Custom Motorcycle Builds

[DaveM]

Speed Read, July 18 2021

The French are out in full force this week, with a Katana from Lucky Cat Garage and an R nineT from Le Motographe. Big news from the OEMs too, with the new Harley-Davidson Sportster S and Zero FXE both breaking cover.

Suzuki Katana by Lucky Cat Garage Suzuki’s new generation Katana is a visual smash hit—a modern retro that recalls the past, but stands on its own merits too. If we had to customize it, we’d leave its bones alone and focus on subtle tweaks to add an air of exclusivity to it. That’s what Lucky Cat Garage has done here, and it’s magnifique.

Lucky Cat is run by Séb Lorentz, who started the popular Sultans of Sprint race series, and his partner Laurence Chatokhine. Lucky Cat built the bike in collaboration with Suzuki France and Royal Vintage—a platform that partners with custom shops and trades in classic and custom motorcycles. They’ll be offering a limited series of 10 Katanas just like this one.

“The idea was to sharpen the Japanese sword with a much more sporty, exclusive and elegant version,” says Séb, “as an homage to Japanese art, culture and craftsmanship.”

The main custom piece is the redesigned carbon fiber tail section. It’s sporting an Alcantara seat, and an engraved platinum insert that also carries each bike’s series number. There’s a carbon fiber blank-off plate underneath, an LED taillight embedded in the back, and the seat pops off using the stock seat latch.

There’s another platinum insert up at the tank, and two on the sides. The paint job’s a deep ‘Bushido grey,’ with platinum leaf gilding done by Laurence.

Off-the-shelf bits include clip-ons, turn signals, a bar-end mirror, master brake cylinder cover and gas cap from Rizoma, with a Suzuki GSX-R carbon fiber chain guard, rear hugger and clutch and brake controls. There are also fully adjustable rear-sets, and a dead sexy exhaust muffler from Yoshimura.

It’s hard to improve on the Katana recipe, but Lucky Cat have proven that it’s possible. [Lucky Cat Garage | Royal Vintage | Images by Yud Pourdieu Le Coz]

Harley-Davidson Sportster S Harley’s ageing Sportster has just been given a long overdue update, in the form of the new Harley-Davidson Sportster S. Revealed this week, it’s a completely new bike and a bold new design direction for The Motor Co.

At its heart is the 1,252 cc ‘Revolution Max’ liquid-cooled twin that’s in the Pan America, with a few internal changes. The numbers aren’t quite the same: the Sportster S makes 121 hp at 7,500 rpm, and 125 Nm of torque at 6,000 rpm, versus the Pan Am’s 150 hp and 128 Nm.

That’s a big jump up over the outgoing Sporty, though. Not only in numbers, but also in how and where the bike makes its power, since it now peaks higher in the rev range.

Harley says it’s “putting the sport back in Sportster,” (yes, really), so they’ve packaged the Sportster S with performance in mind. The motor’s a stressed member of the frame, the frame’s been designed stiff for better handling, and the tubular steel swingarm is braced to eliminate flex.

It weighs 502 pounds wet—so it’s hefty, but a little lighter than an Indian FTR1200 and a lot lighter than the old Sporty. You get Showa suspension at both ends with adjustable rear preload, chunky 17F/16R alloy wheels, and Brembo brakes with a single 320 mm disc up front.

On the tech side, the Sportster S (like the Pan Am) finally gets the built-in electronic aids that riders have come to expect as standard on premium bikes. So it has cornering ABS, traction control, switchable rider modes, and a swanky 4” TFT display with Bluetooth connectivity. Cruise control is standard issue, but heated grips and a USB-C charge port are optional extras.

Aesthetically, the Sportster S looks squat and purposeful, but also somewhat cartoonish. According to H-D’s design lead, Brad Richards, the bodywork took inspiration from the iconic XR750, while the balloon tires came from the Sportster Forty-Eight. We get the concept, but we’re not sure the flat track and bobber mishmash works—and the massive mufflers and wide array of plastic covers don’t help matters either.

The low seat, narrow handlebars and forward pegs (mids are an option) also make for an awkward riding position. And with very little rear suspension travel, a limited lean angle and just one brake disc up front, we wonder just how ‘sporty’ the new Sportster S is.

We’re riding it this week to find out… but even if it’s a goer, we still have one major gripe with it: it doesn’t look very customizable. The old Sporty was beloved for being the perfect blank canvas to do just about anything with—but the Sportster S looks like it only fits together one way. And we’re worried about what might be hiding under that giant belly pan.

At $14,999 the Sportster S is definitely in line with Harley’s strategy to focus on premium motorcycles. It’s the first in a new range too, and H-D is already teasing a more classic-looking Sporty built on the same platform. Fingers crossed. [Harley-Davidson Sportster S]

BMW R nineT by Le Motographe Just last month the French shop Le Motographe wowed us with their aluminum-clad Yamaha WR450 rally bike. They’ve clearly been busy, because they’ve just dropped another project—this menacing BMW R nineT. It’s a clever nip and tuck job, with a host of details from top to tail.

Le Motographe tidied up the cockpit with custom triples, designed to hold a digital Motogadget dash. The dash plugs in via a module designed by the French company DevMoto, to circumnavigate the BMW’s bricked electronics.

Look closer, and you’ll notice that the clip-ons are directly integrated with the top yoke too. There’s a Koso LED headlight bolted to the bottom yoke with a custom bracket, and a one-off gas cap and tank badges.

Lower down, Le Motographe swapped the airbox for a couple of K&N filters, then added a carbon fibre cover where the air intake used to be. They also upgraded the rear sets and passenger pegs, and installed a Zard exhaust system.

The tail section’s been heavily reworked to be sharper. The crew re-upholstered the seat, but ditched the subframe underneath for a custom aluminum unit, complete with an integrated taillight and turn signals. It’s a sleek design, with the pillion pegs remounted on new brackets lower down to help clean up the frame.

Everything’s been redone in various black and grey finishes, with new machined valve covers from BMW’s aftermarket collection. If it appeals to you, keep your ear to the ground: Le Motographe are planning to offer some of these parts for sale. [Le Motographe]

Zero FXE The European Union is murmuring about banning fossil-fueled cars by 2035, and they’ll probably be gunning for motorcycles next. Like it or not, the future is electric—but brands like Zero Motorcycles are ahead of the curve, by being fully committed to battery-powered transportation.

Zero’s brand new FXE model should look familiar to Bike EXIF regulars: it’s based on the custom Zero FXS by Huge Design from a couple of years ago.

Zero had always intended to take design cues from the collaboration, and the resulting bike is about as close to the original concept as a production bike can get. That’s probably because the Huge Design build pushed the envelope without sacrificing ridability—thereby making the design easier to replicate for production.

With its sleek bodywork, slim perch and 17” wheels, the Zero FXE is effectively an electric supermotard. It uses Zero’s proprietary ZF 75-5 powertrain and Cypher II software, with a peak output of 46 hp and 106 Nm of torque. Its numbers suggest that it’s aimed at spirited urban riding; it’ll do up to 85 mph, with 100 mile city range and 40 mile pure highway range.

The combined city and highway range falls somewhere between 40 and 75 miles, depending how heavy handed you are. Charging the 7.2 Kw battery pack takes 9.7 hours, or just 4.1 hours with Zero’s optional upgraded charger. You can also set the bike to ‘eco’ or ‘sports’ mode, and customize its performance via your smartphone.

Standard equipment includes adjustable Showa suspension at both ends, high end J.Juan brakes with Bosch ABS, and Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tires. There’s a full color bonded 5” TFT dash in the cockpit, which can also pair up with your smartphone to turn it into a second customizable display. The lights are all LED units, the seat height’s 32.9” and the FXE weighs a paltry 298 lbs.

We’ve been admiring Zero’s range for a while, but the FXE is a true standout. Zero have taken advantage of their compact FX platform, and built a street-able bike that’s minimalist and attractive, and should be tons of fun to whip around on. And with a starting price of $11,795, it’s a damn sight cheaper than some higher end electric motorcycles out there.

If the future really must be electric, the FXE is a step in the right direction. [Zero FXE]

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[DaveM]

LONG & LOW: Honda Varadero by JM Customs.

