SANTIAGO CHOPPER ‘BUCATI’

Alain Bernard is one of the most unpredictable builders in the US: You can never guess what he’ll come up with next. The bread-and-butter of Santiago Chopper’s business is trike conversions, but Bernard also turns out traffic-stopping customs on a regular basis.

This is his latest, nicknamed ‘Bucati.’ Believe it or not, the bike is based on the 1998 Buell S1 Lightning, an oddball roadster with a wheezy 1203cc v-twin. But on the plus side, the S1 had a top speed of just over 125 mph (200 kph).

Bernard and mechanic Mike Lima have boosted the pushrod lump with 38mm Keihin CR carburetion and a Dyna 2000i ignition. They’ve also modified the frame, grafting a Ducati 1098 subframe and tail unit onto the back. (‘Bucati’…geddit?) The original battery box has been removed, and an oil tank fitted to the left-hand side of the bike.

The stock Buell swing arm has been swapped out for a more curvaceous custom-fabricated item. The hand controls are Beringer, and the rearsets are from Chainsickle. But it’s the paint job that jumps out—a monochrome mix of flat and gloss black that speaks softly but carries a big stick.

The blocky styling of the original Buell—a curious mix of Sportster and Aprilia Moto 6.5—has given way to a lithe and insect-like stance, accentuated by tiny LED lighting front and rear.

It’s an acquired taste, but then again, so was the S1. I’ll take this version.

Images by Erick Runyon of Choppershotz. For commissions, bookings and fine art prints contact Erick here.

from BIKEEXIF

EHINGER KRAFTRAD ‘SNOW RACER’

Ehinger Kraftrad is a small German workshop based in Hamburg that builds intriguing vintage Harley-Davidsons. Run by Uwe Ehinger and Katrin Oeding, it’s called
 ‘Kraftrad’ rather than the usual ‘Motorrad’—because Motorrad generally means mass-produced goods. Whereas Ehinger Kraftrad specializes in very limited scale, high quality production.

Uwe Ehinger’s background is in racing, and this classy ‘Snow Racer’ is inspired by 1930s race bikes. The heart of the Snow Racer is a story in itself: it’s a 1946 U model engine fitted with 1936 VLH cylinders, giving a capacity of 80ci. The bottom end has been completely overhauled, with new bearings and refined balancing. The heads are from a 1948 ULH, reworked to improve performance and provide better cooling.

Further mods include tweaked camshafts, a Dell’Orto carburetor, and an unrestricted 30s-style exhaust system. (“It serves more as a directional guide for exhaust fumes than a means for reducing noise,” Ehinger notes wryly.)

A modified Baker 6-speed transmission was placed in the rigid frame. And then Ehinger developed a custom coupling for the primary drive, with a matching clutch basket. The brakes are also custom: the specialist manufacturer Behringer created one-off hubs for the Snow Racer’s 21” and 19” wheels, and inboard brakes were installed. Then Ehinger fitted a Harley VL fork—equipped with a custom triple tree—and in a moment of inspiration, a modified Yamaha TY80 gas tank.

The Snow Racer is a runner, and not a show bike. Ehinger Kraftrad’s other builds are just as unusual, but like this one, they’re eminently rideable too. Head over to the company’s very stylish website to discover more.

With thanks to Brian Awitan of Imogene + Willie.

from BIKEEXIF

HARLEY XL1200 BY CRD

Cafe Racer Dreams have made a name for themselves with classy Triumph and Honda customs. They’ve resisted the lure of Milwaukee so far, but as with most builders, there comes a time when you need to look at the Harley-Davidson Sportster.

The Harley brand is strong in Spain, but most customs are of the fringed leather variety. So CRDmain man Pedro García decided to try a different approach, and at the same time, get the bike to corner well—by fitting 17” wheels. The result is CRD #21, nicknamed “The Stroke.”

The base bike is a 2008 XL1200, but it’s now running a tank from Storz Performance. The seat is custom-made, and fitted onto a modified rear frame. Storz supplied the pipes too, with breathing enhanced on the inlet side by K&N filters. The suspension has been upgraded with Öhlins components and the controls and brakes are from Performance Machine.

