In the early days of writing about motorcycles, I came across Cape Town-based Stoos Customs and, since then, I have keenly followed their work. Established in early 2012 by Alex Stoos, they “design and build bespoke motorcycles that blur the line between engineering and functional art. Every build is approached with intention and shaped by passion, precision, and relentless attention to detail (and yes, a little blood along the way).”
Stoos’ passion for two wheels started at a young age. He was the kid who would rather be in a garage than anywhere else, wrenching on his own bikes and figuring out how things worked. From 14, he began taking holiday jobs at a local workshop with the hopes of fulfilling his goal of moving to the US to study. At 18, he took that leap and attended the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI) in Florida where he qualified as a certified Harley-Davidson and Honda technician.
Upon graduating, he did an internship at British-born Russell Mitchell’s Exile Cycles in North Hollywood. “That experience was pivotal for me,” he says. “It was there that my love for mechanics evolved into a true passion for building custom motorcycles. It wasn’t just about fixing bikes anymore; it was about creating something raw, powerful, and deeply personal from the ground up.”
This approach is at the heart of Stoos Customs with a design aesthetic rooted in brutal simplicity, a true “less is more” philosophy. It is based on stripping away anything unnecessary and focusing on what really matters: proportion, purpose and precision. Every line, every weld, every component must earn its place.
“A bike doesn’t need to be shiny or flashy to make an impact.” he explains. “The opposite is often true. When the noise is removed, the craftsmanship speaks louder. The quality of each individual part, the integrity of the build, and the attention to the smallest details are what define the final piece. Design is about honesty. Raw materials. Clean silhouettes. Functional beauty. If the foundation is strong and the execution is precise, simplicity becomes powerful.”
The starting point for every build is asking: what is the objective? He believes in defining the purpose of the motorcycle before a single bolt is turned. For example, is it built for speed and aggression, long, effortless cruising, or nimble city hopping?
“The function always drives the form. Clear intention naturally guides the choice of donor bike out of which the real creative process begins,” he reflects. “I spend hours studying the bike’s lines, understanding its proportions, sketching ideas and physically holding parts up against it to see how they interact. It’s a hands-on, intuitive process. I don’t rush it. The bike starts to reveal what it wants to become.”
When working on commissions for client, clarity and alignment are critical. It is important for him to both understand the client’s vision and determine whether it aligns with the Stoos Customs design language.
Stoos says, “My role is to take their vision and translate it through our philosophy of brutal simplicity, precision craftsmanship, and purposeful design into a rolling piece of functional art.”
The first motorcycle Stoos customised was his own Harley-Davidson Sportster 883, which he rebuilt three different times and calls his “classroom”. It was where he learnt what works, what doesn’t and what not to do through trial, error, late nights and doing things twice.
Some of the hard lessons Stoos has learnt over the years include that “patience isn’t passive, it’s disciplined restraint. And compromise has its limits. There’s a difference between adapting creatively and settling,” he says, “And obsession … that’s the part I didn’t fully expect. The pursuit of perfect alignment, flawless symmetry, seamless integration. Spending hours refining something most people will never consciously notice. Excellence lives in the details and true craftsmanship demands a level of care that borders on obsessive.”
Stoos has customised quite a few motorcycles with the XX — which he started building by himself during the Covid-19 lockdown and marked his 20th build — being the most challenging and, ultimately, the most rewarding. He started with just a 2015 1200 Sportster engine and built everything else, from the frame to the swingarm, in-house. This is also his most internationally recognised motorcycle having been showcased at various prestigious events.
While Stoos has always been drawn to American V-Twins, particularly Harley-Davidson, in recent years Stoos Customs has built a growing number of motorcycles based on Triumph platforms as well as BMW Motorrad. The beauty, for him, is that each brand brings a different engineering philosophy and character, which opens up new creative directions.
Stoos takes pride in never having built the same bike twice. “Every motorcycle carries its own story and personality, and I respect that,” he explains. “No two visions, riders or machines are ever truly the same. Each one is thoughtfully crafted to reflect the individuality, style, and story of its owner.”
Beyond building motorcycles, Stoos Customs is evolving into a cool place to hang out, with a coffee shop, great crafted beer and a view into the motorcycle vault, which houses both collectables and some of their builds. For Alex Stoos, the vision is to create a must-see, must-visit space in Cape Town.
