R nineT - the essence of 90 thrilling years of BMW Motorrad.

The BMW R nineT, which has been created to mark "90 years of BMW Motorrad", radiates purism and power in undisguised form. Enter the world of pure custom boxer riding on the new BMW R nineT. Experience all the aspects of PURE RIDING in this web special. www.bmw-motorrad.com/nineT

GUZZI RITMO SERENO RACING

TRIUMPH TR6R BY TRICANA MOTORCYCLES

Minimal, elegant and beautifully finished, this is one of the best custom Triumphs we’ve seen for a long time. It comes from Tricana Motorcycles, a small workshop in Portugal that’s building a reputation for classy, slightly off-kilter café racers.

Tricana is run by Jonathan Natario, and he’s called his latest creation Briosa, a musical term meaning ‘lively’ in Italian. But when the Triumph arrived in Jonathan’s Coimbra workshop, it was far from lively—it was a decrepit, incomplete 1972 TR6R that had seen better days.

Unfazed, Jonathan saw its potential. “I thought it’d be an excellent bike to reconstruct in a ‘classical’ way,” he says. “The owner had just one special request: make it a two-seater.”

Jonathan spent a lot of time modifying the TR6R’s depleted stock of original parts, but he’s retained the lovely feel of a vintage Triumph. The handlebars are particularly striking, with a wheelbarrow sweep and finished with brown grips matching the intricate leatherwork elsewhere.

After taking the 650cc engine apart, Jonathan discovered that it was full of mismatched components—and one side of the crankcase had been machined apart and welded together again. So a complete rebuild was in order, including new pistons, valve guides, valve springs and tappets. Jonathan also installed a modified cylinder head, so he could use two Amal carbs instead of one. The mufflers are from Leo Vince—attached to the original headers—and a Boyer electronic ignition now provides a reliable spark.

Much of the beauty is in the detail: both the fuel tank and the Koni shocks have new mounts, to make them lean at slightly racier angles. Jonathan also lowered the front suspension a little to match, and then cut and re-welded the headlight and front fender mounts into a different positions.

He rebuilt the rear frame to accommodate the beautifully finished custom seat, which sits above a discreet fender, a bobbed and refinished cast-off that Jonathan found in his workshop and modified to fit.

Briosa is one bike where you might expect to find Firestone rubber, but Jonathan prefers a more modern look when it comes to tires. “Obviously the Triumph will never lean at the angles these tires are designed for, but it was an aesthetic and personal preference,” he explains.

I’d say it was a good call. And it’s even better to see a classic TR6 resurrected with such style and craftsmanship.

The Tricana Motorcycles website is still being developed, but you can find it here. Images by Tiago Santiago Silva of Café Racer 351.

via BIKEEXIF

Sporting elegance: Highlights from the Artcurial auction in Paris

Some 80 classics will be served up by Artcurial on 20 October in Paris at its sixth annual autumn sale. In addition to the 'big fish' from Maranello, Modena and Sant'Agata, the catalogue includes some interesting home-grown classics - such as the 1966 Matra Jet V Luxe coupé...

Originally developed by Automobiles René Bonnet to compete in rallies against the legendary Alpine A110, from 1964 the Matra Djet was produced by Matra itself - and renamed the Jet. The Jet offered by Artcurial has spent its entire life to date in the ownership of the same family, having initially been given by the buyer to his wife to celebrate the birth of their daughter. Forty years later, the mother gave it to her daughter as a 40th birthday present. The Matra Jet V Luxe coupé has just 43,000km on the clock and carries an estimate of 30,000-40,000 Euros.

Most of the higher-value lots are from Italy. The star of the auction is the yellow 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400, originally a Paris dealer's demonstration car (400,000-450,000 Euros), followed by a 1962 Maserati 3500 GTi convertible, one of just 242 produced, and now hoping to fetch 300,000 to 400,000 Euros. If your budget is between 150,000 and 200,000 Euros, however, you'll find some Ferraris in your price range: a red 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE coupé by Pininfarina, a silver, matching-numbers 330 GT 2+2, and a Dino 246 GT (170,000-210,000 Euros) sold new to the USA in 1973.

All cars for sale in Artcurial's 'Automobiles sur les Champs VI' sale are listed on Classic Driver.