Bike EXIF

1979 Honda CB500 by Anvil

Chris Hunter — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:30:46 +0000

Anvil Motociclette is the kind of shop that is catching the attention of younger riders in mainland Europe. Their designs are raw and uncompromising, and guaranteed to stop the traffic. This 1979 Honda CB500 custom is typical: It’s low and rakish, stripped to the basics and ready for action.

Anvil is run by San Marco Filios and Alessandro Phonz Fontanesi, both in their early 30s and living in Milan. They’ve both been passionate riders since childhood, starting on motocross bikes. Today they focus on road bikes, and as you’d expect from a workshop based in Italy’s design capital, their creations have a strong dash of style.

On this Honda CB500, the forks have been lowered to drastically alter the stance of the bike, with firmer springs fitted to compensate for the shortened suspension travel. Low-slung Tommaselli bars add to the racy look, sitting ahead of a Laverda tank painted with the name of the bike—“Nk-a”. The aluminum seat unit is custom-fabricated, and upholstered with leather.

The fine Honda CB500 motor has been left alone, but painted black for a factory-fresh look. It’s now hooked up to free-flow filters and a striking white exhaust system from Marving. The tires are Avon Safety Mileage Mk II, a classic pattern recast using modern rubber compounds.

Anvil’s approach is unlikely to find favor with purists. But on the other hand, they’re a big part of the new wave custom scene in Italy and Europe. Head over to the Anvil Motociclette website to see more customized Honda CBs—and a very tasty Moto Guzzi SP 1000 and Suzuki GSX750E.

BMW K100 by Robrock

Chris Hunter — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:30:58 +0000

This raw and brutal BMW K100 was built, very aptly, by a master blacksmith and metalworker. Faced with a long German winter, Marc Robrock decided to enliven his evenings and weekends and build himself a bike. “After 25 years of riding bikes, I felt I was missing something,” he says. “And life is too short to have un-customized stuff.”

Robrock started to look for a ‘nice’ bike but soon switched direction. “Why take a nice bike and rebuild it? Why not take an ugly one? So I chose the ugliest bike I know: The BMW K100.”

Marc found a 1984 model and stripped it down, removing everything that was not necessary and cleaning what was left. But not too much—he was keen to retain the patina of three decades.

After weeks of grinding, cutting and welding, the BMW K100 took shape. Everything was done with an eye to TÜV approval: no sharp or open-ended parts, small aluminum fenders were added, and the original exhaust pipe retained.

Marc added a new aluminum subframe to support a custom-made seat unit, and mounted the Bosch ignition and tiny gel battery underneath. The rims, forks and a multitude of smaller pieces were sandblasted and powdercoated black. Then the bars were replaced with an aftermarket item, again resized to fit.

Marc calls the machine the BMW K-fé, and it took him five weeks to complete. TÜV certification took longer—six weeks. But the BMW is road-legal.

Now that Marc has all the paperwork sorted, he has just one job left to do—replace the exhaust system.

Images courtesy of Thomas Riese. Marc is at Robrock.de [German language only].

Vintage style: the Black Douglas

Chris Hunter — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:30:41 +0000

Take the A51 autostrada out of Milan, and half an hour later you’ll arrive in the small town of Brugarolo. It’s home to one of Italy’s more unusual bike manufacturers, the Black Douglas Motorcycle Company.

Black Douglas makes vintage-style motorcycles with a distinctly English appearance, like the Sterling shown here. It doesn’t have electronically controlled suspension or switchable riding modes, but it’s not short of charm.

It’s the brainchild of Fabio Cardoni, who started Black Douglas two years ago. “I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was 11,” he says, “but for the past five or six years, I simply didn’t enjoy riding any of my bikes. I came to the conclusion that I don’t like production motorcycles any more.”

The styling is certainly captivating, with angular lines straight out of the early twentieth century. “We wanted motorcycles that are beautiful to look at, and able to draw attention. Yes, at the age of 42 I still like it when people look at what I’m riding!” Fabio laughs. “But most of all, the bike had to be fun to ride—without the hassles of vintage motors.”

