Harley-Davidson RR350

The Harley-Davidson RR350 is the enlarged version of the RR250, a motorcycle built from the ground up by the Italians that was essentially a Harley-Davidson in name only (Harley took a majority stake in the Italian manufacturer in 1974). The men from Milwaukee were facing increased competition from light, fast Japanese bikes and the first investment into Aermacchi in 1960 was designed to combat this and introduce some fresh engineering talent to the company.
The success of the Aermacchi racing program reached its peak in the mid-1970s when the Harley-Davidson RR250 took the world championship for the ’74, ’75 and ’76 seasons with championship wins in 1976 in both the 250cc and 350cc classes thanks to the model you see pictured here.
It’s unusual to think of Harley-Davidson dominating a road racing championship and we haven’t seen the marque seriously contend any major road-based Grand Prix championship since the sale of Aermacchi in 1978, which seems like a shame as it could have done the marque a world of good from an engineering perspective.
The RR350 (and RR250) is widely considered one of the most beautiful racing motorcycle designs from the 1970s and I’d personally go so far as to say it’s one of the most stunning race bikes ever made. The Italian design cues are clearly apparent and it leaves you wondering what direction Harley-Davidson might have taken if they hadn’t sold Aermacchi on to Cagiva in 1978.
The stunning, restored Harley-Davidson RR350 you see here is due to be sold at The Las Vegas Auction on the 8th of January 2015 by Bonhams, its estimated value is between $25,000 and $30,000 – which actually doesn’t seem like a whole lot considering the fact that only about 26 RR350s were ever made.
If you’d like to bid or read more about this particular motorcycle’s history you can click here to visit Bonhams.





First read in http://silodrome.com

The Mako Harley Davidson Sporster

 Brandon Holstein run a workshop called 'Brawny Built' in Signal Hills, California where he does everything from basic servicing through to full custom builds. Back in 2010 he also co-founded 'The Speed Merchant' workshop and parts manufacturer which has been kicking butt ever since. A couple of years ago he blew peoples minds when he unveiled his Harley Davidson 883 Sporster based "Mako" at Born Free 5 and I had the opportunity to interview him for issue 5 of Tank Moto magazine. Here's some of what he had to say about his Brawny Built beast.

"The Mako is a 2003 HD Sportster.  It started as an 883 that was in a minor wreck.  Since it was just mainly cosmetic damage, I picked it up for a decent price. I like riding fast!  So I wanted to build something that I would be able to ride at speed, and still be comfortable.  The idea was to build a bike that would allow me to lay on the tank, tuck under the fairing, hang on and twist the throttle wide open. I wanted a big smooth motor, a slim chassis and some good suspension to handle the speed."

"I mounted Ohlins (cause they really work and my friend Robin got me a good deal on them) rear shocks to my modified swingarm.  The swingarm was strengthened by using billet axle plates and adding 5/8" tubing.   The wheels were robbed from another project I had here at the shop, 19" front and 18" rear.  To finish up the chassis, I used Racetech emulators and springs in the front-end, along with our Speed Merchant preload adjusters, and Speed Trees.  Then just for added insurance I used an Ohlins steering stabilizer.  Once the chassis was completed I started with the sheet metal."

"I found an old modern Triumph tank that was lying around my shop and decided to use it.  I tried other tanks, but the Triumph had the look I was after.  Once I had mounted the tank how I wanted I got to work on the tail section.  I constructed the tail out of aluminium making it as slim as possible. After the tank and tail were done, it was time to add the fairing. I built a custom fairing bracket that also houses the headlight, oil cooler and speedo/tacho. I decided to build a belly pan on the bike to balance out the sheet metal…plus I like belly pans."

