IT’S NOT A ZÜNDAPP, IT’S A HONDA CB550

Hidden in a backstreet in the busy Port of Amsterdam is a small fabrication shop called Tin Can Customs. Amidst the clatter and clanging of ships unloading their cargo, Chris Dekker gets on with building motorcycles, furniture, and anything else he feels like.

Being smack-dab in the middle of a huge seaport may explain the somewhat industrial look of this Honda CB550, which sports a battered tank from a German Zündapp. Either that, or whiffs of something strong from a nearby coffeeshop have been drifting across Meneer Dekker’s workbench.

“It’s a commissioned build,” Chris tells us. “The owner, Coen Ruijter, had a CB550 donor bike that used to be his Dad’s. It was stolen many years ago, and returned recently after the bike was ditched in a high-speed chase with the cops.”

Coen wanted an exact copy of another custom he’d seen, but Chris diplomatically steered him in a different direction. “We sat down, and I tried to figure out what he likes and what makes him tick. Eventually we ended up with a few themes: rust, road-worn, authentic.”

Chris hunted down old parts at swap meets—like the headlight and taillight, and an oil tank to use as an electrical box. The Zündapp tank he discovered in a scrapyard, and the beautiful BSA M20 girder forks were a lucky find on eBay.

After grafting on the front end, Chris started reworking the back. “There aren’t many hardtail CB550s around,” he notes. “Probably because the angle of the frame makes it difficult. But after a night’s work, we had some strange curves that defined the bike.”

Chris modified the bottom of the Zündapp tank to fit the frame, and added peepholes to check the fuel level. The handlebars are one-offs, as is the exhaust system. “I could have done the bends in one piece, but the practice of making little segments was worth it. It sounds great.”

The battery box is still there, but the electrics are now hidden in the oil tank under the seat. Sparks come from a Dyna ignition, and the engine itself has been refreshed by another seaport shop, Pancake Customs.

The CB550 rolls on matching 18” wheels: the front is a Honda CM250 hub laced to a BMW rim, and the back is a stock Honda CB750 unit. “With about 1.4 bar in the tires, the ride is an awesome experience,” Chris reports.

All that was left was to give the bike a name. “When rummaging through my old tools, I found a spanner bearing the words ‘Special Alloy’,” says Chris. “So there we had the name.”

“The bike’s not what Coen expected, but it turned out far better than we both hoped for. That’s the fun in hunting down old parts. You don’t know what you’ll find when you don’t buy stuff from a catalog. It makes the build much more organic and fun.”

‘Special Alloy’ premiered at the recent Cosmic Nozems Motorshow in Zwevegem, Belgium. Organized by Motokouture Bespoke MC, it’s a showcase for around 100 customs from some of Europe’s top builders.

After pulling several all-nighters, Chris finished the Honda at 5pm the day before the show. Then he pulled on his helmet and rode ‘Silver Alloy’ 170 miles south, across the border, to the venue himself.

Not surprisingly, the bike was one of the stars of the show. The raw industrial style won’t be for everyone, but in a world of cookie-cutter café racers, it’s a refreshing blast of bracing North Sea air.

Tin Can Customs on Facebook | On Instagram

Build sheet

ENGINE
Build: 1976
Brand: Honda CB550
Type: F2
CC: 544
Ignition: Electric
Carb: Standard
Air Filter: Velocity Stacks by Steel Dragon Performance
Exhaust: Tin Can Customs
Engine has been taken apart and inspected. Basic gasket replacement, hone job and new rings. No major modifications

FRAME
Tin Can Customs modified CB550 frame. Rear axle plates are Harley-Davidson.

FRONT
Front wheel: 18″ BMW rim
Tire: Firestone Deluxe
Hub: Honda CM250
Front Fork: BSA M20 Girder
Handlebar: Tin Can Customs
Levers: Inverted levers
Grips: Tape
Headlight: Unknown, found at swapmeet.

REAR
Wheel: 18″ stock CB750
Band: Firestone Deluxe
Fender: Flat Fender
Light: Unknown, found at swapmeet. Modified to carry 12 LED lights.
Sissybar: Tin Can Customs

ANCILLARIES:
Batterybox: Tin Can Customs
Electrical Box: Tin Can Customs modified oil tank found at swapmeet. Holds coils, springback ignition switch, fuses and starter solenoid.
Controls: Vintage Honda steps
Gas tank: Tin Can Customs modified Zündapp tank. Found the tank in the scrap bin. New bottom built in, added looking glasses and new gas valves. (Don’t know the English word for this). Petcock! Yeah, that’s it.
Seat pans: Tin Can Customs
Upholstery: Silver Machine

PAINTJOB
Frame was powdercoated, and the oldschool parts were left untouched in order to accentuate the detail and balance between the new parts and old.

