Indonesia’s Knuckle Whackjob turns a vintage Suzuki GT185 two-stroke into a sublime vintage enduro.
We had to do a double-take when this handsome little scrambler landed in our inbox. At a glance, it looks like a neatly restomodded 1970s Suzuki enduro—but its twin-cylinder two-stroke motor says otherwise, since all of Suzuki’s dirt bikes from that decade were singles.
In reality, this little ripper is a 1974 Suzuki GT185 road bike, masterfully transformed by Knuckle Whackjob in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Introduced in 1973, the GT185 featured a 184 cc two-stroke twin with Suzuki’s patented Ram Air cooling system. The unique design featured an aluminum cylinder head with vertical fins at the front, which encouraged airflow to the engine, making it one of the coolest-looking units around.
This particular Suzuki GT185 has quite an origin story. It originally belonged to a gentleman who was pressed to sell it to pay for his child’s education. His friend, Tommy, bought it to help him out, but the bike proved to be unreliable in the long run.
Tommy tried to fix it, but eventually threw in the towel and stashed the bike away in his garage, where it languished. Years later, his wife strongly suggested that he either sell or dispose of the tired old GT, because it was taking up space.
Instead, he reached out to the guys at Knuckle Whackjob about whipping it back into shape. What started as a straightforward restoration job quickly evolved into a full-blown custom project.
Rather than turn to Suzuki’s own vintage dirt bikes for their cues, the Knuckle Whackjob team looked outside of the brand. They drew inspiration from vintage Triumph desert sleds instead, setting themselves the challenge of building a two-stroke sled that could rival the iconic four-stroke machines of the era.
Despite the radical redesign, Knuckle Whackjob was adamant about preserving the GT185’s original bones, which is why it looks more like a restored factory special than a custom bike.
The engine and carbs were stripped and rebuilt using original Suzuki parts, and the frame was mostly left alone, save for some tweaks to the subframe.
The OEM front forks were extended, while the rear shocks were replaced with longer units scalped from a Harley. Knuckle Whackjob retained the Suzuki’s 18” rear wheel, but laced the front drum brake hub to an aftermarket 19” rim. The wheels are wrapped in Shinko SR241 tires.
All the GT185’s stock bodywork was scrapped for aluminum pieces, handcrafted by the workshop’s fabricator, Dani. Each part is elegant in its own way—from the extended front fender right through to the broad rear fender with its integrated number boards. Dani opted for a petite design for the fuel tank, and built an aluminum oil tank that fits seamlessly with the bespoke side covers.
Knuckle Whackjob made the chromed motocross handlebars and bench seat, too, both of which recall the desert sleds of yore. The GT185 is finished off with custom-made exhausts—one on each side—with heat shields reminiscent of vintage Suzuki designs.
For the color scheme, the crew settled on a sublime cocktail of maroon, satin brushed finishes, and chrome. The pipes were coated in black, while the engine was vapor blasted to a satin finish and left raw.
Somewhere during the build process, the lubrication company IPONE hit up Knuckle Whackjob about the possibility of collaborating on the launch of a new line of two-stroke oils. So the crew added a smattering of IPONE logos to the Suzuki GT185, took it down to the beach, and spent a day flinging sand around while filling the salty air with all the smells and sounds that only a two-stroke can produce.
Knuckle Whackjob Instagram | Images by @prakosoumam and @iamgegess_