When you hear the words ‘custom chopper,’ the bulky Honda Varadero isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind. The Varadero was named after the popular holiday resort area in Cuba, and some might say the Honda designers were on vacation when they designed the uninspiring adventure bike. However, it did have one saving grace: a bulletproof V-twin Firestorm 1000cc engine. So when Scotland’s JM...

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[DaveM]

The DAB Motors Concept-E: electric, à la française

There’s a marvelous history of smaller motorcycle manufacturers in France, and the tradition shows no sign of abating. Mash Motors is probably the best known outside La République, but the most interesting company right now is DAB Motors.

DAB is based in the beautiful city of Bayonne, in the Basque region of southwest France. We’ve already showcased their sharp-looking LM-S scrambler, but this new electric concept is the most significant step forward yet for founder Simon Dabadie and his colleagues.

Despite the name, the Concept-E is a fully functioning, rideable bike, developed from scratch. It looks as good as anything from a major factory, and it’s positioned as a lightweight urban commuter. Range is 110 km (68 miles) and top speed is 105 kph (65 mph).

It’s equipped with a 10kW motor and a 51V Li-ion battery, making it roughly the equivalent to a 125cc commuter bike. The motor output sits between the 8kW unit used in Husqvarna’s recent E-Pilen concept and the beefier 14.5kW of the Sondors Metacycle; the instant torque will give it an advantage over conventional vehicles when the traffic lights turn green.

The Concept-E is no bargain-basement knock-off. DAB uses top-shelf components from brands like Öhlins, Beringer, Pirelli, Excel and Rizoma—the gear usually reserved for premium editions of mainstream bikes or high-end customs.

But since this is s a concept, there are no legal niceties such as turn signals, mirrors or a licence plate holder. “We wanted full freedom in this exercise,” says Simon. “But if you look at our production LM-S, integrating those components is not a problem.”

Simon’s team developed the concept in-house, but with help from design partner Outercraft. It’s a similar relationship to that between Husqvarna and the Austrian agency Kiska.

“Concept-E is our signature design for future electric models, so you can expect more like this in the future,” says Simon. “Most of the bike is made of carbon fiber, including the frame, swingarm and bodywork. We sculpted the bike in foam first, adjusted it until we got it right, and then designed and engineered the components using CAD software and 3D printing.”

The 3D prints produced the molds, and the parts were manufactured. The paint combines a beautiful ‘racetrack grey’ with matte and glossy blacks: a look that’s ultra-modern without being faddish.

DAB have put a lot of effort into keeping the aesthetics clean, concealing fasteners and cables and employing unusual materials like woven nylon Ripstop fabric for the seat, and the translucent thermoplastic PMMA for the engine guards. CNC’d aluminum is used for critic parts like the triple trees, pulleys and rear brake holder, often black anodized.

As every good chef knows, ‘You eat with your eyes first,’ and Simon knows that the same principle applies to people buying vehicles. “The distinctive point of the Concept-E, compared to its peers, is the aesthetic approach,” he tells us.

“Instead of a mechanical, aggressive style that no longer makes sense with electric technology, we worked on defining a new standard fuelled by electronics and automotive inspirations. The bodywork is shaped with minimal lines, keeping a subtle balance between speed and elegance.”

He flags the styling of the Concept-E as a new design language for the DAB brand, and it carries through to the little details—like the ‘floating’ effect on the front fender, and the precisely engineered ventilation grilles. All cables are hidden inside the Renthal Fatbar, which is outfitted with custom-designed grips and Beringer controls.

The translucent red rear lighting was inspired by high-end automotive design, and looks worthy of a supercar.

The other main focus is on the rider experience. “The riding position is derived from sporty supermoto, or motocross,” says Simon. “This gives the bike more ‘reactivity’ and security in high-density traffic, as well as increasing driving thrill.”

Being light and narrow, the Concept-E is perfect for weaving in and out of traffic and parking in small areas. The ‘gas tank’ is actually a storage space, and smartphones can be wirelessly charged inside.

The bike starts via a phone app rather than a key, and there’s a simple speedo on top of the tank, which also shows battery charge, maintenance and geolocation information. The LEDs are bright enough to display clearly even in strong sunlight.

It all sounds too good to be true, but there’s a good chance this intriguing machine will go into production. DAB has just been refueled by a new funding round, a retailer network is being developed, and the plan is to cover all bases by releasing new machines—both petrol and electric powered.

Simon is coy when pressed about a launch date for a production electric bike. “It might mean that DAB Motors is ready to enter the EV market in the near future,” he says enigmatically. “But when is ‘near’?”

The sooner the better, we say.

DAB Motors | Facebook | Instagram

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[DaveM]

DREAM FACTORY: BMW R100 #121 by CRD.

A one-hit wonder, a flash in the pan, seen today and gone tomorrow. The custom motorcycle scene is full of tales of the next big workshop that you just never hear from again. There are a million reasons this can happen, which just makes it even more impressive on the part of those who have been here from the start and are still going strong. There is perhaps no better example of that level of...

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[DaveM]

Mumbai Modified: A KTM 390 Duke scrambler from India

These days, the methods used to build custom motorcycles are as diverse as the designs themselves. Some builders lean on modern tech like 3D design and printing, while others prefer to work directly with metal. This custom KTM 390 Duke rolls a whole lot of approaches into one spunky scrambler.

The Duke belongs to Akash Das, a graphic designer in the advertising industry, who’s based in Mumbai, India. Akash and his wife, Garima (also a designer) have a multi-disciplinary design side project called Busy People, where they play with ideas that don’t fit into their day jobs. Sometimes, that includes designing custom motorcycles.

“Motorcycle designs have slowly became a big passion for me,” says Akash, “and I started working on them, along with my job. This KTM took a little more effort than part-time attention, so I had to take a sabbatical to finish it.”

Busy People’s method is to design everything in-house, then outsource any tasks that they can’t handle themselves. Here, Akash designed many of the custom bits using 3D software, then 3D printed prototype parts, before having the final pieces machined from aluminum by third parties. The prototyping stage meant that each part could be tested for fitment—avoiding any surprises during final assembly.

Akash wanted to turn the 2018-model 390 Duke into a neo-retro scrambler, so he started with the subframe. He designed a new unit that would bolt straight to the OEM mounting points—but with a shorter and flatter layout. “This first change revealed the skeleton of a scrambler,” he says.

The seat foam was shaped in-house, then sent off to be wrapped in synthetic leather. The tail tapers into a custom finned aluminum part that hosts an array of taillight LEDs, with a custom luggage rack above, and a stubby fender below.

Up front is a custom-made headlight nacelle, wrapped around a JW Speaker LED headlight. The cowl, along with the taillight surround, fender mounts, gas cap and front sprocket cover were all 3D-prototyped before being machined from 6061 T6 billet aluminum.

Thinner parts like the sump guard, radiator guards, luggage rack and base plate for the seat were water-jet cut from 3 mm aluminum sheet. Akash then bent and assembled the parts before fitting them. The fenders were made from fiberglass, formed over 3D-printed molds.

The tank took some heavy lifting. It’s a two-piece design, with a hidden fuel cell designed to mimic the bottom of the original 390 tank, and a shapelier cover to go over it. And since many suppliers were closed due to COVID-related lockdowns, Akash had to shape the aluminum for both items himself.

The inner reservoir uses a CNC-machined plate to host the fuel pump, and bolts to the stock mounting points. Akash first built the outer shell out of wood, then fitted the aluminum over it.

“What you see on the bike is the fourth tank,” he says, “the earlier three were scrapped as I was shaping aluminum sheet for the first time. I kept it flatter and boxy to go with the naked trellis frame, but gave it little curves at the bottom to integrate the side panel, again inspired by the trellis frame. This little detail gave it a bit of the classic tracker vibe.”

Next, Akash ditched the Duke’s alloy wheels for a pair of spoked units with Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires. They use 17” Akront rims, with new hubs that were modified to work with the KTM’s stock ABS system. There’s a new Galfer disc up front, and the sprocket mount at the back had to be altered to get the chain alignment right.

Final touches include an off-the-shelf muffler, custom handlebars, a custom radiator coolant overflow tank, and tiny blank-off plates just in front of the tank. Akash’s trusted mechanic Dheeraj helped on a lot of the technical stuff, including rerouting the fuel lines and reworking the wiring.

