The stage was set: Sydney’s iconic Bondi Pavilion would host the plethora of entrants for the 2015 Deus Bike Build Off. Despite a weeks worth of rain leading up to the event, 37 builders braved the weather and came from far and wide. As each creation appeared, the lack of sunshine was of no concern as hearts were lifted by the quality and diversity of machinery. There was a clear sense of community amongst the builders despite the incredible distances some travelled. From car park to makeshift photo studio, all the entrants were shot then moved to the tiered crescent of harmonium that is the Pavillion ampetheatre.

Judging the gig were five builders of note – Jeremy Tagand, Matt Machine, whose own garage builds earned him a reputation for being quite the petrol head, Mark Hawwa, El Presidente of the Sydney Café Racers, Chris Hunter, creator and editor of Bike EXIF, and finally, local Triumph and Harley aficionado Matt Joyce. All judges share a love for bikes but their tastes differ and it took a special bike to conquer all of their hearts. These harsh critics weren’t there to pin the first place ribbon on a shiny show bike; this is the Deus Bike Build Off, it’s all about finding who was able to make the most with the least, so creativity was key. The judges began their epic journey around the pavilion, kicking the tyres and judging all creations present.

1st Place – Joe Fisher and Ryan Mischkulnig with their beautiful rendition of a postie converted into an electric bike . There were many amazing bikes for the judges to chose from on the day, but when it came to picking a winner, it was all about who made the most with the least. Joe and Ryan turned a simple postie into a slick and simple electric mini cafe racer. With the use of copper tubing to define the lines, blacked out wheels, a fresh coat of a paint on the frame, these guys really proved that less is more and that a little imagination goes a long way.

2nd Place – Steve Dotlerty, with his Honda CB550 cafe racer. Over the years, the humble Honda CB550 has become a very popular base for Cafe Racers, so popular in-fact that the custom scene has become over saturated with them and just when we thought we’d scene it all, Steve came along with something entirely new and original. Converting the dual rear shocks to a sturdy mono and swapping the comfy stock seat to a minimal approach and punching some holes through a steel seat pan to expose some beautiful brown leather. The front fairing had also started its life as a fender which was cut and modified to fit all of the Hondas gauges.

3rd Place – Ross Camuglia with his one of a kind and very rare Suzuki RE5 Rotary bike.
That’s right, you read that correctly, a Rotary Bike. In the 70’s Suzuki made a very limited number of these bad boys and as you can imagine, they flopped and vanished from the market never to be made again. Seeing one in the flesh is a rare treat, seeing one in the flesh transformed into a hard tail straight out of Mad Max is nothing short of amazing. Ross re-worked the frame into a hard tail, reworked the gear shifter into a jockey shift and added loads more personal touches to this very unique rotary full of character.

People Choices – This year the peoples choice came to a tie, between two show stopping Kawasakis, James Sinclair with his KZ750 and young Tom Dykes from Canberra with his KZ650. Tom drove all the way up from our nation’s capital, but instead of bringing nudie mags and fireworks, he brought along a Spitfire-inspired KZ650, the old kwaka was treated to a very DIY front faring and tail section, a real eye catcher.

Speaking of eye catchers, James came through with a very Americana feel to a Japanese classic, tall pipes and a seat straight out of the glory chopper era of the 60’s.