Custom Motorcycle Builds

[DaveM]

LONG LIVE THE BAVARIAN KING: BMW R100GS by Woidwerk.

The life and death of a young flamboyant King in the 19th century; with the backdrop of war and scandal, set amongst palaces of architectural wonder and resonating to the bellows of Wagner… if you can’t find inspiration here, you can’t find it anywhere! Thankfully Ralf Eggl is not only a master mechanic but like any true renaissance man, a scholar of the history that weeps from the thick forests...

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[DaveM]

Exklusiv! The first custom based on the factory BMW R18

Before the BMW R18 officially broke cover, the Bavarian marque teased us with concepts and customs that showcased the whopping 1,802 cc power plant. The monstrous boxer is now almost ready to hit showrooms, so we’re getting a look at the first custom based on the final production R18. And not surprisingly, it’s a dragster.

BMW Motorrad commissioned the build from California-based Roland Sands Design. The two companies go way back, and RSD are responsible for a number of parts in the R18’s aftermarket catalog.

Presented with the largest boxer motor that BMW have ever built, shop boss Roland Sands immediately knew what he wanted to achieve. “With an engine that’s so visibly the center piece,” he says, “I immediately thought of muscle cars.”

“My family has always been into going fast and my dad was a drag racer, so I thought it made sense to strip the bike down to the essentials and shape it to go fast on a straight track.”

Speak to anyone involved with the development of the R18, and it’s immediately apparent that BMW are very keen on customization. Its classic cruiser layout lends itself to visual tweaking, and certain bits have been designed to be easily swappable.

But the RSD team did more than just bolt a few parts on and off here. They leaned all the way into the dragster concept, by ditching the rear suspension and fabricating a custom hardtail rear.

It’s a neat arrangement that incorporates the OEM shaft drive so well, that it looks like it was designed that way from the get-go.

The setup also includes custom foot controls, set way back. And there’s a small guard on the right side, to keep your heel from making contact with the knuckle joint of the exposed shaft drive.

Up front is a set of adjustable BMW R nineT forks, matched to the brakes from BMW’s S1000RR superbike. The wheels are RSD units, taken straight from the R18’s parts catalog.

Other bolt-on BMW/RSD bits include the speedo and headlight bezels, grips, levers, reservoir fluid caps, and the gas cap. The R18’s handlebars have been swapped for clip-ons, and the riser holes in the top yoke are now plugged.

RSD kept most of the R18’s original bodywork, but trimmed both fenders, and added a custom seat from specialists Saddlemen. And since the riding position is low and long, there’s a leather pad on top of the tank for the pilot’s chest to rest on.

Further down you’ll find a custom aluminum belly pan that not only helps with aerodynamics, but also acts as a stash space for most of the BMW’s wiring. It has a three-piece design, so that the sides can be easily removed to access vital bits.

Keen eyes will spot a chromed bottle stashed under the seat too. That’s because this boxer runs a direct port wet nitrous system from Nitrous Express. It’s plumbed straight into custom-made steel intake manifolds, with a standalone fuel pump that injects both nitrous, and additional fuel to richen the mixture.

That allows the bike to be ridden with or without nitrous, with no changes to the ECU mapping. RSD also installed a Nitrous Express purge valve, and their electronic throttle position sensor, so that it only kicks in when the throttle’s wide open.

The engine package is finished off with a custom stainless steel twin exhaust system, with milled aluminum end caps on the mufflers. A ‘breast plate’ and valve covers from the aftermarket set add an extra visual hit to the motor, along with custom ‘R18 Dragster’ engine badges.

Just like the BMW boxers of old, the R18 is currently only available in black. But RSD opted for a two-tone metallic blue here, executed with white pin stripes by longtime collaborator Chris Wood. And it looks so good, it makes a strong case for adding a little color to the range.

If you’re not into cruisers, this dragster seems like the most logical use for an 1,802 cc boxer motor. And we’re glad someone took a crack at it. Who else is curious to see what builders will do with the R18, once it hits the streets?

BMW Motorrad | Facebook | Instagram | Roland Sands Design

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[DaveM]

MODERN MISSILE: Katalis EV.1000 TheArsenale Special Edition.

We’ve been saying it for years now, don’t sleep on our friends in the Indonesian custom motorcycle scene; they’re innovators with a can do attitude and a willingness to push the boundaries. It seems we’re not the only ones, with the ultimate marketplace for insane custom contraptions now seeking them out too. So when TheArsenale made the call to Katalis Company just south of Jakarta, it wasn’t...

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[DaveM]

‘Lil’ Pussy’: A Honda Dax chopper with a sense of humor

At the risk of making a sweeping statement, most chopper builders take themselves very seriously. For every Technicolor humorist like Rick Fairless, there are ten stony-faced Dyna bros posing by their bikes in the ubiquitous flannels, work shorts and Vans.

The fellas at Zambrag Garage in Bali don’t fit this mold. They usually build classic old school choppers with sissy bars, but scroll down their Instagram feed and you’ll see smiles and kids goofing off around the bikes.

We were smiling too, as soon as we clapped eyes on this fun little ride, which is essentially a blend of Honda Dax and Super Cub parts, with a side order of irreverence thrown in.

It’s called the ‘Lil’ Pussy chopper’ and was commissioned by a local client, Wayan Tigana [below].