“Routing and wiring a motorcycle neatly is an art which you will hardly see,” says Akash, “but you feel it when the motorcycle just works perfectly. The graphic designer in me can appreciate neat layouts of any kind.”

The paint was handled by Nikki Garage; a simple grey to highlight the Duke’s skeleton as much as possible. A small motif on top of the tank bears Akash’s personal mantra: “Distance over time.”

“It took almost two years to build this motorcycle,” he says, “which included lockdowns, a fractured leg and learning Fusion 360 software. But it was absolutely satisfying to see the transformation—from drawings on paper, to CAD, and then those CNC blades giving shape to the parts exactly the way you imagined.”

Akash’s 390 Duke is now complete, but his sabbatical isn’t—so he’s using the rest of it to cram in as much riding as possible. He’s not being gentle either: keen eyes will spot bits of dirt that didn’t quite come off for the photos, and a fresh ding in the front rim.

Busy People | Instagram | Images by Makarand Baokar

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[DaveM]

FUN SIZED: Honda Dax chopper by Lemb Inc.

Indonesian artist Muklay produces some wild work. It’s all mental neon colours and insanely demented figures. So when he set out to commission a custom ride he wanted a real head-turner. And he knew just who to speak to — the team at Jakarta’s Lemb Inc. who cooked up this bombastic Honda Dax baby chopper. As an owner of two other Lemb Inc. creations, Muklay knew exactly what he was getting into...

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[DaveM]

Monkey Bomber: A pocket-sized bobber by K-Speed

K-Speed are well versed in the art of customizing pint-sized Hondas. We’ve seen them turn a Monkey into a cafe racer, and a Super Cub into a scrambler. Now they’ve put their wild imaginations to work once again, and built a slammed Honda Monkey bobber.

Released three years ago, the modern Monkey is based on Honda’s equally cute Grom—combining 1960s styling with modern amenities like fuel injection and disc brakes. With a 125 cc motor that puts out a whopping 9.2 hp, and a top speed of 56 mph, it’s hardly potent. But it’s popular as heck right now, because nostalgia.

K-Speed’s ‘Monkey Bomber’ is based on a brand new 2021-model Honda Monkey, and taps into both the Bangkok shop’s extensive range of aftermarket parts, and their fabrication know-how. Despite its diminutive size it’s a hard-hitting custom—and it’s brimming with clever mods.

The big hook here is the Monkey’s radically slammed stance. K-Speed have modified the steering head to rake out the front forks, and bulked up the chassis with a pair of new frame downtubes. The forks look longer than stock, but they’ve actually been shortened by an inch and a half.

Out back, the crew extended the stock swingarm, then welded in a brace underneath it. They kept the stock wheels to hint back to the original bike, but wrapped them in chunky 12” knobbies. The short rear shocks are from K-Speed’s own Diablo range of parts.

Higher up, K-Speed cut and looped the subframe, then capped it off with a custom leather seat. There’s also a side-mounted license plate bracket out back, and a new side-stand, mounted to the swingarm.

Moving to the motor, the team ditched the airbox for a custom intake with a velocity stack. They fitted some engine dress-up parts too; a drilled clutch cover on the right, and a transparent crankshaft cover on the left.

The Monkey’s bulbous exhaust went into the bin, replaced by a custom chromed system with internal baffling and a new heat shield.

K-Speed is Thailand’s biggest supplier of aftermarket bike parts, so putting the cockpit together was a cakewalk. They bolted on a new set of mini-ape hangers, fitted with K-Speed grips, levers and mini-switches. The speedo was relocated to a custom bracket to the left of the tank, and its chrome bezel was swapped for a black machined item.

Out front is a new LED headlight. LED turn signals are mounted on the new frame rails in the front, and on tabs on the reworked subframe at the back. The taillight’s another Diablo catalogue part, and sits on a bracket mounted off the lower shock mount.

Rounding out the parts spec are wide Moritech foot pegs, along with a carbon fiber gas cap. A pair of custom triangular side covers ties the bodywork together.

K-Speed left the OEM tank alone as a nod to the Monkey’s original design, and even kept the classic Honda tank badges. The tank’s been painted matte black with a gloss black stripe; the red seat and tank badges add the only splash of color to the otherwise murdered-out bobber.

All buttoned up, the Monkey Bomber is simultaneously impossibly cute and effortlessly badass. It obviously won’t be as quick or as comfortable as a full size bike—but it packs just as much street cred into a package half the size. And besides: who goes far and fast on a bobber anyway?

K-Speed’s previous success with the Honda Super Cub led them to launch a series of made-to-order builds with the same design. They haven’t ruled out doing the same with the Monkey Bomber.

We’d happily take one… would you?

K-Speed website | Instagram | Images by Hipmotography

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[DaveM]

Review: Riding the new Harley-Davidson Sportster S

Engineering is easy. Lean on decades of technological progress, R&D like hell, and a modern manufacturer can build a mechanically competent motorcycle that satisfies the masses.

Style, on the other hand, proves elusive. It slips and shifts, deflecting fleeting trends and prevailing tastes while flirting with the culture zeitgeist. On a rare occasion a bike’s looks will resonate grandly, alchemizing desire through seemingly incidental gestures like the arc of a fuel tank, the chamfered edge of a cylinder head, or a just-so wheel-to-engine-to-handlebar proportion. But when it’s not quite right, motorcycle styling can fall off a cliff like a fashion faux pas from yesteryear.

Harley-Davidson’s Sportster has profited richly from 64 years of evocative design, a freakishly enduring stretch that has outlasted some manufacturers. The Sporty’s stripped-down allure captured the imagination of 26 year-old Leo Payne, who purchased a first model year Sportster in 1957 that he eventually tinkered with and raced his entire life.

So bullish was he on the Harley that he delighted in riding his American outlier with the edgier BSA and Triumph crowd in his hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, because the local HOG group was too geriatric. Payne bored-out, shaved down, and optimized his Hog over the course of decades, transforming it into a nitromethane-burning animal dubbed the Turnip Eater, so named for its appetite for hopped-up Triumphs.

In its ultimate iteration, the transmogrified Sportster was strapped with an XRTT fairing and broke the non-streamliner record at Bonneville in 1970, achieving a two-way average speed of 202.379 mph.

Why eulogize a long-dead Harley fanatic in 2021? Because the freshly re-imagined Sportster S would have boggled and befuddled the late, great Leo Payne. The new machine bears virtually no visual resemblance to Sporties of old, its clean sheet redesign ditching the familiar hoop frame in favor of a setup that leverages the engine as a stressed member.

The powerplant, a liquid-cooled 1,252cc Revolution Max variant based on the Pan America, also shares as much with the Sportster’s outgoing 883cc and 1,200cc mills as cheese and chalk— more on that later.

Although it claims a near-identical rider triangle as the outgoing Forty-Eight, the Sportster S’s appearance defies its arms-forward ergonomics. Designer Brad Richards says the profile “emphasizes the powertrain by shrinking everything else,” resulting in a tank that stretches flatter over the big v-twin while holding 3.1 gallons of fuel. That’s a notable gain over the 1,200cc predecessor’s miniscule 2.1-gallon reservoir (the smaller-engined 883 model managed a 3.3-gallon tank).

Up front is a 17-inch cast aluminum wheel wrapped in balloon-style 160mm Dunlop rubber, echoing the Forty-Eight and Fat Bob. A pill-shaped LED headlamp discontinues the traditional Sportster convention, as do the XR750 flat tracker-inspired high pipes. Tucked behind the slim, 29.6-inch saddle is a 16-inch, 180mm tire, and behind that a strangely stout tubular steel rear hugger that holds an LED brake lamp, two turn signals, and a license plate.

Despite its departure from its predecessor’s heritage, the Sportster S is an attractive package with overtly muscular cues that don’t stray far from the tried-and-true Harley playbook. The S is a bit of a blender of H-D cues— Harley’s press materials even assert that it “employs a mash-up of diverse styling influences,” a surprisingly honest way of saying that the new iteration throws out many of the elements that were near and dear to old school Sportster aficionados.

“There was a certain lack of evolution to the Sportster that was endearing to people,” admits Richards, describing the blue-sky redesign process, which involved brainstorm sessions and, yes, extensive market research— “… more customer research than ever,” according to Harley product planner Paul James.

