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Buffed: A Muscular Bonneville T120 from Old Empire

A muscular custom Bonneville T120 from Old Empire Motorcycles
The phones ran hot at Old Empire Motorcycles after they released their T120 collaboration with Triumph last year. So the English workshop decided to build a more useable and refined version, with similar aesthetics—and creature comforts like lights.

Here it is, and very classy it looks too: a Bonneville that has signed up to the gym, and gained a sleeker, more muscular mien.

A muscular custom Bonneville T120 from Old Empire Motorcycles
A current-spec T120 was purchased and delivered to OEM’s headquarters in the historic country town of Diss. The chaps started the strip down, but with more care than usual: “The build brief was to keep mad modifications to a minimum,” says founder Alec Sharp. “We achieved the ‘line’ by dropping the front end and replacing the rear shocks with uprated Fox units.”

The back end was sliced and diced: a new hoop was made, and machined in sections to accommodate a Z-Flex LED light strip—which includes both the rear brake lights and indicators.

A muscular custom Bonneville T120 from Old Empire Motorcycles
There’s a new hand-formed aluminum seat pan, foamed for a lower profile perch and covered in diamond-stitched waterproof suede leather. The iconic T120 tank was left unmolested though, apart from de-badging and the removal of the kneepads—so it retains its 3.4-gallon (12.8 liter) fuel capacity.

The stock exhaust system was binned, along with the catalytic converter, and a new big-bore, mandrel bent stainless system made up. Internal baffling keeps the noise levels down…a little.

A muscular custom Bonneville T120 from Old Empire Motorcycles
A new remote master cylinder, bolted onto a custom-made bracket under the sump, now occupies the space vacated under the engine. This relocation was probably the trickiest modification, aside from the bars and controls.

OEM ditched the old bars and risers and replaced them with their own proprietary items, plus their ‘Ultimate’ control sets with internal wiring to a Motogadget m.unit. (It’s hidden under the seat, and neatly spliced into the original loom.)

A muscular custom Bonneville T120 from Old Empire Motorcycles
The throttle has been converted back to cable, which runs under the tank into the side panel—where a neat little unit utilizes the fly by wire operation to be actuated by the new cables.

The instruments themselves have been moved, along with the ignition switch. That’s now on a bracket above the gearbox, with the instruments sitting on custom mountings fabricated into the new headlight. The headlight also has built-in indictors and an LED main and dip beam.

A muscular custom Bonneville T120 from Old Empire Motorcycles
Classic leather grips (and pegs) match the leather on the seat, and a good splash of Black Shuck gloss black paint with gold pinstripes sets the whole thing off.

This might be a ‘budget’ build by OEM’s usual standards, but they haven’t skimped on the details. Little things like a brass water filler cap and a side-mounted tin number plate help make this T120 look a million dollars—or rather, pounds sterling.

A muscular custom Bonneville T120 from Old Empire Motorcycles
The rubber is now a little more aggressive than stock: Metzeler’s Enduro 3 pattern, a dual sport compound designed for both tarmac and gravel surfaces. And to ensure the T120 has the performance to match its newfound looks, the engine fuelling is now controlled by a Power Commander.

Some of the parts from this build are now available on OEM’s web shop. “Although each build is unique, we’ve realized people like the small details we create,” says Alec. “But don’t worry: we’ve still got a heap of more ‘extreme’ builds to chew through!”

A muscular custom Bonneville T120 from Old Empire Motorcycles

Those high-end builds are for an exclusive clientale that wants only the best. But for the rest of us, the prospect of turning an already exceptional bike into something extra special is pretty appealing.

If you’ve got a T120 in your garage and want to make it stand out even more, you know who to call.

Old Empire Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram

A muscular custom Bonneville T120 from Old Empire Motorcycles

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Builders Custom Motorcycles Editorial Other Motorcycle Blogs

2018 Indian Motorcycle Models Update

Indian Motorcycle previously announced its MY18 line-up in July, but chose to announce further updates in November during the EICMA show in Milan. For this new model year Indian has introduced the Scout Bobber, while the Roadmaster Elite packs all the bells and whistles…

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Builders Custom Motorcycles Customs Other Motorcycle Blogs Wheels

Fast Motorcycle Industry News

The All-New Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 Twin HaveAa USA Target Availability The Second Half of 2018 With A Target Price Of Less Than $7,000. Distinctive from the rest of the Royal Enfield line of single-cylinder 500 cc classic machines, these 2 new…

