Bike EXIF

Walt Siegl Leggero racer

Chris Hunter — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:30:10 +0000

When he’s not building the world’s most desirable Ducati road bikes, Walt Siegl likes to head for the racetrack on his 916 or 1098. But he’s a hard rider, and his two regular mounts are now looking a little battered. So Walt’s built himself this new racer, based on his successful Leggero series of road-going bikes.

The idea came over dinner with friend Bruce Meyers, who ran the legendary Ducati shop BCM Racing until five years ago. “Bruce said that there are folks in Ducati circles who’d like to see me at the track on a bike that doesn’t bear battle scars,” says Walt.

Bruce agreed to rebuild a 1992 900 SS engine for Walt, and upgrade it without using hyper-exotic parts. The motor is now running lightweight pistons and better cams, and Bruce also reworked the head. The flywheel has been shaved to half the weight of the stock unit.

The base Leggero is light and strong, with a 4130 chrome moly steel tube frame, so Walt has left that alone. But there’s now an Öhlins monoshock arrangement, and the Conti-style custom exhaust system kicks up higher at the back.

The bodywork is vacuum-molded urethane, which is nearly as light as the carbon fiber normally used on a Leggero. And the paint, much brighter than most Walt Siegl bikes, is entirely appropriate for the purpose. “I’ve always been very attracted to the youthfulness of small race bikes,” says Walt, “and since the Leggero has the feel of a gazelle, I decided on paint that reflects that attitude.”

Last month, Walt took the Ducati to the Collective .1 Design Fair in New York; its next destination is the racetrack. If it goes as fast as it looks, it’s going to make Walt a formidable competitor.

Check out our coverage of the road-going Leggero here, or head over to the Walt Siegl website to see the full range of his creations.

Images by Dino Petrocelli. Head over to the Bike EXIF Google+ page for a full high-resolution gallery.

Suzuki GS550 custom

Chris Hunter — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:30:48 +0000

New Zealand has a remarkably strong motorcycle culture, as befits an island blessed with wonderful country roads and a strong do-it-yourself nature. But the focus is usually on classic rather than custom motorcycles: you’ll see a lot of old British iron at moto events, but few ‘modern’ customs.

So it’s good to stumble across this 1978 Suzuki GS550E, built by Alan Pritchard of Stray Dog Moto in Nelson. The bike was a basket case when Alan bought it, and he originally intended to simply clean it up and get it running. But when he got the project underway, it snowballed into a major operation. And nine months later, this is how ‘Stray Dog’ turned out.

Alan de-tabbed and modified the frame, and lowered the original forks internally by 50mm. The restored spoked wheels are from a 1977 GS550, and the rearsets have been lifted from a GSX-R1100. Shocks are YSS. Alan also fitted the calipers and master cylinder from a Suzuki SV650, fed by Venhill lines. The motor got a rebuilt top end with fresh pistons and rings, and a Dyna S electronic ignition and coils. Thermal paint gives it a factory-fresh look and many other parts on the bike have been powdercoated.

Breathing is now helped by a Supertrapp muffler and K&N filters. Other mods include a custom fabricated seat, Renthal Ultra Low bars, Bates head- and tail-lamps, LED indicators, and a new electrical loom. The battery is now hidden under the seat and the bike is kickstart-only: Alan removed the starter motor.

“It took a few attempts to get the fuelling correct,” he reports, “but she now handles the twisties of the Nelson region beautifully. It’s a pleasure to ride and sounds great without being offensive!”

He also notes that the GS550 blew his budget big time. But I’d say it’s worth every penny.

BSA B34 by BA Moto

Chris Hunter — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:30:46 +0000

There aren’t many bikes from the 1950s still being used as daily riders. But this BSA B34, some 62 years old, stretches its legs several times a week with owner Nate Hudson on board. “My father rode the same model back in the 50s,” he says, “and I’ve always been on the hunt for one. I found this bike in Eureka a few years ago and we did a ground up restoration on it here.”

Nate runs British American Motors in Long Beach, a custom shop right next door to Lossa Engineering. He usually works on more modern machinery, but has resisted the temptation to chop the 1951 BSA up. Instead, he’s given it a sympathetic restoration that retains the charm of the original.

The bike is a 500cc thumper with a factory rigid frame. “I found this bike on eBay in Northern Cal a few years ago,” says Nate. “It was pretty rough, but it ran. It was only used for off-roading, so it had no lights and was fitted with knobblies.”

