I’ve been following Auto Fabrica for a while. The three-man operation — founded by brothers Gazmend and Buhar Muharremi — has been building custom bikes since 2012, right around the time I launched Form Trends. A mutual friend put us together in 2015 and I went out to Bike Shed to check out their work. I was amazed.
A lot has happened since then. What started out as a passion for bikes and design became a fully-fledged venture; the realization of a dream.
At the time, the brothers were taking classic Yamaha, Moto Guzzi and BMW donor bikes and applying their own unique touches, chopping and fabricating frames, adding performance through unique, hand-bent pipes, air intake systems and brakes, and developing their own custom bodies. The company quickly began taking orders for their custom motorcycles based solely on word of mouth.
“We’re a very design-led company,” says Toby Mellor, a Coventry University mate of Bujar’s that now completes the three-person team. “We make everything in-house, it’s all done by hand. Aluminum tanks, exhaust, wheels, 3D printed parts… The design and engineering stuff is done on CAD.”
The design language of Auto Fabrica’s machines is smooth and organic. Using traditional hand-beaten techniques to fabricate forms from aluminum panels, the company also laser cuts and 3D prints certain signature elements.
All of this caught the attention of Yamaha, who commissioned the team to build a custom bike as part of its Yard Built initiative in 2014. The bike would become known as the Type 11, one of 17 different Types the company has built since its inception.
Over the course of the last few years, the Auto Fabrica team developed not just one but three fully bespoke Type 11 bikes: Prototype 1, 2 and 3.
Prototype 1 is a sinister looking track-focused machine based on the modern Yamaha XSR900, the first Triple made by the company since the 1977 XS750. It is the first contemporary motorcycle project Auto Fabrica has undertaken, and this is clearly visible in its futuristic form language.
The top sketch is one of the preliminary renderings in the design process, one that continuously evolved over the course of the build. Using their industrial design experience, the team harnessed CAD tools to create digital mock-ups and rapid prototyping and machining techniques to develop physical models.
Expressive, radical and unique, the modern design captures the spirit of classic racers while moving Auto Fabrica’s DNA into the future. The clean, minimalistic design also incorporates some serious performance elements, such as hand-laid carbon fiber seat covered in race foam, nylon 3D printed components and an instant fueling system.
Alongside the development of the track-focused Prototype 1, the Auto Fabrica team also began working on a road-going version of the bike: Prototype 2.
Based on the P1’s design language, Prototype 2 features Auto Fabrica’s signature round headlamp and laser cut rear lamp but adds more bespoke elements.
Thin front indicators that sit flush in the fairing and a cover over the fuel cap fitted with a hinge mechanism that includes a gas strut — engineered and developed in-house of course — are two such features, while the seat is covered in Alcantara.
Prototype 2 will be offered for sale through Auto Fabrica in a limited run of 20.
Upon seeing these models develop, Yamaha gave the Auto Fabrica team an original XS750, which was sitting in their studio in Japan, and asked them to rework the bike. It became known as Prototype 3.
Building on the established Auto Fabrica design language and build ethos, the company’s DNA is immediately apparent through the pure, sculptural hand-beaten aluminum forms draped over classic motorcycle mechanicals.
Prototype 3’s organic and minimal design ultimately informed the Prototype 2, though the build started after the conceptual development phase of the modern bikes.
Prototype 2 is the ultimate result of the Prototype 1 and Prototype 3 fused together in one amazingly modern two-wheeled machine.
“We took it to a different level,” Buhar says of the Yamaha commission. “We wanted it to be completely new, completely different. There’s never been a Yard Built [project] with three bikes before in a collaboration with Yamaha.”
The difference between Prototype 1 and Prototype 2 are subtle. The race-ready version has a race-fuel setup, a vent in the front fairing instead of a headlamp and indicators and Borani wheels, which will be offered as an option to the carbon wheels shown on the road-going version.
“It’s got a much more aggressive engine and brakes, and a much more aggressive map [for the ECU]. It’s like an FXX version of the LaFerrari,” says Buhar. “The dream is, people order Prototype 2 for the road and get a Prototype 1 for their track days.”
Prototype 3 is a different beast altogether. More in the ilk of Auto Fabrica’s previous builds, the 1977 donor bike was completely transformed by Auto Fabrica’s hands and fitted with an asymmetrical tank that’s been designed around the engine beneath it. It’s wonderfully impressive.
Building a one-off custom bike takes a lot of time. As there’s not one part you can get off-the-shelf, hours turn into days, and days turn into weeks. But good things come to those who wait.
The front fairing of the Prototype 2 is a beautiful piece with perfect radii, while the area around the front of the seat on the Prototype 3 is masterful, showcasing a level of perfection and remarkable attention to detail.
“[The bikes] really show off our skill set,” says Toby, “We pride ourselves on quality and finish.”
The modern engineering aspect was not left wanting either, with solutions devised by the team to achieve the look and function they desired.
The yoke at the top of the Prototype 2’s fork was specifically engineered and built to enable it to clear the fairing, while the Prototype 3’s fairing is literally part of the fork, with the entire headlamp housing sitting millimeters off the front wheel.
Customer demand also has an influence on the build time — interested parties can specify everything from color and trim to seat material, wheels and engine upgrades.
Literally anything is possible, making each bike a very unique, highly bespoke piece specifically tailored to the buyer. But as the team begins to refine Prototype 2 for larger scale builds, the plan is to productionize certain parts of the build as much as possible.
“It all depends on how many we’ll make,” says Toby. “They’re still going to be made by hand so there’s still a lot of man hours that go into producing these. It’s all hand-beaten and rolled aluminum. It’s difficult to give a time frame as every single one is totally different.”
That the team has managed to achieve the level of quality on each of the bikes is incredible, especially considering they’ve done it all using old-school techniques mixed in with modern — and often times bespoke — engineering. And all of it is unreservedly on show.
“We want people to see the level of engineering and hand-craftsmanship that goes into every single piece to create something so seamlessly simple,” says Bujar.
As well as being the first all-new bike adorned with Auto Fabrica’s design DNA, the Type 11 was the first collaboration in the custom motorcycle company’s history. Intrigued, I ask Bujar if there’s more on the way.
“This is the first official collaboration,” he says, slyly. “We’ve got a few more that we’ve got coming up that we can’t talk about as of yet…”
We’re certainly looking forward to seeing more awesome projects emerge from the three-man team.
AUTO FABRICA PROTOTYPE 2 SPECS
Yamaha XSR900 base
AF handmade and formed body/seat unit
AF aluminum grips
AF billet aluminum yokes
AF rear light unit
AF subframe
AF carbon-nylon radiator covers and components
Bespoke Ohlins FGRT front forks
Bespoke Ohlins STX45 rear shock
Alcantara/race foam seat
AF sand bent signature 3-into-3 stainless steel exhaust
Zircotec coatings
BST carbon wheels
Diablo Supercorsa V2 tires
PFM floating 330mm front discs
Brembo brake calipers
Renthal clip-ons