Shop boss Zambrag Candra tells us it’s built around a 1996 Honda C100 engine—a bulletproof air-cooled single that should give a few more decades of trouble-free service.

Unfortunately Zambrag doesn’t speak much English and we don’t speak any Indonesian…but between us we managed to piece together a few details.

Working with two helpers in the garage, Zambrag wedged the engine into a modified Honda Dax frame. The middle of the frame is mostly stock, but the back is completely new and the garage has built a new fuel cell inside, topped off with a neat custom cap.

Rather than bolt on a set of extended forks, Zambrag and his crew have built a girder setup, terminated with a 17-inch rim from local maker TDR attached via a brakeless hub.

The bars were fabricated in-house, and tucked between the girder tubes is a yellow-lensed headlight that Zambrag picked up at the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show in Japan last year.

The back end is entirely handmade, with aftermarket struts hooked up to a 10-inch rim from an obscure, vintage two-stroke Suzuki car.

Braking is via a classic drum configuration and a custom-made white leather seat sits above. Even the taillight is hand crafted, made by a friend on the neighbouring island of Java.

The paint job is particularly bagus, and was executed by another friend of the shop, Solin.

A Honda Dax is an unlikely candidate for a chopper, but this one is the proverbial fresh of air. It puts us in mind of the Apple TV ad from the 90s: Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels.

We need more like this in these uncertain times.

Zambrag Garage Instagram | Images by Gede Arie Indra Guna

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[DaveM]

Modern Klassiker: A BMW R60/5 ready for another 50 years

Motorcycles have come a long way in the last half century, but for some folks, the allure of old machines is too hard to resist. The owner of this early 70s BMW R60/5, Wolfgang, has a much newer R1200GS parked in his garage. But when it was time to take a road trip, he picked the classic boxer over the globetrotting GS.

To make sure his aging Beemer was up to the task, Wolfgang reached out to Ralf Eggl at Woidwerk for a makeover. Based in the small river town of Viechtach in Bavaria, Ralf’s a master mechanic with multiple BMW builds under his belt—so this one was right up his alley.

“Wolfgang came in with his 1973 R60/5,” he tells us, “and wanted a facelift with modern components, but still a classic look.” A restomod, in other words.

High on the list were upgraded suspension and brake components, and more power. As for cosmetics, Ralf had a little wiggle room—as long as most of the original R60 DNA was retained.

Ralf set to work on the engine, upgrading it with the cylinders, heads and carbs from a newer R80. He also installed a Silent Hektik ignition and alternator, and kept the original air box for reliability’s sake.

A pair of Hattech silencers was added for a period correct look (and a better soundtrack), with Ralf eventually managing to eke 50 hp out of the old airhead—a useful bump of around 10 hp.

To nail both the suspension and brake upgrades in one shot, Ralf installed a set of Kawasaki Ninja ZX-7R forks, along with its twin disc brakes. The forks are held in place by the BMW’s modified bottom yoke, and a new top yoke from ABM.

Ralf used the front wheel from a /7 BMW, to accommodate the brake discs. The OEM rear drum brake is still in play, but the shocks have been swapped out for a pair of new Wilbers units. And the tires are sensible too: a set of Continental Classic Attack Vintage radials.

There’s a new seat up top, sitting on a neatly fabricated bolt-on subframe. Ralf’s upholsterer embroidered the coat of arms of Wolfgang’s hometown into the back, and made up a set of matching leather kneepads for the fuel tank.

Cast your eyes under the seat, and you’ll even spot a new leather battery box.

To respect the original design, Ralf has kept both fenders—even the bulky rear unit—and made only small modifications to both. The back end is finished off with a license plate mount flanked by a pair of indicators and the taillight is an off-the-shelf part, but Ralf modified it with a BMW exhaust nut to add a quirky touch.

The R60/5 cockpit is now a mix of old and new. Ralf kept the stock headlight, with its integrated speedo, but remounted it on modified aftermarket brackets. There’s a new set of risers further back, holding high-and-wide bars from LSL.

Ralf also installed Biltwell grips, classic bar-end turn signals and new switches (two of which are embedded in the headlight, with built-in LED dummy lights). And for the long trip, there’s a set of crash bars further down, each with a small spotlight mounted on it.

Capping off this handsome restomod is a paint job that borrows its colors straight from BMW’s iconic roundel. The remaining finishes are refreshingly low-key: a black frame, raw engine and chromed crash bars.

Wolfgang’s R60/5 is still outgunned by the other boxer in his stable. But with a fresh motor and modern running gear, it’ll outshine most other 50-year-old bikes on the road.

We have a feeling this lovely oldtimer is going to be around for many years to come.

Woidwerk Bevarian Gentlebikes | Facebook | Instagram

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[DaveM]

Custom Bikes Of The Week: 9 August, 2020

A jawdropping modified Ducati 1000SS, a very clever custom BMW R1100GS, a rare (and running) BMW R57 that could sell for $70,000, and a wild, multicolored Buell Thunderbolt built for the Greasy Dozen show.

BMW R1100GS by North East Custom Even though it’s not as complicated as a current-day GS, the 1990s model is notoriously hard to customize. Its Telelever front wishbone suspension is one stumbling block, and it’s also built to fit together in only one way. So on most R1100GS customs, either the front end or tail end (or both) usually looks out of whack.

The Italian brothers at North East Custom seem to have cracked the code with this one though. It’s a subtle custom that doesn’t scream for attention—and there’s not a single thing that looks out of place, either.