But Richards brings it back to the ride. “The whole time [design ideation] is happening, you’re trying to make sure you capture the essence of Harley-Davidson with a characterful experience. You’re on the bike, there’s a certain texture to the way it sounds, the way it feels, the way it emotionally connects to you.

Swing a leg over the Sportster S’s saddle, and you’re met with an all-new interface that fully embraces the digital age. Up front is a 4-inch TFT screen housed in a cleanly finished, thin-rimmed, smartphone-like enclosure. Flick the rim around the start button with the wireless fob stored on your person, and an animated bar and shield materialize on the screen.

Once within the menu system, the left handgrips controls can link a smartphone to the screen via the H-D app, displaying everything from navigation graphics to Bluetooth audio and phone controls. Bike settings, from ride mode to power delivery, engine braking, ABS thresholds and traction control modes can also be managed in preset or customizable settings.

Hold the start button, and there’s a moment’s pause before the big twin comes to life, shooting spent exhaust and saucy decibels just past your right thigh. The 60-degree Revolution Max is a smart, liquid-cooled powertrain that leapfrogs the old air-cooled lumps with everything from four-valve heads to variable valve timing.

Tuned for Sportster S duty, it produces 121 horsepower and 94 lb-ft (versus the Pan Am’s 150 hp, which produces the same torque only at higher rpms.)

Don’t bother showboating the engine’s 9,500 rpm rev range at idle; the bike’s electronics neuter the max engine speed at a standstill, proving that legislators and engineers will enjoy the last laugh— at least until the aftermarket finds a workaround.

The new Sportster comes with standard forward foot controls, or a mid-mounted setup for an extra $660 on top of the bike’s $14,999 starting price. I’ve got a 32-inch inseam, and found the forward controls surprisingly manageable in light of experience with other, more raked-out Harley models; however, I found the stock shifter positioning a tad high for my liking.

Release the clutch, and the six-speed clicks into gear with solid, smooth action. There’s copious torque on hand at low rpms, and the Revolution Max is all but impossible to stall from a standstill, aided by a curb weight of 502 lbs, which is a full 62 lbs lighter than the outgoing Iron 1200.

The energy-dense powerplant employs a number of measures against overheating, including a large front radiator, engine oil cooler, and cylinder deactivation system that discreetly makes its status known at key-up by briefly displaying a green cruise control indicator (for cylinder deactivation on), or orange signifying “off.” Simply twist the throttle forward before starting the engine to switch settings.

My Sportster S ride involved jousting through downtown Los Angeles in 90+ degree heat, which revealed quite a bit of thermal energy emanating from the exhaust pipes and left side of the engine, despite the cylinder deactivation being active. The effect became more pronounced when standing at stoplights with my thighs against the side of the bike, but dissipated at speed when our small group ascended into the nearby Angeles Crest Highway’s two-lane blacktop.

We were led by racers Travis and Kyle Wyman, the latter of whom clinched the King of the Baggers championship just a few weeks earlier, but exhibited enough self-control to limit the dragging of hard parts along the twistier stretches.

The Sportster S’s 43mm fork steps up with an inverted setup that’s compression, rebound, and spring preload adjustable. Though it yields the same 3.6 inches of travel as the outgoing Forty-Eight, the new linkage-mounted rear monoshock delivers 2 inches of movement, a considerable improvement over the old model’s puny 1.6-inch figure. Even more crucially, the new Sporty is capable of leaning 34 degrees left or right, an improvement over the predecessor’s 27-degree scrape angle.

The Sportster S turns in securely and intuitively, in spite of its cartoonishly fat front tire, whose convex profile is visible directly from the saddle. Stability and handling ease are the name of the game, with this Harley offering enough grip and bump management to feel confident on some of the more challenging surfaces along Angeles Crest’s 66-mile long route.

While it doesn’t handle like a superbike or turn-in with the crispness of skinny-tired smaller bike, the Sportster S does manage to defy its visual heft, offering an entertaining and involving way to link its easy-paced bank angles with engaging squirts of torquey engine. Incidentally, while the mid-mounted controls do feel a tad sportier, they also require a more compact riding position and do not enhance available lean angles, which might make forward controls more alluring to the hardcore cruiser crowd.

With most of the power available in the mid-range, the v-twin feels ready and able to annihilate straightaways, especially when the drive mode is in its more aggressive settings. Engine braking adjustability is also a welcome feature, another incremental item that explains why Harley’s website categorizes the Sportster under the “Sport”, not “Cruiser” banner.

Despite the single-disc front brake setup, the radially mounted 320mm 4-piston Brembo monoblock arrangement delivers appropriately capable feel and stopping power, while the 260mm single-piston rear is strong enough to bring the bike to a halt during lower speed city riding.

When helmets are hung and all is said and done, how does the Harley Sportster S relate to the model’s unprecedented, 64-year-old past? The new bike marks a remarkable leap forward in engineering, not to mention a dramatic departure from the visual bits and bobs that have come to define what most enthusiasts identify as a Sportster.

It’s a seemingly small addition, that uppercase S, but a telling signal of how Harley-Davidson is addressing its future— one that also happens to include counterintuitively nostalgic racing efforts with baggers reverse-engineered to corner with 54-degree lean angles, not to mention a lifestyle sub-brand dedicated to electrification.

The nostalgiacs of the world might dismiss the new bike as nothing more than a Sportster in name. And sure, today’s hot-rodded model is barely recognizable as the descendant of the peanut-tanked ‘57 Sportster Leo Payne obsessed over in his youth. But good ol’ Leo’s been gone for nearly 3 decades, an inevitable trajectory that will sooner or later strike the most strident of enthusiasts.

While the march of progress doesn’t make the loss of those classic Sportster lines sting any less, the bid for relevance, performance, and reliability sure makes a compelling case for reinvention.

Harley-Davidson Sportster S product page | Facebook | Instagram

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[DaveM]

The Motorcycle Portraits by David Goldman.

David Goldman is a professional photographer who has spent most of his career travelling around the planet capturing images of people in third world countries and sharing their stories. But he also has a passion for motorcycles and has been taking portraits of some of the biggest names in the motorcycle industry. We chatted to him about ‘The Motorcycle Portraits’ series and all the incredible...

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[DaveM]

Speed Read, July 25 2021

A classy Triumph Thruxton from Poland, a beautifully restored Husqvarna desert racer from California, and a very rapid Triumph Sprint 900 cafe racer from Norway. Plus, of all things, a comic from MV Agusta…

Triumph Thruxton by Unikat Triumph has a knack of building bikes that look good right out of the box: despite the healthy sales figures, we don’t see many customized ‘modern classics.’ And the Thruxton seems to be the model that owners are happiest with.

This modest but thoughtful custom from Unikat retains the Thruxton’s visual appeal but takes everything up a notch. Shop boss Grzegorz Korczak tells us that the client brief was simple: “Make this modern bike look as vintage as possible.”

The Wrocław, Poland workshop have built a new seat and tail cover for the 2016-spec Triumph, and remodeled the back of the frame to get everything to flush-fit.

They also fabricated new clip-ons, low-set mirror brackets, and installed bar-end indicators. The rear lighting combines stop lights and indicators in two discreet units.

All visible aluminum parts have been hand-polished to a sheen, from the triple clamps to the fork stanchions, brake calipers and engine covers. Compact and shiny new mini-mufflers match the gleaming exhaust pipework.

After replacing the bulky stock ignition system with a keyless setup, Unikat spooned on a fresh set of Heidenau rubber and sent the bike off for a respray in a delicious Bordeaux red.

“In the shade it’s really dark, but in the sun it shimmers with bright sparks,” says Grzegorz. “I said to the client, if he ever sells this bike I want be the first one called. It rides (and sounds) like a sporty modern race bike.”

We reckon the owner would be foolish to sell this one any time soon—and when that time does come, there will be no shortage of takers. [Unikat Motorworks]

MV Agusta moves into comics In one of the most unusual marketing moves we’ve seen lately, MV Agusta has commissioned comic strips featuring its motorcycles—with each bike matched to “a character personifying its archetypal owner.”

Cesare, the star of the first episode, “is a rescue helicopter pilot who, in his free time, loves to roam the scenic mountain roads around the air base on his Turismo Veloce.”

