CAFÉ RACER 76

Marco Moeller’s Hind Ki Rani

Marco Moeller’s “Hind Ki Rani” has already been celebrated online, but it was Marco’s wife Antje that brought HKR to our attention on The Bike Shed, with her take on the build; “from Trash to Treasure” and a new set of photos taken in the parched dry desert by Colin Handy.

What really stands out on this Enfield 500 Bullet is the work that has gone into the metalwork with hundred of hours spend hand-chiseling patterns into the raw metal, but take a step back and she also has a superbly balanced silhouette. We can see how “she” has made her mark on Marco & Antje’s lives.

Marco is German and based in Dubai. Having not ridden a motorcycle for years he took pity on the bike when he came across her three years ago in a very distressed state in his boss’s backyard. The desert heat hadn’t been kind to the little Bullet but Marco could see beyond the filth & grease. He wanted to build something unique, that suited him as a person, but also helped reflect 60 years of Indian heritage.

The bike was initially fixed-up and rebuilt to a decent standard, so Marco entered her into a local competition in Dubai. The bike won the best customized European category trophy at the Gulf Bike Expo 2011, but this was only the beginning, as Marco’s vision was far from complete. This was when all the craft-work started in earnest and the bike began to take on a far more exotic temperament.

The donor was built in 1994, a bike pretty much unchanged for decades, and the principle work was all about restoring her to to working condition and with the stance he wanted. Just getting the bike running was a bit of a mission but with plenty of help from the Internet Marco struggled through and bought her back to life. From this point onwards the guys at Classic Motorcycles sorted the engine properly and allowed Marco to start thinking about the cosmetic side of his build.

The front 19′ wheel was swapped to 18″ and the rear was reduced to a 15-incher to wear a fat back tyre, while paint was taken care of by a friend. Much of the carved metalwork is made of brass, sourced in India and then hand engraved by Marco using a hammer and chisel. Doing the same to the aluminium pieces took “an insane amount of time”.

Marco: “…it’s by far and away not finished yet. I guess you cannot put my modified Bullet in any category like bobber, chopper, café or anything else. However it was very critical that I maintained the basic features of a typical Royal Enfield as those are indeed what make her special and remarkable. I do enjoy it when people are coming up to me, showing interest, asking questions about the bike whenever I stop. But if anyone asks me, she’s not a show bike! She’s pretty much more that! She’s loud and furious, she’s moody and temperamental…”

Anyone who’s ridden an Enfield Bullet will relate to the sentiment behind this bike (and it’s temperament). It’s great to see a motorcycle inspire so much passion and dare we say it ‘love’, and even better to read about a bike that seems to have brought a couple closer together. Antje is obviously fiercely proud of Marco’s work and wants the whole world to see what her man is capable of. See more on their Facebook Page.

Antje:“HKR is anything else, but just an ordinary bike. This stunning motorcycle is loud and furious like a yob, moody and temperamental like a woman and beautiful like a fairytale Queen.”

…and who doesn’t love a fairytale ending?

Posted by Dutch@TheBikeShed.cc

1976 Yamaha DT400

By guest writer Ian Lee.

“I have an idea, let’s make it a two stroke bobber’. And that’s how the build started. From a rusted lawn ornament, the 1976 Yamaha DT400 was changed into the impressive piece of machinery you see before you today. Built over the course of three months, using original parts from the bike and anything else that fell to hand in the workshop, it was a failed attempt to enter the Rusty Kustoms Biker Build Off. Mind you, we use the term ‘failure’ in the loosest sense of the word. Built by Tom Armstrong, Matthew Blythman and Steven Blythman; a spray painter, industrial designer and civil engineer respectively. This bike is proof that you don’t need alot of money or time to build a unique custom motorcycle – a six pack of beer helps though.

After seeing the MX bike languishing in a friend’s front yard, the trio decided it would make a good base for a project bike. With a leg sticking out of bed, covered in years of rust and bird droppings, the DT was a poor sight. Purchased for a six pack, dumped unceremoniously at the back of the shed, it took a quiet night and some amber inspiration to get the project underway, but once it did, magic happened. It was at this point that the two stroke bobber concept was born, an angle grinder used as a means to this end. First things to be surgically removed were the seat and swingarm. A couple of design ideas were decided to be adhered to, like wide grip handle bars, retaining the knobby tires and giving the tank artwork a ‘DT’ feel’.

Stripping the bike back to bare bones, the frame was mounted on a homemade jig to keep everything inline, and the fabrication of the hardtail begun. Much thought was put into the stance of the bike, with a real dirt tracker style aimed for. The final result was an overall length increase of four inches, and the front end dropped by three inches. A new seat was handrolled from aluminium sheet, with Steve producing the cushion on his mum’s sewing machine, having no prior experience in sewing. The headlight is half of a set Tom bought for his Ford Falcon in Vietnam, but after smashing one decided to put it away for later use. Lighting at the ass end is thanks to a 60’s dragster, and mounted on the TZ rear guard is the Ebay copy of an old Japanese racing plate.

The shining light of this build has got to be the fuel tank. Utilising the average looking factory tank, the sides were scalloped out, and the section around the filler dished. Once this was done, Tom ‘flexed his bog skills and then applied the paint with some heavy flaked graphics to resemble the bike’s original tank design’. To round it out nicely the trio used close mate Matt Bailey to apply some appropriate text around the filler. Poking out behind the tank is the exhaust system, the original header matched to some offcut mandrel pipe. Mounted in the frame is the oil tank, donated by an old Victa lawnmower.

Once the frame was completed, the hunt for an engine was on. Sourcing a powerplant from a ’75 DT400, it was mounted in the freshly modified frame. All was for nothing though, as the engine just wouldn’t run. With fuel, spark and air getting to the engine, the boys were stumped. However, a prior thought that such an event might occur prompted the purchase of a backup bike. The replacement Suzuki TF125 was built in the wee hours of the final night before the comp, took first first place in the motocross comp, and almost succeeded in taking the rider’s foot off halfway through the victory lap.

Once the dust had cleared from the Rusty Kustoms Biker Build Off, the new target was decided to attend the Chopped Rod and Custom with a running machine. The starting issue was traced to a faulty CDI unit, so the bike was fitted with a points ignition system. After being wired up and the points set, the bike started first kick.

From a non runner bought for a 6 pack of beer, the trio have rebirthed this 70s Japanese enduro bike and turned it into one of the most original two-stroke bobber dirt trackers we've seen.

Photography by Jason Lau

via PIPEBURN

Clampy the Rock Crawling 1986 Toyota Pickup!

On this episode of Dirt Every Day, Fred takes you rock-crawling in his 1986 Toyota pickup that he calls Clampy. Clampy is a rusted, battered, and beat up old truck stuffed full of strong Toyota parts and big Dana axles all turning 40-inch tires. This iconic old beater still does great boulder crawling in the desert.

The Classic Driver Christmas Gift Guide

Take your pick: spend the run-up to Christmas skiing (or lounging in front of the fire)... or push your way through crowds in a frantic rush to buy presents. If you don't fancy the latter, browse 24 gifts from the Classic Driver Marketplace. Every day, we'll suggest a new, unusual gift idea.