Jakusa Motorcyces and just some of Tamus Jakus designs.

Posted on December 29, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

29 Dec

Here’s something for the curvy crowd: it’s a Harley Davidson and Bugatti fusion machine, mixing the best of American motorcycle engineering with a European design aesthetic from a bygone era. It’s as art deco as the Empire State Building and as curvaceous and sexy as Ingrid Bergman. It goes by the name of Jakusa Atlantico and it’s one of the few ‘fat and round’ looking motorcycle concepts that we’ve taken a shine to. Sure, it’s a theme bike but don’t let that get in the way of a good idea!

What we have here is a fantastic combination of the Harley Davidson Fat Boy and the ultra-rare and incredibly voluptuous 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. This particular concept by Tamus Jakus, is the perfect example of using retro lines and curves and a fair amount of simple streamlining to produce a beautiful motorcycle with a slightly modern twist.

Tamus Jakus is no stranger to designing gorgeous concept bikes; his portfolio boasts some of the most elegant and well thought out car and motorcycle concepts of the era. The Hungarian artist, illustrator and designer has a knack for mixing classic styling elements with modern machinery, to create some insane concepts. I love the Boneville design that you see Below, very stylish.

Now, if you look below, you will see just a few of the designs that the Hungarian Designer has managed to knock out of the park, his style and color palette is so amazing, I wish I could do something like this, what a great foresight to be able to create things of beauty.

All amazingly designed that I could be happy with owning any one of those on the board, all the lines flow like a River and so glad to be able to show these works of art today.

Be it modern or a Classic style, Tamus Jakus just knocks these designs right out of the Ball Park, there is something there for you I am certain of.

Above is a concept machine that was drafted from an art object and has conformed to the motorcycle perfectly, only a true artist can pull something off like this.

I am sure there will be many more great designs and I shall be looking out for these from now on, I was always trying to think of what Hungry offers to the world and now I know a Gold Medal Winner when I see one.

What I like about all his renderings are that the actual finished product is exactly as the drawing, he makes it look so bloody easy.

He designed this as a DGR ride machine and the concept seemed to work quite well, the bike is complete and does a few rounds on the road and is in a shop on display.

Look at this Tasty Ducati, a stealthy look but something I wouldnt minding slinging my leg over and taking it for a long ride, like to Las Vegas, it looks pretty comfortable.

Something for all you Street Fighter fans, the finished Product looks pretty tough to me.

This Machine looks like the Clubman Racers of the day when I was a teenager, he sure captured the styling using this XSR700 TD3 Model.

These looks like the early JPS Nortons on Steroids, a Tough and menacing stance, what a great job to pull off on this Motorcycle.

I sure hope we get to see some of the finished Models on the road or on the show circuit as being as unique as this, makes for you to physically inspect the whole machine when you clap eyes on it.

Look at this Ducati, I mean it looks as tough as a doorman on New years eve dont it?

Bobber looks pretty cool, not my cup of Tea but can see the bike has motion and smooth lines.

I wonder How many heads will turn if they saw this machine cruising down the street, a smooth concept and looks pretty tight.

Frigging mad machine in the Gulf Livery for sure. May be a wee bit hard around the Hairpins but again I would love to have a go on it.

I think Burt Monroe would do a double take on this Indian, how I would love to try this on the Lake bed at Bonneville to see what it can really do. Love the Shot Gun Mufflers.

New and old Concept works very well, reminds me of the JPS livery and the old Caff bikes of the XS650 era back home in the UK, a great job here capturing the Desmo styling.

I love the work he does with the Triumphs, the fairings are shorter on here and that is reminiscent of the 70’s styled 3/4 Fairings that you used to be able to purchase in many other speed shops of the day, kind of a Phil Reed style.

The good old DOHC looks great in this guise, what a tough style and form, well done mate as this is a Killer Cafe styled motorbike I see right here, we need more of these.

The good Old SR Motorcycle has been seen in many guises for many years but I never tire of it and have always loved the GT40 Gulf Livery and one day I shall create my own version, I loved this little Bar hopper bike.

Looks a lot better I think with the fairing as then it flows from the front to the rear cowl, unusual right side only Rotor set up too.

This is a Duck on a frozen pond but it looks at home and I would dearly love to ring its neck out around this area, great concept machine.

New BSA Motorcycle To Be Released in 2018 in USA, UK, Italy And India

Posted on December 28, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

28 Dec

I was reading through some articles last month and let you lot know that automotive giant Mahindra from India had purchased outright the British BSA brand name and all the rights attached to it.

Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group, confirmed the arrival of a new BSA model which is currently under development So lets see what Happens.

Probably the inspiration for the new one to be both modern and retro. Mahindra also confirmed its intention to launch Jawa bikes in India by early 2019 but I will keep you posted.

Here is what I absorbed when I heard about this.

Indian Automotive giant Mahindra signed an exclusive licensing arrangement through its subsidiary, Classic Legends Private Limited, to build new BSA and Jawa motorcycles.

Mahndra and Mahindra Ltd. has been producing scooters and small displacement commuter motorcycles for the Indian market since 2008. In 2016, the company purchased the rights to the long-defunct and much beloved Yezdi motorcycle brand. For those who don’t know, Ideal Jawa Ltd. produced licensed copies of Jawa bikes and scooters for the Indian market from 1960 until 1996. The bikes were badged as Jawas until 1973, and then as Yezdi motorcycles until the company ceased production in the 90s. To support the acquisition, Mahindra launched a Yezdi website full of great history about the mighty little two-strokes and their fine racing heritage.

