Category: USA

Categories
BikeExif Cleveland Cyclewerks Custom Motorcycles Indonesia Other Motorcycle Blogs USA

Feelin’ Funny with Cleveland CycleWerks

The incredible Cleveland Cyclewerks 'Flying Rooster,' a one-off custom tribute to the Funny Car drag racers of the 1970s.
The 1970s was the golden era of gasoline. And the fumes were strongest on the drag strip, where Funny Cars ruled supreme.

Names like “Jungle Jim” Liberman and Don “The Snake” Prudhomme are the stuff of legend. And word of those legends has travelled to unlikely places—such as the back streets of Yogyakarta, the Indonesian city famous for its temples and Javanese culture. Which is where this remarkable bike was built.

The incredible Cleveland Cyclewerks 'Flying Rooster,' a one-off custom tribute to the Funny Car drag racers of the 1970s.
The story of ‘Flying Rooster’ starts with Scott Colosimo of Cleveland CycleWerks. From his Ohio base, Scott designs and sells low-cost, stylish bikes with a strong custom or retro vibe.

So when it came to launch the CCW brand in Southeast Asia, Scott chose Yogyakarta’s popular Kustomfest show. He gave bikes to ten of Indonesia’s best builders, and flew out Roland Sands to help with the judging.

The incredible Cleveland Cyclewerks 'Flying Rooster,' a one-off custom tribute to the Funny Car drag racers of the 1970s.
Flying Rooster took third place, but for us it’s the standout from the competition entries. It’s a genre-busting, radical effort from local builder Rizqi Pratama of Lemb Inc, based on CCW’s 250cc Heist model.

“The builders were all given the same budget with a tight one-month timeframe,” says Scott. “And every bike had to be ridden to Kustomfest to be eligible for judging.”

The incredible Cleveland Cyclewerks 'Flying Rooster,' a one-off custom tribute to the Funny Car drag racers of the 1970s.
“Rizqi is an artist and craftsman. Out of necessity, he ‘does it all.’ He’s one of those guys that can draw, design, weld, shape foam, lay fiberglass, pull molds, paint, stripe and dry brush.”

For his benchmark, Rizqi chose American drag cars. ‘Flying Rooster’ even has a wacky name to match: the hinged bodywork looks like a rooster in flight, with a long neck and wings folded down behind the engine. When the quick-release fiberglass body is propped up, all the mechanical components are accessible.

The incredible Cleveland Cyclewerks 'Flying Rooster,' a one-off custom tribute to the Funny Car drag racers of the 1970s.
There’s so much custom work on the bike, it’s hard to know where to start.

The entire motor was torn down, repainted, polished and detailed to match the theme of the bike. The secondary air injection is now housed inside a hand-hammered enclosure and the carburetor has been totally reworked, to eke out every bit of performance from the air-cooled single.

The incredible Cleveland Cyclewerks 'Flying Rooster,' a one-off custom tribute to the Funny Car drag racers of the 1970s.
A new rear-wheel-and-drum-brake combo adds to the retro feel, along with the turned and knurled pegs of the custom rearsets. Even the kickstand and gear shift linkages are hand fabricated, and the drive gearing has been changed from stock.

The incredible Cleveland Cyclewerks 'Flying Rooster,' a one-off custom tribute to the Funny Car drag racers of the 1970s.
Rizqi has narrowed the front end, and installed new triple trees. The forks are custom too, and everything from the headlight shroud to the hubs has been chromed.

The angular exhaust system is hand-bent, and the inside has been painted to match the bodywork color.

The incredible Cleveland Cyclewerks 'Flying Rooster,' a one-off custom tribute to the Funny Car drag racers of the 1970s.
The star of the show is the extraordinary glasswork, though. Rizqi added hard foam to the stock Heist and hand-shaped it before laying a fiberglass mold on top. The seat hides a new gas tank, lifted from a scooter.

