the thinking starts. That was very much the issue for Niall ‘Max’ Clinton on the way back from the Greek Hellas Rally a number of years ago when the idea that building custom bikes began to take shape.
Now almost three years later the Smithfield neighbourhood in Dublin has a resident producing even tastier products than the food in Little Italy and even cooler than the movies being shown in the Light House Cinema. Garage 3B Custom bike building is a company that builds their bikes by hand.
The company has recently completed their first two machines, a Honda CX and a BMW R80RT. The Beemer was the first one we looked at and, as is to be expected, it came with its own story. The bike was a ‘complete rat’ with a set of straight through pipes and other than the engine, needed quite a bit of work.
A number of things are important at Garage 3B. The bike must be built on time and within the agreed budget, but most importantly, it must run. These guys don’t do display bikes! To that end the frame and wheels have been given the Tallaght Powder Coating treatment while the tank has been re done by custom painter of some renown, Brett Willard.
The suspension has been rebuilt; the gearbox replaced with a new one from, BMW Specialists, Motoworks in the UK and the wiring has been replaced. The bike looks so much better than an old RT ever did with raised bars, a short front mudguard and a bespoke seat from Millar Custom Seats in The Netherlands. The seat is fitted to a one off metal plate, a surprising amount of the parts are made by hand here on the Northside of the city.
The new shocks and starter motor are complimented by some very new technology. This includes a Motogadget Blu unit, which allows the rider to use their phone as the ignition key as well as sending route maps and service schedules back to the device.
The scrambler bars make it a bike that looks comfortable, inviting and ready to ride. Details such as the attention to detail in wrapping the exhaust as well as cutting and polishing the mudguards shows an attention to detail that is wonderfully complimented by some of the technology being put to work under the bikes skin.
Max saves the last surprise ‘til I’m leaving, "How much, I ask.". "As little as fifteen grand", is the answer I was never expecting!