OC GARAGE MILLENOVECENTO 36

The transition from horse drawn transportation to nations of car owners was thanks to innovative industrialists, often backed by governments keen to get the people moving. Germany had the Volkswagen Beetle, America the Ford Model T and Italy the Fiat 500. The first incarnation of the diminutive Fiat was the 500A, or Topolino as it was named due to it’s resemblance to a little mouse. Production started just before WW2, 1936 in fact, and manufacture continued into the mid 1950s.

Oscar Tasso of OC Garage based on Italy’s Adriatic coast has fond memories of the Topolino saying, “There was a taciturn gentleman who had a garage, where he guarded one of these wonderful cars. Rarely, just a few times a year, the Topolino was pulled out of the garage and each time for me was a party. Every time, I stopped to look at her and listen to her voice which thrilled me. I was so excited by her smooth shapes, by her black and burgundy colors, by the smell of its exhaust; those emotions are still very vivid in me … ” Such was the impact on Oscar, he decided to build a tribute bike, keeping it Italian of course, and without a customer in mind the Millenovecento 36 is a personal project.

The donor is a 2002 Moto Guzzi Nevada that although in good order was completely pulled apart, Oscar doesn’t do half measures. The bombproof v-twin was stripped and refreshed before receiving a few coats of gloss black paint. If you’re taking one of these apart and splitting the transmission you may as well stick in a new clutch as it’s mounted car-style behind the engine. Exhaust headers were made to visually blend in, through colour and by following the frame contours down to an under-slung collector, exiting short and low on the right hand side.

Custom bikes are now at such a level that leaving old wiring looms in situ is no longer acceptable. Besides, the last thing you want is to spend all that time making something look handsome only to chase electrical gremlins down corroded wires. A lithium battery lives under the seat and powers a completely fresh loom and classically styled switch gear and all-in-one gauge.

Most Guzzis are beautiful, but the Nevada not so much. A model that just about survived a full ten round beating from the ugly stick. The foundations though are sound and the engine is one of the finest examples in motorcycling of form meeting function. The easiest way to deal with a Nevada is to remove the fuel tank and fit something else. On this occasion a CB350F vessel was repurposed, and the shape work perfectly, enhanced by the two-tone paint scheme. Oscar had the Topolino’s burgundy and black painstakingly matched to achieve the exact hue of that defining childhood memory.

The forks are of course freshly rebuilt, and as can be seen from these shots, every single nut and bolt on the bike is brand new and gleams against the black powder coat. Wide drag bars provide a commanding position, reminiscent of motorcycles from the 1930s.

A cheap looking, cast fork brace and bracket was never going to meet Oscar’s standards, so he’s fashioned this intricate, chrome plated fabrication to mount the hand-rolled mudguard, complete this resembles the radiator grille on the Fiat’s nose.

The Nevada was one Guzzi that didn’t utilise the company’s linked braking system, with just a single disc up front with a Brembo four-pot in charge of retardation, and by all accounts it works really well. History lesson over, Oscar renewed the entire braking system to compliment the rest of the build.

Another Nevada bonus is the 16″ rear wheel as standard, which allows fitment of a big, fat Firestone Deluxe Champion, for contrast and to add period touch, the front is a narrower, white wall version.

The frame rails were trimmed and a classic loop sits above the rear mudguard, Oscar’s handiwork again. A brown leather seat is solo in proportion and upholstered in brown leather.

Inspiration can be drawn from a myriad of sources and for Oscar another reason to work on a Moto Guzzi is always a treat and with no client to answer to or placate, he was able to revel in creative nostalgia. Successfully we would say.

via The Bike Shed

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AUTO FABRICA TYPE 6

This year has been a bit of a blur for those of us making the Bike Shed happen. With two major shows, including our first foray abroad, the building of a new HQ in London, all whilst trying to maintain online activities; our feet haven’t touched the ground. But there have been some standout moments that stick in our minds, and pivotal wouldn’t be too strong a word to describe some.

One being the arrival of Auto Fabrica. OK so Bujar & Gaz have produced some truly fantastic bikes from their humble Essex workshops but when the Type 6 rolled into the main hall at Tobacco Docks conversations curtailed, tools were set-down and beards hit the floor. Like a resplendent Albino peacock, this Yamaha XS based work of art sat quietly on its plinth waiting to wow the crowds.

This is no well funded biker build off effort, hammered out in double quick time. This is good old fashioned, blood, sweat, patience and endeavour. Admirable accolades but relatively worthless without a vision, and that’s where Auto Fabrica have found their forte. Countless hours are poured into sketchbooks, clay models and computer renders before a weld arc is even struck.