North East ditched all the bodywork, except for the tank. The rear end features a custom subframe with a new perch, and a hand-made fender with an 80s enduro tail light. Up front, the brothers fitted a classic BMW boxer headlight, sitting on custom-made brackets.

Finishing kit includes one-off perforated tank side panels, a Leo Vince muffler and Continental TKC80 tires. Capped off with a neat little front fender and a slick blue and white paint job, it’s a great look for the 90s GS. [North East Custom]

Ducati 1000SS by Scales Studio This track-inspired Ducati is the textbook definition of classic style and modern performance. It’s based on a 2005-model Ducati 1000SS, modified by Trevor Scales at Scales Studio in Miami. Trevor’s styled it with cues from 1970s Ducati and MV Agusta race bikes, and upgraded its components with a mixed bag of parts.

The bodywork took the most time (about 400 hours). Trevor shaped a fuel tank cover out of carbon fiber with a single internal layer of kevlar, then added a Rizoma gas cap. The fairing’s a classic Ducati unit, modified, and the tail section’s been borrowed from a SportClassic.

It’s got a custom-made alloy heat shield underneath it, to protect it from the twin pipes poking out the back.

Under the tank cover you’ll find the actual fuel reservoir and most of the electronics, neatly repackaged. The chassis is sporting the Öhlins forks and Brembo brakes from a 1098S, with Speedymoto yokes, an Öhlins steering damper and Ducabike rear sets.

Trevor upgraded the motor too, swapping it out for a 1100 cc Ducati Hypermotard mill. Ducabike in Atalanta bumped it up to 1200 cc, ported the head, balanced it, and installed NCR race cams and a Microtech ECU.

A pair of custom-made titanium intakes feed the motor, and the two-into-one-into-two exhaust was actually designed using specialist software for optimal performance. It’s finished off with collars from Speedy Siegl, and end cans from Competition Werks.

There’s a lot more work than what’s listed here, making this Ducati a masterpiece with go to match it’s show. Let’s just hope those race slicks mean it’ll actually see track time. [More]

A 1928 BMW R57 on auction The Barber Motorsports Museum is busy unloading a collection of vintage BMW machines, and this stunning R57 is one of them. And every motorcycle in the mostly pre-war collection is in running condition.

The R57 replaced the outgoing R47, and featured the art deco look that had eventually fallen away in BMW’s line by the mid 30s. Highlights included a three-speed box, an output of 18 hp, and leaf spring front suspension (with nothing at the back). Plus the R57 had revised electrics, with a newer Bosch high voltage ignition system.

BMW only ever built 1,000 R57s, so finding one that runs is a rare occurrence. The auction listing shows that Bonhams is expecting this one to fetch between $50,000 and $70,000, and we’re not surprised. [Via]

Buell Thunderbolt by Nigel Mount Presented by Old Bike Barn, the Greasy Dozen Collective is an annual bike building initiative, where sponsors come together to help a dozen garage builders create something rad.

Nigel Mount is one of the up-and-comers who got the nod this year: He’s a fabricator based in Colorado who got his start in his dad’s car restoration shop, and now works at a Harley-Davidson custom shop.

Nigel originally bought this 2002 Buell Thunderbolt S3T because he was broke, and it was cheap. When he got the call for the GDC, he had to kick it into high gear—working during his lunch breaks, evenings and on weekends. And he managed to cram a lot into that time, turning it into a whacky cross between an adventure v-twin and a street tracker.

This Buell features custom aluminum bodywork, along with a billet aluminum subframe and a modified KTM seat. Nigel built a custom swing arm and relocated the shock mount, but also made the setup adjustable, so that he could fine tune it. Then he adapted the six-piston front brake to run on the rear, leaving the front brakeless.

Nigel also cleaned up the top yoke, then fitted new clamps and ProTaper handlebars. A pair of LEDs handle headlight duties, tucked behind a clear acrylic screen. There’s also a custom dash on top of the tank, and a specially designed dual intake that feeds a Lancia Fulvia carb.

And if you’re wondering about the off-road tires, they’re there because Nigel’s favorite Colorado roads include sections of gravel. [More]

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[DaveM]

THE ALLOY ADVANTAGE: Suzuki Bandit GSF1200 ‘Sanzoku’ by Moto Milo.

We use billions of them each year around the world and yet rarely even once in our lifetime stop to pause and consider the genius of the aluminium beverage can. A tab with a shifting fulcrum, ultra-light and yet remarkably strong, and an ability to store all kinds of liquids. So why aren’t all motorcycle fuel tanks made out of alloy instead of steel? Because despite how clean and simple the lines...

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[DaveM]

Back In Black: A Ducati 900 SS from Belgium

The motorcycle designer Pierre Terblanche is famous for his Ducatis, but not always in a good way. Most folks would give the SportClassics and Supermono a big tick, and there are a lot of folks who also like the Hypermotard too (this writer included).

But for every hit from the South African designer, it feels like there’s a bike that missed the mark, such as the first-gen Multistrada and the late 90s SuperSport series. Which is good news for custom fans, because no-one cries foul when builders cut them up.

This stunning, blacked-out 900 SS is called ‘Livia Special,’ and is named after the owner’s daughter. It comes from Laurent Kesteloot and Pascal Demeulemeester, who are veterans of the European Sultans of Sprint drag challenge and run the Belgian workshop KD Motorcycles. (No prizes for guessing how they chose their business name.)

