For Rory Turnham, a difficult-to-find motorcycle part is often the starting point for a new design. Based in the UK, the founder of RS Junkie has built his business around two-stroke motorcycles, particularly the Aprilia RS125, helping fellow enthusiasts replace, reproduce and improve the components their bikes need. With Carvera Air in his workshop, Rory can now take an idea through design, machining and testing himself.
“That ability to iterate is probably the biggest advantage — it has made it much easier to turn ideas into actual motorcycle parts.”
— Rory Turnham, founder of RS Junkie
A Business Built Around Parts Riders Could Not Find
RS Junkie began with problems Rory encountered through his own involvement with motorcycles. Modifying and repairing bikes regularly meant looking for components that were expensive, unavailable, poorly designed or no longer in production.
He started making parts for himself and other enthusiasts. Over five years, that work grew into a motorcycle parts and engineering business, with activities spanning custom components, engine rebuilding and complete bike restoration.
"RS Junkie started as a way of making those parts for myself and other enthusiasts, and it gradually grew into a proper business. Five years on, it’s developed much further than I originally expected."
The Aprilia RS125 became a particular focus. Rory describes an enthusiastic community around the motorcycle, with owners interested in both keeping older bikes running and exploring modifications. As those bikes age, some components become harder to source, creating opportunities for someone who understands the machines and can make useful replacements.
“There’s also a massive amount of scope for modification and tuning,” he says. “The RS125 community is very enthusiastic, so if you can make a part that genuinely solves a problem or improves the bike, there’s a real demand for it.”
That practical connection to other riders continues to guide the business. A project starts with a component that needs replacing or an idea for something that could work better.
Bringing Prototypes into His Own Workshop
Before Carvera Air, more of Rory’s manufacturing work was carried out manually or outsourced. He could design a component himself, but producing it could require additional equipment, expense and time.
Bringing desktop CNC into the workshop gave him a more direct route to a physical prototype.
“Carvera Air has made the whole process much more accessible. I can go from an idea in CAD to a physical prototype without having to send the job elsewhere. That makes experimentation much easier because you’re not worried about paying for every small design change.”
For work built around solving individual problems, that flexibility matters. A first version can reveal something that needs adjusting: a dimension, a design feature or the way a tool approaches the material. Rory can use what he learns to revise the design and machine another version relatively quickly.
The result is a closer connection between designing a component and understanding how it works as a real part.
Fork Top Caps That Need to Fit and Look Right
Among Rory’s projects, the Aprilia RS125 fork top caps capture several of the challenges involved in making motorcycle components. They are relatively small parts, but their dimensions, functionality and appearance all demand attention.
“A fork top cap isn’t particularly large, but there are several critical dimensions and features that all need to be correct for it to fit and function properly,” Rory explains. “You also want the finished part to look like a quality component rather than something that has simply been machined out of a block.”
The caps required machining on both sides, with the part flipped in the vice. That made workholding and the order of operations especially important: features produced in separate setups needed to line up accurately.
Rory paid attention to the full process, including CAD, toolpaths, workholding and finishing. Producing consistent results across multiple parts was another consideration. In a project update, he also described planning to vapour blast a completed cap to remove machining marks.
His experience with these parts reflects a lesson that runs through his work: careful preparation plays a substantial role in what a compact machine can achieve.
“It’s been impressive seeing how far you can push a machine of that size when you take the time to properly plan the process.”
Building Confidence with Two-Sided Machining
Rory’s shared projects show how he has developed his process through actual components. By his third project after receiving the machine, he reported machining a precise two-sided power valve blanking plate.
In that update, he specifically credited calibration with improving alignment when flipping the part in the vice. His enthusiasm came with useful context about the work he had put into his setup:
“Awesome machine with some mods, can really make some high end parts”
Another project, a billet manifold for an Arrow exhaust, started with a 65 × 25 × 100 mm aluminium blank. Rory used a two-sided operation, clearing material with a 6 mm end mill and generating the toolpaths in Fusion 360. He reported a machining time of around an hour and a half for that particular job.
"This machine is very capable - machine time of around 1.5 hours"
His shared work also includes a clutch pressure plate and a vent hose holder for the 2026+ Honda CRF250. While the RS125 remains central to RS Junkie, these projects show Rory applying his design and machining experience to a broader range of motorcycle components.
Letting the First Prototype Teach Him
Rory’s workflow usually begins by identifying a problem and, where possible, measuring an existing component. He decides what the new part needs to do before creating the CAD design.
Next come CAM, tool selection and workholding, followed by machining a prototype. He uses Fusion 360 for CAD and CAM in the projects he has shared.
"The first version is often where you learn the most — you find things that need changing, whether that’s a dimension, toolpath or design feature."
Once he is satisfied with the prototype, he refines the process for the finished parts. Aluminium features heavily in his work, particularly where weight, corrosion resistance and appearance matter. Throughout the process, the component’s needs guide his decisions.
“I’m always trying to choose the most appropriate process for the part rather than just using CNC for the sake of it.”
That approach keeps the workshop focused on the riders and motorcycles behind each project. Five years after starting RS Junkie, Rory is still finding things he wants to repair, modify or improve. With Carvera Air, he has more freedom to explore those ideas, learn from a first attempt and put the next version on the machine.
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