onsdag den 22. januar 2014
tirsdag den 21. januar 2014
onsdag den 15. januar 2014
Top 5 Harley Sportsters by Bike Exif...
Top 5 Harley Sportster customs

Love it or hate it, the Harley Sportster has been an American motorcycling icon since 1957. Around 50,000 are built every year, taking up a fifth of the Milwaukee factory’s production capacity.
Not surprisingly, quite a few XLs—to use the official designation—have found their way into custom shops. They’ve been turned into choppers, bobbers, café racers and trackers. And although most Sportster owners use their bikes for cruising and bar hopping these days, there’s a solid racing history behind the name, grounded in the US dirt track scene.
Setting the choppers aside for the moment, we’ve picked out the best recent customs from well-established builders in the USA. As always, it’s a purely personal selection. But if you’ve got a Sportster in your garage and an itch to take it apart, let your inspiration start right here.

Mule Motorcycles ‘Web Surfer’ If anyone can turn a Harley Sportster into a fire-breathing high-performance machine, it’s Richard Pollock of Mule Motorcycles. He builds classy, beautifully balanced customs with everything in proportion—from the looks to the high-grade components. Pollock’s background as a surfer probably has something to do with this: ‘Web Surfer’ is a nod to the waves, with a painstakingly crafted balsa wood seat base. The bike is running a modified Sportster frame, Ducati 900SS/SP forks and Kawasaki wheels, and starred in one of the first Bike EXIF calendars, way back in 2011. (You’ve got the 2014 edition, right?) [More at Mule Motorcycles]

Roland Sands for Technics A commission to build a concept bike for a DJ equipment maker sounds like a recipe for disaster, but Roland Sands pulled it off in spectacular fashion. He chose a 2010-model XL883 Iron Sportster as the base, and installed a new seat and tail unit and clip-on bars. The 19” wheels, designed to evoke the Technics SL-1200 turntables found in every techno club, are custom fabricated. It’s Mad Max meets Metropolis, and we love it. [More about this bike | Roland Sands Design]

DP Customs ‘Hollywood’ Arizona-based Jarrod and Justin Del Prado have cornered the market for simple, effective Harley bobbers, and with good reason. Their Ironhead-era Sportsters are beautifully finished, well-priced and designed to be ridden hard. ‘Hollywood’ is based on a 2003 XL1200 and is sprinkled with top-shelf parts from Brembo, Biltwell and Burly Brand. As with most DP builds, there’s a motorsport influence—in this case, the Bob Sharp Nissan racecars from the 1980s. The story of DP Customs is covered in detail in the book The Ride. [DP Customs]

Biltwell ‘EZXL’ Sportster This is one of the cleanest, classiest Sportsters I’ve ever seen, with subtle paint and a perfect stance. It’s the work of Bill Bryant, the driving force behind Biltwell Inc—but despite being a parts showcase, this Sportster 1200 is no trailer queen. Bill raced it at the Hell on Wheels rally, surviving a lowside crash, and used it for bombing down his local fire roads. Unfortunately, ‘EZXL’ was written off in a crash after this photoshoot, but a resurrection is underway. [More about this bike]

Hazan Motorworks Ironhead Max Hazan came out of nowhere in 2013, and is now one of the hottest names to watch on the custom scene. This is his fourth build, and it’s crafted around a 1981 Ironhead motor—virtually the only part on the bike that has not been handmade. It’s a delicate-looking machine, but those looks are deceptive: the wheels are 30″ at the front and 31″ at the back, and the bike is over eight feet long. [More about this bike | Hazan Motorworks]
That’s our pick of the best US-built custom Harley Sportsters. What’s your take?
tirsdag den 14. januar 2014
torsdag den 9. januar 2014
History.. / classic-car-history.com
Harley-Davidson K-Model (1952-1956)

Harley-Davidson K-Model 1952-1953
The 'middleweight' K-series engine was based on the bottom end of Harley's 750cc side-valve W-series. Using the same 2-3/4" bore with a 3-13/16" stroke, displacement measured 45 cubic-inches. Compression ratio was 6.5 to 1. Cylinder heads were aluminum and finned to aid cooling. To save weight and space, the K series transmission was housed inside the rear of the engine cases, with a primary chain used to connect the crankshaft to a dry clutch. Unitized cases were not new for motorcycles. English bikes such as the Vincent Black Shadow had previously used this design.

Clearly the best handling Harley V-twin yet, the K-model's front forks were hydraulic, with a swingarm and twin shock absorbers used in the rear. This was the first time a civilian motorcycle produced by Harley-Davidson used hydraulic suspension on both wheels.
With a motor producing 30-horsepower on a bike weighing 400 pounds, first-year models were not much faster than Harley's 600-pound Big-Twin bikes. For 1953, H-D introduced the KK-model, which featured hotter cams and factory cylinder porting. Production total for 1952-1953 the K and KK-models was 3,693. Also this year, the race-only KR-model started it's long and successful 16 years of production.
1954 KH and KHK Model

