HARLEY-DAVIDSON WR RACER

Racing motorcycles often have perfect proportions; they’re almost like the bikes you’d doodle in the corner of a schoolbook as a child. This 1946 Harley-Davidson is one of those machines, with an immaculate stance, perfectly symmetrical wheels and a beautiful economy of line.

It’s a WR model, a rare find that has recently changed hands. It’s in full race trim, with a big carb, suicide clutch and heavy-duty Wico magneto. Originally raced by a privateer in the Pacific Northwest, it was retired in the 1960s when the new Harley KHK made its presence felt. The WR was stored in the back of a garage, its iron-barreled 738cc engine thoroughly worn out.

Around two decades later, the Harley was wheeled out into the sunlight again. The frame, lighter and stronger than any W-series road bike, was restored by Bill Brownell, who rode Indians and sold Triumphs in San Bernardino County, California.

‘Brownie’ also managed to get his hands on a genuine Harley-Davidson WR motor and three-speed gearbox. These had been built at the factory in the early 50s, and were still in the crate. With everything assembled and fettled into tune, the WR once again roared into life.

Today, this fine piece of racing history is running the vintage motorcycle circuit in Australia—and once again, the Indians are chasing.

With thanks to photographer Jared Schoenemann and Tim Graber of Classic Motorcycle Consignments.

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Virginia City Grand Prix 2012

Well made little vid:
Take a journey through the process of preparing for and racing the VIrginia City Grand Prix. Shot during the 2012 race, we would like to present this film weeks before the 2013 race, which takes place on April 27th and 28th.

Mexican group announces the SST-77, envisioned as a modern day Alpine A-110

 

Promises to be lightweight and agile

The original Alpine A-110 was produced in Mexico under the Dinalpin moniker from 1965-1974 and now a new group has come forward with plans for a successor.
 
Dubbed the SST-77, the reimagined Alpine is reportedly being masterminded by Miguel Jimenez who wants a sports car that is lightweight and agile. Little is known about the model but the renderings show three distinct concepts which have sweptback headlights, angular air intakes and circular fog lights.
If everything goes according to plan, the finished product will have a lightweight body that is constructed from fiberglass, Kevlar and, possibly, carbon fiber. It will sit atop a platform that will be created in Sahagun City, Mexico which is the same place where the original Dinalpin was built.
 

Source: Autoblog Mexico via Autoblog
via worldcarfans

Custom Indian by The GasBox

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Today’s feature is a blast from the past a custom Indian built by master builder Jesse Bassett atThe GasBox. Jesse Bassett first appeared on Moto Rivista with his flawless creation The BSA Lightning.

It’s ironic that when we are young we like the future and as we get old we look back in time and enjoy certain memories of it. I always get excited when I get to feature a custom vintage bike. In many ways vintage bikes remind me of my past, and when I saw Jesse Bassett’s custom Indian it reminded me of the time I spent with my dad working on his vintage bikes.

Lets get a little flashback about Indian Motorcycles “Hitting the road in 1901, Indian was not only the first American motorcycle, it was the world’s best-selling bike and, having introduced the first V-twin motorcycle to the world in 1907, the most technologically advanced. The Indian Scoutwas built from 1920 to 1949 and was designed by Charles B. Franklin.”

Back to Jesse Bassett’s custom Indian “The motorcycle started out as a 1940 741 Indian Military Scout. The design concept was to make it look like the styling of the late 1920’s Scouts.

First the top frame rail was cut and raised to frame the shape of the fuel tanks. The frame was then stretched 4” to move the down tube in front of the generator instead of behind it, by doing this the line of the motorcycle is cleaned up by not having a generator sticking out. The stance was next, the lower girder links were stretched 3/4 of an inch for rake and the front axle position was raised 3 inches for the correct ground height in order to accommodate both front and rear 19” wheels. The top of the girder was narrowed 2” to eliminate the bulky look.

The fuel tanks were hand formed from sheets of .080” aluminum to copy the look of the 1920’s Indian tanks. The handlebars were made from cutting up sets of Harley Panhead bars to utilize original internals and designed after original Indian Scout bars. The front hub is original Indian and the rear is Triumph. The rims are Dunlop’s. The headlamp is a 1920’s automotive lamp and the bezel was hand spun from brass to copy the original since it was in too bad of condition to reuse.

For the drive train, the Indian engine was rebuilt with new hard parts and a Norton Commando4-speed transmission was chosen in exchange for the oem Indian 3 speed. New engine plates were made and the Scout primary was cut in half, offset and mated with a 1920’s Indian outer primary. All of this was done in order to accommodate the Norton diaphragm clutch. The Norton engine sprocket was bored out and welded to the machined down Indian front sprocket, then re-hardened.

All aluminum was polished, all steel was nickle plated, and all cast iron was electroless plated. The entire frame and fork were nickle plated then painted Indian red.

It’s not surprising this custom Indian beauty come second in the Custom Class at this years Quail Motorcycle Gathering behind Shinya Kimura’s Mv Agusta. The flawless creations that roll out of The GasBox will be admired for many years to come.

Check out the other featured bikes from The GasBox.

Visit – The GasBox | The GasBox Facebook

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