The project was developed with the help of one of Italy’s most prominent comic schools, with a style inspired partly by the noir tradition and partly by motorsports comic heroes from the 1970s.

We sense the hand of MV’s marketing director Filippo Bassoli, who is also the president of the Italian arm of the global custom powerhouse Deus—a company that is extraordinarily adept in marketing to motorcyclists.

Bassoli is quoted as saying, “To capture new audiences and venture into new markets, you have to keep an open mind, and must not be afraid of doing things differently…This comic series is a small revolution in the way we have traditionally communicated our brand.”

As someone whose sole experience of the comic world was buying Viz magazine in England in the late 80s, I’m not well placed to comment on whether or not this will be a success for MV Agusta. But it’s certainly more interesting than most of the motorcycle adverts that I see. [MV Stories]

Husqvarna 390 OR by Emrah Gonulkirmaz In the late 70s, the Swedish brand Husqvarna sent a frisson of excitement through the off road world with its desert-oriented 384cc two-stroke. A six-month wait list quickly developed in the US, and for good reason—it was a brilliantly accomplished enduro with terrific suspension and an engine with a ‘lifetime guarantee.’

You don’t often see the 390 OR pop up on the secondhand market, let alone the custom scene, so this superb 1980-spec restomod left us drooling. Builder Emrah Gonulkirmaz is a creative director based in L.A., and his fine judgment and eye for detail is infused throughout the bike.

When he’s not working, he loves adventuring off road, and performance and reliability were the guiding points for this restoration. A good example is replacing the Mikuni with a Lectron carb, which does not need rejetting for altitude or temperature.

The Lectron is cabled up to a smooth Motion Pro Throttle, and there’s a a spark arrestor in the exhaust system to reduce noise levels (and keep the bike legal in California).

Emrah has also wired up front and rear lighting, signals, and a horn to a small rechargeable battery. In daily use it lasts him around a week, and can be removed for off-road use.

Emrah has also taken care of small details like installing fresh anti-vibration rubbers in the cylinder heads—which make a big difference to the smoothness of the ride—and changing the front sprocket to gear the bike a little higher for backroads. And, of course, those high-speed blasts through the Baja desert. [Via]

Triumph Sprint 900 by Tomas Wrede Tomas Wrede has an enviable list of bike builds under his belt. The Swedish-born Norwegian likes “taking care of bikes that others have given up on,” and usually focuses on boosting performance.

This 1997 Triumph Sprint 900 is now a cafe racer rather than a sport tourer, thanks to clever suspension tweaks and component swaps. Sprint ST fork stanchions and new Öhlins springs lower the front end and reduce the raked-out fork look; at the back are the swingarm and linkages from a Thunderbird 900, plus a new YSS shock to level out the stance.

The 885cc triple has been ported, and treated to a customized Zard exhaust system with larger downpipes (made by Mr Martini) and a custom-made carbon fiber airbox. A curved Ducati 848 radiator helps the cooling and Kawasaki ZX9R front brakes increase the stopping power.

The classic styling is down to parts from the British company Cafe Racer Kits: a modified subframe kit, fuel tank, side panels and rear fender. After fitting, Tomas rerouted the electrics to house everything except the battery under the seat, and covered the subframe with a modified Norton Dominator tail unit. The front fender is an MV Agusta F3 unit.

Being a meticulous chap, Tomas went through 20 different paint designs before choosing a white-and-Ducati-red livery. It took some time, but the looks are now worthy of the new-found performance. This is a Sprint that lives up to its name. [Via]

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[DaveM]

HOT MUSTARD: Honda Dominator by Gas & Retro.

The humble Honda Dominator was once an affordable dual-sport that made for cheap transport and a great option for new riders. Now they’re the hot new ticket in the custom bike scene, with a steady flow of examples turning into an explosion. But when you live in Slovenia, getting your hands on one is no easy task. So, when photographer Jan Karan scored the only available example in his country...

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[DaveM]

Tasty Ténéré: Deus Italia customizes the Yamaha T7

By all accounts, the new Yamaha Ténéré 700 is a smash hit. Its 689 cc parallel twin motor is a total peach, and its no-frills approach, off-road chops and rally racer looks add to its mass appeal. But we never would have pegged it as a platform for customization.

Deus ex Machina Italy saw potential in the T7 though. They’ve given it a massive shot of retro rally raid style—resulting in a radical and stylish machine that doesn’t sacrifice a stitch of performance.

Redesigning a modern dual-sport is a bold move, but the Deus Italy team was clever about it. They took the kit build approach, by binning the T7’s stock plastics, and creating a whole new set of bodywork to sit on its solid bones.

Deus Italy worked with Camal Studio, who helped them design a new body kit using 3D software. Next, they 3D printed prototype parts to make castings, so that the final pieces could be shaped with fiberglass—and so that they could be replicated. (Deus might offer this as a plug-and-play kit if there’s interest.)

Central to the bodywork is a bulbous tank cover that hints at the ‘camel’ tanks on the Yamaha desert racers of old. It fits over the T7’s OEM fuel cell, and mounts to existing mounting points on the frame. It’s also perfectly lined up with the original filler tube, with a new gas cap rounding it off.

Further back is a new tail unit, featuring a boxy, elongated design that’s reminiscent of the 1980s XT600 Ténéré. There’s a custom seat up top, and the back end is finished off with an LED taillight and a pair of ultra-skinny LED turn signals.

The tank and tail are finished in a striking white and yellow livery; a perfect hit of classic Dakar nostalgia.

The front end follows more vintage Dakar rally cues. The headlight nacelle looks like it could have come off an old dirt bike, but it’s actually another custom piece. It hosts an LED headlight and a clear acrylic screen, and wraps around the Yamaha’s stock dash.

It’s flanked by a pair of side fairing strips that double up as radiator protectors, and use the front turn signals as upper anchor points. The front mudguard’s an off-the-shelf motocross part.

There wasn’t really any need to mess with the Ténéré’s stock running gear, but Deus Italy did anyway. Up front are Andreani forks that add 30 mm more to the ride height, with a new Öhlins shock doing duty out back.

The rest of the project was focused on carefully selecting an array of bolt-on bits. There’s an off-the-shelf road book holder up in the cockpit, along with a pair of Acerbis hand guards. The beefy sump guard is a Yamaha catalog part.

Deus turned to the specialist exhaust maker SC Project for the Yamaha’s exhaust. They came back with a custom titanium setup that’s not only as light as anything, but also sounds good.

The last add-on is a pair of aggressive Metzeler Karoo Extreme tires, fitted for the bike’s first outing: the Deus Swank Rally at Wheels & Waves.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions this year’s festival was officially cancelled—but that didn’t stop four-time Rallye du Touquet winner, Jean-Claude Moussé from putting the Deus T7 through its paces.

Judging by the video, he had a ball. And who wouldn’t, on a cutting-edge ADV bike with 80s-inspired looks?

Deus ex Machina | Deus Italy Instagram | Images by Marco Renieri | Video by Bearoll

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[DaveM]

SPANISH SLIDER: Honda XR600 by VA Motorcycles.

The noise is deafening as engines scream through near open pipes, the harsh smell overwhelming and everywhere you look is chaos. And yet with all that going on, your body is an almost nauseating mix of adrenalin and nerves; then the flag drops, the lights go out and the mayhem really begins! The casual observer must wonder why you’d subject yourself to it all, the racer simply can’t wait to do it...

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[DaveM]

KILLER K: BMW K1100 by Incerum Customs.

You have to hand it to BMW’s motorcycle division, they just don’t do things like the rest of the pack and have always done engineering their own way. From supercharged twin-cam engines in the ’30s to hulking big straight-six transverse-mounted donks on their modern tourers; they can’t help but do things a little differently. In the custom world their most ‘conventional’ bikes still feature a...

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[DaveM]

Top Five Harley-Davidson Sportsters, Part One: Ironheads

Harley-Davidson has just rebooted one of the world’s longest-running model lines, with the launch of the new Sportster S. But remarkably, it’s only the third major engine update in the Sportster’s 60-plus years on this earth.

Before the new Revolution Max-powered Sportster S came, we had the Evolution motor that debuted in 1986. And before that, the iconic Ironhead. But throughout each era, the Sportster has always been a mainstay of the custom scene.