The build was a client commission, and the 900 SS had only 9,000 kilometers on the clock when it arrived in the workshop. Despite its age, it was in ‘as new’ condition.

KD have ditched the bulbous fairing and tail unit, but kept the tank—which works just fine as a coherent design on its own. To extend the angular lines, they’ve changed the back of the frame too, but this is not a typical ‘café loop.’

Using traditional frame building tools and steel tubing, they’ve created stubby outriggers that terminate right underneath the seat pad. Then the frame was shipped to AB Decometal in Paris for a coat of smooth black powder.

Local moto specialist Cuir Concept upholstered the very neat pad, and slots into a hand-made tailpiece built by KD themselves.

It’s not the usual smooth café racer tail, but the blocky shape echoes the styling of the tank perfectly. These guys have got the ‘eye.’

The LED rear light assembly embedded into the back of the tailpiece was constructed by French builder Ludo of Crazyracers, and took 24 hours to complete on a 3D printer. It includes no less than 24 individual LEDs.

The 900 SS has also been treated to a full rewire, feeding into a Koso LED headlight, Motogadget blinkers, and a keyless start system provided by Hot Road Choppers. CNC Racing master cylinders and levers now grace the bars.

Equally professional is the integration of the tachometer into the fuel tank—a seamless factory-look installation that also reduces clutter around the bars. After precision-cutting an opening for the tacho, KD machined up a steel ring to hold it in place, created a fiberglass housing and then waterproofed everything carefully.

The 90° V-twin was in pristine condition, so KD have left the internals alone. But they’ve swapped out some of the covers for carbon caps, and worked with BG Garage Custom to build new TIG-welded headers. These are topped off with mufflers made by Phil Smith from the British race specialist Storm Exhausts, with custom dimensions supplied.

The fenders are carbon too: there’s a rear hugger and a ‘Fogarty’ WSBK front fender from the Spanish company Carbon4us. Right underneath are smooth Pirelli Diablo Superbike slicks.

The 900 SS is a terrific platform for a custom job, and with a monochrome finish from Aerographik in France, this one looks the business. Looks like it’s time to check the classifieds for a cheap, low mileage SuperSport again …

KD Motorcycles Facebook | Instagram | Images by (and thanks to) Sébastien Laurent

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[triumph david]

Customs sure have changed!

 

[DaveM]

PINT-SIZED SMOKER: 1979 Simson & Co S50 by Ahl’s Garage.

Age, as they say, is just a number and today’s feature bike shows coming from a very different period in time is no barrier to forming the perfect combination. The now defunct Simson & Co. was founded in 1856 and would go on to produce, guns, cars, and motorcycles like this 1979 S50 two-stroke. The former East German company didn’t survive long after the wall came down, but born into a unified...

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[DaveM]

Good Ghost: Kingston Customs’ extraordinary BMW R100

Dirk Oehlerking has a portfolio of incredible builds, but there are two machines that stand out. They are the White Phantom and Black Phantom—two classic BMW boxers, with exquisite hand-formed bodywork and an unusual art deco vibe.

Dirk refers to his Phantoms as “two that belong together, like Yin and Yang.” But those two have now become three, as another Phantom rolls out of the Kingston Custom workshop in Gelsenkirchen. The ‘Good Ghost’ is a remarkable build that takes cues from its siblings, but elevates the style to dizzying new heights.

Dirk never really planned to build a third Phantom. He originally set out to build just one, but the request came from a source impossible to ignore: the renowned custom motorcycle patron and collector, Bobby Haas.

“In 2019, the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in Dallas took place at the Haas Moto Museum,” Dirk tells us. “The White Phantom and Black Phantom were the main attraction in the museum that weekend. That honored and touched me very much.”

“Bobby Haas and museum director Stacey Mayfield asked me if it was possible to build a third Phantom, so that a trilogy, a family, would be created.”

The museum’s brief was that the bike should be named ‘Ghost,’ it should be grey, and it should match the style of the existing two bikes. On a philosophical level, the new bike would act as guardian of the other two, and so it would need to be more physically imposing and faster.

Dirk had used the BMW R80 as a base for the first two Phantoms, but this time he sourced a 1980 BMW R100 RS. And just like before, he set out to keep the chassis mostly stock, with one notable exception.

Here, he’s swapped out the shaft drive swing arm for a single-shock BMW ‘Monolever’ unit, equipped with a YSS shock.

Good Ghost’s bodywork is an evolution of Kingston’s Phantom design. The first bike, White Phantom, featured bodywork that left both wheels exposed; Black Phantom covered up the back end, but left the front end open.

This time, Dirk’s enclosed the R100 in an elegant full-length fairing.

He started by designing a framework with wire and tape, which was then covered in cardboard and paste, to create a mockup of the final design. Once that was done, Dirk hand-shaped the entire structure out of 2 mm thick aluminum. Remarkably, the whole thing weighs just 21 kg.

The Phantom design deliberately places the rider on top of the motorcycle, rather than ‘in’ it—which leaves little room for a traditional fuel tank. So Dirk fabricated a small fuel cell to sit behind the transmission, with an external fuel pump to send the gas where it needs to go.

Repacking everything called for some trick engineering. Dirk moved the carbs to inside the fairing, added K&N filters, and built custom intake manifolds. The exhaust is a stainless steel affair, which delicately traces the bodywork right up to its tapered tail section.

