Bali is one of the most famous islands in Indonesia. Famous for it's amazing surf breaks, tough drug laws and strict low displacement bike laws. So when we recently received some photos from the guys at Deus Bali, we just guessed it would be another sweet little Yamaha Scorpio they do so well. But when we opened up the photos of their latest project we were pleasantly surprised to see a completely unrecognizable Honda NX650 Dominator. To say this size bike is rare in Bali would be a huge understatement — there's only one other 650cc bike and it also happens to be a NX650. So someone at some stage has paid 'the right people' to get it on the island and on the road. Anyway, this is not a story about how it got there, we're just glad it did. To tell us the tale of how this Dominator transformed into the 'Dominari', I'll pass you over to Tom from Deus...

This beautiful creation was built by an Italian shop based in Rome called Emporio Elaborazioni (EE). It was started by a graphic designer, a mechanic and a silversmith who all shared a love of custom motorcycles. This brutal bike is nicknamed the 'Mastino' or Mastiff after the breed of large, powerful and rather stocky pedigree dogs. When you look at the stance of this short, mean and muscular café racer you realise the name couldn't be more fitting if it tried. We always thought the powerful and naked XJR 1200 would be a great contender for a modern café racer, but we had no idea it could look this good - trust the Italians to teach us a lesson in style. Here's how Andrea from EE describes their project:

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Every time we post a bike, Scott and I sweat over a good "angle" to open the piece with. Something unique about the bike that will grab a reader's attention and help them get into the story. Sometimes it's to do with the owner's job or a neat little ditty about the bike itself; where it was found or maybe something to do with a tasteless mod a previous owner had done. Most of the time it's pretty slim pickings, whether it's lack of time on our behalf or stories that just aren't that wacky we often end up pulling stuff out of some pretty damn thin air. Then there's bikes like Tyler Mill's Honda VTR. This bike has more angles than a cubist painting; it killed its first owner when only a few days old. Then it was repaired and ridden by Honda salesmen. Then it was customised in what I can only describe as a "zombie killer" style. Then it was plumbed with nitrous. If you told us aliens had done a burnout on it while riding it across Roswell with a young JFK looking on in a giant octopus costume, we'd just about believe you. Hello Christine you strange, strange woman.

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Here's a great segment from the cutting room floor of Cafe Racer TV. In this online episode they reveal the background work that goes in to each road test performed on the show. The Cafe Racer in tested here was the hugely popular golden Yamaha Virago Cafe Racer built by Doc Chops. It's a great insight and in many ways a valuable lesson in to the precautions and the checks that every rider should take when building and riding a custom motorcycle. All up the Yamaha passed the preliminary tests with flying colours which is a testament to the work of Greg Hagemen and his Doc Chops workshop. Check out the video below.

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It's funny how some types of bikes just get under your skin. And I know I speak for both Scott and myself when I say that Honda Goldwings are definitely one of them. Along with the CX500s, Goldwings seem to be dripping with that inexplicable coolness that gives any custom build a killer cool factor even before the first spanner has even touched the WD-40 drenched rusty bolt. But what exactly is it? I'm not really sure - but Jah knows the flat four, solid silhouette and chunky build don't hurt. And the in-tank beer storage compartment? Japanese genius. I can see Honda-san sinking a few tininess with the designers after hours and giving them a well earnt slap on the back in between burn-outs and practical jokes involving no-pants-sushi-balancing races. Richard "Sunnbobb" Matrass is similarly down with this whole Goldwing thing. Despite a bad first date, it was still love at first sight. And the marriage? Well just look at these shots and take a read of what Richard has to say...

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