Outfitting Project Super Dirty for Ultimate Adventure

byAgustin Jimenez | Associate Online Editor www.fourwheeler.com

How do you build the ultimate off road rig? Well, that depends on the rig of choice and what terrain you’ll be headed through and how fast you want to go through it all. This question does get a little more confusing when you don’t know exactly where you’ll be wheeling and what terrain you’ll encounter. Normally this isn’t what the average shade tree mechanic encounters but if you’re going to be a part of our Annual Ultimate Adventure, you’re going to want to expect the unexpected. As our fearless sandal-wielding leader puts it, “Think of the other side of the world!” With a hint like that, it’s anyone’s guess so you better be sure to build the ultimate off road rig that can withstand any harsh terrain for hours on end. Oh yeah, it also better allow you to be self-sufficient otherwise you’ll be in for a rude trail awakening.

On this episode of Dirt Every Day, Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road Tech Editor, Fred Williams, walks us through some of the build of this year’s Ultimate Adventure project truck. This year’s truck is a brand spanking new 2013 Ford F250 Super Duty pickup. Project Super Dirty rolled off the assembly line as a 4x4 diesel model with long box and… that’s pretty much it. Who needs a high zoot truck when you’re building the ultimate wheeling rig, right?
The sparks started flying pretty quickly to hack off part of the frame in order to shorten it up for the short bed conversion which would significantly improve Project Super Dirty’s off road prowess. To give our Ultimate Adventure rig some much needed ground clearance, a set of Axle Tech Portal boxes were added at each corner. This also resulted in a much lower gear ratio which significantly improves our crawling ability in the rocks. The rear suspension was hacked off in favor of a coil sprung linked suspension design. The build also called for some much needed larger tires so a call was placed to Nitto Tire for a set of their 40x13.5R17 Trail Grappler M/T tires. Remember, this rig was going to be subjected to harsh environments so a set of 17-inch GT Cepek Beadlock wheels were entrusted to keep the beads on our Nitto’s seated when dropping the air pressure in the tires.
Check out the video of Fred and the guys at Shaffer’s Offroad hammering away on Project Super Dirty to get it ready for Ultimate Adventure 2013!

HARLEY 48 SPORTSTER BY RSD

It takes a pretty special Harley to stop me in my tracks, but this Sportster 48 from Roland Sands Design hits all the right notes. It’s a street tracker with a strong vintage vibe—plus enough performance upgrades to make it an entertaining ride without compromising usability.

The bike is a parts showcase from one of the USA’s biggest motorcycle-related businesses, the Motorsport Aftermarket Group. MAG owns Roland Sands Design, Vance & Hines and Progressive Suspension, and also the Motorcycle USA website, which commissioned this build. But unlike most such endeavors, the result is far greater than the sum of its parts.

The 2010-spec XL1200X v-twin now breathes through an RSD Slant Carbon Fiber intake kit, with gases exiting via a sinuous exhaust system from Vance & Hines. A V&H Fuelpakcontrol unit is plugged into the ECU to ensure optimum fuelling and maximum power.

Fork springs and 970-series shocks from Progressive Suspension improve the handling, and Sands has tweaked the ergonomics with his own brand of swept-back bars and mid-controls.

Some of the components on the MotoUSA machine are prototypes due to hit production later in the year. That includes the vintage-style teardrop tank and the tracker-ish tail unit, which have been beautifully painted by Airtrix in a classy black, gold and silver.

There’s a sprinkling of RSD ‘Machine Ops’ parts throughout, including the 19” wheels—which have an old-school textured finish but are actually machined from billet aluminum. The tires are Mitas H-18s, designed for the flat track.

Head over to the Motorcycle USA website for the lowdown on the build—and visual proof that this is one Sportster that likes to pull a wheelie. We’ve also got an exclusive high-res gallery showing the bike in detail on our Google+ page.

via BIKEEXIF

Circuit Short Rally Zandvoort 2014

Custom Speedometer Collection

In the build up to this year’s The One Motorcycle Show, Seattle Speedometer and Pen & Screen Printing Co. joined forces with a slew of artists from around the motosphere to create this unique collection of speedometers. Each was handpainted before being reassembled and all of them are fully-functioning.
If you’d like to order a custom speedo or you’d like to get your current gauges refurbished you can visit Seattle Speedometer here, you’ll be in good hands – the team at SS have done high level custom work for Abarth, BMW, Bugatti, Ducati, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Talbot-Lago, Volkswagen and Walt Siegl over the years.
From top to bottom the artists are:

1. Seattle Speedometer/Pen & Screen – Seattle/Portland

2. Stevie Gee – UK - steviegee.com

3. Raulowsky – Spain - raulowsky.blogspot.com

4. Grant Ray – Culver City CA - coroflot.com/grantray

5. Thomas Bradley – Portland OR - Thomasbradley.net

6. Ben Ellenberger – Seattle WA – Pinstriper

7. Johnny Swing – Brookline VT - johnnyswing.com

8. Bob Hansen – Portland OR – Puddlecutters Moped Gang

9. Brent Wick – Portland OR - heavyscene.com

10. Kurt Walter (ICON) – Portland OR – Design Director for rideicon.com

11. Cheyenne Randall – Seattle, WA – @Indiangiver on Instagram