Exquisite build

The Auto Fabrica Type 6 motorcycle is an amalgamation of Italian looks, Japanese engineering and British creativity but there is more to this unique bike than meets the eye. “This bike is one of four XS650s we rescued from a farm in rural Cornwall,” says Auto Fabrica co-owner Bujar Muharremi, “a lucky find that effectively kick-started our company.” The cornerstone of this English custom motorcycle builder based in Southend-On-Sea, the XS650 barn-find received extraordinary levels of TLC to effect its transformation into a magnificent machine. With hand sketching and Photoshop rendering, Muharremi and his crew first created a virtual version of the bike, before they laid their hands on the XS650. “We spent a lot of time trying to balance clean graphics with highly complex and organic surfacing, to achieve a clean yet interesting design,” he explains.

Virtually perfect

Once the virtual work was completed, it was time to roll up their sleeves. The XS650 frame was modified by moving the headstock back and lowering it by two inches. The tank and the seat base of the Type 6 form a single unit made of 2.5-millimetre aluminium. The forks and headlamp display were modified, a tailor-made stainless steel exhaust was fitted and a Laverda SF750 twin leading shoe hub at the front was coupled with a 19-inch spoked rim, as well as an 18-inch alloy wheel with stainless spokes added at the rear. The engine was rebuilt with 0.5-oversize pistons and converted to a single carb. “Inspired by some other great builds, we took the time to design a single carb conversion,”says Muharremi. “We continued the line of the exhausts all the way through to the filter.”

Text: Frank Diebel
Photos: Julien Brightwell / Bujar Muharremi for Auto Fabrica