vendredi 19 janvier 2018
jeudi 18 janvier 2018
K-SPEED SCRAMBLES THE ROYAL ENFIELD CONTINENTAL GT
IF THERE’S ONE MANUFACTURER that should have a factory scrambler in their line-up, it’s Royal Enfield. There’s hardly a square inch on the planet—paved or unpaved—that hasn’t been crossed by an Enfield thumper.
Sure, there’s the Himalayan, but we’re filing that one under ‘adventure-touring.’ What we’re looking for is a classic Enfield desert sled—a bike to go head-to-head with Triumph and Ducati’s own Scramblers.
Even the Indian marque’s upcoming range of 650cc twins is curiously devoid of anything resembling that. So Bangkok’s K-Speed have decided to show us what RE could be doing.
Led by the man simply known as ‘Eak,’ the Thai workshop turns out bikes ranging from the classy and practical to the downright whacky. But regardless of the brief, their builds are always cool and radiate presence. Something that’s not easy to achieve.
This latest project is a collaboration with Royal Enfield Thailand—who offered up a 2017 Royal Enfield Continental GT for Eak to reinterpret. And he’s turned the café racer into a handsome sled, without even hacking the frame.
The Continental GT’s rather pretty in stock form, so there was no need to ditch the tank, or re-work the tubing. K-Speed have binned the humped tail section though, replacing it with a full-length tuck-n-roll seat.
They’ve reworked the ergonomics up front too, fitting a set of enduro handlebars. Since the GT comes from the factory with clip-ons, they needed to install a new top triple clamp to attach the bars to.
Some of the cockpit is still stock—like the clocks and the switches—giving this scrambler a ‘could-have-been-stock’ vibe. K-Speed have added some subtle changes though, like BMX-style grips and CNC-milled bar-end mirrors.
There’s a new headlight, attached to new brackets and protected by a custom-made grill. The front forks are stock, but they’re sporting a new set of fork boots.
Other additions up front include a custom fender, and a pair of smaller turn signals mounted on hand-made brackets.
The back’s been cleaned up too, with a one-off fender, a new taillight and a neatly tucked pair of turn signals. K-Speed also decided to give the GT a slightly more aggressive stance—and a little more capability in the dirt—by way of a new set of longer rear shocks.
The original 18” spoked wheels fit the bill, so they stayed. Eak and co. simply wrapped them in classic trials-style rubber.
For one last shot of scrambler style, they fabricated a new, high-riding exhaust header, topping it off with a reverse-cone muffler.
Fellow Thai custom outfit Libero Moto supplied the muffler, along with a couple of other parts. There’s a Libero tank strap too, and the Enfield’s also wearing better-looking side covers.
The rest of the changes are extremely subtle—like the drilled-out chain guard, and the black powder coating on the triple clamps. With everything buttoned up, all that remained was to ditch the GT’s original bright paint job. So K-Speed redid the tank in matte green, with a barely noticeable black pinstripe and classic Royal Enfield logo.
We’ve seen K-Speed turn out far more extreme machines than this, but this chunky little GT is impossible not to like.
Maybe it’s the scrambler that Royal Enfield should make?
K-Speed website | Images by OverRide Photo via http://www.bikeexif.com
mercredi 17 janvier 2018
HONDA LAUNCHES THE 2018 SUPER CUB WITH A K-SPEED CUSTOM
THE HONDA SUPER CUB truly is super. It’s been in production for six decades, and in that time 100 million units have rolled off the line. What’s more, it was the ad for the Super Cub that originally launched the iconic slogan, ‘You meet the nicest people on a Honda.’
The Super Cub’s design has gradually modernized over the years, but the new 2018 model takes cues from the original, for a more retro look. In stock form the 109cc, fuel-injected scoot mixes old school charm with modern tech, being equipped with drum brakes and LED lighting.
The 2018 Super Cub goes on sale in Thailand today—and into production in a Thai factory. (Honda builds the Super Cub in numerous factories around the globe).
To mark the occasion, Honda Thailand handed the crew at K-Speed a new Super Cub last month, and gave them just 30 days to build something special.
“We call this bike ‘Super Power Cub’,” our contact at K-Speed tells us. “The concept for this bike is modern retro—so we combined new style, like the LED turn signals, with vintage style; wing-shaped handlebars, ‘sawtooth’ tires and finished in classic matt black and white. And still keeping the iconic part—the lower fairing.”
The new Super Cub looks so good out the box that we wouldn’t know what to do with it, but K-Speed have knocked this one out the park. It reminds us of a French Bulldog; it looks like it wants to brawl, but it’s actually quite cute.
The biggest visual change is up front, where K-Speed tore apart the stock steering cluster. The OEM headlight now sits further down, housed in a custom-made nacelle. Up top are a new set of custom-made handlebars, adorned with a new throttle, Biltwell Inc. grips and a bell borrowed from the shop bicycle.
Custom switches mounted below the steering stem control the starter and turn signals, with a simple analog speedo mounted just behind them. And all the wires that used to be housed inside the plastic cluster have been re-routed.
The Super Cub’s stance has been dramatically reworked too, thanks to a pair of 17×2.50 wheels wrapped in vintage-style Vee Rubber tires. K-Speed also fabricated metal fork covers, giving the whole front end a far beefier feel.
There’s some crafty fabrication out back too. The guys lopped off the end of the frame, then capped it off with a neat little hand-made fender. The swingarm’s been upgraded to a bolt-on aluminum unit, and the rear shocks to adjustable items. (And yes, that’s a leather tool roll attached to the swing arm.)
K-Speed’s core business is actually aftermarket parts supply, so it’s not surprising that they have their own brand of custom accessories; Diablo. They raided the Diablo catalog for a new tail light and LED turn signals.
The tail light’s mounted low down on the right, with a license plate bracket on the opposite side. The turn signals are actually designed as bar-end numbers, but K-Speed have adapted them to mount in the fender at the back, and on the sides of the new fork covers out in front. (TL;DR: this thing’s still road legal.)
Other Diablo parts include the exhaust and ribbed side panels, though both were designed specifically for this bike. We’re hoping that means that K-Speed intends to put them into production for other Super Cub owners.
As we’ve come to expect from the Thai shop, there are a number of nifty little touches sprinkled throughout—including ‘hand grenade’ valve caps on the wheels and CNC-machined foot pegs.
The black and white paint is on point too, with a blacked-out engine and wheels keeping things muted. The seat’s been re-shaped, and re-upholstered with contrast stitching in a vertical tuck-and-roll pattern.
For the final trim, K-Speed removed the scooter’s tiny front grille and Honda logo, but kept its side badges and added new decals to the front and back.
We love that the Super Cub is still going strong, and we’re downright smitten with K-Speed’s spin on it.
In a perfect world, Honda would produce a limited edition K-Speed Super Cub, and we’d buy one for those Saturday morning coffee runs.
K-Speed website / Images by OverRide Photo | Honda Thailand Super Cub product page
via .bikeexif.com
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