The Honda XR200 is one of our favorite trail bikes. The 2-valve oversquare engine, in production for some 35 years or more, has the eager grunt of the quintessential four-stroke thumper, and the chassis is built XR-tough. While the bike is no motocrosser, it will keep thumping long after other bikes have bit the dust. My late father and I owned a pair of XR200R trail bikes in the 1990s, so they are particularly close to my heart.

Until recently, street-legal Honda XR200 dual-sport versions were available in many markets. One of those countries was the Philippines — the home of one of our very favorite builders, Revolt Cycles. Recently, headman Louise and the team were tasked with answering the following question:

“What is the best machine to travel around an archipelago with 7,641 islands but only 2,000 of them are only inhabited?”

The XR200 has the reliable engine and rugged chassis for the job. However, in stock trim, the XR200 lacks many of the necessities for full-on adventuring: long-range fuel tank, pannier racks, superior lighting, etc. The Revolt Cycles team set forth to rectify that, building the perfect machine for a “wandering soul” in search of island adventure:

“A custom built adventure bike with all the necessary accessories to suit a good two wheelin’ trip across the islands of Philippines.”

The result is a custom Honda XR200 adventure bike nicknamed “UTE” after the small pickups popular in Australia and New Zealand — small machines with big hearts. Below, we get the full story on this custom ADV bike, along with some killer shots from one of our favorite moto photographers, The Jeb Photo Mercenary.

Honda XR200 Adventure Bike: In the Builder’s Words

Base bike: Honda XR200
Year: 2012

Ever wondered what is the best machine to travel around an archipelago with 7,641 islands but only 2,000 of them are only inhabited? Sure any machine will do the job but we’ve created one that will fill the gaps an adventurer needs.

Mr. Javier, who is a expat residing and working in the Philippines, came to us and asked if we can do any typical looking tracker build that you would have come across on the web on a Honda XR200 base. As further discussion goes about his ideas, it seems clear that he wanted something more functional and rugged. So we coined up with him on a custom built adventure bike with all the necessary accessories to suit a good two wheelin’ trip across the islands of Philippines.

As per usual on most of our builds, a full strip-down of parts to be prepped and painted, leaving the frame red and the rest of the parts black with a dash of white on the fenders and tank to add contrast to the Honda XR color scheme.

We’ve added a aftermarket 20L Acerbis long range fuel tank to keep him on the road for most of the time.

Full-on custom racks and panniers for the adventure kit essentials to be strapped and packed in the bike.

We’ve customized as well the wheels by adding black aluminum rims with a standard 21″ front rim and a 4.25″ wide rear rim wrapping it with a true and well proven adventure tire, the Mitas E07+ Dakars.

Pdrched up front for night visibility is a 13Lucky Led lamps backed on standard handlebars.

Custom reupholstered seat giving the rider the comfort of grip and mobility during the ride. For confidence to be heard, an aftermarket exhaust tail pipe giving it that sweet thumper note.

All this mentioned above led us to name it the UTE (short for utility, commonly referring to the pick-up trucks used in Australia and New Zealand, but taking a similar idea of its functionality in relation to the bike). The bike serves many advantages for the wandering soul making it ready for the adventure trip across the Philippine Islands.

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• Photos: The Jeb Photo Mercenary (Rodulfo Ouano): & Instagram (@the.jeb) | Facebook | Youtube
• Credit: bikebound

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