Wednesday 25th August, 2010
Most of the motorcycles we feature here are beyond the realms of the average rider (self included). So it’s good to occasionally drop a ‘real world’ bike into the mix—a machine that could be bought secondhand for a reasonable price, and remain a daily driver while being progressively customized. This 2006 Ducati Sport 1000 is a good example, and was built by MotoWheels in California. Photographer Matt Walker worked on the bike, and gave us the inside line: “We used the Öhlins front forks from a Monster S4Rs, and also installed an Öhlins rear shock. BST carbon wheels were used to shave a ton of wait from the OEM steel spoke wheels. The brakes were upgraded using BrakeTech Axis rotors, and Brembo radial calipers and MotoGP master cylinders.” To boost performance, a ZARD full titanium exhaust system was fitted and the stock airbox was ditched for a set of velocity stacks with K&N air filters. “This bike is amazing to ride,” reports Matt. “Ducatis always have a unique sound, but this thing is totally different. The lightweight wheels transform this bike and it handles amazingly well.” A little custom paint tops it all off, although I’d be surprised if anyone can tear their eyes away from that beautiful exhaust piping. Read More »
Tuesday 24th August, 2010
Philip Van Geest runs Dark Star Kustoms in The Hague, Holland, and he’s making a name for himself with his fabricating skill and eye for good proportions. This Harley WL bike is called ‘The Merlin’, and it’s the star of the latest issue of Greasy Kulture magazine. The handlebars are from a Belgian ‘Flandria’ moped, the headlight from a bicycle and the petrol cap from an East German ‘Stimson’ moped. The primary chain cover once did duty as a step on a Russian sidecar, and the rear wheel is from a pre-unit Triumph … you get the idea. The engine is a 1942 Harley-Davidson WL (750cc flathead) which Philip got in exchange for a BMW bike. (The “engine was scrap metal” he says, and it had to be rebuilt). But the rest of the machine is almost all handmade from scratch by Philip: this includes the frame, the neat little tank, and the ribbed mudguard. Read More »
Back in October 2009 , I was deliberating on whether or not to post an orphaned CL350 café racer: orphaned because it was proving impossible to locate the owner or the history of the bike. In the end I took a punt on it, and it turned out that the owner was a follower of Bike EXIF, so the full story emerged. That owner was graphic designer Jonathan Wood, and he’s just sent in details of his latest bike. “After completing my CL350 cafe racer build I didn’t really think I’d do another 350. But a friend of the family had this little gem of a 1972 CL350 with only 2800 miles on it, and the deal was too good to pass up. So I decided to do this one in a completely different style. I drew my inspiration from vintage dirt-track racers, and also from the Japanese Brat Style of building.” Read More »
Most images that we receive fall into one of two categories: average photographs of a very interesting motorcycle, or beautiful photographs of a fairly common motorcycle. So when you happen across a photographer who is also a vintage bike nut, it’s a marriage made in heaven. This exquisite customized R60/5 is owned by commercial photographer Josh Withers, and he’s shown off the bike to perfection. It helps to live near a Californian beach, I guess, but this machine would look equally gorgeous in the grungiest Atlantic City alleyway. The Berlin-built R60/5 was in the middle of BMW’s ‘slash 5’ range—the others being the R50/5 and the R75/5—and had a 600cc air-cooled motor in the traditional boxer configuration. Josh’s machine is a 1973 ‘toaster‘-tank model from the last year of production, and he paid just $500 for it. As with many bargain bikes, the problems soon started to mount up, and Josh ended up doing a bare-frame restoration. But the result was worth it, don’t you think?
Canon EOS-1Ds Mk III | 1/125 sec | f/18 | ISO 100 | Focal length 54mm | EF24-70 f/2.8L USM
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Conrad Leach is one of the very few motorcycle artists worth following. So when I read that he was involved in the creation of a new custom motorcycle, I pricked up my metaphorical ears. Information was hard to come by, but finally, here are the images. The bike is called BS1 and it was built for one of Leach’s patrons by Caleb Owens of Cro Customs in Culver City, California. The foundation of this machine is a 1986 Harley Sportster, but all that remains of the donor bike is the engine and the cradle section of the frame. Symmetrical 23” wheels establish the boardtracker stance, and the Springer front end is unusually narrow: it’s been cut-and-shut to maintain the visual balance. The detailing throughout the rest of BS1 is beautifully wrought, and just as importantly, kept to a minimum. Because although it’s heart-stoppingly beautiful, this is a bike designed to be ridden. For more images and the full story, head over to Chop Cult.
Sony NEX-3 | 1/80s | f/4.9 | ISO 200 | Focal length 43mm
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Thursday 19th August, 2010
Of all the Moto Guzzis of the 70s and 80s, the T5 has perhaps the worst reputation. Yes, it had that wonderful V-twin motor, but it was also a parts bin special. Components from the T3, T4, Le Mans and V75 were scattered around, and worst of all, the T5 was initially fitted with 16” wheels—a sop to fashion that did not suit the character of the bike. So you might be surprised to discover that this purposeful custom started life as a 1984 T5. The owner is ADV Rider forum member KaiWE, and when he bought it, the bike was running 43mm Showa forks from a 1999 Suzuki GSX-R1000. Even better, it had 17” rims. (The rear wheel is a Suzuki item, mated to the familiar Guzzi shaft drive with a kit from German specialist Guzziladen.) A huge raft of changes and a restoration followed; the stock bars were replaced by clip-ons, while the tiny fairing and dual headlights add a slight streetfighter touch. The tail unit is styled after the Ducati 916 item, and the amazing tank comes from The Tank Shop in the UK. The result, as seems to be the case with so many Guzzi customs, is a knockout. [Head over to this thread on the always excellent ADV Rider for more details of the build.] Read More »
Wednesday 18th August, 2010
Every now and then, a bike appears out of left field and seems to pop up everywhere. This CB550 is one of those bikes: it created a buzz on the SOHC Forum and then won its category at the Rockerbox bike show. Now it’s about to go on show in the lobby of the Iron Horse Hotel, in Harley-Davidson’s Milwaukee heartland. This cafe racer was built by Jeff Stephens, who operates out of Burlington, WI, as Godffery’s Garage. “I’ve been at it full time now for about ten years, but have been building bikes most of my life,” he says. Stephens built this bike to order for a customer, Richard Cosby, and it’s full of quality parts, including a Dyna S ignition and Keihin CR carburetion. Breathing is through a K&N air filter with a built-in velocity stack. Frame Crafters created the rear suspension loop and modified the frame, while Benjie’s Café Racers made the tank, seat and exhaust to Jeff’s specs. Head over to Vinmoto to see the entire build catalogued in pictures. [Thanks to Brad Bartkus. Images by Jeff Burns.]
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