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Cruising Other Motorcycle Blogs

Review Of The 2001 Honda Rebel 250—From The Archives

Bikes

The rebel still rolls

We take a closer look at Honda’s 2001 small displacement bike, the Rebel 250, to see how this bike rolls.
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Moto Where Motorcycle Travel Other Motorcycle Blogs

Bunya Trip

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Length: 257.62km / 161.01mi

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Harley-Davidson Adjustable Pushrod Installation Quick Tip

When three hands are needed and you only have two

While installing a Screamin’ Eagle Stage II Torque Kit on our Harley-Davidson Street Bob, Jon McDevitt shows us how to make the adjustment of the new pushrods easier…
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Northern Thailand Loop

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Tagged with: On Road, Scenic, Twisty, Intermediate, Rural, Low traffic, Good visibility, Low-enforcement, Good surface

Length: 844.42km / 527.76mi

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BikeExif BMW motorcycles bobber Classic Motorcycles Kontrast Kreations Other Motorcycle Blogs Restomod

Old Timer: This Swiss BMW Restomod is just Perfekt

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle
It’s tough to get a restomod right. An authentic nuts-and-bolts restoration is more work, but at least you have a blueprint to follow. Knowing how much ‘mod’ to add to the mix—without treading on the spirit of the original—is an art.

Some BMW historians might baulk at the sight of a vintage boxer with even a single mod. But we’re giving Ramon Seiler of Kontrast Kreations ten out of ten for this delightful petrol-blue bobber. Especially since it started out as a pick-n-mix basket case.

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle
Photographer Marc Schneider tells us how bad it was: “This bike started life as a barn find BMW R51/2 with parts from a variety of vintage BMW motorcycles. The tank was from a R50, the gearbox from a R51/3, the ignition case cover was broken, and fins were missing from both cylinders.”

“It was clear to Ramon that the bike needed a full rebuild.”

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle
The bike’s new owner wasn’t keen on returning it to stock, so Ramon had some freedom to reimagine the vintage Beemer. But first, he had some repairing to do.

Luckily, he’s no stranger to old vehicles. The last build we featured from him was a custom BMW, but he spends most of his time restoring classic cars and motorcycles from a workshop in the village of Bonstetten, near Zürich in Switzerland.

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle
He took apart the engine and gearbox, and rebuilt them with new seals. Then he painstakingly soldered and filed the broken case and missing fins, until it was impossible to tell that they’d ever been damaged.

The cylinders got a fresh coat of paint, but the engine cases were left alone—to keep them looking their age. “Ramon wanted a custom rebuild and not a ‘like-factory-new’ restoration,” Marc tells us. “The pedigree of that vintage BMW had to be maintained in every aspect.”

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle
The R51/2 was only produced in 1950 and 1951, so there aren’t many around. And as you’d expect, parts are hard to come by. But since this one was already a mash up of various BMW bits, Ramon had no qualms continuing the theme.

So he sourced some parts from the R51/2’s successor—the R51/3. These included a fuel tank, valve covers and a set of spoked wheels. The bike came with a pair of rare Phono exhausts, so those stayed.

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle
Just about everything on the old boxer needed welding, straightening or general wizardry to get it up to par. The wheels were relaced with new spokes, and repainted in semi-gloss black. A new wiring harness was made up, running close to the frame with neat hose clamps keeping it in check.

Ramon also ditched all the worn-out rubber bits, like the seat and knee pads. He fabbed up a new seat pan to sit on the stock mounts, then made a pair of aluminum pieces for the tank.

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle
Everything was then sent to a local upholsterer to be wrapped in brown leather. The effect is mimicked up top with a pair of Brooks bicycle grips; the throttle and grips both had to be modified to work together.

During the build, Ramon realized that the R51/2’s frame looked neat without the rear fender and the complex set of brackets that holds it. Running the bike fenderless wasn’t an option, so he found a solution that would work with the Beemer’s plunger rear suspension.

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle
A problem arose: the original fender was fixed to the frame, but the new design had to hug the rear tire and travel with it.

Ramon shaped a new fender from aluminum, then attached it to the final drive via a custom-made mount at the back, and to the frame via a steel hinge at the front. Between the hinge and the natural flex of the aluminum, the fender now syncs with the travel of the wheel, without any hassle.

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle
There’s also a custom-made license plate bracket out back, and a Bates-style tail light mounted up top. The tail light came kitted with LEDs out the box, but Ramon was dead set on keeping everything as vintage as possible, so he retro-fitted a 6V bulb.

