Custom Motorcycle Builds

[DaveM]

Origin Story: Max Hazan’s turbocharged Buell S1

Many of us in the motorcycling world have a male relative to thank for getting us hooked on two wheels. It’s often a father who offered pillion rides, or a grandfather with a workshop full of tools. But in the case of esteemed bike builder Max Hazan, it’s female relatives who must take the blame.

The protagonist in the story is this Buell S1, which Max has owned for two whole decades. “This bike is a little special to me,” he says. “It was my first street bike, and also the first that I tried (unsuccessfully) to make a custom out of.”

“I wanted to buy it in 2001, but was completely broke. I asked my dad for some money but he said no way … so I went to my mother and grandmother, and they helped me out.”

The rest, as most followers of the custom scene will know, is history. Max is now one of the most talented names in our world, with a remarkably original ‘eye’ and sublime fabrication skills.

But back to this Buell, which Max has called ‘HS1’—the Hazan S1. “I rode the bike for a couple of years, doing a little to it here and there,” says Max. “But when I decided to add a nitrous system, things went south fast.”

“I knew you were supposed to spray fuel and nitrous, but I didn’t know that you were supposed to put jets in the nitrous side.”

Max learnt the hard way. He took the S1 Lightning out for its first (and only) test, slotted the V-twin into 5th gear at around 60mph, turned the nitrous system on, and hit The Button. “It wheelied for a second then went Boom! It blew the air cleaner off, let out a massive flame, and rolled to a halt.”

Max took the engine apart, and found cracked pistons and a destroyed top end.

“I had the brilliant idea to rebuild it with a turbo, intercooler, water injection, nitrous, and a pile of other stuff I didn’t know much about,” he says wryly. “The bike barely ran, and ended up sitting in my dad’s woodshop for the next 16 years, dripping oil.”

About a year ago, Max was shipping another bike from New York to L.A., and threw the Buell onto the truck. It was time to work on the S1 again—with the benefit of two extra decades of knowledge.

The Buell has now been rebuilt from the ground up. “The only thing that I kept was the turbo compressor housing, part of the frame, and the bottom end of the motor,” Max reveals. “The rest I made while sneaking into my shop during the COVID shutdown.”

With characteristic understatement, Max describes the engine work as “nothing too wild.” That means bigger bores to lift capacity to 1350cc, bigger cams (with .600 lift), bigger valves, a race clutch, and a lower 8.5:1 compression ratio.

The Buell is now carbureted via a Mikuni HSR42 that’s fed by a pressurized fuel system—and a Garrett dual ball bearing GT25R turbo. “The bike absolutely drinks fuel on the boost, which is set to around 20 psi. But it rides like a regular Harley when cruising. It has a 275 main jet for the fun riding.”

With the engine sorted and unlikely to explode, Max turned his attention to the chassis. He’s kept the main part of the distinctive frame, but ditched the rubber mount system that was designed to reduce vibration.

“It did a decent job of that, but the bike was super flexy,” he explains. “Everything is hard mounted now—and it does vibrate!”

To tighten up the handling, Max has installed 2014-spec CBR1000RR forks, using custom triples machined up by his buddy Mark Atkinson of BMW ‘Alpha’ fame. The wheels are an eBay find: magnesium Marchesinis in F16.5/R17 sizes. And the swingarm is from a different model Buell.

The bodywork is all aluminum. “I shaped the bike in foam first, as usual, to get the lines right. And in doing so, ended up with a tiny seat and tank,” says Max. “It’s pretty but not all that comfortable—and doesn’t have much range if you’re on the gas. But I have other bikes for that: this was purely for fun.”

With the tune that it’s running at the moment, the S1 now makes about 175hp at the wheel and has 160 pound-foot of torque with the rev limiter set to 6000rpm. (“The bike can make more, but having 200 hp at the crank reliably is plenty.”)

Max has weighed the Buell at 415 pounds (188 kg) with a full tank and 3.5L of oil in it. Which is pretty impressive considering the stock bike weighs 440 pounds wet. And this one has a fair bit of extra plumbing surrounding the engine.

“With the super-short wheelbase and very little rake/trail, it’s super sketchy,” says Max.

“But it’s exactly what I wanted to make for myself.”

Hazan Motorworks | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Shaik Ridzwan

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[DaveM]

Speed Read, July 4 2021

It’s all about nostalgia this week, with a special Brough Superior SS100, a new exhibition at the Petersen Automotive Museum, and a documentary about a single-owner Ducati 750 SS. Plus we have a Suzuki GS1000 restomod from Malaysia, and a Ducati Scrambler flat tracker from the UK.

Supercharged Brough Superior SS100 by Ewan Cameron The legendary Brough Superior SS100 was the fastest production bike in the world when it was first released. The ‘100’ in its designation stood for 100 mph, and each bike was tested by the factory to make sure it could hit that before it was delivered.

100 mph was a big deal in the 1930s, but Noel Pope saw potential for more. In 1939 he added a supercharger to his SS100, then set a top speed record of 124.51 mph around the Brooklands racing circuit. This Brough Superior SS100 isn’t his, but it’s as close as you’ll get.

This faithful replica was built by Ewan Cameron—a Brough enthusiast, and the owner of the JAP specialist shop, Cameron Engineering. Ewan got hooked on the marque when his father sat him on the tank of his 1926 SS100 as a child, and set off down the road. That bike was eventually sold, but then, at the age of 17, Ewan began collecting the parts for this build.

Over the years, Ewan amassed everything he needed to build his own Pope Special. The parts included a 1,000 cc 1938-model JAP v-twin motor that was once used in a Formula 2 race car, a rare Sturmey Archer three-speed racing transmission, and a pre-war Centric 260 vane-type supercharger.

Ewan also collected an original set of Brooklands Can silencers, Castle forks, and a 1920s Brough Superior SS80 fuel tank.

Thanks to a few chance finds along the way, just about everything is period correct, with an astonishing number of OEM parts. Ewan even acquired a new-old-stock headstock from Brough Superior’s owner at the time, Alec Card. The final product’s a complete runner, and has already been ridden to the pub.

Thousands of hours of work later, this stunning re-creation is now on auction at Bonhams. It’s expected to fetch between £120,000 and £170,000 (about $165,870 to $235,980), so get read to smash that piggy bank. [Via]

Ducati Scrambler by Vanoni Moto Officina This wily Ducati Scrambler was built by Max Vanoni—a mechanic and customizer who used to be part of the Death Machines of London team. It’s a bona fide flat track race bike too, built to compete in the hooligan class of the UK’s DTRA series, and piloted by Jack Bell.

Max built this bike in two stages. The first version was called ‘F*** TRK,’ and ran in the only two races that were held last year. Then it was upgraded for the 2021 season, and renamed ‘Olimpia100,’ in honor of Max’s grandma, Olimpia, who turns 100 this year.

As per DTRA regulations, the Ducati’s frame is standard—but the running gear’s been upgraded. It now runs with custom-built yokes, paired with the DLC-coated and re-valved forks from a Yamaha R6, and an Öhlins rear shock. Max originally modified the swingarm to take a 19” rear wheel, but he’s now replaced it entirely with a brazed Cro-Mo unit.

