Cafe Racers and Scramblers in Poland
UNIKAT is a motorcycle customizing workshop in Wrocław, Poland and is specialized mainly in café racer and scrambler style motorcycles. It was established to combine the passions for speed and visual arts. As stated in earlier posts, the founder of UNIKAT, Grzegorz Korczak, is actually a cinematographer, Oscar nominated special effects director, and visual artist whose work has been exhibited in some of Poland’s most prestigious museums. Since 2013 he’s been using his skills to create some of the most visually and aesthetically pleasing motorcycles we have ever seen.
And it shows, with over 100 builds, several of which have been featured by “CafeRacerTV” and “Return of The Cafe Racers”, to name a few. But since 2016 (!) he and his crew have been regulars on the ‘BikeBrewers’show’ and we are always happy to receive news from him.
Most of the bikes are built by individual order, making each motorcycle that leaves their workshop unique, hence the name “UNIKAT 1 of 1”.
UNIKAT Process
Each build is designed from the ground up. First Grzegorz starts with a virtual drawing of what he has in mind before going to work with his hands. He believes that the details make the difference, therefore he focusses a lot on those. This is the key to consistency and consequently, his success.
So, when a customer contacted him with a request to build something special based on his Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE, Grzegorz couldn’t resist. Now, we have seen some very interesting Triumph builds over the over the past few years, often based on the ever-popular Bonneville. We have also seen quite a number of “Scramblerized” models of the same brand. But these Scrambler 1200 XE bikes are something else completely! Designed by Triumph to conquer the world from the factory, off-road ability and performance are paramount. Modifying this bike was a challenge from the outset even more than ever before.
Brand new
Working on a brand-new bike is like painting on a blank canvas. Zero mileage means no additional engine overhauling or tedious rewiring. Nothing compared to working on an old, used bike. right after Marek, the owner of the Triumph, rolled his bike into the workshop it got stripped down and the concept work was initiated. Grzegorz kept sending the customer visualizations until he finally gave the green light.
Then the hard part of the building process came into sight: budgeting.
It is always fun and games when our imaginations get free reign, but when it comes down to talking money, the mood might change dramatically. It is UNIKAT’s rule to specify the cost of a project precisely before proceeding to build. It requires a great deal of imagination and experience to anticipate the cascade of consequences that entail certain changes in the design of the motorcycle. It took two days of checking over the spreadsheets and making calls around the world in order to arrange the offers from subcontractors. Once that was done, a virtual handshake was given, and the actual work began.
Instant modifications
First things first, every part of the bike that looked metallic or silver got sandblasted and powder coated black. We’re talking: swingarm, oil pan cover, injectors cover, leg guards, levers, plates, sleeves, the whole lot.
Next the rear fender got reworked, making it shorter without losing function. LED strip lighting that functions as a tail-light, brake light and with integrated indicators, was added to the subframe, which gives a subtle minimal look to the Triumph. It may look as if the subframe has been shorted, but looks can be deceiving. The rear subframe remained uncut, which allows for bolt on kits to be installed by anybody through kits from UNIKAT. If you recognize those wheels then you are not mistaken. Those are custom 17” wire spoked wheels by KINEO, converted to tubeless. These wheels are super light and strong.With the addition of the blue nipples and the Heidenau Supermoto tires, they look mean.
Anything else?
Well, the list is long, but here goes:
– Leather seat upholstery
– Leather handcrafted grips
– Black anodized front suspension forks
– Motogadget mirrors
– Motogadget bar-end indicators
– High front fender
– Headlight cover
– Side plate holder with a mini-LED diode
– ZARD exhaust system
– McLaren inspired two-tone paint job
– RIZOMA brake fluid reservoirs
– Aluminum fuel filler cap
The is just a sample of the mods made, but the results are breathtaking. According to Grzegorz, the Triumph now “moves like a ballerina and sounds like a beast”.
BikeBrewers’ are convinced 2021 see a continuous stream of builds coming out of the UNIKAT workshop. Last quarter they have just been warming up.
Our wish for next year: Keep ‘em coming Grzegorz!
Builder details:
UNIKAT Motorworks
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