the ‘mad boxer’ takes a subaru ‘WRX’ engine and pairs it with a kawasaki fuel tank, packing its ferocity in a bespoke shell. created marcel van hooijdonk, a new zealander toolmaker by trade, he has spent over five years blurring the genres between vehicles and has produced one of the most outrageous custom motorcycles.



all images © lindsay gibb

the idea for the ‘mad boxer’ stemmed from a challenge that marcel received from a friend, who had found an artist’s impression of a subaru-powered motorcycle concept. to get the project underway, marcel took a motor case and some tires, spaced them out, stepped back and grabbed himself a beer. after eyeballing it and forming a plan, a clear decision was made. the car engine is key to this build, and he had a few options to choose from. one of the most readily available subaru engines in new zealand is the ‘EJ’ series, with capacities ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 liters, and could be found in most of its automobiles since 1989.

marcel started with some autocad, sketching a CAD drawing, and had it signed-off from the regulatory body that covers all modified vehicles in NZ — the low volume vehicle technical association. once he had the motor block and wheels in place, making renderings of the center steer hub, swing arms and the main chassis sides. the drawings were also used for programming the CNC milling center and lathe, which carved out the bespoke pieces of the bike ready for assembly. this wasn’t an easy job however, and took a few attempts for the bike to have everything perfectly composed. he also had to work out a steering system that met the certification panel’s approval.

the ‘mad boxer’ was then fitted with wheels sourced off the NZ ebay-equivalent trademe, a kawasaki fuel tank, and a smaller twin-turbo from a subaru ‘legacy’ replacing the huge ‘WRX’ turbo. the result is an engine that runs very smoothly, even though it has no real flywheel. marcel has chosen a modified japanese two-speed automatic transmission, the makes use of a chain drive to help power the rear wheel. there’s no gear lever on the foot pegs as such, just a button on the handlebars to change gears. braking is just like a scooter, with a bar-mounted lever for the buell-sourced brakes. with torque levels that most bikes can but only dream of, the ‘madboxer’ is certain to fly down the block when ridden.