The headlight is now relocated well below the line of the bars, which sport LSL controls, and the foot controls are from Tarozzi. A complete repaint, including hand-lettering, finishes the job.

The XL1200 now looks much more compact and muscular, with a nose-down visual stance and more focus on the engine. Is this the sort of Sportster that Harley themselves should be making, do you think?

Previous CRD builds are in the Bike EXIF Archives. Keep up with CRD news on their Facebook page.

from BIKEexif

DUCATI PAUL SMART BY REVIVAL

The Ducati Paul Smart is one of the all-time greats—a high performance machine with equal appeal to fans of both modern and vintage machinery. But it’s not quite perfect … so Texas-based Revival Cycles leapt at the opportunity to thoroughly upgrade this 2006 model.

“We built it for a client who already has a Diavel and another Sport Classic,” says Revival’s Alan Stulberg. “The goal was to create the machine that Ducati should have originally built. The factory Paul Smart was a bit visually cluttered, with plastic bits here and there. It left the door wide open for us to give the Paul Smart a more vintage look with modern upgrades.”

Much of the work was done with the help of parts supplier JC/Pakbikes. Revival started by installing a Termi 2-into-1 pipe and relocated the oil lines to reveal the timing belt cover, which is a Rizoma piece. “We also used a new lower triple from JC, and Rizoma reservoirs to top off the Brembo RCS clutch and brake masters. Then we installed stainless lines, a rear Demontech caliper mount and Brembo monobloc calipers and rotors up front.”

Revival has also swapped out the stock Paul Smart front fender and mount for regular Sport Classic parts, to get a more ‘vintage’ and proportioned look. “It looks factory and clean and it’s easy to miss, but it’s a subtle detail that really adds something,” says Stulberg.

The wheels are now Alpina carbon fiber items with anodized hubs, giving a big weight saving. The Paul Smart’s notoriously hot voltage regulator has been relocated (using a custom alloy mount) to under the seat subframe, where it’s cooled better in the airflow.

Rider comfort has been boosted too, with brown suede upholstery to match Japanese Posh gum grips. A few extra metal Rizoma pieces (such as mirrors) increase the perception of quality.

The final touch is the tail section. “The client is a healthy 6’4″ tall and this helped push the plan to get rid of the old seat. We started with a fiberglass tail that was well proportioned—but not very well made—and then improved it,” says Stulberg. “We cut in a little American charm by installing a 1960s Corvette taillight bezel with a clear lens and a super bright red LED bulb.”

One of the neatest parts is the easiest to miss—Revival’s proprietary ‘Micro-Supernova’ rear turn signals. Using just three watts apiece, these tiny and bright signals are almost invisible when not lit. (“It was almost comical to see something less than 6mm x 15mm being carved out on a full-size Bridgeport mill.”)

Revival’s client is now out and about enjoying his ‘new’ Paul Smart, and has just booked his regular Sport Classic in for a major overhaul. “He’s like us and just can’t leave it alone!” says Stulberg.

Head over to the Revival Cycles website for more information on their projects, and keep up to date with the company’s news via their Facebook page.

from BIKEexif

MOONEYES 1964 TRIUMPH

Since the 1950s, Mooneyes has been at the heart of Californian custom culture. It’s now an international brand, with a huge presence in Japan and a reputation to live up to. So when owner Shige Suganuma decided to commission a bike for himself, he turned to one of the best: Master fabricator Lucas Joyner, founder of The Factory Metal Works.

Joyner turned Suganuma’s concept into reality. Nicknamed the ‘MQQN Machine,’ the bike is constructed around a 1964 Triumph 650 unit motor. Mooneyes makes some of the classiest components around, so Joyner started by raiding their catalog for parts.

The frame is a work of art: the front section is a custom-fabbed loop, hooked up to a stretched Mooneyes hardtail. That vertical oil tank is a modified Mooneyes item, and so are the bars.

