Barnett's Bike Craft - #03 Spring 2013

TOP TEN: Readers Choice Best Bikes Online CHEAP BIKE CHALLENGE: The $1000 Bike Build

BARNETT ARNETT ’S S

Café-Racers • Streetfighters Bobbers • Street-Trackers...

WORLD CLASS CUSTOMS HIGHTECH SPORTSTER Custom of the Year?

SALT SHADOW Honda Built for Speed

CARBON-FIBER FLYER V-Twin Muscle Machine

RYCA 650 Café Kitbike

NEW DESERT SLED Ultimate Triumph Scrambler

KING OF STURGIS All-Metal Harley Ironhead

SPRING 2013

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B ARNETT ’ S 8 Goggles News & Views

all customs all the time No.3, Spring 2013

CONTENTS

14 ASTERISK AVANZARE Now that’s a Sportster!

By David Edwards

24 SMOOTH OPERATOR Rough Crafts goes Guerilla on a Big Twin

By Chris Hunter

28 PORTFOLIO A Rough Crafts retrospective 30 VIVA EL V-TWIN! Sbay’s Spanish muscle machine

By Buck Manning

36 IN BOBA MEMORIAM A first-time bike builder pays tribute to his best friend with a Jawa bobber

By Ben Lamboeuf

PHOTO BY ALAIN SAUQUET

40 BAJA NORTON La Commando más fina

By David Edwards

60 DEZ SLED A new Triumph travels back to the Mojave Desert 1966

By David Edwards

44 FASTER FIRE ENGINE A new/old MV Agusta 750 F4 special

By Robert Smith

48 THUNDERBIKE How a 1980s Sportster timewarped to the 1930s to win one of 2012’s top awards, no paint required…

By Buck Manning

54 TOP 10 Surfing the globe with Bike EXIF’s best builds

By David Edwards

66 MULE TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE Father Dave’s Kandy-Kolored Tangerine Dream Machine 68 SALT SHADOW AFT builds a two-up landspeeder

By Howard Kelly

74 THE GREAT DIRTBAG CHALLENGE You’ve for $1000 and 30 days, now go build a bike, no Harleys allowed

By Gabe Ets-Hokin

82 ROCKET RIDE Riding Steffano Motors’ re-do of a Ducati 999

By Alan Cathcart

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Barnett’s BikeCraft is not responsible for returning photographs or artwork. The opinions expressed in each article represent those of the author, not necessarily those of the ownership of this magazine. ©2013 Barnett’s BikeCraft Magazine

88 ROCKER’S DELIGHT Will Honda’s new CB1100 join the Sportster and Bonneville as a prime café candidate?

92 GEARSET Select swag for Rockers who roll 94 CAFÉ KITBIKE Ryca? We lyca…

By Dexter Ford

98 BACK IN THE DAY Café Cachet

By David Edwards

B ARNETT ’ S

ON THE COVER Hey, we’re easy but it takes a lot to impress RSD’s Roland Sands.

Asterisk’s sleek, high-tech Sporty did

No. 3, Spring 2013

Publisher Mark Barnett

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the trick.

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Jim Gianatsis

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PHOTO BY JIM GIANATSIS/FASTDATES.COM

Goggles

news &

views

WHERE’S THE W800?

Strange Case of the Missing Retro Kawasaki

T

rue story, I’m at a Triumph rally in Los Angeles some time in 2002 when who do I run into but the recently retired head of Kawasaki U.S., an American with 30-plus years experience in the industry, nicest guy in the world, competent and keenly knowledgeable – he knew what it took to sell motorcycles. Given

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the venue, I had to ask him what had gone wrong with Kawasaki’s recent Britbike-like retro, the W650, first sold in 1999 but with so little fanfare as to be all but invisible. It was quietly discontinued a year later.

I had comparison tested the W650

against the then-new Triumph Bonneville and the results were surprising. Bottom line, the Triumph was the better motorcycle but the Kawasaki was the better Bonneville, lighter and

more lithe in feel, a more convincing time machine. It was a fun ride.

The Triumph, of course, has been in the lineup ever since, often the company’s best-seller, with used examples being snapped up by customizers and turned into bobbers, street-trackers, scramblers and café bikes. The W650 was gone from U.S. showrooms after 2000, though it was sold in overseas markets for several more years and in 2011 was superseded by the W800, with a 5mm overbore, fuel-injection, firmed-up fork and deletion of the kickstart lever – but again not for these shores, despite an increasing interest in retro-bikes (see the Honda CB1100 riding impression, this issue).

It’s been a decade so I can’t remember my friend’s W650 response verbatim but I’m sure there was a rolling of eyes and words to the effect, “Don’t even get me started…”

The fun folks at Deus ex Machina in Venice, California, a combination bike shop/surf store/coffee bar/ T-shirt sellers/reading room, a.k.a.

“The Emporium of Postmodern Activities,” recently rolled out an example of just how cool the W650 can be.

Built by ace in-house spanner man Michael Woolaway, it’s a café-racer called “Moto Grigio” in honor the vintage shade of Ferrari gray applied to the tank, seat and front fender. Taking a cue from the W800 the engine was punched out to 800cc, and inhales through a pair of Keihin FCR flat-slide carbs.

Burnt gasses go the other way via siamesed stainless-steel pipes leading to a SuperTrapp muffler.

Woolaway made sure that no apologies had to be made about Grigio’s suspension or brakes. Up front that’s a set of black-anodized Ohlins forks held in adjustableoffset Durelle triple-clamps and

sporting a Beringer six-piston brake caliper at their southern end.

Astern, “Wollie” fabbed up a boxsection chromoly swingarm and bolted on a set of Works Performance shocks.

An altogether tight-n-tidy piece, a welcome addition to the U.S. custom-bike scene. Be good to see more of ’em. How about it, Kawasaki, a W800 for America? Looks like it might be a good time to revisit history once again, for the second time…

–David Edwards

nOriginal W-series Kawasakis were BSA copies, built from 1967-75, and helped put the company on the bigbike map. The W650 and now W800 are more Triumph in overtone, albeit with a very Ducati-esque bevel-drive tower for the overhead camshaft. It’s been 12 years since U.S buyers had a chance to buy the brand-new oldtime vertical-twin.

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Goggles

news

& views

BAR FIGHT The Great Yankee Café-Racer Controversy

A

ppropriate, ain’t it, that

a two-stroke with a trio of angry expansion chambers should incite a hornets’ nest of online commentary? It started innocently enough – me sending snaps of my 1970 Kawasaki H1 caferacer to the Bike EXIF website that features customs, bobbers, streettrackers and otherwise interesting machines. Webmaster (and BikeCraft contributor) Chris Hunter invites comments after each article and in this case it wasn’t long before the boo-birds started flingin’ feces.

The Kawi’s period-correct Tracy bodywork, a one-piece fiberglass

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tank/seat/fender structure, got smeared the most.

“Solid bones but please remove that hideous bodywork!” implored one. “A fad that has obviously not withstood the test of time,” said another. “That bodywork is absolutely disgusting and completely ruins the wonderful lines of the H1,” stated a third.

To be fair, many complimented the bike and its Age of Aquarius vibe. Bigger picture, though, some argued that the H1 was not even a “proper” cafe-racer, mainly because its low-rise tubular handlebars

weren’t Marquis de Sade enough.

Reader Steve, apparently an Ace Cafe original from Jolly Olde, led the charge.

“Cafe-racers first appeared in the U.K. in the late ‘50s, were roadgoing copies of clubman racers with ace/clip-on bars and rearsets, abbreviated mudguards and noisy exhausts,” he stated. “Touring bars on racers were strictly U.S. practice, and cafe-racers did not originate there. I don’t need to look at period

PHOTOS BY DAVID EDWARDS

Chopper Shock Therapy pics, I was there.”

Well, okay, do tell. Testify, my good man.

“Cafe-racers were a fashion, ridden by Rockers, also a fashion.

They both had rules of appearance and behavior. The Rocker dress code went pretty much as follows: pudding basin or no helmet, chin rag, black leather jacket, badges and studs optional, heavy denim jeans, knee boots over thick white socks. For bikes it was low bars, ball-end levers, sweptback pipes with meggas, rearsets and skimpy mudguards. Bumstop seats were very acceptable, unless your sex life involved other people you might wish to pillion. Comfort and practicality were not considerations.

We didn’t have highways, had lousy tires and brakes, and broke down or fell off regularly. Quite a few of us got killed. That scene was pretty well all over by 1967. So that’s caferacers, guys: take it or leave it. None of the above changes the fact that your Kwacker is a fine bike!”

Appreciate the coda, Steve, and I get where you’re comin’ from. You guys were the originators – go-fast innovators who came up with the first repli-racers 30 years before Suzuki’s GSX-R750 was born. Good on ya. You paid the price, too, in blood left on the asphalt, either from crack-ups or being set upon by squadrons of angry Mods on their circus-wagon Lambrettas. You say clip-ons do a proper cafe-racer make, I’m onboard with that. Not going to fit the H1 with ‘em, though.

To me, low bars only make sense on a racetrack – or maybe flat-out in the pouring rain on London’s North Circular Road trying to make it back to the Ace before “House of the Rising Sun” stops playing on the –David Edwards jukebox... nH1 once wore clip-ons in anger as

a 1970s production roadracer, later gained Tracy bodywork and became a magazine project bike. Period café makeover was handled by Kaw expert Brian Hilvety.

Re-Volt: The Politically Correct Custom?

What will motorcyclists of the future be riding, bikes that rumble or bikes that whirrrr? Zachary Norman thinks he has an answer: “I wanted to pay homage to the classic American chopper and at the same time bridge the gap to the future,” he says. “Plus, I was tired of paying for gas!”

The result is “Re-Volt,” an electro-chopper powered by 914 laptop batteries, all housed in – sorry, has to be said – the less than attractive aluminum bin where a hoary old gas-spewing V-twin would normally be. The power source was a natural for Norman, who works in the cell phone biz selling a discount texting app called textPlus, but his alter-ego is a traditional hot-rodder with awards won at the prestigious Grand National Roadster Show.

“I’m a tinkerer and got this wild hair,” he says. “Why not build a

nRe-Volt went 73 mph at Bonneville. Record for unfaired elec-

tric motorcycles is now 101 mph, with partially faired bikes and streamliners routinely busting past 200 mph on battery power.

really bitchin’ rigid-framed Harley-Davidson that’s electric-powered?”

The street-legal Re-Volt was completed after about a year’s work. Components include a frame built by Torrance, Californiabased Flyrite Choppers, fitted with Paughco springer forks and rolling on 21-inch front/18-inch rear wheels. An electric motor of Norman’s design turns the rear wheel via a custom armature linked to the rear sprocket, modulated by a device known as a Curtis Controller, something borrowed from the forklift industry.

Output is 56 horsepower and a whopping 111 foot-pounds of torque at peak amperage, giving the bike a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds. No transmission to shift, just twist the throttle to achieve seamless forward motion. Range is about 60 miles, after which a five-hour recharge of the batteries via 110-volt household current is required. Even with all those recycled computer batteries, ReVolt tips the scales around 280 pounds, still relatively very light.

Norman took the machine to Bonneville in 2008 and set the first land-speed record for an electric motorcycle, with a two-way average of 73.056 mph. Now he’s back whirrrring around the streets of L.A. –Paul Garson

PHOTO BY PAUL GARSON

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

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Goggles

news

& views

Secret Streetfighter Star to Paparazzi: “Catch me if you can!”

T

he job of being a celebrity

photographer just got a little harder, thanks to this Ducati V-four special. Imagine trying to capture an in-focus image of a machine that can split lanes in traffic, then in a flash accelerate away to the far side of 150 mph. We’ve been sworn to secrecy about the bike’s actor owner, but he’s obviously a gearhead extraordinaire.

The concept was a sportbike rider’s ultimate fantasy: Take a real MotoGP bike and convert it to regular streetbike use. Expensive.

Impractical. But certainly the ultimate canyon carver and Rock Store attention-grabber. Chris Redpath of MotoGP Werks located in Anaheim, California, got the call. A former Grand Prix race mechanic who has settled down from traveling the race circuits of the world to run his own racebike-oriented shop (www.

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motogpwerks.com), Chris is also one of the regularly featured custombike builders in the FastDates.com motorcycle pin-up calendars. He has built a number of custom Ducati sportbikes for the unnamed star, and also helps to service and maintain the man’s bike collection.

Jumping-off point for the project was a Desmosedici, the limited-production replica of Ducati’s MotoGP V-four 990cc racebike ridden by the likes of Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi. They sold in 2008-09 in a production run of 1500 bikes for $65,000 - $72,000, depending on your factory connections. Word has it that our superstar has three of them, hence the desire to make one a little different and more practical for everyday riding.

With the carbon-fiber fairing tossed, Redpath fabbed up the headlight and a bikini handlebar fair-

ing to protect the digital flatscreen dashboard. The exhaust is a $6000 (!) Termignoni titanium race system that helps bump power from the stock 195 hp to near 220 hp.

This in a bike lightened to just 370 pounds! Other tricks include a special MotoGP adjustable CPU that Chris has remapped to give the bike incredible low-end torque and power right off idle, making it an easy-to-ride wheelie monster.

Value of the finished bike? Close to $100,000. Priceless if you’re trying to outrun the paparazzi.

–Jim Gianatsis

n Chris Redpath at MotoGP Werks

created this one-off six-figure Ducati for a very famous client but by contract isn’t allowed to say who. Neither are we.

PHOTO BY JIM GIANATSIS/FASTDATES.COM

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BikeCraft FALL 2012

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Goggles

WRITER’S RIDE

T

he argument over best-loved

automotive writer of all time would last far into the night, but among the finalists has to be Henry Manney III. No finer wordsmith ever grasped a steering wheel or set of handlebars.

For decades his pieces were required reading in Road & Track magazine, especially his “At Large” column, which often signed off with his trademark shorthand coda, Yr Faithfl Srvnt. It was Manney who famously characterized the sexyswoopy Jaguar E-type as the “greatest crumpet-catcher known to man.”

He also wrote for R&T’s sister magazine Cycle World, where his good humor, keen wit and wonderfully obtuse writing style were always welcome entertainment.

Manney, a trained dancer in his youth, was comfortable rubbing

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news &

views

Road-going Manx Norton with literary provenance

shoulders with Grand Prix greats in Monaco, but equally happy touring deep in the American South driving some European import the local yokels had never heard of. His personal garage often included at least one exotic four-wheeler from Italy but on the motorcycle side he favored the Queen’s Iron.