The engine’s mostly stock, but runs with a modified airbox, a full Zard exhaust system and upgraded ECU mapping. There are some really trick mods too, like a custom-built hydraulic clutch system, and a one-off rear brake setup.

The bodywork is a one-piece unit that hides an aluminum fuel cell, and is dressed in a striking black-and-white livery. All the little details have been seen to as well—like adjustable handlebar clamps that hold a set of RK bars, and a bunch of weight-saving tweaks. [Vanoni Moto Officina | Via]

ADV:Overland at the Petersen Automotive Museum Curated by Paul d’Orléans of The Vintagent, produced by the Motorcycle Arts Foundation and Sasha Tcherevkoff, and supported by Harley-Davidson, ADV:Overland celebrates the spirit of seeking adventure on wheels. With the tagline “off-road to off-world,” the exhibition includes a collection of round-the-world and long distance machines, dating from 1903 to the present—and reaching into the future, too.

“In the beginning, every motor trip was an adventure, and every motorist a mechanic,” reads the exhibition PR. The collection celebrates pioneers like George A. Wyman, who crossed the USA by motorcycle back in 1903, and Carl Stearns Clancy, who circumnavigated the globe on his Henderson Four in 1912.

Other machines on display range from old to new. You can check out Elspeth Beard’s 1974 BMW R60/6 [above], Paul’s own 1964 Honda CL72 Scrambler, Lyndon Poskitt’s 2007 KTM 690 Rally bike, and the Harley-Davidson LiveWire that Charley Boorman did his ‘Long Way Up’ TV show with.

There are also a few autos thrown in the mix, like the Baja-bustin’ 1969 Ford Bronco special, and a 1969 Honda N600 Baja.

Space exploration gets a nod with two examples of the ‘chariot’ from the 1965 and 2018 Lost in Space TV series, and an actual NASA space rover. Hookie Co.’s ultra-futuristic electric concept, Tardigrade [above], is set to make an appearance too.

“These remarkable machines tell a human story,” says Paul, “of dreamers and reckless youth, stubborn visionaries and dogged competitors, all together in one place. We told lenders not to wash their overland veterans: we wanted to show good honest dirt as proof of their rough duty.”

The exhibition opened at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles this weekend, and there’s a reception on July 15th, which will be a drive/ride-in event on museum’s rooftop. [More]

Suzuki GS1000 by The Rebanism The best restomods are the ones that retain the spirit of the era they’re from, but are improved in a hundred tiny ways. And this handsome Suzuki GS1000 from Malaysia does just that.

The bike belongs to a gentleman named Reban, who bought it back in 2018 while on a bike trip with his local club, Sunday MC. He then turned to one of his fellow club members—the owner of the Malaysian design house, Goldfish Motoworks, to help him visualize a new direction for it.

Goldfish came back with a render that blended classic cafe racer and ‘club’ styles, and Reban got cracking with the help of some local craftsmen.

The first job was tweaking the Suzuki’s rear section. The subframe was cut and looped, then a shorter seat pan was fabricated, along with a new tail bump. Reban opted for a retro-fabulous ducktail design rather than the ubiquitous cafe hump—and it looks spectacular.

Next up, a set of Honda Fireblade 929RR forks went on, hooked up to a custom CNC-machined top yoke. The front fairing comes from Maier Design, but it was lightly modified with some fiberglass work to suit the proportions of the bike.

The turn signals and rear light came from Purpose Built Moto in Australia.

Other bits include a Brembo front brake lever, adjustable rear shocks from YSS, and new Bridgestone Battlax BT-45 tires. A renowned local Suzuki specialist, Mr. Ah Seng, overhauled the engine and wiring too. Reban used classic badges to give it a timeless feel, then nicknamed his bike ‘The Last Kogo’ (‘kogo’ means ’empress’ in Japanese). [The Rebanism]

Earned: The Story of Keith Hale’s Ducati 750 Super Sport The Ducati 750 SS is one of the most iconic motorcycles ever made, and one of the rarest classics on the market today. Only 401 were ever made—so if you want one, you’d better have deep pockets.

Keith Hale fell in love with the 750 SS the moment he heard it. Only 22 years old at the time, he took out a bank loan and convinced the Ducati dealer in Fresno, California to sell him their only example. 47 years and 100,000 miles later, it’s still his.

Directed by Roberto Serrini, ‘Earned’ is a beautifully-made documentary about Keith and his single owner 750 SS. Pour a [insert favorite beverage], kick up your feet, and be inspired. [More]

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[DaveM]

BEAST MODE: Yamaha XJR1300 ‘Buffalo’ by Gas & Retro.

Whether your passion is for custom bikes, cars, or any other hobby that to the outside world looks like it’s unnecessarily expensive, you’re going to need an understanding partner. One who doesn’t throw your stuff on the lawn when they see you’ve just written a cheque for your third engine build in three years. Not only has Žiga Petek found that kind of love, but his girlfriend is just as crazy...

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[DaveM]

ADVENTURE MACHINES. ADV:Overland Exhibition at the Petersen Museum.

Off-road motorcycle development has always focused on pushing the limits of what’s possible in terms of reliability and performance, however, Overlanding takes this to new extremes, requiring riders to traverse markedly longer distances while being completely self-reliant, carrying everything needed for the journey, from camping equipment and rations to spare parts and tools for DIY repair.

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[DaveM]

Better by design: A Yamaha TRX850 built by an architect

Back in the 90s, the Japanese manufacturers went through a phase of building Italian-style sportbikes. Honda had the SuperHawk, and Suzuki the TL1000S—both 90° V-twins. Yamaha, however, took the 10-valve DOHC parallel twin used in its sport tourers and came up with the TRX850.

The critical reception was mixed, to say the least, but these days the TRX850 is appreciated a little more. It’s a good value secondhand buy, and with upgrades to the suspension and brakes, it’s a torquey and fun machine for the open road.

Australian Josh Bell is a fan. He’s a 30-year-old architect living in Sydney, and when he’s not designing buildings, he likes to build bikes.

It doesn’t sound like the most relaxing endeavor, though: “This TRX represents a couple of years of blood (mostly), sweat and tears—and experiments with fabrication techniques for the bodywork,” Josh tells us. “This bike was built on a limited budget, and I completed almost all of the work myself.”

We reckon he’s done an amazing job. The TRX850 doesn’t look too bad in factory condition, but this custom with an endurance racing vibe has gone up to a whole new level.

The donor was a well looked after 1996 Yamaha TRX850, so the engine likely had most of its original 79 hp still available. Josh has boosted that fine mill by installing an Arrow 2-into-1 exhaust system, plus a carbon fiber end can—ceramic coated black for a low-key vibe.

The carbs are the stock Mikuni BDST38s, the same as used on some contemporary Ducatis, but rejetted to take advance of the freer-flowing exhaust. A CDI box from Over Racing keeps the ignition system in tune and raises the rev limit.