The stock Triumph gas tank has been narrowed and ribbed, and sits ahead of a TFMW vintage-style solo seat. The wheels are especially beautiful: at the front, a 1961 Triumph Tiger Cub brake hub is laced to a 21” rim shod. At the back, a pre-1970 Triumph hub is laced to a 19” rim.

The tires are vintage Avon Speedmasters, 2.75” at the front and 3.50” at the back, and the exquisite paint is by legendary pinstriper Bill Carter.

The result is one of the coolest vintage Triumphs we’ve seen for a long time. A class act from two men at the top of their respective professions.

Images by Fran Kuhn.

from BIKEEXIF

ANALOG HONDA CB350

I’ve always imagined that the frontman of a metal band would ride something like a V-Rod with open pipes. But Mike Hranica of Devil Wears Prada has a taste for classic machinery. Like this elegant and deceptively simple Honda CB350.

He chose Tony Prust of Analog Motorcycles to deliver. “Mike wanted a build based on a smaller displacement Honda,” says Prust. “I had a CB350 in the donor bike storage bin; Mike had a fairly specific idea of the stance and overall appearance.”

Hranica wanted a low 70s-style moto to cruise around his home in Chicago, and he was especially taken by the Eric Meglasson/Holiday Customs CB450 cafe racer—a big hit from a year ago.

But Prust had reservations. “I frequent Chicago, and the potholes there make a low bike dangerous. So I decide to leave the front suspension height alone, and lower the rear just a little with Gazi shocks—to keep it from bottoming out and give it better dampening. Adding tall sidewall Firestones filled in the look well, and gives the CB350 a low appearance without the low ride.”

Jason Koschnitzke at Mottomoto rebuilt the engine to stock specs. It’s now fitted with Mikuni VM30 carbs and K&N pod filters; the exhaust headers are stock but hooked up to shorty mufflers. The sparks come from Dyna mini coils and an Earth X lithium iron phosphate battery.

The subframe has been modified to suit the new seat style, and the paint, although custom, could be straight from a 70s bike brochure. New bars and indicators complete the low-key but classy look.

I’m sold. If you are too, check out Analog Motorcycles via their website and Facebook page.

via Bikeexif

THE 2012 BIKE EXIF TOP TEN

Twice a year, we compile a list of the most popular motorcycles on Bike EXIF. It’s the global barometer of public taste, with bikes selected on the basis of web traffic and their popularity across our social media channels—including Facebook, Stumbleupon and our exploding Pinterest page, which now has almost 1.5 million followers.

So here are the ten machines that our readers liked best in the second half of 2012. There are several ‘older’ bikes that are still racking up huge numbers, and would make this list if it was an all-time Greatest Hits: That includes several Rough Crafts and Wrenchmonkees bikes, plus previous Classified Moto builds and many of Cafe Racer Dreams’ machines.

Let us know in the comments what you think of this list.

1. Classified Moto KT600 [top]. When Battlestar Galactica actress Katee Sackhoff wanted a custom motorcycle, she commissioned John Ryland to build this Honda XL600. It’s already garnered well over 100,000 page views, and not surprisingly, Ryland has been deluged with orders for new builds.

2. After a track day accident, Alonzo Bodden got his Ducati 1098 (above) customized by Anglada Originals. The result is a powerful, heavily upgraded performance bike packed with top-shelf components and given a brutal streetfighter style.

3. This 1982 Yamaha Virago XV750 (above) was Eric Meglasson’s first motorcycle build, and was inspired by Classified Moto’s work on the same model. The Oregon architect now runs his own custom motorcycle company.

4. 1970s-era BMW airheads respond well to the cafe racer treatment. But you don’t often see one with a mono-shock conversion. This 1976 BMW R75/6 (above) is owned by graphic designer Casey Wilkinson of the motorcycle-mad Wilkinson Brothers.

5. It’s always fascinating to see the personal rides of bike builders. This amazing Ducati Pantah(above) belongs to JvB-moto’s Jens vom Brauck, a regular on these pages since the early days.

