lundi 4 novembre 2013
ICON E-FLYER ELECTRIC BIKE
Chances are you've probably heard of ICON by now — if you haven't, they're well-known for their utilitarian take on classic four-by-fours kitted out with modern gear. They've brought that same approach to their first two-wheeled vehicle, the Icon E-Flyer Electric Bike ($5,000). Limited to just 50 models, this bike pairs a retro aesthetic with modern electric vehicle technology, including a motor with a 35 mile range, regenerative braking, and a top speed of up to 36 miles per hour. The frame is made from hydroformed aluminum, while the forks are made from billet aluminum and steel. Artful touches like handmade leather, a mountain gray powder coat finish, brushed stainless, nickel, and brass details help it stand out from other available powered bikes.
1981 SUZUKI GN400
When it comes to custom motorcycles we don’t often hear about the guys building sub-$1,000 machines in their garages – most of the builds that garner attention cost a minimum of $10,000 with some of the more labour intensive builds costing many tens of thousands more again.
So it was with great interest that I opened an email from a man called Adam Bendig a couple of weeks ago that contained a remarkably professional looking Suzuki GN400 custom that had been bought and rebuilt for under $1,000.
The bike belongs to Adam’s friend Chris and the two of them spent weeks working on it together, the finished bike uses a number of unique elements to keep costs down – the seat is made from 5 layers of Yoga mat and the frame has been painted with a hard-wearing bedliner, though both of these ideas strike me as being a good idea regardless of budget.
The engine was cleaned, tuned and tweaked, the stock air box was discarded and replaced with an air-filter pod and the forks were lowered 3.5 inches and raised up the triple-tree to allow the addition of a set of clip-on handlebars.
The stock rear shock absorbers were replaced with a 1 inch longer all-black model from MikesXS and the careworn, factory fitted instrument cluster was replaced with a 2.5″ unit from Drag Specialties.
The bike is fitted with a Firestone ANS 5.0-16 on the back and a Dunlop K70 4.5-18 on the front. The electrics are now mounted to the bottom of the seat pan and the stock battery was replaced with a small sealed lead-acid unit.
With the huge number of super cheap, if slightly ratty, old motorcycles available on eBay and Craigslist it’d be great to see more sub-$1,000 customs like this being made. The fact that it makes the dream of building and owning a vintage custom open to almost everyone is highly appealing – it’s also great to see these old classics getting a second shot at life.
All of the images you see here were taken by the remarkably talented photographer Adam Bendig, he also shoots cars, motorcycle races, mountain bike races and just about everything else under the sun. If you’d like to see more of his work, you can click here to visit Adam Bendig Photography (it’s well worth a visit).
from SILODROME
HCG’s CBX1100 #17
With six in-line cylinders the Honda CBX 1100 was never anything but a big bike, but somehow Federico Lozada and German Karp from Herencia Custom Garage have managed to give this build, for Mariano Arcioni, a minimal silhouette and an almost lightweight look.
The bike belonged to Arcioni’s brother and he was just about to sell it, fortunately the bike was rescued and put into the safe hands of the Federico & German for a serious makeover.
The initial inspiration that came from Arcioni was a Tarmac Custom Motorcycles’ CBX (as featured on The Bike Shed earlier in the year), so the guys knew right from the beginning what expectation they had to meet, or surpass. “That is why we worked more in the details and finishing of the bike. We intended to make it a fine motorcycle by redesigning it and painting it, because it was so exaggerated and ordinary as a stock bike.”
The donor is a 1980 Honda CBX1100, with an actual 1050cc displacement. The engine was rebuilt and made good, feeding a six into one DG exhaust. The yokes and Ohlins suspension were donated by a Ducati Multistrada 1200 along with the discs and front brake calipers. The rear suspension is also upgraded to Ohlins for a silky smooth ride on the bike’s OEM Comstars which were treated to black paint and a set of Coker tyres. The rearsets were adapted from a set of motocross foot controls.
The overall goal with the frame and bodywork was to get the bike as lean and light as possible, while retaining an old school look, so as well as ditching anything heavy or ugly a lightweight Lithium battery was fitted. The tank was also chopped for a slimmer profile, and repainted with a vintage look.
We don’t need to tell you that this is one great looking motorcycle, and with Ohlins equipment properly setup to carry 1100ccs of Honda six-cylinder power she should be a beauty on the tarmac too. Big thanks to Federico and the guys at Herencia Custom Garage for sending her in for us to share on The Bike Shed.
See more from HCG on The Bike Shed and on their website and Facebook pages.
via The Bike Shed
1978 Honda CB400F by Salty Speed Co.
One of the newest custom shops to grace the east coast of Australia is Salty Speed Co. They are a small garage based in Wollongong (or 'The Gong' as the locals affectionately call it) and is around an hour south of Sydney. This is only their second build under the Salty Speed Co. name but they have already garnered lots of interest for their work. The owner of this CB400F, Brent, was originally looking to purchase their first build, a CB250 Brat Tracker that was up for sale at the time. “Unfortunately he was beaten to it by an eager young miner from Far Northern Queensland where the CB250 now resides, tearing up the red dirt roads of Mt Isa” says Matt from Salty. This time, instead of heading back to eBay to hunt for another finished custom, Brent decided to commission Salty to build him a bike to his specifications.
“After a few weeks of hunting for a suitable donor bike Brent dropped of a nice looking 1978 Honda CB400F to our workshop.” says Matt. “The bike was a neat stock example that had undergone a few cosmetic updates in its time, but needed a bit of fine-tuning, especially to achieve something that fit more into our style here at Salty.”
“First up was to get the right stance by fitting some fat Firestone Deluxe Champion's, 4.00 on the front and 4.50 on the rear. A rear hoop and custom battery box were fabricated, also relocating the ignition and starter button under the seat. The frame was also cleaned up removing any redundant brackets and tabs. Original fenders have been shortened, with the front being mounted on custom alloy brackets to suit the larger rolling diameter.”
“The cockpit has been significantly cleaned up with a mini speedo, mini switches, billet clip-ons, billet upper triple tree and Posh grips. The billet triple tree also assisted with the stance by dropping the front end 1 inch.
The seat is a custom unit that consists of a sheet metal pan and neoprene rubber, trimmed in light brown leather, which to break up the black on black theme.”
“The engine is internally stock, however has been re-jetted and tuned to suit the K&N pod filters and Mac 4-into-1 black ceramic coated exhaust system.
The tank, fenders and wheels have been sprayed in satin black by Dutchy's Motorcycle Spray Art, and the engine was given a coat of high temp gloss black with brush finished covers.”
This clean and lean CB400F will be Brent's daily commuter and is definitely a big upgrade from his previous ride – a Piaggio scooter. We've look forward to seeing what these Salty Speed dudes build for their third bike.
via PIPEBURN
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