Choppahead

Choppahead Triumph T140

It’s called ‘Tronsa’ because it’s a mix of Triumph, Honda and BSA bits. The engine and transmission are from a 1975 Triumph T140 Bonneville; the forks, triple trees and swingarm are Honda items; and the frame is from a 1968 BSA. And strangely enough, it hangs together well.





The T140 engine has been completely rebuilt, and the lovely Amal 930 carburetors are fitted with velocity stacks. Boyer electronic ignition provides a strong spark. The custom fabricated oil tank is hidden under the seat cowl, and up front is a Lucas headlight. A discreet Cat Eye LED taillight finishes off the rear.



The wheels, originally 19” at the front and 18” at the back, have been replaced by 17” Warp 9 rims shod with Avon rubber. The rear brakes and foot controls have been replaced by later Hinckley-era Triumph components.



New Bedford, MA-based Choppahead apply their own paint, and they’ve done a fine job with a satin pearl white finish. Charlie Decker of One Arm Bandit did the delicate pinstriping.



The Tronsa is now being ridden around the streets of Boston by its new owner Matt. ‘Unique’ is an overused word, especially in the world of custom motorcycles, but Matt can proudly apply it to this beautifully crafted machine.
More images and full specs on Choppahead’s website. Images by Dave Dawson.

cafe racer

Honda CRF250R cafe racer

Californian Darrell Schneider is known in the classic car community for his high-quality fiberglass skills. He’s also a keen motorcyclist, and has transformed his personal 2004 Honda CRF250R dirtbike into this eye-catching café racer.
Schneider namechecks Roland Sands, Richard Pollock and Ron Wood as the inspiration for the bike, nicknamed the ‘GP250R.’ “Those guys just have cool style,” Schneider told Cycle World. He emailed Bike EXIF regulars Sands and Pollock for advice throughout the build: “They wouldn’t tell me what to do, but they would point me in the right direction.”





Modern café racers are often accused of being style over substance, but this CRF puts performance above all. Schneider rebuilt the motor using later-model Honda parts, installed a Crower cam, and got the carburetor upgraded by Tokyo Mods.



Race Tech has modified the CRF fork, and the rear shock now sports a Durelle Racing height adjuster. Custom triple clamps increase the spacing between the forks, allowing the use of wider rims, and also increase the trail geometry. The bike now rolls on Sun rims laced to Talon hubs; the front brake caliper is from a Honda CBR600RR.



The bodywork is completely new, and all-fiberglass. And the neatest touch? For me, it’s the titanium Arrow exhaust system. At first glance it appears to be a single pipe, but if you look closer, you’ll see a second pipe snaking down towards the swing arm on the left side of the bike.
Head over to Cycle World for more images and a detailed account of the build. It’s the most original take on the café racer style we’ve seen for a long time.

Images by James Wirth.

Rebel custom

Honda Rebel custom

Think of a custom Honda and it’s invariably a CB. I don’t think I’ve seen any Rebel customs before, and I certainly haven’t seen a Rebel bobber. But this little machine, nicknamed ‘Rocky’ by owner Jason Wolske, looks sweet. And even better, he’s catalogued the whole build on a Tumblr blog, along with excellent photography. When Justin bought his bone-stock 1985 Honda Rebel CMX250, it turned out to have no compression in one cylinder. So he bought a replacement engine for the princely sum of $350 (including shipping!) and started work. This included struts to turn the bike into a rigid, a solo seat, a velocity stack and K&N filter, a white-faced speedometer and drag bars with new grips. Relatively simple and cheap modifications, but ones that presented a few unforseen problems along the way. Jason reports that Rocky has a new owner now: “I put her on Craigslist and in under 24 hours she was gone. Craziness. Anyway, on to the next project. I learned a whole lot about bikes, that’s the whole reason I bought the bike to begin with.” [Spotted on Vanishing Point.]

