Deus Ex Machina - Wild File

The literal translation is "God from the machine." Otherwise, deus ex machina refers to a bit of artifice designed to yank implausible plot twists out of one's literary hat. When describing the motorcycle shop at 98-104 Parramatta Road in Camperdown, New South Wales--right around the corner from The University of Sydney if you're in the neighborhood--either definition applies. Or both: The machinery may well be divinely inspired. How else do you explain designer street-trackers and assorted examples of the American hot-rod idiom materializing thousands of miles from home? Then again, the Temple of Enthusiasm--17,000 square feet of showroom, workshop, design studio and bakery caf under one carefully resurrected warehouse roof--is anything but ordinary.

First, the official Deus errand runner is a D-Type Jaguar replica. Perfect. Walls wear original art by Robert Williams, Robert Moore and Rockin' Jelly Bean. Hand-built fixed-gear Deus track bicycles share showroom space with classic and neo-classic motorbikes, many of which started life as Kawasaki W650s, Triumph twins and Yamaha singles. Or there are catalogs and display cases full of parts to help you roll your own. A genuine reverence for the bare-knuckle '40s/'50s hot-rod aesthetic holds everything together.

Marquee machines like the Triumph 865 Street Tracker pictured above testify to that. Born a 790cc Bonneville T100, Deus spanner men pushed displacement to 904cc and output to about 65 bhp at 7200 rpm while cutting weight to 429 pounds dry by grinding away everything extraneous. Designed by Deus principal Rod Hunwick--he of the 175-bhp Hunwick-Hallam XR1R Superbike--this one is spoken for, but you can commission your own for a whole lot less than the average high-maintenance museum refugee.

For those with simpler tastes, the Deus converts Yamaha's evergreen SR400/500 single into everything from a pukka Isle of Man TT ride to a street-tracker that looks serious enough to get slideways but too perfect to risk it. In between, you'll find enough precious metal at the Deus website (www.deus.com) for an afternoon or two of research. We hear there's a nice opera house in Sydney if you're bored after the shop closes...