To the Batmobile

UdReplicas builds the leathers of your dreams ... provided your dream is to be part of a batty boys gang.

But wait, there are other ways to express which side you belong on their product range. Find out which would make you look more stupid here. My vote goes to the Dare Devil one :D

Oh by the way, these are real motorcycle leathers ... 

Daytona 1050

I came across these pics the other day. It's a Daytona 1050.

"Triumph isn't building the big Daytona ? Nevermind, I'll do one myself." The resulting motorcycle is surprisingly good, considering the fairing is down a 675 and must have undergone a huge rework. Find more about the kit to build your own on the Six Monkeys website.

It reminded me how good a road bike the real Daytona was - if a bit dull aesthetically.

New Look

As you may have noticed, I've updated this blog's look over the night. It was mainly unchanged since the beginning, except for the carbon-looking background. 

It's still a rather simple template, but the idea was to make it easier to read and pictures appear clearer. Hope you like it.

Green progress

Been working on the Speed Triple during the week-end. It's been months since I had worked on a motorcycle. I mean more than just an hour. From the start, the main issue with this bike is the cooling system.  The engine can't be started before it is fixed.

So off went the bent radiator, torn rubber pipe and broken temperature sensor cover. The last two will be replaced with new parts which have been ordered today, while the radiator is due to be fixed by some experts I'll mention later.

By the way, when ordering parts at the local Triumph dealer (which I will only use as parts supplier as I've chosen a much cooler one for everything else even if he's a bit farther from home), the guy said he would only apply on Saturday, making the parts arrive the next Wednesday. Mind, if you do the same at a Honda or BMW dealer, they'd apply immediately and you'd get the parts you wanted 2 days after. Anyway, I will get those parts at the end being patient.

Working conditions were tough. It wasn't the cold, but more about the tiny room left in the garage. I don't think I'll achieve as much I had expected in that place.

Last year at the shops

People say the motorcycle industry's sick with the global credit crunch in Europe. I went to the shops at the very end of last year to buy an upgrade for the BMW (more on this later), but here's what was parked outside. 

At first I thought it was only a PGO, but it does more look like a pre-A 356. A bit further, there also were a Porsche Cayenne and an Audi S3. I know what you're thinking : they could have been customer cars. But trust me they weren't, as I was almost the only person visiting them early on that day (see picture below). 

Those papers

It took about 6 months to get them, but there they are ! I didn't want to start the project without them so these 6 months have been spent sourcing parts over the Internet. I now know a bit more what it's going to be like. Proper paperwork still need to be secured, but it seems more like a matter of weeks now as first contact with Triumph France has already happened.

Happy new year

Just a few words to wish a happy new year to everyone reading. Thanks to returning visitors for your loyalty to this small part of the Internet. The number of visitors a day has grown to a point I couldn't imagine when I started the place back in 2007 and this is truly encouraging as this is getting more and more difficult every day to post regularly.

Anyway, as you will see in the upcoming weeks, projects will be moving a bit faster in the first months of the this year. Solutions to blocking issues have made new moves possible. So stay tuned and I'll show you what it's all about.

Again, I wish you all the best. Have fun on and off road.

Shock ordered

As for every year, winter is the perfect time for heavy mods. Shocks were the next in line for the R1100S (along with other lighter mods), so a pair have been ordered today. Not the standard replacement though, as one is a nice Bitubo (for the front) and the other is a Nitron track version (for the rear).

The Bitubo (left) and Nitron (right) shocks

There's still a lot to be done on the bike's balance and these shocks will certainly help sorting this all out, if not adding more questions to the lot. We'll see, but not before a couple of weeks because both are built to order and tailored to the rider.

Christmas present ideas

Christmas is (almost) here and, as every year, you're running short of ideas. Well shortly put, you're not going to find bright last minute ideas sat on your ass reading this blog as what you will find below are more like stupid gifts for motorcycle fanatics. 

So let's start over with the first one : the Leanometer. If you're totally obsessed with how broad chicken stripes stay on your tires or simply want to know how far your knee still is from the ground, this thing is for you. Look at the pictures, you'll get the idea.

The other one is what you should offer to a lovely second half : earrings. But in that case, she would have to be very comprehensive, so maybe it might also be less risky to fall back to a key chain for yourself. Find these items there.

Darth Vader vs Wall-E

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