To get the handling up to spec, Josh has grafted on the 41mm forks and swingarm from a Yamaha YZF750SP of similar age. They’ve been polished back to raw metal and it’s a substantial upgrade, since the YZF was essentially a WSBK homologation special.

The forks have been refreshed with a race-ready spring kit tuned to Josh’s weight, and at the back, there’s a custom-built Wilbers remote reservoir shock, with adjustable high and low speed compression damping.

The 17-inch wheels are from a YZF750SP too: they’re refinished in satin black, and fitted with Michelin Power Cup road-legal race tires.

The brake system benefits from a common owner mod on TRX850s—retrofitted Yamaha R1 Brembo parts, including ‘blue spot’ calipers. Goodrich steel braided hoses maximize the feel available at the levers.

With the mechanicals up to scratch, Josh turned his architect’s eye to the bodywork. He’s handmade an aluminum front fairing using a single sheet of metal with zero welds.

“I made a paper template from the existing TRX fairing so I could work out my mounting points, and then got creative,” he says. “I was pretty obsessed with the Suzuki XR69 at the time, so it’s kind of a blend of that and the original. A lot of time and coach building techniques used on this one.”

The original fairing bracket, suitably modified, holds everything in place and there’s a new aluminum support for a dash, which holds a generic speedo and a digital temperature gauge.

There’s a 4-inch single headlight embedded rather than flushed into the fairing, with a custom painted shell, and bar-end indicators for the turn signals. (A lithium battery now supplies power.) The mirrors were originally bar-end designs too, but are now attached to the fairing itself.

The new tail started with a 3D model of the frame and new seat unit, which Josh then routed into high-density foam. “This was used to make a buck for the finished fiberglass unit. The seat is set on hinges, and has a push-button release from a drift car bonnet to open up the electronics tray.” There’s a simple LED brake light with LED strip indicators on either side of the license plate.

Down below is a belly pan, handmade from an aluminum buck with the final piece made in carbon fiber. (“The engine is incredibly asymmetrical and this one was a big challenge.”)

Josh designed the striking paint and graphics himself, using vinyl templates. “I was really inspired by the ‘loudness’ of the 90s endurance racer movement,” he says, “but also wanted to add my own aesthetic—to land somewhere in between, with a scheme that would age well.”

“I used the late 70s Ducati font, as a bit of an inside joke for a bike with a history of identity crisis. Finding the perfect red paint was a long task: Ferrari Rosso Corsa 322 was the perfect fit. It changes from blood red in some light to almost watermelon in direct sun.” The paint was expertly applied by Alexandria Collision Centre in Sydney’s inner city.

Finished off with a CNC-machined gas filler cap, Over Racing rearsets and a can of Red Bull as a radiator overflow, Josh’s Yamaha looks absolutely stunning. And if it inspires more builders to look at the underrated TRX850, that’s no bad thing.

Images by Rob Hamilton

Josh gives special thanks to: Dad (Bryan Bell), Jason Parkin at Jays Auto for dyno tuning and sprocket alignment work, all round knowledgeable guy Russell Lowe for fabrication tutelage (keep an eye out for Julia Motorsports) and Paul for the paint.

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[DaveM]

RON WOOD INSPIRED SUZUKI GN250.

It remains one of the most beautiful racing motorcycles of all time, and it all started with a $200 wreck. But when you’re an innovator like the legend of Motorsport Ron Wood, you find a way to do things differently from the rest of the pack, win and look good doing it too. So, it makes sense that somebody deeply inspired by that famous Flat Track machine would by nature be an innovator themselves...

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[DaveM]

Urban Enduro: Moto Mucci’s KTM 300 XC-W Street Tracker

Dave Mucci is a rare talent. He has a boundless imagination and one of the sharpest eyes in the business, plus the ability to turn his concepts into reality. And he’s not afraid to break new ground either.

This ultra-sharp street tracker is a testament to Dave’s prowess as a motorcycle designer. Visually spry and wrapped in tasteful minimalist finishes, it has the same sort of neo-futurist vibe as Husqvarna’s Svartpilen and Vitpilen bikes. It’s been built on a distantly related base too: a 2014 KTM 300 XC-W Six Days enduro.

Not surprisingly, the client for this build reached out to Dave after seeing his totally bonkers Husqvarna TE 570 project. “He wanted something in the same vein,” says Dave, “a rowdy trail bike converted for street use. He had his go-fast sportbikes and his dedicated trail machines, and was looking for something more unique.”

The client already owned the KTM, and had gone through the difficult process of getting it plated in NY—so using it was a non-negotiable. The brief seemed simple enough at first: build a street bike with some dirt track capabilities. But as soon as Dave put pencil to paper, things escalated.

“As with all my build projects,” he explains, “I started the process in 2D, going through multiple rounds of sketching and refinement with the owner. Eventually we landed on something a bit more…extensive. Stylistically I was looking to give the bike a more street-based aesthetic, using modern forms, undoubtedly influenced by the Husqvarna ‘Pilens, and a monochromatic color scheme with small pops of gold.”

Since the KTM 300 XC-W is plenty punchy out the box, there was no need to mess with the core bike. But the wish list included reworked suspension, 19” wheels with dirt track rubber and hand-formed aluminum bodywork. And that meant a fresh challenge, because Dave has never hand-shaped metal before.

“I’m a one-man business and these projects often take over a year,” he says, “so I like to spend that time pushing my abilities and acquiring new skills. I started by reading through metal shaping forums, picking up old technical training books, and signing up for classes with that metal wizard down in Vegas, Cristian Sosa.”

“I got home from Cristian’s workshop, picked up some basic shaping tools and a pallet stacked with 3003 aluminum sheet, and started trying to turn them into motorcycle shapes. I probably built every panel on the bike five or six times before I was satisfied with the quality and fitment.”

The KTM’s new bodywork is elegant and cohesive—from the wide air ducts on the sides, to the slender fuel tank up top. The rear section is punctuated by a custom aluminum subframe, made from a combination of bent tubing and water jet-cut gussets. Dave shaped the seat pan and carved out the foam too, then handed it to Ginger McCabe at New Church Moto to wrap in black leather.

Just as Dave honed his new craft as he went, many smaller details were figured out on the fly too. The headlight housing was 3D-printed with a carbon fiber nylon composite for optimal strength, flexibility and heat resistance, and fitted with Hella internals. The taillight was machined from polycarbonate and backlit with LEDs.

To perfect the KTM’s stance, the forks and rear shock were rebuilt 2” lower with a lowering kit from Motolab, and re-sprung and re-valved for street use. Dave used a set of Husqvarna 701 Supermoto yokes to spread the forks wider, which left room for the dirt track tires he wanted to fit.

The bike now runs Maxxis DTR-1 rubber, measuring 130-19” in front, and 140-19” out back. The tires are wrapped around a pair of exquisite Roland Sands Design Del Mar flat track wheels, anodized in a satin black finish. They were matched to the KTM via custom-machined hubs.

