The latest Atom Bomb bike is a classic Triumph Trackmaster, finished in the usual immaculate Atom Bomb style. “The client bought me a rolling Trackmaster frame with a bent up swingarm and clapped-out Betor forks,” says Rathburn. “And, as we discovered later, a hell of a motor in it …”

The ’67 motor is sporting a big-bore Sonny Routt 750 kit, big Kenny Harmon cams, steel H-beam rods, a lightened and balanced crank, and a five-speed conversion. “It was a full-tilt race motor. But the valve guides were loose in the head, the seats were cracked, and half the cylinder studs were pulled out of the cases,” says Rathburn. “So I fixed all the issues and put it together just as it had been. I was reluctant to change anything: it felt like I was working on a piece of history.”

Rathburn did change other things, though. He fabricated an aluminum swingarm, installed custom shocks from Works Performance, and fitted a modified Barnes hub. (“Huge thanks to Richard at Mule Motorcycles, who held my hand and pointed me in the right direction on forks and a few other odds and ends.”)

The front end of this Trackmaster is a mix of Yamaha, Buell, Triumph and Ducati parts. Rims are Excel and the tires are Goodyear DTII dirt trackers.

The bodywork is all aluminum and scratch-built by Rathburn. The tank is a replica of the original fiberglass Trackmaster tanks, and the tail is just what Rathburn thought would look good. “My client wanted the seat pad to extend back a little bit, so I shaped the seat pan to fit, and had it covered in black leather by a local shop.”

The stainless exhaust was built in-house and hooked up to a Supertrapp muffler. The custom bars are also stainless, and like the foot controls and pegs, were built in-house.

This was not an easy build, even for someone with Rathburn’s skills and experience. “I stopped working on it a few times, because it was so frustrating. But at the end of the day I love it, and don’t care how much hassle it was.”

Rathburn didn’t get to ride the Trackmaster much, because the client needed it back. “But it sure felt like it was going to be fun after a little bit of dialing in. It’s got way more brakes than any vintage Triumph I’ve ever ridden … and plenty of power!”

Images by Anthony Hall. Visit the Atom Bomb Custom site for more of Clay Rathburn’s work, or check out our archive of previous Atom Bomb builds here.

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It’s a WR model, a rare find that has recently changed hands. It’s in full race trim, with a big carb, suicide clutch and heavy-duty Wico magneto. Originally raced by a privateer in the Pacific Northwest, it was retired in the 1960s when the new Harley KHK made its presence felt. The WR was stored in the back of a garage, its iron-barreled 738cc engine thoroughly worn out.

Around two decades later, the Harley was wheeled out into the sunlight again. The frame, lighter and stronger than any W-series road bike, was restored by Bill Brownell, who rode Indians and sold Triumphs in San Bernardino County, California.

‘Brownie’ also managed to get his hands on a genuine Harley-Davidson WR motor and three-speed gearbox. These had been built at the factory in the early 50s, and were still in the crate. With everything assembled and fettled into tune, the WR once again roared into life.

Today, this fine piece of racing history is running the vintage motorcycle circuit in Australia—and once again, the Indians are chasing.

With thanks to photographer Jared Schoenemann and Tim Graber of Classic Motorcycle Consignments.

© Bike EXIF 2013. The world authority on custom motorcycles, brought to you by Icon 1000.

It was built for racing in Blighty (where the tracks are shorter) by American ex-pat and former dirt racer John Roeder. Roeder wasn’t interested in building yet another go-fast-turn-left-bike: He wanted to create something that looked and sounded different to the regular 450 motocross bikes that usually form the basis of these racers in the UK. And like any good custom builder, he wanted his flat track racer to embody the look of the classic machinery he grew up on.

Roeder’s creation cannibalizes parts from some very different machinery. That includes a Suzuki DR350 (hello swingarm, pegs and rear brake), a Yamaha FZR600 (forks) and an Aprilia RS125 (radiator). The shock is from a V8 hot-rod, and a few other bits and bobs have been stolen from Roeder’s own Ducati 916 road bike. But it’s the engine that’s the most unusual item: nestling in the frame is Honda two-stroke power in the form of a lightweight and ultra-powerful 1986 CR500 lump.

It’s the kind of machine that would work brilliantly as a road-going custom too. It probably wouldn’t be that hard to fit lights and a plate…but keeping your license clean would be another matter entirely.

Head over to the Trailbike & Enduro Magazine Facebook page for the latest news from the enduro world—plus a smattering of custom and vintage eye candy.

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Ridden by Kenny Blake, the 860SS did its duty and beat the Japanese machines. Blake became a local hero, and Ducati’s street-cred went up a notch. But then came the protests; after all, it was supposed to be a ‘production class.’ And there was no sign of any road-going 860SS.