Flagship of the motley Britbike fleet was his 1956 Manx Norton. As befits Manney’s slanted view on life in general and transportation devices in particular, this is no ordinary Manx. In silhouette, all the familiar components are there. The overhead-cam motor with its right-side bevel-drive tower and exposed valve springs. The innovative all-welded frame so ahead of its time it was said to ride “like a featherbed,” a name that stuck. The breadloaf gas tank and bumstop seat, known to legions

of privateer roadracers learning their craft, not least of which was a young Mike Hailwood. The conically shaped brake hubs, the front with a jutting scoop to collect cooling air.

All standard Manx fare.

But look closer and you’ll discern Manney’s grand plan for his Norton.

First clue is the Smiths speedometer alongside the usual tach. Gone are the low-mounted clip-ons, replaced my more comfortable tubular handlebars. A custom alloy bracket on one of the frame’s front downtubes holds an alternator intended to be belt-driven from a pulley attached to the crankshaft. The engine breathes through a filtered Mikuni carburetor, easier to start and keep idling than the proper remote-float Amal GP. The rear fender is drilled and wired to accept a taillight. In deference to neighbors and the local authorities,

a sound-deadening flapper valve was fitted to megaphone exhaust, cable-operated from the handlebars.

Yes, Manney intended this Manx to be street-legal and road-ridden, a cafe-racer ne plus ultra.

His untimely passing in 1988

put a stop to the project. All of Manney’s bikes ended up in the care of son Henry IV, stored in a shed and only recently brought back into the light of day. Shortly after these photos were taken, the Manx went to a Bonhams auction,

where it traded hands for a cool $35,000. The new owner plans to take up Manney’s dream and restore the bike to its intended roadgoing glory. Sounds like a future BikeCraft feature story to me...

–David Edwards

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BikeCraft FALL 2012

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world class customs

japan

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* Asterisk Avanzare Now, that’s a Sportster

By David Edwards

T

Sportsters…and then there’s this. It may have started life as an ordinary 2001 XLH883, but by the time Hideki Hoshikawa of Japan’s Asterisk Custom Cycles was done, it was barely recognizable, transformed into maybe the most impressive custom of 2012. Hey, don’t just take my word for it.

Roland Sands, head of RSD, is at the pointy end of the neo-custom movement, an award-winning bike builder in his own right and a bigtime parts supplier. As such he gets invitations from all over the world to guest judge at bike shows, which is how last April he found himself in Nagoya, Japan at the Joints Custom Bike Show, staring gobsmacked at Hoshikawa’s Sportster – fittingly named “Avanzare,” Italian for “advance, make progress, go forward.”

“I have to add Hideki as one of my favorite builders,” Sands said. here are custom

VIBE PHOTOS

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

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“Avanzare is really pushing the envelope of high-performance customs.

The amount of work that went into the bike was incredible and I had to stop and really pay attention to see the level of detail he put into every piece. Not only was it filled with topnotch products, but every part of the bike had been massaged ’til the only thing stock left on the bike was…I don’t know. Nothing really, except maybe the pushrod tubes.”

Sands gave the bike his top award that day and later heaped praise on Avanzare on the RSD blog.

H

“Every part of Avanzare has been massaged ’til the only thing stock left on the bike is…nothing, really.”

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oshikawa’s previous builds – mostly traditionally customized Shovelheads – were sparse and clean but gave no clue as to the magic that was about to come. Born in 1976, Hideki just celebrated his 37th birthday, was educated at the Tsuruoka National College of Technology and joined the workforce as a motorcycle mechanic when he was 20. He has run Asterisk Custom Cycles since 2004. It is a small shop in Natori-shi in the Miyagi prefecture, just himself, another mechanic and his wife, who does the accounting. “Other than paint and complicated billet machining, we do everything in-house,” he says.

The Avanzare project started when a customer came into the shop wanting a traditional Harley-Davidson café-racer, maybe an updated take on the 1970s XLCR, an idea that did not excite Hoshikawa. “I was not interested in mimicking an old café-racer,” he explains. “I wanted to produce a modern café-racer.” Persuaded, the customer bought in and entrusted the complete build to Asterisk.

First job was to lop off the frame’s seat rails and unbolt the stock twin-shock swingarm. A student of motorsport, Hoshikawa wanted a ProLink monoshock setup inspired by Honda’s 1984 NSR500 GP racebike.

He welded up the main section of the swingarm himself, using 7N01 aluminum, with the billet axle carriers and front bridge farmed out to a local CNC shop. An Ohlins shock in place and lever ratios worked out, the desired effect on frame geometry

* Asterisk Avanzare

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

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“I was not interested in mimicking an old café-racer --- I wanted to produce a modern café-racer.”

was accomplished. “With the whole mainframe inclined forward, we had the steering-head angle of a racer – 24 degrees instead of 29,” he says.

Now what was needed was the front end of a racebike, so out went another call to Ohlins. With the jacked-up frame, though, the forks’ trail needed to be worked out. “I took a hand-drawn sketch of the triple-trees to a design architect friend, who turned that into a 3D drawing,” says Hoshikawa, who then made another trip to his trusted CNC man.

Drill bits whirled, alloy chips flew and the result could just as easily be hanging on a wall somewhere as industrial art.

F

or power, Hoshikawa went to the H-D Screamin’ Eagle catalog for a 1200 big-bore kit. He experimented with combustion chamber shape to work around Japan’s low-octane gasoline and ended up lowering compression ratio, but the motor is still pretty stout. “It makes around 100 hp,” he says.

Part of that power production has to come from the snaking, artfully crafted 2-into-1 exhaust system, more of Hoshikawa’s handiwork, its stainless-steel left bare, its multiple welds proudly on the display, easily one of the bike’s signature components.

The desire for a tight, waspwaisted chassis put the nix on a conventional midships-mounted oil bag. Instead, Hoshikawa came up with an oversize cow-catcher of an aluminum chin tank to contain lubricant, its concave leading surfaces ribbed for added strength.

There were side benefits to the tank’s down-low placement: “We ended up with greater cooling efficiency and a lower center of gravity,” he says.

Hoshikawa fired up his welder again to create the aluminum rear subframe, its job to locate the seat structure, a small catch tank for the top-end oil breathers and a mounting point for the Pro Circuit dirtbikestyle muffler. The tailsection bodywork was formed from sheet aluminum. The gas tank is steel, vaguely

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* Asterisk Avanzare

PHOTO BY JIM GIANATSIS/FASTDATES.COM

n(Above) What a country!

Builder Hideki Hoshikawa crated up Avanzare and airmailed the bike and himself to Los Angeles just in time the big L.A. Calendar Show, where it won Best of Show and was presented with AFT’s Visionary Award. A couple of days later Hoshikawa found himself in the FastDates.com photo studio for a calendar shoot. Here he’s bearing up nicely under the strain. (Left) One of the few parts not built in-house by Asterisk was the bike’s CNC’d triple-clamp assembly.

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“With the swingarm in place and the whole mainframe inclined forward, we had steering geometry of a racer --- 24 degrees instead of 29.”

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Sportster-like in shape but as if left unattended on a radiator too long and with the back half so severely pinched that at its end it’s barely wider than the frame backbone.

I compliment Hideki on the simple, standout styling of Avanzare’s tinware and wonder from where he drew inspiration. In his halting English, he replies, “It became this form when I found a design without waste.”

It’s too bad Hoshikawa didn’t meet Roland Sands before the Joints show – an industry discount from RSD parent company Performance Machine would have come in handy.

Avanzare seemingly has one of everything from the PM goodies list, starting most noticeably with a pair of 18-inch blue-anodized contrastcut wheels, wrapped with sporty Michelin radials. Also from PM are the meaty radial-mount calipers all ’round, brake rotors on matching blue-ano carriers, front and rear master cylinders and handlebar controls.

W

ith the exception of a lightweight battery that has given problems, there isn’t a thing Hoshikawa says he would change about the bike, and it’s hard to argue with that. This is a blockbuster motorcycle that is equal parts style

* Asterisk Avanzare

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

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Hideki looks back to go forward: “I have respect for all the old engineers and devote every day to producing new things.”

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and substance, as much steak as sizzle, without doubt one of the most memorable customs of the past decade.

I ask Hideki what he likes most about Avanzare, and here my non-existent Japanese and his broken English fails us.

“There is a reason for beautiful form,” he says.

“And speed becomes the ultimate form.”

Come to think of it, that sums the bike up perfectly, no further translation needed.

* Asterisk Avanzare

PHOTO BY JIM GIANATSIS/FASTDATES.COM

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BikeCraft SPRING 2013

23

SMOOTH OPERATOR

Rough Crafts goes Guerilla on a Big Twin

By Chris Hunter

I

I always imagine the typical Harley builder commuting to his shop on a heavily modified Panhead. With perhaps a Ford F-150 in reserve for shifting bikes and reality TV crews around.

Winston Yeh, founder of Rough Crafts (www.rough

24

don’t know about you, but

bikecraft SPRING 2013

crafts.com) and one of the current custom Harley designers du jour, rides a tiny PGO 125cc scooter to work. And he’s not ashamed to admit it.

There are other things to note about Yeh. He builds furniture. His background is graphic design and graffiti – he’s created artworks for big brands, including the

world class customs

TAIWAN

fashion designer Agnès b. And he lives and works in Taiwan, the tiny island state off the coast of China. It’s barely bigger than Maryland, but today Taiwan is one of the 20 largest economies in the world.

From the outside, Yeh’s rise to fame seems meteoric.

Since 2010, the Rough Crafts “Guerilla” series of bikes

PHOTOS BY BOBBY HO

have taken Harley’s Dark Custom look and given it a menacing, militaristic twist. “Shattered Pearl” was a lighter counterpoint, a clean, sleek take on the Harley Forty-Eight. Next came a gothic, steampunk-influenced S&S-powered Knuckle based on Zero Engineering’s Type 6 frame (see “Portfolio: A Rough Crafts RetrospecBikeCraft SPRING 2013

25

SMOOTH OPERATOR

n(Above) Shadow Rocket fea-

tures immaculate detailing. The air cleaner and exhaust system are proprietary Rough Crafts designs. (Below) Yeh flits effortlessly between graphic design, graffiti art and bike building.

26

bikecraft SPRING 2013

tive” sidebar). His latest build is shown here, a 2002-model FLSTF Fat Boy called “Shadow Rocket.” At its debut at the big Mooneyes show in Japan this past December, it picked up a brace of awards, including Best in Show.

As with most overnight successes, Yeh’s was a long time in the making. Now 32, he describes his childhood as nerdy. “My father was an engineer who specialized in production design, so when every other 7-year-old boy got their Lego pirate ship or police station, I got the Technic series – with all kinds of gears and mechanisms. That’s probably one reason why I love what I do now.”

He became interested in motorcycles during his first year at college. “A classmate bought a 150cc Yamaha and he looked so cool, I got one myself,” he says. Yeh stripped his bike in the college workshop – he was majoring in industrial design – started working, and has never stopped.

It’s only recently, though, that he’s been able to make a living from custom work,

because the scene in Taiwan is a long way behind Japan, Europe and the USA. The market is small, and heavily regulated. Until a few years ago, it was illegal to import a bike of more than 250cc. Bikes more than five years old have to pass a yearly inspection, and part of that check is a visual reference to the stock machine. Which means that you can modify the engine internals as much as you like but a change of handlebar might trigger alarm bells.

Even if you buy a new bike to modify, there are barriers. The Taiwanese import tax on foreign motorcycles is extremely high, effectively doubling the price of a bike, so even the most basic Harleys are a luxury. “Younger people love customs, but most can only afford a Sportster – if they’re lucky,” says Yeh. “And older riders focus more on comfort, so they’re not really into the custom scene.”

Yeh’s approach is to work with these restrictions, rather than against them. “I study the lines of the stock frame,” he says, “then figure out what I can chop and what I can’t. It’s interesting to see people’s reactions when they realize that my custom bike is actually based on the same machine they have at home – but enhanced in every possible way.”

Japanese and Western motorcycle magazines are readily available in Taiwan, and Internet access is easy.

When inspiration strikes for Yeh, top-notch local fabrication skills come into play. “If you need any kind of machining, laser cutting, CNC or tube bending, there’ll be a shop no more than an hour’s drive away. So it’s easy to ‘make’ stuff without having to buy all the equipment,” he says. (Ironically, when Yeh sources obscure custom parts from the U.S., he sometimes finds that they were originally made in Taiwan!)

Every successful entrepreneur has a “tipping point,” a moment when the stars align and the afterburners kick in. In Yeh’s case, that opportunity came during a trip to California in 2005. He was on a scholarship from the Taiwanese government, studying at the Art Center College

of Design in Pasadena, when he bumped into one of America’s most influential custom bike builders.

“By a weird chance, I met Roland Sands, and ended up working at RSD. I saw how passion can turn into a business, and I thought, ‘I can do that too’,” Yeh recalls.

Hanging around Sands and seeing how RSD’s parent company Performance Machine operated revealed the tricks of production-based design and the product development process.

Says Sands, “I was looking for someone to do a big graffiti piece at my shop. I had Winston sketch something up; it was very cool. I saw he was talented and I needed some graphic design work done, so I brought him on for a little while.

His Guerilla look has an off-road militia vibe, like a two-wheeled dune buggy. I do like it. It’s impressive, especially considering where he’s from. I think it speaks a lot to his character and work ethic, especially when you look at the consistency of his work.”

Yeh cites car customizer Chip Foose as another influence: “He makes every part an enhancement of the overall picture.” More inspiration, perhaps surprisingly, came from Jesse James and (then) West Coast Choppers: “Jesse had the biggest attitude in the industry. He inspired me to believe in myself and ignore the critics.”

Not that there are many critics.

Yeh has already passed the litmus test of custom bike companies: He gets coverage outside the traditional two-wheeled magazines and

websites. “I’m really grateful that people around the world like what I do,” he says. “And my market is broad – anywhere that FedEx delivers.”

His company might be called Rough Crafts, but Winston Yeh is one smooth operator.

Chris Hunter is the editor of Bike EXIF, the world’s leading custom motorcycle website. Visit www. bikeexif.com for more of his work.

n No longer so Fat: New

bodywork gives Shadow Rocket a sleek look.

Concealed Progressive Suspension parts drop ride height. Wheels are forged-aluminum RSD Black Ops, 18-inch at the front, 16 at the back.

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

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PORTFOLIO Commercial success is one thing, respect from others in your chosen profession is another. Winston Yeh is working on both.

