HERO 01: HOLOGRAPHIC HAMMER’S DUCATI SCRAMBLER

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If the name Sylvain Berneron isn’t familiar to you, then Holographic Hammer should be. It’s the alias under which Sylvain’s designed some of the neatest custom motorcycle concepts we’ve seen.

As an experienced automotive designer, Sylvain ensures that his designs are always executable in the metal. But not everything he pens ends up getting built. So he’s partnered with his brother, Florent, to open a full service workshop.

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The new Holographic Hammer shop’s located in a forest, less than twenty miles from Paris. This slick Ducati Scrambler is their first official build.

It was commissioned by Ducati themselves, in partnership with French magazine Moto Heroes. Sylvain’s résumé speaks for itself, so the brief was completely open.

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“We had a few rides on the Scrambler when we were still discussing the project,” says Sylvain, “it handles really well and is very fun to ride.”

“But for us a scrambler is a bike you want to live with daily—you’ll scratch it, go through mud and dirt and even fall over.”

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Rather than build a dirt bike that would be too precious to abuse, the decision was made to produce something clean, road-biased and performance orientated. A café racer in the traditional sense—but loaded with modern technology.

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“When I was doing my research, I noticed that a lot of the original 1962 Scramblers ended up being café racers back then,” explains Sylvain. “The bike was so light that you could brake very late and turn quick.”

After a week of going back and forth on ideas and sketches, the project was under way. But the brothers had some significant performance upgrades in mind, so the word was put out for potential sponsors.

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Rotobox hooked the guys up with a pair of 17” carbon racing wheels, wrapped in sport rubber from Pirelli. Beringer took care of the braking duties with their 4D system. Since the Scrambler has just hit the market, Sylvain and Florent had to machine various spacers for everything to fit.

Rizoma supplied an array of bolt-on bits, including (among other things) crash bobbins, brake fluid reservoirs and rear-set foot controls. The silencer is from Werkes USA, mounted to the stock (but slightly adapted) Ducati headers.

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“Some say custom is all about ‘do it yourself’ or ‘built not bought’,” says Sylvain. “We focus on our strength which is designing and building one off parts and bikes—but when it comes to developing racing brakes and rims, we prefer to team up with people who have the knowledge and experience.”

Cognito Moto got in on the action too, supplying a rear frame loop with an integrated LED tail light and turn signals. The guys added it to the all-new subframe that they’d fabricated, topping it off with a custom, brown leather seat.

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Underneath the seat is a hand-made battery box, and the wiring’s been modified slightly. The front fender’s a one-off item, and Holographic Hammer added cutaways to the engine covers to show off the cam belts. There’s also a new side stand, designed to clear the relocated foot pegs.

Up front, the Scrambler’s been upgraded with a set of 43mm, upside-down Showa forks. To make the setup fit, the triple clamps and steering head had to be modified. The headlight and speedo have been repositioned, thanks to custom brackets, and the cockpit’s finished off with a pair of clip-ons.

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“We tried to make changes that look as stock as possible,” explains Sylvain. “The bike has to stay visually coherent, as if it was produced that way.”

With that in mind, the final color scheme was kept tasteful and simple. The fuel tank is still the stock Scrambler unit—stripped and treated to an anti-rust coating, with matte black side panels. The frame was also stripped down, and finished with a clear epoxy.

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Holographic Hammer’s Scrambler (now dubbed ‘Hero 01′) is not only immaculately finished, but it’s over 40lbs lighter. Add to that upgraded brakes and suspension, and it should be even more fun to ride than before.

And if you’d like to see it in the flesh, it’ll be making its debut this weekend at the Wheels & Waves festival in Biarritz.

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via BIKEexif

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH: A WEEK IN AN EARTHROAMER XV-LTS

Having spent my entire life exploring the backcountry of Colorado, I have endured a multitude of challenges, but this trip had levied some particularly unique hardships. As we crested our last mountain pass of the week, I realized the wine cabinet had gone empty, the steaks were no more, and I had eaten the last of the cherry turnovers in the refrigerator. Compounding the seriousness of the situation, the remote control batteries for the surround sound system had died, and I conceded a sock was missing, probably at the back of the cedar-lined closet. It was about as bleak as it gets when traveling in an EarthRoamer, but we pressed on undaunted. We’re just that type of people.

Kidding aside, my typical camping forays often have me wrapped in thin layers of nylon and plopped in the dirt, my only luxuries little more than an inflatable pillow and maybe a flask of whiskey to soften edges. That doesn’t imply I’m a troglodyte and bereft of an appreciation for the finer things in life. So, when the offer was extended to take out the EarthRoamer demo truck for a week, I had to pinch myself. Who could turn down such an opportunity?