1954 Golden Anniversary KH-Model
In the Fall of 1953, Harley-Davidson celebrated its 50th Anniversary in business. To commemorate this occasion, 1954 models displayed special medallions on the front fenders. Golden Anniversary KH's and KHK's were available in Pepper Red, Glacier Blue, Forest Green, Daytona Ivory, or Anniversary Yellow. If a customer so chose, gas tanks could be ordered in one color and fenders in another.
In 1955, a frame redesign included a lower seating position and shorter front fork tubes, both improving handling and giving the bike a sharper profile. To resolve problems caused by the increased engine torque, the rear wheel hub and spoke diameter were increased in size. A running change from 1954 saw revised engine cases having a trap-door, allowing access to the transmission without having to split the cases.
1956 Harley KH-Model

Elvis Presley's Bike

Elvis eventually sold the KH to a man named Fleming Horne, who, in 1995, sold the bike to the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. It is believed to be the only Harley with a signed title in the name of Elvis Presley. The Elvis bike has been on display in the museum's Pop Culture exhibit since 2008.
http://classic-car-history.com/harley-davidson-k-model-history.htm
onsdag den 8. januar 2014
Norton 850 Commando Hi-Rider / BikeExif...

Every manufacturer has a skeleton in its closet, and in Norton’s case, it’s the Hi-Rider. Arguably the first factory-produced custom, it looked like powered version of children’s bicycles such as the Schwinn Sting-Ray and Raleigh Chopper. Which themselves were parodies of choppers with banana seats and ape-hanger bars.
History has now come full circle, and the ungainly Norton is teetering on the verge of coolness. This heavily customized 1974 Commando 850 Hi-Rider, built by Frenchman Julien Azé, tweaks the Hi-Rider’s gawky lines and is one of the most original builds we’ve seen in a long time. As with most interesting bikes, there’s an equally interesting story behind it.

“I bought the bike from Yves Delamare, an importer of English motorcycles,” Julien recalls. “For Yves this bike was incongruous in his stable—but for me, it was the Holy Grail. Despite its numerous stylistic faults, this English bike just reeked of California.”

The Commando had also been butchered. “The previous owner had the ideas, but not the means,” Julien laments. “Mechanically, the bike was not functional. The front tire was from a car, and the sissy bar looked like it had been chewed by teeth. Everything had to be redone.” Julien was thrown in at the deep end.
As luck would have it, one of his neighbors is Vincent Prat of the Southsiders MC, the crew that organizes the annual Wheels & Waves festival in Biarritz. “The Norton got me thinking,” says Vincent. “Why do we see rigids based on Triumphs and BSAs, but never Commandos? It’s an unanswerable question, but we are very proud of the finished build.” Vincent put his knowledge and garage at Julien’s disposal, and over the next two years, the Commando took shape.

After learning the ropes helping to build Florent Graglia’s stunning 1973 Norton café racer, Julien tore down the Hi-Rider and painstakingly reconstructed it, piece by piece. “I would go off riding, and it would break down. I’d repair the problem, and then find another,” he says. “Our relationship was up and down: full of joys and despair, frustrations, the desire to abandon the project, and then to start it again.”
Compare a stock version of the Hi-Rider to Julien’s machine, and you’ll see that it was worth it. The handlebars, sissy bar, oil tanks and bobber seat are all handmade. The headlight is a 1930s Cibié, as found on the legendary Chanel Triton.

The 19” front wheel is a restored original fitment, but the back rim has been dropped from 18” to 16”—instantly making the Norton look less like a pushbike and more like the 1960s choppers it originally hoped to emulate. And the way the line of the exhaust meets the base of the sissy bar is genius. “Everything was done in the garage,” says Julien, who benefited from the Southsiders’ famous camaraderie and skills.

The work paid off. “The engine now runs like clockwork, and the roadholding lives up to its promises—with the bonus of watts à gogo as it accelerates!”
Several days ago Vincent and the Southsiders crew took took turns on the Commando on the road. “As I saw their collective smiles, I said to myself, the project is validated,” Julien smiles. “Until the next breakdown!”
Images courtesy of Benoit Guerry. Head over to the Southsiders MC site for more images and details.
tirsdag den 7. januar 2014
Chopper Coffee Kit...
Iron & Resin Coffee Kit chopper blend
By: INR X Coffee
IR-coffee kit chopper
Product Description
Here at Iron & Resin we take our coffee very serious and there isnt a day that goes by without a cup of hot joe. Whether it is chasing waves and camping on the beach in Big Sur or a cold morning in the high desert, this kit is perfect for any adventure and is built to last!
• Martexin waxed canvas coffee kit
• Handmade in Ventura, California at the Iron & Resin factory
• Comes with a collapsible java drip, a fresh bag of Iron & Resin coffee, a 40 pack of Melitta no. 4 coffee filters, 1 red and 1 blue InR enamelware mug and a vacuum insulated food canister to keep you beans fresh
• Martexin waxed canvas coffee kit
• Handmade in Ventura, California at the Iron & Resin factory
• Comes with a collapsible java drip, a fresh bag of Iron & Resin coffee, a 40 pack of Melitta no. 4 coffee filters, 1 red and 1 blue InR enamelware mug and a vacuum insulated food canister to keep you beans fresh
mandag den 6. januar 2014
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