PATA NEGRA: SPEED MERCHANT’S BLACK PIG

By Wesley Reyneke | Rather Be Riding

As custom Harleys go, we like ours lean and sporty. This street tracker from Speed Merchant hits the spot perfectly.

Based in California, Speed Merchant produces bolt-on bits for select Triumph and Harley-Davidson models. Brandon Holstein—one third of the Speed Merchant team—handles all custom fabrication under the Brawny Built moniker.

“Our friend, Chef Sean Yontz, wanted to do something different with his recently acquired, 2005-model Sportster,” says Brandon. “He wanted a mix of a few different Sportsters that I have built in the past. So I took a little from each of my previous builds, and incorporated them into his new bike.”

Sean only had three requests: the bike should be black, and he wanted rear-set pegs and a number plate up front.

While the actual build time equated to less than six months, the project itself took two and a half years to complete. “I chipped away at it little by little,” explains Brandon. “And by doing this, it actually went though some major changes—some of which make the build so much better.”

Halfway through the build, Brandon realised that he wasn’t happy with the stock fuel tank. Luckily a good friend donated an almost-complete XR-style tank. All it needed was a filler, tunnel and mounting points.

Once the tank was finished and mounted, Brandon focussed on building an aluminum tail section. “It had to be narrow to match the tank. So to do this, I had to ditch the stock oil tank and battery set-up—they were just too wide in my opinion.”

A new oil tank was made from aluminum, and an Anti-Gravity battery installed in a new location. Once that was done, a new subframe was built to hold everything together. Other custom-made parts include the skid plate, and the curvaceous two-into-one stainless steel exhaust system.

Brandon decided to tear into the engine too. He bored it out to 1200cc using Wiseco reverse-domed pistons with a 10:1 compression ratio, and upgraded the cams to Andrews N4 items—a combo he’s used before. He also installed a Chopper Daves air cleaner, and converted the final drive from belt to chain.

The front-end was treated to a set of Speed Merchant Speed Trees and preload adjusters. A pair of 19” Harley-Davidson wheels were fitted, shod with Maxxis dirt-track tyres. They’re now equipped with Tokico brake calipers, mounted on Speed Merchant radial mount brackets.

The Sporty’s been sprinkled with top-shelf components to finish it off: Magura handlebars, Motion Pro grips and Accossato hand controls. The rear-set foot controls are a mix of Storz Performance and Speed Merchant items. As per Sean’s brief, Brandon fitted a number plate up front, equipped with a Lazer Star light.

Sean’s Harley’s been dubbed “Pata Negra”. It’s Spanish for “the black hoof”, named for the prized Iberico ham that’s made exclusively from black Iberian pigs.

True to its name, it’s been painted in layers of gloss and matte black, executed by Matt at Colorzone Designs. The pin striping was handled by Pacman Line and Lettering.

According to Brandon, the Sporty would have turned out very differently had the project been rushed. But Sean’s got a little more waiting to do—he’s still recovering from a bad accident that left his leg broken in two places.

We wish him all the best for his recovery. And once he’s able to swing a leg over Pata Negra, we reckon it’s going to be impossible to get him off.

Speed Merchant website | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Jose Gallina

via BIKEexif

OEM LIGHTNING MK1

2014 was a pivotal year for Alec and Rafe of Old Empire Motorcycles. After well and truly finding their feet and carving a unique niche within the custom world it was the turn of the mainstream and peripheral scenes to sit up and take notice. Bulldog and Merlin continued the theme of striving forwards, whilst drawing inspiration from a golden period of engineering prowess where Britain led the way in ingenuity and craftsmanship. This core passion is what motivates the guys to push that bit further with each build, not to wow the crowds but to see what is possible, to test themselves and learn with every project.

Typhoon was one such bike that left nobody in any doubt that OEM should now be considered to be on a different level, capable of demonstrating stunning creativity with peerless execution. The numerous awards for this bike towards the end of the year cemented this as the view of those within the custom scene as well as those driving it. Now, that is quite a lot of smoke to blow up someone’s tailpipe, but there are two of them so extra is required. This bike, The Lightning MK1, was a project unable to command a stratospheric budget and was to use a much customised donor, OEM had their work cut out to ensure 2015 follows on from the dizzying heights of last year.

The standard Yamaha SR500 is hardly a poster bike to adorn a schoolperson’s (have to be PC these days) bedroom wall, but the English Electric Lightning most certainly was. Developed shortly after WW2, the Lightning could travel at Mach 2 and was used to protect the U.K. from bomber strikes during the Cold War. Luckily there wasn’t ever the need to use one in anger, their superior speed and manoeuvrability provided sufficient enough a threat. Light, agile and fast were the usual adjectives used by pilots and therefore part of the brief for this single-pot 500 from 1979.

Twinshocks are the order of the day at the moment but hardly innovative or cutting edge, so these were recycled and the swingarm modified to enable mounting of a Kawasaki ZXR400 monoshock, well an upgraded Hagon version. The oil-in-frame top tube required strengthening as the shock now pivots from the bottom of the spine. A simple chop and loop of the subframe isn’t really sufficient either for OEM’s discerning customers so svelte, curving tubes provide support for the seat before disappearing under the slim tail section.

The forks received similar levels of attention, the stanchions were shortened considerably and re-machined before adding stiffer Hagon springs and a slug of heavyweight oil. The Bendicts mint looking things on the yokes are of course blanking plugs for the old bar mounts, with another pair to tidy the fork caps. Idiot lights have been machined into the yokes allowing less fussy analog gauges to be used, a neat 48mm pair mounted in aerospace style to a multi-tasking headlight bracket. A good rub with Scotch-Brite gives newish switchgear a more vintage look.

