Showing posts with label Harley-Davidson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harley-Davidson. Show all posts

Monday, February 2, 2015

Turning The Harley 883 Into A Scrambler- Bi

Benjie Flipprboi of BCR has turned the Harley 883 into a super-stylish, high-performance scrambler.

It looks like 2015 is going to be the Year Of The Scrambler. It’s fast becoming the dominant genre on the new wave custom scene, and manufacturers are getting into the act too.
As everyone knows, Ducati has joined Triumph in offering a factory scrambler—and Moto Guzzi has just released a kit that converts the popular V7 into a machine capable of light off-road excursions.
Benjie Flipprboi of BCR has turned the Harley 883 into a super-stylish, high-performance scrambler.

Milwaukee is unlikely to join the party, but that hasn’t stopped inventive custom builders from doing the dirty on Sportsters. The latest is Benjie Flipprboi of BCR, with this heavily modified 1999 Harley 883 called ‘American Scrambler.’
“For years we had an old 883 in the shop,” says Benjie, who works out of Edison, New Jersey. “It was a small, beat-up bike with a chromed-out engine and mismatched wheels. For a long time, we didn’t know what to do with it.”
Benjie Flipprboi of BCR has turned the Harley 883 into a super-stylish, high-performance scrambler.

Benjie considered turning the 883 into a bobber or a cafe racer. “But we build bikes to stand out and be ridden hard. So we decided to turn the old cruiser into a bike that could be ridden everywhere.” And here we have it: the ready-for-adventure ‘American Scrambler.’
The first step was to get rid of the cruiser ergonomics—the high front end and low seat. On went a set of late ‘90s Suzuki GSX1000 forks to lower the front. “We kept the Harley front hub but machined a new front axle and an adapter to accommodate the GSX’s double disc brakes,” says Benjie.
Benjie Flipprboi of BCR has turned the Harley 883 into a super-stylish, high-performance scrambler.

To prop up the rear, Benjie used longer shocks (and raised the mounts by an inch). Then he installed lightweight aluminum Borrani wheels with raised-center ‘dirt catcher’ rims and fitted Shinko 705 Trail Master dual-purpose tires.
Next step was to figure out the tank. Typical scrambler-style tanks wouldn’t fit, due to the shape of the Harley top-end. So Benjie fabricated a tank that follows the curve of the cylinder heads, adding a stainless steel rack and positioning a Monza gas cap off-center. Aside from a black flame graphic, the finish is bare polished aluminum finish.
Benjie Flipprboi of BCR has turned the Harley 883 into a super-stylish, high-performance scrambler.

“That gave us a beautiful curve to play with when building our seat,” says Benjie. “To maintain the natural flow of the lines, we got the front of the seat to follow the tail of the tank, and then curved the seat up at the rear.” To further abandon the bike’s previous life as a cruiser, the cowhide leather seat is as narrow as you can get without exposing the frame rails.
There’s a custom oil tank slotted inside the frame midsection, with a notch to hide a gel-cell battery.
Benjie Flipprboi of BCR has turned the Harley 883 into a super-stylish, high-performance scrambler.

The fenders and number plate are aluminum to match the gas tank, and held in place by stainless steel mounting brackets. The front skid plate is also aluminum, with ventilation slots to help cool the voltage regulator. A small mild-steel dashboard houses the stock tachometer & warning lights.
Chrome engines do not generally look attractive on scramblers—or indeed any motorcycle—so Benjie sandblasted the side covers and the top end to get a pitted matte finish. Then the internals were treated to a 1200cc piston kit and there’s a custom air filter box with stainless wire mesh covering the inlet.
Benjie Flipprboi of BCR has turned the Harley 883 into a super-stylish, high-performance scrambler.

The usual Sportster belt drive was ditched in favor of a chain and Benjie’s cut out the side cover of the engine, exposing the front sprocket and gold chain.
The only thing left to fit was an aftermarket headlight bucket and taillight. But nothing seemed to look right, so BCR built their own.
“We wanted to tuck the headlight bucket between the fork legs, so we designed it to be as narrow as possible. The taillight is bare aluminum and wraps around the frame end loop.”
Benjie Flipprboi of BCR has turned the Harley 883 into a super-stylish, high-performance scrambler.

The defining element of any scrambler is invariably the exhaust system. “We wanted to stay true to the signature scrambler style, but as always, we also wanted to give it our own unique twist. So we fabricated our own 2-into-2 exhaust using stainless steel and mounted the mufflers high, in the vein of old school scramblers.”
Benjie Flipprboi of BCR has turned the Harley 883 into a super-stylish, high-performance scrambler.