The Sterling is powered by a four-stroke 230cc single. It’s a replica of a Honda CG engine, built in China by Zongshen under Honda license. “Even though I was very skeptical at the beginning, after testing it thoroughly, I was absolutely astonished by the quality of this unit,” says Fabio. “It is built to Japanese production quality levels: sturdy, low maintenance, reliable, and offers over 85 mpg.” The bike weighs 100 kilos, so there isn’t too much weight to push around. Top speed is around 70 mph (110 kph).

After over a year of testing frames, hubs and engines, Black Douglas got it right with the fourth Sterling prototype—which Fabio still rides to work every day. The bike shown here is the first full production model, which was sold a few days ago. The customer chose all the extras from the Black Douglas catalog right now, so it’s a ‘Deluxe’ version. That means an uprated 230cc engine, a Bosch replica light, a replica klaxon horn, a rack holder, two different types of handlebar, a wood basket, and more.

Black Douglas will have four more machines ready for sale in a month: three base models and a ‘racer’ which will be called the Sterling Brooklands. The price starts at €7,900 (US$10,200) plus taxes. There may even be a race series for the bikes in Italy soon: the Federazione Motociclista Italiana is toying with the idea of organizing a Sterling mini-championship of three events.

And if you fancy building your own vintage-style motorcycle, Black Douglas will soon be launching a DIY kit. It’ll be available with or without an engine, and the first 20 kits will sell for €4,900—around US$6,300. After that will come a sidecar version, with part of the design made of traditional wicker wood.

Tempted? Yearning for the simpler style of a bygone age? Contact the Black Douglas Motorcycle Co. via their website or Facebook page.

Honda Ruckus custom

Chris Hunter — Sun, 12 May 2013 17:30:05 +0000

I used to think that 1970s CBs were the most heavily customized Hondas. Until I discovered the extraordinary subculture that has grown up around the Honda Ruckus. Yes, it’s a scooter and it’s got a meager 49cc. But it’s a distinctive looking machine, with wide tires, a bare bones frame and twin headlights. In Japan—and some pockets of SoCal—it inspires fervent devotion.

Over the past five years, the USA has really caught on to the Ruckus—especially in California, New York and Florida. One of the leading lights is a company called Rucksters; based in Arcadia, CA, it supplies a dizzying array of custom parts.

This machine, nicknamed “The LV Project” after the luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton, is a collaboration between Rucksters and the tuner BTX Industries. The stock engine was the first thing to go: it’s been replaced by a 150cc GY6, an engine commonly used in larger scooters.

Breathing is helped by a Mikuni TM28 carburetor, a custom header pipe and a Yoshimura exhaust. With a curb weight of less than 200 lbs, you’re looking at a useful turn of speed. Certainly more than the 40 mph top speed of a stock Ruckus.

The frame and body have been stripped back and refinished in a mix of Du Pont ‘Champagne’ paint and brown anodizing. The rear wheel, in case you’re wondering, is from a golf cart. (And no, I don’t know how it goes around corners.)

As for the rest of the bike … there are too many changes to list here. Head over to Honda Tuning Magazine for the full story and a spec sheet.

Trackmaster by Atom Bomb

Chris Hunter — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:30:58 +0000

Clay Rathburn is one of those annoying ‘renaissance’ types who seem to be good at whatever they turn their hands to. First was a string of traditional Triumph hardtails—including the irresistible Velvet Underground. Then we had the RVA Overland vintage dirt bike, and a Harley Sportster 1200 that was straight out of the 70s. So it must be time for something completely different.

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.

Moto Guzzi V65 by El Solitario

Chris Hunter — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:30:01 +0000

For a pursuit that is all about freedom and individuality, the world of custom motorcycles can be a strangely serious business. Are those tires good enough? It’s a hardtail, it can’t possibly handle. What, only 50 bhp pulling 200 kilos? Like audiophiles who’ve become so obsessed with hi-fi equipment that they cannot enjoy music any more, our world has its share of prescriptions and purists.

