1996 Honda XR250R 

This was the first project bike for Vertigo Moto a group consisting of a do-it-all designer, a nitty-gritty sign painter, and a machine shop mastermind.

The XR started off ugly but after a little lipo and full “enhancement,” she’s become a down and dirty, one-of-a-kind scrambler.

Her frame was rebuilt and bent by hand to become the new bones, touting clean, horizontal lines. She was spray-tanned a powder black to allow her unique features to shine.

A 1971 Honda CL 450 fuel tank was rescued from the scrap yard and given a full facelift by a true artist. Kim R. hand-painted the floral patterns and custom letterform.

Hand-shaped foam and hand-dyed leather form the classic café-style seat.

Alloy was added with a custom front fender. A stainless steel pie-cut exhaust snakes its way to an open, vintage-style Honda muffler, yielding a healthy growl from the single.  

We tossed the chunky airbox out and replaced it with a high-flow K&N filter to let her take some deep breaths.

Machined and milled aircraft aluminum fork clamps mount the custom front fender, which also act as a fork stabilizer.

All of this is rolling on new OEM hubs laced to 17” Sun rims for a mean street stance with wide rut-ripping Conti TKCs.

In the end the aesthetic is one of clean, thoughtful design paired with the raw fun of a good ole enduro dirt eater.