The Honda 2014 1100 shown here is not too bad I suppose, but compared to my 2014 1100 (at least to me) I'll take mine every time.
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Custom Motorcycle Builds
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I agree with you 100%. Yours is gorgeous.
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It's a modern retro model harking back to the days of the Honda CB750.
KNTT: A sporty Knucklehead from Max Hazan
We’d love a glimpse inside Max Hazan’s head. His machines are elegant and visceral, and we’re left wondering how he actually builds these functional sculptures. But what’s really mind blowing, is that he usually makes them up as he goes along.
The latest Hazan Motorworks creation has the lines of an Italian sportbike, classic race hoops, and a very special Knucklehead motor. It’s an astounding motorcycle, and extremely cohesive. But rather than emulate a particular style, Max started with a simple idea…and let his imagination run wild.
“The idea came about after speaking to someone that loved Knucklehead and Vincent engines,” he tells us, “and me suggesting that I just make a Knuckle that ran two front cylinder heads.”
“I always had a sweet spot for the Harley-Davidson KRTT and XRTT race bikes, so I figured why not build one around a KN motor?” And so the ‘KNTT’ was conceived.
Max took a 74ci Knucklehead from S&S Cycle, and then reworked it to run two front heads and two carbs. “It was not exactly a bolt-on modification,” he says wryly. The work put into the motor alone could fill volumes.
Some of the mods included cutting off and rebuilding the rear quarter of each head, and changing the angle of the intake runners.
Adjusting the angle of the pushrods was a challenge too, and Max had to make his own lifter blocks, shorten and re-angle the rockers, and modify the actual knuckle part of the rocker assembly. He also ditched the generator in favor of a Morris magneto.
The carbs shown here are a twin Keihin CR setup, split and fitted with custom made flanges. They reportedly ran great—but with no accelerator pump, priming the motor was tricky. So Max eventually swapped them for a pair of Dell’Orto PHF36s.
“The bike is kick only,” he says, “and it took a bit of learning to figure out what she likes. But the Knuckle runs like a (slow) top now. It’s a beautiful motor, but it only puts out around 50 hp.”
If you’re trying to figure out what frame Max wedged that alluring motor into, don’t bother. It’s a completely one-off chromoly affair, built from scratch.
Up front are Royal Enfield forks that have been re-sprung and upgraded with Teflon bushings. The rear arrangement involves a custom aluminum swingarm, hooked up to a short Fox pitbike shock.
The Knucklehead has a killer stance, made even better by a pair of 18” Morris mags that were originally made for the Kawasaki Z1000. Max machined the original drum brake mounts off the Enfield forks, and fitted two Wilwood calipers on each side, with Z1000 rotors.
The rear wheel only uses one Wilwood caliper, and a hand-made heel shifter on the left side operates it. It’s on the left because Max matched the motor to an old Indian Scout transmission with a right side shift. And it’s at the heel, because his homemade clutch actuator is right where a toe lever would be.
Most of Max’s high-level engineering is fully on display, but some of it’s hiding under the exquisite aluminum bodywork. The oil tank sits just below the main fuel tank, and runs with a remote filter and cooler.
Max shaped everything himself—from the fairing through to the three-gallon tank, and the waspish tail section.
There’s a high level of flow and harmony between the pieces. The contours in the tank and tail mimic each other, and the fairing has cutouts that run tight around various bits of the motor. All in all, the total package weighs around 375 lbs (170 kilos).
A pair of stainless steel exhaust headers make their way up to the tail, reminiscent of classic MotoGP systems. (Max built them with cut up Termignoni baffles in the ends, to dampen noise and provide a little low-end pressure.)
Like all Hazan Motorworks builds, the KNTT is the product of an over-active imagination, backed up by a skilled pair of hands. And it’s loaded with enough quirky details to keep us busy until his next project drops.
Max might have had the XRTT and KRTT in mind when he started, but the end result is so much more than just a homage to two iconic American track bikes.
Hazan Motorworks | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Shaik Ridzwan
Continue reading...
We’d love a glimpse inside Max Hazan’s head. His machines are elegant and visceral, and we’re left wondering how he actually builds these functional sculptures. But what’s really mind blowing, is that he usually makes them up as he goes along.
The latest Hazan Motorworks creation has the lines of an Italian sportbike, classic race hoops, and a very special Knucklehead motor. It’s an astounding motorcycle, and extremely cohesive. But rather than emulate a particular style, Max started with a simple idea…and let his imagination run wild.
“The idea came about after speaking to someone that loved Knucklehead and Vincent engines,” he tells us, “and me suggesting that I just make a Knuckle that ran two front cylinder heads.”
“I always had a sweet spot for the Harley-Davidson KRTT and XRTT race bikes, so I figured why not build one around a KN motor?” And so the ‘KNTT’ was conceived.
Max took a 74ci Knucklehead from S&S Cycle, and then reworked it to run two front heads and two carbs. “It was not exactly a bolt-on modification,” he says wryly. The work put into the motor alone could fill volumes.
Some of the mods included cutting off and rebuilding the rear quarter of each head, and changing the angle of the intake runners.
Adjusting the angle of the pushrods was a challenge too, and Max had to make his own lifter blocks, shorten and re-angle the rockers, and modify the actual knuckle part of the rocker assembly. He also ditched the generator in favor of a Morris magneto.
The carbs shown here are a twin Keihin CR setup, split and fitted with custom made flanges. They reportedly ran great—but with no accelerator pump, priming the motor was tricky. So Max eventually swapped them for a pair of Dell’Orto PHF36s.
“The bike is kick only,” he says, “and it took a bit of learning to figure out what she likes. But the Knuckle runs like a (slow) top now. It’s a beautiful motor, but it only puts out around 50 hp.”
If you’re trying to figure out what frame Max wedged that alluring motor into, don’t bother. It’s a completely one-off chromoly affair, built from scratch.
Up front are Royal Enfield forks that have been re-sprung and upgraded with Teflon bushings. The rear arrangement involves a custom aluminum swingarm, hooked up to a short Fox pitbike shock.
The Knucklehead has a killer stance, made even better by a pair of 18” Morris mags that were originally made for the Kawasaki Z1000. Max machined the original drum brake mounts off the Enfield forks, and fitted two Wilwood calipers on each side, with Z1000 rotors.
The rear wheel only uses one Wilwood caliper, and a hand-made heel shifter on the left side operates it. It’s on the left because Max matched the motor to an old Indian Scout transmission with a right side shift. And it’s at the heel, because his homemade clutch actuator is right where a toe lever would be.
Most of Max’s high-level engineering is fully on display, but some of it’s hiding under the exquisite aluminum bodywork. The oil tank sits just below the main fuel tank, and runs with a remote filter and cooler.
Max shaped everything himself—from the fairing through to the three-gallon tank, and the waspish tail section.
There’s a high level of flow and harmony between the pieces. The contours in the tank and tail mimic each other, and the fairing has cutouts that run tight around various bits of the motor. All in all, the total package weighs around 375 lbs (170 kilos).
A pair of stainless steel exhaust headers make their way up to the tail, reminiscent of classic MotoGP systems. (Max built them with cut up Termignoni baffles in the ends, to dampen noise and provide a little low-end pressure.)
Like all Hazan Motorworks builds, the KNTT is the product of an over-active imagination, backed up by a skilled pair of hands. And it’s loaded with enough quirky details to keep us busy until his next project drops.
Max might have had the XRTT and KRTT in mind when he started, but the end result is so much more than just a homage to two iconic American track bikes.
Hazan Motorworks | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Shaik Ridzwan
Continue reading...
Custom Bikes Of The Week: 1 September, 2019
An Indian Scout from Austria, a Super Cub from Italy, a production electric bike from Australia, and a BMW from Texas—with a 1,500 cc VW engine. We’ve been collecting the air miles this week.
Fonzarelli NKD A company with the best name in motorcycling has just produced the first Australian-made production electric motorcycle. It’s called the NKD, it’s tiny and it looks like bags of fun.
Fonzarelli already has three electric scooters in its catalog, but this is the first ‘motorcycle’ from the Adelaide-based outfit—albeit a mini-bike. The brushless motor kicks out 9.6 kW and 56 Nm of torque, with a 3.5 kWh battery that’ll take about five hours to charge. Range and top speed are listed as 60 km and 80 km/h for the regular model, and 120 km and 100 km/h for the Special Edition. (The base model is expected to retail for just AU$9,990 when it hits dealers later this year.)
The company has some interesting plans on how to roll out more accessible charging options, but right now we’re hung up on how cool this thing looks. It doesn’t come as a shock though—Fonzarelli’s design director is Bike EXIF alumni Wenley Andrews.
The look of the NKD invokes everything from the Honda Grom to the hooligan spirit of pit bikes. The one pictured here is kitted with some optional extras, like an Alcantara seat, twin LED headlights and Pirelli dual-sport rubber. All it needs now is a skateboard rack, and we’re sold. [More]
Indian Scout by Titan Motorcycles Headed up by Michael Siebenhofer and Thanh Ho Ngo, Austria-based Titan Motorcycles have some impressive builds under their belt. But when they were handed a brand new Indian Scout and a three-week deadline, they had their work cut out for them.
With no time to go deep, they turned the Scout into a low and lean dirt tracker with a handful of clever mods. They roped in metal shaper Bernhard Naumann (A.K.A. Blechmann), who whipped up a new headlight shroud and tail section. Then they installed flat track bars from Fehling, with Biltwell Inc. grips and Rizoma turn signals.
The exhaust headers are custom, and terminate in an Akrapovič can (see top image). There’s a custom rear shock, a new footpeg set up, and a custom saddle. The wheels are wrapped in 16” Pirelli MT60 tires (Titan wanted to change the wheels to a 19F/18R setup, but the new wheels wouldn’t have arrived in time.)
The rear end’s finished off with an integrated tail light, and a custom license plate holder, kitted with a pair of Motogadget blinkers.
Everything’s wrapped in a slick blue paint job, with some faux rust thrown in for good measure, and ‘100’ graphics to mark the Scout’s one-hundredth birthday. A three-week timeframe is usually a recipe for cheap and nasty, but we dig how this Scout’s turned out—and we’d love to see it ridden in anger. [More]
Moto Guzzi T3 by Officine Rossopuro Filippo Barbacane has the golden touch when it comes to classic Moto Guzzis. Which is not surprising: he’s been working on them for a quarter century. He’s built some pretty out-there stuff too—but this build errs on the side of restraint, and is all the better for it.
It’s a 1979 Moto Guzzi T3 850, built for a Guzzista that wanted something classic and usable. Beyond those criteria, Filippo was free to do whatever he wanted. So he gave the donor’s engine, gearbox and frame a deep once-over, then ditched the shoddy bodywork in the trash and got cracking.
Filippo started with a new fuel tank—hand-shaped from sheet metal with classic lines and enough capacity for longer rides. Next, he hand-rolled a pair of aluminum fenders and fabricated neat triangular side covers. Capping the bodywork off is a well-padded diamond stitched saddle.
The Guzzi also wears new, shouldered Borrani rims, Bitubo rear shocks and custom-made mufflers from Mass Moto. Filippo overhauls the electrical systems and brakes on all his bikes, and here he also fitted his own adjustable rearsets, engine guard plates and brake mounts. The end result: a perfectly proportioned cafe racer that’s also a stellar daily runner. [More]
The BMW Volkswagen Fikobike Since motorcycles existed, riders have been trying to find ways to make them go faster. Some people are happy with a light carb tune and a new exhaust, but others go totally overboard. Back in 1967, Lee Fikes decided that the best way to squeeze more power out of his BMW R60 was to stick a VW motor in it.
Fikes had bought it to ride Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on his honeymoon. But then he decided that the 600 cc boxer motor would be too weak to cope with a long distance, two-up trip with luggage. So he stuck a 1,500 cc Volkswagen flat-4 in there instead. Then he upgraded it further, with a bunch of performance parts that also included a set of rare Thomas Tomahawk finned valve covers.
Other mods included a custom headlight housing with twin lights, and a custom dash up top. It houses a speedo, tacho, ammeter, and oil pressure temperature gauges, and there’s a cylinder head temperature gauge (from a Harley) mounted on the bars. But despite the extra power, this BMW still rolls on 1960s suspension and brakes.
