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Who likes to ride two up? @arjanvandenboom and @esthersarah on the latest @ironwoodcustommotorcycles BMW R80. Love it, thanks for the share! . Photo by @paul_vanml. . . #croig #caferacersofinstagram #caferacer #bmw #r80
 
DOM’ PERIGNON – Honda NX650 Dominator by Forge



This is a story older than time. A common predicament many of us have been in. You buy a donor bike with all the right intentions to build one of the coolest motorcycles the world has ever seen. But the days pass by and then the months pass by until reality hits and you know you aren’t ever going to finish this build. Whether it’s a lack of time or a lack of ability, the bike sits in the garage waiting for some love and attention. This is exactly what happened when a customer approached French garage Forge to build them a Dominator. The 1989 NX650 had been sitting in pieces for a year and the owner knew he wasn’t going to get it done, so he called Forge.



Forge Motorcycles are a Husband and wife team, Gwen and Jenny, who opened up a workshop 4 years ago near a French town called Nantes and have never looked back. After coming from the sports bike world they decided after losing their licences too many times that maybe older bikes were a smarter choice for them. Now they spend their days building complete ground up projects for all brands and any size.



Thomas the client came to them with a bunch of references he liked, plus boxes of spare parts. “We started by proposing two different projects to him.” Gwen says. “The first was a compilation of everything he loves and the second was a unique creation by Forge”. His decision was fast and a chose the Forge creation.



One thing Forge Motorcycles knew they didn’t want, was any round lines on the bike. The rear loop is formed by straighter looking lines, the curves of the tank have been redesigned and made more angular, the seat is a patchwork of triangles, and even the front fender curved angles have been squared off.



The stopping power has been updated with the front brake receiving a Brembo gold series caliper. The master cylinder has been updated with a Nissin Radial. The original front fork was lowered by 10cm and the front rim went from 21″ to an Excel 19″ rim. They also changed all the spokes to stainless steel.



The tank was swapped out for a more streamlined CB125 and the edges were made more prolonged. “The paint for the tank was hard to find, but eventually found a beautiful blue metallic glitter from a BMW M6.” Gwen tells us. “In the shade, the colour is almost black but under the sun it is an explosion of blue metallic glitter.”



The seat was a surprise until the end for Thomas, he just wanted to make sure it was a tandem seat. It was also a surprise for the leather seat upholsterer who wondered if it was possible to achieve but ended up taking on the challenge – each triangle is a piece of leather stitched to three other triangles.



The only other requests by Thomas were the Continental TKC 80 ‘Twinduro’ tires and the Renthal handlebar the rest was up to Forge. They choose a headlight with its angel eye and lenses comes from a Jeep Wrangler. The turning signal bar ends and handles are from Motogadget, as well as the Motoscope mini counter.





Lastly, and one of the biggest challenges Forge faced was hiding all the relays, cdi, fuse box, battery in the most discreet way possible. In the end they managed to hide the majority of the elements in a hollow between the tank and the seat, the rest was fixed under the seat.



Yep, we think they turned this humble Dominator into a bike Thomas must be very proud of. The last words go to Thomas when the bike was first unveiled to him and he screamed “Comment vous dire… j’adore ca Dom!” – which pretty much translates to he friggin’ loved his new Dominator.





[ Forge | Instagram ]
 
We’ll be heading to the @handbuiltshow this weekend with our latest build with @kuryakyn. Don’t miss out, looking forward to seeing you all there! . Photo by @revivalcycles. . . #handbuiltshow #croig #caferacersofinstagram #austin #texas #motorcycleshow
 
BMW K100 Cafe Racer

The BMW K100 “Flying Brick” represented a significant design leap for BMW Motorrad, who’d long been known for their flat-twin “airhead” engine design. The K100, in contrast, was a fuel-injected, liquid-cooled inline four laid flat in the frame — a design that benefited from the company’s deep expertise in building fuel-injected, overhead cam automobile engines. The K100 engine offered serious punch for the era — 95 horsepower — capable of pushing the 537-lb sport tourer to 137 mph.