It all started a few months ago when I was given a tour of the EarthRoamer facility in Dacono, Colorado by company founder, Bill Swails. Those few short hours impressed upon me the passion behind these trucks and the extensive process under which each vehicle is fabricated. I walked away from that day with an admiration for their efforts, but I still wasn’t entirely sure I understood what living and traveling in an EarthRoamer was all about. It seemed a bit…excessive. [To Build an EarthRoamer]

Now that I’ve spent a few days in an EarthRoamer I realize they truly are excessive––and I loved every minute of it.

An EarthRoamer is if anything, a superlative generator. Everything about it exudes the pursuit of refinement and capability. Expressly designed to provide the most comfortable accommodations perched atop a formidable off-road platform, it is a travel experience like none other.

Now, before I continue any further, and beating some of you to the comment box to interject, let me dispense with the obvious. These are not vehicles for everyone––no vehicle is. They are enormous, do not come cheaply, and you won’t be slipping through any tight off-road tracks or using one to take the kiddies to soccer practice. Everything in life demands compromise and this is true for an EarthRoamer. For what it is however, there isn’t likely an equal peer.

Standing in the shadow of one of these behemoths it is impossible to not be affected, maybe even intimidated by the sheer size of it. A Ford F-550 is not a small thing on its own, and the body does tower over it, but with proportions that fall well within the chassis constraints. Big as it is,  it is the minute details that make an XV-LTs so exceptional.

Chassis

With its wide track and long wheelbase, the XV-LTs feels stable and planted, even when the terrain gets interesting. The center of gravity is curiously low, reducing body roll and reinforcing driver confidence. What is even more reassuring is how poised it feels when navigating twisty mountain roads at normal speeds. To accomplish this, EarthRoamer employs a very thoughtfully designed air suspension system paired to custom valved King shocks. Augmenting the positive ride attributes are the Continental tires with their stout sidewalls capable of shouldering such a heavy vehicle.

 At either end of the chassis are the hulking black-bits, the bumpers. Made specifically to EarthRoamer’s detailed specifications, these are not just everyday bolt-ons. Both bumpers house Warn winches with the brawn commensurate with a vehicle of this magnitude. The sharp end also includes a full array of auxiliary lights for every scenario. Tucked into the front bumper is a powerful air horn, a feature I particularly liked while lording over the text-driving minions in my way. And with that I may have isolated a personal character flaw, but who cares. An otherwise reserved individual, I found the delivery of a bone shaking honk cathartic, and just good fun.

The details: All of the front auxiliary lights are wired to the high beam switch so they can be quickly dimmed if necessary. The two winches are spooled with synthetic line and capped with Factor 55 machined aluminum shackle mounts.

Fuel and water

As an avid bicycle and motorcycle traveler, I have always been fascinated by rigs with massive range. This is one area where the XV-LTs shines. Despite a seemingly restrictive fuel consumption of roughly 10 to 11 miles per gallon, it has a whopping tank volume providing a very feasible 800 to even 1,000 mile reach. With 90 gallons of water on board and our desert-dwelling appreciation for conservation, we didn’t use more than 25% of our water stores in a week’s time. With moderate daily mileage goals, it is not impossible to stay out for a couple of weeks at a time. That is an attractive bonus for those with a genuine desire to get away…far away.

To manage fresh water, grey water, and fuel levels, there are two dedicated instrument panels located on the driver’s console and on the main control panel in the living quarters. I found every readout to be accurate and easy to understand. After realizing I had added fuel to the 40 gallon auxiliary tank and not the 50 gallon main tank, the truck simply corrected my error and moved the fuel for me.

The details: The main control panel on the driver’s console contains a small rocker switch that activates the rear view camera. Not to be outdone, that camera also projects a rearward facing FLIR thermal image for nighttime use. It also activates a camera under the vehicle so the driver can assess terrain beneath the truck. A separate panel of switches control the suspension airbags to either elevate the truck or lower and level it for comfortable camping. For those with a penchant for comms, a HAM radio is positioned for easy access.

Storage

Th issue of storage is of critical importance for any overlander regardless of their mode of transportation. Whether slipping out for a weekend reprieve, or crossing multiple continents, keeping one’s supplies and personal inventory organized, secure, and at the ready is a top priority. With a predilection to carry only the minimum, my wife and I unloaded our gear into the many drawers and cabinets of the XV-LTs and barely consumed a fraction of the vehicle’s total capacity.