To celebrate, we’ve rounded up our ten favorite Sportster builds, divided by their motors. This week, we’re featuring five top-shelf Ironheads from some of the world’s best custom builders—including illustrious names like Max Hazan [above] and Hideya Togashi [below].

Next week, it’s the Evo’s turn.

Hide Motorcycle There’s a long history of Japan’s love for Americana, and the humble Sportster is no exception. Case in point: this Ironhead Sportster by Hideya Togashi of Hide Motorcycle (that’s ‘Hee-day’). It was one of the stars of 2018’s Mooneyes show—a show that Togashi-san is a regular fixture at.

The bike’s built around an original but refurbished 1966 XLCH motor, complete with a Linkert DC-7 carb. But the rest of it is mostly is custom, and it was built without any specific style or theme in mind. “As always, I cherish the balance, and maximize the beauty,” says Hideya.

The motor sits in a scratch-built nickel-plated hardtail frame, with the OEM frame number plate grafted on. Hideya kept the original steering head, triples and forks, but added custom sleeves. The Harley rolls on 21F/18R wheels with drum brakes.

Hideya fabricated the aluminum headlight nacelle and fuel tank, and built the oil tank. The rear fender’s been scalped from a vintage Harley FX Super Glide, then modified to suit. Swept back bars and a pair of beautifully-bent nickel-plated exhausts add to the vintage vibe.

The paint’s extra classy too—a 1930s Harley scheme laid down by Skop Paint Works. Hide’s Ironhead blends vintage speedway and flat track styles together to create a minimalistic and impossibly cool machine. The perfect use of an Ironhead motor. [More]

Hot Chop Speed Shop Here’s another bike that stopped visitors to the 2018 Mooneyes event dead in their tracks: a twin-engined Harley drag bike by Kentaro Nakano at Hot Chop Speed Shop in Kyoto. Using two Sportster XLCH engines, Nakano-san built the monster as a tribute to the drag racers of the 70s.

Unsurprisingly, it picked up two awards at the show—from the top Japanese mags, Hot Bike and Vibes.

‘Double Trouble’ uses a 1969 Ironhead in front, with an older engine at the rear. Both run with S&S Super B carbs, fitted with custom velocity stacks. Kentaro’s friend Kazuhiro Takahashi of Sakai Boring helped rebuild the engines.

The two V-twins are linked by connecting plates, and their output shafts are connected to two separate primaries. The transmission’s a four-speed from a 1980s Big Twin and Kentaro has set the timing of the two motors so that they go ‘potato potato’ at idle, but scream at high revs.

The whole arrangement is housed in a custom hardtail frame, fabricated from steel tubing. There’s a set of early 70s Ducati Imola forks up front, with 18” rims at both ends wrapped in M&H drag slicks. Kentaro installed a pair of Airheart brakes up front, with a Wilwood brake out back.

All of the bodywork was fabricated in aluminum, from scratch. Fuel sits in the cylindrical reservoir up front, with oil held in the seat ‘cowl.’ Custom upholstery from Atelier Cherry adds to the period-correct look.

Double Trouble’s finished off with a narrow set of custom drag bars, with a 1970s H-D tacho out front. The bodywork’s been left raw, with tidy Hot Chop Speed Shop decals on the tank. Buttoned up, it’s both elegant and monstrous. [More]

Hazan Motorworks Max Hazan’s work speaks for itself, but what’s remarkable is that the American builder’s had an unmistakable signature from day one. If you don’t believe us, then consider the fact that this Sportster-powered artwork was only his fourth build.

“I start with a motor that I find aesthetically pleasing, put it on the table, and build the bike around it,” Max told us back then. In this case, the motor is exquisite. Max built it up with two 1981 Ironhead front heads, split the rocker covers and added matching Amal carbs.

The frame was built from 7/8” and 1” steel tubes, and also holds the oil and wiring. The front-end’s a work of art on its own; it uses two springs under the fuel tank, and a damper behind the headlight. The only rear suspension is a pair of springs under the seat, with about 1.5” of travel.

Max had a set of 1920s car tires in his hands, so he built the bike up with a 30” wheel out front, and a 31” hoop at the back. They suit the scale of the bike too—which measures eight feet long, but weighs just 300 lbs.

Almost everything was fashioned by hand, using metal that was lying around the workshop, or, in some cases, small salvaged parts. There’s a frosted shot glass as a taillight cover, and a porcelain doorknob on the hand shifter. The handmade tank only holds 1.5 gallons… but Max is under no illusions about his creation having to be ridden far.

Eight years on, this Ironhead still stands as one of our favorite Harleys—nay, customs—and some of Max’s best work. [More]

HardNine Choppers The 1979 Harley-Davidson XLCR is arguably too rare to be customized these days, but the owner of this Sporty has three. So he had no qualms about handing one over to Swiss builder Danny Schneider for a makeover.

Danny, who operates as HardNine Choppers, is an ex-motocrosser who had previously built two Triumph flat trackers, and was itching to give a Harley the same treatment. So he took on the project with the provision that he could turn it into a tracker. Luckily, the client agreed.

Danny’s work went deep—starting with the motor that he bored out from 997 cc to 1,340 cc, with KB Performance pistons. The carb is from the Harley performance specialists, S&S Cycle, and the exhaust is a custom nickel-plated system that exits under the seat. Danny had to relocate the oil tank to accommodate it.

The custom fuel tank echoes the lines of the original XLCR unit, but it’s actually a slimmer, split design (the left side houses the oil). Danny hand-shaped an aluminum tail section too, with slits to help dissipate heat. He made the seat pad himself, too.

Suspension is by way of Showa shocks from an FXR, fitted with Öhlins cartridges, and Bitubo rear shocks. It rolls on 21F/16R spoked wheels, with a Beringer brake set that Danny drove to the French company’s HQ to have made.

This XLCR is a clever mix of classic style and modern parts, tied together with a host of custom touches and a fresh paint job inspired by a mini-bike spotted on the street (true story).

It’s also a great story of perseverance; Danny took a two-year break in the middle of the project to welcome his daughter into the world and battle testicular cancer. Then he crammed two month’s worth of 15-hour days in to finish it in time for the MBE Expo show in Verona, Italy. Much respect. [More]

DP Customs We’ve featured a slew of slammed and hot-rodded Harleys from the now-defunct DP Customs over the years, but this was one of their wildest. Brothers Jarrod and Justin Del Prado built it as a personal project between client jobs, using Justin’s own 1000 cc 1979 Ironhead Sportster as a donor.

DP Customs went all-out, starting with a turbo that had been sitting in the shop waiting for the right project.

The motor was rebuilt with forged pistons and new valves and springs, then the turbo was installed with a custom draw-through setup, and a Mikuni carb. From the custom aluminum intake and exhaust, to the custom oil system that runs into a Mooneyes tank, it’s an impressive setup.

Like three of the other Harleys on this list, this one features a scratch-built hardtail frame. It uses DP Customs’ signature 6” stretch and 4” drop, with a custom 19” wheel up front, and a modified 15” car wheel at the back. The front brake’s a Brembo, and the rear is a custom system with a combination sprocket and rotor.

Up top is a wafer-thin seat, with a traditional peanut tank up front. DP Customs installed clip-ons with Biltwell Inc. grips, and head- and taillights—but there’s no speedo, and no turn signals. The asymmetrical paint job, red frame and gold wheels should clash, but somehow they harmonize, maximizing the Harley’s eye candy appeal.

DP Customs admit the bike wasn’t built with practicality in mind, summing up that “it hauls ass in a straight line, and the brakes work.” [More]

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[DaveM]

DOWNLOAD THE RIDE DOWN UNDER: Wide Of The Mark film.

The concept is simple; six mates take custom bikes that they’ve built themselves to tackle the unbelievable wilderness that is the Australian island of Tasmania. Here the roads and trails are as rugged as the environment itself, and amongst the breath-taking scenery roars six bikes that weren’t exactly designed for the job. What could go wrong? Plenty, and it’s here that Wide Of The Mark succeeds...

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[DaveM]

Think Big: A beastly CBX1000 from Purpose Built Moto

There’s never a quiet moment for Tom Gilroy and the team at Purpose Built Moto in Queensland, Australia. Tom started his career fixing up old bikes in a shed on the family farm; today he runs a bustling custom business with a prodigious build output, a store full of parts, and he’s even made a film on the side.