Fikes eventually sold the Fikobike, and it’s still running and in an overall excellent condition today. Come late September, it’ll be going up on RM Sotheby’s auction block—so have your pocketbook ready. [More]
Honda Super Cub by Greaser Garage The Honda Super Cub may be small in size, but it’s massive in stature. It’s one of the best selling two-wheelers of all time, plus it’s also impossibly cute.
This custom job from Greaser Garage in Italy adds a dose of BMX style to the lovable Super Cub. Most of the work’s gone into the front end; the original leg fairings are still in play, but the middle section’s been replaced by hand-beaten aluminum. The pieces include new fork covers, and a headlight housing with an LED unit inside.
Higher up, the entire steering cluster’s been ditched for a completely custom setup. There’s a set of BMX-looking handlebars held by a bicycle bar clamp, motocross grips and a GPS-enabled speedo. (Look closely, and you’ll see that the turn signals have been integrated into the lower section of the bars.)
Out back, we can spot a bobbed rear fender with a built-in taillight, new shocks, and a race-style exhaust can. This Super Cub also wears dual sport rubber, and an aluminum rear wheel cover. What we wouldn’t give to park this little pocket-sized smile-machine in our garage! [More]
Continue reading...
An Indian Scout from Austria, a Super Cub from Italy, a production electric bike from Australia, and a BMW from Texas—with a 1,500 cc VW engine. We’ve been collecting the air miles this week.
Fonzarelli NKD A company with the best name in motorcycling has just produced the first Australian-made production electric motorcycle. It’s called the NKD, it’s tiny and it looks like bags of fun.
Fonzarelli already has three electric scooters in its catalog, but this is the first ‘motorcycle’ from the Adelaide-based outfit—albeit a mini-bike. The brushless motor kicks out 9.6 kW and 56 Nm of torque, with a 3.5 kWh battery that’ll take about five hours to charge. Range and top speed are listed as 60 km and 80 km/h for the regular model, and 120 km and 100 km/h for the Special Edition. (The base model is expected to retail for just AU$9,990 when it hits dealers later this year.)
The company has some interesting plans on how to roll out more accessible charging options, but right now we’re hung up on how cool this thing looks. It doesn’t come as a shock though—Fonzarelli’s design director is Bike EXIF alumni Wenley Andrews.
The look of the NKD invokes everything from the Honda Grom to the hooligan spirit of pit bikes. The one pictured here is kitted with some optional extras, like an Alcantara seat, twin LED headlights and Pirelli dual-sport rubber. All it needs now is a skateboard rack, and we’re sold. [More]
Indian Scout by Titan Motorcycles Headed up by Michael Siebenhofer and Thanh Ho Ngo, Austria-based Titan Motorcycles have some impressive builds under their belt. But when they were handed a brand new Indian Scout and a three-week deadline, they had their work cut out for them.
With no time to go deep, they turned the Scout into a low and lean dirt tracker with a handful of clever mods. They roped in metal shaper Bernhard Naumann (A.K.A. Blechmann), who whipped up a new headlight shroud and tail section. Then they installed flat track bars from Fehling, with Biltwell Inc. grips and Rizoma turn signals.
The exhaust headers are custom, and terminate in an Akrapovič can (see top image). There’s a custom rear shock, a new footpeg set up, and a custom saddle. The wheels are wrapped in 16” Pirelli MT60 tires (Titan wanted to change the wheels to a 19F/18R setup, but the new wheels wouldn’t have arrived in time.)
The rear end’s finished off with an integrated tail light, and a custom license plate holder, kitted with a pair of Motogadget blinkers.
Everything’s wrapped in a slick blue paint job, with some faux rust thrown in for good measure, and ‘100’ graphics to mark the Scout’s one-hundredth birthday. A three-week timeframe is usually a recipe for cheap and nasty, but we dig how this Scout’s turned out—and we’d love to see it ridden in anger. [More]
Moto Guzzi T3 by Officine Rossopuro Filippo Barbacane has the golden touch when it comes to classic Moto Guzzis. Which is not surprising: he’s been working on them for a quarter century. He’s built some pretty out-there stuff too—but this build errs on the side of restraint, and is all the better for it.
It’s a 1979 Moto Guzzi T3 850, built for a Guzzista that wanted something classic and usable. Beyond those criteria, Filippo was free to do whatever he wanted. So he gave the donor’s engine, gearbox and frame a deep once-over, then ditched the shoddy bodywork in the trash and got cracking.
Filippo started with a new fuel tank—hand-shaped from sheet metal with classic lines and enough capacity for longer rides. Next, he hand-rolled a pair of aluminum fenders and fabricated neat triangular side covers. Capping the bodywork off is a well-padded diamond stitched saddle.
The Guzzi also wears new, shouldered Borrani rims, Bitubo rear shocks and custom-made mufflers from Mass Moto. Filippo overhauls the electrical systems and brakes on all his bikes, and here he also fitted his own adjustable rearsets, engine guard plates and brake mounts. The end result: a perfectly proportioned cafe racer that’s also a stellar daily runner. [More]
The BMW Volkswagen Fikobike Since motorcycles existed, riders have been trying to find ways to make them go faster. Some people are happy with a light carb tune and a new exhaust, but others go totally overboard. Back in 1967, Lee Fikes decided that the best way to squeeze more power out of his BMW R60 was to stick a VW motor in it.
Fikes had bought it to ride Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on his honeymoon. But then he decided that the 600 cc boxer motor would be too weak to cope with a long distance, two-up trip with luggage. So he stuck a 1,500 cc Volkswagen flat-4 in there instead. Then he upgraded it further, with a bunch of performance parts that also included a set of rare Thomas Tomahawk finned valve covers.
Other mods included a custom headlight housing with twin lights, and a custom dash up top. It houses a speedo, tacho, ammeter, and oil pressure temperature gauges, and there’s a cylinder head temperature gauge (from a Harley) mounted on the bars. But despite the extra power, this BMW still rolls on 1960s suspension and brakes.
Fikes eventually sold the Fikobike, and it’s still running and in an overall excellent condition today. Come late September, it’ll be going up on RM Sotheby’s auction block—so have your pocketbook ready. [More]
Honda Super Cub by Greaser Garage The Honda Super Cub may be small in size, but it’s massive in stature. It’s one of the best selling two-wheelers of all time, plus it’s also impossibly cute.
This custom job from Greaser Garage in Italy adds a dose of BMX style to the lovable Super Cub. Most of the work’s gone into the front end; the original leg fairings are still in play, but the middle section’s been replaced by hand-beaten aluminum. The pieces include new fork covers, and a headlight housing with an LED unit inside.
Higher up, the entire steering cluster’s been ditched for a completely custom setup. There’s a set of BMX-looking handlebars held by a bicycle bar clamp, motocross grips and a GPS-enabled speedo. (Look closely, and you’ll see that the turn signals have been integrated into the lower section of the bars.)
Out back, we can spot a bobbed rear fender with a built-in taillight, new shocks, and a race-style exhaust can. This Super Cub also wears dual sport rubber, and an aluminum rear wheel cover. What we wouldn’t give to park this little pocket-sized smile-machine in our garage! [More]
Continue reading...
I like the BMW.
Loving Vincent: A world championship build from Moscow
Last year, Dmitry Golubchikov became the first Russian to become the AMD World Champion of bike building. The 31-year-old triumphed with an amazing hand-built Yamaha SR400 called ‘Insomnia.’
Dmitry is now back with another jaw-dropping creation, and we reckon this one could sweep the board too. It’s based around a Vincent Lightning engine, but virtually everything else is made by hand.
Dmitry was born in the Republic of Karelia, near the Finnish border, and now lives in Moscow. His workshop is called Zillers Garage, but he usually works alone unless the job sheet gets too long.
A Zillers bike is a unique creation crafted around an existing engine. In this case, the engine is a 1200cc Vincent Lightning replica built by the English company JMC Classics, which is also licensed to produce new Egli-Vincent motorcycles.
“I purchased the engine five years ago in England,” says Dmitry. “I’ve always been a fan of Vincent engines, and as soon as the opportunity arose to buy one, I decided to customize it.”
“The engine is ‘new’ and was already prepared for active riding. Dell’Orto carburetors came with it, but I decided to abandon them and use BMW carburetors. The intake manifolds are cast in aluminum, and the gearbox has four gears.”
All the oil and fuel lines are custom-made using stainless steel, and it looks like Dmitry has used very early Bing carbs.
At the exhaust end, he’s built a sinuous system out of stainless steel. No pie-cut welds here: just a few perfectly socket welded pipes converging into a single length of muffler… that we suspect doesn’t muffle very much of the magnificent pushrod V-twin at all.
Before working on motorcycles, Dmitry was a high-end motorsport mechanic. And that’s how he refined his amazing fabrication skills: the frame, front fork and control levers on this bike are made out of stainless steel, and the seat unit, bars and gas tank are made from aluminum.
Since this is a high-end show bike, the fabrication is anything but simple. The forks are a duolever design, similar to that used on BMW’s K series bikes. “The main advantage is that the steering is connected through a linkage, and vibrations from the road are isolated,” says Dmitry.
It’s also a remarkably elegant-looking setup, which will help at show time. Dmitry has machined this arrangement himself, with cushioning provided by a spring at the bottom front of the hand-made frame.
The wheels are one-offs too, with chrome-plated steel rims shod with Avon Cobra rubber. The center section inside each rim is machined from aluminum, and hooked up to twenty spokes per wheel—each one individually CNC machined.
Look closely and you’ll see that the brake discs and calipers are inside the spokes of each wheel. The discs are machined out of cast iron. “The brake lines with fluid pass through the center of the wheel,” Dmitry explains. “The hub itself is empty.”
Even the brake pads are custom-made, using repurposed clutch friction plate material.
The Zillers Vincent is one of those machines that justify a very close look at the images.
The craftsmanship is off the scale, and the design is fascinating too: note the way the rear frame tubes snake under the seat unit, which is trimmed with crocodile skin, and reappear as one.
That single tube then curves over the split tank, with a second tube right underneath the tank, carrying brackets that mount to the cylinder heads.
The bars alone are a work of art, curving like antelope horns, and graced with slender levers—in sharp contrast to the engineering complexity immediately beneath.
If you’re keen to see this extraordinary machine in the metal, patience is called for. It won’t be revealed to the wider public until October 2020, at the next biennial AMD World Championship in Cologne, Germany.
That’s a long time to wait, but it’ll be worth it. We just hope the AMD judges feel the same way.
Zillers Facebook Group | VK.COM | Instagram | Images by Alexey Sulima
Continue reading...
Last year, Dmitry Golubchikov became the first Russian to become the AMD World Champion of bike building. The 31-year-old triumphed with an amazing hand-built Yamaha SR400 called ‘Insomnia.’
Dmitry is now back with another jaw-dropping creation, and we reckon this one could sweep the board too. It’s based around a Vincent Lightning engine, but virtually everything else is made by hand.
Dmitry was born in the Republic of Karelia, near the Finnish border, and now lives in Moscow. His workshop is called Zillers Garage, but he usually works alone unless the job sheet gets too long.
A Zillers bike is a unique creation crafted around an existing engine. In this case, the engine is a 1200cc Vincent Lightning replica built by the English company JMC Classics, which is also licensed to produce new Egli-Vincent motorcycles.
“I purchased the engine five years ago in England,” says Dmitry. “I’ve always been a fan of Vincent engines, and as soon as the opportunity arose to buy one, I decided to customize it.”
“The engine is ‘new’ and was already prepared for active riding. Dell’Orto carburetors came with it, but I decided to abandon them and use BMW carburetors. The intake manifolds are cast in aluminum, and the gearbox has four gears.”
All the oil and fuel lines are custom-made using stainless steel, and it looks like Dmitry has used very early Bing carbs.
At the exhaust end, he’s built a sinuous system out of stainless steel. No pie-cut welds here: just a few perfectly socket welded pipes converging into a single length of muffler… that we suspect doesn’t muffle very much of the magnificent pushrod V-twin at all.