Up top is a custom leather saddle, with upholstery extending all the way to the front. The design includes a custom ‘dash,’ with a row of Kingston-branded gauges from MMB neatly integrated with the leather.

The entire structure flips up to reveal a leather-lined cubbyhole designed to hold a bottle of wine and a glass. And there’s a corkscrew, spare spark plug and plug cap integrated into the lift mechanism.

This is all part of Dirk’s concept for the Phantom series; “This gentleman racer was supposed to embody a time when design, technology and speed played a significant role.”

To this end, the rear section features two hinged panels, secured by leather clasps. The left flips out to reveal a tool kit, while the right houses a selection of century-old silverware.

There’s another classic touch up front: a set of kidney grills, directly inspired by the 1936 BMW 328 Roadster. Just above, a recessed headlight shines out from behind a round glass pane. Fehling clip-ons with leather grips and classic levers finish off the cockpit.

Dirk’s done especially well to integrate the BMW’s vital bits and pieces with the bodywork. The ignition key’s been embedded on the left, and the choke is neatly mounted on the right side. Lower down, Dirk adapted the footboards from a BMW R12, and made his own brake and shift controls.

Like its siblings, Good Ghost is a true gentleman’s racer that not only looks spectacular, but is reportedly a joy to ride too (despite its limited turning circle). “When you ride it, it feels like you are in a different time,” says Dirk.

The third Phantom is now ready to take up its place in the esteemed Haas collection. But Dirk has one more dream for it: to drive it at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Now wouldn’t that be something?

Kingston Custom | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Ben Ott

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[DaveM]

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Honda CB1300 ‘Muscle Racer’ by Thomas Danet.

It’s fair to say that Honda’s CB range is one of, if not the most popular platform for customization of all time. And with cafe races constituting a decent chunk of the one-off CB builds in existence, it’s become decidedly difficult to bring something novel to the table when working with one of the iconic Japanese donors. So, when Thailand-based amateur builder, Thomas Danet opted to take on a...

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[DaveM]

A Triumph TT special built for a top sound designer

There’s something about a classic Triumph dirt bike: the appealing proportions, the chunky rubber, the swept-back bars and the plush seat. Put them all together, and you can almost hear a ‘click.’

Vintage off-roading Triumphs are variations on a formula—but like the songs of AC/DC, the formula works. And one of its greatest proponents is Hayden Roberts, an expat Brit living in California who runs the Hello Engine workshop.

Hayden’s latest build is this stunning Bonneville TT special. It was commissioned by Randy Torres, a sound effects editor who has just finished the movie Tenet.

Randy lives in Pioneertown, California, which is a living, breathing film set near San Bernardino worthy of a story in its own right. For off-road riders, Randy says it’s like “living at the beach if you’re a surfer.” (These photos were taken there, with a 30,000-acre wildfire raging in the distance.)

Randy has a collection of stock bikes, including a classic Yamaha TT500 and a Ducati Multistrada, but he’s also partial to the odd custom.

“I’ve been a big fan of Hayden’s builds for a long time,” he tells us, “so I hit him up to build a desert sled a couple of years back. Then I realized that I had enough dirt bikes in the garage—and wouldn’t want to dump a nice vintage Triumph on top of some boulders. I asked if we could do a ‘TT special’ instead.”

After kicking around a couple of ideas, and poring over archive images from the Ascot Park speedway track, Hayden had enough to work on. And the final product is the perfect bike for ripping around the California high desert.

As with most of his builds, Hayden created this one from scratch, using parts he either had lying around, hunted for, or found at swap meets. “I always save modified parts from bikes that are being restored—they’re perfect for projects like this.”

In this case, Hayden has used components from the ‘Desert Fox’ project that we featured just over year ago. “Randy saw that bike, and said, ‘Can we do the same kinda thing?’ So I started collecting used parts again—which sounds easy, but they’ve all got to have the same kind of wear. At least to me.”

Hayden has used a 1963 frame from an old Ascot TT (steeplechase) bike, picked up at an AHRMA swapmeet, and he’s preserved the patina whenever possible.

“The swing arm had been modified to accept disc brakes and it’s still got the tabs welded on for the riders’ number plates,” Hayden says. “I cleaned and repaired it, and clear-coated the old paint. I liked the way the spray from the front wheel has worn away the paint on the down tube.”

The engine is from a 1970 Bonneville motor, rebuilt with a mild race cam and balanced crank. It also has a CDI ignition, and doesn’t require a battery. “It’s just real simple,” says Hayden, “with hopefully very little to go wrong.”

The gas tank is a little older, coming from a 1967 Bonneville TT special. “I thought it was too nice to repaint, so I saved it. It went on ‘as is,’ warts and all.”

Hayden knows this will make no sense to some people: “Why build a bike from scratch, and not bother painting it? I don’t know… they took 50 years to make them look that neat.”

Most of the sheet metal is OEM Triumph, but bears signs of years of straightening, rebuilding and repairs. “Removing the left side cover leaves a big gap, so I modified that early filter and grafted on the big K&N filter,” says Hayden. “I stole the idea from a bike Bud Ekins built for Steve McQueen… it filled the gap and should keep the dust out.”

The bars are an original race set, and Hayden has installed a modified oil tank and a few period aftermarket accessories too. But under the ‘Lucas’ cover is a modern Hella 7-inch headlight. (“It’s nice to be able to see, and they don’t draw much power.”)