See The Other Post On Concept Bike Page

Nikon D300 | 1/800s | f/1.4 | ISO 320 | Focal length 50mm

Yamaha XT600

RADICAL


The Yamaha XT600 is one of those iconic enduro bikes that refuses to die—in more ways than one. The virtually bulletproof 595cc single was first released in 1983 and was the first “Ténéré” model, capitalizing on Yamaha’s profile in desert rallies. The early XT600s are still highly sought after, but you won’t find many as desirable as this one. “Dirt Rad” is the latest build from Radical Ducati, and a major departure for the Madrid-based workshop. The “Ducati” part has wisely been dropped from the Radical logo, but this is no second-rate bike: it’s as heavily reworked and thoughtfully upgraded as RD’s sportbikes.

The modified 1989 XT600 frame has been hooked up to a FZR600 fork and a Hagon shock. The air-cooled motor has been rebuilt with polished and ported heads, and now exhales through a Wolfman pipe and a Spark GP megaphone muffler. The wheels are 18”, shod with Pirelli Scorpion tires, and matched to a completely new brake system that includes Ducati S4RS components. The fuel tank is from a 1970 Ducati 250 and the seat is from a Bultaco Pursang. The fenders are hand-made: aluminum at the front, carbon at the back. Rizoma bars sit behind a headlight from a Puch 50cc mini-bike.

“Dirt Rad” won’t be as fast as the bikes that Radical Ducati usually builds. But it’ll probably be just as much fun—a simple, light and speedy machine for city streets and occasional gravel road excursions. Perfecto!

Honda XL600R

 Street Tracker

Honda’s bulletproof enduro weapon for the latter part of the twentieth century was the XL600, a big four-valve thumper built to handle desert rallies. There were several variants and upgrades, and they weren’t pretty bikes—but with a few modifications, the XL was surprisingly capable on the road. This conversion, however, sure is a pretty bike. You can see how it was built on Thierry’s Roc Street Tracker site. We suspect the powerful XL600R has the makings of a cult classic, and in the years to come, may even be mentioned in the same breath as the SR400 and W650. [Spotted on Sideblog. For background, check the Motorcycle Specs reprint of this excellent 1983 article from Cycle World.]

XS650

Eight Ball Boy

You can always rely upon prolific Italian builder Filippo Barbacane to come up with something different. The latest creation from his Officine Rosso Puro stable is ‘Eight Ball Boy’ a high-ridin’ street tracker based on the Yamaha XS650. (The stance reminds me of House Rockers’ CB750 customs: are we seeing a trend here?) The bike is full of parts from the RossoPuro sub-brand, including the swingarm, triple trees, wheels and brake rotors. The 50hp motor is stock, but the frame has been modified and Paioli 45mm forks fitted. Check that rear suspension too, with a very unusual tandem shock set-up. All the bodywork is custom-made, from the tank to the fenders, and Barbacane has created new foot controls too. Congratulations to owner Antonio Di Battista—he’s got himself a unique-looking machine that’ll be a blast to ride. [Via Mulligan Machine.]

Nikon D2H | 1/500s | f/4.2 | ISO 200 | Focal length 180mm

Drags & Racing

Drags & Racing is an Italian custom shop owned by the flamboyant Dino Romano, and he’s been putting out a steady stream of custom Triumphs and Harleys for twenty years now. Dino’s latest creation is this Bonneville, and he’s done a remarkable job in giving a modern Triumph an authentic vintage look. (So we’ll forgive him the ubiquitous Steve McQueen reference—the bike is called ‘La Grande Fuga’, meaning Great Escape.) There’s a suicide shift on the left, the exhaust has been cannibalized from an Iveco van, and the seat is a genuine 1939 Harley-Davidson item. The matte green military paint is equally authentic: it’s from a sixty-year-old cache discovered in a Czech warehouse. La Grande Fuga has attracted a lot of attention on the Italian custom scene, and Dino can build you one for around US$24,000. Given the level of customizing going on here—with virtually all bodywork and controls being hand-made—that sounds like a pretty good deal. [Via moto.it.]
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