Month: December 2011

If you like Yamaha racing bikes..

There’s a nice little photo album over on Superbike Planet

OK I’ll steal just one..

Another Bandit 9 Home Run all the way from China!

It takes a lot of confidence to start building customs in a place like China and Daryl Villanueva, of Bandit 9 motorcycles has his second sweet build with the Magnus. As regular readers may recall we were introduced to Daryl with his first build, a Chang Jiang 750 called Loki in another recent post. And it looks like he’s continuing his theme of original and great looking customs that really do look like you could spend on them. By the way I love your paint “technique” on this one and I REALLY like the small touches like that gascap!

Another stunner Daryl. And please keep them coming!

A lot of people have taken notice of our first project, Loki. We received very positive and constructive feedback. Now with more experience here in China, we wanted to reinvent the Chang Jiang. We’re happy to present our second bike, Magnus, the second bike to roll out of Bandit9.

One of the coolest things about Magnus is it’s colour. We couldn’t go with a regular paint job since the bike’s personality needed something special. I wanted to get an appearance no other shop could replicate, which is especially important in China. I took a blowtorch and lit the tank, frame and fork on fire. After clearing the burnt outer layer, what was left was this organic pattern on the metal. The tank has a really unusual stone-like look.

The form of the bike is very different from the usual Chang Jiang. I wanted Magnus to look and to feel much lighter than the bulky style the CJ750’s often have. By taking off the back fender the bike is more sleek and agile. The seat position flows with the lines of the bike, so you can’t even see it when you’re riding it.

I’m always looking for ways to simplify and my bikes. Most CJ750’s have so many extra pieces that really don’t need to be there. I want to keep only the essentials and throw out the rest. The smaller custom air filter gives the bike’s profile a nice void. I used the same short style exhausts from Loki, this time with a chrome finish. The exposed chrome suspension gives the bike a nice finish. I’ve never seen twin headlights on a CJ, so its definitely a new touch for the bike. I took the speedometer from the original CJ headlight and used the dial by itself. The rough edges of it add to the rawness of the bike.

I had to get creative to make every inch of Magnus special, since resources are very limited here in China. I used an old crank shaft to redesign the gas cap. It’s really unique and gives it a steampunk look. It’s probably my favorite aspect of Magnus.

We hope Magnus will bring Bandit9 beyond the motorcycle world and into the realm of art. Our new site is up – www.banditnine.com – a special thanks to Niamh Daly for taking care of the site. Loki and Magnus are now officially for sale; details on the site. Bandit #3 is on the way.

A Stunningly Beautiful Hand Crafted Yamaha RD350 Cafe Racer.

I followed the build thread for this bike for quite a while over on the 2 Stroke World Forum and today I got an e-mail from Ben Alameda with these fantastic pics! I’m a huge fan Ben! Thanks Much!
He writes in:

Hey there,
Love the blog I always follow up on it every week. Here are some pics of my custom 1973 rd350, I hand made all the aluminum body work and fenders from scratch. I also designed and built the pipes myself from stainless. The front wheel is a highly modified motoguzzi eldorado hub which was machined heavily, I added airscoops to both the front and rear drums. I also reinforced the frame with gussets.
-Ben Alameda

What a beauty. I’ve tried banging out a few panels over the years and this sort of skill is almost god given. I don’t often get envious but this is one of those times. Just superb!

Reader Ride! Beautiful Yamaha RD350 Restomod.

Ted Brecheisen wrote in with a post intended for the 2 stroke blog but it’s so nice I thought I’d include it here too. Stunner!

Hi Steve,

Great blog site! I submitted some pics of my 78′ Honda Hawk bobber July 2010, thanks for posting and good words.

I know that a lot of the bikes that are on the 2-stroke blog are modified to radical so I thought it might be of interest to see a stocker.
We found this great 1975 RD350 in excellent condition hiding in a service department of a local Yamaha dealer. As is typical, money was needed by the owner so we provided $$.

Only a few things are not original. The ignition was replaced with an electronic version from Vintage Smoke, and hi-output coils from HVC Cycle as well as the front master cylinder. This is a rider and these changes make it a pleasure to ride. Everything was taken apart and cleaned or buffed. Even the “orange peal” in the tank close up is original. That was the way some of them came in 75′ as Japanese paint standards were not very good.

Thanks

Thank you Ted! A real beauty!

The Dirt Fazer!

Manny had made a few comments about his old Dirt Fazer in the FZ! Adventure Bike thread and he was kind ehough to send in some pics of it.  Cool Stuff but a sad ending..
Manny Wrote in:

Hope some of these are OK. Don’t forget most of this stuff is from the film era and it wasn’t so easy to take pictures back then. I owned this bike for 13 years and had a blast with it. One day I was riding it home from work and the countershaft sprocket came off the shaft and the chain wrapped around and locked my rear wheel in the fast lane of a major Montreal highway. I slid to a stop on the inside service lane and took the plate, tools and mirrors, crossed the highway, called my wife to pick me up and abandoned the bike. I had never plated it and ran it on the street with the plate from my other Fazer so it couldn’t be traced to me. That’s the last time I saw it.

A stunning 1978 Hercules 250 Enduro-Sachs 2-stroke engine and 7 Speed Gearbox

Wow!  And it’s for sale!  No I don’t know the owner or the bike.

HA! Yet Another Update on the Chromed Honda!

UPDATE: I thought photo at the bottom looked familiar since (after checking my archives) it turns out I took it (the original) at Riding Into History.   All cool though.  I do love how the internet goes round and round. Anyway, here is the closeup of the card that I though I vaguely remember taking.  A bit more info but not much of a breakthrough.  you can click to enlarge:

I actually have almost this exact same angle of this bike on my home computer and I think I have a closeup of the information card. I’ll check tonight. In the mean time here’s another one. Thanks Much to Kevin for the shot who wrote in:

Since your interested in it, I have this picture. I can’t quite read the placard on the bike but it looks to be an explanation of this particular model. I don’t remember where I found this picture, I never keep that information,as I save them for my own enjoyment. This may even be the same bike. If your friend has more info on this model I hope you can publish it sometime.
I don’t know if you remember me but I sent you a picture of a custom Yankee 500 a couple months ago. I’m always on the look out for something different- and cool. That’s why I like your blog(s) so much!
Keep up the good work and thanks for it. -Kevin.

A Sweet Little RD350 Cafe Hybrid from India.

From Joshua over at Bugged Shutter:

Just thought i’d send some pics to you. Motorcycle POTD is a great website and in much a great inspiration for someone like me who builds motorcycles in my backyard. I hope you keep the good work up for a long time to come.
A bit more about the bike. It’s an RD350 which is modded a bit. It’s got raised ports and is running on a RDDreams Digital ignition, with bigger carbon fibre reeds. The chassis has been spared all the excess lugs and mounting while the rear sets, the fuel filler and all the other billet stuff built by me. A custom wiring harness, LED lights, and braided brake hoses complete the package. Hope you like it and it finds a place on your site.

Cheers
Joshua