CLASSIFIED TRIUMPH 675 ‘DOOMSDAYTONA’

John Ryland is one of the standout custom bike builders from the past few years. He’s dazzled us with a succession of Honda CBs and Yamaha Viragos, each one bearing that unmistakable Classified Moto style: cool metallic hues and uprated gold forks.

The latest bike to bear the Classified Moto name is a little different, though—a Triumph Daytona 675. “It’s by far the newest (and fastest) bike we’ve given the Classified treatment,” says Ryland. “We built it for a customer in Houston, Texas, who brought it in with mostly cosmetic damage. He decided the local roads were too rough for a full-on sport bike and wanted us to transform the Daytona into a sort of urban assault vehicle.”

The Doomsdaytona was born.

Ryland’s customer referenced an earlier Classified Yamaha XV920, and wanted something with a similar vibe. “He’s a huge fan of the post-apocalyptic aesthetic (as are we) and wanted something that looked battle-ready.”

The result is a muscular-looking hybrid, which Ryland describes as “kind of a sportbike-based scrambler with a G.I. Joe vibe.” It’s got an upright riding position, wide Pro Taper motocross bars with a custom gauge pod, and a serious hooligan attitude.

The tank was the biggest challenge. “I let Photoshop oversimplify the tank design when I was doing the initial rendering, so making it actually happen was tricky. Fabricator Seth Ingham reworked the stock tank to trim it down and get rid of the ‘wings’.”

The size of the fuel pump and height of the airbox drastically reduced fuel capacity, so Classified have added an additional tank under the seat. “Seth fabbed it out of aluminum, and the two tanks are joined via quick disconnect fittings. Pretty trick.”

There’s a custom stainless steel muffler and up-pipe, as well as Classified’s signature nickel-plated body panels. “We decided to not hide all the components because we liked the exposed mechanicals on this one,” says Ryland.

“The regulator-rectifier and the tiny Shorai Lithium ion battery, for instance, are in plain view—but we put a lot of thought into the placement.” The 17” tires are Avon Distanzia up front, Metzeler Karoo 3 out back.

The Daytona is a well-sorted bike straight off the showroom floor, so Ryland has wisely left the engine and suspension alone. “In the back of our heads, we wanted to build something that could actually be a production bike, but with our Classified style. Whether it’s with Triumph or any of the big manufacturers, we want to build bikes that could get a conversation started.”

Matt Crawford, author of Shop Class as Soulcraft, took the Daytona out for a test ride. After hopping off the bike, he said, “Riding it makes you feel like you belong to a different species, to which none of the usual rules apply.”

Classified are planning to build more bikes in this style. If you have room for one in your garage, contact Ryland via the Classified Moto website or Facebook page.

Images by Adam Ewing.

via BIKEexif

YAMAHA VIRAGO XV750 BY GREG HAGEMAN

When it comes to old motorcycles in need of resurrection, owners often face a dilemma: restore to original spec, or rebuild as a custom? The temptation to perform a nuts-and-bolts resto is massive when there’s a ’60s model BSA or Triumph in the garage, but less so when the bike in question is a Yamaha Virago XV750.

Yamaha’s now-dated chopper has become pretty popular as a custom base though, with more and more decent examples popping up all the time. Leading the pack are builders like Greg Hageman—who has a talent for massaging the Virago’s awkward lines into a cohesive and elegant end product.

This particular one—a ’95-model XV750—was brought in as a non-runner that had sat in its owner’s garage for several years. “His wife had purchased it for him as a surprise, but it needed a lot of work to put back on the road,” says Greg. “He’d seen my work and wanted a transformation. I told him to spend the next few months collecting pics of bikes he liked, and I would think about a plan of attack.”

Greg immediately had the idea to graft on a 2008 Yamaha R1 front-end—including the upside-down forks, brakes and 17″ front wheel. At the back he retained the Virago’s stock 15″ wheel and drum brake. Since both wheels are 5-spoke affairs, they ended up being a good visual match. They’re now shod with Dunlop K555s.

Being a 1995 model the donor bike had a dual-shock rear, rather than the mono-shock design of pre-1984 Viragos. A mono-shock conversion was considered, but once Greg had torn the bike down he decided to redesign the rear end and retain the dual shocks instead, installing a pair of Öhlins at the same time. “I liked the angles and thought I could make it perform well. All the previous first-gen Viragos I’ve built had mono-shocks, but I wanted to keep this one different and keep some original design.”