Along with the Yedzi brand, Mahindra also acquired legendary British bike brand BSA as well as Jawa. Now it seems that the company plans to up its motorcycle game by producing new BSAs and Jawas as part of a campaign to supplement their commuter bikes with upscale “premium” motorcycles.

“We are very excited about the new journey that we are embarking upon in the two wheeler space,” said Dr. Pawan Goenka, Mahindra’s Automotive Business Managing Director. “Our focus on the premium, niche segment through Classic Legends will bring alive some iconic brands like BSA and JAWA, not just in the form of products but as an entire life style”

According to Auto Pro Mag, sources in the industry state that the new Jawa and BSA bikes will be sold separately from the Mahindra bikes, and will have their own dealership network. Rumors also suggest that the bikes will be produced at the Mahindra plant in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, with BSAs being sold mostly in Europe and the Americas and Jawa sold primarily in Asian markets.

I am hoping this is a great foot forward for us Brit style Motorcycle enthusiasts, the main issue that has to be addresses is 2 fold , especially for me in California.

Pricing, and of course Reliability. As a kid I always remember the Old man saying BSA stood for Bastard Stopped Again- So lets hope that this can be sorted from the get go and bring out a fun looking classic with some Zip in its step.

Have a great Thursday all.

Canadian Norton Custom Brat-Scrambler is a real eye catcher.

Posted on December 27, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

27 Dec

When you think of Canada, I am sure you have passing images of Mountie’s, Moose, and the Stanley Cup in any order, well, we head on over to Edmonton, named after the City I was Born at in North London, this city has a huge passion for Motorcycles. You know when you are in that part of the globe when someone asks if you have a Loonie, you may think its a term of insanity ? Until you realize it is their Dollar coin that has a Loon bird on it.

Where’s the largest expanse of urban parkland in Canada? Nope, it’s not in Vancouver. Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River valley parks system takes that title with a total of 7,300 hectares (you could fit about 18 Stanley Parks in there, if you squashed them). In fact, 20 back-to-back parks make up the system, which spans along both sides of the river (itself winding through the middle of the city), making this capital a whole lot greener and natural than you may have thought.

So, a perfect place for a bunch of lads named, Shaun Brandt, Randy Venhuis, and Justin Benson, of which formed their Custom Fabrication shop named Federal Moto, and a while ago turned out this amazing 850 Norton Commando.

They just wanted to try something a little different, and over in the MAPLE country there seems to be tons of Japanese Motorcycles scattered about like mattresses on the 5 Freeway here, so- they wanted to try and go with a little more Nostalgia, a bit of Brit style, seeing as a lot of their Dollar Bills still have the Queen plastered on them, they thought they would go an older style route and see what they can come up with using this old Commando as a build platform and a good challenge for these guys to see what their skill set level could accomplish.

I think many restorer’s will want to kick them right in the Rocky Mountains for cutting one of these Birmingham flyers up, but, on the other hand, there would be even more people loving the hell out of this unique machine and I for one am one of them. This is a killer looking ride that to be honest James Lansdowne Norton should of created as I for one would be all over one of these.

It takes way more thinking out of the box I believe, when you attack an Old Empire two wheeled machine and there will be many hours of head scratching and screwed up post it notes to even try to figure out where this bike is going to go creativity wise.

The Ace’ is a 1974 Commando that was discovered on a farm in Rimbey, Alberta, the bike did run but was about as reliable as a BSA, but the bike already had a hearty attitide and the look that the team of builders were after seemed to steer towards a Brat- Scrambler, a cool bar Hopper with an old look that could be ridden to the beach or up into the Mountains and handle the terrain with ease. So it was decided that this was the route to take, they wanted to keep the heart of the bike, the Motor, as it was from the Factory in 1974, but the rest was all up for ideas and changes and so the Journey began.

As the Idiom states, – Mighty Oaks from little Acorns Grow- and this was certainly the case with this 850cc Steed. The Bike was stripped faster than a Crook being caught at the Border and before they knew it the Skeleton of the Commando was staring right at them, but that frame? It has the thick center seam that all Nortons are known for, this really needed to be thought out as a back bone such as this would spoil the lines of the current project, so some major engineering calculations was required to be able to pull off something that was aesthetically on the money!

Running out of Cigarette packets to draw on, they had to come up with a workable conclusion, somewhat flustered and tired, these guys managed to come up wit a very cool modification that not only gave the lines of these machine a more elegant style, but it kept the rigidity that the original was designed to do. the frame was actually shortened by 18 inches or 457.2 mm for the Metric fans out there. Then a 1 inch -065 wall cold rolled steel tube was hand bent to make the hoop to tidy the back of the frame up and the beginning of this Brat-Tracker motorcycle was now well underway.

Also there needed to be what is known as an equilibrium , which in layman’s terms is ;

A state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced.
“The maintenance of social equilibrium” Balance, Symmetry, Equipoise, Parity, equality and Stability.-

They pulled that off by going for a set of 19 inch rims and shod with a set of Vintage styled Coker tires and I have to agree it does look the Status Quo.

The frame had all the tabs, brackets and nick knacks that were not going to help the machine handle or go faster, cut off, then sanded to a smooth finish, and Powder Coated Black, the bike actually had about 30 pounds or (13.6078) Kilograms removed, so now this Norton will feel so much better in the bends.