For the custom exhaust I used 304 stainless steel. The system is a 2-into-1-into-2 which was purely experimental.  I like how it turned out, however I may be changing them in the near future to see if we can squeeze a few more HP out of the motor... Speaking of the motor; for years I had been sitting on an 85" (1400cc) big bore Sputhe kit. I was waiting and waiting for the right build to use this motor in and this build was screaming out for it.  The whole time I was working on the fabrication of the chassis, sheet metal, etc, my friends at Mach Modified were working on piecing this incredible motor together for me. It isn't your typical high horsepower motor, the numbers aren’t through the roof, but it has a very usable linear power range. I decided to use a subtle color.  I wanted it to be something that wouldn't take away from the other things on the bike, or be too dominant. So I chose a custom mixed, darker shade of red and decided to mute it by making is flat.  The result is what you see..."

To read the full Mako build story and see more great shots of the bike grab a copy of Tank Moto 5 here.

First read on http://www.returnofthecaferacers.com

TANK MOTO  |  BRAWNY BUILT  |  IMAGES BY JOSE GALLINA

Ivory Comet XL Sportster

"Modern Retro". That's how Taiwan born, LA based Samuel Kao of JSK Custom Design describes his 'Ivory Comet' Cafe Racer. Based on a '97 XL1200 Harley Davidson Sportster the Ivory Comet takes fundamental aspects of Cafe Racer design and blends them perfectly with modern styling and modern performance components. Since its completion earlier this year the bike has brought home an impressive collection of prestigious trophies including "Best Cafe Racer" at Born Free 6. Taking over a year to complete the build of the bike pushed Sam to his limits, but as I'm sure you will agree his hard work was well worth it.

"For the fabrication of the bodywork I insisted on using traditional bodywork techniques. To do this I used the 60's method of creating a wooden mold to form the metal gas tank, front fairing and rear cowl from. When I began I had several fairing designs in mind, but when I decided to use a Harley Davidson engine I believed it will be a shame to cover it, so the version I settled on left the engine completely exposed."

"My vision for a modern retro cafe racer necessitated a suspension system that was unique and high performing. I decided to transplant the forks, single sided swing arm and brakes from a Ducati 916. Finding someone who would then assist me with fitting a spoked rim to the single sided swing arm was a real challenge. I was turned away many times being told it couldn't be done before I finally found a company in Europe that met my requirements and even supplied a warranty for their work."

The name Ivory Comet came from Sam's idea of mixing elegance and speed. With it's angular lines and pin striped bodywork the bike looks fast while it's standing still, like any good Cafe Racer should. Final touches of gold detailing and a diamond stitched red suede leather seat add the elegance element and even though gold isn't really my thing, this time I'm willing to make an exception.

JSK CUSTOM DESIGN     |     Photos by CNC PICS

first published at http://www.returnofthecaferacers.com/

Harley-Davidson Street 750 Tracker

The new Harley-Davidson Street 750 represents a new direction for the 111 year old motorcycle marque – 

It’s a liquid-cooled bike targeted directly at a younger demographic with a focus on both established and emerging markets.

As you can probably imagine, the decision to use liquid-cooling is always going to be controversial for a company that’s almost synonymous with the concept of air-cooling. It’s vaguely reminiscent of when Porsche went from air to liquid-cooling for their 911 in 1998 (the uproar is still ringing in my ears all these years later), so it’s perhaps fitting that Harley’s first liquid-cooled engine was developed in conjunction with Porsche for the VRSC project that launched in 2001.
Over the past few months Harley have been approaching custom motorcycle builders with showroom stock Street 750s and giving them free reign to create whatever their heart desires, in this particular instance the Australian wing of HD went to the team at Kustom Kommune in Melbourne with a still-in-crate 750 and left them to it.
The Melbournian garage looked at the engine capacity and decided to create a modern example of that iconic 1970’s Harley – The XR750. For those unfamiliar with that model, I suggest you click here and catch up before continuing. You’ll be glad you did.
The completed bike is a corker, in fact I think the boffins at Harley should throw some fenders and blinkers on it and sell it as a limited edition release. They won’t of course, but it’s worth noting that the reason they won’t isn’t because the engineers and designers don’t want to – it’s because the bean counters won’t let them.

