Thumper inspiration is never far away on the Bike Shed, a horde of re-imagined big singles clamour for our attention. I have finally, somewhat inevitably, succumbed. The lure of thump has beaten me down and this summer a lanky, bright yellow plastic clad 650 dirt bike has found its way into my shed. But just when I thought I had all the details and designs figured out, along comes this wonder to throw further tasty ingredients into the mix. Portugal's Ton-Up Garage are often guilty of wafting distractingly beautiful machines under our noses and this Honda FMX650 named MUXIMA is further evidence that Pedro and Daniel are amongst the best in the business. The curious name comes from the country of residence of the lucky owner Alex. Muxima is the name of his village in Angola, it means “heart” in Kimbundu. "The goal was to build a bike that would reflect the spirit of the riding experience on the roads of Muxima and especially towards Quiçama National Park. They're mainly dirt roads surrounded by an imense vegetation." Alex competes in enduro and supermotard races so for his daily ride a seriously capable donor was a must. Combining city commuting and off-road play time was certainly on the brief sheet when Honda launched the Dominator based FMX650 in 2005 but stylistically and dynamically the standard machine came up a little short of Alex's standards. Ton-Up have applied their skills across the gamut of traditional donors in their five year timeline, Hinckley Bonnies, Boxer BMWs, Kawasaki W650s and a Honda CX have all received Ton-Up treatment but MUXIMA is their first venture into the popular Honda thumper category. They began by building a completely new subframe that accommodates the new seat, rear footpegs, a small rear light and the number plate. Beneath the seat they fabricated an electric box to house the simplified electrics and battery. A K&N oval air filter takes the place of the traditional side panel on the right hand side of the bike, this is chief amongst the ideas I will look to hijack for my thumper build. The low, twin flat track style exhausts also grace the right aspect of the bike, not the placement you would traditionally expect on a scrambler but a stunning addition to the build. Standing astride the custom fabricated front mudguard are the chunky, original FMX equipment forks with a few inches taken off for stance improvements. The tank from an unidentified Honda came from a pile of potential items in the workshop corner. It was painted in colours inspired by the vegetation of Muxima and looks resplendent alongside the brown seat and new yellowed and grilled front headlight. A small Motogadget speedo, Biltwell Thruster grips, new bars, and Continental tyres on black powder coated rims also join the shopping list of items that my own thumper eagerly awaits... The combination of Ton-Up's always glorious visuals on a machine with the capabilities to match a serious rider in some serious lands is a winning combination. MUXIMA has gone right to the top of my burgeoning thumper inspiration pile. For more Ton-Up inspiration see Bike Shed Archive | Website | Facebook