Dave designed the front hub to carry a Brembo floating rotor from a Ducati, because its bolts are grouped tighter. “This meant the hub could be half the size; less weight and machining cost,” he explains.

Dave left the KTM’s engine internals alone, but treated it to a new exhaust. The setup includes a modified expansion chamber from Scalvini, with the header re-routed to under the tail and plated in high-temperature nickel. It terminates in a hand-made stainless steel muffler, packed with ceramic fiber baffling.

It wasn’t just a fit-and-forget job, though. With the new exhaust on, Dave sent the bike to the 2-stroke specialists, LED Performance, to dial in the KTM’s jetting on their dyno.

The rest of the build is finished off with a smattering of aftermarket parts. Dave added grips, bar-end turn signals and a tiny digital speedo from Motogadget, and rewired the bike around the German brand’s mo.unit control box. The adjustable levers are from ASV, and the kill switch is a RideENG part.

Dave also mated a Rizoma gas cap from a Ducati to the fuel tank, and added a custom sump guard and front fender. He did the paint himself, too; a satin clear coat to show off the metalwork, with a hit of gold.

We’ve followed Dave’s career as a custom motorcycle builder since day one with keen interest, but between this build and the one that inspired it, he’s really starting to play on another level. And we’re not the only ones taking notice—he’s recently taken up a post as a senior designer at Zero Motorcycles. We can’t wait to see what he comes up with there.

Moto Mucci | Instagram | Images by Jenny Linquist | Featured in issue 44 of Iron & Air Magazine, available soon.

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[DaveM]

BUILT FOR : Win this custom Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight.

Every custom motorcycle builder has their own way of working: usually in solitude, with their own familiar tools and techniques honed over years of practice. So when David Chang from @caferacersofinstagram had the idea to round up some of the best bike builders in the business to create a custom motorcycle in a week to raise money for the charity Waves for Water, he always knew it was going to be...

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[DaveM]

UNCONVENTIONAL SCRAMBLER: Suzuki GR650 Tempter by PBM.

Less is more. That’s something we hear a lot when we talk about building custom bikes, especially anything built into a scrambler. That’s a difficult mantra to maintain when you’re working with the untraditional and stocky classic cruiser that is the 1983 Suzuki GR650, but with no surprise the team at Purpose Built Moto from Gold Coast in Australia accepted the challenge that resulted in the...

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[DaveM]

The Convert: Electrifying a Honda CB200

The growth of the electric vehicle market has sparked a new trend in the car world. Older vehicles like Land Rovers and VW Beetles are having their busted motors ripped out, and replaced by electric drivetrains. Since a car’s motor is hidden the conversion doesn’t ruin its looks—but on a motorcycle, everything’s on full display.

If you’re going to convert an old bike to electric, and you don’t want it to look scrappy, you need a more considered approach. This cute Honda CB200 from Omega Motors shows how to do it right.

Omega Motors is a side-project for Nick Nieminen, James Hollis and Ian Iott. Nick and James used to work at the San Francisco e-bike company Monday Motorbikes, and after they left, started throwing around the idea of a ‘modern classic’ electric motorcycle.

Nick is in San Francisco, but James moved to Germany and Ian is based in Ohio. So the guys worked in small bursts when they could all get together, and remotely the rest of the time. It took them about three years to go from a bone stock 1975-model Honda CB200, to this: the Omega ‘EV200.’

Nick and James had a lot of untested ideas from their time at Monday, so the project was a way of trying out stuff that wasn’t practical for a production bike. “We felt like many brands were taking the newfound design freedom of electric drivetrains a bit too far,” says Nick, “making bikes that had lost some of the motorcycle spirit that makes folks get nostalgic.”

“We wanted a bike that performs like a modern day electric vehicle, but inspires similar emotions to the motorcycles that we’ve grown to love—rather than a boxy, futuristic aesthetic.”

Keeping much of the original CB intact was central to the project. So the guys refurbished the Honda’s front forks, wheels and brakes, even retaining the cable-actuated front brake and rear drum brake.

The frame needed only subtle modifications. The team shortened it and removed the welded-in rear fender, cut off the passenger peg mounts, and cut a small bit out of the spine to weld in a mounting plate for the controller. Surprisingly, the original motor mounts are still intact—the new electric motor and battery are attached via a set of custom mounting plates.

The motor itself is an off-the-shelf unit from Golden Motor, rated at 5 kW nominal / 10 kW peak power. Omega added a Kelly Controls controller, and made their own PCB. Those are all packaged under the seat and the modified fuel tank; the charge port is accessible via the gas cap.

At the heart of the bike is a 1.6 kWh battery pack, designed and built specifically for the EV200. “We had considered buying something off the shelf,” says James, “but the options for an appropriate pack back then were extremely limited. It was mostly small e-bicycle packs, or bulky kits for golf carts that would’ve made for a really underwhelming motorcycle experience.”

The idea was to build the battery as a quick-and-dirty proof of concept, but then the guys visited Jeff Tiedeken—who used to be a welder and fabricator at Roland Sands Design. Jeff saw potential for more, so he helped the guys fabricate the stylish aluminum enclosure you’re looking at here.

That inspired the guys to go to town on the finishes for the EV200. It ended up with a crisp white livery on the fuel tank, and bright orange cables to mimic the spark plug cables on older bikes. Up top, the original seat was trimmed down, then recovered in brown leather.

The same leather’s been used on the custom tank pad, part of which lifts up to reveal the battery display screen. But there aren’t any visible digital things—Omega rewired everything to work with the original speedo and switches, and even repurposed the clutch lever as an analog regenerative braking control.

“Keeping the original switches was actually a major pain in the ass, and a bit of wiring nightmare,” admits Nick. “But we thought it was an important touch point for this kind of reinvigorated retro vibe.”

As for the numbers, they’re modest—but the guys are still dialing in the settings, and were never aiming for eye-watering performance here. Top speed is currently 60 mph, with a range of 30 miles and a charge time of five to eight hours. But the EV200 weighs only 245 pounds, which is 22% lighter than a stock CB200.

The powertrain is configured to peak at 200 amps, a play on the bike’s original 200 cc displacement. “The CB200 was always a small bike,” says James, “so the powertrain of the EV200 was intended to match that around-town use case. The battery is as much as you need for an urban bike without weighing it down, and currently it’s geared more for torque than top speed.”

The EV200 is a fascinating design and engineering study, a great first project, and a handsome custom bike to boot. The team’s already working on the next logical step: conversion kits, or at the very least, partial kits for custom fitment. Just the ticket for anyone with a classic in the garage with a blown motor, wouldn’t you say?

Omega Motors | Instagram | Photographs by Isaiah Jones

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[DaveM]

INTERVIEW: Thor Drake from See See Motorcycles & The One Motorcycle Show.

We caught up with the mustached man behind Portland’s See See Motorcycles and The One Motorcycle Show. Thor grew up secretly kicking dirt bikes over in the desert and riding snowboards in the mountains. After a brief stint in the advertising industry, he quickly found out he was better suited to working for himself – and with motorcycles. We asked him some questions about his love of motorcycles...

