Ride It Like Beckham: David Beckham’s Personal Bonneville, Customized By British Customs

When you look at David Beckham, you see an icon of taste. You see badass tats and a winning grin, but you also get a strong sense of refinement.

We wanted the Bonneville we customized for him to reflect all of that. We wanted to make a bike that he could ride anywhere on. And we wanted it to look like it belonged on the streets of LA as much as it belonged on the muddy trails of the Amazon. We also wanted it to draw on the heritage of motorcycling, in the way that David Beckham’s taste is inspired by a classic sense of style.

“Less is more” is the idea behind this custom build. We stripped the bike down to its bare minimums, and started from there.

We used a set of clip-ons and a Motogadget Mini to clean up the front. To make it comfortable, but without losing the tough look we wanted it to have, we used a leather Slammer Seat with an integrated tail light. To tidy up the tail, we used retro turn signals and a vertical license plate that mounts to the shocks.

We also wanted to get everything we could out of the engine. To do this, we installed a Drag Pipe Exhaust System, an airbox removal kit, and an air injection removal kit. Then we put a Power Commander V in it and had it dynotuned to get every bit of torque possible out of that Hinckley twin.

With all the major systems taken care of, it was time to address the details. Details are what pull any custom build together. To help get the rugged feel we wanted, we installed sprocket covers, a new chain guard, and an oil gauge. To give it a weathered look, but to keep the sense of refinement, we gave the exhaust pipes a patina by burnishing them with used engine oil. After that, we installed a gold chain to make the weathered colors pop.

The thing with this build is that minus a couple tweaks, this was done with factory-spec bolt-on parts. If you want to replicate this build, or if you find yourself inspired to make your own custom build, you can look at our DBSC upgrades packages that have everything we used.