Krautmotors BMW

R1100 oilhead engine in a R75 airhead frame. That's simply brilliant. See it at Kraut Motors. 

 

GS 36 spoke wheels, RS collector and what looks like Bing carbs make this build a unique tracker. I'd like to give it a try to see how the wobbly frame deals with the fat torque curve of the flat.

Light swap

Been seriously sick the last 10 days or so, so I'm only posting now what's been done on the Triumph recently. Nothing major as you'll see, mostly because the bike's currently at the shop for administrative reasons, freeing extra working space for the BMW winter rebuild.

So the 955 Speed Triple only went through a light swap. Not only were they absolutely ugly, but their beam was oriented to the wrong side of the road (well, depends where you drive). The bike's now equipped with a much meaner pair of Speed Four lights, which could stay on the bike with a bit of luck (and provided Triumph agrees it stays this way).

The other good point is that the engine's been started with just a bit of help from a battery charger. It didn't take more than 4 full cycles to start. Not bad for a bike standing still for more than a year. I let it warm up to 90° and the engine sounds good, which is good news.

It's been away for 2 weeks now, so there won't be any progress on the Speed Triple for some time

Michelin issue (hum ... again)

I've never been a big fan of Michelin tires, but I'm no hatter and certainly won't say bad things about them ... Well unless there is something to say, that is ... And that seems to be the case here.

This is a Michelin Pilot Road 3 fitted on a Yamaha FZ6. It's an important point as you cannot say the tire's been destroyed by a sudden surge of torque (take that buzzy engine !). The story says the reason why the tire ended up torn this way is that the tarmac was very hot. Is that it ?

I'm not aware of such problems with others brands. If you do, let me know, I'll do a post that'll help me getting rid of that Michelin hatter reputation :D (see here why, sorry the post is still in French). And then we'll take care of that FZ6 reputation :D

Bronco for sale

If anyone's interested in buying a real bike for when you want to go bronco, there's that Aprilia 1200 Dorsoduro for sale in the local Aprilia shop. The price tag says 9 990 € which is just about three grands below the plain official price. Almost 25% discount is a lot of money on this zero kilometer motorcycle and makes it very affordable. If your wallet allows it, step in the Aprilia shop right now.

Bespoke shocks

The Bitubo and Nitron shocks have finally arrived. It took a bit more time than expected to get them as they are made to order so they fit the rider's weight and usage, but it was worth waiting. These are really nicely engineered parts and I couldn't resist taking lots of pictures from every possible angles while they are new and clean.

Notice that I had ordered a Nitron "Track" and received a Nitron "Race", which is higher spec'ed. That's definitely a nice addition to the project.

The Bitubo :

 The Nitron :

Parts for the Triumph

New parts have come by from here and there for the Speed Triple.

- A pair of front lights down a Speed Four (from eBay)

- Side panels (from eBay)

- Temp sensor cover (from Triumph)

- Top radiator cooling tube (Triumph again)

The radiator has been unbent for free by the Metal Machines guys. They've looked at it twice, bent it one side on the main desk, then on another and straight it was. Great lads.

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.