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[DaveM]

Speed Read, July 11 2021

Something for everyone this week: The classic perfection of a Moto Guzzi café racer, a stealthy R18 commissioned by BMW, and a slinky CB650R from Honda’s European dealer build-off. Plus a look at BMW’s very, very radical new CE 04.

Moto Guzzi California 1100 EV by Bernd and Robin Mehnert The Mehnerts are a German father and son duo who normally make woodwind instruments. But when a friend offered them a California 1100 on the cheap, they snapped it up and turned their attention to shaping metal.

The California may be a cruiser, but it converts surprisingly well to a café racer format—mostly thanks to the Tonti frame. It’s far too heavy though, so Bernd and Robin focused on dropping weight, using as many aluminum parts as possible.

Inspired by Axel Budde and his acclaimed Kaffeemaschine builds, the Mehnerts installed the lower frame tubes from a Le Mans, an aluminum tank from WBO Racing, and a seat-and-tail unit made from GRP.

The German Moto Guzzi specialist Dynotec supplied the leather seat, reprogrammed the fuel injection, and also helped with paint for the few parts that aren’t raw metal.

Power gets a boost from a modified airbox (with hi-flow air filter) and a Mistral exhaust system, lifting the output from 68 to 86 hp. Weight is down from around 250 to 210 kg, allowing the Guzzi to pass the 200 kph mark. And with a lowered, refurbished front fork and Öhlins 36PRCLB piggyback shocks at the rear, the California has now got the stance to match. [Via]

BMW R18 by Pier City Cycles This Sussex, England workshop keeps a low profile on the custom scene, but it’s a thriving business that specializes in custom BMW R nineTs. They do complete builds, and also sell a huge range of parts for Boxer owners who prefer to do the work themselves.

PCC have now attracted the attention of BMW Motorrad UK, who commissioned them to customize an R18 for the Goodwood Festival of Speed running this weekend.

The R18 is currently sitting in the Supercar Paddock but we reckon it’ll easily hold its own against the surrounding exotica—despite relatively subtle mods.

PCC have dialed down the whole ‘heritage’ vibe of the R18 and gone for what they call a ‘neo’ look. Fabrication includes a low-profile seat on hard-mounted support struts, upholstered by James King Atelier using a combination of pig suede and leather.

The slimline fenders are hand-made, and the bars are lower and narrower than stock. The exhaust system is new too, with custom pipework designed to sit square with the frame and tiny end cans from Unit Garage.

BMW’s own Option 719 program provided more goodies, including blacked-out covers for the engine housing and cylinder heads, blacked-out fork covers, and black aluminum rims.

On the electrical side, PCC have installed a Denali M7 headlight and used Motogadget Tens2 combo units for the rest of the lighting—as well as the compact Motoscope Mini digital speedo.

After a complete respray, the R18 was ready to take on the famous hillclimb at Goodwood, with frequent Isle of Man TT racer James Hiller on board. We wish we’d been there to see it—and hear it, since this R18 registers a whopping 121dB on the sound level meter. [Pier City | Images by Drew Irvine]

Honda Europe CB650R custom competition Custom build-offs involving dealers are fraught with danger for the manufacturers’ marketing departments. It takes more than just a skilled mechanic to build an eye-catching custom, and a slick showroom is no guarantee of an eye for design. And then you have to get all the bikes photographed consistently.

We’ve seen some real hit-and-miss competitions in the past, but Honda has got it right with its ‘Garage Dreams’ contest, involving 36 dealers across Europe. The winning bikes were destined to go on display a few days ago at the Wheels & Waves festival in France—but since that was cancelled, Honda has put together an online showcase of the ten best builds.

We’re especially taken with the machine shown here, by the Portuguese garage Mototrofa. It’s called Fénix—after the garage burnt down in 2019 and was resurrected—and won the Iberian section of the contest.

Mototrofa have grafted on the single-sided swingarm and rear wheel from a VFR750F, plus the front wheel from a CBR900RR Fireblade. The seat and tail unit are custom, and an Akrapovič titanium exhaust system liberates a few extra horsepower while dropping almost five kilos off the weight.

The paint was designed with the help of (and applied by) fellow Portuguese brand Nexx Helmets, with the ‘93’ signifying the year Mototrofa was founded. And also the race number of a certain young Spanish MotoGP champion…

Head over to the Honda Customs site to see the other bikes and vote for your favorite. [Via]

BMW CE 04 electric scooter We don’t usually find new scooter launches interesting, but BMW’s latest urban runabout really butters our toast. Not only because it’s electric, but also because the cyberpunk-ish styling is out of this world.

The aesthetics are similar to those we’re starting to see from the more forward-thinking custom builders. They’re also remarkably close to the Concept Link that BMW revealed at the Concorso d‘Eleganza show four years ago. And predictably, this has triggered some of the more conservative members of the motorcycling fraternity.

Top speed is 75 mph (120 kph), and range is around 80 miles (130 km). To get these user-friendly figures, weight is a pretty hefty 509 pounds (231 kg), which virtually matches that of the new Revolution Max-powered Sportster S that Harley is about to reveal. BMW, helpfully, kits out the CE 04 with a reverse gear.

It’s also worth noting that this scoot is big: it’s about an inch longer than a Pan America. There’s plenty of room for a passenger on the bench seat, plus front and side storage compartments.

BMW has history in the electric scooter world, thanks to the C-evolution maxi scooter. So you can bank on the CE 04 being well-sorted, fun to ride and cheap to run. It won’t be cheap to buy, though: in the States, pricing will start at $11,795.

That’s about the same as a new base-model Ducati Monster, but a helluva lot less than the $21,999 LiveWire One. You pays your money and you takes your choice. [BMW CE 04 Definition product page]

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[DaveM]

UNDER THE KNIFE: Kawasaki W800 ‘Matador’ by North East Custom.

For 365 days of the year, we feature the greatest custom built bikes the world has to offer and bring to you the best side of the scene. But, if you’ve been riding motorcycles long enough you know that eventually, that thing we try not to talk about, will happen; an accident. With modern riding gear, ABS and traction control, you might just get away with it, but most of us have broken at least one...

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[DaveM]

Funduro: Toma Customs reworks the BMW R1150GS

BMW’s bestselling GS range owes its popularity to the R1150GS. Sure, the R80G/S is the granddaddy of all adventure bikes and the R1100GS sold in scores—but it was the R1150GS that really took the GS brand mainstream. The thing is, it hasn’t been in production for 16 years, and that means it’s getting harder to find tidy second hand examples.

The owner of this 2003-model BMW R1150GS got lucky though; it had very little mileage when he bought it, and had been well looked after. But the plan was never to leave it stock, so it went straight to Toma Customs’ workshop in Brussels, Belgium.

Shop founder Thomas Jeukens explains that most projects kick off with an extensive courtship period, so that the team can get familiar with their client’s personality and tastes. But this client already has two Toma bikes in his garage—so the crew already knew the score.