For a stylish look, a 1971 Oil tank was located and brackets were fabbed to make sure that this fitted like a factory piece, then a seat pan was hand cut, rolled and shaped to engulf the chassis with a Historic style that even the restorers may even crack a smile too.
Such neat lines on this Motorcycle.

The Mudguards are mid-50s Triumph items rescued from a junk pile, reshaped and finished in matte black and the exhaust system was another great little detail of which they located a set of 1971 Commando SS pipes and then removed about 12 inches from them and added an Old style reverse Cone Megaphone Muffler to give that Olden days gone by feel and of course sound.

The Motor itself was not bad at all, considering it had sat around for some time, but none the less, you go this far, well, in for a penny right? So Federal pulled it apart and inspected, cleaned and polished everything. They got the valves dialed in, bored the pistons, and replaced the piston rings.

“Well worth it, considering it’s got even more compression than an industrial trash compactor!”

Salvageable parts were sanded and polished in-house, with replacement items sourced through local guru John Oland. “This build would not have been possible without John’s willingness to share his knowledge of vintage motorcycles. The guy is a legend,” says Brandt..

Small bullet style turn signals were chosen and kept as minimal as possible, anything with switches, as old Brit handlebar controls were big and bulky, so they chose to go with another route and drill and fit small Micro switches and this is so tidy and looks a Million dollars. With a reworked wire harness, and a 5-3/4 Bates style headlight that was fitted as low as possible, gave this 2 wheeler a real classic stance.

Using a small anti-Gravity 4 cell battery, kept the bike away from any Bulky items and was placed neatly under the seat unit,and helping the steering, a super Low set of A10-A65 bars were placed on top of the yokes.

Another neat touch was the grips, as they were purchased from Tommaselli in Italy and used the Natural Gum series , a good choice.

Federal wanted to keep some of the original parts on the bike and the rear Hub was left stock, refurbished and painted but up front was a slightly different story-

They figured out a Tokico two-piston assembly and a Katana 750 rotor—machining a new mounting bracket for the forks.

And now this Norton will do like many do not, and thats stop, real quick!!!!

I personally like the 2 Tone leather application to the seat pan, that really does give this creation a touch of Elegance and form, and I take my hat off to that, although the rear mudguard is short.

It will stop the road grim from sending a line up your back but it may build up behind the motor as there is no guard liner, but looks great none the less.

The Gas tank was painted an off White and the famous Gold logo was added to give the bike its Original Brand back once more.

A super fun machine that if you secretly asked the old boy restorer’s,if they would dearly like to ride this around their town? I am certain.

They would be nodding their heads in excitement as it looks like a fun machine that Mr Norton should of had a go at manufacturing and with that I leave you for today and hope that this December day this Blog gave you a little bit of Summer and inspired you to get in the garage and have a go on your Motorcycle.

Blogs take me quite some time but I am sure that some of these will get some of you out there, all fired up to create a unique creation that you can be proud of and show people that this is what turns your dial too.
Thanks again for reading my Blogs at Carpy’s Cafe Racers and, if I can help with parts to full builds, just let me know OK.
Safe riding.
Peace & Grease
Carpy
714-598-8392

A different take on the Old inline Four Boxing Day Blog

Posted on December 26, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

26 Dec

Well, Christmas has gone and today for me is known as Boxing Day, a tradition that goes back further than the invention of the inline Four Honda, and today as I sit at home and reflect on the last 12 months, I thought that I would type up a blog on the good old CB750 Honda, as some of you may know, I have built so many of these since coming to California that I should have shares in the Japanese Iconic Company.

The Custom scene has come on so strong here in the USA and of course Globally, it wasn’t that long ago people would literally stop and stare then eventually get the courage to ask what style of Motorcycle it was that I was riding. it is amazing how far we have come in such a small amount of time.

OK, I understand, we haven’t made a significant impact on the world Like Space X or when Super Glue was first invented, but now I feel we have a Mechanical Camaraderie, where there was just a distance nod from other creators in the same country.

Today I wanted to blog about this inline Four that a company over in Nampa, Idaho named Rawhide, the owner Branden Wurtz. And as you can see they have created a CB750 thats a K5 era and gone a slightly different route and something I think needs to be shared. I enjoy looking at other builds too and it means we all have a simular interest and we show the same bike in different guises, how cool is that to see?

Branden had a bike listed called the golden Goose but, it had already been purchased, but offered the customer a slightly similar build if he was still interested, the Customer was 700 miles south of him in my part of the country in California.. His Name was Tom and knew what he wanted, Branden listened and came up with a pretty good compromise, offering something custom but could of existed back in 1975 if Honda had enough run with the design team in Tokyo. This takes a little time and a lot of effort but the crew at Rawhide were up for the challenge and the gauntlet was thrown down.

The Motor seemed a little tired and like you always should do, it was torn apart and Hopped up. “We used a Wiseco 836cc kit, with the most aggressive street profile WebCam Racing recommends with their billet camshafts,” says Brandon. The Honda now has new valves, seats and valve guides, new primary chains and tensioner, and a new cam chain, tensioner and guide. Rawhide cleaned and inspected every single part, rebuilding the transmission along the way too. A strong motor is imperative in these long, fast highways of life and as the speeds of Modern day traffic increase, we need to do the same with these old 500 pounders, and its nice to know that if there is trouble coming up behind you, a quick twist of the proverbial wrist, will make sure you are way out of that issue.