The list of work that went into this build is extensive (as you can see below), the entire back end of the motorcycle was removed and replaced with a Vincent Black Shadow-esque twin shock absorber cantilever suspension arrangement and the front springs were removed and replaced with a high-performance pair of inverted forks. The original fuel tank, seat and body work were all removed and replaced with handmade, lightweight alloy units with bespoke artwork by KDS Designs.
The stock wheels were replaced with a matching pair of 19″ flat track wheels sporting knobbly tires and a pair of twin disks on the front end. As a hat tip to the original bike the belt drive was left in place rather than a chain drive as is the de facto standard for flat track racers, and the original exhaust header was left in place with a new muffler slipped on the back.
Australia is a country over run with party-pooper highway patrol officers and as a result of this, it’s unlikely the KR750 with get any street time, but at the end of the day this is a motorcycle that was built to be thrown sideways on muddy ovals, so hopefully the team at Kustom Kommune have booked in some track time at their local speedway.
Click here to visit Kustom Kommune or click here to visit Harley-Davidson to read more about the Street 750.

First appeared in http://silodrome.com

Skuddesign Black Betty

We don’t feature much Milwaukee Muscle on the Bike Shed, but having just fired up a Buell engined Cafè Tracker I’m reminded of the appeal; that engine note takes some beating. Nicolas Barthelemy of Skud Design is no stranger to making things sound right, whilst maintaining effortless cool. Last year he brought us a stunning Kawasaki W650 Scrambler. Ok, so the woodland setting for the photo shoot played a part but that bike just made you want to go and tear up some dirt.
Leaving Europe behind for the wide expanses of Canada, Nicolas fancied himself a laid back cruiser for the long straight roads of his new home in Montreal, so bought a 2013 Sportster XL Forty Eight upon which he would cast his graphic designing eye before breaking out the tool kit to create Black Betty.

Bratstyle was to be the design palette of choice, with a good dose of Bobber in the mix. In fact, I must praise one of two things; either Google Translate for rehashing foreign so succinctly, or Nicolas for crafting such a wonderful sentence in his second language. “I thus prepared the silhouette of the motorcycle by mixing the aesthetic codes with products resulting from all other horizons in the inspirations BRATSTYLE”.

The rear fender is from an ’84 Softail Heritage, painted black. The kick-up giving over even more stage to the Firestone Deluxe Champions. 5.00 x 16 if you must know.

Indicators are hidden down low, on the swing arm near the pivot point. Neat and out of the way, and painted black they nearly disappear. Progreesive Suspension 412 series 11.5″ shocks keep the back looking squat, improve the ride and go someway towards comfort.

The cow horn bars are by Zombie Performance, with internal cable and wire routing. I’m not usually a fan of this narrow type of bar but with the chunky, oh-so comfortable Harley levers and neat uncluttered setup this works, visually.

The rear light is from a 1928 Ford truck, updated with fresh paint and wiring. Keeping with Stateside heritage the tank has been painted with a 1936 Ford burgundy, which for me looks the business, especially with the chromed trim from a 1947 Renault. A simple Tuck ‘n’ Roll seat is spot on.

The mirror is by Lowbrow Customs, foot pegs by Speed Merchant and air the filter housing is from Harley tuning stalwarts S&S. Again raiding the vintage parts bin, the headlight is an Electroline from 1954.

Canadian legislation is pretty tough on the custom scene so Nicolas hasn’t gone overboard with this build, which has worked in his favour as this is one Harley that fits in The Bike Shed just nicely.
Keep an eye out for Nicolas’ future work on Facebook, with all that spare land aboot the place he’s surely going to build another scrambler.'
First appeared in http://thebikeshed.cc

Kommune Forty-Eight Sportster K1

If you were given the opportunity to customise a brand new bike with the support of a major motorcycle manufacturer what would you do? This was exactly what happened to myself and the team at the Kustom Kommune back in April of this year when Harley-Davidson offered our communal workshop a brand new Harley-Davidson Forty Eight Sportster and the freedom to do with it whatever we wanted. What we decided to do was to completely transform the Sportster and turn it into a bike that could be maintained and serviced using the modest facilities at the Kommune workshop. The result is the Kommune 'K1', a Cafe Racer styled, sleek and unique Sportster that showcases the skills of a talented team of "backyard builders".