“He likes minimalist, sober, and neat projects,” says Thomas, “and for this project we wanted to propose something really unique and with a strong identity.”

The brief was to build a solid daily runner that could also handle adventure touring, while trimming the big GS down and simplifying its lines. The tank had to stay, and the new seat had to be big enough for a passenger to squeeze on—but for the rest, Toma Customs had carte blanche. They worked closely with their client on the design anyway, simply because Thomas prefers it that way.

“The project is a cross between a scrambler and a vintage rally prep,” he says. “We are particularly sensitive to the aesthetics of old Dakar motorcycles, from which we drew our main inspiration for this project.”

This isn’t Toma Customs’ first crack at the R1150GS. Even so, customizing it was no walk in the park, and it took the crew 300 hours of work to achieve the elegant enduro you’re looking at. “Every part of the bike is designed to fit together in a unique way,” explains Thomas. “To make a balanced custom motorcycle, you have to rework virtually every position from front to rear.”

The first step was to ditch the BMW’s distinct, but bulky, front fairing. Toma replaced it with a classic round headlight, cradled by a bespoke bracket that very cleverly also holds a modified Acerbis fender. Tiny LED turn signals flank the headlight.

Just behind is a small digital speedo from Acewell, along with an all-in-one indicator light unit. Toma kept the OEM bars and switches because they work well enough, but swapped out the old grips for a pair of Biltwell Inc. Kung-Fu items.

Toma carried that classic enduro style through to the rear, by trimming the GS subframe and welding in mounts for a modified fender from a mid-70s enduro. It’s an inspired design choice, right down to the integrated dirt bike-style taillight. A pair of LED turn signals tucked away under the frame rails rounds out the tail.

The BMW’s new saddle is another home run. Toma opted for a generously padded design that tapers to the rear, made all the more classy by its two-tone upholstery and chunky logos.

Elsewhere, the team made a point of trimming stuff off that they didn’t need—and upgrading the useful stuff. The BMW’s plastic rear wheel hugger (affectionately known as the ‘poop scoop’ in GS circles) was replaced by a more svelte metal version that now holds the license plate. The passenger pegs were upgraded, but the bike still has its original center stand and helmet lock.

The condition of the donor meant there was no need to tear into the motor, and since reliability was key, the airbox was left in play too. Toma simply replaced the muffler with a burly number from Mass, that looks like it was ripped straight off a 90s Dakar bike.

Overall it’s a simple take on BMW’s mile-munching boxer, which works precisely because of its simplicity, and its perfect balance.

That stylish olive and white livery doesn’t hurt either—riding the line between retro and modern while tying the project together. As an extra touch Toma refinished the subframe in white, and the front suspension wishbone in black to make it near invisible.

With a new set of Heidenau K60 Scout tires on, Toma’s latest project went off to its owner… just in time for an off-road trip in France.

Toma Customs | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Robin De Nys

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[DaveM]

LA BRAVA: 1957 Gilera 150 Sport by Coronas Modificadas.

In some parts of the world you can still buy a brand new Gilera, only that truth be told, it isn’t any such thing. It’s just a Piaggio scooter with a different badge on it and you can’t help but feel how far the mighty have fallen. For those who do remember the brand, they’d know that their golden era was the 1950s when they dominated Grand Prix motorcycling racing and some of their smaller bikes...

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[DaveM]

Semi-professionnel: A Yamaha DT125 from BaaM Garage

It’s getting hard these days to tell if a custom comes from an amateur or professional workshop; the part-timers are really leveling up. And then you have that curious middle ground—the growing number of serial custom hobbyists who could probably make the jump into full time if they wished.

BaaM Garage is one of those outfits, and they’ve just finished this very tidy Yamaha DT125. It’s a double-duty bike that would look at home on the trails during le week-end, and on tight French city streets during the working week.

BaaM is based is Toulouse, and run by friends Clément and Hugo. Both are 29 years old, both are aerospace industry engineers, and both come from families with a passion for motorsport.

Clément even spent 15 years racing go-karts, developing his mechanic skills along the way. Hugo was a late starter: “I learnt how a carburetor works when I saw one on a table while sharing a meal at Clément’s home in 2015!”

That was the year BaaM Garage became an after-hours hobby for the guys, and this two-stroke DT125 MX is their fourth build—after a Honda CB250G, a Suzuki DR650 Djebel and a Yamaha XTZ750 Super Ténéré. BaaM obviously has a thing for older Japanese bikes.

Clément and Hugo picked up the 1979 DTMX 125 (as the model is known in France) just over a year ago, but they already had a client: David Ferrara, the owner of Tonsor & Cie, a very cool traditional barbershop in Toulouse. David is also a partner in Wheels & Waves, and has already put two of BaaM’s previous builds on display in his shop.

At the start of the COVID period and France’s first lockdown, the DT was stripped down. “We wanted to completely ‘free up’ the rear end, so the shock absorber and upper swingarm are clearly visible,” says Hugo. That also meant relocating the battery and oil tank, and scrapping the huge air box.

The back end of the frame has been completely rebuilt, lowered in height and slightly shortened. The rest has been cleaned up, with a new electrical box installed under the seat in tandem with a Ducati-based seat opening system.

Clément and Hugo also re-welded the swingarm, with perforated plates added near the hinge for extra stiffness. It’s hooked up to a custom-made shock from the French manufacturer EMC, but keeps the same style as the original: “We wanted to keep the beautiful tubing of the pre-1980 DTMX.”

The front fork looks standard, but DT125 obsessives will spot that it’s from a later model—in order to get a disk instead of drum brake.

The cleverest mod is also the best hidden: underneath the front fender is a tough, flush-fitted aluminum oil box.

The kick-start air-cooled single has been fully restored, and refinished on the outside—with a hint of BMW Austin Yellow metallic paint on the covers for extra pop. The same color is used on the rebuilt hubs too, which are now laced to classy Excel rims, shod with skinny Continental Twinduro rubber.

The bodywork looks factory standard, because in some ways it is: the fuel tank is from a DT50, subtly remodeled to fit on the DT125 frame. “We had to completely modify the underside of it,” says Hugo, “and also the fuel valve area—due to the beam-type frame with the rear shock going inside. The tank was also full of dents when we got it, but we loved the shape.”

BaaM have crafted the new under-seat panels out of aluminum, using hammers and an English wheel. For smaller items like fork tops and stainless steel fasteners, they turned to the lathe.

You need to do more than a cosmetic job to reinvigorate a 42-year-old bike, so Clément and Hugo have installed a brand new, homemade wiring loom. And a smattering of small 3D-printed parts are strategically placed around the bike—such as below the seat, with a discreet ‘key system’ allowing access to the electrics.

The seat eschews the 70s-style bread loaf form for something a little shapelier, upholstered in three different leathers by Carolyn Macagno—a former winner of the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France craftsmanship competition, just up the road in Montgiscard.

Underneath the new seat, the loom connects to a Motogadget mo.unit control box and an mo.lock ignition system, with a Tiny speedometer mounted on the bars. The switchgear is from Motone and the compact blinkers are Kellermann’s atto units.