What I notice immediately was how accessible every storage compartment was, and how quickly and easily any single item could be located and removed. The massive storage boxes at the rear of the truck swing away with one hand and a simple tug on a large handle. The smaller left-hand box is an ideal locker for wood, tools, or other items needing a tough and accessible position on the truck. The right hand box contains something quite special, but I’ll save that for later.  At the rear of the truck are two full-sized cabinets, one horizontal, one vertical. Both are cavernous and swallow tools, recovery gear, and cleaning and maintenance supplies.

‘08 Yamaha Scorpio – Thrive Motorcycles

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It’s easy to become jaded working here. Like some biking Roman Emperors, we get all the latest and greatest two-wheeled pleasures lavished upon us on a daily basis. The sweetest cafés, the plumpest brats and the most exotic trackers – all hand peeled and fed to us from a silver platter. Let’s face it, it’d be pretty easy for us to become spoilt. What am I saying? We are spoilt. But just as we find ourselves nodding off into a cool bike-induced coma, this appears in our mail. So, like a proud ruler parading a never-seen-before rhinoceros to a boudoir full of amazed onlookers, we’d like to present to you the ‘Cross’. What is it? It’s Thrive Motorcycles,that’s what.

Quick! Jam their comlink. Center switch!

We were lucky enough to manage a chat with the lads from Jakarta’s Thrive, and we asked them how such an original design came to be. “The bike’s owner is not only a great graphic designer, but also a very good friend,” they said. “We’ve known him for quite a few years, so when he asked us to build him a bike, we pulled out all the stops. In fact, it’s probably our most ambitious and creative build to date.”

Clearly, the Thrive team and the bike’s owner are the kind of people who play well together. For all the crazy functional questions he asked of the team, the end result is a creative form that clearly works not only as a tool but as art, too. “It’s always interesting for us when we meet other people who also have strong visions and big dreams; their creativity really inspires us to build something that’s not only good-looking, but also something with meaning, too.”

“We began to wonder what kind of spirit would live in between such extremes.”

Then while toying of the idea of good and bad and black and white, they had a revelation of sorts. “We began to wonder what kind of spirit would live in between such extremes. We though there must be more than neutrality; maybe the grey area is more mysterious than you could ever imagine? What if it could be really bad and very good at the same time?” The result was a rough sketch that captured the perfect bike for the brief – one that could face the worst of roads without fear yet still look like a poster child for beautiful design to boot.

With such an unusual body in mind, they were quick to realise that most of the original frame would be history. “We started by creating a whole new subframe to achieve a clean look under the seat and to maximise the horizontal grid we were designing to.” Next came time to choose the bike’s main material – in this instance a sheet aluminium that would be used to not only achieve the ‘grey’ they were after, but to also save precious weight.

“The engine was in a good condition when she came though our front door, but a few parts got some new replacements. Next came a good vapour blast and some new gaskets, then we added a PE-28 carb so she could breathe a little more fresh air. We also covered the custom-made stainless steel exhaust with a grey exhaust wrap to match the overall look.”

To ensure decent amounts of off-road control, Thrive sourced a new Rental ‘Fatbar’ handlebar and completed the set-up with a custom clutch and brake lever, a custom dashboard with indicators and a GPS/phone mount, and some custom switch gear. They capped off the ‘bars with bespoke bar-end turn signals to try keep to the overall clean look. Job done, then.

“At the front, we used a set of Honda USD forks, but we had to modify the triple trees and steering column to make it fit perfectly on the Yamaha chassis. For the rear, we used a Yamaha swing arm and paired it with a Showa mono-shock on a custom-made unitrack system.”

“For shoes, we used a pair of 18” spoke rims wrapped with Kenda ‘Trial Tread’ tyres. For stopping, we added a pair of new disc brakes on a set aftermarket trial hubs. We then modified the original foot pegs by adding some details to enhance the grip and paired them with a new chrome shifter and brake pedal.”

Final additions to the build included a custom skid-plate to protect the engine from any off-road nasties while she goes about her business and the rather Spartan paint scheme. “There’s only two main colors on this bike, a gun-metal grey on top of the brushed aluminium panels and black for the rest of the bike. But with that said, we used three different black powdercoat textures to achieve the final look you see here.”

Missiles launch from here. Probably

“As we all know, not everything we make is perfection. But dreaming and experimenting with what we believe in is always a good thing. We feel that the strength of idea will make the bike naturally stand out amongst the competition. We hope the Pipeburn fans will like it as much as we liked making it.”

I, for one, welcome our new 70s robotic overlords

As with all great builds, the bike is sure to divide opinions. We’d be disappointed if it didn’t. Some are sure to see the art, while others will just see it as an exercise in aesthetic eccentricity. But one thing’s for sure – like a rhinoceros in a boudoir, it’s impossible to ignore.

via PIPEBURN