His attention then turned to selecting a tank for the build, made difficult by the Virago’s frame. “The wide and high backbone of these things pretty much rules out most custom tanks, and I honestly don’t have the skill to bang out my own tank. I wish I did, I’m so envious of the metal working skill of some of the talented builders out there.”

Wanting something iconic and “easily recognizable by any old school Yamaha fan,” he modified a 1973 Yamaha RD350 tank to fit. “I really dig ’70s bikes, and putting that retro cue in and even keeping the paint original was what I wanted, and was able to convince the owner to agree.” The lush replica paint job was done by Moe Colors, while the powder coating was handled by Profab.

Matching the svelte tank is a Tuffside café racer seat, made specifically for this build by Chris Chappell, an accomplished builder in his own right and, according to Greg, “a good guy.” Chris molds his seat pans from ABS plastic with a vacuum-forming machine, before having them upholstered in marine-grade vinyl.

The XV750′s new café racer stance was enhanced with Tarozzi rear-sets and R1 clip-ons (later swapped out for adjustable Tarozzi units) with Biltwell Thruster grips. Greg also fitted an Acewell speedo, and an eBay-sourced headlight grill. For added performance, twin Mikuni VM34 carbs were installed, along with 2-into-1 ceramic coated headers and a tuned Cone Engineering muffler.

“The bike runs and handles great, better than expected actually. The ‘gen 2′ frame is stronger and has less flex than the ‘gen 1,’ so it can handle the sportier suspension a little better. That, combined with a tuned exhaust and new Mikuni VMs, allows the engine to pull smooth and hard from idle to 8000 RPM which makes this a blast to ride.”

Greg completed the build in just two months, in the process adding another ultra-desirable Virago to his portfolio. If you like what you see, I suggest you trawl your local classifieds pronto.

I have a hunch that second-gen Viragos are going to become a lot more sought-after, and probably not for restoration projects.

Images by Erick Runyon. For commissions, bookings and fine art prints contact Erickhere.

via BIKEexif

ELEGANT APPARATUS #1

Facundo Falcó is a surgeon from Barcelona, he’s 41 and has realised there’s more to life than the daily grind, it took a death of a close friend, the birth of his daughter and the observance of his fathers increasing years; as well as the amount of candles on his last birthday cake to figure it out, but he has, and now he’s building beautiful motorcycles with help from his brother Guillermo, who is also a surgeon, and a rather good one we’re told.

Elegant Apparatus is a blog, perhaps one might say a showcase of beauty; Facundo says it’s a room of mirrors, a Spanish expression meaning somewhere he can reflect. It’s a collection of images from fashion, motorcycles, cars, tattoos, women, architecture… basically anything that’s sexy and pretty darn cool, and this is where it began.

As with many of us, Facundo is a life long biker, man and boy, and is passionate about them, he has a healthy collection in his garage, presumably awaiting their turn under the knife. The collection consists of a Guzzi Le Mans II, a ’65 Bonneville T120R, a 1948 Ariel Red-Hunter 500cc, a ’94 Harley Sprung Bobber and 2 Benelli’s, a 500 Quattro and a 900 SEI…. so that should keep the brothers busy for a while.

I have to admit, I am a sucker for an old Honda dirt bike, I actually have a tracker XL600R myself, so I know these bikes and how they ride, they are just a joy, whether nailing it through town or hitting the shingle. This one is a 1998 XR600R, basically the same donor as mine and favoured by the green lane community for both their agility and reliability.

The build had a deadline, it was for Wheels & Waves, unfortunately things didn’t come together to feature her in the shed ahead of that great weekend, but we’re pleased to have her now and yes, she did make it to W&W. The build wasn’t one of those that had money thrown at it, it was given time, dedication and most importantly attention, Facundo and his brother set the challenge to not buy a single thing for the bike other than to pay for a professional paint job, they had a good collection of parts from their life long obsession with motorcycles, so decided to use what they have and manufacture anything else they may need.