He’s probably seen it all, but he still gets the occasional chance to try something new. Like the job he’s just finished on this slightly scary CBX1000.

“We get a few projects every year that really make me step back, and take stock on what we’re doing,” says Tom. “This CBX1000 is one of those builds. When Honda released this six-cylinder in 1978, it got a lot of people talking: it was not only the fastest production bike ever made, but also an engineering feat.”

With DOHC, a 24-valve head and a solid 100hp at the crank, the CBX1000 is a beast. But it’s also mired in the 80s. “Our rider Luke loved his 1981 CBX, but it was getting tired,” says Tom. “The bike was due for a re-fresh, a re-build and a re-think.”

Client Luke is a big guy, and he likes big bikes. He also wanted to drag the CBX out of the 80s and give it a healthy dose of modern styling. After going through PBM’s portfolio, Luke and Tom found a few areas of common ground, and started to develop a style for the CBX.

“Luke was our ideal customer. He came to us with an idea, but trusted the team to do what we do best—build one-of-a-kind motorcycles to be ridden, enjoyed, and stared at.”

The Honda took shape as a sharpened-up café racer, retaining the CBX’s bold tank but adding modern suspension, wheels and performance upgrades. “We wanted to bring out the power the engine already had,” says Tom, “but make it more ‘in your face’—by stripping off weight, and boosting the handling.”

After the tear down, the CBX was already looking better. “This bike is a Pro-Link model, with an aluminum swingarm—and a huge front fairing that weighs as much as a bar fridge,” says Tom. “It dropped 20kg with the removal of six bolts!”

As Tom started to measure up the CBX1000, he realized that it wouldn’t be possible to meet the owner’s request for modern sport bike tires while using the stock swing arm. Before he started cutting, he had to go shopping—and landed on a set of second generation Suzuki Hayabusa forks, and a 2010 Aprilia RSV4 swingarm and suspension linkage.

Alloy wheels wouldn’t cut it either, so Tom installed a set of JoNich M9 rims, each with 24 spokes. (“The all-black wheelset, with a sparse arrangement of 9mm spokes, gives the Honda an ultra modern edge.”) The wheels are finished off with new Moto-Master rotors all round, plus a custom-machined aluminum sprocket.

The Hayabusa front end was an easy fit with a custom triple clamp. Tom’s added mid-rise ProTaper Contour bars in a ‘Carmichael’ bend, new brackets for the gauges and Flashpoint LED headlight, and clean modern switchgear. Running lights mounted on either side of the mighty CBX1000 motor add a little street fighter flair.

To properly integrate the swingarm, PBM decided to completely rebuild the subframe and seat section. Everything behind the engine cradle was removed, the RSV4 swingarm was pinned in place, and Tom started to mount the lower suspension linkage.

“The idea was to make the top suspension mount as seamless as possible. By using the brace on the tail frame, from one side the shock mount isn’t visible at all.” It permits a 180 x 17” rear tire too, but the real upgrade comes in the form of the custom-built Öhlins TTX rear shock—“dialed in at Ride Dynamics for an unbelievable feel on the bike.”

The tail is a little different to the usual hoop design seen on most customs. It houses the battery, starter solenoid and a set of three LED mini stoplights, flanked by PBM’s own Hollow Tip 3-in-1 tail lights.

The tank was starting to rust out, so it’s been stripped and repaired, with a few of the seat mount sections smoothed out, and a pop-up filler cap was welded in. The last piece of fabrication was on the front fender: “It’s aggressive, but exactly what the front end needed.” The paint is simple but extremely effective: a matte Grey, with pops of orange detail.

The top end of the engine was freshened up and a new set of Keihin FCR carbs bolted on, breathing through DNA filters. The donor bike already had good performance headers; the only problem was the six mufflers were too long. So, on went six PBM torpedo mufflers, with custom mounting brackets.

The sound, as you can imagine, is incredible. “It’s like an old Formula 1 engine as it climbs through the rev range,” says Tom, “without being overbearing while you’re racing down the road.”

All of these mods were tuned to perfection at Dynomite Moto, with the CBX now putting out 100 hp at the rear wheel rather than just the crank. And this CBX has a revised dry weight of only 228 kg [502 pounds], down from a cruiser-like 277 kg [610].

“The first ride on this behemoth was intimidating,” Tom admits. “It’s such a wide motorcycle. But once you get moving, the bike is surprisingly nimble through corners and holds the road incredibly well. The engine starts to liven up above 4000 rpm, then it kicks like a mule and you won’t know what hit you!”

Luke already has a new project in mind for Purpose Built Moto: an even more intimidating Suzuki GSX1400. But until then, check out Tom’s video rundown of this CBX1000—which shows exactly what goes into building a bike at this level.

Purpose Built Moto | Facebook | Instagram

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[DaveM]

Spirit of 69: dB Customs’ Suzuki XR69 race replica

The Suzuki XR69 holds a special place in classic superbike lore. That puts it well inside the wheelhouse of Canadian builder Darren Begg, who specializes in fast bikes from the late 70s and 80s. He’s just finished piecing together this stunning XR69 replica—with a slightly period incorrect spec sheet.

“It’s not a traditional GS1000-engined XR69,” he admits, “but I’m not much of a traditionalist. So it’s my interpretation of this historic racer.”

Darren operates as dB Customs out of Ottawa, Canada. He’s also a dealer for a few top-shelf parts manufacturers, so he’s a master of piecing together the best of the best on his projects. His idea here was to build a series of ten street-able XR9 replicas using his favorite components—plus a very special chassis.

This one’s the first in the series, as the number on the side of the fairing suggests.

The XR69 was originally developed by Pops Yoshimura and Suzuki, and cleaned up when it hit the racetrack in 1980. It was powered by an eight-valve motor derived from the GS1000—but Darren’s replica borrows its motor from elsewhere in Suzuki’s back catalog.

Powering this retro-fabulous superbike is the motor from a 1997 Suzuki Bandit 1200. Darren refreshed the motor and topped it off with an early GSX-R750 head: “It has more of a down draft design, with smaller combustion chambers for added compression,” he explains.

Inside are the cams from an oil-cooled GSX-R1100 and Kibblewhite springs, with spark coming from a Dyna 2000 ignition. The engine breathes through a set of gorgeous Yoshimura TMR-MJN carbs with K&N filters, and exhales through a lightweight four-into-one titanium exhaust system from Racefit.

The chassis offers closer ties to the XR69: “CMR Racing in Trenton, Ontario was building XR69 chassis for Team USA and others who competed at the Island Classic at Phillip Island in Australia,” Darren tells us. “The chassis were highly competitive and setting lap records in their class, mere seconds off the pace of modern superbikes.”

CM Racing’s Byron Cox and Denis Curtis, who sadly passed away late last year, fabricated a pair of 4130 aircraft grade tubular chromoly steel frames, for the first two commissioned builds. And they supplied the swingarms and fuel tanks too.

Darren completed the chassis with Öhlins suspension at both ends, including a set of forks originally designed for a BMW S1000RR, with 10 mm additional length and stroke. The wheels are ultra light carbon fiber items from Dymag, wrapped in 17” Michelin Pilot Power CT2 tires. The brakes are Brembo calipers with twin 320 mm discs up front, plumbed with Spiegler lines.

For the bodywork, Darren designed a fairing and tail in the style of the XR69, then had the parts shaped out of carbon fiber. The fairing uses a pair of headlights from a Honda VFR400 NC35. Just behind it is a Koso dash, with clip-ons, race-style switches, Brembo controls and a Yoshimura throttle.

There’s a slim racing seat pad up top, with Harris Performance rear-sets lower down.

Darren’s designed a few livery options that potential clients can pick from, with inspiration from various classic Suzuki race bikes. The options even include a red and black tribute to the original XR69 paint scheme—but so far, everyone’s interest has fallen on this blue design. “It’s hard to deny that some inspiration didn’t come from Team Classic Suzuki’s rendition as well,” he admits.

Regular collaborator Sketch’s Ink laid down the livery. It’s all paint too, with not a single vinyl graphic in sight.