Tom being 6’3 needed a long seat and wanted a shorter looking tank, so an old CB200 gas tank was Located, then the sides were scalloped to allow for the 2 outer carbs to be able to slide freely and not hit the tank, the tunnel was cut out and refabbed to allow it to sit on the Duplex Cradle frame and made sure it sat level and looked like a factory fitting.

They then epoxied the Petrol tank using GTL Advantage to make sure there was no delamination or horrible leaks, as this was going to get an expensive paint job and had to be right on the money. Branden used the Factory side covers but trimmed them back to give a cleaner and tighter look and pulled that job off very well.

Meanwhile the front end needed some work, so with Deep Dish and high shoulder Borrani Rims, these were laced with spokes from Buchanan, who are not far from me in California, the hubs were cleaned, degreased and bearing removed and then powder coated Black and assembled once more with polished embellishments.

They chose to go with a smaller but neater set up for the headlight and upper fork stanchions but re-fabbing an old Honda CL77 headlight shroud (1967) as that model had a recessed speedometer and cleaned the top of the triple tree up for sure.

The front fender got a thorough trim, taking off a good chunk of the original but a shorter fender does make the front tire look bigger, they also lowered the fender, rebuilt the caliper and polished the Body, New gators and polished Lowers on the forks complimented the bike.

A set of 12.5 inch Sprung shocks at the rear from Hagon were applied but chromed covers fitted to give it that old style CB750 look, of which I have done too and love that styling .

The bars are low-rise CB400F units, kitted with controls from a 1965 Superhawk. Complementing those are Halcyon bar-end mirrors, a Kustomtech master cylinder, and scalloped clutch and brake levers. A neat and custom look that many Builders leave stock, so always refreshing to see the extra yard made on builds such as this.

A reconfigured wire harness was made from scratch but using the stock Honda wiring colors to make things more understandable for later on in life if things need to be changed or updated etc, it makes sense I tell you.

Upgrades include a Charlie’s Place electronic ignition, Dynatek coils, a regulator/rectifier from Rick’s, and an Antigravity Lithium-ion battery. A Posh Japan taillight and turn signals round out the lighting. Giving the bike a more Traditional look and it flows vert well to cover the square end of that seat assembly off, the Devil is in the detail remember.

Finishing things off is a customized four-into-four stainless steel exhaust system, with each header terminating in a custom-made end tip. Rawhide designed the slip-in tips with baffles, and then had them machined and coated in a high-temp semi-gloss black finish.

The bike’s been shot in a House of Kolor ‘Oriental Blue Kandy’ with a green micro flake, and adorned with original Honda badges. The bike turned out well and Tom is a Happy Chappy, he likes the low end torque of this old 500 pounder and with all the little hop ups, it does not hang about and you may often see the tire spin as it gallops down the tarmac with the bark of the hand formed exhausts. There is way more here than meets the eye and all the nuts and bolts were either zinc plated or chromed, and that does indeed show on a much closer inspection.

A cool and different approach and something I like to see, well done mate and I hope to maybe see this at a show down our way at sometime. And what a superb location to take a photo of this Japananese machine, what an epic barn and an epic Honda that I believe no matter what guise it takes on, will always turn heads.

Let me take this opportunity to Wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas and hope you enjoy this festive time with Family and friends, many thanks for supporting me, small businesses need support and I am Blessed to have such loyal customers. Enjoy.

Peace & Grease to you ALL!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.

Posted on December 25, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

25 Dec

Wow! here we are already, the 25th of December, I am stunned that this day has arrived so fast, but that means a New year is just around the corner and new adventures will be happening.

Have a brilliant Festive time and I want to thank you ALL for contacting me about parts or even just inquires of what I make and supply.

Enjoy this great day and once again. MERRY CHRISTMAS to Everybody.

Costa Rican Aeronautical Cafe machine is right on the money.

Posted on December 23, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

23 Dec

Nowadays, thanks to the rich volcanic soil, Costa Ricas well-known for its gourmet coffee beans with the famous Tarrazú considered among the finest beans in the world. Along with bananas, coffee might just be the most famous Costa Rican export. As well as exporting many farm grown fruits, there are small pockets of this part of the world that from a Motorcycle building perspective, that are absolutely mind blowing.

So, if you have a map and you want to know a very cool place to visit in Guanacaste, well there is an international airport located in this Tropical Paradise and not far from Gian Maria Traversone, where this man of many talents and interests is planted.

When Phileas Fog decided to circumnavigate the world in 80 days, he missed out one of the many wonders of the Motorcycle world when he took that trip,albeit over a hundred and 30 years to early, this would of been a fantastic stop in the Golden beach Blessed area of Guancaste.

If you are lucky enough to stumble across GMT Atelier, you will see a workshop that has a Plethoria of engineering skills and samples of epic proportion of Restored Classic cars and of course Motorcycles. With his talented crew Esteban and Robinson It’s also where he race preps his Lancia Delta S4 for vintage rallies. Yip, Gian’s a rally driver too…

Gian has many strings to his bow and I am sure he could play many Harmonic tunes to the sound of success in his long learned experience as a Builder, Designer, Rally driver and of course a pilot too.