The entire unit is structural and designed to take the rider’s weight, with aluminum bracing and fire-resistant heat shielding underneath. It’s like a slammed Triumph X75 Hurricane with the volume turned up to 11.

Flying Rooster probably won’t run a quarter mile in five seconds. But in creativity stakes, it’s miles ahead of most customs. We have a funny feeling we’ll be hearing more about Mr Pratama in the months to come.

Cleveland CycleWerks website | Facebook page | Rizqi Pratama on Instagram

The incredible Cleveland Cyclewerks 'Flying Rooster,' a one-off custom tribute to the Funny Car drag racers of the 1970s.

Categories
Belgium BikeExif Custom Motorcycles Harley-Davidson Other Motorcycle Blogs USA

This Harley Street 750 is a blast from the past

Joeri Van Ouytsel's stunning old school racer, based on a Harley Street 750.
What’s the best-looking Harley-Davidson of all time? We’d put our money on the XRTT road racer from the 1970s: the one with the sleek fiberglass fairing, orange-and-black paint and Ceriani drum brakes.

Many of those original 750s were destroyed in action. Probably less than 25 remain, and to put one in your garage would cost $100,000 or more. But you can get a little of that XRTT style for much less, as this Harley Street 750 shows.

Joeri Van Ouytsel's stunning old school racer, based on a Harley Street 750.
The bike was built by Joeri Van Ouytsel, a Belgian mechanic who owns a garage in the tiny town of Tessenderlo. Only the frame and engine remain from the original Street 750.

The 30-liter tank is from a Laverda—exact model unknown—and immediately gives the Street 750 an old-school racer look. It’s more angular than the XRTT original, and Joeri has grafted on a shorter tail unit to match.

Joeri Van Ouytsel's stunning old school racer, based on a Harley Street 750.
The fairing comes from a Paton, and cost less than $500. It’s been reshaped to fit the Street 750, and hides the bulky frame downtubes and radiator. The stock bars have been replaced with Triumph clip-ons.

Joeri Van Ouytsel's stunning old school racer, based on a Harley Street 750.
The standard 17- and 15-inch cast aluminum wheels are gone, replaced by symmetrical 16-inch rims. They’re classic 40-spoke laced items taken from an older Harley Sportster.

Joeri Van Ouytsel's stunning old school racer, based on a Harley Street 750.
The exhaust headers are old aftermarket items, matched to custom pipes and mufflers. (Joeri’s attention to detail even carries through to the exhaust wrap, which is immaculately layered.)

Joeri Van Ouytsel's stunning old school racer, based on a Harley Street 750.
Joeri has also made the foot controls from scratch, creating a traditional racer-style body position.

At the back you’ll spot piggyback shocks from a Harley XR1200—with springs repainted to match the bodywork. The brake lines are also color-matched, another neat touch.

Joeri Van Ouytsel's stunning old school racer, based on a Harley Street 750.
The factory Street 750 has nimble handling by Harley standards, with relatively light weight and a center of gravity that feels low. So Joeri’s homage to the XRTT is likely to be a fun ride.

It’s probably a little easier to maintain than a classic racer too.

All photos © Mike Van Cleven | BIKE-TECH Motorcycles

Joeri Van Ouytsel's stunning old school racer, based on a Harley Street 750.

Categories
BikeExif Custom Motorcycles Ducati Italy Other Motorcycle Blogs USA

Dreamliner: a Ducati-powered custom from Deus

This incredible Ducati Monster-powered custom was built by Deus in LA and inspired by the raw, mechanical feel of 1960s Chevys.
Most customs are a compromise between form and function. Michael Woolaway is firmly on the side of function—so we’re guessing this new build from Deus’ LA workshop is a blast to ride.

The vibe is raw and mechanical. “I wanted to recreate the feel of a 1960s Ferrari, or the Chevys that I grew up with,” says Woolie. “When you opened up the hood, all you found was a motor, coils, distributor, and a battery. Just what you need, and no more.”