The importer started advertising a streetable 860, and the factory confirmed to the race organizers that roadgoing machines were on the way from Italy. But when the 900 SuperSport eventually arrived, it bore little relation to Blake’s race-winning 860SS. Luckily for Ducati, the fuss had died down by that time, and the ink had dried on the record books.

This machine is a replica of the 860SS, built by one of Australia’s top Ducati specialists, Tony Hannagan of Beveltech. Five years in the making and built for a Dutch collector, it’s running high compression pistons and has a capacity of 905cc. The engine also boasts 60-degree heads developed by tuner Brook Henry, and a heavily modified crankshaft.

A few days ago, Hannagan took the replica to the 860SS’ spiritual home, and photographer Phil Aynsley recorded the occasion. What would you give to do a lap of Bathurst on this lovely machine?

Head over to the Bike EXIF Archives for more of BevelTech’s beautiful custom Ducatis.

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This machine is notable on two counts: the Egli frame is genuine, and the bike is incredibly fast. Shortly after it was built, the English magazine Motor Cycle tested the Vincent, which “in less than half a mile was easily exceeding 120mph. This was the first time an un-streamlined model had notched such figures on test.”

The bike was built by sidecar racer Pete Gerrish, who bought the frame from Fritz Egli himself. Gerrish installed an engine from one of his sidecar racers—described as ‘part Lightning, part Shadow’—and the bike promptly won its first race, at the Cheltenham circuit.

Since then, it looks like it’s been modified for road use. (There’s a 5” Smiths speedometer and a matching rev counter.) If your bid is successful, you’ll also get some very desirable spares—including a Vincent cylinder head and primary drive cover, an original Fritz Egli fuel tank and an original, period fairing.

A piece of history, or a fully-loaded Harley CVO Ultra Classic Electra Glide? I know what I’d take.

Via Megadeluxe. More about the auction on the Bonhams website.

© Bike EXIF 2013. The world authority on custom motorcycles, brought to you by Icon 1000.

This 1953 Triumph T100, however, is extra special. “The inspiration came from Bobby Sirkegian’s ‘Pretty Boy’ Triumph,” says Baron’s Dick Smith. “The bike is designed to compete in the Vintage Motorcycle Club’s sprint events held around the country.”

Baron’s started by working on the rigid frame, a factory item but with the lower rails stretched out a couple of inches. The motor has been very heavily reworked, with a lightened and balanced crank, billet conrods and 9:1 pistons. It’s also sporting lightened timing gear and the ubiquitous race-spec Triumph E3134 ‘Q’ cams. The magneto is an authentic Lucas racing component.

Fuel is fed by twin Amal Monobloc carburetors, with rubber-mounted remote float bowls. Spent gases exit via race headers mated to factory 3” megaphones. An uprated clutch handles the extra power, and being a sprint bike, it’s fitted with a close-ratio gearbox. A vintage Smiths chronometric tach monitors revs up to 10,000 rpm.

Rims are valanced Akronts, 21” at the front and 18” at the rear. The hefty Racemaster slick comes from M&H Tires, the company that “Wrote The Book On Traction.” Other neat touches are a modified Wassell aluminum rear fender, a custom fabricated catch tank and braided lines throughout. The peanut tank from Lowbrow Customs is one of the few ‘modern’ pieces, but fits the bill perfectly.

If you’re in the UK, keep an eye out for this machine at upcoming sprint races. The rest of you will have to content yourselves with the other fine builds on The Baron’s Speed Shop website and Facebook page.

With thanks to photographer Gary Margerum.

© Bike EXIF 2013. The world authority on custom motorcycles, brought to you by Icon 1000.

Sweers used his German-made Kreidler on the road for a couple of years before preparing it for the Dutch 50cc road racing class. By 2010, the bike was scoring class wins.

“Two stroke tuning turned out to be an endless occupation for me,” he says. “But the chassis was never able to match the modern bikes in its class—it fails on stiffness.” On this highly tuned machine, now retired, the wheels and front suspension are from a Honda RS125 and the rear suspension is from Öhlins.

Kreidler did not change their crankcases or the steel-plate frame after 1972, and those are now the only unmolested parts still in use on the bike. The crankcases have been welded up and machined to take a 6-speed gearbox, and the water-cooled cylinder is from a modern Derbi. A programmable ignition system also controls the speed shifter. Sweers has built a custom exhaust system from five separate sections, which he can modify to test for maximum performance.

“The rpm limiter comes in at 15,000,” he reports. “I do the testing on a dyno bench that I built at the back of my house. The sound is mostly indoors, and I shield my neighbors from the blue smoke that comes out of the exhaust …”

The dents and scratches? “Leftovers from a hard life on the circuit,” says Sweers. And yes, there’s pipewrap too …

© Bike EXIF 2013. The world authority on custom motorcycles, brought to you by Icon 1000.