“Once in a while you come across individuals who make a difference in the industry. Winston has his own vision and look, he’s an artist who uses motorcycles to express his talents,” says Steve Willis of England’s respected Shaw Speed & Custom

A Rough Crafts Retrospective

operation. “He could turn from two wheels to four, or to furniture and interiors. I would call him an artist rather than a builder, and I mean that in a complimentary way.

“With the Guerilla look he’s created visually stimulating, timeless machines.

I’m confident his bikes

have attracted a new generation into HarleyDavidson showrooms.”

That includes custom shops too. Shaw Speed clients often arrive with a particular “look” in mind. “People are saying they want ‘Something like this’, and they’re clutching a picture of a Rough Crafts bike,” Willis says.

–Chris Hunter

n A client of Shaw Speed & Custom requested a replica of Rough

Crafts’ iconic Iron Guerilla. The finished machine (above) was based on an XL1200X rather than the Yeh’s original 883. (Left) The BS X4 Chop, a radical reworking of the Japanese-market Honda X4 1300.

(Below) Yeh dropped an S&S motor into a kit from Zero Engineering to create this steampunk-ish Knucklehead.

28

bikecraft SPRING 2013

n(Left) Yeh describes Bomb Runner as a “mix of bobber, café-racer, and streetfighter.” It’s a 2011-model Sportster Forty-Eight 1200 with a revised silhouette, taller shocks and tailsection, and a lightly modified frame. The result is a more aggressive leanforward look. (Below) Another 48, this time called Shattered Pearl.

“The owner gave me one guideline and nothing else,” says Yeh. “He said, ‘I know your style and trust in you, but everybody’s got black bikes. How about a white one?’”

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

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VIVA EL V-TWIN!

!

Sbay’s Spanish Muscle Machine

By Buck Manning

O

ne of the last things you’d expect in the tough economic climate afflicting

the V-twin custom industry is the introduction of a new production bike. Even further down that list of expectations is that it would be from Sotogrande-Cadiz, Spain, of all places. Hey, nothing against Spain, but images of two-stroke Bultacos and OSSAs come to mind before anything like a

30

bikecraft SPRING 2013

world class customs

SPAIN

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

31

big pushrod V-twin peppered with carbon-fiber and aluminum like this outrageous muscle bike from the Sbay Motor Company (www. sbaymotorco.com). For reasons unclear it’s called “Jerry,” and yes it is a forerunner of a true production bike, as Sbay founder Sergio Bayrrai explains.

“We are fully booked with orders from all over the world, especially Germany, Switzerland and Holland,” he says. Even with a base price of $50,000, this

32

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shouldn’t be a total surprise as Sbay had already received a lot of attention for a bike named “Flying,” winner of the Production class at the 2010 AMD World Championship in Sturgis. Jerry is a more comfortable version of Flying, even if it is slightly more radically designed.

Radical as in the use of parts like the carbon-fiber girder forks you couldn’t

miss if you tried, replacing Flying’s conventional Ohlins. Comfortable as in a less committed but still racy riding position that somehow employs mid-mount footboards yet permits a lean angle of 56 degrees. “Leaning at this angle will take you to the edge of the tires, which for us is more than enough,” says Sergio.

So what we have here is a highperformance V-twin street rod for the well-heeled aficionado, one who wants a unique and exclusive ride. Sergio has plans to build a run of just 50, with a wide choice of engine and transmission options depending on what your wallet and ego consider necessary.

The standard drivetrain consists of a 110-inch RevTech Evo-style engine producing a claimed 115

VIVA EL V-TWIN!

! horsepower and 120 foot-pounds of torque, driving a six-speed RevTech tranny via an Sbaymachined open primary. “We use RevTech engines because they come with a Euro 3 certificate, and homologation is not an issue,” says Sergio. “The horsepower and torque figures are more than enough for our bikes – just remember that at 443 pounds dry, Jerry is 140 pounds lighter than a

Sportster, which has around 60 hp stock. Handling is directly related to power/weight ratio and Jerry’s performance is phenomenal.”

For those who don’t agree with that formula, there are always options like the 131-inch Zipper’s Magnum that Sergio’s presently has on his dyno knocking out 184 hp and waiting to be installed. “It’s going to be a scary machine,” he says. Yeah, that ought a do it – if not, there’s always a turbo…

Monster motors notwithstanding, Sergio strives to instill great handling, stop-on-a-dime braking and balanced power in every bike he builds.

That they’re interest-

ing to look at and mentally dissect is a plus that doesn’t just coincidentally happen. Sergio engineers a piece until it looks right and works correctly. For instance, the 6061 T6 aluminum frame probably didn’t require all the extensive CNC’d aluminum pieces, but it certainly doesn’t lack for them.

It’s not only interesting to look at but the perfect fit of the machined pieces makes for a stronger structure. Sergio says there are 100 man-hours of work TIG welding the frame alone. And development is constantly ongoing, with lots of time spent on the racetrack. “We decided to change the rear suspension setup,” he explains. “The production bike will have the Ohlins shock placed in front of the rear

nSbay bike is a rolling juxtaposition, an enticing combination of old world and high tech, as in copper oil lines and carbon-fiber fuel tanks…as in wire-spoked wheels and an alternate front suspension system… as in floorboards and titanium mufflers…as in a leather tractor-style saddle and CNC-machined aluminum frame. Even the Motogadget tachometer gets in on the theme, with an analog face but electronic internals and multi-functionality.

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

33

VIVA EL V-TWIN!

! wheel in a vertical position and it will be linked to the chassis using a leverage system.” These are the kind of quick, on-the-run changes only a small company can make.

Easily the most polarizing element on this bike is the Sbaydesigned and built girder front end. A properly designed girder eliminates chassis dive under braking and should be extremely rigid side to side, but anything other than standard-issue telescopic forks are bound to have their fans and detractors. Sergio is unfazed by any negativity: “We developed the girder fork with a curved shape in order to obtain further stiffness, and it works,” he says. “We are

34

bikecraft SPRING 2013

still working on the fork, and the good news is that for the production bike we are fitting a set of levers that allows the front end to travel a full 5 inches with only 2 inches of movement from the Ohlins TTX shock. Even better, the front axle travels in a vertical direction throughout, so as you approach a turn under hard braking the bike flows smoothly into the turn with no change in wheelbase.”

Out back the swingarm is another Sbay item, a vacuum-bagged and oven-cured carbon-fiber piece that also encloses the battery. There are more carbon components to save even more weight, like the dual fuel tanks and both fenders. Contrasting with the bike’s high-tech elements are steampunk pieces like the external copper lines running from the oil tank housed in the top frame tube. Let your eyes move around the bike and it’s all kinda

whacky, kinda cool – the stainlesssteel headers ending in those gorgeous Ghibli titanium silencers, the asymmetrically mounted headlight, the reverse-pivot hand levers – adding up to a feeling of pieces and parts, old and new, all cohesively working together. A nice choice in a world of computermachined wheels is Sergio’s stainless spoked hoops consisting of Haan hubs and Excel rims. Galfer wave rotors all around with dual Brembo radial four-pot calipers up front and an ISR two-piston job out back, all monitored by ISR controls, bring Jerry to a stop quicker than just about anything this side of a brick wall. And it’s all great stuff just to look at, too.

The riding experience is what it’s all about, though, as Sergio is quick to stress. “The Jerry is an easy bike to ride, light and comfortable. The more you ride it, the better you feel. By the time you reach the bike’s limits, you realize you are riding like a maniac, and you will look at Jerry with different eyes,” he says. “It’s a ferocious wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Personally, I think the “sheep’s clothing” remark is a misnomer, as nothing about this bike looks remotely sheepish to me. Fantástico motocicleta, Sergio, fantástico!

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

35

IN BOBA MEMORIAM A first-time bike builder pays tribute to his best friend with a Jawa bobber

By Ben Lamboeuf

T

here’s clearly no shortage of creative

moto-energy Stateside, with amazing homegrown custom motorcycles seemingly coming out in droves at each event from sea to shiny sea. Europe has also been fertile ground for outstanding bike building, but more recently a lively custom movement has been developing a bit farther to the East. Bike builder Evgeny Bakhmach is part of the movement.

He hails from Kiev, Ukraine, formerly part of the USSR, and this Jawa bobber – his first complete build – is a perfect example of what can be done with small sums of money but large helpings of inspiration and good taste.

36

bikecraft SPRING 2013

PHOTOS BY ALAIN SAUQUET

world class customs

UKRAINE

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

37

“The Czech two-stroke had not run in five years; making matters worse, the bike had been stored outdoors, where it suffered exposure to the harsh Ukrainian elements.”

Evgeny grew up in Kiev and spent lots of time playing by the Dniepr River with his best friend Boba. The former Soviet republic was slowly emerging from years of Communist rule and life was hard in a nation that had only recently gained its independence, but kids don’t care about any of that. The two boys went from pushing old

38

bikecraft SPRING 2013

scooters around to riding pedal bicycles with pieces of cardboard wedged through the spokes to emulate the sound of real motorcycles.

Sound familiar? Then, one day, fate would separate Evgeny and his buddy forever. Boba died suddenly at 16, leaving his friend behind to grow up without him. That was eight years ago, and Evgeny strug-

gled to make sense of life without his childhood chum. At first, he channeled his energy toward building scale models and listening to music, but his passions weren’t enough to ease the pain.

Eventually, life goes on and Evgeny entered the workforce. After running errands for the university where his mother had a teaching job, he worked as an accountant, but hated that. At age 25, he kissed corporate life goodbye and put his mechanical skills to use by starting a motorcycle repair business.

This is how he stumbled upon a derelict 1973 Jawa 360, a Czecho-

slovakian twostroke twin that hadn’t run in five years.

Making matters worse, the bike had been stored outdoors, where it suffered exposure to the harsh elements. Rather than ripping into a rustedout engine to get the bike running again, Evgeny opted to replace it with a similarly styled four-speed 250cc single from a ’63 Jawa. Besides its easy availability and quick fitment in the frame, it also retained the cool finned aluminum housing for its Jikov carburetor.

Next, he turned the frame into a rigid, shaving off unwanted weight and losing rusty eyesores such as the swingarm and shocks. He laced spare hubs from an old Russian bike to a pair of 16-inch rims to form a bare-bones rolling chassis.

Completing it is a fork assembly that uses the Jawa’s original top tree, tubing from undefined origins and a leaf spring taken from some abandoned Russian car. Accessories are deliberately scarce on this bobber, but include a homebrewed fuel gauge, an oil tank made from a surplus military flask, bicycle handlebars featuring a twistgrip-actuated clutch, a cool little Puch moped headlight, a taillight that was formerly a turnsignal “borrowed” from yet another unsuspecting Ruskie car, and a well-burnished bicycle seat. Fender fabrication was easy – there are none!

Between paying jobs and parts scrounging, it took about a year to complete the bike. Evgeny did the paint himself, including the pinstriped Ukraine logo atop the fuel tank. His first custom bobber is so special to him that he gave it a meaningful name: “Bob 816.” Eight is Evgeny’s lucky number and 16 was Boba’s age when his life was cut short.

nFounded in 1929, Jawa

went on to become a genuine Commie success story, producing more than 3 million motorcycles, mostly utilitarian runabouts. Older readers may remember the restyled 1960s-’70s Californian 350 two-stroke, often seen in the U.S. hauling around a Velorex sidecar. The company survived the fall of the Berlin Wall and is still in business today with a topof-line Rotax-powered 660 four-stroke model.

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

39

BAJA NORTON La Commando mรกs fina Words & Photos by David Edwards 40

bikecraft SPRING 2013

world class customs

MEXICO

R

etirement just isn’t

working out for Doug McCadam. A selfdescribed ski bum, McCadam ended up in Vail, Colorado after a long motorcycle ride in 1973.

For the next 24 years he owned and operated D-J’s Café, a popular local diner. His real passion was

Nortons, though, and when he sold the restaurant in 1997 the goal was to build a few nice bikes in his newfound spare time. Didn’t work out that way. For the next five years Doug shepherded Colorado Norton Works, a successful twoman shop specializing in tastefully improved Commandos.

More than any other Britbike, Nortons are fettled and tinkered with, hopped-up and modified, brought up to date and freely customized. Part of this has to do with the Commando’s Isolastic engine-mount arrangement, a system of rubber biscuits that lets the motor rumble about at idle but BikeCraft SPRING 2013

41

BAJA NORTON

n(Above) Neatness

and attention to detail are hallmarks of a Doug’s Nortons build. Single Mikuni carb conversion with K&N filter is a popular option.

(Right) Chrome ’n’ clocks: Mexican coin used to cover steering stem nut is a nice touch.

(Below) Drilled aftermarket rotor is also part of the brake upgrade package.

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bikecraft SPRING 2013

squashes vibes at speed.

Besides packing an extra 100cc, Nortons were (and are) eminently more rideable than BSA 650s and older Triumphs, which did nothing to insulate their operators from the buzzy tingles of their paralleltwin engine designs.

When building better Commandos at Colorado Norton Works became more of full-time job than he really wanted, McCadam sold out to partner Matt Rambow, who has taken CNW to the next level. Rambow’s upgraded Norton rebuilds now start at $27,000 – that’s with you supplying the donor machine – and he just sold out the last of a limitedproduction run of full-boat Café Commandos, each of the 12 bikes priced at $45,000!

McCadam, meanwhile, enjoyed his time out of harness but predictably it wasn’t long before he hung out a shingle as Doug’s Nortons, the plan (once again) being to make one or two bikes a year for friends.

Then life threw McCadam a curve ball when love took him to Mexico, the remote southern Baja peninsula to be more precise, where he and new girlfriend Abril built a tidy little compound – house, outside bar, swaying palm trees and the cutest little grass-roof hut just big enough for a workbench, a tool rack and a single bike stand. Doug’s Nortons had gone native.

“Commandos are what I do,” explains McCadam (dougsnortons@ hotmail.com). “But how does a boy raised in the deeply planted culture of Boston end up building Nortons in a crusty little agricultural pueblo in southern Baja Mexico? Well, at 68, you do a lot of reflecting and being the only one of 200 people in town

who speaks English, I do have a lot of conversations with myself! I don’t find it a very unusual scenario, however many of my friends think it to be quite amazing…or certainly interesting. My personal discoveries have been profound, and I find my freedom and spirit to create have turned a new page.

What I have found down here is that ‘less’ results in a life much more abundant than people can imagine.

I am putting many more hours of handwork into my rebuilds but charging the same as before because I can do that down here and be very comfortable with it.”

