Kengo Kimura commemorates Heiwa MC’s 20th year with an award-winning 1965 Triumph TR6 café racer.
Even if you’re a one-man army, running a custom motorcycle workshop is a team sport. Every custom builder has their go-to suppliers, friends that drop by to offer moral support, and, most importantly, customers that help keep the lights on.
Kengo Kimura opened his shop, Heiwa Motorcycle, two decades ago in Hiroshima, Japan. He met Kenji Fujii not long after, and the two became fast friends. So when Kimura-san wanted to commemorate Heiwa’s 20th anniversary with a special project, the commission came from Fujii-san.
Kengo’s machines never miss, but this particular build called for a new level of creativity. Not only was he producing a motorcycle for a dear friend, but the annual Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show was coming up, and Kengo was determined to walk away with an award.
He responded by delivering an achingly beautiful café racer with flawless proportions and endless captivating details.
A 1965 Triumph was chosen as a donor, but very little of the original bike was retained. Most of what you’re looking at here was built from scratch—starting with the Triumph’s impossibly elegant twin-down-tube frame.
Polished and lowered Paioli forks were installed up front, with a bespoke swingarm and mono-shock arrangement propping up the rear. For the wheels, Kengo laced vintage drum brake hubs to 19-inch front and 16-inch rear rims, wrapping them in Metzeler ME888 tires.
Next, Kengo fabricated all-new aluminum bodywork for the vintage Triumph; a narrow fuel tank with a matching tailpiece, and a tidy oil tank that sits on the left-hand side of the bike. The silhouette is typical Heiwa fare—slim, tapered, and pitch-perfect. An LED taillight sits neatly in the back of the tail bump, with leatherwork by Flavor Leatherwork adding to the luxe feel.
The details on this TR6 are out of this world. The oil tank features a knurled filler cap and is plumbed with a tube rather than a hose, while the rear brake torque arm and license plate bracket are one-off components.
Then there’s the cockpit, which features a set of handmade bars that bolt directly to the top yoke. They’re fitted with Amal grips, with a Motogadget Motoscope speedo placed dead center. Out front, a handmade headlight housing hangs off custom brackets, while a neat fork brace does duty lower down.
The Triumph’s biggest highlight is its reversed intake and exhaust system. Kengo rebuilt the motor with Harris pistons and an electronic ignition, flipping the heads around in the process. A few hefty modifications later, and the Triumph’s single Amal carb now points forward, while its twin exhausts exit straight out of the back of the motor.
The carb is wrapped in a handcrafted spoiler that shrouds the air intake, while sporting fins on the side that create visual coherence with the engine. Out back, twin headers snake their way from the custom-made exhaust ports through the chassis before exiting adjacent to the tail. Other key touches include a custom points cover and heat shields that appear to melt into each other.
In true Heiwa fashion, the Triumph TR6 is finished in an elegant livery, masterfully executed by N2Auto. Gunmetal Green adorns the bodywork, frame, swingarm, and rear shock spring, complemented by orange striping and gold leaf logos with immersive textures. The bike also bears a suitably quirky nickname: ‘Wild Pigeon.’
A tasteful cocktail of art and engineering, Wild Pigeon is a commemorative custom build like no other. Not only are Kengo and Kenji happy, but the bike walked away from the Mooneyes show with the Best European Motorcycle trophy and the Rough Crafts pick—proving why Heiwa has managed to stay on top of their game for 20 years.
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