The Kawasaki W650 and newer W800 has been championed by the likes of Deus Ex Machina and recently Spirit of the Seventies, but you'd think there would be more customs around based on this platform combining modern reliability with true retro looks to the main components. This bike, "Hurricane Jane", is a 2002 model 650 built by Maria Motorcycles. The Bike was inspired by 60´s classic cars. A golden era where cars were simple and beautiful, with silver paint, brown leather interiors and Acres of chrome. They wanted a simple and classy look, and they hit the proverbial nail on the head.

The paint scheme comes from a set of subtle colors - silver grey, white and black. A leather brown seat was matched to the Granturismo handlebar grips and the gold chain. Ace Clubman bars were added for that vintage café style.

The headlight was swapped out for a smaller unit, integrated with a front number plate. The tail lamp comes from 1915-33 Harley.

They guys were aware fitting Firestone Deluxe tyres would bring out all the nay-sayers when it comes to performance, but they believed these tyres really suit the bike, and the looks are certainly spot on whether you love them or hate them. They are mounted on alloy rims with new spokes and painted hubs, with the front and rear fenders cut down into shortie items.

The guys wanted the bike to look like it had a little history so they tried not to give it a brand new, shiny look. Some parts where intentionally left as they were, to maintain the personality that they didn't want to rub out.

It's that mix of shiny and raw that seemed to match with those 1960´s cars.

But it's when Hurricane Jane is fired up and running that she really comes to life. Two cylinders and 650cc provide decent poke already, but with the carbs re-tuned some of the heavy British-built 900s struggle to keep up. Vintage mufflers also make her sound throaty and raw while the Daytona speedo keeps track of just how much faster she actually is in this trim.

The Maria crew say; "This W650 is small and sweet but really fast and noisy for the ears. This is Jane, a really furious Hurricane!" We can certainly all agree that she's a really pretty and well put together build. See more from Maria on their website, Facebook pages on here on the Bike Shed.