DIFF’RENT STROKES: ROLAND SANDS’ SMOKIN’ YAMAHA

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At the Born Free show a couple of weeks ago, there was a lone road racer in a sea of choppers. And not a Harley or Triumph, either: it was a two-stroke Yamaha.

Born Free organizers Mike and Grant must have been scratching their heads, but they had the good grace to let “2 Stroke Attack” into the show. And we’re betting it was the fastest bike there by a country mile.

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“I worked on it for a year after I found a donor RD400 at a swap meet for $600,” Roland Sands tells us. “It didn’t run. The only thing left now is the cases and the California title.”

Sands is an ex-racer, so most of the builds that roll out of his Los Alamitos workshop are tuned for performance. But this machine is on a whole different level.

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The air-cooled parallel twin motor was rebuilt by Yamaha specialist Ed Erlenbach—owner of the world’s fastest RD400, at 164.73 mph. Ed has ported and tuned the repro Webco aluminum heads, which are fed by dual Mikuni flatslides.

The exhaust system is equally uncompromising, with hand-made expansion chambers made by Brian Turfrey hooked up to TZ250 silencers.

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As you can imagine, the transmission has its work cut out. So it’s packed with hand-cut Erlenbach gears and mated to an early TZ250 dry clutch with Barnett plates.

The frame that’s trying to keep this firecracker of a motor under control comes from a TZ250. Help comes in the form of very sexy black-nitrided Öhlins forks: FG43 Road & Track items straight from the Swedish factory.

The magnesium triples are from Team Kenny Roberts, c.1995 era, and under the seat is an Öhlins TTX shock. It’s pushing against a genuine TZ250 ‘banana’ swingarm.

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Team Kenny Roberts also provided the gauges—taken from a 500 GP bike. The the 17-inch magnesium wheels are also track fitments, used by Roland in the 90s, and the tires are Dunlop KR race slicks.

Roland has literally made his mark on the bodywork. The tank is from the TZ250 Roland won the AMA Championship with in 1998, with the crash dents hammered out.

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The seat and tail unit, with stripes echoing the exhaust welds, is a neat fit. “Aaron Boss made that tail section a long time ago,” says Roland, “and it fit the bike perfect, so we used it. Then Scott Dimick and I did a lot of the fabrication in the last couple of weeks, in between the Victory Project 156 build.” The pinstriping is by Tom “The Undertaker” Clark: It says “2 Stroke Attack” in Japanese.

There are too many other parts to mention, but most are from the RSD catalog—from the gas tank strap to the clip-ons and grips.

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It’s a stunning bike that goes against the flow of the usual raked-out, stretched choppers at Born Free.

“Stretch?” says Roland. “Yes, it’s a good idea to stretch before you ride it. It’s f—ing small.”

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Total 24 hours of Spa in 1 word - Blancpain Endurance Series 2015

‘13 Triumph Scrambler – Macco Motors

Written by Marlon Slack.

The Scrambler is my favourite of the retro classic line up. It’s strikingly good-looking, reliable as any other Triumph and the engine has far more character than the standard 360-degree powerplant offered by Hinckley. It’s an ideal everyday ride, for around town or even some light off-road work. And that’s how this custom started, when Spanish workshop Macco Motors were approached by a client who wanted to customize his 2013 Triumph Scrambler. The owner, Gonzalo, had been riding the motorcycle around the rural outskirts of Barcelona for the last two years, but he wanted something more than the standard offering from Triumph. “The idea was to build something simple and with a strong look at the same time.” the guys from Macco say. And after some research and some clever modifications, I think they’ve nailed it.

The first thing that team from Macco did was to scour the internet for some images of enduro bikes from the 60’s and 70’s, from an age before Krusty Demons and Monster energy drink sponsorship relegated dirtbike aesthetics to the backwards-cap brigade. “We reviewed the look of vintage scramblers and trail bikes, with their high seats and compact lines,” Macco say, “And we were pleased that Gonzalo was open to some new ideas and colours.” A plan was drawn up and presented to their customer.

After a nod of approval from Gonzalo, work started to trim the Scrambler into something cleaner. First to change was the awkward headlight ears on the standard model, with a new 7” lamp fitted with an ‘invisible’ bracket, inconspicuously mounted from the triple tree. The ungainly plastic speedometer and idiot lights that are fitted to the Triumph were also ditched, replaced by a Motogadget Mini mounted flush into the headlight bucket. Behind that, Rizoma bars and brake fluid reservoir are matched to bar end mirrors, helping keep the front end far simpler and cleaner than the stock bike.