Simplification is sometimes by necessity. Caliman is the town’s only paint and body man, does excellent work, and is happy to fit Norton tinware into his usual gig patching up villagers’ trucks and clunker cars.

Stainless-steel hardware is used throughout a Doug’s Norton, each piece individually polished, no small thing. “It amounts to about 100 bolts/fasteners, but keep in mind that nuts and washers also get massaged – including any bolt tips showing through the nut,” McCadam says. “I figure about 15 minutes each which amounts to 25 hours just on that detail alone.”

Girlfriend Abril has become expert on the buffing wheel and now handles all the stainless polishing, keeping costs down, quality up and the supply line short.

Shown here is DN07, the seventh Doug’s Norton built but the first to be Hecho en Mexico,

destined for a customer in Santa Barbara, California.

Like all of Doug’s bikes it is tastefully restrained but virtually every aspect of the machine has been considered and improved upon.

The original British electrics, oft times the butt of jokes, have been replaced with modern, more reliable components. An O-ring chain runs between the sprockets. Hagon shocks control rear suspension, while the Norton forks get new springs, better damping and quality seals. The stock single Lockheed brake caliper does just fine when fed by a new Nissin master cylinder via a braided-steel line.

Sun aluminum rims are laced with heavy-duty stainless spokes and fitted with sticky Bridgestone BT45 Battlax tires. Call it a Commando fully realized.

It’s clear that Doug McCadam is a Norton lifer. He’s just downsized, kicked back and taken things south of the border.

n(Left) Funny, he doesn’t

look Mexican. Doug McCadam hails from Massachusetts with a long life stop in Colorado, now calls Baja home. (Below) Quaint “del Sur” HQ of Doug’s Nortons. “Down here I can apply the level of detail work that is not possible in the States given the cost of doing business there,” he says. Outside the hut is one of his next projects, a red Long Range Fastback Commando getting custom upgrades.

DOUG’S NORTON PHOTO

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

43

FASTER

FIRE

ENGINE A new/old MV Agusta 750 F4 special

Words & Photos by Robert Smith

44

bikecraft SPRING 2013

world class customs

I

bia. The affair blosbeen the bang somed and soon the Canada on the head. kids arrived: a 1958 Or meeting MV 125 Tourismo Italian racing legend Rapido Extra Lusso and an Giacomo Agostini. Or the old MV Chicco scooter. The little photo of a Magni MV pinned TREL secured second-in-class to the wall of his shop. Or at the prestigious 2008 Legall three. Whatever spurred end of the Motorcycle show Canadian Jim Bush to build a in Half Moon Bay, Califorreplica Magni Agusta with a nia, at which Agostini was a modern 750cc MV F4 engine judge. The great man, 13-time doesn’t matter: the result is a Grand Prix champion on the spectacular blending of trared Agusta “fire engines,” was ditional styling and modern kind enough to sign the baby functionality.

MV’s gas tank.

The bang on the head came While the Brutale became when Bush high-sided his Bush’s go-to street ride, his BMW R1200R on tour in New preference was for more Zealand, leaving him with power. An eBay search four broken ribs and a mild turned up a 910 engine from concussion. The bang may a crashed later-model Brutale, have freed up a few neurons, which was quickly installed because his dream bike startin Bush’s own bike, leaving ed to take shape soon afterthe 750 F4 engine without a ward. The idea was in place home. That created a kind of but it still needed a deadline; cognitive dissonance in the that came in the form of an Bush brain – a motorcycle invitation to show a bike at engine sitting on the floor the Quail Motorcycle Gatherwithout being fitted in a rolling in Carmel, California in ing chassis seemed somehow May of 2012.

Just Wrong.

If the Quail Gathering was With the Magni photo on the incentive, the opportuthe shop wall for inspiration, nity came earlier from eBay, Bush set to. Arturo Magni and at the bottom of it all joined MV Agusta in 1950 was a love affair. It was at as a mechanic and would the Seattle Motorcycle Show retire in 1976 as race director, in 2004 that Bush fell for an spanning a time that saw the MV Agusta F4 750 Brutale, small Italian company win the resurrected brand’s naked some 3000 individual races inline-four. Within a week or and take home an amazing 75 so, one was in his garage in world titles. He and his sons White Rock, British Columthen set up a speed shop cont may have

BikeCraft SPRING 2013

45

nThis is what happens dur-

ing long Canadian winters when you have a heated, well-stocked garage, aboveaverage fabrication skills and a fascination with sexy red Italian four-cylinders. Here builder Jim Bush is in the final mockup stages. Modern MV four looks at home amidst classically styled café chassis.

46

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verting Agusta streetbikes into Magni MV race replicas. Over the years Hondas, BMWs, Moto Guzzis and Suzukis would also get the Magni treatment.

Why not a modern Magni MV, reasoned Bush? But first he needed to design a frame around the F4 engine’s mounting points. For this, Bush credits input from Michael Moore of EuroSpares (www.eurospares.com) in California. Chassis guru Tony Foale’s book Motorcycle Handling and Chassis Design: The Art & Science was also a useful resource.

First job was to anchor the engine in a custom jig to hold it rigidly in place.

Bush chose 1-inch mild steel with 0.063-inch wall thickness as the frame material. In researching 4130 chromoly tubing, Bush concluded there was no real advantage in the lightweight chro-mo – weight was not a major issue, and 4130 can become brittle with welding, leading to breakages.

Not good. Next, Bush had to teach himself TIG welding, which he’d concluded was the method best suited for strong joints with minimum effect on surrounding areas.

Main frame tubes were persuaded into shape with a mandrel bender and tack-welded into place. With some adjustments, brackets and gussets, the main elements were in place, including the steering head, to

which would be fitted modern Triumph Daytona tripletrees and fully adjustable 45mm Showa forks. Bush attacked the forks with a zip-saw to remove the caliper brackets (surplus to requirements, as he planned to use a periodlooking drum brake), then chucked the legs up in his lathe and turned off any surplus metal to replicate old-style Cerianis. Next came new billet fender mounts, glued into place to avoid any issues with welding distortion.

The swingarm, fabricated from rectangular-section steel tubing, went through three iterations before Bush was happy with the strength, weight and rigidity of the triangulated-andgusseted piece. Next came paint. Bush used Endura two-pack polyurethane GM Super Red 71U in his lighted, heated and well-ventilated paint booth.

Frame painted, now the tripleclamps could be installed and the Daytona forks fitted. At the rear, Bush chose Works Performance shocks, which the company kindly customized for him in old-school body-down format. Wheels were built up using a new Grimeca four-leading-shoe drum at the front and a Ducati drum from a 750 GT at the rear. The hubs were laced to WM2 and WM5 18-inch Morad alloy rims using spokes from Buchanan, and fitted with Bridgestone BT45 tires in 140-section rear and 100-section front sizes. A new sprocket carrier machined from billet completed the chassis parts, and a front fender was borrowed from a 1995 Triumph Thunderbird.

Gas tank and mufflers were sourced from Arturo’s son Giovanni Magni

Faster FIRE Engine in Italy – though they had to be extensively reworked. The 1974 MV America tank bottom was cut out and reworked to accept the F4’s electric fuel pump, and the front needed reshaping to fit around the steering head. It took some confidence (and more than a little apprehension) to start cutting up a $1000 gas tank!

Bush made his own seat pan from fiberglass and upholstered it, then water-jetted his own MV logos from stainless sheet and polished them to use as trim for the pipes.

The F4 engine’s fuel-injection system required some modification to fit. The stock Brutale has an airbox where the gas tank should be, with the throttle bodies angled upward.

There was no room for this arrangement on the special, so Bush sourced 2-inch aluminum elbows and modified them to turn the throttle bodies horizontal. The intakes use screened velocity stacks.

The fairing is another Magni item, which houses a period Aprilia headlight and CEV turnsignals. Bush made his own MDF plugs to lay up the fiberglass for the Magni-style sidepanels. Adjustable clip-on handlebars from Apex are fitted with Brutale switchgear, and pretty much all the rest of the electrics are transferred from a donor F4. That means the digital dash was retained, and while Bush would have preferred traditional analog instruments, the cost and time involved in reworking the Brutale electrics didn’t seem worthwhile.

Bush points to the many, many hours he spent making up brackets, lugs and all the other miscellany needed to fit and finish the MV’s componentry. He’s especially proud of the omni-directional ball-mount compensator he designed and made for the front brake cables: The brake lever would normally actuate both sides of the 4LS drum via a splitter, needing constant adjustment for perfect balance; Bush’s ball unit is selfcompensating. Also worthy of note is the hidden hydraulic clutch. The bar lever pulls a cable connected to a master cylinder under the gas tank, allowing Bush to keep the period handlebar profile.

nGiacomo Agostini joined

The finished machine is a people magnet when parked and literally a head-turner on the road. A flash of red and silver and the four black pipes cause drivers to give chase to find out what it is – usually they’re still baffled. And the sound of the F4 motor breathing through open stacks and blowing out of Magni pipes is hard to describe. Imagine a chainsaw shredding a trumpet full of angry hornets!

Bush now has over 5000 miles on his MV special, and reports very few issues. The gearshift linkage needed to be redesigned and a dyno test revealed that quite a few ponies had gone AWOL from the motor, at least partially the result of losing the airbox and tuned exhaust. Bush has plans to relocate the fuel injectors, which, with more re-mapping should help attain his goal of 100 hp at the rear wheel.

Overall, though, Bush is delighted with the result. Not that he wants to see another one like it any time soon so, please, don’t even ask.

“No, it’s not for sale,” he affirms.

“Nor will I build you a frame…”

the MV Agusta team in 1964. He parlayed moviestar good looks and immense riding talent into 122 GP wins and 15 world titles – 13 for MV, his last two for Yamaha in 197475. “Ago” also went to victory lane 10 times at the Isle of Man.

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THUNDERBIKE How a 1980s Sportster timewarped to the 1930s to win one of 2012’s top custom-bike awards, no paint required…

By Buck Manning

world class customs

GERMANY

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AMD PHOTOS

O

ver the past nine years, the

AMD World Championships of Custom Bike Building has produced a steady stream of interesting winners – not the dreaded themebike chopperfest many of us expected. A perfect example is the jaw-dropping 2012 Freestyle Class winner built by German Harley-Davidson dealer Thunderbike.

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THUNDERBIKE

n It may have started out as one of the last Ironhead motors but by the time the crew at Thunderbike Customs was done, it looked like something from an old Brough Superior catalog. Brass and copper only add to the effect.

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Thunderbike. Andreas Bergerforth, Thunderbike’s owner and custom visionary, had previously scored a second and a fifth at AMD’s Sturgis show, and he and his crew were resolved to accept nothing less than first place on this last shot. The 1930s Bonneville racer-inspired result, dubbed “PainTTless” for its almost total lack of paint, should be called “Flawless” for its total lack of imperfections.

What you’re looking at is actually the second iteration, as Andreas didn’t like how the 1984 Ironhead Sportster motor’s dimensions constrained the lines of his first frame.

“The transmission made it look too flat so we started over,” he said.

Starting over involved cutting off the unitized transmission and replacing it with a 1942 Harley WLA gearbox that was mounted up and behind the engine, not unlike the stacked units in today’s four-cylinder literbikes.

With the engine cradle now running tight around the crankcases, the exhaust could exit behind the engine and below the swingarm like Andreas wanted.

The 1000cc Ironhead had a second rear cylinder fitted up front and rotated 180 degrees so twin Amal Monoblocs could be squeezed between the jugs. This involved machining new oil passages and a whole lot more, while the rocker boxes were cut, split and tastefully reshaped. An eBayacquired 1928 Bosch magneto was

adapted, this time with more machining than you could shake a Haas CNC machine at. Other one-off machined pieces include the pushrod tubes, engine covers and hand-shifter setup.

Everything you see is fabricated and every piece dictated what the next piece had to be or do. Andreas wanted the gorgeous underseat finned oil tank/tailsection to appear to float in the air on its way aft. To do this and make room for a rear suspension and linkage, he had to devise a unique mechanism involving rocker arms and side-mounted horizontal shocks. The space needed for all this suspension movement gave the oil tank its whimsical shape. Front suspension is what Andreas refers to as a combination of springer and telescopic fork. Suffice to say that it works well and has a look like no other, but that’s not a surprise here.

The piece de resistance has to be those absolutely mind-blowing wheels. Carved from solid aluminum blanks, what appears to be the earliest set of drum-braked mag wheels ever are not quite what they suggest.

Under all that intricate machine work are covered rotors, and if you look closely you can see Honda calipers that have become one with the finned drums’ backing plates. Thunderbike’s CNC machine must have been running for days to accomplish all of this stunning trickery. The tall-sidewall 19-inch tires, an Avon ribbed front and Heidenau block-tread rear, com-

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THUNDERBIKE

nThe man-hours involved in creating just the items shown in this close-up must be staggering.

Thunderbike is a fullservice Harley-Davidson dealership, but the shop has built more than 160 customs to date, none more involved than PainTTless. No German build had won the top prize at AMD before, nor had a franchised dealer.

plete the vintage illusion.

The aluminum fuel tank was formed on a wooden buck and had to be metal-finished to beyond perfection if it was truly going to remain paintless. Juxtaposing the tank’s faultless sheetmetal is the delicate and beautiful mechanical complication of the brass gas cap and front mounting bracket, and just ahead of that the spinner-like steering stem nut. The view from the seat has to so hypnotizing that it could cause safety problems for riders! Then there’s the fairing that looks like it was formed by the wind while the aluminum was still molten. From the side, you can see that the airflow must get aroused just rushing over these silken shapes – or maybe that’s just the way I feel looking at them.

Either way, they’re beautiful bodies

in motion, even at rest.

Though there’s only a small amount of paint and graphics by Ingo Kruse, what there is only enhances the metallic finishes. The warmth of the copper and brass keeps things from being boringly monotone while the faux cast-metal finish on the wheels imparts an ancient and edgy feel at the same time. I just love this bike.

Andreas says this was his last AMD showbike, but with the show’s move from Sturgis to Essen, Germany for 2013 putting the contest only 33 miles from his shop, I think he’ll have a hard time not defending his title in his own backyard. You can check in on his website (www. thunderbike.de) to see if he can resist the temptation to compete. The only question is, what does he do for an encore?

“The mind-blowing wheels were carved from solid aluminum blanks.

Thunderbike’s CNC machine must have run for days to accomplish all of this.”

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TOP

10 Surfing the globe with Bike EXIF’s best builds

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wice a year, the website

Bike EXIF compiles a list of its Top Ten custom motorcycles.