So, we begin with the ride, and as Gian is a Mad aircraft aficionado- he wanted to create an aviation-inspired 1982 Moto Guzzi Le Mans Cafe bike and use all his experience in creating a eye catching machine that even I would love to have back in my Garage here in La Mirada California.

There has been ton’s of Aircraft inspired Motorcycles, some are pretty awful, but many have great design and style, but this machine is on another level, and I mean at 30.000 feet.

This bike has Attitude and Altitude and I love all the work that has gone into creating such a eye pleasing mode of transport and, if you cannot see that this guy is a Pilot, or at the very least, loves planes, then I am afraid its a lost cause for you.

The rear seat Cowl was hand made using high quality Resin and Fiberglass matting and this has some lovely lines to accent the Gas tank too.

Take a look at the seat upholstery, not the standard Flat seat you see so many of, time and creativity paid off big time as that Worn look is not Faux, it is the real thing, using an old Leather jacket for the Medium, Bravo Sir! Bravo!

The subtle lines are just really flowing and take a look at the Gas tank, this was hand formed to made the Knee recesses just right and follows the lines of the bike and tapers in a streamlined fashion, to the same contours as a planes fuselage, thats no easy task and I for one know how hard it is to get this right, many hours of nail bleeding arm aching bashing with a hyde hammer to get anywhere near, then to Plenish it with an air tool l to get anywhere near this complex form, is just great to see.

The bike is a good looking Platform anyway to create as a Caff Bike, I have only owned a couple but back home in the UK the parts were Bloody expensive so I chose to go with the Honda’s for affordability but- all that said the Guzzie is such a smooth riding machine, its a brilliant bike to ride and takes no real strength to ride, so understand Gians interest in this Italian Stallion.

Some New 14.5 inch aluminum and Black rear coil overs with a stiffer preset were chosen and then the Original Rims looked cool anyway, Gian decided to just change the Tires, this was done using some stock Michelin tires and then lettering they’re sporting Pirelli P Zero logos, as that goes back to the Racing days.

To give this machine a little more aggressiveness, Gian changed the Rake of the frame at the front by cutting at the neck, changing the degree and then gussetting and strength welding back again, this gives a way better look and will fall into the Corners a little easier as well. That’s a time consuming job and done correctly as geometry is key to any motorcycle and remember, Moto Guzzi spent many many hours in the RNR room getting the right angles for this machine for a Road ridden machine, so Kudos to Gian for having a go and getting it right on the money.

The brakes were all replaced, Calipers rebuilt and the use of Aircraft brake lines make sure this Aeronautical Twin Disc Caff machine stops in a short time when needed.

Now onto the Power plant, The V2 Four stroke motor was removed and this was then boxed up and taken to Team Guzzi Motobox—specialists in Spain who prepare Le Mans engines for endurance racing. They treated it to a head job, and rejetted the carbs. Back home, Gian Fabricated a set of Old School free breathing new mufflers,Then Coated them with high temp paint in Traditional Black, then added a pair of velocity stacks with built-in filters to the Carbs etc. He also modified the intakes to get the carbs to sit at a better angle aesthetically.

Once back together, Gian and the team re configured the wire harness, as the stock version has so much spaghetti, that it needed to be changed for a more easy to understand set up and also to keep everything basic and what is only needed, no fancy buzzers and whiz bangs here, then the New Lithium Lightweight Battery was added but this time it was moved from the stock location to be hidden behind the bulky transmission.

Having a closer inspection, I only notice on the electrical side that there is a front headlight but I do not see a tail light or turn signal location, so maybe a back to basics set up but If I do see anything else I shall add it n the blog, but take a look at the cockpit area, its very minimal with a couple of Custom micro switches to get this Motorcycle functioning as he wants it to.

The speedometer is a classic all the way, an actual Air Speed dial in Knots that was from an aircraft and to make this work it correctly the team fabbed up an old air speed style conical Nozzle to allow the correct CFM to enable the speedometer to read the correct amount of flow to give the correct amount of speed, no easy calibration task but the gang pulled that one off and it is as Aeronautical as you can get.

As you can see the uncluttered top end is great, using modern master Cylinder, some cool Clips on and new grips to follow the seat style and of course on the gas tank a New Monza cap was fitted to make sure it shows a little more Italian Racing.

Now, bring me onto the gas tank-Gian looked to the Italian Navy’s acrobatics squad—Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale—for the Moto Guzzi’s final finishes. The Navy insignia in the place of the ‘O’ in the logos on the sides of the tank is an obvious hit, but the paint job’s also littered with warning messages and markings you’d find on planes.

Take a closer look at the tank, and you’ll notice that it’s adorned with some pretty unusual graphics—the maneuver diagrams that PAN pilots keep in their cockpits while performing. A tattoo artist friend of Gian’s applied these using a transfer process. Boy did they pull off a superb set up, this just screams Aircraft and so nice to see a different graphic style to the many out there, making this a unique paint design that you will not see in many places I am certain.

I am not sure on what the time scale was on the creation of this 1982 Italian Road hugging caff machine but I tell you, it was worth it all, and with a New Set of rear sets added, the riding stance is now bang on to math the raked front end, I would dearly love to ride this around and I am Jealous in a good way to have seen this motorcycle build.

The bike was taken to an old crop Dusting hanger to give that whole Aircraft feeling and boy does it catch the moment.