El Solitario is the antithesis of that mindset. The Galician workshop marches to the beat of its own drum, building and riding motorcycles for the sheer fun of it. It’s an approach that has made this collective of mechanics and artists one of the most controversial custom builders in the world. It’s also attracted attention from the big hitters in the moto media—from Cycle World in the USA to the Japanese magazine Moto-Navi.

This Moto Guzzi V65, nicknamed Trimotoro, is the closest thing El Solitario has to a ‘shop bike.’ It’s been a long time in the making—around 800 hours, they calculate. But much of that time has involved riding, fettling, and just plain enjoying the bike.

The name Trimotoro comes from a vehicle in an obscure children’s book. Mechanically, this V65 is in excellent shape: El Solitario gave the Guzzi a complete mechanical overhaul and rewire, and blueprinted the 650cc air-cooled motor. New Dell’Orto PHBH 30mm carbs were fitted, and now breathe through velocity stacks. The exhaust is a modified vintage BMW system, and the electrics were given a solid jolt with an AntiGravity li-ion battery, Ducati Corse coils and a Silent Hektik regulator.

The V65’s forks have been lowered a little (in V50 Monza triples) and Marzocchi shocks are fitted at the back—which now boasts a Monza swing arm too. Dunlop K81 tires ride on aluminum Akront 3.5 x 18” rims.

It’s the appearance that immediately grabs the onlooker, though. The headlights are from Lumax, a commercial lighting fixture specialist. The bodywork is hand-made, beaten from raw metal. The seat—yes, it’s strapped on with leather belts—is made from Nappa leather. The clip-ons are solid aluminum items from Magura, with the levers and throttle coming from Kustom Tech. The grips are hand-made from shellac.

Trimotoro won’t out-drag a GSX-R. But I’ve followed it while riding a Ducati Monster, and it maintained a more-than-respectable pace. Best of all, it put a smile on the face of all those who saw it or rode it. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

Head over to the brand new El Solitario website for updates and a fine online shop, or follow their exploits via the ESMC Facebook page. Images courtesy of Kristina Fender.

T120 Bonneville by Analog

Chris Hunter — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:30:21 +0000

It’s always interesting to see the bikes that well-known builders create for themselves. This Triumph T120 Bonneville is the personal ride of Tony Prust; it’s a more ‘traditional’ look than many Analog motorcycles, with a side order of steampunk too.

“El Matador” was a labor of love for Prust for two years. It’s an elegant bike, finished in clear-coated raw metal with brass highlights. The frame came from a 1968 Triumph, and is now fitted with a bolt-on hardtail from Dave Byrd. The 650 motor is a 1972 spec, and was rebuilt by Ed Zender of the Triumph specialists Morrie’s Place. It’s now powdercoated in wrinkle black.

Maund velocity stacks feed the engine, and the pipes are from Lowbrow Customs. The belt drive primary comes from Bob Newby Racing; the open cover was designed by Prust and Zander.

Up front, Prust has fitted the forks from a late 60s BSA. They’re hooked up to a twin leading shoe hub laced to 19″ rim, while the conical hub at the back is laced to a 16” Harley-Davidson rim. The tires are grippy dual-sport Kenda K761s, contrasting with the traditional nature of the rest of the build.

Prust gave the T120 a full rewire, and installed a Joe Hunt Magneto. (A neat touch is the vintage-style cloth wrapping on the wiring.) Hand-made parts include the front and rear lights and the solid brass rear fender, which was fabricated by 7 Metal West. The oil plumbing is solid brass too, along with the tank badges and handgrips. The immaculate clear coat (with gold leaf and pinstriping) was applied by Brando Custom Paint.

It’s a little bit gothic and a little bit steampunk, and a showcase for Prust’s old-school fabrication skills. One of the classiest T120s we’ve seen for a long time.

Check out our Archives for previous Analog builds, and the Analog Facebook page for news. Images by bikerpros.com.