Taiwan custom

Wang YaoChih's utterly cool custom Sym90.. by Shin Metalworks from Taipei, Taiwan..

Before, without the two-tone paintjob.. Note, no stretch in framepipe!

Pictures courtesy of Mr. Wang YaoChih.

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Chalopy

2012 Triumph Bonneville by Vintage Racer

By guest writer Ian Lee.
Ah the sights of Paris. Le Eiffel tower. Le Arc De Triomphe. Le modified Triumph Bonneville. The last of these is a recent addition to the visual splendour of Paris, and we have Vintage Racer Motorcycles to thank for the pleasure. This Bonnie was created for a customer who turned out to be a prince from Qatar, or an 'emir' in french – so they named the bike 'Bobbemir'. It has been built with all the hallmarks of Vintage Racer’s belief that their bikes should be ridden not hidden. Whether as an every day rider or something to take for a burn on a Sunday afternoon, their bikes are for blowing out cobwebs, not collecting them. This bike is as much a monument to French engineering as the Eiffel tower, but le tower Eiffel never had a chance to sport pipewrap. 

Starting with a standard 2012 Triumph Bonneville, the Vintage Racer crew hooked in to the build. Ditching the factory seat, a vintage camel leather bound cushion takes it’s place. Under the custom seat sits the reshaped rear guards, sporting a Daytona tail light in place of the factory one. The footrests are LSL supplied, with custom mounts to suit this Gallic work of art. 

The most notable part of the bike has to be the wheels though. This has been an awesome addition to the build, with Vintage Racers looking to Harley Davidson styled rims for inspiration. 17 inch Kineo rims, front and rear, mounted on Alpina hubs. The front end is wrapped in Michelin T63 120 profile rubber, while the rear is a Metzeler 160 profile tire. 

Part of the build brief was that the bike was to be able to support a more ample rider, so Ohlins suspension suited to the task has been fitted. On top of this the seat cushion foam is of hardier material than would normally be required. The front end has been touched up as well, with Triumph Thruxton triple clamps replacing the Bonneville factory setup. LSL handlebars enveloped in brown balloon grips, sit above OEM Triumph fork gaiters. 

The exhaust is something different, a set of silencers usually found on a Honda Dax have been treated to black ceramic and exhaust wrap treatment. Finishing almost level with the swingarm pivot point it leaves the custom drivetrain open for inspection, complete with perforated chainguard and 45 sprocket drive setup. 

Specialised custom touches such as the camel hide seat, and Kineo wheels, give this bike the chance to stand out amongst the sea of custom bikes that are out there. It’s the small things that add up, to give this bike the aesthetic quality Vintage were looking for. Nothing drastic has been done to this bike. It’s just what has been done has been well thought out, and more importantly, well carried out. Vintage Racers have outdone themselves on this build, a quick look at their website will show that their bikes keep getting better and better. And with bikes like this roaming the streets of Paris, it’s all the more reason to visit Paris, to see the beautiful sights on offer.
Viva la France! 
 
via PIPEBURN 

M&W Gives You Wings

The Mercedes W198 series is their speciality: Miguel Morais and Mathieu Woehrle are the men to speak to about the 300 SL Gullwing and the legendary 300 SL Roadster. Classic Driver talks to the Sport Light experts. 

The headquarters of M&W Classic, the restoration operation run by Woehrle and Morais, lies hidden in a side street of the German town of Markgröningen. Yet there is more here than initially meets the eye, as the two classic Mercedes professionals have something very special to show visitors, with sports car icons and legends of the Stuttgart brand concealed in their workshops.
Here, old stars are brought back into the limelight, with a clear focus on the coveted W198 series. “The 300 SL Gullwing and Roadster are our speciality,” says Woehrle, and both men know these cars – with all their idiosyncrasies – inside out. They restore these inimitable vehicles, as well as sourcing interesting specimens worldwide. “We work within a great network that we have built up over ten years,” he adds, which also ensures a good supply of original spare parts.


Because of this extensive network cultivated by Morais and Woehrle, they discover SLs in Monaco, Greece, and Switzerland, as well as Belgium, Holland, France, Portugal, and sometimes from much further afield. Around 30 vehicles have already been delivered to customers and, when you consider that these precious items now cost up to a million euros, it’s clear that the business has established an enviable reputation among discerning collectors.


When working on the vehicles we put great emphasis on originality,” says Woehrle. Originality is irreplaceable, he tells us, and recognising this fact has become especially important in recent years. Old parts are not simply sent to the scrap heap: they are carefully cleaned, inspected and, whenever possible, recycled and refitted.


You will not only find 300 SLs for sale at M&W Classic, however. Also available are 190 SL Roadsters and the ever-popular Mercedes-Benz Pagodas, which the company has in stock. The real connoisseurs are the people who know exactly what they want and – according to M&W – these connoisseurs will feel right at home browsing the Classic Driver Marketplace, as well as in their Markgröningen premises.

Related Links You can view M&W Classic's full inventory in the Classic Driver Marketplace.

Text: Mathias Paulokat(ClassicDriver)
Photos: M&W Classic

When an Indian Four is Not in the Budget, Build One

by PAUL CROWE

Indian Four replica with NSU engine

Some antique motorcycles like the Indian inline four age really well, their design looks great even decades after their time, but, if you've ever noticed the few that come up for sale, the combination of rare and desirable means they're not cheap.

Indian Four replica with NSU engine

That was a problem for Mads B.H. Johnsen, a Danish architect who, after 10 years of riding a Nimbus, decided it was finally time for an Indian of his own, but who has that kind of money? Right about here, most riders would give up on their dream, but Mads isn't like most riders, so instead of trying to buy one, he decided to build one, or something reasonably close to it, using a few original parts and pieces, but for quite a bit of it, including the engine, he went his own way, scrounging things where available, but making and adapting a lot of what he needed and if you aren't that familiar with Indian fours, you might not know that this isn't the real thing.

NSU four adapted for use in the Indian replica

The frame is part Indian, with a bit of Nimbus and a bit of workshop engineering. The engine is the venerable NSU air cooled four, the same engine used in the Munch Mammut. It has an aluminum block and cast iron cylinders and displaces 996cc. The gearbox is a Nimbus 4 speed. The front brake is Indian, the rear from a Nimbus, Bosch handles the electrics. Now all he had to do was fit everything together and add the visual cues that would set it apart.

Cast aluminum tanks!

Mads fell back on the tried and true art of metal casting to conjure up the needed parts. The finned sump cover on the bottom of the engine cast from his own design. The clutch housing and adapter for the gearbox were also cast, and like the sump cover, required a LOT of hand finishing. The gorgeous tanks are also cast aluminum, again, fitted and finished by hand. The project took something like eight years to complete.

Indian/NSU four

The end result has the appearance of a classic vintage ride, and though it never rolled off of any assembly line, looks like it did and then made its way to the present day in the hands of an owner who kept it in top condition. I like this a lot.

Link: Alma 4 Project and it's for sale

via thekneeslider