This incredible Ducati Monster-powered custom was built by Deus in LA and inspired by the raw, mechanical feel of 1960s Chevys.
A quick look at the engine casings of ‘Dreamliner’ will reveal Ducati power. But the rest of the bike is a ground-up build.

“I asked the customer how he wanted to use the bike, and what performance and ergonomics he expected,” says Woolie. “The first brand that came to mind was Ducati.”

The client wasn’t after heaps of horsepower, though. So Woolie went with an older, 750cc two-valve motor for its simplicity.

This incredible Ducati Monster-powered custom was built by Deus in LA and inspired by the raw, mechanical feel of 1960s Chevys.
The air-cooled, 90-degree desmo V-twin has been rebuilt from the ground up. Woolie’s also modified the intake manifolds, so he could replace the usual 38 mm Mikunis with a set of Keihin FCR flatslides.

The exhaust headers are custom, inspired by the 1970s Imola Desmo racebike, and hooked up to a pair of Cone Engineering mufflers.

This incredible Ducati Monster-powered custom was built by Deus in LA and inspired by the raw, mechanical feel of 1960s Chevys.
The frame itself is incredibly light—a one-off chromoly unit—and attached to a set of conventional Öhlins forks. They’ve been re-valved by Ed Sorbo at Lindemann Engineering, and adjusted for the owner’s weight. The rear shock is a custom-built item from former flat track racer Jimmy Wood at Race Tech.

Handling is sporty, as you’d expect from a builder who owns only race bikes, and no road bikes. “The geometry is very similar to the Ducati 916RS,” says Woolie. “It has a 24-degree head angle, a 56-inch wheelbase and fully adjustable swingarm angles.”

This incredible Ducati Monster-powered custom was built by Deus in LA and inspired by the raw, mechanical feel of 1960s Chevys.
For the bodywork, Woolie rolled the tank and seat out of super-strong 1100 aluminum alloy. He’s used Kushitani waterproof leather for the seat pad, and finished it off with double tuck stitching.

Woolie likes to use USA-made parts as much as possible, and to support people he knows. “Just as I was scratching my head about what wheels to use, into the shop walks Sandy Kosman from Kosman Specialties.

This incredible Ducati Monster-powered custom was built by Deus in LA and inspired by the raw, mechanical feel of 1960s Chevys.
“I hadn’t seen him since 1978 ,when he built a wheel for my Norton 850 road racer—and here he was, dropping by for a visit! Sandy ended up building me a set of 17-inch tubeless spoke wheels with full floating rotors.”

The triple clamps are from Richard Pollock of Mule Motorcycles, another old friend from Woolie’s flat track days. Rizoma provided the rear-sets and a mirror, while LSL supplied the clip-ons. The speedo is a digital Acewell item.

This incredible Ducati Monster-powered custom was built by Deus in LA and inspired by the raw, mechanical feel of 1960s Chevys.
When breaking in the bike, Woolie used Michelin Pilot Power One race rubber. He’s now switched to more practical (but still grippy) Pilot Power 3 road tires.

Grip is important, because the Dreamliner is no slowcoach. “She’s small and rides like a 250 GP bike—tight and able to take input well, with 70hp and a bit of an attitude.”

If you’re lucky enough to live within riding distance of LA, clear your diary for Saturday 24 January. The Ducati will be the star of the Randuno Ducati event at the Deus store in Venice Beach.

Deus Ex Machina | Facebook | Instagram | Woolie’s Workshop Instagram

This incredible Ducati Monster-powered custom was built by Deus in LA and inspired by the raw, mechanical feel of 1960s Chevys.

Categories
BikeExif Custom Motorcycles Japan Kawasaki motorcycles Other Motorcycle Blogs USA

70s Muscle: Santiago’s Kawasaki Z1000 cafe racer

Santiago Chopper's stunning Kawasaki Z1000 cafe racer.
If the sixties was the heyday for muscle cars, the seventies was the era of superbikes. Cars that could run the quarter mile in 13 seconds were considered fast, but the Kawasaki H1 and Honda CB750 were equally rapid.