BMW K100 Cafe Racer

Enter Paul Fill of @Kustom_Moto. an experienced track rider who turned to bike-building after a serious injury put an end to his track days some half a decade ago. Previously, we featured Paul’s Yamaha XS650 brat / tracker and BMW K100 street scrambler. Not a man to sit on his laurels, Paul is back with the “Hurricane” — a BMW K100 cafe racer loaded with tons of trick parts. Below, we get the full story on the build.

Flying Brick Cafe Racer: Builder Interview

BMW K100 Cafe Racer

• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.

My name is Paul and this is my forth build. I have previously built a Yamaha XS650 Tracker, a couple of BMW K100 Café Racers (one scrambler style) — both previously featured, and many others!

BMW K100 Cafe Racer

• What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?

BMW K100, 1986.

BMW K100 Cafe Racer

• Why was this bike built?

Customer Project.

BMW K100 Cafe Racer

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

I built this bike for a regular customer who lets me have a free reign on the design concept.

BMW K100 Cafe Racer

• What custom work was done to the bike?

S1000RR front end, One-off Leather seat, Supermoto Tyres, Motogadget M Lock, Custom Frame, Wider Rear Wheel, BSK Exhaust and lots more trick stuff!

BMW K100 Cafe Racer

• Does the bike have a nickname?

“The Hurricane Bike”

BMW K100 Cafe Racer

• How would you classify this bike?

Café Racer

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

I love the huge 55mm gold forks and big gold Brembos, they look “right” on this kind of chunky bike! I always put 100% into my builds, quality is absolutely key to everything.

Follow the Builder @kustom_moto

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SIDEWAYS SPORTY – 2017 Harley-Davidson Sportster by MC Parts



The Harley-Davidson XR750 is probably the most beautiful bike Harley has ever made. Which is ironic, because it was designed to get dirty, and getting sideways is what it did so well in AMA flat track races –actually it went on to become the most successful model in AMA history. So when a customer came into the H-D specialist shop called MC Parts in Denmark and wanted them to build a modern street-legal Harley-Davidson that pays homage to the XR750, they couldn’t wait to get their hands dirty.



“So we went out and bought a 2017 Sportster Roadster for him straight away” says Maki from MC Parts. Luckily the bike already had some design elements that would make their job easier and retain that factory look they were going for. “The wheels with the reasonably “open” spoke design and the competent Showa USD forks with dual discs.” The front fender was ditched and instead custom fork leg covers were crafted.



The tank was the first thing the guys at MC Parts sourced, as the entire project was pretty much built around it. After looking at 4 or 5 tanks they finally choice this 7 litre beauty that resembled the original XR750 tank the most. Because of its small size and its low profile they opted for an external fuel pump in the tail section.



“One thing we agreed on very early in the project, was that a continuous line from the bottom of the tank to the fiberglass tail” says Maki. “It would make for a very harmonic silhouette, especially when comparing it to many other sportster flat track bikes that almost without an exception have a step down from the tank to the seat. The final position of the tank and the seat was the only place where we could get acceptable clearance from the rear wheel, while maintaining a decent seat height (850mm)”.



The tail section is a fiberglass unit, with a classic custom seat that has orange stitching to match the paint job. Under the fiberglass is a bracket that holds things like a can switch box, the fuel pump and a fuel pressure regulator from a Ducati.



“Persuading the bike to run the fuel pump took some effort and head scratching, the Can-bus system on these Harleys can be hard work. More electronics were needed to make the trip switch in the Rebuffini switch gears communicate with the cool looking Motogadget Motoscope Pro.”





The heavy stock brake calipers were swapped out for dual 4pot Performance machine units, in a differential bore design. At first MC Parts were thinking about using the DT3 tires from the new Indian FTR1200, but at the last moment they decided to keep the stock Dunlops.



The number “88” front plate has a dual HID headlight unit, hidden in one of the numbers. All lights and license plate bracket with the extremely small Kellermann rear lights with indicators, can be completely removed for track use in about an hour.



Handlebars are from Biltwell in a moto-x bend with a cross bar, perfect for urban riding which is where this bike will probably be ridden the most. Riding position is upright and relaxed. We went with Renthal grips and bar end indicator lights and the throttle unit is from Motion Pro.



