1973 Moto Guzzi GT 850

The words "Gran Turismo" never seemed more apt. Click for a larger image

For those of you who missed out on signing up for the 2011 Pipeburn Meat Burn & Burn (it's this weekend, guys!) or for the rest of you overseas types, we've been sending out regular updates on the day to all those who put up their hands. In the last one we mentioned that we'd be riding on dirt for a small part of the day. Cue about 27 frantic questions from some of the attendees sweating bullets about riding their bikes off-road. I duly diffused the panic (hello Mike if you're reading) and went on my merry way, which on this particular day involved shooting the beautiful Guzzi you see before you. Imagine then the internal chuckles that I enjoyed when I asked the owner of this 250kg (550 lbs) beauty, the super cool and most friendly David Ottesen, how she handled. "Beautifully. I even take her off-road; she's great fun to ride on the dirt." Damn straight, brother.

Can you introduce yourself?

Dave Ottesen. I am an Aircraft Mechanic (I detect a trend here - Andrew), I work on Helicopter gas turbine engines. I live in the Wollindilly Shire about 90ks south of Sydney, great country roads and really suited to the Guzzi.

Click to read more ...

A Tribute to Classic Motorcycles

This cool little movie was sent to us by Oscar who is a Pipeburn reader from Barcelona, Spain. Oscar is not quite a professional film maker but he shot this piece as a tribute to the classic motorcycle group he is a member of called Squadra Sutge and has done a damn good job in our humble opinions. At 35 years old he is the youngest member of the group that spends most of their time racing, restoring and riding classic motorcycles. The video was shot at the recent Classic Moto event on the Circuito del Jarama, which is a 3.404 km (2.115 mile) race course in Madrid, Spain. The circuit has hosted nine Formula One Spanish Grand Prix with the last being back in 1981 when it was unfortunately deemed too narrow for modern racing. 

The bike on the video 'cover' is Oscar's Ducati Darmah which he has converted to a beautiful 900SS replica. You can check out more pics of the Classic Moto event here.

1953 BMW R51/3 Cafe Racer

Steven Whelan is an American living and working in Germany. Over the years he has amassed a motorcycle collection that Jay Leno would be envious of. Some of his bikes include a 1936 BMW R12, 1952 BMW R51/3, 1964 BMW R69S, 1950 Vincent Comet and a 1962 Triumph 6T Thunderbird that was restored as a copy of the Steve McQueen fence jumping German bike from the film "The Great Escape". 
So when he decided it was time for a new project, Steven had his mind set on building a Rocker-styled cafe racer, inspired by the 1939 Supercharged Schorsch Meier BMW Type 255 which won the 1939 Isle of Man TT. "I found a complete 1953 R51/3 and started the project by finding an aluminium specialist in Germany that had already made pre-war racer style aluminium tanks and mudguards" says Steven. The frame was then modified by welding anti-flex reinforcement and adding a pre-war  style 2-spring seat. A replica "Rennbrotchen" seat extention was  added allowing the rider to flatten out while driving. After searching many biker flea markets and through contacts, Steven was able to find several unsual and rare racing parts from the 1950's and 60's. I will let Steve tell you about all the specs and mods: "The wheel hubs are original Hoske racing full-width hubs; a Rausch headlight sporting a peaked Hella chromed rim holds both the 3" speedometer, tach and 700cc Keyser cylinders with modified heads replaced the original BMW 500's. Added to the engine were two Mikuni VM 28mm carbs with replaceable K&N filters or polished inlet tubes, & replica Hoske racing exhausts. The gearbox had the original air cleaner mount machined off to resemble the pre-war machines and was re-built using 4-speed racing gears. The front fork is a 1960's Ceriani  that was originally sold in the 60's as a replacement for the BMW /2 series Earl's Fork, but was shortened to retain the original R51s wheelbase. Handlebars and mirrors are from a R75/5, tail light is a Miller/Vincent replica and a modern fly screen was fitted. The silver mudguards with black tank & hand pinstriping was used to give a more Rocker look & feel to the bike. Lastly the classic Avon Speedmaster Tires were fitted to the aluminum rims." 

As far as vintage racers go, they don't get much cleaner than this. The attention to detail is superb and apparently, so is the handling. Steve tells us he is still breaking this beautiful Beemer in, but did "reach 70 MPH in one burst, and on curving roads the bike handles superbly." 

C.E.M.C.C. Annual Show Day, 2010

I took a little time out last Sunday to check out the Classic & Enthusiast Motorcycle Club annual show day at the Cooper Street Reserve in Engadine about 40 kms south of Sydney.

I dragged my trusty camera along to get some photos. It reminded me of how damn hard it is to get decent shots at bike shows. Way too many people and bikes all jammed way too close together. Solution? Shoot details or shoot upwards. I hope you like the results.

PS. Any C.E.M.C.C. members or friends who'd like to have their bikes featured on Pipeburn, please feel free to get in touch.