Then the literbike inline fours arrived—like the Kawasaki Z1000. And the Camaros, Corvettes and ‘Cudas were left for dead.

Santiago Chopper's stunning Kawasaki Z1000 cafe racer.
Today, a mid-70s KZ1000 still oozes charisma. You can pick one up for around $3,000, and it’ll draw a bigger crowd in the parking lot than any modern superbike.

What it won’t do, though, is handle like a modern bike. So Alain Bernard of Santiago Chopper has taken a ‘77 Zed and given it a modern café racer treatment. As well as boosting the engine, he’s given it a huge upgrade in the suspension department.

Santiago Chopper's stunning Kawasaki Z1000 cafe racer.
Wisely, he’s started with the frame. It’s braced and strengthened with extra welding to reduce twisting—“just like we did in the 1970s,” says Bernard.

To make the most of the stiffer frame, Bernard has fitted Ducati suspension: a complete Monster front end, and a single-sided Monster 796 swingarm. Rubber is Pirelli Diablo Rosso.

The 1015 cc motor has been punched out to 1135cc with a Wiseco big bore kit, with pistons four millimeters wider than stock. The new pistons also raise the compression ratio from 8.7:1 to 10.25:1, and are matched to Yoshimura high performance cams.

Santiago Chopper's stunning Kawasaki Z1000 cafe racer.
New Mikuni 38mm carbs keep the engine well fed, with sparks controlled by a Dyna electronic ignition system. The exhaust is a mix of custom-fabricated pipes and some Hayabusa parts.

No power figures are quoted, but we’re betting the factory figure of 83hp is now sitting closer to 100. Or even more.

Santiago Chopper's stunning Kawasaki Z1000 cafe racer.
The Z1000 has always been a great-looking bike, so the bodywork is one element that didn’t require a café racer makeover. Still, Bernard has fitted completely new plastic from a Japanese specialist. The Z1000 looks as just fresh as it did nearly forty years ago.

The bike is for sale for $18,000, which is roughly what you’d pay for a new Vulcan 1700 Voyager cruiser. Which would you rather take?

Santiago Chopper | Images courtesy of Erick Runyon | Erick Runyon Facebook page

Santiago Chopper's stunning Kawasaki Z1000 cafe racer.

Categories
BikeExif Custom Motorcycles Harley-Davidson Other Motorcycle Blogs USA

Pata Negra: Speed Merchant’s Black Pig

Pata Negra: Speed Merchant's 'Black Pig' is a custom Harley Sportster with a tracker vibe.
As custom Harleys go, we like ours lean and sporty. This street tracker from Speed Merchant hits the spot perfectly.

Based in California, Speed Merchant produces bolt-on bits for select Triumph and Harley-Davidson models. Brandon Holstein—one third of the Speed Merchant team—handles all fabrication under the Brawny Built moniker.

Pata Negra: Speed Merchant's 'Black Pig' is a custom Harley Sportster with a tracker vibe.
“Our friend, Chef Sean Yontz, wanted to do something different with his recently acquired, 2005-model Sportster,” says Brandon. “He wanted a mix of a few different Sportsters that I have built in the past. So I took a little from each of my previous builds, and incorporated them into his new bike.”

Sean only had three requests: the bike should be black, and he wanted rear-set pegs and a number plate up front.

While the actual build time equated to less than six months, the project itself took two and a half years to complete. “I chipped away at it little by little,” explains Brandon. “And by doing this, it actually went though some major changes—some of which make the build so much better.”

Pata Negra: Speed Merchant's 'Black Pig' is a custom Harley Sportster with a tracker vibe.
Halfway through the build, Brandon realised that he wasn’t happy with the stock fuel tank. Luckily a good friend donated an almost-complete XR-style tank. All it needed was a filler, tunnel and mounting points.