With the RSD Super Hooligan racing drawing so much attention and crowds in the USA, we are sure we will be seeing more of these larger capacity street legal flat trackers being built right around the world. And trust me, we’re not complaining.



MC Parts | Instagram
 
Oh baby we like it raw. We saw this raw BMW R80 'Exoduse’ built by @kottmotorcycles at the @ogmotoshow a few weekends ago and we’re definitely a fan of the different style from the usual. Nice one! . Check out more photos by @livemotofoto on @bikeexif. . . #croig #caferacersofinstagram #caferacer #bikeexif #bmw #r80 #ogmotoshow
 
Yamaha YZ125 Custom Dirt Bike

On the pipe: Custom two-stroke dirt bike from Oregon…

The Yamaha YZ125, introduced in 1974, boasts the longest production run of any motocross bike in the world. The liquid-cooled, 125cc two-stroke has evolved over the years, earning a reputation as one of the best-handling motocrossers ever built. The current version weighs ~190 pounds dry and makes some 32-35 horsepower at the rear wheel — a true ripper.

Yamaha YZ125 Custom Dirt Bike

Enter Max Miille of Hillsboro, Oregon, who shares a fabrication shop with his father, the owner of Sandragon Motorsports — builders of custom ATVs and ATV parts for drag-racing and play-riding. Max works as a welder/fabricator and fell in love with customizing bikes after building a Yamaha XS650. He’s since become obsessed with dirt-biking. So it wasn’t too long before he melded the two loves into the gorgeous custom dirt bike you see here. The donor is a ’93 YZ125, which Max bought from a friend for only $500! Says Max:

“It looked like :shit:, so instead of restoring it I decided to make a custom build. A custom dirt bike is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time…”

Yamaha YZ125 Custom Dirt Bike

Max admits that, for 90% of the build, he was worried he would hate the end result, but he persevered and ended up very happy with how it turned out. When we saw this bike at the 2019 One Moto Show, we went slack-jawed and starry-eyed with love. And this is no show queen or piece of mere garage art, either. Max built this bike to ride:

“It’s an original looking bike that nobody’s really built before. It looks cool and it still rips on the track.”

Given it’s something of a black sheep among dirt bikes, Max dubbed it the “Blue Duck.” Below, we get the full story on this custom dirt bike, along with some stunning photos from Zachary Quiring (@zquiring).

YZ125 Custom Dirt Bike: Builder Interview

Yamaha YZ125 Custom Dirt Bike

• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.

My name is Max Miille. I’m 26 years old. I’ve always been into dirt bikes and all kinds of motorcycles. My dad and I share a fab shop. His company is Sandragon Motorsports, and he builds custom ATVs and a bunch of different parts for drag racing quads. Learning from him and having a job as a welder/fabricator I’ve done a lot of metalwork and welding. My first build was my XS650 and I really fell in love with customizing bikes. Lately I’ve been obsessed with dirt biking. Living in Oregon I can ride sand dunes, trails, and a lot of good tracks.

Yamaha YZ125 Custom Dirt Bike

• What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?

Yamaha YZ125, 1993.

• Why was this bike built?

I built the bike for myself. I borrowed the bike from a friend and fell in love with riding it so I convinced him to sell it to me for only $500. It looked like :shit:, so instead of restoring it I decided to make a custom build. A custom dirt bike is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and I thought this bike was perfect cause it was an older cheap 2 stroke.

Yamaha YZ125 Custom Dirt Bike

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

My initial plan was to just get rid of as much plastic as possible so I could design and make the bike look the way I wanted it to. I knew I was gonna actually be riding it like a dirt bike so I wanted everything to still be functional. The gas tank, seat, and the fenders couldn’t prevent me from riding how I would on a normal bike. The paint and colors I wanted to be traditional Yamaha style with the blue and the designs.

Yamaha YZ125 Custom Dirt Bike

• What custom work was done to the bike?

Aluminum number plate. Aluminum gas tank. The subframe was chopped and I made a new tail section on the frame. Aluminum rear fender. Aluminum roost guard. Aluminum air intake. Stainless airbox with a blue mesh screen behind it. And a custom seat from New Church Moto.

