I’m a die-hard fan of lightweight thumpers. I’ve tried my hand at everything over the years, from adventure bikes to Ducati racers to Vespa 2-strokes but if I had to pick one style of bike to ride for the rest of my life it would be something very much like what you see in the picture above.
Having started life as a 1976 Honda CB750 the bike had fallen on bad times and ended up sitting outdoors for over 20 years, 5 of which were in Carpy’s backyard. After receiving a commision for a new café racer build from an anonymous lady-racer in Australia he dragged it onto the back of his truck…
This bike is, without question, my personal favourite build yet from The Wrenchmonkees. Based on a Norton Commando the minimalist, industrial style appeals to me. Probably because it looks exactly like a stripped down racer you’d have seen parked en masse outside the 59 Club in the 1960s.
Imagine if, for less than $1,000 USD you could build a jet engine in your garage, strap it to the vehicle of your choice, and blast off into the sunset. If this sounds like something suitably crazy for you I have good news. A man they call “Maddox” has your back. For $1,015 he’ll send you a kit that you can build with basic tools in your shed or garage.
The Honda CB400ss is a reliable and highly capable thumper that produces 29hp and 23ft-lbs of torque, the original bike weighs in at just 139kgs (306lbs) and by the looks of it, this reworked version is even lighter still.
50 internet points to anyone who can tell us the make and model of the bike she’s on.
Bolting a supercharger onto the side of a Honda CB750, then adding nitros, seems like the work of a maniacal, café racer obessed genius. And in this case, that’s exactly what it is. Built by Carpy, the tattooed two-wheeled engineering whizz over at CB750 Café.
Das Kleine Wunder or “the little wonder” was the name of the first two-stroke engine used in a DKW motorcycle, by the late 1920s and early 1930s DKW was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world and in 1932, DKW merged with Wanderer, Audi and Horch to form the infamous Auto Union.
The Stealth was built for Edwin, a clothing manufacturer, and is based on the Yamaha TW 125. The TW is an 11hp “go-anywhere” bike with an oversized rear tire designed for beaches/sand-dunes and an exceptionally light frame.
Jumping a 562lb hard-tail Harley WLA whilst wearing a gas mask and a flimsy tin helmet automatically elevates anyone to hall-of-famer status in my World-view.
The 1968 BSA Shooting Star is widely considered to be one of the best bikes the small British company ever produced, the 441cc single cylinder was capable of a spirited 95mph, with 30hp on tap and a weight of 320lbs.
Falcon Motorcycles have released the first glimpse of their new creation, the Black Falcon. Based on a Vincent Black Shadow salt-lake racer V-Twin from 1952, the meticulously hand-crafted motorcycle is debuting at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering today (Saturday) so expect the motorcycle blogosphere to light up like a Christmas Tree decorated with yellow cake uranium and fusing hydrogen.
