This heavily modified BSA appropriately entitled “The Navigator” is one of the coolest one-off machines I’ve ever seen. The thing is just dripping with character and it possesses a wildly unique aesthetic with what appears to be an excellent fit and finish. While this example is undeniably pretty out there, it’s been masterfully executed and whether or not you like it, it is at the very least; objectively interesting. The Navigator is unabashedly a display or show bike, and despite my belief that motorcycles should be made to be ridden, I’m nonetheless more than willing to make an exception in the case of this idiosyncratic little British scoot.
Twisted Spine Motorcycles is a custom motoshop in Derby, England that makes everything from individual one-off parts to complete, from the ground up custom builds, while specializing in creating unique bespoke steel (and stainless steel) frames like the one on the devilishly funky Navigator. Twisted Spine’s Robert Wood was the mind and wrencher at the helm of the Navigator and damn did he knock this one out of the park. Not only has this epic small-displacement two-wheeler been on exhibition and been crowned with several awards at more than a few U.K.-based motorcycle shows and events – including London’s latest BikeShed show – but this example also managed to be chosen to grace the cover of Back Street Heroes (a popular U.K. custom bike magazine) with the headline: “The best custom bantam EVER!”.
In addition to its unorthodox hand-built stainless steel chassis, the Navigator also boasts Hydro dips wooden rims. The rear suspension on this highly modified BSA had to be custom fabricated to accommodate the unconventional frame and swingarm. The Navigator has been decked out with various brass and copper accent-pieces, including an antique compass that’s been dropped into the hand-made Wassell fuel-tank. A hand-tooled solo-sprung seat furthers the machine’s pre-1950’s look, as do the board-track style skinny wheels.
The Navigator is powered by a 175cc BSA single from a D7 that is married to a three-speed transmission, all inhaling through a single (possibly brass?) velocity stack. A one-off single-pipe exhaust was used on the fascinating BSA build, utilizing a custom-made copper bracket to hold the pipe firmly in place. It goes without saying that the brass rearsets were specially made for this endeavor along with a matching kickstart pedal. A simple yet elegant paint job rounds out this creative and unique build with the tank and rear fender receiving a creme-colored coat with minimalistic gold (or maybe brass or copper) pinstriping that frames the words on the tank. A custom display stand had to be fabricated to show this bike and I imagine Twisted Spine plans on including said stand in the bike’s sale.
Pictures hardly begin to do this two-wheeled creation justice but luckily someone was nice enough to post a thorough walk around video of this machine that includes some great up-close views to YouTube which I urge you to check out. (The music is way relaxing, too):
You can find this funky little BSA custom that is the Navigator for sale here on The Bike Shed in London, England with a price of $11,100 (or £8,500)