Yamaha YZ125 custom dirt bike

My dad helped me make the custom spacers for the new set of wheels. I did the welding and heat anodizing on the pipe to give it that look.

Yamaha YZ125 Custom Dirt Bike

• Does the bike have a nickname?

The blue duck. ‘Cause it’s kind of like a black sheep dirt bike. And I’ve never seen a blue duck before and I wanted to see a blue duck.

Yamaha YZ125 Custom Dirt Bike

• How would you classify this bike?

Dirt bike

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

It’s an original looking bike that nobody’s really built before. It looks cool and it still rips on the track. The whole thing was a big challenge for me to design and fabricate. 90% of the build I was worried that I was gonna hate it when I was done, but I’m very happy on how it turned out.

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New helmet idea for those who hate the look of a helmet but want to stay safe, just get your whole head printed on your helmet! Would you do this?? Tag a friend who should wear their helmet. . . #croig #caferacersofinstagram #caferacer #atgatt #funny
 
BMW R65 scrambler

In Old Norse mythology, Valhalla (“the hall of the fallen”) is the great hall in Asgard, the celestial fortress of the gods, where heroes slain in battle are received. According to an Old Norse poem:

“The dead who reside in Valhalla…live a life that would have been the envy of any Viking warrior. All day long, they fight one another, doing countless valorous deeds along the way. But every evening, all their wounds are healed, and they are restored to full health.”

BMW R65 scrambler

If there was a motorcycle that Odin, the ruler of Asgard, might have deemed worthy to enter Valhalla, it would be the BMW airhead. The air-cooled boxer twins have proved themselves as nigh-unkillable battlers of the two-wheeled world, capable of surviving tens of thousands of miles on all kinds of roads, in all kinds of conditions.

BMW R65 scrambler

Enter Judd Blunk of Woodacre, California, who’s ridden all over the North American continent, from the Nevada desert to the Colorado aspen forests to the north coast of Alaska. Judd lives and breathes mid-80s airheads, mainly building resto-modded GS dual-sports / adventure bikes out of his home workshop, dubbed “Blunk’s Garage” after the garage his grandfather and his brothers owned in Oxford, KS, in 1929.

BMW R65 scrambler

However, when he found this 1986 R65 for sale just two miles from his house — and the seller asked him to make a lowball offer, Judd couldn’t resist — who could? After he brought home the 35,000-mile airhead, he set forth on a build that was a departure from his bread ‘n butter, the restomod dual sport. Instead, he created the R65 custom scramber you see here. We especially love the colorway — a tribute to the Gulf race cars of yore, most notably the Porsche Can Am cars — and the blend of modern tech and old-school hot rod style:

“I wanted the high tech to be off set with a vintage rat rod sort of feel.”

BMW R65 scrambler

Of course, the man who builds bulletproof GS adventure bikes couldn’t resist over-building this scrambler in a few areas, such as the oversize brakes. Below, we get the full story on this BMW battler, “Valhalla.”

BMW R65 Scrambler: In the Builder’s Words

BMW R65 scrambler

First of all, I am not sure what “style” of bike this is. Blunk’s Garage typically stays in the dual sport genre, but this bike came to me in a unique way. I saw a CL ad and this bike was about two miles from my house — so I went to take a look. The guy was moving to Canada as he had “had enough.” We talked for a while and on the first meeting we did not make a deal, but I gave him my number. About two weeks later he called and said “make me a lowball offer and I’ll sell it to you” — well, I cannot pass an offer like that…so here it is.

BMW R65 scrambler

It’s a 35k mile bike, so other than having a layer of Marin county grunge on it, was in good mechanical shape. I wanted to eliminate as much as possible on the bike, and with the guiding principle of “form follows function,” I concentrated on weight, brakes, and simple electrics. This was the first bike I have done with a Motogadget M-unit Blue. It has no key — you just walk up to it with a smartphone.

BMW R65 scrambler

I wanted the high tech to be off set with a vintage rat rod sort of feel. The colors of course are a tribute to the Gulf race cars of the past, and with the Acewell tach being the prominent gauge — it has to be one of the Porsche Can Am cars. I sort of over did the brakes. In fact, if I sell it, I may put smaller front calipers and a smaller master cylinder on it.