Thanks to Bike EXIF for the photos and maybe one day when we head out to Porto Rico, we can drop in on the Crew at GMT Atelier and see this Motorcycle and all the other great Nostalgic bikes and vehicles as well as old planes etc. Great Job mate I loved it all.

Merry Christmas to all my Customers and friends around the world, I hope you have a fun time at Christmas and maybe even get out on your Motorcycle to get the tinsel and Christmas wrapping out of your hair.

Triumph Bonneville gets the Stealthy Look.

Posted on December 22, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

22 Dec

Here we are again

Where does time go? I try and type up a blog as quick as I can, but, being a 2 fingered key Board picker, I cant get as much down on the website as I would like, but none the less I try and seem to get a following for the Motorcycles that I see on the net etc and tend to grab my beady eye and then I will do a quick Blog on it.

It brings me to this Twinline Triumph Bonneville, Another Australian Motorcycle but, before this transformation came about, the owner had had a bit of a to do with the tarmac. the exhaust was knackered, Gas tank had more Damage than a Boxer who just wet a round with Tyson, and the Bonny had seen better days, so- Time to revamp this Meridian style 2 Cylinder and this time the Owner by the name of “Mixy” decided to give a Sydney Based “Gasoline” Shop a go.

Founder of this little shop in Sydney “Jason Leppa”

The Bonneville was riddled with other issues too. Mixy had made some mild modifications himself, but after meeting Jason and the Gasoline team, he decided to leave it to the experts. Plans for the rebuild expanded, and ‘Blak’ began to take shape.

The front end was binned, and USD forks from a Suzuki GSX-R grafted on. A custom axle and spacers ensure that wheel specs remain the same, and the sportbike forks are held in place by a CNC’d triple clamp. This was by no easy task but, Jason managed to massage the GSX smoothly onto the frame using a set of TT wheels made in california and shodding them with a sticky set of Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tires.

The triple clamp was designed to house a Motogadget Classic speedo—in black of course. An m.lock keyless ignition system keeps the wiring simple, and the Purpose Built Moto switch blocks are sleek and contemporary.

Adding to the racing vibe is a shift from mid to rear sets, this made the motorcycle was more comfortable and a far Racier look, going back to the Days of the North Circular back home in the UK in the 60’s.

But the rear tire is wider than Burt Reynolds old shirt collar with a whopping 190 shoe horned onto the Aluminum rim, this sticks to the road like Gum on a sweater.

The biggest visual change is the new tank, which eschews the somewhat bulbous proportions of the Triumph original.

It’s Gasoline’s take on the classic Yamaha SR tank, fabricated in aluminum and shot with deep satin black paint. Running across the top is a subtle gloss black racing stripe.

The subframe has been reworked in-house too, and now supports a new fiberglass seat pan hand molded by Gasoline’s head tech. The local artisans at the Bad Arse Trim Co. made up a new seat to match, using a dark shade of suede.

There’s an integrated LED tail and indicator light strip flushed into the tail, and tiny indicators up front from Kellermann. “They are some of the smallest LEDs you’ll ever find,” says Jason, “but still bright enough to cut through the darkness.”

The headlight has the old style Fog lens that gives the impression of a Foundry’s Cauldron when ignited, plenty of brightness from that and letting people know that this Stealthy Middleweight is coming through.

Petrol tank was hand fabbed in Aluminum then plastered in Black Semi Gloss paint and it has a bulbous shoulder to exaggerated the lines a little and something that really works well.

This is a pretty well sorted machine now and its a shame I wasn’t still a Posty in St Leonards, as I often went into Sydney and would of been great to check this Bonny out.

Great job to “Jason Leppa” you did a fantastic Custom look in a short amount of time, something that is not easy to do and get right.

Little CB350 Brat Bike from Down Under

Posted on December 21, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

21 Dec

Many fun things from the opposite side of the globe come to mind, Fosters beer, Boomerangs, shortened Slang names and a total “Have A Go” Attitude in anything they try.

I loved Australia, having resided in NSW ad Victoria, i was immersed in their Low brow Sub Culture from Motorcycle to Hot Rods, they all have a passion in the Land Down under, so wanted to share this little Honda CB350 Bart bike that was created in Queensland.

This little inline Four Rice Burner was blapping about Queensland for a while as a Custom machine, but the Customer wanted something a little different, so- he headed off to Tom Gilroy of Purpose Built Moto, where he had a chin wag about what subtle things he could have changed on his machine so it stood out from the many others that are now popping up all over the country.

There really wasn’t much of any sort of stipulation as to any guidelines that the customer was wanting, other than a Flat Brat style seat as the present seat wasn’t to his liking, so – With that Tom, rolled the little 3560 into the workshop and set about on this Japanese rocket.

Using only brush finished metal, black and white was going to be Tom’s Pallette for this motorcycle and he went about and did the painstaking work of Striping the tank and then coating her with a Nickel plate, Tom then said.

I then hand brush finished the nickel and applied a hot rod inspired paint design over the top. To complement the tank the headlight bezel, linkages and shift lever were all also plated with nickel and brushed. The rear-sets and Purpose Built Moto Torpedo Muffler have all also been brushed. The fenders have been re-mounted to better suit the bike and finished in a bone white. The tyres are Shinko E270 White Walls that help to bolster the old school hot rod feel I was after.”

Tom then had to set about and create a new seat pan and this Flat style of Seat is now very popular in Oz and Tom went and hand fabricated some steel to fit the frame and kick up at the back, once that was done it was padded up using a medium Density foam and then upholstered in the Brown/Fawn Tuck n Roll for a more Historic look.