Before working on motorcycles, Dmitry was a high-end motorsport mechanic. And that’s how he refined his amazing fabrication skills: the frame, front fork and control levers on this bike are made out of stainless steel, and the seat unit, bars and gas tank are made from aluminum.
Since this is a high-end show bike, the fabrication is anything but simple. The forks are a duolever design, similar to that used on BMW’s K series bikes. “The main advantage is that the steering is connected through a linkage, and vibrations from the road are isolated,” says Dmitry.
It’s also a remarkably elegant-looking setup, which will help at show time. Dmitry has machined this arrangement himself, with cushioning provided by a spring at the bottom front of the hand-made frame.
The wheels are one-offs too, with chrome-plated steel rims shod with Avon Cobra rubber. The center section inside each rim is machined from aluminum, and hooked up to twenty spokes per wheel—each one individually CNC machined.
Look closely and you’ll see that the brake discs and calipers are inside the spokes of each wheel. The discs are machined out of cast iron. “The brake lines with fluid pass through the center of the wheel,” Dmitry explains. “The hub itself is empty.”
Even the brake pads are custom-made, using repurposed clutch friction plate material.
The Zillers Vincent is one of those machines that justify a very close look at the images.
The craftsmanship is off the scale, and the design is fascinating too: note the way the rear frame tubes snake under the seat unit, which is trimmed with crocodile skin, and reappear as one.
That single tube then curves over the split tank, with a second tube right underneath the tank, carrying brackets that mount to the cylinder heads.
The bars alone are a work of art, curving like antelope horns, and graced with slender levers—in sharp contrast to the engineering complexity immediately beneath.
If you’re keen to see this extraordinary machine in the metal, patience is called for. It won’t be revealed to the wider public until October 2020, at the next biennial AMD World Championship in Cologne, Germany.
That’s a long time to wait, but it’ll be worth it. We just hope the AMD judges feel the same way.
Zillers Facebook Group | VK.COM | Instagram | Images by Alexey Sulima
Continue reading...
Definitely not for me!
Win: A NEXX X.G100 Racer helmet—customized to your liking
We’ve joined forces with NEXX and four of the world’s leading helmet artists to give you the chance to win your own custom NEXX X.G100 Racer helmet.
Like all NEXX helmets, the X.G100 Racer is manufactured in Portugal. It echoes the style of 1970s racing helmets, and our four lucky winners will also be able to make their lids truly unique—by working with top artists to create a custom design.
The X.G100 Racer uses a retro-style round shell, and a smooth-lifting shield that snaps into place—whether you want the visor fully open, cracked, or closed tightly against wind or rain. The ‘X-Matrix’ shell construction has a strength-to-weight ratio previously unheard of in a retro helmet, with an X.Mart Dry liner and chin vent providing built-in climate control. It’s the most comfortable and best-performing helmet of its style.
For this giveaway, NEXX have hooked up with four of the best helmet artists of recent years. Each winner will be able to pick one of these four artists to work on a one-off design for their new helmet.
Hello Cousteau After spending his professional career designing everything from toothpicks to 180-meter mega-yacht interiors, the design force behind Hello Cousteau got bored. But what bored him the most was when he went to a bunch of motorcycle/helmet shops and couldn’t find a single good looking helmet that he’d fancy. “They all looked the same, with no individuality whatsoever.” So, that was it… Hello Cousteau was born. New concepts are dreamt up daily from a studio in Porto, Portugal.
Vaim.me Viktoria Greiner, founder of Vaim.me, started her career as a design engineer focusing on colors and patterns. In 2016, she took her skills to the skate world, painting skateboards and downhill helmets—but then she was introduced to the motorcycle community Loose Screw, and her focus shifted to all things two-wheeled. Requests for motorcycle helmets and tanks painted in her signature skate-style turned into a full-fledged business. Greiner now works out of a design studio in Munich, Germany.
Pamela Reis is an artist, graphic designer and expert free-hand painter. Reis combines pyrography, brush work and digital illustration to showcase her unique creativity, and her hand-painted artwork won The Gnarly Magazine Tank Art Contest in 2019. Outside of her visual art she is also a musician, and the combination of these two personas are brought to life in The Papeel, where Pamela’s creativity is expressed with unabashed freedom.
Tag Gasparian grew up in Laguna Beach, California, and began drawing at age 14, influenced and inspired by surf art and the ocean itself. In the 1980s he became a pro surfer and began painting his own boards, which kicked off a run of 20+ years in which he airbrushed surfboards and t-shirts for friends and team members. He eventually took his SoCal beach style and put it onto motorcycle helmets, and is now a renowned painter in the motocross world. He continues the work from his studio, Tagger Designs, in Lake Elsinore, CA.
HOW TO ENTER
Just head over to the giveaway page, answer three short questions, and fill in your details. You can also double your chances of winning by following the NEXX Instagram page. The giveaway is open to all persons aged 18 and over, and your entry must be received by 11:59 PM EST on September 29, 2019.
Good luck!
In association with NEXX North America | Giveaway terms and conditions
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We’ve joined forces with NEXX and four of the world’s leading helmet artists to give you the chance to win your own custom NEXX X.G100 Racer helmet.
Like all NEXX helmets, the X.G100 Racer is manufactured in Portugal. It echoes the style of 1970s racing helmets, and our four lucky winners will also be able to make their lids truly unique—by working with top artists to create a custom design.
The X.G100 Racer uses a retro-style round shell, and a smooth-lifting shield that snaps into place—whether you want the visor fully open, cracked, or closed tightly against wind or rain. The ‘X-Matrix’ shell construction has a strength-to-weight ratio previously unheard of in a retro helmet, with an X.Mart Dry liner and chin vent providing built-in climate control. It’s the most comfortable and best-performing helmet of its style.
For this giveaway, NEXX have hooked up with four of the best helmet artists of recent years. Each winner will be able to pick one of these four artists to work on a one-off design for their new helmet.
Hello Cousteau After spending his professional career designing everything from toothpicks to 180-meter mega-yacht interiors, the design force behind Hello Cousteau got bored. But what bored him the most was when he went to a bunch of motorcycle/helmet shops and couldn’t find a single good looking helmet that he’d fancy. “They all looked the same, with no individuality whatsoever.” So, that was it… Hello Cousteau was born. New concepts are dreamt up daily from a studio in Porto, Portugal.
Vaim.me Viktoria Greiner, founder of Vaim.me, started her career as a design engineer focusing on colors and patterns. In 2016, she took her skills to the skate world, painting skateboards and downhill helmets—but then she was introduced to the motorcycle community Loose Screw, and her focus shifted to all things two-wheeled. Requests for motorcycle helmets and tanks painted in her signature skate-style turned into a full-fledged business. Greiner now works out of a design studio in Munich, Germany.
Pamela Reis is an artist, graphic designer and expert free-hand painter. Reis combines pyrography, brush work and digital illustration to showcase her unique creativity, and her hand-painted artwork won The Gnarly Magazine Tank Art Contest in 2019. Outside of her visual art she is also a musician, and the combination of these two personas are brought to life in The Papeel, where Pamela’s creativity is expressed with unabashed freedom.
Tag Gasparian grew up in Laguna Beach, California, and began drawing at age 14, influenced and inspired by surf art and the ocean itself. In the 1980s he became a pro surfer and began painting his own boards, which kicked off a run of 20+ years in which he airbrushed surfboards and t-shirts for friends and team members. He eventually took his SoCal beach style and put it onto motorcycle helmets, and is now a renowned painter in the motocross world. He continues the work from his studio, Tagger Designs, in Lake Elsinore, CA.
HOW TO ENTER
Just head over to the giveaway page, answer three short questions, and fill in your details. You can also double your chances of winning by following the NEXX Instagram page. The giveaway is open to all persons aged 18 and over, and your entry must be received by 11:59 PM EST on September 29, 2019.
Good luck!
In association with NEXX North America | Giveaway terms and conditions
Continue reading...
Dust Kicker! Justin Steyn’s Honda RS600 flat track bike
Flat track racing is all the rage in Europe and the States, but it hasn’t really caught on in South Africa yet. There’s no official race series there—just the occasional ‘run what ya brung’ shindig, where the emphasis is on fun rather than hard-nosed competition.
That hasn’t stopped Johannesburg local Justin Steyn from building his ideal flat track rig though—a replica of Honda’s late-80s RS600 race bike.
The RS600 was the baby brother to the dominant RS750, purpose-built for short tracks and TT circuits. It was never a production model, and there are very few examples out there, but it was basically a works HRC XR600R motor in a Knight Racing frame.
The idea was sparked when Justin entered the only annual event in his area—’Stofskop’ (translated from Afrikaans as ‘dust kick’). He started on his Honda CR250R, then closed out the day running laps on a mate’s BSA bobber.
“I was hooked and wanted to build something more suited to flat track racing,” he tells us. “I wanted to feel the slide—and the CR250 on MX tires wouldn’t allow it.”
“So I set out to find a donor. I thought I’d build something that would tick two boxes: a cheeky bread ‘n milk runner, as well as a flat track weapon for those odd occasions.”
Justin found a 1998 Honda XR600R at a Honda dealership, that had gone in for some work. It was clean and licensed, so he snatched it up and immediately put his credit card to work.
First on the list was a full body kit from Redmax Speed Shop in the UK. The kit included the tank, tail, seat, fork guards, front number plate, and a set of flat track bars. Next up was a pair of 19” Sun rims and new spokes, from Central Wheel Components.
Justin’s budget didn’t go as far as sourcing an original (or replica) Knight frame though, so the XR chassis would have to do. He roped in his good friend ‘Uncle Phil’ to tackle the fabrication side of things—the same gentleman who helped out on his stunning CB550 Dick Mann replica.
Phil de-tabbed the frame, and made up a new set of triple clamps to hold a pair of early-2000s Yamaha R6 Showa forks. Justin had a pair of Honda CR250 rear hubs lying around, so the guys shaved the sprocket mounts off one of them to use it up front, and laced up the wheels.
Rather than try to get the CR hub to play nice with the XR’s swing arm, Justin figured he’d install a CRF swing arm instead. But that was easier said than done; Phil ended up welding the XR arm’s pivot spindle to the CRF unit, and shortening it by 60 mm.
And since it was a custom arrangement already, he added new shock mounts to convert it to a dual shock setup, “in keeping with the 80s flava.” A pair of Bitubo shocks rounded out the package. (Justin at CycleWorx was responsible for the suspension work at both ends).
Since the motor was running strong, Justin focused the engine work around the intake. He slapped on a brand new 38 mm Keihin CR carb, along with a few carb upgrades from Tokyo Mods. Phil fabbed up a new exhaust too (there’s a Yoshimura sticker on it, for the sake of appearances).
Justin didn’t go completely overboard though. He cut costs by hanging onto parts like the OEM brakes, switchgear and controls. And he kept the front brake too, to keep a measure of day-to-day usability.
The first iteration of the build wrapped up the night before the last Stofskop event. After just a few hundred meters of shakedown, Justin was lined up to race.
“I heard the announcer giving some love to two South African moto legends, and thought ‘ah f**k, I’ve got to race these guys’. I grabbed a handful of throttle and lit up the rear tyre, but she started gaining traction and I realized I was up front—I had the holeshot!”
“The rest of the day went much the same, winning all but the last heat. I was stoked, the bike performed brilliantly, and having the right flat track setup is what got the wins.”
That was last year, and all the work since then has been focused on cosmetics and tweaks. The bike now wears its intended livery—a killer retro HRC scheme done by Wicked Wayne paints, along with fresh gloss on the frame and motor.
Richie at Racestar Graffix sorted Justin out with a bunch of custom decals, including some Knight Racing stickers to throw off pundits, and an OEM style warranty info decal for the tail. Then Alf at E.C.C. Customs reassembled everything, ran through a couple of mechanical niggles and “tuned her to run beautifully.”
Justin’s RS600 replica is picture-perfect, and is sure to cause jaws to drop when it lines up for the 2019 Stofskop this weekend. But it’s not going to stay shiny for long..
Justin Steyn Instagram | Photos by Duane Coetzee
Continue reading...