Over the past year Nate has completely overhauled the engine, fitting a new piston, rings, valves and bearings. He cleaned up the cases and the gearbox, and got everything else powdercoated, painted, and pinstriped. “We also got Cycle Art in San Pedro to help make the fender stay, so we could mount the license plate and tail light, and give it a period-correct feel,” says Nate. “Earl is an expert with over 40 years in the industry, and a pal of ours.”

The biggest problem during the restoration was the charging system, which Nate describes as ‘a real bitch.’ It uses a Lucas dynamo, and information is now hard to come by. “It was trial-and-error testing that. We found that at idle the dynamo only cranks out 0.5 volts, which isn’t even enough to flicker a lightbulb.” So Nate ended up tucking a small dry-sealed 6-volt battery between the engine and transmission, basically to power the electrics when stopped at traffic lights.

Nate wryly describes the build as ‘an education,’ but his perseverance has paid off. He now rides the BSA to his shop, and it’s his favorite bike for bar-hopping too.

Not bad for a 62-year-old, huh?

Images by Scooter Photo.

Moto Guzzi V75 by Venier Customs

Chris Hunter — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:30:01 +0000

There are a tiny handful of builders who consistently hit the mark with every bike they create. In Italy, one of those builders is Venier Customs, which took home a trophy last month from the Biker Fest for this beautiful Moto Guzzi V75.

The bike is called ‘Corsaiola,’ which loosely translates to mean ‘speedy’. It’s based on a small block 1989 V75, which was the forerunner of the Guzzi’s current V7 range. Ironically, the V75 has more power than the current bike—58 as opposed to 48 hp. That’s emissions regulations for you.

Stefano Venier is a thoroughly modern craftsman, working out the initial design in Photoshop and then using CAD to machine the parts he needs. For this bike, the frame was reworked at the back and a new tank and seat unit installed. (The original V75 was somewhat blighted by the 1980s fetish for plastic, with an especially ungainly tank.) Other custom parts include the rear fender and side panels, and custom brackets were fabricated to attach everything neatly to the frame.

The lines of the bike are simply immaculate now. They’re helped by the elegant Mistral exhaust system, hooked up to the huge cylinders jutting out to the sides. The engine has been overhauled and painted light grey; the wheels are original, albeit restored. They now run Avon Roadrider tires. (“The bike is quite fast and you need some real grip,” Stefano comments.)

The finishing touch is a simple but effective black-and-white paint job. It’s a great example of the old becoming new again—Venier’s V75 wouldn’t look out of place in a showroom next to Moto Guzzi’s current range of V7s.

Head over to the very stylish Venier Customs website to see more of Stefano’s work, and follow Venier’s news via the company Facebook page.

Images by Donatello Trevisiol.

Honda CB450 K1 resto-mod

Chris Hunter — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:43:43 +0000

What, another Honda CB ‘cafe racer’? Rest assured this one is different. Apart from a nut-and-bolt mechanical overhaul, it’s sporting subtle upgrades that will drastically increase its performance.

Santa Fe-based Charles Burkhardt found this CB450 K1 on Craigslist, and it looked like it hadn’t been started for 20 years. But after rebuilding the carbs, adding fresh oil and a new battery, it fired right up. “So I got to work right away,” says Charles, “and had everything off of the frame by the end of the day.”

That was the easy part: completing the build took months of working after-hours and at weekends. Charles cleaned up and lightened the frame, removing the tabs, brackets and center stand. He added new rearsets from a Yamaha R6 (for a more aggressive riding position) and a new seat and pad from Legendary Cycles.

The engine has been thoroughly rebuilt. That included getting the cylinders honed, and fitting new piston rings and a new cam chain tensioner. Charles has also installed a 15-tooth front sprocket for the best top-end performance without sacrificing low-end torque. The gold O-ring chain fits over a new rear sprocket and all the gaskets and seals have been renewed throughout the bike. (“No leaks from this baby!” Charles reports.)

After a light polish for the cases and head, the engine was put back together with all bolts and screws replaced by polished stainless steel allen-head bolts. The carbs were re-jetted and treated to aluminum velocity stacks. There’s a custom 2-into-1 exhaust, terminated with a chrome reverse megaphone muffler with a removable baffle. The fuel tank has been cleaned and painted and fitted with new kneepad rubbers, a new OEM petcock and new inline fuel filters.

The biggest change is at the front, which now sports a reworked CB750 front end with a single disc brake, plus a new master cylinder with an integrated brake light switch. New Shinko rubber rolls on overhauled wheels, and new fork gaiters and seals keep out the dust and debris.