“The finishing touches were a top to tail revival of the electrical and lighting system.The electrics were overhauled with all new Purpose Built Moto Switches, LED indicators and our new V2 Black box digital control module. It handles all your lighting relay needs in a compact, durable and easy to install unit.”“Improving upon a bike that someone is already happy with is a task in itself, but thankfully at the end of the day, the owner was blown away with the result. Not having to worry about the tasks completed by the previous owner allowed me to focus my energy solely on giving the rider a bike he could be proud of and other could envy.”

So there you go, a great little Bar Hopper Brat from Down Under and many more out there, Australia is way bigger than people can comprehend,, its only about 100 miles smaller than the USA, but it only has maybe 30 Million inhabitants, I know as I lived there, the roads are so awesome and great places to ride, people are cool and if you can ever get out there and you are in Queeensland, check up on Tom at Purpose Built Moto and have a Brew with him, cool guy, nice one mate, Time for a Tinny!

The GHOST TRIUMPH ya either dig it or you dont.

Posted on December 20, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

20 Dec

This creation is designed almost beyond practical function, but it’s not. This bike looks like it could contain a turbo fan jet engine and burn aircraft fuel, it doesn’t.
It looks forward heavy and maybe cumbersome for turns, it isn’t.

This bike looks like someone’s idea to test the land speed record at salt flats, it isn’t.
When you ride, this bike will not look like any other bike on the road anywhere near you, ever.

Inspired by the otherworldly lotus ‘C-01’ motorcycle concept, the triumph ‘ghost’ is an elegant build brought to life by indonesia-based workshop smoked garage. based on a 2005 triumph ‘speed triple’ bike, the ‘ghost’ now features a bespoke cooling system and frame geometry, housed in a full aluminium body.

Once smoked garage had settled on the triumph as the donor bike, it didn’t waste any time stripping it back. as this was the garage’s second iteration of this futuristic bike, it was able to draw from previous experiences to improve upon the new build. it started by customizing the ‘speed triple’s’ frame and making new triple trees. it then assembled a new airbox and radiator, while adding a bespoke headlamp and custom fork sleeves to the front end.with the lightest result possible in mind, it then shaped the bodywork from five pieces of solid aluminum that join together with flush mounted bolts for an aeronautic aesthetic. smoked garage found cooling to be the biggest issue with its first bike, so it has revised the front grille and improved the scoops on the sides to draw-in more air around the engine. it also redesigned the mounting of the exhaust to help keep temperatures down.

The ‘ghost’ features a custom tail with an integrated LED light, with a pair of clip on bars and rear-set-footpegs to position the rider well for opening the throttle on the straight and narrow. the final finishing touch of the custom triumph is its minimalist paintwork–smoked garage found its final design after sketching over 40 different concepts–and when the paint was applied, it knew the ‘ghost’ had finally been brought to life.

TRIUMPH SPEED TRIPLE
1050 cc/64.07 cu-in engine
Custom cut and rebuild rear frame
Front Double Disk With 4 Piston Caliper BREMBO
Rear Single Disk with 2 Piston Caliper BREMBO
Handmade quality steel metal fenders, panels, headlight housing and fuel tank
Custom saddle
Custom paint color
LED lighting system for head, brake and turn lights
Original Triumph Speed Triple speedometer
Custom exhaust
Hand-turned brass and aluminum bushings and caps

ENGINE

Capacity : 1050 cc/64.07 cu-in
Engine type : Four stroke,transverse cylinder, DOHC, 4 valves cylinder
Power : 94.9 Nm / 131 hp @ 9100rpm
Torque : 105 Nm / 10.7 kgf-m / 78 ft.lbs @ 5100rpm
Compression : 12.0 : 1
Bore x stroke : 79 x 71.4 mm
Valves per cylinder : 4
Cooling system : Liquid -cooled
Transmission : 6-speed

triumph ghost1

CHASSIS

Custom by SMOKED GARAGE

SUSPENSION

Front : Ohlins
Rear : Monoshock with adjustable preload Ohlins

triumph ghost3

BRAKES

Front : 2x320mm Discs, 4 piston calipers Brembo
Rear : Single 220mm Disc, 2 piston calipers Brembo

WHEELS

Original Triumph Speed Triple

TIRES

Front : Pirelli 120/35 ZR17
Rear : Pirelli 190/60 ZR17

triumph ghost2

LIGHTING

Custom LED headlamp

triumph ghost5

FENDERS

SMOKED GARAGE custom fender

INSTRUMENTATION

Original Triumph Speed Triple

Triumph GhosT1a

I wouldn’t recommend riding this in a suit and I should think the emissions from the exhaust port exit by your foot would make that suit soak up all them lovely fumes.

Triumph Ghost2a

Unfortunately practicability has been bunged right out of the top floor window as there is no side stand and you would have to have a Support car carrying the Motorcycle rear stand for you when ever you wanted to park it up some place.

Triumph Ghost4a

Don’t get me wrong, I would ride the thing anywhere on a flat surface for sure, just wondering how the heat is under that Cowl and does it all dissipate around your body as you ride?

At least that LED Lighting will let people know you are approaching them.

I loved the rear wheel set up and having the disc brake rotor Behind the sprocket but would be concerned that all the goop from the chain would spalsh all over that Rotor, making barking a frigging Nightmare.