It’s a global barometer of public taste, with bikes selected on the basis of web traffic and social media “likes.” These are the 10 machines that wowed readers in the second half of 2012.

Classified Moto Honda KT600 When “Battlestar Galactica” actress Katee Sackhoff wanted a custom motorcycle, she commissioned John Ryland of Classified Moto to makeover her Honda XL600. Not surprisingly, the small Richmond, Virginia shop has since been deluged with orders for new builds.

PHOTO BY ADAM EWING

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TOP

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PHOTO BY RAFA GALLAR

Anglada Originals Ducati 1098 After an unfortunate track-day accident, comedian Alonzo Bodden took the remains of his sportbike Duc to Nick Anglada of Floridabased Anglada Originals. It’s now packed with top-shelf components and sports a brutal streetfighter style.

Cafe Racer Dreams BMW Scrambler There’s more to life than clip-ons and rearsets. Proving that point, the Spanish workshop Cafe Racer Dreams transformed a humble 1971 BMW R75/5 into this stunning vintage-style scrambler destined for the streets of Paris.

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JvB-moto Ducati Pantah

It’s always fascinating to see the personal rides

of bike builders. This Ducati Pantah belongs to Cologne, Germany-based Jens vom Brauck of custom shop JvB-moto. “I wanted it to look like it was found in a shed in Bologna,” he says. “A futuristic design study for a 1981 motor show, but never displayed…the work of a designer who was a café-racer fan but could not convince the Ducati factory.”

Wilkinson Brothers BMW 1970s-era BMW airheads respond well to the caféracer treatment, but you don’t often see one with a monoshock conversion.

This clean 1976 R75 is owned by graphic designer Casey Wilkinson of the motorcycle-mad Wilkinson Brothers. The Indiana boys specialize in bike and car-related design/marketing, and in their spare time produce “Good Spark Garage,” an online ’zine.

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TOP

10 Loaded Gun Triumph Mono Racer Dark and minimal is the custom trend today. Bikes are being stripped of chrome and artifice, and generally look the better for it. But there’s always an exception, like this pale and elegant café Triumph from Loaded Gun Customs, Ken Driscoll’s Delaware-based shop. The 1972 Bonneville uses a Yamaha XS650 front end and the single-shock swingarm from a Ducati 900SS. Spirit of the Seventies Ducati A stern test for custom builders is how they handle the “budget” job. Holding to a strict bottom line with this Ducati GT1000 was no problem for the English workshop Spirit of the Seventies – and won the company many new admirers.

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WT FRASER PHOTOGRAPHY

Flyrite Choppers “Double Trouble” Norton Some motorcycles seem to be sacrosanct when it comes to customizing, while others are fair game. So you see quite a few Triumph specials, not so many Nortons. Jason Kidd, owner of Southern California’s Flyrite Choppers, is singlehandedly trying to make up for with his extraordinary “Double Trouble” old-school custom that has not one, but two Norton Atlas 750 twins nestling in the frame. Bonus points if you i.d.’d the modified Hodaka gas tank feeding the twin mills.

ALAN BRANDT PHOTOGRAPHY

Spin Cycle Yamaha XV750 This Yamaha Virago with a YZF-R1 front end was Eric Meglasson’s first motorcycle build, inspired by Classified Moto’s good work on the same model. The Oregon architect now runs his own custom motorcycle company, Spin Cycle Industries.

Super Moto Honda 150 Holland’s Super Motor Company has turned the unassuming Honda Super Cub step-through into a fire-breathing salt flats racer – well, okay, with 22 hp from its hopped-up 150cc motor, world records aren’t likely. Nonetheless, web surfers loved the little bike. EXIF’s surprise online hit of the year.

DAVID FINATO PHOTOGRAPHY

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FEATURE BIKE

DEZ SLED

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A new Triumph travels back to the Mojave Desert 1966 Words & Photos By David Edwards

T

he past is a wonderful place to visit but most of us don’t want to live there. Same goes for old motorcycles.

Scrumptious to look at, lovely sounds, heritage by the boatload, but living with them day-to-day can be...well, let’s face it, there’s a lot to be said for reliability, oiltightness and a helpful little modcon like electric starting.

Robert Jordan loves old Triumphs, owns several, including an authentic Southern California desert sled 650 that nabs concours trophies wherever it goes, but the online marketing consultant wanted something a little more current for his daily rider. Triumph’s new Scrambler twin seemed like the perfect choice but there just

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T

“

he overall change in stance, that’s the hardest part to get right on a build.” wasn’t enough sled in its makeup, not surprising given that it’s basically a new Bonneville streetbike with high pipes and wide handlebars.

There are companies doing conversions but these didn’t ring quite true with Jordan, either, especially as he had the genuine article sitting in his garage for comparison. “They just

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don’t look right,” he says.

Jordan took his dilemma to Richard Pollock at Mule Motorcycles (www. mulemotorcycles.net), best known for his sano street-trackers but also a keen observer of the custom scene, including the new trend toward scramblers.

“Most of the scrambler-style builds I see now are standard streetbikes with knobby tires,” Pollock explains.

“I think 99% are done by people who see an old picture of the real thing, but don’t really understand the purpose or the point because they weren’t around when the bikes were being built or sold. The era of the dedicated motocrosser hadn’t arrived yet, so scramblers were really

DEZSLED the best or only option.”

Pollock, always up for a new bike-building challenge, immediately took on Jordan’s neo-scrambler project.

“The goal was to build a current version of a ’60s Triumph desert sled, one that could be ridden every day forever, that would look like it was genuinely from the ’60s,” he says. “This was Robert’s concept; my job was to convert the dream, if possible, into reality.”

Starting point was a stock 2007 Triumph Scrambler 900.

Pollock turned his attention first to the fuel tank and seat, the former too bulbous, the latter too long for proper sled style.

Racetec, a fabrication shop in Oxnard, California, was tasked with creating the steel gas tank, recognizably Triumph in shape, including the raised seam down the middle, but crisper and skinnier than stock. For the seat, Pollock went to local leather man Abe Ramos with a ratty old Bates competition saddle for inspiration. Back in the days before long-travel suspension, a slab of Bates foam covered in thick cowhide saved many a vertebrae, and after a couple of tries Ramos nailed the shape and stitch pattern.

The abbreviated seat left a portion of the rear subframe rails exposed, so out came the metal saw for a little surgery. The only other alteration to the frame was installation of Street-

master replacement front downtubes.

Sold on an exchange basis, these bolt on just below the steering head and run all the way under the engine, and are plumbed with oil lines and fittings to act as an outsized cooler.

Between the forward-facing tubes and their extra capacity, there’s no need for the stock oil radiator, which cleans up the look at the front of the bike and allows some freedom in the shape of custom exhaust headers.

Streetmaster claims a useful drop in operating temperature, too.

Before a smart ex-racer named Preston Petty perfected the unbreakable plastic fender, polished aluminum was the lightweight fender material of choice for dirtbikes. Pollock genned up a set of period-looking alloy blades for the scrambler, the rear adorned with a bobber/chopper taillight housed in a custom aluminum mount.

Now fully into the retro vibe, Pollock took a bold step with the bike’s brakes. Out went the stock hydraulic discs, replaced with old-style, cable-operated drums. Mule has a lot of experience converting Yamaha XS650s into street-trackers so a rummage through the spare parts bin soon had a rear XS drum ready to be laced to a satin-finished 18-inch Sun alloy rim. Up front, the choice was a little more complicated but eventually Pollock settled on the drum from a 1968 BMW, this time connected to a 19-inch Sun with stainless-steel spokes. Powdercoated a silvery gray with a chromed trim ring on its left side, the Beemer brake really completes the 1960s makeover – besides bringing the scrambler to a stop with typical Teutonic efficiency.

More period pieces include a set of CZ crossbraced handlebars. Important to the desert sled style are

n (Below) The original armor-plated customs, desert sleds were built to survive in the Mojave Desert and the wilds of Baja. So popular were they in the 1960s that shops like Ted’s Triumph in Los Angeles provided ready-to-race bikes with bash plates, longer-travel suspension, high pipes and Bates saddles, among many other mods, already in place.

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DEZSLED TECH SPECS

Name of bike: Owner: Year/Make/Model: Fabrication: Assembly: Build time: Engine: Carbs: Exhaust: Air Cleaner: Transmission: Frame: Forks: Shocks: Front wheel: Rear wheel: Front Tire: Rear Tire: Front Brake: Rear Brake: Fuel Tank: Oil Tank: Fenders: Handlebars: Headlight: Taillight: Hand Controls: Handgrips: Foot Controls: Footpegs: Electrical: Painter: Graphics: Polishing: Chrome: Seat: Special thanks:

Triumph Catalina Scrambler Robert Jordon 2007 Triumph Scrambler Richard Pollock, Mule Motorcycles Richard Pollock, Mule Motorcycles 1 year Stock 865cc, 270-degree crank Stock Stainless-steel, Mark McDade (2) K&N Stock Modified stock Stock Race Tech 19 x 2.75 Sun rim, stainless spokes 18 x 3.50 Sun rim, stainless spokes Trials Universal Trials Universal 1968 BMW drum 1975 Yamaha XS650 drum Racetec none Aluminum CZ 360, stripped and double nickel-plated Stock Death Ray Customs 1982 YZ490 Yamaha Renthal Stock Stock Mule custom Blake Conway Dennis Wells Exclusive Polishing Exclusive Polishing Abe Ramos To Mule’s Shawn Kump for all his running around and detail work

short, engine-hugging high pipes.

Longtime Mule collaborator Mark McDade fabbed these out of stainless-steel to which Pollock grafted heat shields to protect tender inner thighs. What looks like an oversized alloy oil tank under the seat actually isn’t. The Triumph motor is a wet-sump design and doesn’t need an external oil supply, but the aluminum “tank” serves as a good place to hide the scrambler’s relocated electrics. It’s even got cut-outs to clear the K&N air filters – all very authentic-looking.

Suspension-wise, the stock forks

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n Remember Snuff-or-Nots? A popular 1960s accessory, these cut down on

noise when the washer inside the exhaust pipes was flipped to the closed position. For the non-baffled exhausts on the scrambler, Pollock acquired an original set on eBay and modified the washers to fit the larger-diameter pipes. with their rubber boots were already suitably vintage in appearance, ditto the headlight ears and shell. No need to modify the swingarm either, though several lengths of Race Tech shocks were tried before Pollock was satisfied. “The overall change in stance or profile, that’s the hardest part to get right on a build,” he says. A nice touch are the holes milled into the stock chainguard, echoing the similar treatment to the skidplate, exhaust pipe mounts and taillight bracket.

So complete is the conversion that the bike is often mistaken for a genuine 1960s machine. The owner is so pleased with the end result he is considering marketing kits under the “Catalina Scrambler” brand name, in honor of the famous 1950s dirt race held on Santa Catalina Island off the Southern California coast. One possible change may be replacement of the rear knobby, a modern radial trials tire no doubt gummy enough to climb shear rock faces, but which gets a little squirmy at speed.

The builder, too, came away enam-

ored with the project: “When I do a new Triumph for myself,” says Mr. Street-Tracker, “it will be in the scrambler style – with good street tires!”

Cobra “Knuckster,” builder Denny Berg, photos by Mark Clifford

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MULE TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE Father Dave’s Kandy-Kolored Tangerine Dream Machine

Sometimes even a man of the cloth needs a little earthly diversion. So it was with Father Dave Reinhart, a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, recently returned from a posting in Iraq. He contacted Richard Pollock at Mule Motorcycles about modifying his 2006 Triumph Bonneville – nothing too crazy, just an amplification of the bike’s good points The result is a “quiet” custom, one that looks like it could have (should have?) been built by the factory. But in fact, almost no part of the original bike remains untouched. Start with the main frame, as on the desert scrambler, its bolt-on engine cradle tubes replaced by Streetmaster components. Still up front, Pollock went to flat-track specialists A&A for a set of their adjustable billet triple-clamps. These hold 43mm Buell M2 Cyclone fork tubes.

Stock headlight ears shortened 3/8-inch and reworked inner rubber sleeves allow

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fitment of the standard headlight shell and turnsignals, further giving a factory feel, as does a Thruxton front fender, shorter than the Bonnie part. Mule/Race Tech shocks are slightly longer than stock.

Big upgrades to the wheel/brake package, namely wider Sun aluminum rims, 2.75 x 18-inch front, 4.25 x 18 rear, laced to the stock hubs. Front brake was bumped up to a 320mm Brembo rotor on a custom Mule carrier, pinched by a four-piston Brembo Goldline caliper. Dunlop Sportmax radials complete the rolling improvements.

Motor-wise, again, nothing drastic, just a thorough massaging of the stock 790cc twin, starting with an airbox eliminator kit and carb rejet, plus reworked ignition from South Bay Triumph (2 degrees more advance, 1000 rpm more revs) and high-energy sparkplug leads. A set of prototype Mule up-pipes unleashes a few more ponies, not to mention a

n The Hinckley Bonneville, in production now for 10 years, continues to gain friends among bike builders.

Richard Pollock at Mule Motorcycles has at least five Bonnie street-trackers under construction and recently delivered this muscled-up stocker.

healthy dose of decibels.

The Triumph parts & accessories catalog was consulted for the stepped saddle and chrome-plated sidecovers. Flanders chipped in with superbike-bend handlebars. Mule is responsible for the severely docked rear fender, relocated blinkers and tiny LED taillight. The whole lot is capped off by a coat of Olympic Flame paint, a candy metallic tangerine that was once part of Triumph’s 1960s color palette – and judging by how it looks here, should be again current day. –David Edwards

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SALT SHADOW AFT builds a two-up land-speeder

W

By Howard Kelly Not Jim Giuffra of AFT Metric Customs in Jackson, California, where the shop is staffed by women – drop-dead stunners aged 18-40 – who can actually build bikes, as well as model seductively at bike shows, conventions, store openings, etc. Yup, they may be “booth candy” but the AFT Girls can out-fabricate that guy on your block who’s been restoring a ’78 Shovelhead in his garage for the last 12 years now. Seriously.

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PHOTO BY HORST ROSLER

FEATURE BIKE

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Besides being easy on the orbs, the AFT build team has helped turn out some memorable showwinning machinery in the past couple of years, namely a pair of Honda Shadow 750 V-twins that have been judged worthy of Best Performance Custom honors at the

“AFT Girls did the riding at Bonneville, not something your average swimsuit model has on her résumé.”

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annual AMD World Championships in Sturgis two years running.