Once the tank was finished and mounted, Brandon focussed on building an aluminum tail section. “It had to be narrow to match the tank. So to do this, I had to ditch the stock oil tank and battery set-up—they were just too wide in my opinion.”

Pata Negra: Speed Merchant's 'Black Pig' is a custom Harley Sportster with a tracker vibe.
A new oil tank was made from aluminum, and an Anti-Gravity battery installed in a new location. Once that was done, a new subframe was built to hold everything together. Other custom-made parts include the skid plate, and the curvaceous two-into-one stainless steel exhaust system.

Brandon decided to tear into the engine too. He bored it out to 1200cc using Wiseco reverse-domed pistons with a 10:1 compression ratio, and upgraded the cams to Andrews N4 items—a combo he’s used before. He also installed a Chopper Daves air cleaner, and converted the final drive from belt to chain.

Pata Negra: Speed Merchant's 'Black Pig' is a custom Harley Sportster with a tracker vibe.
The front-end was treated to a set of Speed Merchant Speed Trees and preload adjusters. A pair of 19” Harley-Davidson wheels were fitted, shod with Maxxis dirt-track tyres. They’re now equipped with Tokico brake calipers, mounted on Speed Merchant radial mount brackets.

The Sporty’s been sprinkled with top-shelf components to finish it off: Magura handlebars, Motion Pro grips and Accossato hand controls. The rear-set foot controls are a mix of Storz Performance and Speed Merchant items. As per Sean’s brief, Brandon fitted a number plate up front, equipped with a Lazer Star light.

speed-merchant-harley-7
Sean’s Harley’s been dubbed “Pata Negra”. It’s Spanish for “the black hoof”, named for the prized Iberico ham that’s made exclusively from black Iberian pigs.

True to its name, it’s been painted in layers of gloss and matte black, executed by Matt at Colorzone Designs. The pin striping was handled by Pacman Line and Lettering.

Pata Negra: Speed Merchant's 'Black Pig' is a custom Harley Sportster with a tracker vibe.
According to Brandon, the Sporty would have turned out very differently had the project been rushed. But Sean’s got a little more waiting to do—he’s still recovering from a bad accident that left his leg broken in two places.

We wish him all the best for his recovery. And once he’s able to swing a leg over Pata Negra, we reckon it’s going to be impossible to get him off.

Speed Merchant website | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Jose Gallina

Pata Negra: Speed Merchant's 'Black Pig' is a custom Harley Sportster with a tracker vibe.

Categories
BikeExif Custom Motorcycles Japan Kawasaki motorcycles Other Motorcycle Blogs USA

Low rider: Classified Moto’s Kawasaki Zephyr

Classified Moto's radical Kawasaki custom—complete with Suzuki GSX-R front end.
The Zephyr ZR750 is one of the best secondhand buys around. Twenty years ago, it left road testers lukewarm—but today, owners love them. And you can get an absolutely mint early 90s example for around $2,000.

That’s when the economics of the custom motorcycle business start making sense. And no one knows this better than John Ryland—the man behind Classified Moto, and the builder of this ’92 ZR750 C2.

Classified Moto's radical Kawasaki custom—complete with Suzuki GSX-R front end.
Before Ryland was ejected from his advertising job a few years ago, he worked with a lady called Norma Kwee. So when Norma found herself in LA with a new job but no motorcycle, she called up her old buddy John. And convinced him to build this very smart Kawasaki custom.

“Despite her larger-than-life personality, Norma has a very compact frame,” says John. “So our first job was to make the 450-pound Zephyr as low and light as possible.”

Classified Moto's radical Kawasaki custom—complete with Suzuki GSX-R front end.
The Kawasaki now sports a Suzuki GSX-R front end, relatively low profile tires, and adjustable shocks. There’s a custom seat from Roy Baird, with the bare minimum of foam, so Norma can keep both feet flat on the ground at stop lights.

“The ZR750 is actually a pretty good platform,” says John. “The components feel premium, it’s smooth, and it makes plenty of power. The only thing that really cramped our style was the huge fuel tank.”

