Vespalogy: A tribute to the Vespa

The Vespa is a style icon in the truest sense of the term. This groovy animated retrospective, aptly titled ‘Vespalogy’, tracks the famous Italian scooter’s timeless design from 1943 to 2013…

Everyone can relate to the Vespa scooter. Some even knit their own (yes, seriously).  The folks over at Parisian creative agency, Nomoon, have created their own wonderful tribute showcasing the countless variants of the lovable scooter we've seen over the last 70 years. Among the many instantly recognisable shapes are a few obscurities, such as the 1956 Vespa Tap military scooter, complete with 70mm machine gun, and the 1957 Vespa micro-car – the perfect machine for nipping along the Adriatic coast. 

Dave Taylor’s XS750 Cafe Racer

David Taylor and his family have built so many bikes on the Bike Shed we might need to give him his own category. This latest brat/cafe/tracker custom was built as another family collaboration by David and his youngest son, Tom, and all the work was done with their own hands, apart from the tank paintwork and the seat upholstery.

The bike is a 1980 Yamaha XS750 Triple, a popular custom platform with a very pretty engine and frame. Their brief was to create a cafe/tracker hybrid that would be a proper head turner, ditching the nasty 80′s elements to streamline the bike into something more timeless. Tick.

The bike was stripped and everything checked and dismantled as per our plan. New drag bars were fitted with bar end mirrors, and mini Antique bullet blinkers. We retained the original instrument cluster, but lowered the mounting bracket to nestle the clocks closer to the small headlight we fitted.

They fabricated a plate out of aluminium to cover the oil warning lights and turn signals. Holes were drilled to allow for illumination. As with many bikes the seat is often a difficult thing to get right. The original bucket has been extensively chopped and fabricated to give a trim clean line, and the seat now sits above the frame, upholstered in high quality NZ black and brown leather.

The side covers were drilled to help give the old girl a lighter look and painted satin black, matching the finish on the wheels. The tank paint is high quality pearl in a beige/gold reminiscent of late 80s Mercedes SLs with graphics under the clearcoat.

The airbox has been retained but the exhaust has been modified to allow the engine to run more freely, and the sound is deep and definite, and should help make sure other vehicles know to make some space.

As DT says. “Mission accomplished, the bike sure is turning heads and has had a new lease on life. We are extremely happy with the look of this one-off bike and are very keen to have a crack at another build.”

Carry on the good work DT. We’ll be watching.

via The Bike Shed

passagère

‘Bonneville’ - Vintage Addiction Crew

It's been quite a while between moped posts for us. As a matter of fact, we haven't posted a single one since last year. So we've been keeping our eyes peeled for something to redress the imbalance, and when we laid them on this little Catalonian gem from a shop that goes by the name of Vintage Addiction Crew, we couldn't pass up the opportunity. It's a rather amazing mash-up of a Derby, a KTM, and a Beta Trueba (a rather natty-looking Moto that we'd never heard of before) mixed with a touch of salt flat racing. And I don't think it would be an overstatement to say that it's our favourite 'ped of 2013 so far.

“My name is Carlos (A.K.A. Xarly). I'm a guy from Barcelona, ​​Catalunya. I work fulltime in a garage as a mechanic, which leaves me nothing more than the nights and weekends to build bikes. I am passionate about engines and everything old; Volkswagen aircooleds, Porches, Vespas and Lambrettas! I'm also a big fan of kustom rods.”

“Recently, I decided to do something a little different, so I started the Vintage Addiction Crew. It's all about restoring vintage transport and putting your whole heart and soul into each build. I hope to one day make a living doing this.”

“This is the second bike check by Vintage Addiction and it was made specifically for a moped build-off called the ‘Massive Metamorphosis Mopeds’ contest. It's a friendly event for like-minded builders who enjoy modifying scooters. It was a great experience and I met many cool people from the scene.”

“It would not have been possible without the help of my friends, who donated their bikes for this project. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one Derby 49 cc variant, one Beta Trueba, and one KTM 80cc with the main parts being from the Derby.”

“It's a bike inspired by Bonneville speed machines. The front wheel is from the Beta Trueba. The forks are from a KTM 80 and the 'bars are from a Yamaha TZR. The headlight is a cast after market item with a custom support. It's also got a handmade one litre tank, as you can probably see. The chassis and seat are also heavily customised. The rear wheel is from a Rieju Supermotard. The silencer and expansion chamber are based on a Derby and Tavi units.”

“For such a small bike to have so many build hours, especially in the installation of new forks and the central seat mod might seem a bit crazy, but the end result pleases me so much. I am very happy, which is the main thing. I enjoyed every minute of it. I hope you like it.”

from PIPEBURN