6. Dark and minimal is the custom trend today. But there’s always an exception, like this pale and elegant Triumph Bonneville cafe racer (above) by Loaded Gun Customs.

7. The Spanish workshop Cafe Racer Dreams transformed a humble BMW R75/5 (above) into a stunning vintage scrambler destined for the streets of Paris.

8. Holland’s Super Motor Company has turned the humble Honda Super Cub (above) into a fire-breathing salt flats racer. It’s not our usual fare on EXIF, but it was the surprise hit of the year.

9. Jason Kidd’s extraordinary Flyrite Choppers ‘Double Trouble’ (above) custom Norton has not one, but two Atlas engines.

10. A stern test for custom builders is how they handle the ‘budget’ job. This Ducati GT1000 (above) was no problem for the English workshop Spirit Of The Seventies—and won the company many new admirers.

What do you think about this selection? Is it representative of the custom scene today? And what do you think the next trends will be?

Add your thoughts below—I’ll be closely monitoring the comments from around noon (PST time in the US), and will be happy to answer any questions you’ve got.

WALT SIEGL LEGGERO SERIES DUCATI

The market for high-end, bespoke custom motorcycles is tiny. To move beyond bolt-on parts takes hours of craftsmanship, and true artisans don’t come cheap. Walt Siegl is one of those rare craftsmen, and he’s also keenly aware of the dilemma: His bikes, lusted after by so many, are affordable by relatively few.

Siegl has taken a big step to correct the imbalance with his new Leggero Series, a limited run of production machines based on two-valve Ducati 900cc engines. Because it’s a limited run, costs are reduced without affecting quality. This is the prototype: feast your eyes.

‘Timeless’ is a word that gets bandied around too much, but it fits this machine perfectly. It looks modern yet ‘old’, without being faddishly retro. “I wanted to use classic sport/racing design elements that are clearly recognizable,” says Walt, “from exhaust to frame design.”

The exhaust pays homage to the Conti systems that all the big Bevels had. Walt has fashioned his in stainless steel, feeding through a collector unit. The frame is crafted from 4130 chrome moly steel tubing, and its design is a nod to the Verlicchis built for racing. “As a matter of fact, it has exactly the same weight as the Verlicchi TT1 and TT2 frames—19 lbs,” says Walt.

Suspension is via the trusty Showa fork, and rear shocks are Öhlins. The motor, in this case, is fitted with 39mm Keihins FCRs. The bodywork is carbon fiber: “I built the original tank and tail, then Matt Tanner [of Tannermatic], used my prototypes to create molds for this and future builds.”

Walt has had the frame and rearsets reverse-engineered by M&E Design. A Solidworks computer program has been created, which allows him to reproduce the designs. Why? “It allows me to build a superior product,” says Walt. “Solidworks programs allow stress analysis to be done. They take away the guesswork and reduce time spent on research. I can make certain that what I am building is strong enough, and that the pieces will fit well together.”

Over time, Walt has collected a group of smart, talented people to help him build the best possible product, and he’s happy to give them the kudos. As well as Tannermatic and M&E Design, Walt enlists Dave Goddard for painting, Eric Kobalth of Clubhouse Motorsports for engine rebuilds, and seamstress Vivienne Smith for upholstery. Alex Vogel of AVA Restoration helps to design a truly modern, fully electronic wiring harness.

“Although the bikes are still hand-built by me, one at a time, these technologies have shaved off many, many hours in the workshop building one-offs,” says Walt. “It’s always been my desire to build more accessible bikes.”

If this Superlight takes your fancy, you’ll be glad to know that you get plenty of choices when it comes to specifying the bike. You can choose either a mono-shock or dual-shock set-up. There is a half-fairing option as well. Bodywork choices are: full carbon fiber, clear-coated or painted; or painted vacuum-molded fiberglass.

For price and availability, contact Walt through his website at www.waltsiegl.com. Take your place behind me in the queue—and no pushing.

Images by Michael Rubenstein. Head over to the Bike EXIF Google+ page for an extra photo gallery.