The little two-stroke is a seriously accomplished build, but given that it’s the creation of a pair of aerospace engineers in lockdown, perhaps that’s to be expected. If they ever decide to make the jump into full-time, we reckon they’ve got a great future ahead of them.

Baam Garage | Images by Maxime Cassagne

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[DaveM]

DARK ARTS: BMW R100/7 by Dark Shadow Garage.

When you’ve been immersed in a subculture for what feels like a lifetime, you quickly forget that by its very nature few people on the outside will ever really understand what it’s all about. But nothing reminds you more vividly as to why you’re in so deep than to witness the joy and overt passion of a newcomer. Welcome Finland’s Tito Toivola to the world of custom motorcycles; a man who just over...

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[DaveM]

Pick-n-Mix Treat: A W650 hardtail bobber from South Africa

The Kawasaki W650 has been customized in myriad ways, but we seldom see it as a pure engine donor for another project. And why not? Kawasaki’s classically-style parallel twin is arguably one of the most attractive motors from the past couple of decades.

This delightful hardtail bobber uses the engine, gearbox, carbs and the basic electrics from a 1999-model W650. But every other part has come from somewhere else, or been made from scratch. A tasteful combo by owner and builder, Marnitz Venter.

Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Marnitz’s love for vintage twins runs deep. He has a few classic BSAs and Triumphs in his garage, and runs the retro parts and apparel site Old Skool Trading. Custom jobs occasionally get squeezed in between life’s other priorities.

Marnitz’s last build was a show-stopping Triumph bobber that took four years to finish, but also bagged gold at the Lightning Bolt custom show in Cape Town, late last year. After the show, Marnitz “was sort of looking for a project, but not really.” That is, until he saw a partially built Kawasaki W650 standing in the corner of a local shop, V Custom Cycles.

“I was looking for something reliable that you can just hop on and go,” he tells us. “I fell in love with the look of this motor, especially the bevel drive side. I asked Patt [V Custom Cycles owner] about the bike and he said I must make him an offer—the next moment there was a new project standing in my garage.”

Although the bike was incomplete, the engine had done very little mileage. So Marnitz took it out, cleaned and polished it, and mounted it in his workshop as a display piece. Then inspiration hit: “I took some measurements of a Sportster motor, and decided to bring in a custom hardtail frame for a Sporty from the States.”

Kraft Tech Inc. in California supplied the Sportster-specific frame, which Marnitz then modified to house the Kawasaki mill. He cut off the old motor mounts, welded in new ones and fabricated a set of custom engine brackets. The rear of the frame had an offset to accommodate a Harley belt drive, so that had to be addressed too.

Marnitz salvaged the forks and triples for the front end from an accident damaged Sportster. The tubes were straightened, then the lowers and yokes were shaved of everything they didn’t need—like the brake caliper mounts. A set of shrouds from Lowbrow Customs was added too, to streamline the look.

For the wheels, Marnitz sourced a pair of vintage Yamaha drum brake hubs; the front is of unknown origin, but the rear is from an RD350. The rear hub had to be modified to get the sprocket alignment right, then both ends were laced to 18” aluminum rims with stainless steel spokes.

We’re not usually fans of whitewall tires and neither is Marnitz…but these Shinko E270s were the only vintage treads he could find during the project. And once he’d spooned them on, they actually suited the build’s rapidly evolving style.

Moving to the bodywork, Marnitz picked out a Honda CB200 fuel tank, then proceeded to make a whole bunch of changes to it. It’s narrower and shorter now, with extra space underneath for the ignition coil and new mounts to attach it. There’s also a Daytona speedo bolted to the right side of it, and an LED indicator light panel embedded up top.

The rest of the bodywork is minimal. There’s a faux oil tank under the seat that houses the wiring and some of the switches, and a slim rear fender out back. Dion Korkie handled the upholstery on the chunky bobber saddle, and made a matching tool bag that’s mounted lower down.

On his previous build, Marnitz assembled a crew of friends to help him—but this time, he handled all the fabrication himself. “I learned to TIG weld over the lockdown,” he says. “It was also my first attempt at building my own stainless steel exhaust pipes.”

His handiwork extends to everything from the stainless steel rear fender stays, to the drilled brackets that hold the battery. Marnitz even extended the W650’s sprocket cover, by welding in and shaping some aluminum into an integrated chain guard.

The mini ape hangers are custom too, complete with an internal throttle. The switches, carb tops and air filters are from Motor Rock in Japan, while the grips, levers, mirror and vintage headlight are all from Lowbrow Customs. Marnitz mounted a pair of LED turn signals below the headlight, sunk another pair into the back of the frame, and installed a Prism Supply Company taillight.

The forward-mounted foot controls were pieced together from a hacked up set of 1” handlebars, with a handful of tailor-made brackets and bushings.

Marnitz’s brother-in-law, Justin, helped him whip the wiring into shape, while Patt assisted in sourcing many of the parts for the build. Rudi at Kicker Paints was responsible for the stunning candy paint job, which flips from black to gold to green in sunlight.

The bike’s finished off with neat little touches like color-coded spark plug cables. And there’s one modern detail too: a pair of 3D-printed Kawasaki emblems on the tank.

Throwing that many parts together can easily result in a disastrous mishmash, but Marnitz has nailed it. There’s just one problem: he originally planned to sell it, but he’s having too much fun riding it.

Old Skool Trading | Marnitz Venter Instagram | Images by Kevin Sutherland

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[DaveM]

XCEPTIONAL: Honda XR600 by PopBang Classics.

The commissioning of a piece of art, a practice that rose to great prominence during the renaissance, has not only given artists a chance to earn a quid but has been the means by which some of the greatest works in history have been created. You may know the tale about a semi-wealthy Italian merchant who had a chap named Leo knock up a painting of the missus, Lisa. A few years ago...

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[DaveM]

Simply The Best: NYC Norton’s Commando S-type racer

If there’s anything we love more than a classic racebike, it’s one with a good story behind it. And this gleaming Commando ‘S’ Roadster from NYC Norton comes with a very unusual history indeed.

NYC Norton is run by the affable and knowledgeable Kenny Cummings. He knows his way around a racetrack as well as old Brit iron, and he’s pretty much seen it all. But the manner in which this S-type arrived in his shop still caused his eyebrows to lift a notch.

“We often get enquiries from folks with old Nortons who don’t know what to do with them,” says Kenny. “Either they had put a bike away, years ago, and forgot about it or they inherited one.”

“The first question is always, ‘What would it cost to get it running?’ The next is, ‘What’s it worth, as is?’”

A few years ago, Kenny received an email from a woman who identified herself as ‘Tina.’ She had a Norton she wanted to sell. “I asked her to send photos, and I received some pictures from a woman with a different name—which looked as if they’d been taken with a flip phone in 1999. A bit suspect…”

The bike was intact, as far as Kenny could tell, but was very grubby. It had most likely started life as a 1970 S-Type. Then he got a call from a ‘Tina-Lina.’