Flat track racing is all the rage in Europe and the States, but it hasn’t really caught on in South Africa yet. There’s no official race series there—just the occasional ‘run what ya brung’ shindig, where the emphasis is on fun rather than hard-nosed competition.
That hasn’t stopped Johannesburg local Justin Steyn from building his ideal flat track rig though—a replica of Honda’s late-80s RS600 race bike.
The RS600 was the baby brother to the dominant RS750, purpose-built for short tracks and TT circuits. It was never a production model, and there are very few examples out there, but it was basically a works HRC XR600R motor in a Knight Racing frame.
The idea was sparked when Justin entered the only annual event in his area—’Stofskop’ (translated from Afrikaans as ‘dust kick’). He started on his Honda CR250R, then closed out the day running laps on a mate’s BSA bobber.
“I was hooked and wanted to build something more suited to flat track racing,” he tells us. “I wanted to feel the slide—and the CR250 on MX tires wouldn’t allow it.”
“So I set out to find a donor. I thought I’d build something that would tick two boxes: a cheeky bread ‘n milk runner, as well as a flat track weapon for those odd occasions.”
Justin found a 1998 Honda XR600R at a Honda dealership, that had gone in for some work. It was clean and licensed, so he snatched it up and immediately put his credit card to work.
First on the list was a full body kit from Redmax Speed Shop in the UK. The kit included the tank, tail, seat, fork guards, front number plate, and a set of flat track bars. Next up was a pair of 19” Sun rims and new spokes, from Central Wheel Components.
Justin’s budget didn’t go as far as sourcing an original (or replica) Knight frame though, so the XR chassis would have to do. He roped in his good friend ‘Uncle Phil’ to tackle the fabrication side of things—the same gentleman who helped out on his stunning CB550 Dick Mann replica.
Phil de-tabbed the frame, and made up a new set of triple clamps to hold a pair of early-2000s Yamaha R6 Showa forks. Justin had a pair of Honda CR250 rear hubs lying around, so the guys shaved the sprocket mounts off one of them to use it up front, and laced up the wheels.
Rather than try to get the CR hub to play nice with the XR’s swing arm, Justin figured he’d install a CRF swing arm instead. But that was easier said than done; Phil ended up welding the XR arm’s pivot spindle to the CRF unit, and shortening it by 60 mm.
And since it was a custom arrangement already, he added new shock mounts to convert it to a dual shock setup, “in keeping with the 80s flava.” A pair of Bitubo shocks rounded out the package. (Justin at CycleWorx was responsible for the suspension work at both ends).
Since the motor was running strong, Justin focused the engine work around the intake. He slapped on a brand new 38 mm Keihin CR carb, along with a few carb upgrades from Tokyo Mods. Phil fabbed up a new exhaust too (there’s a Yoshimura sticker on it, for the sake of appearances).
Justin didn’t go completely overboard though. He cut costs by hanging onto parts like the OEM brakes, switchgear and controls. And he kept the front brake too, to keep a measure of day-to-day usability.
The first iteration of the build wrapped up the night before the last Stofskop event. After just a few hundred meters of shakedown, Justin was lined up to race.
“I heard the announcer giving some love to two South African moto legends, and thought ‘ah f**k, I’ve got to race these guys’. I grabbed a handful of throttle and lit up the rear tyre, but she started gaining traction and I realized I was up front—I had the holeshot!”
“The rest of the day went much the same, winning all but the last heat. I was stoked, the bike performed brilliantly, and having the right flat track setup is what got the wins.”
That was last year, and all the work since then has been focused on cosmetics and tweaks. The bike now wears its intended livery—a killer retro HRC scheme done by Wicked Wayne paints, along with fresh gloss on the frame and motor.
Richie at Racestar Graffix sorted Justin out with a bunch of custom decals, including some Knight Racing stickers to throw off pundits, and an OEM style warranty info decal for the tail. Then Alf at E.C.C. Customs reassembled everything, ran through a couple of mechanical niggles and “tuned her to run beautifully.”
Justin’s RS600 replica is picture-perfect, and is sure to cause jaws to drop when it lines up for the 2019 Stofskop this weekend. But it’s not going to stay shiny for long..
Justin Steyn Instagram | Photos by Duane Coetzee
Continue reading...
Hot swap: A plug ‘n’ play Ducati Scrambler kit
Bad Winners wowed us last year with a sharp, purpose-built flat tracker based on the Ducati Scrambler. Now the Parisian shop’s raised the bar with a fresh take on the concept—a bolt-on kit for the Scrambler that looks just as rad, but doesn’t require major surgery.
“We agree now that stock is the new custom, right?” jokes Bad Winners’ front man, Walid Ben Lamine. “Clients coming into the workshop want ‘plug and play’ kits that are easy to reverse. Well, most of them… so that’s what we’re working on lately.”
The previous flat track build was made to race, but this kit leaves the Scrambler fully usable for day-to-day street riding. And it truly is plug and play; you can install it in an afternoon, without having to cut or weld anything. (It even uses the OEM key-operated seat latch.)
The centerpiece of the Scrambler ‘MotoKit’ is its all-new bodywork. There’s a fuel cell that holds eight liters, a cover that goes over it, and a new tail section with a leather seat. There’s also a set of four side covers; two to fill the space below the tank, and two number board-style covers below the seat.
Bad Winners relied on 3D modeling software, and their in-house 3D printer, to develop the kit. Walid and his team designed all the parts digitally, then printed out molds to shape the final fiberglass and carbon fiber pieces on.
The process for building the fuel cell was slightly different. Walid created a 3D design, then split the pieces digitally, laser-cut them from 3 mm aluminum and welded everything up. The whole setup mounts to existing points on the frame, and makes use of the Ducati’s stock fuel pump.
Rather than outsource manufacturing and sit with a whole lot of stock waiting to be sold, all production is done in-house. So each set is built to order, with a four to six week lead-time.
There’s more to the package than just the body kit though. Walid’s selected a set of tasteful bolt-ons to enhance the Scrambler even more—like a snaking two-into-one stainless steel exhaust system from SC Project. There’s a set of K&N filters in the box too, and a Lithium-ion battery from Antigravity.
The exhaust muffler hangs off a bracket that accompanies a rearset setup from Ducabike. There’s a really handy mod up front too; adjustable risers from Gilles Tooling that let you move your bars closer or further from you.
The Bad Winners kit keeps the Scrambler’s speedo and headlight (let’s face it, they work and look good enough), but adds a set of tiny Motogadget turn signals. The front LEDs mount on a custom-machined bracket, and the rear ones attach to an aluminum license plate holder.
All the parts come ready painted or powder-coated, with a choice of white and yellow or black and carbon for the tank cover. You also get all the hardware you need, a manual, and an instructional video.
Pricing for the kit starts at €4,490 (around $4,950) for the above, but there are upgrades available if you’re feeling reckless. Bad Winners have a full Öhlins suspension setup in the catalog, along with a 17” front wheel swap (the stock Scrambler has an 18” hoop up front) and a neater front fender.
The bikes pictured here are wearing the front wheel and fender option, along with sticky Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tires. With flat track style in mind you’d expect to see a 19” wheel kit on offer, but Walid’s clear on the motorcycle kit’s intended usage.
“It keeps the original feel of the racing flat tracker, but with everyday use in mind,” he explains. “This kit makes the Scrambler a perfect street weapon!”
Bad Winners’ MotoKit is a good look for the Ducati Scrambler, but we also love how well sorted it is. And if you’ve got a Scrambler 1100 in the garage, Walid’s working on a similar kit for that too.
We’re hard-pressed to pick our favorite color though: stealthy black, or vivid yellow. How about you?
Bad Winners | Facebook | Instagram | Photos by Guillaume Petranto
Continue reading...
Bad Winners wowed us last year with a sharp, purpose-built flat tracker based on the Ducati Scrambler. Now the Parisian shop’s raised the bar with a fresh take on the concept—a bolt-on kit for the Scrambler that looks just as rad, but doesn’t require major surgery.
“We agree now that stock is the new custom, right?” jokes Bad Winners’ front man, Walid Ben Lamine. “Clients coming into the workshop want ‘plug and play’ kits that are easy to reverse. Well, most of them… so that’s what we’re working on lately.”
The previous flat track build was made to race, but this kit leaves the Scrambler fully usable for day-to-day street riding. And it truly is plug and play; you can install it in an afternoon, without having to cut or weld anything. (It even uses the OEM key-operated seat latch.)
The centerpiece of the Scrambler ‘MotoKit’ is its all-new bodywork. There’s a fuel cell that holds eight liters, a cover that goes over it, and a new tail section with a leather seat. There’s also a set of four side covers; two to fill the space below the tank, and two number board-style covers below the seat.
Bad Winners relied on 3D modeling software, and their in-house 3D printer, to develop the kit. Walid and his team designed all the parts digitally, then printed out molds to shape the final fiberglass and carbon fiber pieces on.
The process for building the fuel cell was slightly different. Walid created a 3D design, then split the pieces digitally, laser-cut them from 3 mm aluminum and welded everything up. The whole setup mounts to existing points on the frame, and makes use of the Ducati’s stock fuel pump.
Rather than outsource manufacturing and sit with a whole lot of stock waiting to be sold, all production is done in-house. So each set is built to order, with a four to six week lead-time.
There’s more to the package than just the body kit though. Walid’s selected a set of tasteful bolt-ons to enhance the Scrambler even more—like a snaking two-into-one stainless steel exhaust system from SC Project. There’s a set of K&N filters in the box too, and a Lithium-ion battery from Antigravity.
The exhaust muffler hangs off a bracket that accompanies a rearset setup from Ducabike. There’s a really handy mod up front too; adjustable risers from Gilles Tooling that let you move your bars closer or further from you.
The Bad Winners kit keeps the Scrambler’s speedo and headlight (let’s face it, they work and look good enough), but adds a set of tiny Motogadget turn signals. The front LEDs mount on a custom-machined bracket, and the rear ones attach to an aluminum license plate holder.
All the parts come ready painted or powder-coated, with a choice of white and yellow or black and carbon for the tank cover. You also get all the hardware you need, a manual, and an instructional video.
Pricing for the kit starts at €4,490 (around $4,950) for the above, but there are upgrades available if you’re feeling reckless. Bad Winners have a full Öhlins suspension setup in the catalog, along with a 17” front wheel swap (the stock Scrambler has an 18” hoop up front) and a neater front fender.
The bikes pictured here are wearing the front wheel and fender option, along with sticky Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tires. With flat track style in mind you’d expect to see a 19” wheel kit on offer, but Walid’s clear on the motorcycle kit’s intended usage.
“It keeps the original feel of the racing flat tracker, but with everyday use in mind,” he explains. “This kit makes the Scrambler a perfect street weapon!”
Bad Winners’ MotoKit is a good look for the Ducati Scrambler, but we also love how well sorted it is. And if you’ve got a Scrambler 1100 in the garage, Walid’s working on a similar kit for that too.
We’re hard-pressed to pick our favorite color though: stealthy black, or vivid yellow. How about you?
Bad Winners | Facebook | Instagram | Photos by Guillaume Petranto
Continue reading...
Custom Bikes Of The Week: 8 September, 2019
Quality over quantity this week, with four rather than five new builds: two Beemers, and two Triumphs. All are surprisingly practical, finely finished, and eminently rideable—and we’d happily put any one in the EXIF garage.
A Triumph Bobber with Speed Twin style The concept of the manufacturer-sponsored dealer ‘build off’ is well established these days, and this year, Triumph is running a ‘Bobber Build Off’ in its home country. Three finalists have just been announced, out of 13 entries, and our favorite is this very classy homage to the original Speed Twin.
It comes from Triumph’s Wellingborough showroom. According to the Northamptonshire dealer, inspiration struck when they saw an enamel sign advertising the original 1938 5T Speed Twin. “The team noticed the similarities in the lines of the original Speed Twin and the current Bobber, and decided to recreate its key features, bringing it up to date in a modern guise.”
Up front, technicians Martin Hale and Jamie Williams have grafted on a custom-made set of girder forks. They’ve also extended the fenders to ape the vintage style, added a pivot and springs to make the seat resemble an authentic Speed Twin seat, and repainted the bike in a typical Speed Twin style—but using Triumph’s modern Lava Red instead of the traditional Amaranth Red.
