This bike is old news now but it’s a text I wrote for James Spotting a while back. Good for those of you that don’t plow through 15 motorcycle blogs daily like I do.

The noughts is the decade that made custom accessible to the mainstream through TV shows on various cable networks. Looking back at the most significant custom builders of the 21st century so far, Danish Wrenchmonkees sets the tone and the pace of an industry that normally thrive on catering to the wannabe outlaw. However, Wrenchmonkees’ custom motorcycles are to hipsters what ‘roid-rage is to OC Choppers, showing that you can be skinny and listen to electronica and still be into the custom scene.

Wrenchmonkees monochromatic, likeable and simplistic take on the idea of freedom on two wheels is a refreshing sight from the country that gave us Arne Jacobsen and Scandinavian minimalism. The devise of less is more has rarely been more appropriate when studying Wrenchmonkees’ designs; however they don’t just settle for stripping it off but actually add substance to otherwise bland bikes. With nifty ideas like hiding the electric wiring in copper tubing and solid wheels this iteration of Monkee love has been exhibited at various prestigious museums and design studios throughout Europe during 2009.

Called Gorilla Punch (Monkee #11), the bike started out as a Honda CB 750 and has been seriously worked over to become the coolest café racer the world has ever seen. Taking into account the current popularity of all things custom, Wrenchmonkees deserve a lot more attention than they’re getting and considering the fame Discovery Channel has propelled OCC to, the world needs to see that custom doesn’t necessarily have to entail elongated forks, bulging muscles and massive amounts of chrome but rather subdued and clean designs that, in themselves, are powerful enough to get the right message across.

Wrenchmonkees can be studied in detail on their website.