After some messing around with Sharpies, John and his head mechanic Danik Herashchanka took the tank to Clay Rathburn of Atom Bomb.

Classified Moto's radical Kawasaki custom—complete with Suzuki GSX-R front end.
“This was the first time Clay and worked on anything together. After a failed attempt at being rivals, we now join forces regularly—and it’s great.” Clay sliced the curves off the sides of the tank and shaped some concave panels to tuck things in nicely, while keeping the look raw.

Other mods are a new subframe designed to fit Norma’s physique, a simplified wiring harness hooked up to a tiny Shorai battery, and a custom intake system. (“It has a single unit for all four carbs, and it’s way easier to tune than separate pod filters.”)

It’s not a megabuck build, but it looks a million dollars. Hats off to Ms Kwee for giving Classified Moto free rein.

Classified Moto website | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Adam Ewing

Classified Moto's radical Kawasaki custom—complete with Suzuki GSX-R front end.

Categories
BikeExif BMW motorcycles Custom Motorcycles Germany Other Motorcycle Blogs USA

The Bison: Revival’s custom BMW R nineT

The Bison: Revival Cycles' remarkable custom BMW R nineT.
Right now, I’m betting there’s an air of quiet satisfaction in the design department of BMW Motorrad. The R nineT, a long shot on the part of Ola Stenegard and Edgar Heinrich, has been an extraordinary success.

Thirteen months ago, the first R nineT rolled off BMW’s Berlin production line. Since then, we’ve lusted after ‘official’ custom projects from leading workshops in Europe and Japan.

The Bison: Revival Cycles' remarkable custom BMW R nineT.
Now we’re seeing everyday R nineT riders taking their bikes to the next level. And that’s exactly the result Stenegard and co. wanted.

This machine, from Texas-based Revival Cycles and nicknamed The Bison, is one of the best yet. “The bike came to us with just over 800 miles on the clock,” says Revival’s Alan Stulberg.

The Bison: Revival Cycles' remarkable custom BMW R nineT.
“The owner wanted to remove a bit of the factory clutter, and add some features that suited his lifestyle. He’s a computer programmer and often works remotely, so the ability to carry his laptop (and a book or two) was at the top of his priority list.”

It’s the custom-made pannier bag draws the eye first. Made from bison leather, it hides an internal stainless frame—but it’s light and simple to remove. The grips and seat are covered in the same bison hide for consistency.

The Bison: Revival Cycles' remarkable custom BMW R nineT.
The other changes are less visible, but far more radical. “The idea was to make subtle changes, while respecting the beautiful factory bike,” says Stulberg.

So: just check that new exhaust system. BMW gives you different options when you configure your R nineT from the factory, but this custom-built system is something else.

The Bison: Revival Cycles' remarkable custom BMW R nineT.
The pipework snakes up and over the engine, exposing the beautiful finned oil pan on the bottom of the cases.

“I can see why nobody else has attempted this,” says Stulberg, “because running that hot exhaust under the tank and through the center of the bike required a LOT of planning.”

The Bison: Revival Cycles' remarkable custom BMW R nineT.
Revival had to relocate a lot of the electrics and electronics, and have used shrouding to prevent problems with heat. They’ve also ditched the front plastic engine cover, beating a new one out of aluminum.

The exhaust pipes are equal-length stainless steel, and under the tank they’ve been wrapped with five different metal and fiberglass panels. Since the pannier is on the right, the exhaust crosses over to the left, and it’s terminated with a custom silencer that can be tuned for backpressure and noise with baffled discs—Supertrapp-style.

The Bison: Revival Cycles' remarkable custom BMW R nineT.
Revival have also created a new stainless steel intake system, which holds a cotton performance air filter. It’s shared between both cylinders to aid balance and tuning, and is solidly mounted to the top of the gearbox.