Following their star turns in South Dakota, the bikes were hauled to Utah for speed runs on the salt flats, more than justifying the “performance” portion of their trophy tags. Leathered up, AFT Girls did

SALT SHADOW the riding at Bonneville, not something your typical swimsuit model has on her résumé.

Construction of “Halia,” as the 2012 bike was called, started several months earlier when Giuffra sprung a surprise on the girls. With the stocker stripped down, he brought in Greg Westbury of Westbury Handcrafted Motorcycles and Cole Foster from Salainas Boyz to teach a sheetmetal class. Watchn Halia is a lesson in small details that matter. It’s also a legitimate twoupper, thanks to folding passenger pegs and this minimally padded leather squab screwed to the rear fender. A touring bike it ain’t but every red-blooded male (or female for that matter) can appreciate the ability to ferry a friend.

PHOTOS BY JERRY SOUTHWELL

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TECH SPECS

Name of bike: Owner: Year/Make/Model: Fabrication: Assembly: Build time: Engine: Carbs: Exhaust: Air Cleaner: Transmission: Frame: Forks: Shocks: Front wheel: Rear wheel: Front Tire: Rear Tire: Front Brake: Rear Brake: Fuel Tank: Oil Tank: Fenders: Handlebars: Headlight: Taillight: Hand Controls: Handgrips:

Halia AFT, Jim Giuffra 2001 Honda Shadow 750 AFT AFT 600 hours Honda VT750 Stock AFT/Leo Vince K&N Stock Honda/AFT Honda/Race Tech Race Tech Buchanan/AFT Buchanan/AFT Avon AV71 Cobra 120/70-19 Avon AV72 Cobra 180/55-18 Beringer Honda AFT None AFT Driven Mfg. Clear Water Lights TPJ Customs Beringer Grip Ace

Foot Controls: Footpegs: Electrical: Painter: Graphics: Anodizing: Chrome: Seat: Special thanks:

AFT Kirk Taylor AFT Kirk Taylor Kirk Taylor Pacific Coast Meclec Duane Ballard Avon Tyre, Miller Welding, Beringer Brakes, Race Tech, Dynatek, K&N, Grip Ace, Clearwater Lights, Motion Pro, Web Cams, Leo Vince

nFabricated alu-

minum rockerbox covers lend a certain comp-shop feel to the usually pedestrian VT750 V-twin. An AFT hop-up kit with new pistons, rings and camshafts backs up the look.

Including the required gaskets and O-rings, it retails for $1050.

AFT also sells kits for the Honda VTX1300 and Fury.

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ing two of the best in the business shape metal and share tricks of the trade inspired the girls to take Halia’s build quality up a notch.

Filled with visions of English wheels, teardrop hammers, panelbeater sandbags and wooden bucks, the team met to map out the plan for the Honda.

First and foremost, the bike was going to be street-legal and capable of carrying a passenger. Second, it was going to run at Bonneville.

Why the passenger criteria? As Giuffra says, “Why not? Let’s not forget motorcycle riding is fun and every once in a while you might want to share that fun.” And the speed runs? Bonneville makes a strong statement about a bike’s build quality, so it was a no-brainer to go back. A sketch was created and sheetmetal fabrication started, led by AFT Girl Nalani who also chose the name Halia, Hawaiian for “In Memory Of,” as a tribute to her dad who had recently passed.

The VT750 main frame was left stock, except for the removal of a single cross brace deemed unnecessary, while the swingarm was drilled for style and weight savings.

Giuffra took his two-up requirement

to the suspension experts at Race Tech to create shocks that would give the ride height he was after while still being able to carry a passenger. Additionally Race Tech guts are utilized in the Honda forks that now live in Krause Motor Company triple-trees. Giuffra stole a trick from 1920s board-trackers by drilling the rim lips and rear hub before

SALT SHADOW

they were sent off for powdercoating. While the drill bit was still hot, pretty much anything else that could be Swiss-cheesed without reducing structural integrity was given the treatment. Bonneville is a cruel mistress when it comes to horsepower-to-weight ratio.

Normally a Shadow 750 has forward controls that kick your feet out in a style reminiscent of Peter Fonda riding a chopper, which simply would not do on a Bonneville bike or fun street machine. So the stock equipment was turned into mid-controls – this is a custom shop, after all – and fit with footpegs created by metal maestro Kirk Taylor.

Clip-ons and a set of Beringer hand controls completed the go-fast riding position.

Speaking of going fast, Halia was treated to a hop-up kit AFT has created that puts about 50 hp to the rear wheel – not a lot compared to today’s frontline sportbikes, sure, but enough to push a VT750 to the entertaining side of 100 mph at Bonneville. Going that fast invites an

upgrade in anchors so a very nice six-piston caliper and floating rotor from the addictive Beringer catalog were fitted up front.

Fresh out of their metalworkers dream class, Nalani, Shelby, Kristin and Angela, quite literally, pounded out the panels you see in these photos, including the high-mount supermotard-style front fender that is actually nine pieces welded together. A sidenote to that fender, you will notice it is not on the bike in the Bonneville shots as rules specify fenders be no more than an inch from the tire. Panels on the bike are aluminum and the gas tank is steel, all built in-house. Perhaps Westbury and Foster should offer their instructional services to more shops around the country?

No matter where you look, cool custom tricks abound. Those leather panels between the gas tank and steering neck? Simple replacements

n Extra weight costs speed,

and running at Bonneville stresses the need for a better power-to-weight number. Aside from drilling the swingarm, sprocket, chainguard, hubs, wheels, motor mounts, etc. – nuthin’ lighter than a hole – minimalist controls with hidden micro-switches in the grips help keep weight down.

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You’ve got $1000 and 30 days, now go build a bike, no Harleys allowed…

Y

ou and your buddies, hanging out

By Gabe Ets-Hokin

in your garage, have probably come up with some pretty good ideas, but have you had any that turned into a 10-year tradition, an iconic event that’s imprinted on your local motorcycling scene?

Poll Brown has. Ten years ago, the impish Englishman and three of his buddies were “standing around, bullshitting” about the then-current crop of biker build-off programs on cable TV, shows where the average chrome-encrusted V-twin started around $50,000. They challenged each other to a budget bike-building duel, and at first, there were only two rules: 1) You can’t spend more than $500; and 2) you get just two weeks to finish it. The deadline came around, and about 30 of their friends showed up to celebrate the results. The party was somehow too raucous for Oakland (“The OPD was not user-friendly,” says Brown), so the next year the event moved to San Francisco.

It was now a thing, and as most things do, it took on a life of its own. Year two there were six entries, and more each following year. Rules evolved – Brown’s original partners quit the event, and as he believes motorcycles are meant for riding, not posing, he added the requirement that the bikes get ridden on a 100-mile loop before judging. Entrants complained about the $500 rule, so that was bumped up to an extravagant $1000. Two weeks turned into 30 days, and the final rule – no Harley-Davidsons – was added. Brown says Harleys, with their distinctive shapes and glittering chrome, gobble up attention at shows, so he decided to “level the playing field” by excluding the brand.

Brown has used social media to massively grow the event. Now called the Dirtbag Challenge, attendance has increased at least tenfold. The 2012 iteration, held in a grubby space between warehouses in the Hunter’s Point neighborhood of San Francisco, attracted hundreds and hundreds of motorcyclists, artists and even curious hipsters from the nearby

PHOTOS BY BOB STOKSTAD

Mission District. As the 16 finishers (of 28 entries) rolled in after the 100-mile pre-judging ride, hyper-amplified bands played death metal, beer-slingers poured cheap brew and spectators gawked at scantily clad “alternative model” Ashley Russel, wrapped in just enough fishnet with, fittingly, electrical tape pasties to keep the event barely this side on an NC17 rating.

In fact, there were far too many people there to get good photos of the bikes and as Mr. Editor Edwards abhors the usual “asses & elbows” shots taken at these things anyway, I arranged a photo session several weeks later so I could have some quiet and order while photographer Bob shot and I interviewed participants. But that backfired. Put Dirtbags in an open space and as soon as they get bored they start doing burnouts and stunts with their machines, making interviewing difficult but photography fun.

Talking to the Dirtbags who showed up made it clear that their bikes have taken on a certain distinctive look over the years. Generally, they tend to be ‘70s and ‘80s Japanese UJMs, with modified hardtail frames and creative use of cast-off parts like gas tanks, seats and wheels. The $1000 doesn’t include old abandoned projects or parts the participants (or their friends) may already have had in their garages and sheds, nor does the 30-day rule apply to stuff they may have already started but failed to finish. Adherence to the rules is on the honor system.

The event is well attended and sells a lot of beer, burgers and T-shirts, but still barely breaks even, according to Brown. But he won’t quit. “Every year I question doing it,” he says, but he continues because it makes his friends – and himself – so happy. “Some of my best friends I met through the DBC and the response I get from the community is enormous,” Brown tells me in his working-class British accent. “People I don’t know stop me on the street and tell me what a great time they had. They say it’s like Christmas for grown-ups. It makes me feel good.”

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“It’s not a Dirtbag entry unless you bleed on it…”

Julian Farnum: Yamaha RD400 Streetfighter

L

ivermore, California’s Julian Farnum is a product designer by trade, and has always been obsessed with building roadrace frames and alternative front ends – plus he loves two-strokes, especially RD and RZ Yamahas.

This low-riding RD400 is his first Dirtbag entry, and it’s amazing he accomplished it for under $1000, especially when you see the “Öhlins” stamps on the four shock absorbers.

Actually, they’re just Öhlins springs with cheaper Mulholland dampers. A $75 RD frame was the basis of the project, a friend had a ‘79 RD400 Daytona Special gas tank, another friend donated R5 wheels, hubs and brakes, and the motor’s bottom end and crank turned up on a two-

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stroke Internet forum. Exhaust comes from an RZ350 and the seat is off a Suzuki GSX-R600. Luckily 13/4-inch steel tubing fit perfectly in the GSX-R600 triple-clamps, and Farnum developed the leading-link springer front end himself, noting without really needing to, “I added my own design twists.”

Julian’s process was definitely more involved than the Sawzalland-blowtorch method most Dirtbaggers employ. “I spend two hours a day commuting on the train, so I did 50 pages of sketches, which turned into CAD models, then individual part drawings and then finished pieces. So when the Dirtbag go-date hit, there was no guesswork involved, all I had to do was go into my shop and start,” he says.

THE GREAT DIRTBAG CHALLENGE

G

Guido Brenner: Guzzi-Ford Trike

uido Brenner is the prototypical San Francisco Renaissance Man – nightclub bouncer by night, quasiindustrial tinkerer and builder of cars and motorcycles by day. He’s also a photographer and in four bands, so it’s not surprising 2012 was the first year he was able to find the time to participate in the DBC. “I’m the one usually doing a sideshow with a sidecar (Brenner is known for doing burnouts and flying the chair of his battered BMW sidecar rig during the DBC after-party), but this time I decided to get off my ass and build something.”

Brenner was born into a family of hotrodders, so it’s not surprising he selected the ancient front end of a 1930 Ford Model A to mate to the frame, rear wheel and motor of the small-block Guzzi he rode around in the ‘80s. “I bought the bike back from a friend for $500,” he says. Being a hot-rod guy, he wanted to sit behind a steering wheel, in front of the Guzzi V-twin. “It’s the po’boy version of a Morgan trike,” he laughs.

It’s also very much a work-in-progress. The 80-year-old mechanical brakes, not surprisingly, are marginal, making the pre-judging ride “hairy.”

Brown and other riders were nervous riding behind Brenner, but a team of Christian Motorcycle Rider volunteers provided escort, keeping other motorists off his tail. At the end of the day, Guido’s creation went home with the Founder’s Award and he had a great time – he loves the comfy car seat and next year he wants to build a half VW Beetle/half chopper monstrosity. I won’t want to ride that one, either.

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“Soon the Dirtbags start doing burnouts and stunts,

J

ason Pate, who does underground construction and welding for a living, has his shop in industrial, blue-collar Fremont, so his 2008 entry, a 1979 Suzuki GS1000, reflects the tough-but-stylish East Bay zeitgeist. The build ran him just $850, with money saved by using a ‘79 GS750 front end, chopping and welding the hardtail conversion himself and making his own rear brake pedal. Points were replaced with the mechanism from a Chevy V-8 – Pate is proud of the built-in timing light.

The bike was finished off with the tank from a ‘75 Triumph, while the hubs and wheels were donated by Crazy Chris at Wheelworks, the Bay Area’s go-to shop for wheel lacing. The bike’s tidy, compact and clean look was a crowd-pleaser, garnering the “Clever Fucka” and Coolest Chopper trophies.

Pate insisted I ride the bike to get a feel for it. I was game – never having ridden a hardtail before. I thought the horrible ghetto pavement around Hunter’s Point would destroy what’s left of my lower spine, but it was actually not that bad, the big back tire and mountain-bike shock mounted under the saddle absorbing a lot of bumps. The best part about the bike was that smooth-running and torquey GS1000 four,

Jason PatE: 1979 Suzuki GS1000

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which ran perfectly and sounded great. There’s a reason four-cylinder Suzukis are fast-becoming Dirtbag favorites.

Since the 2008 event, Pate has kept the bike as his regular ride, repainting and polishing it to its present glory. Stuff occasionally rattles loose on the freeway, but he still enjoys it: “It’s capable and fun...I like the ‘60s chopper thing, the classic bare-bones look.” For $850, I’d call it a keeper.

THE GREAT DIRTBAG CHALLENGE

making interviewing difficult but photography fun.”

The Turk: Yamaha “Bulldozer” and Yamaha “Slung-Low”

W

hat’s your name?” I asked the builder of the two most unusual bikes in the group.

“Turk,” came the reply from behind his big sunglasses.

“No, what’s on your birth certificate?”

“I don’t remember,” was the vaguely coquettish response.

“How about your driver’s license?”

When he replied, “The Turk,” I stopped asking questions about his name.

The Turk is another product of San Francisco’s industrial-artistic lifestyle, the subculture that produced the Survival Research Labs’ self-immolating robots and Burning Man. His day job is with the San Francisco Opera and Ballet, building props and sets – he recently built a radio-controlled chaise lounge for the annual Christmas production of The Nutcracker.

The “Bulldozer” is what happened when Turk “wanted fat and heavy, with big wheels” for his 2011 DBC entry. The huge main frame tube was one of the easiest parts to source – an industrial specialty shop rolled the tubing and bent it to order for $160. Turk then welded on the rigid swingarm and girder front end.

He copied the latter’s design from the front-end geometry of his neighbor’s land-speed racebike.