The electrics have been upgraded too, and power is now supplied by an 8-cell Ballistic battery. (“Super light and compact, and has a 3-year warranty.”) There’s a new mini speedo and an even smaller mini tach. The grips have a ‘tire tread’ pattern and are attached to clubman-style bars.

This CB450 weighs in at a svelte 357 lbs wet, so you can bet that performance will be much stronger than the original. It’s the perfect mix of original style and subtle upgrades, and I’d take it in a heartbeat. Head over to Charles’ website for more images and details.

BMW R80 custom by 7 Ages

Chris Hunter — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 17:30:26 +0000

Most custom BMWs are resto-mods or café racer conversions. But Ian Solley of 7 Ages in the UK likes to take the strasse less travelled. On this BMW R80 custom, virtually every part has been modified: the frame has been converted to a hardtail, and the forks are from a Harley-Davidson FXD.

Solley is known as a Harley man, but when he spotted a restored 1982 R80 on eBay for just £1350, he couldn’t resist. “After spending so much time on Harleys, I really wanted to make something different.”

And different Romeo 80 certainly is. The heavy lifting on the frame was done by Dave Batchelar of P&D, one of England’s most renowned fabricators. The tank was reshaped a little to fit the lines of the new frame, and Batchelar also created the side panels, front fender and rear fender/seat unit—which is a work of art.

Solley reconditioned the motor and carbs before cleaning and detailing them and installing the powerplant back in the frame. He added Supertrapp race mufflers to the stock header pipes, and installed custom-made bars, Oberon indicators and mirrors, and a modified Harley headlight. Sitting in the headlight bowl is a tiny Motogadget speedo.

The 23” wheels are a whopping 5” larger in diameter than the stock BMW R80 hoops, but Solley has retained hints of the classic BMW snowflake pattern. The rims were built by Steve Taylor of Taylor-Made Wheels and the two-tone paint, echoing the traditional BMW colors, was applied by Classic Cycle Works.

It’s one of those bikes that on paper shouldn’t work, but in the metal, it somehow does. To see more of Ian’s inspired creations, head over to the classy 7 Ages website.

Location image by Merry Michau | Studio shots by Mike Prior.

Honda CB750K7 by Wrenchmonkees

Chris Hunter — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:30:36 +0000

This brutal, slammed Honda CB750K7 is Monkee #54, the latest machine to roll out of the legendary Danish workshop. It’s got even more of an apocalyptic feel than most Wrenchmonkees builds, and was commissioned by Timothée, a rider from Paris.

“Timothée wanted a custom that didn’t look like an ‘overdone,’ shiny, vintage bike,” says the Wrenchmonkees’ Per Nielsen. “He was open to suggestions, and to get the best result he made his dream clear and left the rest to us.” The Wrenchmonkees don’t use computer mock-ups or Photoshop impressions—but take their time getting to know a client’s needs and preferences via conversations and emails.

“We talked about a Kawasaki Z1000 or a Honda CB750,” says Per. “We ended up with this CB750K7, because the CB750 #44 had most of the characteristics that Timothée was looking for.” The golden rule was no chrome, and Timothée’s favorite finishes are black and ‘burnt.’ “He came to the right place!” laughs Per.

The motor has been given a 100cc boost to 836cc with a Wiseco kit. Everything breathes easier with a new exhaust system, a 4-into-2 custom fabrication. The electrics have been given a shot in the arm too, with a complete rewire, Dyna coils and a new electronic ignition system.

The suspension has been lowered 60 mm at the front, and new 300 mm shocks fitted at the rear to adjust the stance of the bike. The tires are now Dunlops, D401 at the front and K655 at the back.

The bodywork has been extensively modified too, starting with the tank. It’s from a 1970s Suzuki GS 400/425, sitting ahead of a custom seat unit. (So those glimpses of color, I’m guessing, are not the Candy Alpha Red the CB750K7 was originally offered with.) Compact new lights front and back add to the minimalist look, and the battery box hides a tiny li-ion unit weighing just 700 grams.

When the CB750 was finished, Timothée flew up from France and rode it for a weekend right across Denmark. (“Our country is quite small,” Per notes wryly.) The test ride was a success, and the Honda took the long road home to France.

Even in hard-to-impress Paris, I’m sure it’ll be a hit.

Head over to the Wrenchmonkees website for a complete listing of all their builds, and follow the news for Copenhagen via their Facebook page.