With adventure in his veins and his eyes on the horizon, there was one last detail that Benjie needed to add: an all-purpose road kit. So he designed a detachable leather bag that matches the cowhide leather of the seat. There’s even a protective aluminum plate to help keep the bag clean during the scrambler’s (hopefully) muddy future ventures.
BCR’s ‘American Scrambler’ is both functional and fun. Unlike most Harleys, this 883 can handle a stretch of hard-packed dirt as well as ribbons of asphalt.
And damn, doesn’t it look good?
Benjie Flipprboi of BCR has turned the Harley 883 into a super-stylish, high-performance scrambler.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Stealthy: Renard’s custom Harley 1200

Stealthy: a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 custom built by Renard Speed Shop.


Unless you’ve been living under a lump of naturally occurring solid aggregate, you’ll know that scramblers are all the rage right now. And by ‘scramblers’ we loosely mean bikes with a go-anywhere attitude, upright ergonomics and retro-cool looks.

A Harley 1200 is not the obvious platform for this style. But some stellar Sporty-based examples have rolled out of garages lately, and this is one of the best. It’s from Renard Speed Shop, and it’s the Estonian outift’s first Harley build.
Stealthy: a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 custom built by Renard Speed Shop.


The commission came from Bertl’s, a small Harley dealer in South Germany. The Germans wanted a custom XL1200 for a bike show, and they loved Renard’s Bonneville T100 scrambler.

There was a catch though: the Sportster chassis couldn’t be altered in any way. “The whole rebuild had to be bolted to the original frame,” says Renard’s Andres Uibomäe. “So we couldn’t cut anything off, or drill holes.”
Stealthy: a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 custom built by Renard Speed Shop.


Still, Renard managed to change the Harley’s looks substantially—starting with a completely custom fuel tank and seat. To match the new lines, they also added a set of aluminum side covers—hiding the stock side cover and oil tank.

Stealthy: a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 custom built by Renard Speed Shop.


A set of 70mm longer-than-stock Öhlins shocks (anodized black) gave the Sporty a much-needed kick in the tail. Up front, Renard added a set of preload adjuster caps to the front forks. And the Harley now rolls on a set of Dyna spoked wheels—19” in the front and 17” in the rear, fitted with Metzeler Karoo3 tires.

Stealthy: a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 custom built by Renard Speed Shop.


The stunning upswept exhaust—complete with carbon fiber end cap—is from Roland Sands Design, as are the rear sets. A new headlight bucket houses the stock HD element, while the turn signals are from Rizoma, with the rear pair doubling up as a tail light.

Stealthy: a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 custom built by Renard Speed Shop.


Leaving the frame stock meant that the rear fender struts were now protruding beyond the new, slimmer mudguard. So Renard put them to use—fashioning a multi-purpose luggage rack around them.

Stealthy: a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 custom built by Renard Speed Shop.


For paint, things were kept stealthy: matte black, with a semi-matte stripe separated by a gold pinstripe. “I wanted to have some graphics on the tank,” says Andres, “so the client’s logo seemed like a good idea…”

The whole project was wrapped up in just a month. And, true to the brief, the original frame is still untouched—so you could return this Harley to stock.
Not that you’d want to, would you?
Renard Speed Shop website | Facebook page | Instagram
Stealthy: a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 custom built by Renard Speed Shop.

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

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Harley-Davidson RR350

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.
Harley Davidson RR350 3 1480x684 Harley Davidson RR350
Harley Davidson RR350 1 1480x1318 Harley Davidson RR350
Harley Davidson RR350 6 1480x683 Harley Davidson RR350
Harley Davidson RR350 2 1480x1155 Harley Davidson RR350
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Harley Davidson RR350 4 1480x964 Harley Davidson RR350 First read in http://silodrome.com

Saturday, November 22, 2014

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.

TANK MOTO  |  BRAWNY BUILT  |  IMAGES BY JOSE GALLINA

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

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


Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Harley-Davidson Street 750 Tracker

Harley-Davidson-Street-Custom-16

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.
Harley Davidson Street Custom 13 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
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.
Harley Davidson Street Custom 3 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
Harley Davidson Street Custom 8 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
Harley Davidson Street Custom 6 1480x2220 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
Harley Davidson Street Custom 2 1480x2220 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
Harley Davidson Street Custom 15 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
Harley Davidson Street Custom 14 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
Harley Davidson Street Custom 11 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
Harley Davidson Street Custom 10 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
Harley Davidson Street Custom 9 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
Harley Davidson Street Custom 7 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
Harley Davidson Street Custom 5 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker
Harley Davidson Street Custom 4 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker

Harley Davidson Street Custom 1 1480x986 Harley Davidson Street 750 Tracker First appeared in http://silodrome.com

Monday, November 3, 2014

Skuddesign Black Betty


black-betty-10-HD
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.
Black Betty 6
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”.
Black Betty 5
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.
Black Betty 1
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.
Black Betty 2
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.
Black Betty 3
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.
Black Betty 4
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.
Black Betty 7
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