TIRING WORK. Diamond Atelier’s Bridgestone RnineT EICMA Special

Written by Marlon Slack

We’re huge fans of BMW’s retro lineup here at Pipeburn. Hell, Andrew, the fearless co-founder of Pipeburn, recently shelled out his own hard-earned cash for a brand spanking new RnineT. Lots of others have too. Since its release in 2014, the retro-inspired BMW has been sitting comfortably at the premium end of the market, earning praise for its handling, clean good looks and characterful engine. People love ‘em. And Munich-based bike genii Diamond Atelier have made the most of Bavaria’s finest, turning out this gorgeous Bridgestone-sponsored special.

Eagle-eyed readers will know DA have already turned out a few well-sorted customs based on the model – and last year’s bike of the year winner at Pipeburn was another special based on the RnineT crafted by Diamond Atelier. And with this one sneaking in just at the tail end of 2017 they might just be in for another tilt at the title.

“But when Bridgestone approached them to commission a build they almost turned them down.”

So the team at Diamond Atelier know the bike inside and out and the challenges they’d face when customising one. But when Bridgestone approached them to commission a build they almost turned them down. ‘It was only a few months before EICMA when they asked us if we were interested in collaborating,’ Tom Konecny, co-founder of DA says. ‘We were super stoked about the offer but were almost forced to decline due to the extremely tough timing’.

Thankfully, they shuffled things around a little, stocked up coffee and committed to the Bridgestone RnineT. The new build would be slotted in between existing projects to circumvent the one year waiting period the Munich-based shop currently have. And with a brand new donor bike provided by the team at Bridgestone, DA went to work.

Jaunty exhaust angle. Just don’t leave it parked in the rain

‘We were completely free on the design of the bike,’ Tom recalls, ‘but naturally we were aware of the main feature would be the tires – a prototype set of 2018 Battlax Bridgestones.’ But straightaway the team hit a hurdle. ‘To give the tires the attention they deserve we wanted to mount them on lightweight Gilles forged wheels, which given the timing, we weren’t able to source from our partners in Luxemburg. The only wheels in our specified dimensions was a S1000RR front and a R1200R rear wheel.’ Some of you will be grimacing now – and unsurprised to learn there was a hell of a lot of milling and CNC machining to get it all to fit.

Thankfully the rest of the build threw out less problems. The racer runs Gilles handlebars, rear sets and frame covers. At the rear the cowling is an original BMW aluminum piece cut and narrowed to flow better with the new, stripped back lines of the Bridgestone bike. Underneath that the slimmer seat was reupholstered in the factory pattern using cowhide leather.

So there’s the headlight

But the team are proudest of the BMW’s nacelle that replaces the front headlight unit. ‘We’ve been working more and more with 3D printing technology,’ Tom says, ‘This attempt turned out to be very precise and well proportioned. It replaces the headlight and helps blend the front of the bike to the tank.’ And where’s the headlight, you might ask? Hidden away in the air intakes. Clever buggers.

“And where’s the headlight, you might ask? Hidden away in the air intakes. Clever buggers.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a fine way to end 2017; with a bike that represents the best of what we’ve seen over the last twelve months. A shift away from traditional twin shocked retro bikes and towards ultra clean modern performers, tastily cut down and modified. Diamond Atelier’s in with a running chance at BOTY, don’t you think?

[ Diamond Atelier – Facebook – Instagram | Photos by Lukas Magerl & Julian Weber ]

via pipeburn.com

TON UP: AMS GARAGE HONDA CB200 CAFÉ RACER

Words Geoff Baldwin Photography Luke Ray

We’d just finished setting up our makeshift photo studio outside the Kustomfest hall. Scrutineering was about to get underway so before all the bikes started lining up we needed to find a test subject to give it a trial run. About an hour earlier a bike had been unloaded nearby in the carpark that caught our attention. The builder of the little bike, a small capacity, Honda café racer was nearby so I asked him to roll it in front of our camera. As I helped him position it some of the other international guests came over for a closer look. It made for a great test shoot and left us all excited about what other amazing customs the show was going to attract.