The winner of the Bobber Build Off will be revealed at the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in London on 29th September—and we reckon this one is the front-runner.
BMW R75/5 by Cognito Moto You may know Cognito Moto as one of the biggest and best suppliers of café racer parts and kits in the US. But the Richmond, Virginia outfit also builds the occasional custom bike, with the same attention to detail and style as their accessories.
Three years ago, company founders Devin and Nicholas Henriques wowed us with a sublime Yamaha XS650, and they’re now back with a superb airhead BMW. It’s a 1971 R75/5 model treated to a smattering of Cognito’s own custom parts, including a conversion kit for R nineT forks.
The overhauled engine has been bored out with a Siebenrock 1000cc kit, and treated to hi-comp pistons and new Nicasil linings. Juice comes via 38mm Dell’Orto carbs, and a set of Cognito’s own spoked wheels (and Brembo brakes) help keep the show on the road.
The slim custom subframe is neatly done, and fitted with an even neater seat from New Church Moto. At the business end of the BMW, the headlight is now LED, and set ahead of black Renthal Fatbars. The cockpit accoutrements are top-shelf, with Motogadget supplying a Chronoclassic speedo, push button switches and discreet m.blaze indicators.
Pure class from front to back. [More]
A stuntman’s 2015 Triumph Scrambler Interesting bikes often have an interesting story behind them, and this is a case in point. It’s owned by an expat Englishman who lives in southern California and earns his living as a stuntman in Hollywood blockbusters and Bond movies.
Despite being a rider for years, ‘Diz’ had never owned a street bike or had a license in his wallet. But after borrowing a friend’s Triumph Scrambler for several hundred miles, Diz decided to get his act together and put a bike in his garage.
Roland Sands Design took a 2015 Triumph Scrambler, stripped it to the essentials, and installed ProTaper bars, ASV levers, Galfer brake discs and uprated shocks from Progressive.
There’s a RSD ‘Enzo’ 2-up seat, a bunch of dress-up and electric parts from Joker Machine, and a high fender kit from British Customs that looks the part next to chunky TKC80 rubber. K&N filters and an RSD 2-into-1 slip on muffler keep the motor breathing freely, and Jay LaRossa from Lossa Engineering supplied the stunning, SoCal inspired paint. We’re sold. [More]
BMW K100 café racer by RW Motorcycles It’s getting harder and harder to find a solid classic BMW R series for a good price, even in Europe. So customizers are turning more towards the later K series, and the ‘flying brick’ builds seem to be getting better and better as the months go by.
This one comes from Rusty Wrench Motorcycles of Portugal. And as someone who generally recoils at most K-series customs, I have to admit they’ve done a superb job.
The donor bike was a 1986 BMW K100 RT and head wrench Francisco has wisely stuck to tried-and-true café-style mods, making them work in the context of the blocky motor.
That means modern forks, new shocks, a new subframe and seat unit, new lighting, and minor bodywork fabrication—notably the tail unit and front fender. He’s chosen to amplify the angular nature of the stock bike, and he’s succeeded. The new exhaust system is discreet, the black-and-blue paint is finely judged, and even the stock wheels look great, with spokes powdercoated black, and shod with Metzeler rubber. Belíssimo! [More]
Continue reading...
Quality over quantity this week, with four rather than five new builds: two Beemers, and two Triumphs. All are surprisingly practical, finely finished, and eminently rideable—and we’d happily put any one in the EXIF garage.
A Triumph Bobber with Speed Twin style The concept of the manufacturer-sponsored dealer ‘build off’ is well established these days, and this year, Triumph is running a ‘Bobber Build Off’ in its home country. Three finalists have just been announced, out of 13 entries, and our favorite is this very classy homage to the original Speed Twin.
It comes from Triumph’s Wellingborough showroom. According to the Northamptonshire dealer, inspiration struck when they saw an enamel sign advertising the original 1938 5T Speed Twin. “The team noticed the similarities in the lines of the original Speed Twin and the current Bobber, and decided to recreate its key features, bringing it up to date in a modern guise.”
Up front, technicians Martin Hale and Jamie Williams have grafted on a custom-made set of girder forks. They’ve also extended the fenders to ape the vintage style, added a pivot and springs to make the seat resemble an authentic Speed Twin seat, and repainted the bike in a typical Speed Twin style—but using Triumph’s modern Lava Red instead of the traditional Amaranth Red.
The winner of the Bobber Build Off will be revealed at the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in London on 29th September—and we reckon this one is the front-runner.
BMW R75/5 by Cognito Moto You may know Cognito Moto as one of the biggest and best suppliers of café racer parts and kits in the US. But the Richmond, Virginia outfit also builds the occasional custom bike, with the same attention to detail and style as their accessories.
Three years ago, company founders Devin and Nicholas Henriques wowed us with a sublime Yamaha XS650, and they’re now back with a superb airhead BMW. It’s a 1971 R75/5 model treated to a smattering of Cognito’s own custom parts, including a conversion kit for R nineT forks.
The overhauled engine has been bored out with a Siebenrock 1000cc kit, and treated to hi-comp pistons and new Nicasil linings. Juice comes via 38mm Dell’Orto carbs, and a set of Cognito’s own spoked wheels (and Brembo brakes) help keep the show on the road.
The slim custom subframe is neatly done, and fitted with an even neater seat from New Church Moto. At the business end of the BMW, the headlight is now LED, and set ahead of black Renthal Fatbars. The cockpit accoutrements are top-shelf, with Motogadget supplying a Chronoclassic speedo, push button switches and discreet m.blaze indicators.
Pure class from front to back. [More]
A stuntman’s 2015 Triumph Scrambler Interesting bikes often have an interesting story behind them, and this is a case in point. It’s owned by an expat Englishman who lives in southern California and earns his living as a stuntman in Hollywood blockbusters and Bond movies.
Despite being a rider for years, ‘Diz’ had never owned a street bike or had a license in his wallet. But after borrowing a friend’s Triumph Scrambler for several hundred miles, Diz decided to get his act together and put a bike in his garage.
Roland Sands Design took a 2015 Triumph Scrambler, stripped it to the essentials, and installed ProTaper bars, ASV levers, Galfer brake discs and uprated shocks from Progressive.
There’s a RSD ‘Enzo’ 2-up seat, a bunch of dress-up and electric parts from Joker Machine, and a high fender kit from British Customs that looks the part next to chunky TKC80 rubber. K&N filters and an RSD 2-into-1 slip on muffler keep the motor breathing freely, and Jay LaRossa from Lossa Engineering supplied the stunning, SoCal inspired paint. We’re sold. [More]
BMW K100 café racer by RW Motorcycles It’s getting harder and harder to find a solid classic BMW R series for a good price, even in Europe. So customizers are turning more towards the later K series, and the ‘flying brick’ builds seem to be getting better and better as the months go by.
This one comes from Rusty Wrench Motorcycles of Portugal. And as someone who generally recoils at most K-series customs, I have to admit they’ve done a superb job.
The donor bike was a 1986 BMW K100 RT and head wrench Francisco has wisely stuck to tried-and-true café-style mods, making them work in the context of the blocky motor.
That means modern forks, new shocks, a new subframe and seat unit, new lighting, and minor bodywork fabrication—notably the tail unit and front fender. He’s chosen to amplify the angular nature of the stock bike, and he’s succeeded. The new exhaust system is discreet, the black-and-blue paint is finely judged, and even the stock wheels look great, with spokes powdercoated black, and shod with Metzeler rubber. Belíssimo! [More]
Continue reading...
Great looking Triumph.
Trail Breaker: K-Speed mods the newest (and littlest) XSR
Based in a country where sub-250cc bikes rule, it’s no surprise that K-Speed has a serious knack for transforming small-displacement models into mean, menacing-looking machines.
Despite the Thai shop’s proclivity for pint-sized projects, K-Speed has worked with all manner of donors, including full-size models—which again, shouldn’t come as a surprise considering it completed almost five dozen builds in 2018 alone.
This latest build was commissioned by Yamaha Thailand to be released in conjunction with the new XSR155 model. Currently limited to just the Thai market, the XSR155 is the latest addition to the tuning fork company’s ‘Sport Heritage’ lineup.
Offering the same modern-vintage aesthetic as its 700 and 900cc siblings in a small-displacement package, the baby XSR uses a 19hp, 155cc SOHC single with variable valve actuation—the same motor employed by the MT-15 and YZF-R15.
This isn’t the first time a manufacturer has given K-Speed a new model to customize and promote upon its release. Back when the 2018 Super Cub was launched, Honda Thailand laced the shop up with an example to restyle.
In addition to garnering an enormous amount of media attention and spawning several additional K-Speed Super Cub projects, it was also Bike EXIF’s most popular (in terms of views) build in all of 2018.
Just like with the Super Cub, the manufacturer only gave K-Speed 30 days to complete the build from start to finish.
The build began with removing the stock subframe and replacing it with a custom flat unit with a built-in luggage rack. A sliver of a custom leather saddle adorns the new subframe, definitely adding more style than comfort points.
Known as ‘Trail Breaker,’ the design of this Yamaha was inspired by adventure and off-road style elements. Right out of the gate, K-Speed head honcho Eak wanted to give the small-displacement retro a more muscular and rugged appearance—so a robust crash cage was fabricated to envelop the engine, frame, and forks.
Below it there’s a military-esque bash guard that shields the front and bottom of the 155cc single, providing ample protection and giving the powertrain a burlier look.
A custom one-into-two full exhaust winds through the Delta Box frame and under the new subframe, ending in a pair of black conical mufflers with contrast-cut tips. The taped exhaust routing also fills in would-be-negative space in the small engine’s profile.
Though it’s been slightly modified and painted, the Trail Breaker retains the donor’s stock tank and tank covers, making it much more readily identifiable as an XSR, despite the radical transformation from its factory spec.
For more leverage in the dirt, the baby XSR’s been given a new set of tracker-style bars, fitted with custom vintage-style switchgear and grips.
The stock instrumentation has also been moved back from behind the headlight to the top of a set of one-off risers. In place of the factory foot controls is a more off-road-friendly MX-style setup with toothed pegs.
The budget stock calipers have been changed out for Brembo units fore and aft, while the clutch and brake master cylinders were binned in favor of new Takegawa pieces.
The now-fortified USD factory forks remain in play, though the rear shock’s been upgraded to a unit from K-Speed’s go-to suspension supplier (and fellow Thai outfit), YSS.
To further the off-road theme, Eak has ditched the stock 17-inch alloy rims for a set of spoked aluminum hoops wrapped in oversized dual-sport rubber.
The entirety of the stock lighting is no more, with headlight duties now performed by a pair of twin side-by-side circular LED headlights fixed to the crash cage in front of the fork, along with some help from a set of auxiliary LED spotlights mounted on either side of the SOHC mill.
Out back, sandwiched in-between the under-seat exhaust and luggage rack is a single round taillight. A flask resting in a bespoke leather case is attached to a traditional front number plate. K-Speed calls it “a gimmick for a thirsty rider.”
The custom livery was handled by K-Speed’s paint partner ‘Artroom24,’ who gave the crash bars, skid-plate, and tank a coat of primer grey with a distressed, weathered finish.
The top tank-cover, subframe, and other small pieces were painted in a matte black, and Yamaha’s seldom-seen vintage script logo has been emblazoned on the sides of the tank.
K-Speed has delivered an off-road-capable build without simply churning out another run of the mill scrambler. No figure was given, but we reckon the crew have also shaved a considerable amount off of the stock Yamaha’s already svelte sub-300lb wet weight.
The possibilities afforded by the little XSR155 are on full display with this build. Trail Breaker doesn’t just look the part—it’s a rugged little runner, built to thrash, crash, and repeat.
Unlike its (slightly more expensive) 155cc siblings, the XSR155 welcomes customization. It has the potential to turn legions of young riders in SE Asia onto the custom bike scene, and that’s something I think we can all agree is a good thing.