“The damn thing sounds much more aggressive,” Stulberg reports. “It’s had an impact on throttle response and the seat-of-the-pants dyno.”

The Bison: Revival Cycles' remarkable custom BMW R nineT.
‘The Bison’ now rides on Kineo wheels—custom-made for this machine in Italy—and the factory sport tires have been swapped out for more aggressive-looking Pirelli MT60RS rubber.

To add a hint of classic BMW R90 S style, Revival have pinstriped the fuel tank—and added a Daytona half-fairing and aftermarket fenders from Wunderlich.

The Bison: Revival Cycles' remarkable custom BMW R nineT.
The factory plastic undertail is gone, replaced by a custom alloy unit that holds a new LED taillight and signals, cleanly tucked under the stock alloy rear seat cowl. There’s a new license plate mount that bolts to the back of the swingarm and has its own built-in LED lighting.

It’s easy to list the mods, but not so easy to categorize the style. With the high exhaust and aggressive new rubber, one might say it’s a scrambler. But the fairing and alloy seat cowl seem to scream café racer.

The Bison: Revival Cycles' remarkable custom BMW R nineT.
So what is it, Alan?

“We don’t think it’s necessary to label it. We’re not purists and never will be. Like all other Revival bikes, it’s a machine we’d personally own and ride.”

Revival Cycles website | Facebook | Instagram | Ola Stenegard interview | Edgar Heinrich interview

The Bison: Revival Cycles' remarkable custom BMW R nineT.

Categories
BikeExif Custom Motorcycles Harley-Davidson Other Motorcycle Blogs USA

The Player: DP Customs’ Racy 1200 Sportster

The Player: DP Customs' radical 1200 Sportster looks magnificent in the classic JPS racing livery.
Harley-Davidson customs have changed for good. The raked-out, built-for-TV monstrosities are a dying breed, and the baton has passed to a new wave of crisp, sporty builds that we’d happily ride all day.

Workshops like DP Custom Cycles are leading the charge. Brothers Jarrod and Justin Del Prado build honest, functional rides—and often finish them off with eye-catching motorsport liveries.

The Player: DP Customs's radical 1200 Sportster looks magnificent in the classic JPS racing livery.
‘The Player’ is based on a 1997 Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200, and it’s a commission from a previous customer: “We’d already built him a hardtail bike called Hollywood,” explains Jarrod. “This time, he wanted a full suspension bike to squirt around on his local city streets.”

The Player: DP Customs' radical 1200 Sportster looks magnificent in the classic JPS racing livery.
DP Customs have dressed their Sportsters in everything from Gulf Oil to BAR colors before. This time, they opted for the iconic John Player Special scheme—a hat-tip to Mario Andretti and his 1978 F1 Championship-winning Lotus-Ford.

The Player: DP Customs' radical 1200 Sportster looks magnificent in the classic JPS racing livery.
“Mario Andretti is our favorite race car driver of all time,” says Jarrod. “In 1993, we saw him score his last IndyCar win, right here at Phoenix International Raceway. So when our customer mentioned that he loved the classic JPS colors, we decided to go with that.”

“Our goal was to build a bike that’s fun to ride on a daily basis, and looks minimal and sharp.”

The Player: DP Customs' radical 1200 Sportster looks magnificent in the classic JPS racing livery.
The racing theme extends beyond the paint, with DP Customs editing the frame and fabricating new bodywork for a lightweight and angular look.

The fuel tank and tail section are hand-made from steel, along with the oil tank—which masquerades as a spoiler. Note how it flows perfectly into the exhaust, which is DP Customs’ own proprietary Box Pipe.

The Player: DP Customs' radical 1200 Sportster looks magnificent in the classic JPS racing livery.
Cosmetic changes alone weren’t going to cut it. On-road behavior has been enhanced with a set of fully adjustable Progressive Suspension 970 shocks; the forks have been upgraded with Progressive Suspension springs and 39mm preload adjusters from Speed Merchant.