BMW R65 scrambler

I fabricated the aluminum rear subframe and dash. My wife is mostly Norwegian and with the rivets, she called it “Valhalla” (where the Viking gods hang out, and where old warriors go after they die)…

BMW R65 scrambler

It is a blast to ride, and I think it looks great.

Photography by Matt McCourtney Photography.

Follow the Builder @BlunksGarage

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#TBT to 1969 when Malcolm Uphill rode a Thruxton-spec T120 to victory in the Production TT at the @ttracesofficial, being the first man to record an average speed of 99.99mph into the bargain. No big deal right? . . #croig #caferacersofinstagram #thruxtont120 #malcolmuphill #isleofman #thruxton #isleofmantt #racing #speedracer #triumph #triumphmotorcycle #throwbackthursday
 
Beta 350 Supermoto

“Two wheels / one engine / tank / seat – let’s go!”

Beta motorcycles, built in Italy, can trace their origins to a bicycle maker founded well over a century ago in Florence. In the 1970s, the company began focusing on off-road motorcycles, gaining a reputation for their trials models. Then, about a decade ago, they launched their RR series of performance-minded enduro and motocross machines, utilizing their own power plants. The Beta 350 RR Factory Edition is their race-spec 350 enduro, a 231-lb machine developed with input from the official Beta factory teams — a true off-road weapon.

Beta 350 Supermoto

Enter Max Ingelrest, the founder of HIDE — a small workshop based in an old distillery outside Brussels, Belgium. Says Max of his work:

“The bike is for me the ultimate object in customization and passion.”

Beta 350 Supermoto

Amen, brother! Previously, we featured HIDE’s Honda Transalp tracker. Now Max is back with “The Meta” — a street-legal custom supermoto built from a 2013 Beta 350 RR Factory Edition, utilizing such wide-ranging components as a Yamaha XT tank and skateboard deck seat pan. Below, we get the full story on this enduro racer turned street weapon!

Beta 350 “Super Tracker”: Builder Interview

Beta 350 Supermoto

• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.

Created almost five years ago, HIDE is a small workshop located in Belgium, a few kilometers from Brussels. I came to bikes in search of rock & roll. The idea is to make a boring object a visually beautiful thing, with a patina and soul. The bike is for me the ultimate object in customization and passion.

Beta 350 Supermoto

• What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?

2013 Beta 350 Factory Edition – it was a motocross bike.



• Why was this bike built?

Customer project, and because these kinds of bikes are my fav! Two wheels / one engine / tank / seat – let’s go!

Beta 350 Supermoto

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

Wanted to build around the XT tank, knowing that I’ll work with a skateboard for the sub frame. Converted the bike for the road with beautiful parts for the rest.

Beta 350 Supermoto

• What custom work was done to the bike?

Found and fixed an old XT tank.
Lower the front fork 10,5 cm.
Custom cooling system.
Custom sub frame with skateboard deck.
Custom seat.
Front light plate in 0,4mm aluminum and LED technology.
LED custom tail light.
Powder-coated frame.
Special SM 17” wheels with Michelin Power RS.
Simplification of wiring and uncluttered electronics.
320mm Front brake disk.
3D printed logo.
K&N intake.

Beta 350 Supermoto

• Does the bike have a nickname?

I call it “The Meta.” Reason: its first name was Beta, and the new owner’s company is called MetaSystem.

Beta 350 Supermoto

• How would you classify this bike?

Hard to say. We could invent one! Why not Super Tracker?

Beta 350 Supermoto

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

I’m proud to see this babe alive and happy when I put my ass on it!

Seriously, I’m proud to have had the confidence of the owner to be able to do what I wanted and have the opportunity to work on a project that I loved to do and see evolve.

Beta 350 Supermoto

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Inspired by the past and powered by the future, the @fullermoto crew took the drivetrain from @zeromotorcycles FXS and created the Majestic ‘2029’ for the @haasmotomuseum. Read more on @bikeexif. . Swipe to see more images by @silverpistonphotography. . . #croig #caferacersofinstagram #zeromotorcycles #fullermoto #inspiration #design #haasmotomuseum
 

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