Before I get into this feature let me first say hello to my Indonesian readers. I know you guys make up a chunk of my regular audience and I’m always excited to see an Indo bike in my inbox, just like this beauty from Odum Customs in Jakarta. The bike is a 1981 Kawasaki KZ200 or “Binter Merzy” as the locals know it and was resurrected from the dead after a previous life as a “Chopper wanna be”.
“We switched to a brand new Kawasaki KZ200 frame and customised a Honda CB175 gas tank by widening it and respraying it white. The customised headlamp features am integrated tacho and speedo which was made from fiberglass and is held in place by a custom bracket made from 4mm round steel we found on the way home that day. The front forks are 41mm and the rear shocks are 340mm with new 18 inch rims and rubber front and back. Thenew seat was designed and constructed to fit my proportions perfectly and finished in brown leather to match the additional saddle bag.”
“The engine required serious work. We switched the pistons and the cylinder head with a set from a Yamaha Scorpio 225 and with some further adjustments here and there the engine is now up to 295cc. This is plenty for Jakarta traffic conditions where larger capacity engines are redundant. We rebuilt the head, clutch and ignition system, fix up all those oil leaks and replaced some parts to make it feel like a new bike again.”