“This was not a typical shop call. She spoke in whispery, hushed tones, and told me that the bike had belonged to her dear deceased husband. It had been languishing in her New Jersey backyard for many years, but she had the old registration and it seemed legit—albeit not entirely of this earth.”

Kenny arranged to meet and when he arrived at the address, the door was opened by a petite woman with big hair, a long sparkly dress, and lace-up sandals. She led Kenny to her backyard, where the bike was lying on its side with weeds growing through it.

“As I walked up to this sad sight, her neighbor came hobbling over, wanting to be part of the action,” Kenny recalls. “Tina revealed that he was looking for cash to help load the bike in the van.” The same neighbor had tried to move the bike a couple of years earlier, by tying it to his pickup truck and dragging it across the yard, breaking off bars and bodywork in the process.

“I started to fear that I wasn’t going to get out alive,” Kenny says. “And the bike wasn’t moving—the brake shoes were frozen to the drums, rusty water was leaking from the gearbox, and the entire machine was covered in oil, dirt, and bugs.”

Kenny gave Neighbor Man some cash and they dead-lifted the bike into the back of the NYC Norton van. “I immediately hosed it down with Brakleen to kill as many parasites as possible and not infest the rig.”

Kenny paid Tina cash for the bike, and she was pleased. Spirits were high. But as he was about to leave, she asked why he hadn’t asked for her autograph. She explained that she was the most famous Tina Turner impersonator in the world. “How could I not know? I had her sign the bill of sale and snapped a selfie for proof.”

Back at the workshop, the NYC Norton crew hosed the bike down with even more toxic solvents, to eliminate any remaining living creatures that might still infest the works. Then it made its home in the corner, where it would await its day.

That day came last year, via a call from a Kansas City man named Ben Schmitt. Ben had raced with AHRMA several years earlier, and wanted a clean slate for getting back on the track. He liked the concept of an NYC Norton bike build and race support, so a plan was hatched.

Initially, Ben wanted to run in AHRMA’s Novice Historic Production class—the perfect way to dip one’s toe back into racing. But the rules are very strict and wouldn’t allow certain upgrades Ben required.

So it needed to be the BEARS (British European American Racing Series) class: not a starter class, but one with skilled riders who would give Ben the necessary space as he gained seat time and confidence.

The caveat was that the Norton had to have an electric start, and Ben wanted it to be converted back to street trim if the racing didn’t pan out. His eyes wandered across to the mythical old Commando S-type in the corner. The phoenix would rise.

The Norton was completely dismantled and inventoried—which took more effort than usual, because of all the rust and corrosion. And some of the components were too far-gone to be reused.

The gearbox, which had been full of swamp water for years, was locked solid; the brake drums were toast; and the fork tubes were frozen in the yokes. (The rare S-Type yokes now sit in a quiet spot in the shop, waiting for Kenny to unstick the tubes and bring them back to life.)

Still, the frame and swingarm were in great shape, albeit with some mild corrosion on one side. The engine was surprisingly good inside, most likely due to the fact that it was covered in a protective layer of oil and crud. There were some period mods done to the engine—“someone had been in there”—but all in all, it was a very usable base.

During the rebuild, Kenny got a call from a friend who had a Steve Maney cylinder and steel flywheel available. These are incredibly rare finds, so Kenny added them to the build. Standard-length Carrillo conrods and JE pistons (“our championship winning combo”) were also fitted, along with a Webcam 12s (Combat-ish) cam. Fuel is metered by a pair of Mikuni VM34 carbs.

“A squish band relief was also machined in the pistons and the head skimmed, allowing higher compression,” says Kenny. “But we kept the ratio at 10:1, so the bike can be run on hi-octane pump gas—keeping it streetable.”

The valve train is stock, with Kibblewhite Black Diamond valves and bronze guides. Revs are measured by a Scitsu inductive tacho, and ignition is via a Pazon Sure-Fire module. One can safely bet that this Commando will be faster in the 0-60 sprint than a factory-fresh bike, which recorded 4.2 seconds in a Cycle World road test.

It was now time to address the chassis, and get it to work with 18-inch wheels to allow for good race rubber. Kenny selected ContiRoadAttack 3 CR racing radials, in 100/90 front and 130/80 rear sizes. Excel flanged alloy rims were laced with Buchanan’s spokes.

The rear hub is a Grimeca drum, complete with a cush drive and a complement of 520 sprockets that permit gearing changes for different circuits. The front is a later-model Commando hub running an 11.5-inch disk and an AP racing caliper, pumped by a Brembo master cylinder.

The front suspension is adjustable: NYC Norton have installed parallel-bore pinch-bolt yokes, so the front height can be tweaked for perfect turn-in. Cosentino cartridge internals run inside the forks, along with the Cosentino/NYC Norton Teflon bushings. (“The front end is a dream and completely tunable to rider’s specs,” says Kenny.) The shocks are Hagon Classics.

The frame tubing is unmodified, but the isolastic rubber bushes have been converted to the later vernier style and set on the tight side. A rod-end headsteady is also used, since it’s necessary to retain solid handling on a rubber-mounted drive train. An NYC Norton rearset kit was bolted straight up to the stock Z-plates.

Because the gearbox internals were unusable, NYC Norton have installed a four-speed close ratio gear cluster, tucked into a modified Heavy Duty AMC-style shell. Barnett friction plates in the 850-style clutch hang off the mainshaft.

“One of Ben’s early requests was to add a reliable electric start,” says Kenny. “After a call to our dear friend Matt Rambow, we had our hands on a beautiful Colorado Norton Works electric start kit.”

The CNW starter kits are fitted to almost every NYC Norton street build, and the strong belt drive and well engineered but relatively simple componentry made this an easy choice for the race bike. A 21Ah Shorai battery and updated 180W alternator finish off the kit.

But for every action there is a reaction: fitting a larger battery meant switching out the early Commando center-mount oil tank to a later-model side mount, with a later-style battery tray.

This was a sound decision. “The side-mount tank has a breather return tapped in a higher location than the older style,” says Kenny. “It reduces potential agitation of the engine oil—from positive breathing pulses from the reed breather, whilst running at sustained high rpm.”

For the gas tank, NYC Norton’s regular hammer man turned out a Production Racer style aluminum piece. Then came a modified PR seat and slim fairing, trimmed to be low profile but effective.

And finally—because the bike started life as an S-type—Ben requested an S-Type high-level exhaust. “The dyno shows this exhaust gives fantastic torque without a huge loss up top, which is paramount to a good short-circuit racer such as this,” says Kenny.

When the bike finally rolled off the lift and Kenny and his crew could get perspective, they knew it was a winner. The Commando made its debut at the Heartland track in Topeka, Kansas last month, and when Ben arrived in the paddock and finally laid eyes on it, he was over the moon.

He took the racing school on Friday, and was out on the track, tearing it up in the BEARS class, on Saturday and Sunday. “A happy dude, and we were, too,” says Kenny. “I’m sure Tina-Lina would be proud.”

NYC Norton | Facebook | Instagram

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