1986 Suzuki DR600 Tracker

I’ve often contemplated what it is that qualifies someone to be regarded as a professional builder. What are the terms to which one must adhere to be adorned with such a prefix? Is it reserved for those who rely on building bikes to put food on the table? Or maybe one needs to acquire X amount of show trophies to get their General stars? What’s made the most sense to me lately is a stature based on the amount of customized parts that have been made as opposed to acquired and assembled. It’s something I am constantly pushing myself to improve upon and seems like the most tangible way to create that builder hierarchy. At the top of my list are Ian Barry and Max Hazan, not only for their god-like abilities but their accompanying aesthetic vision.

This controversy brings me to a build I came across recently by a guy named Massimo Rinchiuso out of Italy. At first glance it’s difficult to understand the amount of work that has gone into this bike being that it’s relatively unassuming, in a good way. The alterations of the main 10ft elements draw you in – the tall raked stance, the unfamiliar tank and tail and their relationship to the nimble core. From there you just keep getting closer..and closer. You start finding that peaking around corners and underneath components is revealing all sorts of hidden alterations that Max, or “Fuchs”, has had his hands in.

Flip through these photos, and take your time, but to fully digest this build you’ll need to follow that first helping up with a lengthy scroll through Max’s build page. There you’ll begin to be able to wrap your head around this bike’s level of customization. I’d say that earns Fuchs his General stars.