The rulebook suggests a straight line is required from the seat to the front of the tank. Alec used this to prop the tank up whilst reworking the tunnel for a more canted forward and aggressive fit. This not only lowers the visual weight at the bottom but creates a fresh opportunity for parallel lines between the cylinder head and tank.

The top of the tank now has a seemingly reduced profile despite it being an externally standard unit. This is turn allows the understated tail section to make a subtle statement without looking out of proportion. The tail lights are of course made in house.

One result of the slammed front end, diminutive headlight surround and fuss-free rear is that the 19″ wheels look taller and dominate the stance, in the same way that a decent sized set of wheels greatly improve the look of a sports car. The rear hub had to be relaced to a matching nineteen to achieve this, a worthwhile effort. Avon’s classically cut Roadrunners seem made for the bike.

The motor was in good order so needed little more than a thorough service, blasting of cases and a fresh coat of paint. The charging system was upgraded to 12v by West Country Windings and an ultra light Shorai Li-Po battery holds the juice.

Black Shuck Custom were called in to carry out the sophisticated and understated paint job, in silver as a nod to the polished all-aluminium, airborne version of The Lightning. The wafer-thin leather seat is the handiwork of GB upholstery which may not offer five hundred mile comfort, but is again, perfectly suited to the lines of the finished bike.

Neighbours, Barleycorn Engineering produced the clipons and rearsets, which from here look rather tasty. As does the stainless steel, big bore exhaust and bespoke muffler. Keeping the licence plate low and to the left ensures that the side of the bike more often on show is dominated by the fine lines and thumping zorst.

Taking a humble SR500, and budget to match, the guys at OEM have demonstrated again that they have the vision. This is an understated build offering engineering improvements over the standard machine without excessive visual fanfare. And perhaps more importantly than all that, even standing still The Lightening looks like it would be a complete hoot to ride; and isn’t that the whole idea.

If you agree then give Alec or Rafe a call to discuss delivery instructions, as this beauty is for sale. Further details over on their website.

Thanks to Ian Jubbs for the fantastic photography and filmwork – video to be released soon. Modelling by Jacob Young

via The Bike Shed

Dirt Shark - The Doonies

Witness the unification of 2 Elite Off Road Worlds to create #TheDoonies. Watch the madness on their savage voyage through the Glamis Sand Dunes.

WRC; Rallye Monte-Carlo 2015 : Du désert à la glace…

Au mois de janvier, le pilote Porsche Romain Dumas et le copilote Xavier Panseri enchaînent Rallye Dakar et Rallye Monte-Carlo, deux des plus célèbres et difficiles courses automobiles au monde.

En moins d’une une année, Romain Dumas aura enchaîné 24 Heures du Mans, Course-de-côte de Pikes Peak (victoire), Tour de Corse, Rallye Dakar et Rallye Monte-Carlo ! Ne reste plus que les 500 Miles d’Indianapolis et le Grand-Prix de Monaco…

Pilote officiel Porsche en Endurance, Romain avait « quartier libre » jusqu’au 31 janvier pour ses loisirs. C’est-à-dire piloter en course. Il a donc accepté la proposition de l’association « L’Ecurie du Cœur – Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque » pour découvrir le Rallye Dakar au volant d’un Buggy Optimus préparé par MD Rallye Sport.

Navigué par l’expérimenté François Borsotto, Romain a réalisé le 19^e meilleur temps de la première spéciale. La suite fut hélas plus difficile avec plusieurs casses de transmissions, des changements de roues, une panne de direction assistée, un enlisement dans un rio... A la journée de repos d’Iquique, Romain affichait un visage bien fatigué, mais une farouche détermination à rallier Buenos Aires. Le lendemain, sur la dernière étape chilienne, c’est la boîte de vitesses qui a forcé le Buggy n°330 à quitter l’aventure prématurément. « J’ai appris la patience et fait des rencontres inoubliables », résumait-il.

Romain a donc eu droit à quelques jours de repos supplémentaires avant d’attaquer un autre monument du sport automobile mondial, le Rallye Monte-Carlo, qu’il dispute au volant d’une Porsche 997 GT3 RS 4.0/Michelin à la livrée orange, hommage à la victoire de Björn Waldegard sur une Porsche 911 S orange au Rallye Monte-Carlo 1970. L’objectif de Romain est de remporter la première manche du nouveau championnat R-GT face à deux anciens pilotes d’usine, François Delecour et Marc Duez.

Pour Xavier Panseri, le timing fut bien plus serré. Le copilote franco-polonais a terminé son premier Rallye Dakar sur le podium aux côtés de Krzysztof Holowcyzc (Mini). Samedi, sitôt la cérémonie d’arrivée terminée au Tecnopolis de Buenos Aires, Xavier a pris un vol pour Madrid, puis Nice, afin d’être lundi matin au départ des reconnaissances du Rallye Monte-Carlo qu’il dispute pour la 6^e année consécutive et qu’il a déjà remporté avec Bryan Bouffier.

« L’an passé, j’avais déjà eu l’opportunité de découvrir le Dakar, mais j’avais décliné car les deux rallyes se chevauchaient », explique Xavier, qui avait alors terminé 2^e du Monte-Carlo sur une Ford Fiesta RS WRC/Michelin. « Cette année, je dis un grand merci ASO et l’ACM pour avoir décalé les deux épreuves ! » Et si un nouveau podium attendait Xavier dimanche après-midi ?