The build of the K1 was undertaken by a talented group of individuals who donated their time and skills to help make this build a reality. A dream team was formed. It consisted of Robby Ante a skilled welder, Glenn Aitken a Harley-Davidson guru, Matt McLeod an engineer, Karl Stehn a custom painter, Kenny Gohl an automotive electrician, Aaron Sinclair an upholsterer, myself and Jimmy Goode the founders of the Kustom Kommune and a handful of our members. Over 4 months we tore down and rebuilt the Forty-eight using our combined skills and plenty of man hours. With so many people involved opinions sometimes varied and timeframes were hard to stick to with most people working after hours, but looking back now it all came together relatively smoothly.

The original plan was to put an XR750 TT style fairing on the bike, but with time working against us the idea was shelved and we instead stuck to an XR inspired colour palette. Karl Stehn at KDS Designs put together a slick paint design using the classic XR black, white and orange and added plenty of flake to really make it pop. We mimicked old school Café Racer techniques by using 2 Cole Foster fuel tanks, chopping one in half to function as the tail end. Since we’d removed the oil tank from the frame we also modified the tail to double as the Sporsters oil tank. Robby and Glenn devised the internal plumbing system before welding it all up to a custom fabricated seat pan. To support the weight of the tail/oil tank Glenn fabricated rear struts that blend with the original lines of the frame. Braided stainless steel lines and race fittings from VPW transport the oil to and from the engine, snaking around the frame and engine.

Roland Sands Designs provided the clip-on bars, clarity line Derby cover and various blacked out engine dress up parts. A set of Chainsikle rear sets put the rider in an appropriately aggressive riding position and the headlight was remounted deep between the forks. We wanted the bike look fast even when it was standing still so we used a Burly fork lowering kit to drop the front end by an inch and added piggy back shocks in the rear to raise it by an inch and level out the frame. We're big fans of the Japanese custom scene where form often outweighs function and since our Forty-eight is more of a city bike than a track bike we fit a set of chunky All State tyres from our friends at Antique Tyres. 

To transform the bike into a Kommune friendly machine we had to remove all of the fancy electrical sensors and thing-a-ma-jigs that we couldn't tune using hand tools and old school mechanical know how. The ABS, alarm system, EFI, factory ignition and accessory wiring systems were all removed. Moto Gadget provided an M-Unit to manage the new electrics along with bar end indicators, mini-switches and a keyless ignition. Matt from Krank Engineering machined new spacers to replace the ABS sensors on each axle and even milled a sweet Kommune emblem points cover. An S&S Super E carb now manages the fuel delivery and because we love old school looks we swapped the belt drive with a chain set up.

Despite all the other trick bits of fabrication and custom work on the K1 it’s the pipes that show exactly what can happen when skilled individuals put their heads together. We spent hours discussing the route we wanted the pipes to take before Glenn Aitken cut each section by hand, measuring the curves and lengths by eye. We then removed, polished and brushed each segment before Robby Ante welded each stainless steel piece together again. Opinions will vary about the pipes and that's exactly what we were going for. They're our crowning achievement and to me they sum up what the K1 and the Kustom Kommune is all about. Experimentation, breaking rules and having a go. After all, when an opportunity like this presents itself why wouldn't you go all out?

KUSTOM KOMMUNE

The Kustom Kommune’s Harley Sportster 48

What could be more fun than having your own well-stocked workshop, with all the tools and space you need to work on your bike? In the company of like-minded folks, who also enjoy throwing the occasional party?
That’s the thinking behind The Kustom Kommune, Australia’s first communal motorcycle workshop. Based in Melbourne, it’s part of a growing global trend towards DIY custom building and general bike maintenance.
To get the word out and attract new members, the Kommune founders decided to build a show quality, street ready shop bike. And the good folks at Harley-Davidson made it possible by donating a 1200cc Sportster 48.