K-Speed website | Instagram | Images by Hipmotography
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Based in a country where sub-250cc bikes rule, it’s no surprise that K-Speed has a serious knack for transforming small-displacement models into mean, menacing-looking machines.
Despite the Thai shop’s proclivity for pint-sized projects, K-Speed has worked with all manner of donors, including full-size models—which again, shouldn’t come as a surprise considering it completed almost five dozen builds in 2018 alone.
This latest build was commissioned by Yamaha Thailand to be released in conjunction with the new XSR155 model. Currently limited to just the Thai market, the XSR155 is the latest addition to the tuning fork company’s ‘Sport Heritage’ lineup.
Offering the same modern-vintage aesthetic as its 700 and 900cc siblings in a small-displacement package, the baby XSR uses a 19hp, 155cc SOHC single with variable valve actuation—the same motor employed by the MT-15 and YZF-R15.
This isn’t the first time a manufacturer has given K-Speed a new model to customize and promote upon its release. Back when the 2018 Super Cub was launched, Honda Thailand laced the shop up with an example to restyle.
In addition to garnering an enormous amount of media attention and spawning several additional K-Speed Super Cub projects, it was also Bike EXIF’s most popular (in terms of views) build in all of 2018.
Just like with the Super Cub, the manufacturer only gave K-Speed 30 days to complete the build from start to finish.
The build began with removing the stock subframe and replacing it with a custom flat unit with a built-in luggage rack. A sliver of a custom leather saddle adorns the new subframe, definitely adding more style than comfort points.
Known as ‘Trail Breaker,’ the design of this Yamaha was inspired by adventure and off-road style elements. Right out of the gate, K-Speed head honcho Eak wanted to give the small-displacement retro a more muscular and rugged appearance—so a robust crash cage was fabricated to envelop the engine, frame, and forks.
Below it there’s a military-esque bash guard that shields the front and bottom of the 155cc single, providing ample protection and giving the powertrain a burlier look.
A custom one-into-two full exhaust winds through the Delta Box frame and under the new subframe, ending in a pair of black conical mufflers with contrast-cut tips. The taped exhaust routing also fills in would-be-negative space in the small engine’s profile.
Though it’s been slightly modified and painted, the Trail Breaker retains the donor’s stock tank and tank covers, making it much more readily identifiable as an XSR, despite the radical transformation from its factory spec.
For more leverage in the dirt, the baby XSR’s been given a new set of tracker-style bars, fitted with custom vintage-style switchgear and grips.
The stock instrumentation has also been moved back from behind the headlight to the top of a set of one-off risers. In place of the factory foot controls is a more off-road-friendly MX-style setup with toothed pegs.
The budget stock calipers have been changed out for Brembo units fore and aft, while the clutch and brake master cylinders were binned in favor of new Takegawa pieces.
The now-fortified USD factory forks remain in play, though the rear shock’s been upgraded to a unit from K-Speed’s go-to suspension supplier (and fellow Thai outfit), YSS.
To further the off-road theme, Eak has ditched the stock 17-inch alloy rims for a set of spoked aluminum hoops wrapped in oversized dual-sport rubber.
The entirety of the stock lighting is no more, with headlight duties now performed by a pair of twin side-by-side circular LED headlights fixed to the crash cage in front of the fork, along with some help from a set of auxiliary LED spotlights mounted on either side of the SOHC mill.
Out back, sandwiched in-between the under-seat exhaust and luggage rack is a single round taillight. A flask resting in a bespoke leather case is attached to a traditional front number plate. K-Speed calls it “a gimmick for a thirsty rider.”
The custom livery was handled by K-Speed’s paint partner ‘Artroom24,’ who gave the crash bars, skid-plate, and tank a coat of primer grey with a distressed, weathered finish.
The top tank-cover, subframe, and other small pieces were painted in a matte black, and Yamaha’s seldom-seen vintage script logo has been emblazoned on the sides of the tank.
K-Speed has delivered an off-road-capable build without simply churning out another run of the mill scrambler. No figure was given, but we reckon the crew have also shaved a considerable amount off of the stock Yamaha’s already svelte sub-300lb wet weight.
The possibilities afforded by the little XSR155 are on full display with this build. Trail Breaker doesn’t just look the part—it’s a rugged little runner, built to thrash, crash, and repeat.
Unlike its (slightly more expensive) 155cc siblings, the XSR155 welcomes customization. It has the potential to turn legions of young riders in SE Asia onto the custom bike scene, and that’s something I think we can all agree is a good thing.
K-Speed website | Instagram | Images by Hipmotography
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Nice looking and looks like fun!
Built to Shred: A 2015 Thruxton custom from FCR Original
Triumph’s previous generation air-cooled modern classics are true sleepers, with stacks of potential waiting to be unlocked. Pick up a neat secondhand model, throw the right mods at it, and you’ll soon be giving newer machines a run for their money.
That’s exactly what France’s FCR Original have done here. Starting with a 2015-model Triumph Thruxton (“the nicest,” they say), builders Sébastien Guillemot and Mathieu Ménard have produced an edgy roadster that’s ready to shred.
Sébastien and Mathieu’s goals were simple: sporty looks, sporty performance, and top-shelf finishes all around. What they ended up with was a sleek classic with a sting in its tail.
FCR’s six-person team started by dismantling the Thruxton and tweaking its frame. They shortened it out back, then welded in a hand-bent rear loop, with an integrated tail light and turn signal combo LED.
But the most man-hours went into giving the frame its unique finish. The crew stripped all the paint off using a vegetable oil process, then spent 15 hours polishing out any imperfections before finally nickel plating it. The finish is a nod to the Triumphs of the 70s, and a detail that’s become a hallmark of FCR Original’s design.
FCR’s chassis updates extend beyond just the frame work though. Up front you’ll find a set of Triumph Street Triple forks, anodized black and fitted with custom springs to lower them a little. FCR modified the stock yokes to accept the new forks, then hand-polished them.
Out back is a pair of adjustable EMC Black shocks, tailor-made to get the Thruxton’s stance just right.
Fans of the Thruxton will notice that this one no longer wears its spoked hoops. FCR fitted a set of alloy wheels from the Street Twin, which are undoubtedly lighter than the OEM units. It wasn’t a straight swap though—the guys had to make up new axles and spacers.
The wheels were also originally all-black, but they’ve been spruced up with some aluminum-colored details. And there’s a tire selection to match this roadster’s attitude; grippy Dunlop Sportmax A-13 SPs.
There’s also a new Beringer brake caliper up front, along with Beringer brake and clutch controls. There’s a lot of detail work to take in—like laser-etched FCR Original logos on the brake fluid reservoir lid and rear caliper mount.
With the stock Thruxton already pushing out fairly respectable numbers, there was no need to dig deep into the motor (and to risk sacrificing reliability). The only changes are a set of K&N filters, a new two-into-one exhaust, and a remap to get those mods to play nice.
Up top, just about everything in the cockpit’s been swapped out for nicer kit. FCR installed a set of LSL risers and tapered bars, along with new grips and Motone switches. All the wiring’s been re-routed inside the bars, and there’s a small Motogadget dial to finish things off.
The headlight’s an LED unit from Koso, and is flanked by a pair of FCR Original’s own turn signals, mounted to a hand-made bracket. Other fabrication work includes an aluminum electronics tray, and a stubby aluminum front fender held by stainless steel struts. FCR also fitted Free Spirits rear sets, and an ignition relocation kit.
The spec sheet reads like the perfect blueprint for the ultimate street ripper—and it’s complemented by an equally impressive array of finishes. FCR have included subtle touches everywhere, like glossy logos on the otherwise matte engine cases.
The fuel tank in itself is stunning. It’s a two-tone affair; gloss black titanium matched to cobalt gray, with a glossy black varnish. The Triumph logo is gold leaf, laid down by FCR’s painter, Mavrick. The saddle’s been wrapped in black nubuck leather to match.
FCR Original have not only boosted the Thruxtons look’s and performance—they’ve shaved about 70 lbs off it too. “It’s very agile to ride in the city,” the guys tell us. “A supermotard version of a Thruxton, with a modern and upscale look.”
There’s not a single box left to tick here…except perhaps, ‘deliver to Bike EXIF.’
FCR Original | Facebook | Instagram
Continue reading...
Triumph’s previous generation air-cooled modern classics are true sleepers, with stacks of potential waiting to be unlocked. Pick up a neat secondhand model, throw the right mods at it, and you’ll soon be giving newer machines a run for their money.
That’s exactly what France’s FCR Original have done here. Starting with a 2015-model Triumph Thruxton (“the nicest,” they say), builders Sébastien Guillemot and Mathieu Ménard have produced an edgy roadster that’s ready to shred.
Sébastien and Mathieu’s goals were simple: sporty looks, sporty performance, and top-shelf finishes all around. What they ended up with was a sleek classic with a sting in its tail.
FCR’s six-person team started by dismantling the Thruxton and tweaking its frame. They shortened it out back, then welded in a hand-bent rear loop, with an integrated tail light and turn signal combo LED.
But the most man-hours went into giving the frame its unique finish. The crew stripped all the paint off using a vegetable oil process, then spent 15 hours polishing out any imperfections before finally nickel plating it. The finish is a nod to the Triumphs of the 70s, and a detail that’s become a hallmark of FCR Original’s design.
FCR’s chassis updates extend beyond just the frame work though. Up front you’ll find a set of Triumph Street Triple forks, anodized black and fitted with custom springs to lower them a little. FCR modified the stock yokes to accept the new forks, then hand-polished them.
Out back is a pair of adjustable EMC Black shocks, tailor-made to get the Thruxton’s stance just right.
Fans of the Thruxton will notice that this one no longer wears its spoked hoops. FCR fitted a set of alloy wheels from the Street Twin, which are undoubtedly lighter than the OEM units. It wasn’t a straight swap though—the guys had to make up new axles and spacers.
The wheels were also originally all-black, but they’ve been spruced up with some aluminum-colored details. And there’s a tire selection to match this roadster’s attitude; grippy Dunlop Sportmax A-13 SPs.
There’s also a new Beringer brake caliper up front, along with Beringer brake and clutch controls. There’s a lot of detail work to take in—like laser-etched FCR Original logos on the brake fluid reservoir lid and rear caliper mount.
With the stock Thruxton already pushing out fairly respectable numbers, there was no need to dig deep into the motor (and to risk sacrificing reliability). The only changes are a set of K&N filters, a new two-into-one exhaust, and a remap to get those mods to play nice.
Up top, just about everything in the cockpit’s been swapped out for nicer kit. FCR installed a set of LSL risers and tapered bars, along with new grips and Motone switches. All the wiring’s been re-routed inside the bars, and there’s a small Motogadget dial to finish things off.
The headlight’s an LED unit from Koso, and is flanked by a pair of FCR Original’s own turn signals, mounted to a hand-made bracket. Other fabrication work includes an aluminum electronics tray, and a stubby aluminum front fender held by stainless steel struts. FCR also fitted Free Spirits rear sets, and an ignition relocation kit.
The spec sheet reads like the perfect blueprint for the ultimate street ripper—and it’s complemented by an equally impressive array of finishes. FCR have included subtle touches everywhere, like glossy logos on the otherwise matte engine cases.
The fuel tank in itself is stunning. It’s a two-tone affair; gloss black titanium matched to cobalt gray, with a glossy black varnish. The Triumph logo is gold leaf, laid down by FCR’s painter, Mavrick. The saddle’s been wrapped in black nubuck leather to match.
FCR Original have not only boosted the Thruxtons look’s and performance—they’ve shaved about 70 lbs off it too. “It’s very agile to ride in the city,” the guys tell us. “A supermotard version of a Thruxton, with a modern and upscale look.”
There’s not a single box left to tick here…except perhaps, ‘deliver to Bike EXIF.’
FCR Original | Facebook | Instagram
Continue reading...
A Norton Commando 750 gets the Retrospeed treatment
Like most folks with even a passing interest in motorcycling, we’re suckers for a good Norton. And they don’t come much better than this beauty—a 1971 Commando restomod built by Retrospeed, a workshop in the Great Lakes area.
