OXBLOOD: URBAN RIDER’S BMW STREET SCRAMBLER

It’s not often that a color inspires a bike build—and certainly not a color such as ‘oxblood.’ But that’s how this BMW police bike came back to life.

After an engine rebuild in the mid-90s, it was decommissioned and put into storage for 18 years. Then Will Starritt of the London motorcycle gear store Urban Rider spotted it—and decided to press the BMW back into service.

“The idea was to explore the proliferation of the word ‘oxblood’,” he says. “I’d never heard that word until last year, when we saw several leather products using it as a color description—such as Roland Sands jackets.”

It turns out that ‘oxblood’ doesn’t literally mean staining leather with the blood of a beast: it’s a traditional color that caught a second wind around three years ago, being a burgundy with an extra hint of dark brown and purple.

Urban Rider may focus on selling gear, but Will and his business partner Andrew are confirmed petrolheads who enjoy building the occasional custom. So they took the R80 back to bare metal and started work, with the help of mechanic Len Harvey.

The bike is now sporting one-off stainless headers, a GP-style silencer, a modified sub-frame and a one-off single seat unit built by Lee at Viking. The seat unit can be removed and replaced with a twin seat, as shown below.

Other classy details include a Monza-style petrol cap, Renthal bars, a compact lithium-ion battery, a Daytona headlight and speedometer, and a stunning paint scheme by Willy at One Off Design.

It’s an elegant twist on the current vogue for ‘street scramblers’: German engineering with a dose of classic English style. If it gets your blood racing, you’ll be glad to know that ‘Oxblood’ is for sale: contact Will via the Urban Rider website.

Urban Rider | Facebook | Images by Gary Margerum

via BIKEexif

This yard-built Yamaha is an off-the-shelf bullet

For most, building a café racer is a labour of eternal love. But journalist Steve Hunt’s Yamaha-based ‘Dangan’ was made with the intention of returning it to stock after a single year…

“The plan was simple. I thought it would be an interesting assignment to see what a relative novice like myself could do to Yamaha’s XV950 with some bolt-on, third-party parts and a little imagination,” says Steve Hunt, journalist at British motorcycle publication MCN. “That was the plan. But then things got a little out of hand…”

The backwardly bespoke bullet

As the bike would need to be returned to stock after its year-long loan, all parts had to be fully reversible. Hunt was given carte blanche to modify the bike in any way he chose, with Yamaha only giving a single stipulation: there was to be no cutting or welding. “I wanted to turn the laid-back XV950 into a straight-line horizon destroyer. Like a bullet train. A bullet bike if you will.” Hence the name ‘Dangan’, Japanese for ‘bullet’.

Hunt called on his contacts to help him with the build. On went a new rear subframe for the stubby tail look, soon followed by hand-pressed aluminium fairings. Then came the most expensive part of the build: the wheels. Unable to find any suitable donor items, Steve set about having some official accessory wheels re-made to the correct size. “Let’s be perfectly honest, spoked wheels just look too good not to do it,” says Hunt. That’s enough justification for us.

Once the main components of the build were in place, Hunt set about adding the details so crucial to a successful bespoke build. He had brass Yamaha medallions fabricated and built into the tail unit, along with freshly milled end-caps and a beautiful filler cap. Finally, the attractive brown leather seat was trimmed with metal wire piping.

The ‘tucked-in’, bullet-train stance might not be to everyone’s taste, but for those that it does find favour with, a complete list of build parts can be found on The Dangan minisite in order for you to build your own – this time for keeps.

Photos: Steve Hunt

You can find several classic Yamaha motorycles for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

Designer Paul Smith creates one-off Land Rover Defender

Longstanding Defender fan and owner, Sir Paul Smith, has teamed up with Land Rover to create a distinctive one-off model...

Inspired by the countryside

Built by Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations, the Paul Smith Defender was recently unveiled at the designer's shop at No. 9 Albermarle Street in Mayfair, London. The bespoke model features a total of 27 different exterior colours, all chosen by Smith, who took inspiration from the British countryside and Defenders used by the Armed Forces.

A touch of British humour

Inside, the seats are trimmed in black leather with contrasting blue stitching while, in the glovebox, hand-painted illustrations of keys and coins add a touch of tongue-in-cheek British humour. There is also a bee painted on the roof – another light-hearted reminder of the Defender's links with the countryside. Speaking at the unveiling, Smith said, “The Defender is a British icon, which is something I’m exceptionally proud of. I keep a Defender at my home in Italy, which is in the middle of the countryside, so it’s the perfect vehicle to cope with the rugged terrain.”

Built entirely to Smith's own specification, the celebrated British designer was keen to retain the standard wing mirrors, door handles and wheels, which are given a satin finish to create a more contemporary feel. Forming part of a year-long celebration of the famous Defender as it enters its final phase of production, Gerry McGovern, Design Director and Chief Creative Officer of Land Rover, said, “I felt it would be a fitting tribute to the iconic Defender that one of Britain's most distinguished designers worked with the Land Rover team to recognise his creative vision.”

View the range of Land Rovers available in the Classic Driver Market.

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