There’s a small twin leading shoe front hub, and the forks are slightly younger than most of the other parts—being from a later Daytona. The rear brake is from a CZ dirt bike: “It’s aluminum and much better than the stock tin one,” says Hayden. “I opened up the stock drum so it fits.”

The shocks are not replicas but rebuilt Girlings from a BSA, and about an inch longer than comparable Triumph shocks.

The seat looks old, but it’s actually one of the few modern parts on the Triumph. “I make these seats, they’re a copy of a Bates competition model,” says Hayden. “I use same injection molded foam as modern dirt bikes.”

For an authentic finishing touch, Hayden has applied decals supplied by his friend Gar Wood. “He’s in a great band called Hot Snakes. His dad was Ron Wood, of Rotax/Norton fame. He collected thousands of those stickers around the pits as a kid, and has shoeboxes full of them. I was lucky he gave me a few.”

Hayden is somewhat disparaging about his skills. “I’m a one trick pony I suppose—it’s mixed bags of Triumph parts every time. But I enjoy putting these together much more than a restoration.”

We enjoy seeing them too. And with a tinge of jealousy, we suspect that Randy Torres is going to absolutely love riding it.

Hello Engine | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Renee McMahon

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[DaveM]

Custom Bikes Of The Week: 16 August, 2020

A rare Harley shovelhead Liberator spotted in France, a punchy Suzuki ‘DR Big’ from Brazil, an enormous Honda CB1300 roaming Bangkok, and a very sharp Royal Enfield Continental GT650 built by the editor of a Korean motorcycle magazine.

Suzuki DR 800 S by Frateschi Garage The Suzuki DR 800 S, better known as the ‘DR Big,’ is one of the more offbeat machines in Suzuki’s back catalog. With quirky styling and a massive 800 cc single cylinder motor, it was effectively the production version of the bike that Gaston Rahier won the 1988 Pharoah’s Rally on. Simultaneously weird and iconic, it’s also the bike that informed the styling of the current Suzuki V-Strom 1050 XT.

This DR Big is the work of Renato Frateschi in Brazil, and it’s shed the retro rally raid styling for an aggressive street tracker look. The bike hadn’t run in 20 years, so Renato treated it to a full refurb, and swapped out most of its running gear. It now rolls on WP Suspension forks, a Sachs rear shock, and new 19F/17R wheels, with Brembo brakes.

Renato reworked the subframe, then adapted a flat track tail piece that he had lying around the workshop. The fuel tank is a heavily modified Honda CB400N unit, and there’s an enduro-style headlight cowl up front. Other add-ons include LED lighting, a digital speedo and a stainless steel exhaust system.

But the most impressive upgrade is hidden from view. This old-timer’s sporting a completely bespoke fuel injection system, built using an Arduino open source micro-controller and 3D printed parts. What’s more, it connects to a smartphone app that allows the owner to tune the bike’s fuel mapping. [More]

1977 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead Liberator Craig Vetter’s most known for his popular ‘Windjammer’ fairing, but the designer was also responsible for a few ground-up motorcycle designs in his heyday. Most people know the Triumph X-75 ‘Hurricane,’ and the zany Kawasaki KZ 1000 ‘Mystery Ship,’ but Vetter also designed this in the 70s: the ‘Liberator’ based on the Harley-Davidson Shovelhead.

The seed was planted in 1973, when Vetter called up H-D and asked them if they’d like a plug-and-play fairing for their flagship cruiser. Before long, Vetter had a bike to work on, and the Liberator was created.

Vetter picked the name as a nod to his father, who was a World War 2 crew chief aboard a B-24 ‘Liberator’ bomber. Like all of Vetter’s fairings, it was a heavily sculpted and audacious design, equipped with four chromed headlights up front and a notably tall windshield. It worked though; Harley-Davidson added it to their official range, and Elvis famously bought one, which is still on display at Graceland today.

This particular Liberator was spotted outside Legend Motors in Lille a while back, leading photographer David Coppieters to grab these photographs. Seeing a Liberator on the street is a big deal, because there are probably only a few hundred left in circulation worldwide.

A tragic fire at the Vetter factory in 1977 destroyed not only 5,000 Liberator parts, but most of the molds to produce them too. So if you see one of these 70s cruise ships out and about, stop to appreciate it for a moment. [Via]

Honda CB1300 by Thomas Danet The CB1300 doesn’t get as much love as its predecessors from the custom scene—probably because it’s massive and has an awkward fly line. But Bangkok-based Frenchman Thomas Danet has love for the beefy four-cylinder UJM, and has managed to turn one into a rather tasty cafe racer.

Thomas is a hobby builder, so he did what ever he could himself, and then turned to a bunch of local craftsmen to tackle the trickier stuff. OK Easy Shop rebuilt the rear of the frame, then Kham Moto hammered out the aluminum bodywork from 1:1 scale 3D printed mock-ups that Thomas designed. And his best friend, Avenger So-Cal, laid down a slick black paint job.

The swing arm’s from a newer CB, matched to a set of upgraded shocks. Thomas wanted to ditch the cast wheels, so he commissioned M.I.T. to machine new hubs that would match the stock brakes, then laced them to new rims. He also rewired the bike, did the seat himself, and 3D designed and printed a bunch of smaller parts.