Retrospeed has four employees and is headquartered in in the oddly named town of Belgium, near the shores of Lake Michigan. “We specialize in concours restorations of Japanese and European motorcycles,” says founder Brady Ingelse, “so this Norton was something new for us.”
Brady is a certified motorcycle mechanic who, many years ago, rode his CB750 to Daytona Beach to undertake training at the American Motorcycle Institute.
His work is of supreme quality: as well as winning awards at concours d’elegance events, his Honda restorations have made the cover of Motorcycle Classics magazine not once, but twice.
The Commando was a commission from a customer called Dan, who has dreamed of owning a Norton for a long time and finally got Retrospeed build him his ideal bike.
“Dan has been interested in Nortons ever since he heard one in high school. He says he’s never forgotten that Norton twin sound,” says Brady. “Throughout his life he’s owned over 30 motorcycles, but never a Norton. Finally, at 57 years young, he found his Commando!”
The Norton was in dire need of major repair, but Dan had a much larger vision than that. He contacted the crew at Retrospeed with his ideas and expectations.
“Together, we hashed out a plan and started the build,” says Brady. “Evan Wilcox was brought in for the tank, fender and tail.”
The Retrospeed crew approached this build as if it was a full restoration, but then customized to Dan’s specifications. “Dan wanted a ‘less is more’ approach,” says Brady, “making it look like the Commando didn’t actually have all the components it needed to operate.”
Retrospeed removed all the non-essential parts, ground off the stock rear loop, and custom-built a new loop to match the contour of Evan Wilcox’s hand-pounded aluminum tail. They also welded on rear loop support gussets and a usable kickstand lug: “Norton used a poorly designed and heinous kickstand!”
The suspension has been upgraded without affecting the looks too much. The fork outers are original equipment, restored to factory finish with brushed aluminum that has been clear coated. But the internals now include a Lansdowne damper kit, which allows for rebound damping in one leg and compression damping in the other.
At the back, Öhlins shocks keep things planted equally well, and the refinished swingarm has extra bracing to reduce flex.
The front and rear hubs are restored back to factory spec, but they’re now laced to Excel shouldered alloy rims via spokes and nipples from Buchanan’s. Retrospeed have also added an internal reinforcement plate to the front brakes.
With the suspension sorted, Retrospeed turned their attention to the drivetrain. Both the engine and transmission were given a full rebuild, and the motor has been treated to high compression pistons, a high lift cam, upgraded crank bearings and electronic ignition.
It all adds to the performance, while still keeping the period correctness of the build. But Brady’s crew has stuck with the factory design for the exhaust system: “We really felt they had the correct lines the first time.”
Some of the most complex work is around the fuel tank, which is evidence of Evan Wilcox’s famed skills. “The fuel and oil tank are now one piece,” Brady explains. “Oil is kept in the left front of the tank, with fuel in the remaining area. It holds about 1.5 quarts of oil, and three gallons [about 14 liters] of gas.”
Oil lines run from the bottom of the tank to the engine, along with an oil tank breather that vents out the back of the bike.
The gauges are stock—but restored in-house—and the wiring harness is a new, custom-made loom. Sticking to the ‘less is more’ theme, Retrospeed installed new bars with a ‘Euro’ bend close to that of an early /2 BMW, and limited the controls to a kill switch.
The headlight is actuated via a Lucas three-position switch in the headlight bucket. The clutch and brake levers are from Tommaselli, the grips are stock Commando items, and Colorado Norton Works supplied the rearsets.
You can probably guess Dan’s reaction when he saw the completed bike. According to Brady, “He took it for a test ride, smiled, and said, ‘This was the first time I ever rode a Norton’… He loved it.”
57 years is indeed a long time, but like they say, good things come to those who wait.
Retrospeed | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Grant Schwingle
Continue reading...
Like most folks with even a passing interest in motorcycling, we’re suckers for a good Norton. And they don’t come much better than this beauty—a 1971 Commando restomod built by Retrospeed, a workshop in the Great Lakes area.
Retrospeed has four employees and is headquartered in in the oddly named town of Belgium, near the shores of Lake Michigan. “We specialize in concours restorations of Japanese and European motorcycles,” says founder Brady Ingelse, “so this Norton was something new for us.”
Brady is a certified motorcycle mechanic who, many years ago, rode his CB750 to Daytona Beach to undertake training at the American Motorcycle Institute.
His work is of supreme quality: as well as winning awards at concours d’elegance events, his Honda restorations have made the cover of Motorcycle Classics magazine not once, but twice.
The Commando was a commission from a customer called Dan, who has dreamed of owning a Norton for a long time and finally got Retrospeed build him his ideal bike.
“Dan has been interested in Nortons ever since he heard one in high school. He says he’s never forgotten that Norton twin sound,” says Brady. “Throughout his life he’s owned over 30 motorcycles, but never a Norton. Finally, at 57 years young, he found his Commando!”
The Norton was in dire need of major repair, but Dan had a much larger vision than that. He contacted the crew at Retrospeed with his ideas and expectations.
“Together, we hashed out a plan and started the build,” says Brady. “Evan Wilcox was brought in for the tank, fender and tail.”
The Retrospeed crew approached this build as if it was a full restoration, but then customized to Dan’s specifications. “Dan wanted a ‘less is more’ approach,” says Brady, “making it look like the Commando didn’t actually have all the components it needed to operate.”
Retrospeed removed all the non-essential parts, ground off the stock rear loop, and custom-built a new loop to match the contour of Evan Wilcox’s hand-pounded aluminum tail. They also welded on rear loop support gussets and a usable kickstand lug: “Norton used a poorly designed and heinous kickstand!”
The suspension has been upgraded without affecting the looks too much. The fork outers are original equipment, restored to factory finish with brushed aluminum that has been clear coated. But the internals now include a Lansdowne damper kit, which allows for rebound damping in one leg and compression damping in the other.
At the back, Öhlins shocks keep things planted equally well, and the refinished swingarm has extra bracing to reduce flex.
The front and rear hubs are restored back to factory spec, but they’re now laced to Excel shouldered alloy rims via spokes and nipples from Buchanan’s. Retrospeed have also added an internal reinforcement plate to the front brakes.
With the suspension sorted, Retrospeed turned their attention to the drivetrain. Both the engine and transmission were given a full rebuild, and the motor has been treated to high compression pistons, a high lift cam, upgraded crank bearings and electronic ignition.
It all adds to the performance, while still keeping the period correctness of the build. But Brady’s crew has stuck with the factory design for the exhaust system: “We really felt they had the correct lines the first time.”
Some of the most complex work is around the fuel tank, which is evidence of Evan Wilcox’s famed skills. “The fuel and oil tank are now one piece,” Brady explains. “Oil is kept in the left front of the tank, with fuel in the remaining area. It holds about 1.5 quarts of oil, and three gallons [about 14 liters] of gas.”
Oil lines run from the bottom of the tank to the engine, along with an oil tank breather that vents out the back of the bike.
The gauges are stock—but restored in-house—and the wiring harness is a new, custom-made loom. Sticking to the ‘less is more’ theme, Retrospeed installed new bars with a ‘Euro’ bend close to that of an early /2 BMW, and limited the controls to a kill switch.
The headlight is actuated via a Lucas three-position switch in the headlight bucket. The clutch and brake levers are from Tommaselli, the grips are stock Commando items, and Colorado Norton Works supplied the rearsets.
You can probably guess Dan’s reaction when he saw the completed bike. According to Brady, “He took it for a test ride, smiled, and said, ‘This was the first time I ever rode a Norton’… He loved it.”
57 years is indeed a long time, but like they say, good things come to those who wait.
Retrospeed | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Grant Schwingle
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It is a good looking bike and very well done. But I prefer a stock Norton.
Chopper Rescue: A classic Honda restoration by HB-Custom
With clean lines and timeless styling, the Honda CB500 Four is one of the most fetching machines the Japanese marque has ever produced. If you had one on the bench, you might be tempted to restore rather than modify it. Unless it’s already been converted into a hideous chopper—in which case, all bets are off and you’ve got your work cut out for you.
Holger Breuer of HB-Custom found himself in that boat when he got his hands on an original AME Honda chopper. AME is a German parts and customization company that turned CB500s into TÜV-friendly choppers in the 80s.
The really surprising part is that Holger wasn’t asked to customize the chopped CB: he chose the bike himself. “I saw the Honda on the internet at a very attractive price,” he tells us. “The bike looked strange but I saw big potential in it.”
“So I convinced my neighbor to become the customer for this project!”
In his workshop in the colorful maritime town of Husum, Germany, Holger’s first job was to convert the CB500 from chopper [above] to standard. The AME style would have been hot property in Germany the 80s, but the raked-out stance and orange paint (with yellow flames) hasn’t dated well, to put it mildly.
Luckily, AME raked out the CB500 front end with a clever mod that offset the yokes, rather than grinding away at the metalwork. So Holger reversed it, then shortened the forks to bring things back in line. A set of YSS shocks were installed at the back to even the bike’s stance out more.
The CB500 also came with a set of 16” AME wheels—but these suited Holger’s intentions just fine. So he stripped them, had the hoops powder coated black, and rebuilt them with new spokes. They’re now wrapped in chunky 5.00×16 retro treads from Shinko.
Moving to the frame, Holger shortened the rear end and added a new loop in. There’s a slim tuck and roll seat up top, with a taillight hiding away underneath.
The fuel tank isn’t an original CB500 Four tank, nor is it the AME peanut tank that the bike was sold with—it’s actually from a CB550. To attach it, Holger had to add new tabs to the frame.
Not one inch of the bike’s cockpit was usable. It all worked, but it just didn’t look good, so Holger swapped everything out. A new pair of risers now holds a set of tapered Magura handlebars, with new grips to match.
The bar-end turn signals and tiny digital speedo are from Motogadget, the throttle’s from Domino and the levers are Magura items.
The CB500 has been rewired and now runs off a small Lithium-ion battery. Other upgrades include new and minimal switchgear, an LED headlight, and a single bar-end mirror from Highsider. And there’s a pair of new Tarozzi rearsets too.
The motor’s also had its fair share of attention; it’s been rebuilt, and cleaned up to look brand spanking new. Holger upgraded it with a programmable ignition, and a stack of Mikuni’s brand new TM40-6 flatslide carbs. (He reckons he’s the first guy to get his mitts on these in Germany).
The exhaust is a classic four-into-one arrangement from Delkevic. With those mods and some fine-tuning on a dyno, power has been boosted by ten PS.
There’s nothing out of the left field here—just a clean and simple retro standard, with perfect proportions and tasteful enhancements. And that tasty blue, black and white livery hits the sweet spot too.
It’s a far cry from the 80s chopper that first rolled into the HB-Custom workshop. If we were Holger’s neighbor, we’d be stoked.
H-B Custom | Instagram | Images by Emayat Wahab
Continue reading...
With clean lines and timeless styling, the Honda CB500 Four is one of the most fetching machines the Japanese marque has ever produced. If you had one on the bench, you might be tempted to restore rather than modify it. Unless it’s already been converted into a hideous chopper—in which case, all bets are off and you’ve got your work cut out for you.
Holger Breuer of HB-Custom found himself in that boat when he got his hands on an original AME Honda chopper. AME is a German parts and customization company that turned CB500s into TÜV-friendly choppers in the 80s.
The really surprising part is that Holger wasn’t asked to customize the chopped CB: he chose the bike himself. “I saw the Honda on the internet at a very attractive price,” he tells us. “The bike looked strange but I saw big potential in it.”
“So I convinced my neighbor to become the customer for this project!”
In his workshop in the colorful maritime town of Husum, Germany, Holger’s first job was to convert the CB500 from chopper [above] to standard. The AME style would have been hot property in Germany the 80s, but the raked-out stance and orange paint (with yellow flames) hasn’t dated well, to put it mildly.
Luckily, AME raked out the CB500 front end with a clever mod that offset the yokes, rather than grinding away at the metalwork. So Holger reversed it, then shortened the forks to bring things back in line. A set of YSS shocks were installed at the back to even the bike’s stance out more.
The CB500 also came with a set of 16” AME wheels—but these suited Holger’s intentions just fine. So he stripped them, had the hoops powder coated black, and rebuilt them with new spokes. They’re now wrapped in chunky 5.00×16 retro treads from Shinko.