He’s kept the same philosophy up front. Rather than upgrade the entire cockpit with modern components, the headlight (and the speedo embedded in it) are still original.

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle
“You still advance your ignition timing by hand,” says Marc, “and the speedo needs some love from time to time!”

One thing Ramon did want to change though, was the BMW’s iconic black-with-white-striping paint job. Petrol blue turned out to be the perfect substitute: it’s the least subtle change on the entire build, but it hasn’t dampened the vintage appeal.

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle
“It’s not about making riding or maintenance easier, or getting that ‘factory look’ after hours of sandblasting,” says Marc. “It’s about preserving a vintage pedigree, the story of the bike, and the ingenuity that made BMW motorcycles so special back in the day.”

“It might be a mix of two different BMWs, in a bobber-like package with hipster exhaust wrap. But it still is (and always will be) a barn find—a 1950s vintage bike, with a story yet to tell.”

Kontrast Kreations | Instagram | Images by Marc Schneider | Instagram

Vintage BMW R51/2 restomod motorcycle

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Arai Arai DT-X Helmet Arai Helmets Full-Face Helmet Reviews Gear Reviews helmet Motorcycle Helmet Reviews Other Motorcycle Blogs Web Bike World

The All New Arai DT-X Helmet Review

The All New Arai DT-X Helmet – Torrent White

For those of you not familiar with Arai Helmets, they are a Japanese company who has been around since 1926.

Arai helmets are all hand built and are designed to meet or beat SNELL safety standards. They are a family-owned company, with a strong belief in high quality control and safety.

We have reviewed numerous Arai helmets over the years and have consistently found them to be high-quality units that offer the very best in protection and rider comfort. Let’s see if the DT-X follows that tradition.

At a price point starting at $589.95 MSRP, the all-new Arai DT-X (DownTown-X) is Arai’s entry level helmet a level up from the Vector 2. It sits below the Signet-X and Quantum-X.

Arai has just revamped the DT-X and packed it full of sweet features: Antimicrobial Interior Material – keeps the inside of the helmet from smelling like a gym sock, A PB-SCLC Shell – increases the strength and safety by allowing for better impact absorption, Variable Axis Shield System – the design results in a smoother shell which will increase the helmet’s ability to brush off objects during impact (avoiding snags), One Piece Multi Density EPS liner – helps minimize the helmet size and weight for added comfort, Dual Flow Ventilation – Increased airflow and exhaust make for a more comfortable ride, especially in warmer weather, 5MM Peel Away Temple and Cheek Pads – fine tune the fit of the interior of the DT-X, DOT, ECE and Snell Certified (learn why that’s important).

Helmet Fit

The DT-X is available in sizes XXS-XXL and it’s shape is intermediate oval.

Arai Helmet Shape Guide

Arai Helmet Shape Guide

I’m a big guy at 6’2 240 lbs with an intermediate oval shaped head. My typical helmet size is XL for most brands. Just for comparison, I own a Shoei GT-Air Helmet that fits in XL that fits my head shape quite well. The DT-X in XL actually fit me quite well but as with all helmets, I recommend trying them on to determine if it fits properly.

One area that was a bit snugger than I like was the cheek pad. I found my cheeks to be overflowing over the top of the pad. Luckily, the cheek pads are adjustable and I was able to peel away about 5mm which wound up being a perfect fit for me.

The temple pads can also be peeled way to relieve some pressure, but I did not find a need for this during my test.

After making the adjustment on the cheek pad the interior of the helmet fit me quite nicely. One other area where the DT-X shines is there is a groove built in that seems like a natural fit for eye / sunglasses.

I was able to put on a pair of Ray Ban aviators quite nicely without adding any additional pressure onto my head.

Paint, Graphics and Overall Quality

The DT-X comes in a wide range of new color schemes. White, black, black frost, guard red, guard green and guard white frost.

Arai Helmet Color Guide

The helmet we received is a new color scheme called Torrent White. It is a glossy white paint scheme with grey, off white and silver graphics. The graphics are painted and then glossed over which adds a layer of protection to prevent chipping.


Where to Buy Arai DT-X Helmet

Check Reviews & Prices on Amazon
Check Reviews & Prices On RevZilla

See More Motorcycle Helmets at RevZilla and Amazon


Arai FT-X in Torrent White

From a looks perspective, I would have liked a tinted visor rather than clear but that can always be swapped out or fitted with the VAS Pro Shade System.

