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2014 WRC Rally Mexico

VERTIGO70 ALMA PURA

Alma Pura? A brief toy with google translate reveals the meaning of the monicker gracing Vertigo70′s latest creation; Pure Soul. The essence of a motorcycle. Four months, four builds and four different donor bikes into their Bike Shed participation, Vertigo70 refuse predictability, and continue to roll unique rides out of their Milan HQ. Alma Pura is their take on the ever popular Dominator platform, a machine that persists to generate beautiful fodder for these pages.

The thumping single heart of the Dominator inspires simplicity and rewards minimalism, and this was the route the Vertigo70 team took. They chose to create a bike with a “Racing Soul” designed to run rings in the dirt around its competitors. Any unnecessary component was cut away and some useful ones were lost as well, but who needs a side stand anyway? This bike was designed to be ridden, to go, and then go again, only stopping in the garage.

The striking hand-crafted, fibreglass, flat track tail section waves loftily at the rooster tails sprayed in its wake. The white number boards eagerly awaiting some impromptu gaffa taped race numbers. The entire subframe was cast aside and the seat supported by invisible reinforcements, generating an incredibly light profile, the rear wheel encompassed by nothing but acres of air. The seat unit houses the battery and all electrical components, leaving the engine and rear shock uncluttered. It also contains a hidden tripod leg, that can be attached to an eyelet on the front fork, just incase there is no supportive wall available to lean the bike against.

The tank comes from the familial Honda XL and was stripped raw before receiving the dark, rich cherry paint, but only where needed. It is a style and finish we have seen from Vertigo70 before, on their McQueen CB500, on the Dominator it combines with the spoked wheels to evoke images of the scramblers from days of yore.

The colour palette is highlighted by details of copper, with cable guides and other minute details finished in the rose metal. A transparent plexiglass chain guard, chrome Bates headlight, and baby indicators completes the detailing.

The stance of the bike was dropped from its lofty standard height with eight centimetres trimmed from the forks and a new shorter shock supplanting the rear. The resulting geometry yields an incredibly rideable bike that relishes drifting its 17″ wheels on the rough stuff. Short hand made pipes finish with an under slung exhaust to supply the inevitably throaty soundtrack.

The Dominator craze shows no sign of waning as each one seems to showcase a new individual take on the platform and the donor prices continue to rise. No doubt Vertigo70 have just inspired further bouts of planning and ebay searching with their floating tailed tracker showcasing the pure soul of the breed.

See more from Vertigo70 on their Bikeshed page and discover many hours of Dominator themed distraction right across the Bikeshed pages. Got a favourite yet?