In the world of custom motorcycles, few names resonate with as much distinctive style and quiet intensity as Winston Yeh, founder and creative force behind Rough Crafts. Based in Taipei, Taiwan, Rough Crafts has become celebrated not simply for flashy visuals, but for a design philosophy that fuses raw potential (“rough”) with precision and craftsmanship (“crafts”) - a duality that defines both Yeh himself and his creations.

Winston Yeh’s fascination with motorcycles began as a student, when a classmate’s customized 150cc Yamaha sparked his curiosity. That curiosity soon evolved into something more serious. Yeh went on to earn a master’s degree in Industrial Design at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California.

While in the U.S., he made a bold move: he won an eBay auction for parts from Roland Sands’ workshop. That connection led him to show his design portfolio to Sands, who hired him for nine months. That stint gave Yeh a working insight into how a design-forward custom shop like RSD (Roland Sands Design) operates - how to combine design ambition with practical motorcycle building.

Armed with that experience and a clear vision, Yeh returned to Taipei around 2009 and founded Rough Crafts.

One of the things that sets Rough Crafts apart is how Yeh treats a bike as a holistic object. Rather than letting one flashy part dominate, each component is considered in relation to the whole. As Yeh has said, “If one part really sticks out … that’s a failure.”

Interestingly, Yeh’s workshop is not a heavy fabrication shop. He does not maintain large-scale tooling or metal-shaping in-house; instead, he works as a designer and orchestrator, collaborating with specialist fabricators, painters, and craftsmen. This modular, networked approach lets him adapt to different projects and push boundaries without being constrained by a fixed shop infrastructure.

He often incorporates advanced tools such as 3D printing and 3D scanning into his workflow - blending modern methods with traditional handcrafting to realize custom parts.

His eponymous name “Rough Crafts” encapsulates this tension: the “rough” representing untamed energy or potential, and “crafts” signaling the refinement and care needed to shape it into art.

Rough Crafts motorcycles are often characterized by:
- Dark, understated color schemes, often dominated by black tones and subtle contrasts.
- Harmonious proportions - no one element overshadows others; form and function merge.
- Factory-level fit and finish, with minimal visible transitions or gaps, making the bikes feel like they might have rolled off an ultra-luxury production line.

Among his previously celebrated works:

- “Guerrilla” Harley Davidson 883 - one of his early standout builds that caught international attention.

- Bavarian Fistfighter - a BMW R nineT conversion notable for its interplay of BMW heritage lines and Yeh’s clean, dark aesthetic.

- Ballistic Trident (MV Agusta Brutale 800RR) - a commissioned build for MV’s Taiwanese distributor, featuring a modern reinterpretation of racing fairings and bespoke componentry.

- RoughSV4 (Aprilia RSV4 Factory) - among his more recent high-challenge projects, transforming a modern superbike into a neo-streetfighter while maintaining electronics and performance.