The XS650 donor was part of a four bike haul of Yamahas recovered from a the depths of rural Cornwall, barn finds that effectively set Auto Fabrica rolling. With this much effort going into the aesthetics of course the engine needed to not only look the part but perform in equal measure, so it was completely stripped and fully rebuilt, properly. Without meaning to belittle that as a process, it’s probably not why you’re here, reading this.

Despite the AF crew knowing exactly how they wanted it to look, paper and pixels are infinitely more manipulative than metal, and the best fabrication in the world is nothing without stance. So first up on the chopping block was the frame. The headstock was severed, lowered 2 inches and set back slightly into the frame tubes, creating a low swooping line from the headlight over to the tail.

Overhauled forks are turned by an arcing, hand-bent bar, with all cabling and wires routed internally allowing for the fitment of stainless steel end-pivot levers. To further protect the eye from distraction the fork stanchions, seals and lower clamps have been sheathed by stainless tubing. Clean and neat doesn’t even come close. And those turned and knurled aluminium grips felt sublime.

With so much effort already invested into the front-end it would’ve been sacrilege to run a cumbersome looking disc brake set up, no that wouldn’t do at all. Purchased in the Netherlands some years prior, the Laverda SF750 twin leading shoe drum used here had been on the shelf and offered up to a few previous AF builds, thankfully it wasn’t utilised.

From the casting marks, to the typeface of the Laverda logo and the purposeful cooling duct, it seems as if this relic from the seventies was always destined for the Type 6. Not only that, it’ll give the new owner confidence that their investment may have cost a pretty penny, but will stop on a dime.

If you’ve read any previous features about Auto Fabrica’s bikes you’ll recall us harping on about the hand-bent exhausts. A laborious process involving tightly packing straight stainless pipe with sand, to prevent kinking of the walls, welding on caps either end and setting up a range of bucks around which these elegant curves are formed. This might be one of their signature build features but that doesn’t mean it goes to plan every time.

To achieve perfection like this takes a strong arm, a steady eye and patience of a saint. All of which could be spoiled by a rasping cacophony, avoided here thanks to small internal baffles, tuned not only for sound but for just the right amount of back pressure to keep the single carb set up on song.

With classic and vintage motorcycles providing simplistic and functional inspiration the XS650 twin has been converted to run just one carburettor, with a siamesed intake tract flowing out to the left side of the bike. Visually this means a treat when viewing from left or right. Balance through asymmetry, that box is certainly ticked with a big fat Sharpie marker.

Would this bike have achieved such accolade and lyrical waxing had the fuel tank been a more traditional form? The rest of the design and engineered execution stands-up on its own but the sculpture Bujar and Gaz have created is simply staggering. The guys painstakingly rolled and hammered this one-piece tank and seat unit from 2.5mm aluminium to serve function and form, the latter in abundance. The unique scalloped sides suggest the engine’s thirst for air whilst creating a streamlined yet strong silhouette running toward the tail, reminiscent of shapes seen on Pininfarina’s finest work.

Bujar explains “The major part or even the main design feature is the scalloped tank, one of the reasons we build custom motorcycles is because we love the metal shaping processes, that being said, with the Type 6 we wanted to push our skills to the limit, and beyond. The shapes are very complicated yet look simple and flowing but that is the hardest to execute, which resulted us spending a lot of time trying to achieve something we are really proud of.

And so they should be, the Type 6 is game changer for Auto Fabrica, they’ve done more than just arrive.

If that wasn’t enough, there’s more:    Bike Shed Archive  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Web

Photos by Julien Brightwell & Bujar Muharremi via The Bike Shed

Period Correct – streetwear and classic Porsche style in California

The Californian fashion label ‘Period Correct’ offers streetwear designs, inspired by classic cars and historic racing. So don’t be surprised if you meet a teenager in Los Angeles with an ‘Gmünd’ T-shirt…

Skate culture meets automotive purism

"Period Correct redefines a culture lost through time, powered by the future of speed and modern design," one reads on the website of the young fashion label based in Costa Mesa, California, south of Los Angeles. And indeed, in the current summer collection, the designers have managed to combine the casual chic of surf and skate fashion on the American west coast with the design purism of motor racing in the 1960s and 1970s. In the latest photo gallery, you see young people posing with careful nonchalance beside legends of Porsche history.

From LA to Gmünd

You also find the Swabian classics in the modernist studio and showroom of Period Correct, and on the T-shirts that read (with doubtful trademark permission) such logos as ‘Superleggera’, ‘Squadra Corse’ or just plain ‘Gmünd’. Even more gratifying than the smart looks, however, is that the smartphone-obsessed generation is again finding excitement in the historic racing cars and classics. Real style is timeless.

Photos: Period Correct

You can find further information by visiting period-correct.com.

Cow boy.........