The chromed tractor seat is off an Excercycle from the ‘30s, and the bike rolls on a pair of fat Suzuki Bandit rear wheels. The Yamaha Radian motor isn’t all that interesting, but it makes enough power for freeway speeds and smoking the rear tire at the end of the day. Big, hulking and, incredibly, built in just 30 days, the Bulldozer won the People’s Choice award last year.

In 2009, Turk was in a lower and slower mood.

“Slung Low” was the result of having a good Yamaha XT550 dual-sport motor in a badly twisted frame cluttering his shop. “I wanted to

make a frame any shape I wanted to,” Turk told me, so he started out with $60 worth of pipe and used hand tools and a hand-held grinder, “nothing fancy,” to make an elegant chassis that follows the curves and angles of the old Thumper’s mechanical parts. Some anonymous ‘80s Kawasaki cruiser donated its front end and back wheel, and the gas tank appears to be a pony keg. The seat looks more like a photograph of a seat, and ergonomics are more akin to the Big Wheel I owned when I was 6. A beautiful piece of artwork, but the first motorcycle I’ve ever encountered that I have absolutely no desire to ride.

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"Brown used social media to massively grow the Dirtbag Challen

Felicia Chen: Kawasaki Ninja 250 Chopper

S

an Jose State neuroscience student Felicia Chen is unusual for a Dirtbag entrant, an outsider, a woman of Asian descent and gay to boot. But that didn’t stop her from entering the contest, building her bike, completing the ride and impressing the heck out of the Supreme Dirtbag himself. “She should have won everything,” Brown told me. “That was the first bike she built, she never had a problem and it was impeccable.”

Chen’s project shows her scientific approach to things. She started with the remnants of a friend’s 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250R (“She lunched the engine.”) and found a cheap replacement motor for it. From there, she got together with friends in her riding club, The Creeps of San Jose, and brainstormed: “It’s like 2 in the morning and you say stuff like, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if...’” Chen says she didn’t “know a lot about choppers, but I

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wanted a little seat with the springy thing,” as well as the hand-shifter with clutch lever attached. The result is small, neat, clean and precise – as you’d imagine a chopper built by NASA might look.

DJ Cycles in San Jose, an independent shop, let Chen use a lift and tools and helped with welding, though Chen was definitely handson: “They didn’t just do stuff for me, they taught me how to do stuff...I cut up my hands pretty bad, metal splinters and stuff, but I guess it’s not a Dirtbag unless you bleed on it.”

Chen relishes her newfound Dirtbag status. “I didn’t know how they’d receive this small Asian chick, because I’m not that dirty, but I got a lot of props from the guys,” she says.

What’s next? “A Yamaha XS400 café-racer – after I let my girlfriend wreck it…”

THE GREAT DIRTBAG CHALLENGE

nge; in a decade attendance has increased at least tenfold."

Alex VerbitskY: Honda CB450 Board-Tracker

T

wenty-nine-year-old self-described “IT guy” Alex Verbitsky came to California by way of Virginia from Moldova, of all places, five years ago. The ethnic Russian “grew up on American style” and always had some kind of retro-styled motorcycle.

Verbitsky’s DBC ride reflects a bare-bones ethos. “El Fo-Fitty” started life as a 1968 Honda CB450, and aided by his new Dirtbag friends, Alex welded up a hardtail frame and mated a 1963 Honda Dream front end.

Wheels are ex-motocrosser, a 23-inch front and 21-inch rear. The gas tank is a fiberglass Bultaco trials unit, carefully painted by artist Talbott Deville to look old and patina’d. Verbitsky was going for a “rideable board-track

style,” but his scrounger nature, perhaps born of necessity in post-Iron Curtain Moldova (Europe’s poorest country) shines through. The bandana-patched seat is off a bicycle (perhaps my older brother’s Schwinn Stingray, stolen in San Francisco in 1975), the exhaust is an old ‘70s-era Hooker 2-into-1, handlebar risers are suspension links from a Suzuki, the bars themselves are made from a truck-engine camshaft, and the wicker front fender (maybe the first ever) was some kind of barstool or nightstand, Verbitsky isn’t sure which, “but it was $5.”

His bike has yet to complete the ride, but failed entries can be re-entered the following year, so long as work doesn’t start until 30 days before the event. Alex’s ride isn’t fancy, but it’s a good example of what can be done in a month with the right parts, friends and vision – it’s what the Dirtbag Challenge is all about.

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PHOTOS BY KEVIN WING

RIDE

Riding Steffano Motors’ re-do of a Ducati 999

By Alan Cathcart

T

hings ain’t what they used to be in the

custom bike world – and the state of the economy is only partly to blame. Sure, companies like Big Dog and American Ironhorse, whose post-Discovery Channel business plan was based on selling chromed-out choppers to management types with more moolah than common sense, have indeed gone to the great corporate trashbin in the sky. But the very idea of what a custom bike should be has changed, too.

Led by youthful fusion chefs of custom cool like Roland Sands and by international outfits like Deus ex Machina, there’s an increasing emphasis on riding that just didn’t exist before.

That’s where guys like Robert Steffano come in.

Steffano, 48, is an affable native Northern Californian with a serious talent for conceiving and creating twowheeled works of art – and then riding the wheels off them, as I found out for myself trying to keep up with him through the twisties of the Eel River Valley leading down to the Pacific Ocean’s Lost Coast, 200 miles north of San Francisco. We were each riding examples of Steffano Motors’ café-custom lineup, developed in-house by Robert’s Acme Rocket Bike design subsidiary – he on a R1 Yamaha streetfighter, me on the bike I’d travelled 6000 miles BikeCraft SPRING 2013

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n“This motorcycle is collab-

orative exercise,” says Robert Steffano in his best Acme mission-statement mode. “My belief is that within every machinist, painter, mechanic, welder or fabricator, lies an artist, a true craftsman who has spent thousands of hours working in their chosen medium, doing jobs for others, making it their trade.” Bay Area carbon-fiber specialist James Porreco of Finish Line Advanced Composites, CNC machinist Bobby Hill and the Kosman Specialities custom house all contributed to the Café 9 project.

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to examine after seeing it unveiled at the Long Beach Show a couple of years earlier. Steffano’s “Café 9,” is a mechanically stock Ducati 999 V-twin that has been completely reworked into a rolling objet d’art, but one that firmly embraces the new ideal of custom bike building, and what’s more is available in replica form, with prices starting at $30,000 depending on how much extra you want to dial into the basic platform.

As we rode in line astern through the fast curves of the deserted two-lane blacktop flanking the Redwood Highway, a.k.a.

US 101, I couldn’t help but pinch myself mentally. Here I was on Racer Road, aboard an eye-candy showbike that’s sufficiently striking to have been featured on magazine covers – but which can be ridden and street-raced just like a real-world motorcycle.

Steffano majored in mechanical engineering at Arizona State University, and having been a motorcycle junkie ever since his early teens – “My first bike was a 50cc Benelli, I can remember personalising it by painting it out of a rattle can!” – he used the university labs to build his first custom bike, as a college design project.

“I built a full-floater monoshock suspension system onto an old Slash 6 BMW Boxer, added Morris mags, a K100 front end, a hot-rod twin-spark motor with lightweight

rockers, all kinds of crazy stuff,” recalls Robert. “It was pretty cool, and pretty unique – and I still have it here as a source of inspiration!” Fresh out of college, Steffano applied unsuccessfully to work for Harley, but Milwaukee’s loss was the aerospace industry’s gain, until after 15 years of engineering space-age materials, he decided to move back to Northern California in search of the simple life, and got a flourishing construction business going.

Then in 1998 Robert visited the Art of the Motorcycle exhibit at New York’s Guggenheim Museum – and there rediscovered his passion for making motorcycles. “I got so inspired seeing those incredible bikes, it just encouraged me to move forward on some creative things I’d already been thinking about,” he says. “So I came home and started Acme Rocket Bike as a creative design studio.

Steffano Motors came later, in 2005, as the commercial outlet for the stuff I was creating – but it was originally just a hobby, something I could pay attention to between construction jobs. The projects were slow coming together until I decided I really ought to focus just on the motorcycles. I sold a bunch of heavy equipment, dump trucks and stuff, and gave my whole contracting business a break to start building bikes.”

As an avid sportbike rider, Steffano’s priorities were to build designer bikes that could actually be ridden – not that they also weren’t getting aesthetic acclaim, with wins in the motorcycle class at the Grand National Roadster Show and the Quail Lodge Motorsports Gathering.

Café 9, as I was finding out among the redwoods, does not stray from the script. Starting point was the controversially styled Ducati 999, penned by designer Pierre Terblanche and first shown to very mixed reviews

ROCKET RIDE

in 2003. “That bike as a whole was a cool, very daring design,” says Steffano. “There were a whole lot of people who didn’t like it, and a whole lot who did. I liked it, but I just felt that something had to happen to the breadbox exhaust that was such a focal point.”

Working with NorCal neighbor and metalworking maestro Evan Wilcox, Steffano came up with Café 9’s most striking single design feature, the exquisitely shaped, curvaceously polished aluminum exhaust canister/tailsection, beautifully fabricated by Wilcox and matched to specially made Leo Vince titanium headers. This uses the Helmholtz resonator principle of pressure dynamics, which

basically has sound waves bouncing off each other to deaden the sound. An aluminium subframe supports the extremely comfortable carbon-fiber seat base covered in tactile (and, naturally, waterproof!) stingray hide.

Almost as off-putting as the stock exhaust was the 999’s stacked-headlight treatment. Here, Steffano has made lemonade out of the lemon by not only retaining the original magnesium headlamp housing but by leaving the module in plain view as a styling feature.

“It’s a beautiful piece of mechanical art,” he says. “Why hide it?” In pursuit of this, the frame-mounted carbon-fiber bikini fairing has been styled so that only the lower

n Distinctive-looking fuel tank

is actually the stock 999 item covered with a shapely carbonfiber shroud taken from alloy man extraordinaire Evan Wilcox’s original hand-beaten aluminium prototype.

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ROCKET RIDE

beam sits within paintwork, with the upper light wrapped by the low plexiglass windscreen. Very distinctive.

Although the 999 represented a big step forward in rider packaging and comfort over the previous 916, Steffano has added to that on the Café 9 by raising the beautifully made CycleCat clip-on handlebars about 3 inches and lowering the adjustable CRG footrests an inch. Speedymoto provided the cambelt cover buttons, polished water pump covers, clutch pressure plates and robust protective cover milled from T6 alloy, all complimented by Aeroquip stainless-steel oil lines and fittings, and Spiegler hydraulic clutch/brake hoses. The Acme aluminium radial-valve master cylinders and onepiece hydraulic reservoirs were machined from solid by local CNC ace Bobby Hill, who also made the aluminium licence-plate holder and cooling fan shrouds. Öhlins suspension front and rear replaces the 999’s stock Showa pieces, with the fork tubes anodized black instead of the Swedes’ trademark gold, coupled with an adjustable steering damper from the same source. Ultra-

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lightweight 20-spoke forgedaluminum PVM wheels shod with Metzeler Sportec rubber help contribute to a significant weight reduction for the whole bike: Steffano claims 375 pounds dry for the Café, a useful savings on the stocker’s quoted 410-pound weight. Stopping those lbs. are 320mm CNC-cut BrakeTech AXIS cast-iron front discs (still the best disc rotor material for everyday road riding), coated to prevent rust, which replace the stock stainless-steel Brembo rotors, while that Italian company’s radially mounted four-piston HP calipers have been retained.

My day’s ride aboard the Café 9 confirmed that this is a truly satisfying bike to ride, one that goes as well as it looks. And that’s really saying something! The only slight disappointment was the resonator exhaust that’s seemingly still a work in progress – the engine note was actually quieter than a stock 999’s, and not particularly inspiring by normal desmo V-twin standards. But the Helmholtz principle certainly works, and the resonator itself is a lovely piece of metallurgy. The best compliment I can pay the Café is

that it was actually slightly better to ride in something approaching anger – and Robert made sure I gave it a good workout, not hanging around on our ride through the redwoods! – than my own Ducati 999 sitting in the garage as I write this.

Function taken care of, it’s the Cafe 9’s form that leaves the strongest impression. “I appreciate natural forms that are pleasing to the mind as well as the eye, because they’re instinctive,” explains Steffano. “It’s instinctive to look over ocean waves rolling onto a beach – you can stand there for hours just looking at them – or gazing at a rolling vista of mountains, with one range in front of another in front of another. It’s just inspiring. I wanted to bring this threedimensional depth into the Café 9 design, so that it draws you in instinctively, layer after layer. You don’t know why you want to look at it, but you do.”

Alan Cathcart joins BikeCraft’s editorial team with this story.

We’re looking forward to more contributions from the right honorable “Sir Al” in upcoming issues.

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©2012 FAST FROM THE PAST, INC. BikeCraft SPRING 2013

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RIDE TIME: HONDA CB1100

Rocker’s

Delight Will Honda’s new CB1100 join the Sportster and Bonneville as a prime café candidate?

By David Edwards

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O

ne of the side effects of the current second

coming of the café-racer is that good four-cylinder Hondas from the 1970s are getting harder to find. CB400s, 550s and especially 750s all are being snapped up, fitted with clip-on bars and 4-into-1 pipes, maybe a bum-stop seat and a little checkerboard tape.

Voilà, instant street cred for not much money.

But the newest sohc Honda four is now 34 years old.

Modern-day rockers looking for something with a little less metal fatigue have turned primarily to two current models as base machines: Harley-Davidson’s V-twin Sportster and Triumph’s parallel-twin Bonneville.

Both respond well to café treatment, plus they’ve been around long enough now (Evo Sporty from 1986, new Bonnie from 2001) that used examples are plentiful and affordable.

PHOTOS BY TREVOR HEDGE

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nU.S.-model CB1100 in action.

We’re seeing a BikeCraft project with spoked wheels, lower handlebars, a solo seat, aftermarket exhaust and maybe the snazzy red paint seen on the old CB400F Super Sport?

AMERICAN HONDA PHOTO

“The CB1100 adds up to more than the sum of its parts. This bike moved me. Did I mention how good it looks?”

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There’s just something about four jugs all in a row, though, so it was good to see Honda finally pull the wraps off its CB1100 retro-bike, an 1140cc homage to the company’s own history, namely the air-cooled, across-the-frame, four-cylinder motor. The 1100 builds on that heritage with fuel injection, double overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, radial tires and dual front disc brakes with optional ABS. Call it the Thoroughly Modern Four.

We first saw the CB1100 as a concept bike at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. Seemed like a no-brainer to make production then. Not sure why it’s taken five years but the bike will hit U.S. showrooms this March priced at $9999, with the anti-lock version going for $1000 more.