Next, the team at Macco turned their eyes to the fuel tank. They decided the bulbous, rounded lines needed to be altered, but swapping out a tank on an EFI bike can be troublesome at best, with the tank mounted fuel pump being sensitive to any shift in position. Instead the team worked with the existing shape, indenting the sides of the tank giving it stronger, better defined lines. It’s a simple modification that turns the indifferent look of the standard fuel tank into something a little more aggressive.

Despite the 270 degree firing order of the pistons, the larger front wheel and smaller headlight, the main feature that defines the Triumph Scrambler is the chromed twin exhausts. However the owner wanted them swapped out for something a little more distinctive. “Gonzalo was keen on trying some different pipes. Something simple but smaller. We designed a shorter than standard pair of slim exhausts, coming in parallel from the engine and with some protection to keep the legs really safe.” After a briefing from Macco, Roberto from nearby workshop GR exhausts made the plans a reality.

To complete the simplified look of The Climber, the rear of the frame was cut down and replaced with a loop, and a seat quite unlike the usual work Macco get asked to complete. “We’re used to making seats with attractive shapes,” they say, “but we found that a plain, simple and thicker seat really fitted the look of The Climber.” It’s made in real leather too, “So as time goes by, it’ll look even better.”

And I think that’ll be the case with the rest of the bike. The build is restrained and practical, with the bike running indicators and fenders, mirrors and good quality rubber. It’s got new Hagon suspension at the front and rear, a larger than standard headlight and a thicker, more comfortable seat. The Climber is one of the rare builds that you’ll see which manage to refine the looks of the original without sacrificing reliability or safety. Gonzalo’s got to be one very happy customer.

[Photos by Cristiano Morello] via PIPEBURN

2001 H-D Sportster “ZZ” by DP Customs

Written by Marlon Slack.

The two brothers who own and run DP Customs think themselves lucky to have forgone the politics and paperwork of larger workshops. Instead of having to follow someone else’s vision for a bike, Justin and Jarrod Del Prado spend their days building what they simply describe as ‘great bikes for great people’. And in between refining their pit-master BBQ skills, beer drinking sessions in the hot Arizona sun and trips to go storm chasing they’ve produced this simple, clean 2001 Harley Davidson Sportster bobber dubbed the ‘ZZ’.

The brothers had planned to DP the bike after being approached by a fan. “We built this bike for a customer that had seen some of our previous hardtail bikes with clip-ons,” they say. “He loved the lean and clean style of our bikes and wanted something similar.” Unlike some of their previous builds, which feature Öhlins suspension and carefully-worked steering geometry, this customer had a riding style closer to what Harley Davidson originally intended. “He lives in an area with a dry climate with lots of super smooth roads,” they say. “And this bike will be perfect for his weekend blasts.”

The first thing the brothers Del Prado did was some engine work. The big 1200cc V-twin was rebuilt and the CV carburettor given a freshen up with some new jets while a Joker Machine air intake allowed the bike to inhale more easily. A new exhaust was also fitted, light weight and loud with the pipes being ceramic coated black to match the powder coated rocker boxes, cam cover and primary cover. Spark was intensified with a Dynatek single fire ignition and coil, running into a loom that was assembled from scratch.

But the engine doesn’t really take centre stage on this build, with the frame work really being the central point. The original twin shock frame was stretched 4 inches and features a 4” drop hard tail rear end. The wheels were swapped out too, with an Iron 883 19” front and a 17” rear wheel mounted with the excellent Pirelli Night Dragon tyres. Stopping power is provided by Brembo, the patron saint of motorcycle braking, while the standard 1 inch handlebars and mid-set controls being replaced by clip-ons and aluminium foot pegs, both courtesy of Chainsikle.

What I like most about DP’s bikes is their paint schemes, often drawn from famous race cars from the 70’s and 80’s, with their John Player Special Lotus build being a personal favourite of mine. This time around the brothers had the tank and fender (complete with rear spoiler) sent to Walkers Way Custom Paint in Mesa where it was finished in battleship grey with black and red accents. Painted in a matte clear finish, the bike was haze grey and underway.

I have to admit that I was a Harleysceptic™ for many years, being a typical Japanese bike rider who turned up my nose at the marque without having ridden one. And I mean a proper one – I’d ridden a choked-up 883 Sportster and it’d left me completely cold and had gone on to dismiss all their bikes out of hand. But one late afternoon I was the only one sober enough to move a hard tailed 1200cc Sportster from a friend’s front yard to the back of his house. An hour later I found myself laughing manically, still on the bike fifty postcodes away. In one afternoon I ‘got it’.

But I digress. Bikes like DP’s Sportster manage to take the best of the HD range, and strip it of weight, clean up its lines and get it set for long, low runs along the Arizona landscape. They’re going to have one very happy customer.

via PIPEBURN