Paint, Graphics and Overall Quality

The DT-X has a ton of ventilation points.

  • There are 2 brow vents to circulate air around the forehead / temple region.
  • The chin vent has 2 positions to direct air around the chin or upwards to help with fogging.
  • A dual purpose vent on top, when riding upright,allows for air to flow in and out.
  • An intake vent in the rear helmet is used when riding in a more aggressive stance. It allows you to open up 2 vents to maximize airflow and exhaust through the rear of the helmet.
  • The crown and rear intakes push air through the liner and exhausts the air through holes in the lining which allows for more circulation within the lining. The air is then pushed out through one of the 5 exhaust vents around the helmet.
Arai DT-X Ventilation Pattern

With the exception of the two bottom rear vents, each one can be opened and closed with ease. The only one I had a bit of trouble with was the top rear vent, but that was more due to me not being familiar with the helmet.

I tested this helmet for 2 hours in 75 degree somewhat muggy weather in New York. The air was a bit thicker than normal due to some rain over the last few days.

Full disclosure, nearly every helmet I’ve ever owned has tended to fog rather quickly however. The DT-X held it’s own and once the fog started to build a bit I was able to open up the brow vents and defog them relatively quickly.

Helmet Weight

The DT-Xi is made out of lightweight fiberglass. The helmet weighs in at 3 lbs 9 ozs which puts it right in the weight range of the most other Arai helmets.

I wouldn’t consider this a “lightweight” helmet, but it is definitely one that you can wear comfortably for long periods of time.

Face Shield

I am a bit biased on this because I lean towards using a tinted visor during my daytime rides. The stock visor is clear, meaning that you’ll need sunglasses to ride comfortably when the sun’s out.

However,the DT-X uses the Variable Axis Shield system that will allow you to swap out visors without any tools. You can always run the VAS Pro Shade system that will allow you run multiple visors without having to stop and swap.

According to Arai it also allows for a smoother shell in the temple area for added comfort.

There is a single black tab right below the visor that you will need to push in that will pop the cover off. With the cover off, just push the tab once more and the visor will pop off quite easily.


Where to Buy Arai DT-X Helmet

Check Reviews & Prices on Amazon
Check Reviews & Prices On RevZilla

See More Motorcycle Helmets at RevZilla and Amazon


DT-X Helmet Tabs

Visibility

From a visibility standpoint, the face shield and eye holes are wide enough to have minimal visibility issues. I was able to maintain my peripherals quite well and had full view of the road ahead.

I did however had a hard time getting an easy look at the instrument panel. I feel like the mouth / chin protector is a little larger than I like and may have affected my view. Definitely not a game changer, just something to be on the lookout for when giving the helmet a test run.

Noise Levels

On a typical ride, I usually have all vents open because I prefer airflow in exchange for some ride noise. With all vents open I found the sound levels extremely minimal and quiet. It would make an excellent choice for a long bike tour.

Gallery

IMG_4917IMG_4919IMG_4921IMG_4922IMG_4923IMG_4924IMG_4926IMG_4927IMG_4928IMG_4931IMG_4957IMG_4932IMG_4933IMG_4934IMG_4935IMG_4936IMG_4942IMG_4946IMG_4947IMG_4949IMG_4951IMG_4952IMG_4953IMG_4956

Conclusion

Arai really knocked it out of the park with the DT-X. Low noise, comfortable, looks cool, well ventilated, high quality, and an affordable price tag. The only drawback to me is the clear visor, but really it’s just a matter of preference and is easily swappable.

For any rider looking for a versatile helmet I am hard pressed find any drawbacks about the DT-X and feel comfortable recommending it to any rider.

wBW Review: Arai DT-X Helmet
Manufacturer: Arai Helmet Ltd. MSRP: $589.95 – $729.95
Colors: Solids and Graphics Made In: Japan
Sizes: XXS-XXL Review Date: Oct 24th, 2017
Shell Size : Intermediate Oval
Note: Item provided by a retailer, distributor or manufacturer with these Terms and Conditions.

The post The All New Arai DT-X Helmet Review appeared first on Web Bike World.

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Accessories Custom Motorcycles Customs Editorial Other Motorcycle Blogs

Side Hinge Ignition Switch And Saddlebag Lock Kit

Protect your investment with a Side Hinge Ignition Switch and Saddlebag Lock Kit from Drag Specialties. This kit provides a convenient way to lock your saddlebags with the same key that is used for your ignition switch. Kit includes two chrome saddlebag locks and one…

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