Another jaw-dropping Ducati from deBolex, a stunning endurance-style Yamaha DT250 by Enginethusiast, a 160 hp V-twin speedway racer, and a Harley cafe racer swathed in carbon fiber.
Yamaha DT250 by Enginethusiast The Pacific Northwest, and in particular Portland, is home to a hotbed of talent in the motorcycle world. And one of the clear standouts is Anthony Scott, better known as Enginethusiast. He’s not only mastered the command of light via his stellar work behind the lens, but also figured how to build impressive machinery.
‘Engine 25’ is Anthony’s latest creation. He originally had a flat tracker in mind but that plan was scrapped due to timing, parts availability and crucial bodywork that just weren’t going to make it. So he settled on a endurance racer build, and we’re glad he did.
Tapping into the resources around him, Anthony had top-class help to achieve his vision. Glass From the Past handled the gorgeous bodywork, and LED Performance Engines tackled a full rebuild of the air-cooled single and crafted a new pie-cut expansion chamber.
A friend from Project Moto PDX lent Anthony shop space to put things together and New Church Moto began work on that beautiful seat. The result is absolutely stunning, and when it was unveiled at Portland’s The One Show earlier this year, it rightly earned Anthony the Ichiban Award from Yamaha Motor USA. [More]
Ducati Scrambler 1100 by deBolex Engineering We’re debating which deBolex Scrambler we like better around here: The fully faired Scrambler Racer we featured earlier in the week, or this slightly milder take based on the all-new Scrambler 1100.
Any other shop would have their hands full with one Ducati Scrambler on the bench, but deBolex isn’t ‘any other shop.’ And Des and Calum love a challenge. With only three weeks to work something out, the 1100 was quickly sussed and a cafe racer design was sketched out.
The bodywork may look reminiscent of the plastics from Bologna, but every bit of kit here is aluminum, hand hammered, rolled and formed into an expertly crafted bikini fairing, mudguard and perfectly shaped tail.
To make the transition from bars to clip-ons, a new top yoke was machined and then the pegs were scrapped in favor of rearsets from Rizoma, to get the ergonomics of cafe racing just right. A custom cat-back exhaust was TiG welded together and finishes just aft of the tail with an HP Corse silencer.
As Wes reported earlier, the deBolex boys are flirting with the idea of creating limited series builds—and while this 1100 is still a ‘1 of 1’ creation, we hope it previews a future endeavor. [More]
MSM speedway bike by Royal-T Racing Every now and then a bike pops up that leaves us gobsmacked at Bike EXIF HQ. Like this Meirson Sprint Motor (MSM) V-Twin prototype, which was painstakingly put together by Patrick Tilbury of Royal-T Racing. There’s obvious attention to detail on the fit, finish and execution of this build. But equally fascinating is the story behind it, because this is the only bike of its kind in the world.
The Meirson engine powering this beaut is a one-off motor that was developed in 1967 by a father-son sidecar team from Australia. At 1,000cc in full race-prep, the V-Twin would develop 160 hp thanks to a F1-derived valve train, a heady 15:1 compression ratio and the go-fast knowledge being flexed by Clarry and Allan Meirs.
Patrick happened upon the engine, which had disappeared for 50 years, while working for Jesse James at West Coast Choppers. After sussing out its history, he contacted Allan Meirs and hatched a plan for a speedway racer. The engine was fully restored by Bill Combs of B&B Racing while Patrick began work on fabrication.
The frame is a surgically clean stainless steel unit that absolutely nails the proportions, while making a big twin seem right at home. Silodrome has the whole story on this one and you’d do well to pour a cup o’ joe and head there to read it all.
KTM 510 SMR by KMPH There’s just something about a vintage-styled Husky with high pipes that puts a smile on our faces. And this scrambled 2006 KTM from Finland’s KMPH Oy is definitely twisting lips.
Shop boss Panu Laakkonen had a vision for his build, based the mid-70s Husqvarna CR360—and in particular its tank. As luck would have it, Panu then found a client with a Husky racing history, who worked with him along the way.
With the tank sourced, Panu made minor modifications to the frame and shortened the swingarm by four centimeters. This not only helped with the aesthetics and stance of the bike, but also made the move to outboard shocks a little easier.
Despite its young age, the 510cc thumper was treated to a full rebuild and one of the most beautiful cooling systems of any trail bike we’ve seen. The twin radiators are Panu’s own design and were crafted from copper and brass. Up front, a custom set of triple-trees was 3D-designed and now clamp down on the forks from a Kawi ZX-6R.
The hoops on both ends are a nimble 17-inch size, which may limit off road abilities but help retain the Husky’s SuMo roots. [More]
Harley-Davidson Sportster by Danmoto Thanks to its omnipresence in the moto landscape, the Sportster has been transformed into all manner of customs. But few come close to matching the levels of show and go delivered by this exquisite Harley cafe racer from Danmoto, a performance parts manufacturer hailing from The Biggest Little City in the World—Reno, Nevada.
Little remains of the hog, save its V-Twin engine. The frame and swingarm are now custom aluminum units, with the frame being modeled on the Fritz Egli style from the 60s. That means the oil now resides in the bike’s beefy spine before being fed into the engine—which is a stressed member—via a vertical rib. Not only has that decluttered the number of hoses, but also helps shed 60 kilos off the weight.
The swingarm is a wider and lighter unit that meant thicker and stickier rubber could be fitted. The monoshock setup is from a Ducati Monster, and the suspenders up front are courtesy of a GSX-R, mounted via a custom, CNC’d set of clamps.
The carbon fiber bodywork had to be laid out twice, because the first attempt wasn’t to the liking of Wei Liya and his crew. The result of their patience and perseverance is a scalloped and flowing tank that meets one of the tidiest tails to ever grace a Harley. [More]
