Essence of a Motorcycle: Heiwa’s Suzuki ST250 scrambler

Kengo Kimura is one of the world’s most versatile bike builders. He can create high-end customs that win ‘Best In Show’ prizes at Mooneyes. He can also build wild concepts for the likes of BMW. And then he can take a humble commuter bike and make it look like a million dollars. This elegant little scrambler is based on Suzuki’s ST250, an anonymous but competent single launched in the mid 90s and sold around the world under several different names—including TU250 and Volty. In the US, the second generation TU250X has been a slow but steady seller for over a...