modern

Ducati Dirtbike!

I’ve posted about this bike before and the company that builds them. Link to earlier post HERE. I never get tired of looking at it though. Talk about and ADVENTURE bike.

A different kind of Versys. Kawasaki Ninja 650 into a REAL dirtbike!

A tricked out thread over on Adventire Rider about one great build!

How to build one of these…

…from one of these. It’s easier than you think and someone should tell Kawasaki about this bike!

A Pair of "not yet released" XR1200 Harleys With Dealer Tags

These two beauties were parked in the infield area this weekend. They are better looking in person than in pictures and they aren’t bad in pictures either. Harley “should” have built these bikes 10 years ago. Better late than never.

Honda CBR 250R. A rare sight in the US.

What a cool ride. I’d have loved one of these in high school and at that displacement I might have even been able to afford the insurance.

Publish Post

Modern Bonneville Street Tracker.

What a great build. Hit’s all the right notes. This bike has fun written all over it. It’s the kind of “Special” that you wish the factories could build (legally)..

Reader Ride! Putting the"Cafe" Sport in Sportster!

Joseph Chaney sends in his beauty of a ride! Now that’s my kind of Harley. I’ve always thought that Sportsters were underrepresented in the Cafe world. Looks like hell of a fun ride! A lot of nice personal touches on this one. That seat ans swingarm are sweet! Ans I really like the rising sun decals on the engine. Must keep those purists scratching their heads!

He Writes:

“I really enjoy your blog, and thought I’d submit some pictures of my bike for your consideration. It is a 2003 Sportster XL1200C that I bought brand new and have done all of the work myself. I even laced the wheels and mounted the tires. It is a blast to ride!

Here are a few specs on it:
-engine- stock 1200cc
-exhaust- Vance & Hines SS2R
-wheels- stock HD hubs, Excel rims (19×2.15 front and 18×4.25 rear), Buchanan stainless spokes, Avon tyres
-gas tank- stock 3.3 gallon with Honda F2 fuel filler
-drive- Renthal sprockets with RK 520 chian
-rearsets- Crossroads performance
-tail section- custom built by owner
-clipons- Rockwall
-swingarm- stock with bracing
Thanks! Joe

Thanks Much for the pics!

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Kawasaki Zephyr 1100 fresh out of the crate.

These bikes sort of broke my heart when they came out. At the time I couldn’t really afford one as I was in school and Americans never really warmed up to them so they were short lived over here. Someone (I’m guessing over in Japan) has one fresh out of the crate still with the plastic wrap on it. What a great find!

For those unfamiliar with the model here is the Wiki age entry:

The Kawasaki Zephyr is a line of air-cooled inline 4-cylinder-engined motorcycles built by Kawasaki to meet the demand for retro-styled naked motorcycles in Japan and elsewhere in the 1990s. There were a number of Zephyr models available in four engine capacities – 400, 550, 750, and 1100cc.
The 400 was produced for Japan due to the demand for 400cc motorcycles in that market. It was very popular. Many aftermarket parts were produced, with companies like Over Racing producing exhausts, swingarms, fairings and engine modifications.
Zephyr styling is roughly based on the old Z1, with twin shock rear suspension, a relatively upright riding position and air cooled power units. The 400, 550 and 750 engines were developed from the old Z400/500/550/650/750/900 series. The 1100 engine is a re-engineered version of a liquid-cooled powerplant and is the only Zephyr built with two spark plugs per cylinder. The Zephyr offered the customer retro styling coupled with simplicity and reliability. Performance of the line was adequate for normal riding and the engines were tuned for low to mid range power.
The Zephyr started the Naked/Retro bike boom in the UK and Europe in the early 1990s and for a while moved Kawasaki to the 2nd best selling manufacturer of motorcycles in the UK Market.
The Zephyr Z 750 engine reappeared in the late 1990s in the short lived ER7.
The Zephyr 1100 had a Z1 restyle in its last year of sale including a return to wire wheels. Wire wheels also appeared on the 750. It was replaced in the Kawasaki UK range by the popular Z1100R styled ZRX1100(later ZRX1200).
The ZRX series of motorcycles had a great impact on the growing market for retro style motorcycles, particularly in the United States. It was modeled after Kawasaki’s superbike championship winning KZ1000R-S1 that propelled Eddie Lawson to Superbike dominance in the early 1980s and even spawned an international owners association known as the ZRXOA (ZRX Owners Association)

One serious XLCR replica. (Update: or maybe not Replica.)

I love these replicas. Courtesy of Loud Lightening. You can get a nice complete kit for these at Mecatwin or get the parts from Airtech

After taking another look I just realized that that is NOT a modern mill in there so this is likely a seriously upgraded original. Whatever it is it’s well done.