Tee Choppers rebuilt the motor, while Cog’N’Roll handled all the powder and ceramic coating. Between that, and a full complement of hardware, seals and bearings, this 2001-model Honda is pretty much brand new. And it looks a helluva lot sharper than before, too.

Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 by Motorbike Magazine It seems that customizers can do no wrong with Royal Enfield’s new generation twins. This Continental GT 650 belongs to the editor of Korea’s Motorbike Magazine, Jake Yang, who has tastefully restyled it as a classic Brit cafe racer.

Jake has a background as a graphic designer, so the project kicked off with a digital mockup of the final design. A couple of the parts he used to bring it to life, like the fairing and rear sets, come from Korean shop Crazy Garage. The fairing’s made from fiber-reinforced plastic, which Jake wrapped in a single layer of carbon fiber, then matched to a custom rear cowl.

The black and gold livery is a riff on Triumph’s hyper-exclusive TFC range of limited edition bikes. Those bikes also include performance upgrades, so Jake did the same here. This GT 650 now has Öhlins fork internals and rear shocks, a Brembo front brake master cylinder, and Metzeler Racetec RR tires. A set of Crazy Garage headers is matched to AEW slip-ons, and there’s a Dynojet Power Commander to squeeze the maximum out of the twin.

Other parts include Zeta clip-ons, a Riga sprocket cover and CNC-machined top yoke, and a Yamaha SR400 front fender. But the masterstroke here is how well everything meshes together, and how good the details are. From the traditional Halcyon mirrors to the leather seat strap and classically-styled tail light, this Royal Enfield plays the part of a factory special well. [More]

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[DaveM]

FLAT TRACKER WITH SEOUL: Kawasaki W800 Deus South Korea x Crazy Garage Customs.

While the over-the-top AMD Championship-style builds undeniably have their place within the custom motorcycle space, it requires a different set of skills to aesthetically transform a machine without compromising its performance. It’s a delicate balancing act that calls for a markedly more time and labor-intensive design and development process, though it allows for a unique marrying of form and...

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[DaveM]

Less But Better: Auto Fabrica’s Triumph Bonneville T120

There are bikes that look ‘busy,’ full of angles and ancillaries, pumped up like a bodybuilder on show day. Then there are those with a few deft lines, a little empty space here and there, as if a thumbnail sketch has been transformed into metal.

Auto Fabrica’s bikes fall into the second category. As the famed industrial designer Dieter Rams would say, they are ‘less but better,’ with a timeless appeal and an air of simplicity. This new build, called Type 19 and based on a classic Triumph Bonneville, follows that philosophy.

It’s a simple, classy roadster with a hint of a scrambler vibe, and was commissioned by a client in Austin, Texas—almost five thousand miles away from the English workshop.

“This is the second bike that he has bought from us,” says co-founder Bujar Muharremi, who runs the company with his brother Gazmend. “The other one was the Type 4B. He fell in love with the simplicity of that SR250, and wanted to create something special on a slightly bigger platform.”

After a little back and forth, going over a few different donor options, they settled on the oil-in-frame Triumph Bonneville. A 1972 T120 650 donor was located.

To create something special means building as many new parts as possible, so Bujar and Gaz have designed and installed a new tank, seat, and exhaust system—plus smaller details such as fork covers and lighting.

“The idea was to give this scrambler the same level of fit and finish as our Type 6 and Type 16, with the pipes a close match to those bikes.”

In the process, Auto Fabrica have given us another lesson in refinement: the sleek, pared-down lines hide a tremendous amount of work—and most of it is traditional craftsmanship.

The brothers broke down the parallel twin motor, and rebuilt it with new seals, bearings and pistons, then added brand new Amal carbs with velocity stacks. “We didn’t want to push the engine with hot cams and high compression pistons or any head work—the client isn’t that way inclined,” says Bujar.

“So other than a full strip down, aquablast and replacement of wearable parts, we left it as is.”

The exhaust is crafted out of 316 stainless steel, with oversized pipes sand-bent in house, and stainless megaphones seamlessly into the headers. The lines are worthy of a French curve, and it’s an effect only the very best metalworkers can achieve.

More metalworking skills are evident in the low-profile tank. “It had to be simple and elegant,” says Bujar. “We hand-beat it using 1000-series aluminum, at 2 mm or 2.5 mm depending on which area.

“Being able to manufacture our own tanks enables us to create unique designs, and integrate the seat with the tank. We decided to integrate rather than have them ‘butt up’ against each other—it finishes the intersection nicely.”

There are even two sections notched out of the tank for the carb cables to run through, which tidies things up and adds interest to the design. The tank is topped off with a classic Monza fuel cap, with fuel running through tiny petcocks.

The seat is finished in brown suede, with a brushed aluminum Auto Fabrica logo badge and stitching following the signature style used on previous builds. The rear fender was custom made in-house too, again using aluminum.

To bring the suspension up to date, Bujar and Gaz installed Yamaha SR500 forks, with fully adjustable inners from Maxton. “It’s an amazing, must-have upgrade,” Bujar enthuses. “There’s so much adjustability, and it modernizes the performance without compromising the looks.”

The stock triple trees were heavily machined to fit and the forks are sheathed with stainless steel covers built in house.

The front wheel uses a conical hub from an SR400 and houses an SR400 brake disc and a Nissin caliper hooked up to Brembo master cylinder—a practical upgrade from the stock TLS hub. The rims are stainless steel with stainless spokes, 19 inches at the front and 18 at the back, finished with Mitas trials tires.