VIA 

SKUDDESIGN BLACK BETTY

We don’t feature much Milwaukee Muscle on the Bike Shed, but having just fired up a Buell engined Cafè Tracker I’m reminded of the appeal; that engine note takes some beating. Nicolas Barthelemy of Skud Design is no stranger to making things sound right, whilst maintaining effortless cool. Last year he brought us a stunning Kawasaki W650 Scrambler. Ok, so the woodland setting for the photo shoot played a part but that bike just made you want to go and tear up some dirt.

Leaving Europe behind for the wide expanses of Canada, Nicolas fancied himself a laid back cruiser for the long straight roads of his new home in Montreal, so bought a 2013 Sportster XL Forty Eight upon which he would cast his graphic designing eye before breaking out the tool kit to create Black Betty.

Bratstyle was to be the design palette of choice, with a good dose of Bobber in the mix. In fact, I must praise one of two things; either Google Translate for rehashing foreign so succinctly, or Nicolas for crafting such a wonderful sentence in his second language. “I thus prepared the silhouette of the motorcycle by mixing the aesthetic codes with products resulting from all other horizons in the inspirations BRATSTYLE”.

The rear fender is from an ’84 Softail Heritage, painted black. The kick-up giving over even more stage to the Firestone Deluxe Champions. 5.00 x 16 if you must know.

Indicators are hidden down low, on the swing arm near the pivot point. Neat and out of the way, and painted black they nearly disappear. Progreesive Suspension 412 series 11.5″ shocks keep the back looking squat, improve the ride and go someway towards comfort.

The cow horn bars are by Zombie Performance, with internal cable and wire routing. I’m not usually a fan of this narrow type of bar but with the chunky, oh-so comfortable Harley levers and neat uncluttered setup this works, visually.

The rear light is from a 1928 Ford truck, updated with fresh paint and wiring. Keeping with Stateside heritage the tank has been painted with a 1936 Ford burgundy, which for me looks the business, especially with the chromed trim from a 1947 Renault. A simple Tuck ‘n’ Roll seat is spot on.

The mirror is by Lowbrow Customs, foot pegs by Speed Merchant and air the filter housing is from Harley tuning stalwarts S&S. Again raiding the vintage parts bin, the headlight is an Electroline from 1954.

Canadian legislation is pretty tough on the custom scene so Nicolas hasn’t gone overboard with this build, which has worked in his favour as this is one Harley that fits in The Bike Shed just nicely.

Keep an eye out for Nicolas’ future work on Facebook, with all that spare land aboot the place he’s surely going to build another scrambler.

via The Bike Shed

ERC : Joy for Al-Rajhi, despair for Breen at the CNP Asfalistiki Cyprus Rally.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi has won round nine of the FIA European Rally Championship but there was despair for Craig Breen after an electrical problem delayed the Irishman on the closing stage of the CNP Asfalistiki Cyprus Rally.

The Peugeot Rally Academy driver was in sixth overall starting the final run but stopped midday through the 21.05-kilometre test. Heroic repairs by the Irishman and his British co-driver Scott Martin enabled them to reach the finish of the stage, albeit more than 16 minutes slower than stage winner Al-Rajhi. As a result Breen slips out of the top 10, losing out on vital ERC points in the process.

Bruno Magalhães secured fifth overall with the second fastest time on the final stage, despite a rear differential problem on his Peugeot 208T16. Kajetan Kajetanowicz wrapped up a fine runner-up spot – and the inaugural ERC Gravel Masters – by going third quickest with Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari next up, 3.4s quicker than his FIA Middle East championship rival Khalid Al-Qassimi.

Christos Demosthenous clinched the ERC Production Car Cup with the sixth fastest time. Title chaser Martin Hudec completed the final stage with no working second gear on his Mitsubishi Lancer, while championship rival reported an engine problem on his Lancer.

Crews are now heading back to Nicosia for the finish. Click here for live results, text commentary and ERC Rally Radio.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz is the inaugural ERC Gravel Master following his heroic performance on the CNP Asfalistiki Cyprus Rally, round nine of the FIA European Rally Championship.

Kajetanowicz scored a total of 191 points from three of the four designated gravel rounds of the ERC in his LOTOS Rally Team Ford Fiesta R5 alongside co-driver Jarek Baran.

Craig Breen finishes runner-up for Peugeot Rally Academy on 160 points with Ott Tänak claiming third in the final table on the back of his stunning victory on the loose-surface auto24 Rally Estonia. He scored 127 points.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi, the overall winner in Cyprus, finishes fourth with Kevin Abbring fifth and Alexey Lukyanuk sixth.

Introduced for the 2014 season, the ERC Masters recognises the achievements of surface specialists competing in the European championship. Robert Kubica clinched the ERC Ice Master award in February. Esapekka Lappi heads the ERC Asphalt Master table with two events remaining. Points are awarded on a 10-6-4-2-1 scale to the fastest five ERC drivers on each stage.

The race - 24 Heures Moto - Michelin