Darren’s first XR69 replica series build is flawless, and looks like it’d be nuts to ride too. This one’s off to New Zealand, and the second one, which is currently being assembled and “will be a killer 1,216 cc monster,” is destined for California.

Should we keep tabs on the other eight builds?

dB Customs | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Darren Begg

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[DaveM]

Speed Read, August 1 2021

We’ve covered all the bases this week—from a 1980s Honda CB to a rendering of the new Aprilia Tuareg 660 adventure bike. Plus a pair of Aermacchis from J. Shia, a rare 1930s V-twin from a Russian museum, and a look at BMW’s new R18 tourers.

Honda CB Superbike by dB Customs Darren Begg is clearly a busy man. The ink had hardly dried on our feature of his Suzuki XR69 replica, when he bombarded our inbox with this drool-worthy homage to the 1982 Honda CB750-F.

Darren’s forte is old school superbikes, and the CB750 ranks among his favorites—so this track-specific client build got the star treatment. And although it resembles the ’82 CB750, it’s actually been pieced together from other bikes in true dB Customs fashion.

The chassis started out as a heavily modified 1982 CB900F frame, matched to a chromoly steering neck from Vince & Hyde Racing, welded in place by CMR Racing Products Inc. The subframe is a custom chromoly unit that mimics the geometry of the 80s superbike, with replica shock mounts from JES BUILT Motorcycles. A Suzuki TL1000R swingarm completes the setup—but it took some fettling to fit.

Suspension is by way of Öhlins rear shocks and Honda VTR1000F forks, with AHM replica triple clamps. The wheels are from Dymag—they’re a new billet aluminum version of their classic CH3 series carbon wheels, and were the first set to roll off the line. AP Racing calipers, Brembo front rotors and braided lines are used for the brakes.

As you’d expect, the motor deserves an entire build sheet unto itself. It’s a 1,187 cc unit with lightweight aluminum pistons from Vince & Hyde Racing, CP-Carillo rods, a balanced and lightened crank and a CB1000 transmission. Ray Mancini of Xtreme Motorsports did the boring, crank and head work, along with some other wizardry.

Everything from the valves to the springs, cams, chains and tensioners have been upgraded. There’s a set of Keihin carbs too, and four-into-two-into-one exhaust headers from JayGui. Dirk Langkamp fabricated the AHM replica silencer.

Darren’s listed all the work in detail on his website, and it’s well worth a read. Resplendent in a period correct paint job by Sketch’s Ink, with graphics by Mark Olan at AFE Graphics, this is one CB we’d love to ride… even if we’d be a little scared to. [dB Customs]

H-D Aermacchi SS350s by J. Shia The team at Madhouse Motors in Boston has their hands full with motorcycle maintenance, repair and customization, and even antique restoration. So owner J. Shia rarely has time to build anything for herself. When she does, she goes wild—tapping into her fine arts degree to build eclectic and unconventional machines.

J’s latest custom project is a pair of 1972 Aermacchi SS350s, which are remarkably only a few hundred VIN numbers apart. Both were built simultaneously, and share the same stance and general silhouette. Dubbed ‘The Optical Conclusions,’ J built them as the final entry in a series of four projects, called ‘The Pareidolia Series.’

Like the previous bikes in the series, the Aermacchis are loaded with unconventional and nontraditional details, all playing on the idea of pareidolia (Google it). They also reflect and complement each other in multiple ways.

The swingarms have been stretched and fitted with single-sided suspension, using a gas tension spring and an opposing enclosed coil spring. The subframes are mirrored; the white one’s loops towards the front, and the black one’s flows to the rear. Both main frames have had their secondary down tubes removed, before being reinforced with gussets.

The white bike’s running a draw through turbo, set up with dual scavenge pumps, and oil stored in the green ‘tail’ out back. The black bike has the same part mounted under it to function as the exhaust, with a heat-shielded storage compartment built into it. And it has what J describes as “an absolutely adorable wet nitrous system.”

There are quirky touches everywhere, but the lighting’s particularly noteworthy. Each bike has a second wiring loom that bypasses the coils and battery, so that you can plug it into a standard outlet to operate just the headlight. So if you’re parking these in your living room (and why wouldn’t you?), they can function as lamps too. [Madhouse Motors | Images by Gretchen Devine]

1931 O.D. T100 Motorworld by V.Sheyanov is a Russian motorcycle museum, with a knack for finding ultra-rare vintage motorcycles. So if anyone’s going to uncover a bike you’ve never heard of, it’s them. Meet the rather handsome O.D. T100.

The story goes that brothers Willy and Carl Ostner, who already had a company called Ostner & Co., decided to start manufacturing motorcycles in 1927. The brand eventually became known as O.D. Werk Willy Ostner—the O.D. standing for Ostner Dresden (which is where they were based).

The Ostner bros. prided themselves on building high-quality machines with chassis that they built themselves. The first O.D. bikes were singles, but in 1929 they debuted their flagship T100. It was a big deal at the time, with a 986cc v-twin engine from the Swiss company Motosacoche, who sold their engines to various motorcycle companies under the brand MAG.

Packaged in a tubular frame with a parallelogram fork and no rear suspension, the O.D. T100 was good for an eye-popping 22 horsepower—but at least the motor was known to be reliable. It used a three-speed transmission from Hurth, with a chain drive in an aluminum housing sending power to the wheel.

On top of the fuel tank was a stylish dash with its own lighting a speedo, a clock, and fuel and oil gauges.

O.D. eventually gave up on motorcycles and started building light trucks instead, and more’s the pity. The T100 is stunning, shown here with a sidecar of undetermined origin. Who knows what the company would be doing now if they were still around? [More]

BMW R18 Transcontinental and R18 B We don’t usually go in for tourers and baggers around here, but this news from BMW Motorrad this week made our ears prick up. With the R18 Transcontinental and R18 B, it’s clear that BMW is gunning for a piece of Harley-Davidson’s pie (as if there was any doubt). But the surprise here is that both bikes look really good for what they are—as if this is what BMW’s mammoth retro boxer was always intended for.

Both new models use the existing BMW R18 chassis and motor, and add fairings, hard panniers and more comfortable two-up seating. The Transcontinental [above] is pitched as a tourer, with a taller screen, additional wind deflectors and a top case with a generous passenger backrest.

The B-model [below] is pitched as a slightly pared-back bagger, with a shorter screen, a trimmed seat and no top case.

Both bikes also feature a row of analog dials behind their fairings, along with a massive 10.25” TFT display with full Bluetooth connectivity. And in true American touring motorcycle form, a built-in sound system is part of the package.

BMW partnered with Marshall Amplification here; a curious move from the British company, and their first foray into the moto industry. The two announced the partnership via a music video from the Southern rock band, The Cadillac Three—which, depending on your perspective is either a great piece of marketing, or hopelessly off the mark.

Both bikes will come in BMW’s ‘First Edition’ black with white pinstripes, and in an ‘Option 719’ galaxy-themed flip-flop paint job [above].

Touring style aside, we wouldn’t mind having a go on these—our biggest gripe with the R18 was its ergonomics, and the comfier seats and additional wind protection might help here. [BMW R18 Transcontinental | R18 B]

Aprilia Tuareg 660 More OEM news, as Aprilia give us a first taste of their long-awaited Tuareg 660 dual sport. All we get for now are renders and some basic specs—but so far, we’re into it.

The Tuareg will use a redesigned version of the parallel twin motor in the Aprilia RS 660, tuned to 80 hp and 70 Nm. It’ll get a full complement of electronic aids too, including switchable ABS and various rider modes, with a 5” TFT display. Aprilia are also listing a dry weight of 187 kilos [412 pounds], 240 mm of suspension travel, more than 240 mm of ground clearance, and a seat height of less than 860 mm.

The teaser render reveals a few things that serious adventure riders will approve of. We’re spotting 21F/18R tubeless wheels, grippy foot pegs and removable passenger peg mounts.

Most importantly, the Tuareg 660 concept is really good looking, with hints of the 1994 Aprilia Tuareg and a similar vibe to Yamaha’s T7. It looks lean, aggressive and devoid of too many layers of plastic, and we’re digging the bold new graphics. Adventure bikes might not be our staple, but we’re keen to swing a leg over this one. [Aprilia Tuareg 660]

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[DaveM]

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