Later that weekend Wesley from Bike Exif awarded the Honda with their ‘Best of Show’ prize, handing the builder a custom painted helmet from Elders Company and a Kustomfest plaque. Wes later told me that the Honda had made such an impression on him that first day that he’d committed to giving it his award then and there. I’m sure there’s a fitting phrase I could add here about being early, but let’s just say in this instance it certainly worked out for the bike’s builder, AMS Garage.

The morning after the show Ajus the owner of AMS Garage met us for an interview and photoshoot. Poor old Luke had come down with some sort of tropical bug and was struggling in the 30+ degree heat, but he soldiered on, stopping only to down another bottle of Pocari Sweat. Meanwhile I stood with Ajus, in the shade, while we talked about his business and this bike. As it turned out AMS had recently partnered with an Australian entrepreneur to build a new venue in Sanur, Bali. Within the walls of the 1000sqm venue (due to open in 2016) they’re planning to build a restaurant, bar, retail space, barber shop, tattoo studio and motorcycle workshop. It will be Bali’s first rocker styled venue, named ‘Ton-Up Bar and Grill’ and is set to take on the Deus ‘Temple of Enthusiasm’ as one of the biggest moto themed hospitality venues on the island. The Honda, named ‘White Ton-Up’, is their latest work and was built for the express purpose of displaying atop the main bar to help attract customers and showcase the talent of his workshop.

Despite its intended purpose, Ajus paid special attention to ensure the Honda was completely street legal. Although Indonesian laws around customisation are fairly relaxed, many builders choose to ignore them to achieve the look they want, but this isn’t an approach Ajus has adopted. He explained that in Bali where many westerners are starting to ride customs, the police are cracking down on illegal mods and the “bulé" (slang name for western tourists) tend to attract their attention. With westerners making up a large part of his customer base, Ajus needs to provide them with transport that will keep them out of strife, so following the rules is a key ingredient of his business strategy.

Along with being roadworthy the White Ton-Up’s 1984 Honda CB200 engine was given a full overhaul and capacity increased to 350cc. Surrounding the Honda engine is a one-off frame designed and built by the AMS team, whose skills in welding are something Ajus prides himself on. Instead of a traditional dual shock rear the Honda uses a custom made mono-shock swingarm while the forks were recovered from a Yamaha Byson. To keep the front end clean a custom made top clamp accommodates both of the gauges and a pair of stainless clip on bars are mounted just below. Speaking of stainless, those curvaceous headers are also made from it, painstakingly welded together by AMS staff.

Everyone’s talking lines these days when it comes to custom bike building and AMS have nailed it with this build. The tank and tail create a straight, uninterrupted line running parallel to the road and there’s a smooth flowing arc from the tank through to the tail. The café racer proportions are also just right with nothing protruding beyond the centre line of each wheel and the top of the tank being the highest point on the bike.

Retro design touches come from the handmade, scalloped fuel tank and a collection of turned brass parts, a common theme of Indonesian builds, which are spread over the bike. The 18 inch TK rims are wrapped in classic Coker Diamond rubber and a pair of repurposed badminton racket handles have been used as handgrips. The clear orange candy paint laid over a gold leaf base is perhaps the most striking feature of the bike and it changes shades dramatically when the light catches it. This paintwork was done by Ajus himself who is a self taught painter and pinstriper, inspired by his father who was a VW mechanic and keen customiser.

Later that day, as the temperature continued to rise, Luke and I went on to shoot three more stories for Tank Moto and Fuel Magazine. I had thought the 130 motorcycle shoot on our second day was his best effort to date, but watching him struggle through a tropical illness and coming out with shots like these was really quite amazing. It’s not often we mention each others efforts, but I gotta take my hat off to him for this. Remember kids, stay away from those Indonesian ice cubes...

See this feature and many more in the brand new Tank Moto issue 09.

en kiosque !

racer Honda

café

kottmotorcycles

pour me souvenir...

comme elles sont dans un garage au sec, bien au chaud mais bien loin de mon quotidien, les mettre sur mon blog me permet de m'en souvenir :-)))et d'élaborer à distance d'eventuelles modifs :-)))