The engine was given a boost with a Dynatek single fire ignition coil, and a rebuilt and re-jetted CV carb. The stock belt drive has been ditched for a chain setup, with a whopping 51-tooth PBR rear sprocket, “for added spunk out of the hole.”

The Player: DP Customs' radical 1200 Sportster looks magnificent in the classic JPS racing livery.
DP Customs designed the 19” front and 18” rear wheels themselves, and had them CNC milled. They’re wrapped in Pirelli Sport Demons, with braking duties handled by Brembo calipers and ISR master cylinders. A small Ballistic battery been installed too, stashed away in the new tail section.

Other top-shelf parts include ISR adjustable hand controls, Chainsikle mid-set foot controls, plus bars, risers and grips from Biltwell. The only dial is a simple rev counter from Stack. The superb paintwork is by Walkers Way.

The Player: DP Customs' radical 1200 Sportster looks magnificent in the classic JPS racing livery.
With angular bodywork and vastly improved dynamics, we reckon this 1200 Sportster is a worthy machine to carry the famous Formula 1 colors.

We’re also betting that Mr Andretti—who started riding motorcycles as a child—would approve.

DP Custom Cycles website | Facebook | Instagram

The Player: DP Customs' radical 1200 Sportster looks magnificent in the classic JPS racing livery.

Categories
BikeExif Custom Motorcycles Harley-Davidson India Other Motorcycle Blogs USA

World first: Harley Street by Rajputana Customs

This cafe-style Harley-Davidson Street 750 comes from Rajputana Customs.
Outside the States, the new Street is widely regarded as the most important motorcycle in Harley-Davidson’s line-up. So the bike we’re looking at here is something of An Event: it’s the first officially sanctioned Street custom from an independent builder.

That builder is Rajputana Customs of Jaipur City. They’re some 300 kilometers south of Harley’s Haryana factory—where the Street is built—and they’ve done a remarkable job.

This cafe-style Harley-Davidson Street 750 comes from Rajputana Customs.
This Street 750 was put together in just four weeks, but you’d never guess. “Given the liquid-cooled engine and snug-fitting chassis, we felt a butch-looking racer was the way to go,” says Rajputana boss Vijay Singh.

The first upgrade was the front end, which now sports Suzuki GSX-R forks with 25% stiffer springs. There’s more suspension travel than stock, helped by the removal of the plastic grill surrounding the front-mounted radiator.

This cafe-style Harley-Davidson Street 750 comes from Rajputana Customs.
To flatten the lines of the bike, the standard tank was lifted slightly at the rear and the gas cap moved to the left side.

On the right is the speedo, mounted on to the tank itself. A stripe of grey paint cleverly aligns with the fins of the rear cylinder.

This cafe-style Harley-Davidson Street 750 comes from Rajputana Customs.
The standard dual shocks have gone, replaced by a monoshock mounted to the right-hand side of the swingarm. (“It works like a gem,” says Vijay.) The monoshock also carries the compact battery and part of the wiring loom.

The belt drive system of the factory bike is gone, replaced by a chain. Rajputana have custom-machined a front sprocket, and hooked it up to a Drag Race rear sprocket in tough 7075-T6 aluminum from Zipper’s Performance.

This cafe-style Harley-Davidson Street 750 comes from Rajputana Customs.
There’s a sleek new subframe and a low profile cowl behind a quilted black leather seat. Coker tires are mounted on 16-inch Harley 48 rims and hubs, and the swingarm was modified to accommodate the larger rubber.

Custom-fabricated clip-on bars complete the look, topped off with Arlen Ness grips.

It’s a quite remarkable transformation—and it’s bound to make a lot of people see the Harley-Davidson Street in a new light.

Top marks to Vijay and Rajputana Customs for an exceptionally clever build. A fine bike to round off 2014.

Rajputana Custom Motorcycles website | Facebook | Instagram | Harley-Davidson India

This cafe-style Harley-Davidson Street 750 comes from Rajputana Customs.