Little 250 Brat from Oversea’s

Posted on December 19, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

19 Dec

Well, here today I wanted to Blog about these couple of Argentinians who have created a little 250 trail bike and transformed it into a little Brat machine to Blap around on.

Funny thing is, I have started to collect a few parts to create my own little bike, mine is a 250 but it is a YAMAHA but none the less- I have a little Dual sports bike thats going to get something similar done to change the look and handling of the bike.

Now, if you are not into Brat bikes, thats OK, no need to look any further, some people do not like the balloon tires, shortened frame and Low styling, its a Personal choice, me? I love it, anything thats Motorcycle related is cool, but I also like to show what people have been creating, its a refreshing look and to see people really getting into building Custom Motorcycles is the fresh air that we need in this industry, the little 250 below is a prime example of what the trend for the better word is right now, you may not like it all but I am sure there are some bits you will think, “Hey thats pretty Cool”.

Now, these Two fella’s “Antonio Lupiañez and Salvador Alasino of Vida Bandida motorcycles are a couple of Argentinian Industrial designers and, in their spare time, they play about with Motorcycles.

So, their Motorcycle of choice was an old Honda 250 cc trail bike. ” The Tornado” And if memory serves me correctly, the original Tornado was an XR250 Honda, as I could tell by the fins on the side of the engine cover on the right hand side.

With a wapping 23 HP, you are not going to win too many races at the traffic lights, but the look of this machine is very cool, a little port work and a larger Carb would help this big time but none the less, a tasty little Brat has been made by reconfiguring parts and changing parts of the chassis to suit its change from a Mono shock to a Twin shock, something I am contemplating on the XT250 I am slowly collecting bits for.

The front end had the forks machined and re sprung and removed a huge 170 mm if material to get the stance that they were looking for, Jeez, by the look of the travel on the fork now, I dont think i’d even ride off a cerb in a hurry, but they wanted a low slung bike and thats what they got. albeit you will most probably need a bottle of Advil by the time you got to your destination.

As you can see by the photo, not much travel in them forks but it does look a menacing machine, with its small Sportster headlight with a Copper Bezel, it shows a little Nostalgia on the front end, the guy made up a set of Clip ons and to fill the upper tubes up they made steel covers to Fatten the top end up, you can see that the triple trees have been cleaned and polished and the fork tubes pulled up through the trees for an even lower stance.

The Arse end got the cutting treatment and with the rear Triangle sub-frame dis-guarded and a new angle duplex style sub rail replaced, they then sent about and made a short hoop and fabricated a seat to fill that void, then upholstered in the early Tuck n Roll design with 2 inches of high density foam to look after your Butt grapes. Also notice the short short short rear fender, enough to stop the dirt from flicking up and leaving a trail of debris on the back of your favorite jacket. A flash light lens and a machined tube with Brass accents were machined and there you go.

The stock exhaust system was ugly and needed a custom set up, so a stainless steel Blunderbuss style system was Tig welded up and flows quite freely around the frame and breathes better due to a K&N filter.

The engine had some of the side cases removed and polished to a high luster, but the engine is stock, the oil cooler was moved out of the way to the right of the frame and catches more air too cool the little motor a little more easily. A good move I think and wonder how many start to do this on their builds?

A set of Sportster rear shocks now reside each side of the swing arm, and I prefer twin shocks bikes as thats my era. Although there does not seem to be too much travel there , and with my fat arse on it that rear fender would be scraping like a knife on a lathe.

But on a fun scale, this is off the clock, what a great little bike and unique to many, I really like it and am sure some of you will too, don’t hate on it as this had a lot of work and well done for thinking outside the box of bikes made into Cafe and Brats, I love this. I bet is a blast to run around town on.

Smaller Harley Gas tank looks like it should of been there from the factory, the guys cut the old fittings off and welded new ears on and fitted it, so the tank was sat level and of course the electrics can now hide out of the way under that steel Petrol unit. 16 Inch rims have the Big wall square tires shoehorned on but I have always liked Balloon tires, so good job.

Like I said, I am hoarding a few parts to work on my 250 Yamaha XT later and was stoked to see someone have a go with a Honda, this is a new sub Culture that I like, I mean, anything to do with Customizing a motorcycle is great in my eyes.

I have also seen a subtle change on their machine as they have redesigned their seat as it is now Black with Diamond stitching, I started Diamond stitching about 10 years ago on my machines and still do today as I love that 1960’s Custom look to it.

Them Forks and rear shocks function OK else they would never of been able to get across this scrub-land and three of their machines on display is very cool to see.

Nice little shot by the lake, this Vida Bandida Tornado must of been fun to create and also not too expensive as parts are all over Ebay for these bikes.

So, if you have a little ole Dirt bike collecting cobwebs in your garage, shed or storage yard, what a great platform to tear apart and reconfigure into something completly different from its original guise.

I hope you enjoyed my Blog today, if you have gotten to this part of it, well, at least you have read it, I just love sharing stuff that I like and hope that you like what I have offered up, it makes the world of Motorcycling so much smaller and us more closer as a Custom Motorcycle enthusiast I applaud these 2 guys, great job.

Go out in your shed, or round your mates house and give them a hand, building and creating these 2 wheeled machines is so much fun. Yeah I know that you dont like the Big tires but, I always have, Yeah I know they dont handle well, but for Bar hoping or round the town bike they are fun.