I was always annoyed in English class when we would cover poetry. It was always the same, we were asked to interpret the meaning of different poems, but you were wrong if your interpretation was not the same as the teacher’s. One of the true beauties of art is that it can mean one thing to the artist, and many other things to observers. I take my life’s experiences and moments and incorporate them into my interpretation of art, and give it a much more personal meaning to me. The teacher never liked it, but I didn’t much care, passions don’t listen to reason.
This principle of art applies to the rolling sculptures we call motorcycles. When I look at ‘Cyclop’ here, I see more than just a custom motorcycle. The pattern of the tire tread and detailing on the fenders resemble ancient armor, the brass-like details, leather seat, and the deliberate difference between left and right sides along with a single-sided swing arm all remind me of the armament of Greek warriors of the past. This is a bike that tells a story, an epic tragedy of good versus evil, the struggle of man against forces beyond his control. For some, this may be a stretch, but it’s what I envision when I look at this build. She’s not for everyone, but isn’t that really the whole point behind a custom bike anyways? Great work Wotjek!
Here’s the build in Wotjek’s own words….
It all started quite a long ago actually. I always had motorcycles in the garage as my family was pretty into riding since i remember and well before that...
But strictly speaking about the Virago it started a bit over a year ago when i sold my previous bike as I decided to build something more unique .. I Went through quite a few pics of cafe racers, scramblers, bobbers etc. For an inspiration. Even though I already had an idea what i want. Something slightly different, style wise. Decided to mix the styles a bit. Put on the bike what i really like. Make it feel like an old motorcycle once u seat on it. Use raw metals as copper, brass, aluminum, stainless steel. The idea was to make the most of it by hand. Myself. So i did make the whole exhaust and silencers, front and rear lights, Sssa bracket, modded the front head to adapt the new suspension, also made the rear shock bracket to fix with new swinger. Modded the fuel tank, foot rests, reversed break and clutch levers, made a new air box to fit the cone air filter. There is also a single sided plate holder and few more details as u can see on them photos. It all took me around 5 months to get done. And it all works brilliantly fine for me. So much fun to ride it! Its built to ride around the town as well as little further as i already done few trips 400km each and i love riding it. The whole new Virago that is. Its got the TL front and the NTV rear swinger along with the R6 rear shock so it handles very well. Straight as well as the corners. Pretty smooth and dynamic ride overall i must say. Its around 40kg lighter compared to the stock Virago so that helps as well i guess... I am a technician welder so I am also sure that its all made solid and there is no short cuts taken while building it. I did mod some bikes and cars before, swapped front ends, had engine teared apart and fixed so i could ride it again but The Cyclop Virago, i take as my first real build. First but not the last for sure.
So thats the long story short..." wojtek spyra