Twin Maxton shocks suspend the rear, and like the modified forks, offer excellent adjustability for fine-tuning. They’re hooked up to a new rear loop, which houses discreet rear lighting. The rest of the frame has been detabbed and cleaned up, with the huge main downtube still storing the engine oil.

The flat bars are cut from 316 stainless steel, sand bent in-house, and finished with Renthal grips. Underneath is a fully custom headlight with an H4 bulb, and in between is a Motogadget Tiny speedo with a custom 3D printed cover.

There’s even a custom brake master cylinder with integrated switches on the clamp—an appealing vintage touch.

There are so many details to take in, we wish we could see this one in the metal. But if you’re in the south of England this weekend, you’re in luck—you’ll be able to see the Type 19 for yourself at Kevington Hall in Kent, on display at the Malle Mile.

Auto Fabrica | Facebook | Instagram

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[CarlS]

I think they ruined a Bonneville T120.

 

[DaveM]

FAMILY MATTERS: BMW K100 ‘Big Fossati’ by Kustom Kommune.

When your inspiration for a build is a dear family member and your end goal is to create your ‘forever bike’, those who you bring in to work on your custom creation become fundamental. For Sam Fossati that was all made possible by being a part of Australia’s original DIY workshop Kustom Kommune, a space filled with talented bikers; a community, a home. Having become obsessed with the scrambler...

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[DaveM]

Who wants to win this Triumph Bonneville restomod?

Working from an old barn in Idaho, Union Motorcycle Classics produce some of the nicest restomods and classic customs we’ve seen. But the shop has a softer side, too. Two years ago, they built and raffled a stunning Ducati Scrambler 250 to help ReActs—a charity that helps poor and distressed children in Southeast Asia.

Now Union are back at it, with a gorgeous 1966 Triumph Bonneville T120. And if you love it as much as we do, you could win it, all for the price of a $25 raffle ticket.

Union founder Mike Watanabe started working on the Triumph as a runaround for him and his wife, but then decided to switch his focus. “The youth ministries and homes that Reacts are running low on funds,” he explains. “And COVID has made it difficult to raise money with traditional methods.”

“I felt like one more custom bike in my garage wasn’t as important as doing something to help. I was constructing a 1950 pre-unit for the cause, but I couldn’t get that it finished fast enough to help. So I am offering this really nice ‘66 unit bike in its place.”

Mike and his business partner Luke Ransom have a knack for striking a balance between classic and custom, turning out bikes that feel like they could be forgotten factory specials. This Bonneville is no different.

“Have you ever thought about a bike in your mind,” asks Mike, “and when you see it in real life it isn’t exactly what you see in your mind’s eye? That is always the case with Triumph twins in my mind. They are awesome stock… but not what my mind has turned them into.”

“I decided to build a bike that looks like what I see in my mind. I would describe this as a subtle custom or a gentleman’s custom. A custom that you can comfortably take your significant other out on.”

This Bonnie is a ‘death by a thousand paper cuts’ scenario, with nothing radical or zany going on. Mike wanted the rear proportions to shrink in relation to the tank, so the guys reworked the subframe to all but disappear under the seat. The seat was shortened and reshaped to exaggerate the tail, and then recovered in leather by Interior Revolutions.

Further back, the Bonneville wears a short aluminum fender, with a one-off cast aluminum taillight that vaguely mimics the original, but is more compact overall. A pair of license plate brackets finishes off the rear section.

There’s a wider tank from a 1964 T120 up front, complete with a luggage rack, and another aluminum fender. The rearsets are one-offs, inspired by the Triumph Thruxton, and the exhaust mufflers are Tricor units. They’re sitting on modified exhaust hangars that share space with the passenger peg mounts.

“I attempted to do all of this in a manner that disappeared into the design,” explains Mike. “It is easy to do a custom where all the mods are in your face. It is more difficult to be custom and invisible to the casual observer. Hopefully it would make even a T120 fan stop and think for a second.”

Overall, the bike wears a lot more new parts than it lets on. The wheels have been relaced with Excel rims and Heidenau tires, and there’s a twin leading shoe front brake from a 1969 Triumph up front.

The engine’s practically new, as is the wiring, and Mike also installed an electronic ignition and a pair of Amal Premier carbs. There’s new paint and chrome all round too, along with a full complement of chrome fasteners.

“I spent more money on chrome on this thing than some complete bikes I bought in my early days,” says Mike. “In fact, the chrome cost more than what I originally paid for this numbers matching rolling basket in 2004.”

Mike’s been working with ReActs for fifteen years now, having traveled to Southeast Asia many times over those years. This is the first time he’s not able to be there in person, which makes this Triumph just that much more special to him.

For us, the chance to make a difference is just the cherry on the cake, for what is, on its own merit, a cracking vintage Triumph.

Union Motorcycle | Facebook | Instagram | Enter the raffle

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[DaveM]

HIGH VOLTAGE FLAT TRACKER: ‘Concept Z’ by Ed Motorcycles.

While the global economy has been in free fall, electric car manufacturer Tesla has seen its stock price go through the roof. Their cars are now a global phenomenon and they’re lightning fast too. So why haven’t electric motorcycles been the same? The styling on most is awful and without the performance to surpass their petrol competitors, few buyers are willing to jump ship.

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