“This wasn’t your ordinary custom motorcycle build,” says Kommune main man Geoff Baldwin, who also runs the Return Of The Café Racers website. “It was more of a ‘proof of concept’ than anything else. Ninety per cent of the build was completed in house.”
The Kommune had two goals in mind for the Sportster: “We wanted it to look amazing, paying homage to Harley-Davidson’s racing past—in particular the XR750TT. And we wanted a bike that could be wholly maintained in the Kommune workshop.”

Being a community funded space, facilities such as dynos and diagnostic computer hardware aren’t on hand. So the Sportster was pulled back to basics by removing the more complicated components and electrical systems—anything that couldn’t be worked on using basic tools and old-school know-how.
A team of Kommune members was quickly assembled. And of course, A Budget. “We spent it mostly on materials and parts,” says Geoff. “Time was generously donated.” The team included a welder, a Harley guru, an engineer, a painter, an electrician and an upholsterer—plus Geoff himself and Kommune co-founder Jimmy Goode.

An XR-inspired color palette was sketched out, and Karl Stehn came up with a slick paint design using the classic XR black, white and orange—plus plenty of flake to really make it pop. Traditional café racer tricks came into play, with two Cole Foster tanks being installed—with one chopped in half to function as the tail. The tail also doubles up as the oil tank now, with plumbing routed around a custom seat pan and new support struts welded on at the back of the frame.
The forward controls were swapped out for rear sets, and RSD clip-ons were slipped onto the fork stanchions. The headlight is OEM Harley-Davidson, but mounted as close to the forks as possible.

Out of the factory, the Sportster 48 comes with ABS brakes, an alarm system, EFI and many “fancy sensors and thing-a-ma-jigs.” Since these require more than a basic set of tools for maintenance, they all had to go—saving some substantial weight in the process.
“Matt from Krank Engineering machined spacers to replace the ABS sensors on each axle, and we removed the entire wiring loom,” says Geoff. “An S&S Super E carb replaces the EFI system, and was tuned by ear when the bike was first fired up.” A simplified wiring loom is plugged into an aftermarket ignition system, with a Motogadget m-Unit controlling all the electrical circuits.

The Kommune team opted for chain drive rather than the standard belt—they love the old-school look—and blanked out the rear wheel using a set of raw alloy Moon Discs. Another old-school touch is the diamond-stitched leather saddle.
But the design element that generates the most interest is the full stainless steel exhaust system. The brainchild of Jimmy Goode and Harley specialist Glenn Aitken, it was built entirely in-house using a set of 180 bends and straight lengths.

“Despite all the other trick bits of fabrication and custom work, it’s the pipes that show exactly what can happen when skilled individuals work together,” says Geoff. “Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re our crowning achievement—and to me, they sum up what the Kustom Kommune is all about.”
Now that the build is out of the way, the Kommune is lining up training courses, a parts store and storage facilities to keep the business ticking over. It’s a great blueprint for grassroots motorcycling—and one we’d love to see in more cities worldwide.
The Kustom Kommune | Harley-Davidson Australia | Jason Lau Photography

Modification list
EFI to S&S Super E Carb Conversion
Belt to Chain drive conversion
Removal of ABS systems
Complete Motogadget electronics setup
Entire factory loom removed
2x Modified Cole Foster fuel tank
Aftermarket hand controls
Custom fabricated seat that acts as oil tank
Custom made black leather seat by Weird-o-pholstry
Custom made exhaust by Robbie Ante and Glen Aitken at Kustom Kommune
2″ Lowered front end
330mm Piggy Back Shocks
Mooneyes moon disk rear wheel
CNC’d Rear Sets
Modified rear frame
Custom made bars, spacers, points cover by Krank Engineering
All State Deluxe tyres from Antique Tyres
Roland Sands Design engine dress up kit
Paint by KDS Designs

The post The Kustom Kommune’s Harley Sportster 48 appeared first on Bike EXIF.