This is one of those builds that draws you in to its details, all the little changes that make the overall result, the list of replacements, enhancements and adjustments is quite extensive, so here’s some of it:

The donor bike is a fresh 7,000 kms engine that Facundo has owned from new. Mudguards are from a 1938 Velocette, the bars and levers came from an old Triumph scrambler and the headlight is from a 2008 Harley Street Bob with H4 bulb allowing an XR to actually see properly, something they weren’t good at from the factory. Akront anodized rims are dressed with 4.00 x 18 Bridgestones Trail Wings.

The fuel tank came from a 1971 honda scrambler, she’s had hand built levers, switches and bracketry, and the front brake pump is hidden under the fuel tank. The bikes electrical system is only 10 cm long with all the original connectors and components, and an ignition key was added to the side of the frame, many of these XR’s are keyless work horses.
The frame was re-designed and benefits from being tig welded. The rear of the frame has been curved, replicating the waves at Biarritz, not just the location for this bikes reveal, but also one of Facundo’s favourite places in the world, and whether he’s chilling in Spain or Biarritz, watching the set with a cold beer, he’ll have a bottle opener close by, a useful addition for those weekends away in the Mediterranean warmth.

The seat is all handcrafted, even the hinges and under it you can find a nice tool roll, the upholstery is synthetic but water repelent and amazingly strong and durable. All wires run inside the frame. The silencer is an aftermarket one which was previosly fitted on the bike, the system however has been redirected and now aims downward, inspired by modern Dakar bikes.

This is such a lovely bike, and knowing how they ride, it’s a guarantee that Facundo and Guillermo will love it, in fact this is what Facundo has to say about it ‘I wanted to design a fresh bike, fun to ride, with a nostalgic retro look, but with some serious performance. The bike you would choose to go to the beach in the summer or to take for a spin in the forest of the Pirineic mountains in autumn’

Many thanks to the Facundo for sharing this great bike, to see what inspires them as well as seeing more shots of this build and even one of the Benelli’s, check out the link to the blog, there really are some inspirational and elegant images to behold.

via The Bike Shed

Timeless Classic: Ferrari 250 LM

Ferrari’s fabulous 250 LM was a product of the mid-engined revolution of the early 1960s – a revolution that no one had resisted more strongly than Enzo Ferrari himself...

But whatever Enzo’s personal feelings on the essential ‘rightness’ of sticking the engine at the front of the car, the writing was on the wall. In 1963, a Ferrari 250 P became the first mid-engined car to win Le Mans, and no front-engined car ever won there again. The 250 LM – essentially a 250 P with a roof – swept to an overall win (and second place, too) at Le Mans in 1965, the last time Ferrari won that great race.

Mathematical misnomer

On the racetrack, the 250 LM is an outstanding car – nimble, well-balanced and powered by a superlative 3.3-litre V12 engine. “Hmm,” I hear the more mathematically inclined of you mutter. “Why is it called a 250 LM when Ferrari model numbers at the time used the capacity of an individual cylinder? And 3,300 divided by 12 is… er… 275. So why isn’t it called a 275 LM?”

Good point, but the very first LM had a 3-litre engine and perhaps Il Commendatore thought that any name change would cause further problems with the FIA. He’d already failed to convince the racing regulators that the 250 LM was simply a 250 GTO with the engine moved along a bit – hence the mid-engined car was never homologated. It therefore had to race in the prototype class of international sports-car racing, where it was run exclusively by non-factory teams. Often with enormous success, as in the 1965 Le Mans win by Luigi Chinetti’s NART team.

19 of 32

Just 32 examples of the 250 LM were ever built, which makes them rarer than the GTO. The car seen here was the 19^th of those built, and it’s highly unusual in that – despite the model’s prowess on the track – this car was never raced in period. It was sold new by Luigi Chinetti Motors to casino mogul William Fisk Harrah for his personal, on-road use. 

A winner in later life

After leaving Harrah’s care, the car passed through a handful of owners before landing with its current custodians, who fully restored the car in order to campaign it in historic racing and display it at concours events. Restored to its original specifications and granted Ferrari Classiche certification, it scooped The Ferrari Classiche Cup at the XIII Palm Beach Cavallino Classic in January 2014, where it was named as the most outstanding 12-cylinder Ferrari at the show. 

The car is being offered for sale at RM’s forthcoming Monterey auction, from 15 to 16 August 2014.

This article is part of the 'Timeless Classics' feature series that is presented and supported by our friends at RM Auctions.