The biggest cafe racer event in Europe is the Glemseck 101. It’s held in the ancient town of Leonberg in southern Germany, some ten miles west of Stuttgart. Every year, hundreds of motorcycles descend for a petrolhead celebration of speed and style.
The highlight of Glemseck is the informal but hotly contested sprint series, which attracts some pretty unusual racers. And this year, one of the most oddball builds was this Porsche-engined Yamaha SR, built by Kingston Custom. The top half of the motor comes from a 911 Turbo.
Why the Porsche connection? “It was an idea—a challenge—and it worked out,” says Kingston’s Dirk Oehlerking, an accomplished mechanic. “It’s wild and extraordinary and with a unique presence.” Dirk is a former German national enduro champion, and if you think you’ve seen his name around these parts before, you’re right. We featured his radical BMW R75/6 bobber six months ago.
‘Sound of Single’ is a showcase for Dirk’s inventive engineering skills, rather than slick finishing. The Porsche 930 metalware is mated to a 1979 Yamaha SR500 bottom end; engine capacity has risen by about a quarter to 609cc.
There’s a standard Porsche piston inside, with fuelling coming from a 40mm Mikuni carb, up from the stock 34mm. Breathing is aided by a K&N air filter and Norton exhaust. The wheels are now 19″ front and rear, carrying Metzeler rubber.
The standard SR500 fork has been cut down to lower the machine, and a shorter rear shock fitted. The rear drum has been swapped out for a disc, and most of the visible metalwork is custom, right down to the pegs. The bike tips the scales at 126 kg (280 lbs), some 32 kg lighter than a showroom SR500.
So it’s not the sort of custom you’d use to ride to a café on a Sunday. And it’d probably give a TÜV inspector a heart attack. But I reckon it’d be one helluva thrill ride down the drag strip.
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