Moving to the frame, Holger shortened the rear end and added a new loop in. There’s a slim tuck and roll seat up top, with a taillight hiding away underneath.
The fuel tank isn’t an original CB500 Four tank, nor is it the AME peanut tank that the bike was sold with—it’s actually from a CB550. To attach it, Holger had to add new tabs to the frame.
Not one inch of the bike’s cockpit was usable. It all worked, but it just didn’t look good, so Holger swapped everything out. A new pair of risers now holds a set of tapered Magura handlebars, with new grips to match.
The bar-end turn signals and tiny digital speedo are from Motogadget, the throttle’s from Domino and the levers are Magura items.
The CB500 has been rewired and now runs off a small Lithium-ion battery. Other upgrades include new and minimal switchgear, an LED headlight, and a single bar-end mirror from Highsider. And there’s a pair of new Tarozzi rearsets too.
The motor’s also had its fair share of attention; it’s been rebuilt, and cleaned up to look brand spanking new. Holger upgraded it with a programmable ignition, and a stack of Mikuni’s brand new TM40-6 flatslide carbs. (He reckons he’s the first guy to get his mitts on these in Germany).
The exhaust is a classic four-into-one arrangement from Delkevic. With those mods and some fine-tuning on a dyno, power has been boosted by ten PS.
There’s nothing out of the left field here—just a clean and simple retro standard, with perfect proportions and tasteful enhancements. And that tasty blue, black and white livery hits the sweet spot too.
It’s a far cry from the 80s chopper that first rolled into the HB-Custom workshop. If we were Holger’s neighbor, we’d be stoked.
H-B Custom | Instagram | Images by Emayat Wahab
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Custom Bikes Of The Week: 15 September, 2019
A low-riding Sportster cafe racer from Andorra, an angular Royal Enfield Continental from India, a Honda RCB 1000 homage from France and a 162-horsepower Gixxer dirt bike from Finland. Motorcycling is indeed a broad church.
Harley-Davidson Sportster cafe racer by RC Dept It’s easy to ‘cafe’ a Sportster, but it’s even easier to totally screw up the lines. Enter Andorran custom shop, RC Dept—they’ve nailed the stance on this purposeful Sportster cafe racer, based on a 2005-model 1200 XL.
Up top, the Sportster’s silhouette’s been perfected with a low and long fuel tank, flowing into a typical cafe racer tailpiece. Lower down, it rides on upside down forks, new YSS shocks, and 16” spoked wheels wrapped in fat Avon Cobra tires. Lighting is kept low profile with tiny LED turn signals, and there’s a new license plate bracket that hugs the rear tire.
RC Dept treated the Sporty to a beefy Vance & Hines intake, and a stealthy twin exhaust system, with the mufflers tucked away low down. There’s a chain conversion in play too, with mesh-lined cutouts in the sprocket cover.
The controls consist of RSD rear sets and KBike clip-ons. There’s a smattering of parts from Brembo and Motogadget too, along with a small LED headlight up front. Between the tasty parts pick, the blacked out finishes and the slight hint of color in the bodywork, this broody Sportster hits the spot. [RC Dept]
Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 by J&D Custom Co. Indian builder Jay D. Patel has a soft spot for the single cylinder Royal Enfield Continental GT. This is his third Continental GT build, and since he usually works on smaller machines, the 535 cc motor is the biggest he’s worked with.
For this project, Jay wanted to push his aluminum shaping skills as hard as possible. He’d done fuel tanks before—but this time he set out to build all the bodywork from scratch, with an aesthetic that would ride the line between vintage and futuristic.
He started by trimming and redesigning much of the frame. Then he built wireframes to predict the final outline, fine tune the stance, and create a platform to start shaping on. The fairing was built out of three sections that were then welded together, and the tank includes a pair of small sight glasses.
Jay shortened the forks and built a new, longer swing arm, but decided to hold onto the Enfield’s twin, upside-down shocks. Then he fabricated a new stainless steel exhaust system, running the muffler up and through the frame. Some of the controls are stock, but there’s a new switch panel behind the windshield, knurled grips and a few other little touches. Oh, and the actual windshield is a repurposed Royal Enfield helmet visor. Neat! [J&D Custom Co.]
Three XSR155 customs from Yamaha Thailand In addition to handing a bike over to our friends at K-Speed, Yamaha Thailand debuted the XSR155 recently with three in-house customs that show the bike’s custom potential. All three are pretty rad, and have us wondering how far and wide Yamaha will be distributing the little XSR.
The first is a cafe racer [above] with flawless stance and proportions. Finished in silver, it features a new tank, bikini fairing, classic cafe tail section and slotted side covers. There’s a diamond stitch pattern on the brown seat, and some chromed and polished bits—like the wheels, brake calipers and shortened exhaust. Clip-ons, rear sets and a neat lower spoiler round out the package.
The second baby-XSR custom is a rather rowdy-looking scrambler. Like the cafe variant it features a custom fuel tank, matched up to a bench seat and new side covers. There’s a smaller headlight up front, MX-bars, a high fender, and a pair of spoked wheels that appear larger than stock. The pillion pegs are gone, which is just as well, because the exhaust now runs high up on the right side. With a sump guard and knobby tires, this XSR should do just fine in the dirt.
An XSR155 flat tracker rounds out the trio. The bodywork here is custom too, but it’s been stretched and flattened out with quintessential flat track shapes. We’re spotting wide bars, big hoops and high-mounted twin exhaust mufflers. We’re not seeing any lights or turn signals, so this little ripper is track-only, which sounds just fine. Naturally, this one’s wrapped in everyone’s favorite Yamaha livery: speed blocks. [More]
Honda CB750 Nighthawk by Le Motographe We need more retro endurance racers, please. We’ve got a hankering for wide fairings and chunky tail sections, and this Honda from Le Motographe is just making it worse.
The Montpellier-based shop customized the 1997 Honda CB750 Nighthawk for Kulte—a French clothing brand that’s been around since 1998. Since ‘Kulte’ means ‘cult,’ Le Motographe figured they should pull inspiration from a cult classic. So they took cues from the Honda RCB 1000 that raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 80s.
It’s not a direct replica, but more of a loose homage. The stock Nighthawk tank’s matched up to a bulbous half fairing with a single offset headlight, and an appropriately bulky seat section. The exhaust is a four-into-two affair, with the twin mufflers exiting under the tail bump.
The CB also features more subtle tweaks, like new rear shocks, tiny LED turn signals, and revised controls and ergonomics. Rather than pick a throwback livery, Le Motographe designed a contemporary paint job using Kulte’s brand colors. Belle! [More]
Suzuki GSX-R1000 dirt bike The day motorcycles have to make sense is the day we hang up our keyboards. If you agree, this next bike should appeal to you—a 162 hp dirt bike, built from a Suzuki GSX-R1000.
There’s not much info on it out there, but we’ve heard it’s from Finland, and according to the video below, it absolutely rips. [Via]
Continue reading...
A low-riding Sportster cafe racer from Andorra, an angular Royal Enfield Continental from India, a Honda RCB 1000 homage from France and a 162-horsepower Gixxer dirt bike from Finland. Motorcycling is indeed a broad church.
Harley-Davidson Sportster cafe racer by RC Dept It’s easy to ‘cafe’ a Sportster, but it’s even easier to totally screw up the lines. Enter Andorran custom shop, RC Dept—they’ve nailed the stance on this purposeful Sportster cafe racer, based on a 2005-model 1200 XL.
Up top, the Sportster’s silhouette’s been perfected with a low and long fuel tank, flowing into a typical cafe racer tailpiece. Lower down, it rides on upside down forks, new YSS shocks, and 16” spoked wheels wrapped in fat Avon Cobra tires. Lighting is kept low profile with tiny LED turn signals, and there’s a new license plate bracket that hugs the rear tire.
RC Dept treated the Sporty to a beefy Vance & Hines intake, and a stealthy twin exhaust system, with the mufflers tucked away low down. There’s a chain conversion in play too, with mesh-lined cutouts in the sprocket cover.
The controls consist of RSD rear sets and KBike clip-ons. There’s a smattering of parts from Brembo and Motogadget too, along with a small LED headlight up front. Between the tasty parts pick, the blacked out finishes and the slight hint of color in the bodywork, this broody Sportster hits the spot. [RC Dept]
Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 by J&D Custom Co. Indian builder Jay D. Patel has a soft spot for the single cylinder Royal Enfield Continental GT. This is his third Continental GT build, and since he usually works on smaller machines, the 535 cc motor is the biggest he’s worked with.
For this project, Jay wanted to push his aluminum shaping skills as hard as possible. He’d done fuel tanks before—but this time he set out to build all the bodywork from scratch, with an aesthetic that would ride the line between vintage and futuristic.
He started by trimming and redesigning much of the frame. Then he built wireframes to predict the final outline, fine tune the stance, and create a platform to start shaping on. The fairing was built out of three sections that were then welded together, and the tank includes a pair of small sight glasses.
Jay shortened the forks and built a new, longer swing arm, but decided to hold onto the Enfield’s twin, upside-down shocks. Then he fabricated a new stainless steel exhaust system, running the muffler up and through the frame. Some of the controls are stock, but there’s a new switch panel behind the windshield, knurled grips and a few other little touches. Oh, and the actual windshield is a repurposed Royal Enfield helmet visor. Neat! [J&D Custom Co.]
Three XSR155 customs from Yamaha Thailand In addition to handing a bike over to our friends at K-Speed, Yamaha Thailand debuted the XSR155 recently with three in-house customs that show the bike’s custom potential. All three are pretty rad, and have us wondering how far and wide Yamaha will be distributing the little XSR.
The first is a cafe racer [above] with flawless stance and proportions. Finished in silver, it features a new tank, bikini fairing, classic cafe tail section and slotted side covers. There’s a diamond stitch pattern on the brown seat, and some chromed and polished bits—like the wheels, brake calipers and shortened exhaust. Clip-ons, rear sets and a neat lower spoiler round out the package.
The second baby-XSR custom is a rather rowdy-looking scrambler. Like the cafe variant it features a custom fuel tank, matched up to a bench seat and new side covers. There’s a smaller headlight up front, MX-bars, a high fender, and a pair of spoked wheels that appear larger than stock. The pillion pegs are gone, which is just as well, because the exhaust now runs high up on the right side. With a sump guard and knobby tires, this XSR should do just fine in the dirt.
An XSR155 flat tracker rounds out the trio. The bodywork here is custom too, but it’s been stretched and flattened out with quintessential flat track shapes. We’re spotting wide bars, big hoops and high-mounted twin exhaust mufflers. We’re not seeing any lights or turn signals, so this little ripper is track-only, which sounds just fine. Naturally, this one’s wrapped in everyone’s favorite Yamaha livery: speed blocks. [More]
Honda CB750 Nighthawk by Le Motographe We need more retro endurance racers, please. We’ve got a hankering for wide fairings and chunky tail sections, and this Honda from Le Motographe is just making it worse.
The Montpellier-based shop customized the 1997 Honda CB750 Nighthawk for Kulte—a French clothing brand that’s been around since 1998. Since ‘Kulte’ means ‘cult,’ Le Motographe figured they should pull inspiration from a cult classic. So they took cues from the Honda RCB 1000 that raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 80s.
It’s not a direct replica, but more of a loose homage. The stock Nighthawk tank’s matched up to a bulbous half fairing with a single offset headlight, and an appropriately bulky seat section. The exhaust is a four-into-two affair, with the twin mufflers exiting under the tail bump.
The CB also features more subtle tweaks, like new rear shocks, tiny LED turn signals, and revised controls and ergonomics. Rather than pick a throwback livery, Le Motographe designed a contemporary paint job using Kulte’s brand colors. Belle! [More]
Suzuki GSX-R1000 dirt bike The day motorcycles have to make sense is the day we hang up our keyboards. If you agree, this next bike should appeal to you—a 162 hp dirt bike, built from a Suzuki GSX-R1000.
There’s not much info on it out there, but we’ve heard it’s from Finland, and according to the video below, it absolutely rips. [Via]
Continue reading...
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