At presstime there was only one running CB1100 in the country and it was pulling duty on the show circuit, but the model has been on sale in Japan and Australia for a couple of years, so we contacted our colleague Trevor Hedge at Australia’s MC News website (www.mcnews.com. au) for his views on the CB. He also provided photos of the bike --- identical to the U.S. version with the exception of ours getting a silver swipe on the fuel tank --but issued a warning. “The images don’t convey the true beauty and charm that the machine exudes in the flesh,” he said, “It’s gorgeous.”

Noting the Honda’s “timeless

lines,” he added, “There are plenty of retro-bikes on the market but no Japanese offering comes across anywhere near as authentic as the CB1100. Triumph’s current Bonneville and Thruxton models have been a huge success for the British brand and faithfully echo the ’60s. Honda’s CB1100 is by far the most faithful of any attempt to recreate the charm of the ’70s.”

More accustomed to a steady diet of current sportbikes, Hedge wasn’t blown away by the CB1100’s claimed 87 horsepower, but still came away saying good things.

“The five-speed gearbox is slick and the hydraulic clutch light and easy to use,” he said, “The 1140cc engine is flexible and delivers good power but is no huge grunt factory.

It will still pull top gear from 1500 rpm without grumbling but don’t expect rapid progress until a few thousand rpm later. The engine is best kept between 3500 and 7500 rpm for maximum enjoyment in the hills. On the highway the mill is turning a leisurely 3400 rpm at 65 mph in top gear.

“It does nothing wrong and is competent enough, just don’t expect it to perform like a modernday sportbike and you won’t be disappointed. No doubt it is very conservatively tuned to meet emission requirements --- quite a task for an air/oil-cooled motor.

A servo-controlled flapper valve in the muffler helps to improve emissions and reduces the

Rocker’s

Delight

acoustics. Nothing a set of flat-slide carbs and an aftermarket exhaust system wouldn’t fix!”

In response to some Internet boo-birds harping about the Honda’s $10K price tag, it should be noted here that bringing, say, a new Bonneville motor up to 87 hp would easily cost a couple of thousand bucks. And in stock form neither the Triumph nor the H-D Sportster has the same level of brakes or suspension as the CB1100.

“In keeping with the period theme, Honda has fitted the CB with 18-inch rims. This old-style sizing in narrow 110mm front and 140mm rear widths helps provide great stability at the expense of a little agility,” noted Hedge. “The only time this is really felt while riding is when adjusting line midcorner as larger-diameter rims are a little slower to respond to quick changes of direction. Don’t for one minute, though, think this renders the CB1100 cumbersome. The machine handles really quite well, especially in the tight cut-andthrust of challenging roads. It was more than capable of providing me with plenty of satisfaction during a spirited strop back and forth across the Mount Samaria Range above the King Valley with time to admire the magnificent views to the Australian Alps along the way. Mid-corner bumps could be dealt with a little better but overall the CB1100 is quite surefooted and ride quality is far above any cruiser-style motorcycle.

“Thankfully the braking hardware on the CB1100 is nothing like that of the originals.

A pair of 296mm discs are progressively clamped by Nissin four-piston calipers. Feel is good and power is easily modulated through a fairly long stroke at the lever. A light squeeze provides smooth braking power.”

Overall, young turk Trevor had a good time during his 600 miles on Honda’s retro-bike, starting with the ergonomics – quite literally

a sore point on many modern machines. “On the open road the CB1100 provides a natural riding position and I never experienced any significant wind buffeting,” he said. “The seat is amenable around town; its 30.5-inch height and low tailpiece makes for easy mounts and dismounts.

“I enjoyed my time with the CB1100 immensely. Much, much more than I imagined I would. Maybe I am getting old, or perhaps just a little soft in the head, but at the end of the day I couldn’t care less that it doesn’t have the massive grunt of its contemporaries or scalpel-like handling. I loved every minute of my time aboard the CB1100 and my eyes drank in its beauty every time I saw it in the carport while in my possession. This really is a bike that adds up to more than the sum of its parts, the experience from the saddle conveys that message loud and clear. The CB1100 moved me. Did I mention how good this thing looks in the flesh?”

So far, says Hedge, the CB1100 has been a “modest success” saleswise Down Under. Realistically, that’s all Honda can hope for in the U.S. too, but this is an important

nAt rest Down Under. It can be a long way between towns in Australia so the CB1100’s smallish 3.9-gallon fuel capacity might be a concern. Riding with a heavy throttle hand has low-fuel warning illuminated at 115 miles.

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RAPID TRANSIT BIG CITY TANKBAG Count us as fans of the magnetic tankbag. No straps to mess with, just plop the thing down and you’re good to go. Problem is most mag-bags are too big for the average custom-style bike. All that carrying capacity is nice if you’re an adventure-touring nutter on his way to Tierra del Fuego, but most of us just want enough space to tote a sack lunch, a warmer set of gloves and maybe a tightly packed rainsuit.

Rapid Transit to the rescue with its Big City tankbag, a workable 11 x 9.1 x 7.3 inches in size with a clear plastic map sleeve on top. Well-priced, too, at $76.99. www.rapid-transit.com

JUKEBOX RACERS T-SHIRT How to “out-wardrobe” your buddies at the next café-racer run? Simple, order up a JukeBox Racers T-shirt from CaraibiRockers, an Italian clothing outfit run by three friends into “vintage speed machines, rock-n-roll music, traditional tattoos, rum and old stories about Caribbean pirates.” Sounds like a party! At 30 euros (about $40) plus shipping, a little pricey, but you’ll be the only one so-attired and that’s gotta be worth a few bucks, no? www.caraibirockers.com

FAST FROM THE PAST REARSETS As the name suggests, Fast from the Past specializes in performance parts for classic and vintage motorcycles. Included in the company catalog is a variety of Italian-made Tarozzi rearsets – you can’t go fast, after all, if your tootsies are dragging in the corners. Shown here is the $295 set for Honda CB750 and 900Fs. Other brands/models are available, and all parts are sold separately in different lengths, shapes and sizes, so almost any model can be fitted. www.fastfromthepast.com

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Gearset

TOUR MASTER COASTER 3 LEATHER JACKET One great side benefit to the rise of retrobikes is the classically styled riding gear that is being concurrently developed. No longer do you have to look like a Boy Racer to get decent levels of protection. Tour Master has a range of jackets in leather and textile, but we’re fond of the new leather Coaster 3, especially the model with the 1960s-style white racing stripes (it’s also sold in all-black). It comes with a removable thermal liner, armor at the shoulders and elbows, and zippered vents at the chest, sleeves and back, as well as an adjustable waist belt. Yours for $299.99. www.tourmaster.com

THE CAFÉ RACER PHENOMENON There’s a rich history to café racing, which you can read all about in Alastair Walker’s recent book, The Café Racer Phenomenon. Inside you’ll learn about Tritons and Rickmans and Dunstalls and Dresdas, illustrated with lots of period photography. You’ll read about the 59 Club, the Ace Café and the Busy Bee. There’s also a global directory of café builders, spares suppliers and websites. At $29.95, required reading for any erstwhile Ton-Up Boy. www.veloce.co.uk

MIKUNI RS SMOOTHBORE CARBS The fuel-injected CB1100 doesn’t need ’em, but older carbureted four-cylinders will respond well to a nice new set of Mikuni RS Flat Slide Smoothbores. An adjustable accelerator pump helps with instant throttle response at low rpm.

Available in 34, 36, 38 and 40mm bore sizes with different carb spacing, and either left-side throttle crank or center crank, for particular bike applications.

Priced from $865 to $1055. www.sudco.com BikeCraft SPRING 2013

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CAFÉ KITBIKE Ryca? We lyca…

By Dexter Ford

W

hat is hip? It’s hard to put into words. But to a growing number of young urban motorcyclists (YUMs?), the Ryca CS-1 Café Racer sums it up nicely.

The Ryca’s spare lines echo the Triumphs, Nortons and BSAs of the ‘60s that were stripped down for illicit racing between English coffee bars.

The café-racer style – low clip-on handlebars, rearset footpegs and raucous exhaust pipes – caught on then, starting with the London-area motorcycle toughs who called themselves the Rockers.

It’s making a comeback today. But this time image-conscious young Americans are, in turn, stripping inexpensive Japanese bikes, repurposing the machines their Baby Boomer dads rode in the ’70s and ’80s.

The Ryca CS-1 is a kitbike, its custom-massaged bodywork, suspension and controls designed by Ryca Motors of Whittier, California (www. rycamotors.com). At its heart is an unlikely organ donor, a Suzuki S40, previously known as the Savage.

Manufactured with few changes from the ‘80s to the present, it is a budget bad boy – an air-cooled, belt-drive, 652cc single styled to mimic a baby Harley-Davidson Sportster.

Ryca designer Casey Stevenson, an ex-NASA engineer, saw potential in the S40’s unprepossessing underpinnings. He reshaped and downsized the fuel tank and created a sleek seat, tailpiece and sidepanels. Longer shocks in the rear and shortened fork

PHOTOS BY DAVID EDWARDS

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nUsing basic hand tools,

just about anybody can transform a ho-hum cruiser into this attention-getting café for about $2500 plus paint. To date Suzuki has sold some 100,000 S40s in the U.S. and Ryca is transforming them at the rate of 2-3 kits sold per week.

n(Opposite) Step 2 in Ryca

Motors’ grand plan is more kits for the Suzuki 650, including the RR-1 Bobber ($1995) with bolt-on hardtail, and the very British-looking CS-2/s Scrambler ($2995), both shown with optional chain-drive conversion.

There’s also a standardstyle model and a streettracker. In the planning stage are Ryca kits for Evo Sportsters.

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tubes leveled the machine’s stance, and rearset footpegs and clip-ons completed the makeover. The prototype looked and worked so well that Stevenson and partner Ryan Rajewski (“Ryca” is taken from the first two letters of their first names) decided to offer a conversion kit to the public.

In the two years since, more than 300 kits have been sold.

The basic kit sells for $2495, not including shipping. Or, for that matter, an S40 donor bike. Those can cost anywhere from $800 for a neglected 1986 model to $5699 for a brand-new 2013 from a Suzuki dealer.

Assembly – and a little hacksawand-paint work – is required. Ryca modifies each customer’s fuel tank and re-laces their spoked rear wheel, replacing the stock 16-inch rim with an 18-incher. Ryca details the entire process in a series of web videos, created to turn a novice slacker into a custom-bike builder in a few short lessons, no welding required.

If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, Ryca will build you an all-new CS-1, using a showroom-fresh Suzuki S40, for somewhere around $9500, depending on options. Ryca is also encouraging dealers and bike-building shops to buy kits and do conversions locally.

Out on the street, this little Ryca

turns heads like no mass-produced machine can. It’s dramatic and original, with its own aura of classic Thumper mixed with newmillenium chic. I was forced to drag out my black racing leathers to stay in character; my usual hi-viz yellow riding jacket was not going to cut it with L.A.’s too-cool-forschool moto-chic subculture.

The Ryca feels tight and tiny, a natural for in-city commuting and short-haul café hopping. The riding position is tolerable from 8 mph to 80 and the low seat height is perfect for smaller, lighter riders. The seat is that in name only, but the flat steel plate underneath distributes one’s personal load without undue pain. The big Suzuki single is smooth, torquey, responsive and satisfying, its exhaust note crackling on downshifts like an old Manx Norton braking into Creg-ny-baa on the Isle of Man. The neighbors, of course, may beg to differ...

Brakes and suspension? Not quite IoM material. The stock Ryca kit shocks are too flaccid for any but the lightest, slowest riders, bottoming and bouncing over small bumps and moderate cornering loads. The stock Suzuki fork, its travel reduced 2 inches by internal spacers, is just as uninspired. And the front brake, a small single disc, requires a determined pull on the lever.

Room for improvement, then, but none of these problems are deal-breakers. The basic frame, engine and riding position are sound. Stiffer springs front and rear, higher-viscosity fork oil and stickier aftermarket brake pads would be an economical start. An extra thousand dollars for better-quality rear shocks and a revalved, resprung fork, and the CS-1 might grow up to be nearly as fast through a set of switchbacks as it looks.

But is it hip? The two giggling teenaged girls who chased me up the I-405 in their Camry, just to snap photos of it on their iPhones, vote yes. Hipness, as we have established, is the devil to define. But like those girls – perhaps the most influential jury of all – you’ll know it when you see it.

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Back in the Day

A CafÉ CacheT In pursuit of the perfect Norton

By David Edwards

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lways worth the trip to

the Up-N-Smoke BBQ House in Keller, near Fort Worth, whenever I’m visiting the homestead in north Texas.

Come for the ribs, as a bonus you might catch restaurant owner Phil Dansby with one of his restored vintage customs. Maybe even this spectacular 1970s Dunstall-ized Norton Commando, the cleanest café-racer you’ll likely see.

Englishman Paul Dunstall was café racing’s first millionaire, making the jump from track rat to aftermarket parts supplier and then small-volume bike maker just as the original café craze exploded. Brilliant timing! At the movement’s height, production of Dunstall Nortons topped 750 units a year, and even star clients like Steve McQueen had to wait four months for their machines to be delivered. When the British bike industry gave way to the Japanese, Dunstall moved from Nortons, BSAs and Triumphs to Hondas, Suzukis, Kawasakis and Yamahas.

Timely again, Dunstall sold the company in 1980 just as the racereplica biz petered out. He made the newspapers a couple of years ago, aged 72, with reports that he

was selling his Kent mansion for $4.5 million. Apparently it was good to be Café King.

Dansby’s Dunstall is made up of parts found or donated.

The engine was a $35 junkyard rescue, the frame a freebie from a friend, the Norvil fiberglass bodywork acquired on the cheap from another pal. Phil had been pack-ratting various desirable Dunstall components over the years. Alloy rearsets were an easy find, the “pickle-fork” 2-into-4 Dunstall Decibel mufflers were not, intended to replicate the quad pipes on either a Honda CB750 Four or an MV Agusta, depending on your sensibilities.

Rarer still are the Dunstall Disc brakes. Dunstall was an early adaptor of twin front discs, eventually developing these allin-one setups with the caliper and fork slider cast as one piece, at once a clever and flawed design. Turns out heavy braking from high speeds overheated fork oil until it had all the viscosity of tomato soup – not so good for damping.

Perfectly fine, however, for more casual runs to your favorite barbeque joint…

PHOTO BY DANIEL PEIRCE/TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY

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