BSA B31 - GOLDSTAR REPLICA

Steve Jones is the owner of this sensational BSA B31. Like most vintage motorcycles, it has a story and I thought it would be best if Steve told it:

The bike was purchased from a dealer in 2008 by the previous owner. It was described as a running and restorable 1957 B31. On delivery it was clear the bike had not been run for a very long time, after a little bit of tinkering it was fired up, but sounded like a box full of spanners and the big end was shot so a full strip down was required. After the strip and examination it was found to be in a far worse state. So the rebuild commenced with the idea of a special to show what the B31 could be capable of.

The bike was given the name 'Claude' and was to become a B31 Clubman Goldstar Replica.The frame was modified with lugs being added for rear sets, then a genuine Goldstar swinging arm was found and was re worked with phosphor bronze bushes to improve the handling. then the forks came from an A65 lightning Clubman then fitted with clip ons on hard chrome stanchions. The engine was rebuilt to early Goldstar touring specification, the Cylinder head ported and gas flowed to BB32 dimensions with BB32 valves, springs and cams. The bottom end is to BB31 spec, with new big end assembly, but with a polished and lightened aluminium con rod as to ZB32 Goldstar long rod spec. The Barrel is a Phil Pearson big bore conversion, 400cc with a Wiseco forged piston, 9:7:1 which is estimated to take the engine to 32bhp. Then the gearbox was completley rebuilt with new seals and bushes and is now one down and three up. A brand new Amal carb 389 - 11/8 was found and added along with Replica Clubmans Tank, Seat,Clocks and Exhaust system, the silencer giving the Goldstar twitter sound. The wheels are aluminuim spoked type adapted to fit the swinging arm and forks.
When Claude was run in, it was found after 4000 rpm he hits the powerband and really will go! He revs to 7500 rpm with an estimated top speed of 90mph safely and is probably capable of 100mph.
This is not my story but it was amongst the paper work and mountain of receipts that came with the bike when purchased, I just thought it had to be told because the bike is a real credit to the guy who built it.

The bike was named Claude because of the Claude Rye bike dealer of London badge (pictured below) that was on the back mudguard. He was a well known english bike dealer in the 60s and 70s. You can view more pics of handsome Claude on Steve's photostream.

Francis Barnett Cruiser

Written by Andrew Jones (AKA Pamberjack)

In a moment of google-based wondering last night I did a search for "Heartbeat Motorcycle". Now our American comrades may not be familiar with this TV series, but most Aussies and Brits will know of the show. Think good-hearted cop show set in a small English village in the 1960s as seen through very rose-coloured glasses – or John Lennon spectacles, as the case may be. The show itself is pretty lame, but it does regularly feature a nice old English motorbike as ridden by the local friendly policeman.

I was fully expecting the results of the search to be something straightforward like a Norton Commando or a Triumph Bonneville. But it wasn’t – the results told me the bike was made by Francis Barnett, an old English motorcycle manufacturer based in Coventry and specialising in frames made from “triangulated straight tubes”. Now call me naive, but I’ve never heard of this company before. So I consulted the Google Images oracle, and was wowed by the results. Being a fan of old faired-engine motorbikes I was impressed to see that their flagship offering in the late 1930s was an incredible-looking 250cc two-stroke single that is noted in the history books as one of the first ever motorbikes to sport an engine fairing, along with some sweet aerodynamic mudguards ala the BMW R7. And is it just me, or does everyone go weak at the knees at the sight of these old black-on-black British bikes?

1979 Honda CBX

Judging by these photos you might think that Honda were still manufacturing the legendary CBX and this one had just rolled off the production line. The CBX1000 was the first production motorcycle Honda produced with a six cylinder engine. With that intimidating six-pipe exhaust system we've always had a soft spot for the CBX. This royal blue 1979 Honda CBX was painstakingly restored to better than original condition by Canadian Randy Cowling over a staggering 2 year period. These are some of the specs Randy sent us: "a 1147 big bore, Supertrapp exhaust, K&N Filters, Dyna Ignition, valves, cams, steel brake lines and heavy duty clutch. Works suspension with Race Tech gold emulator forks. Fully redone gauges with white faces and stock but rare European Style low rise handlebars and controls. Paint by Scott at DB Custom Paint in Vancouver, British Columbia - which includes the body work along with the frame and gold Comstar wheels. Seat by Luimoto, tires are Pirelli Sport Demons especially designed in sizes to fit classic sport bikes. The bike took over 2 years to complete and a big thanks have to also go to mspeed performance, for the time it took to fix a botched engine rebuild by a popular US CBX engine rebuilder who should remain nameless. The bike handles as well as possible for a bike of this weight and age and positively rips, producing over 125hp at the rear wheel. The sound from the Supertrapp exhaust with the maximum amount of baffles is the sweetest of any motorcycle I have ever heard. Loud, yet beautiful! You can’t beat displacement for sound and power." 

The Honda CBX is now a sought after collectable and looking at the price wanted for the recently restored Deus Ex Machina CBX it might be worth trying to track one down on ebay. To view the Deus CBX and read a great little story about it, hit the jump.

Union Ducati 900ss

Union Motorcycle Classics work out of a remodeled 100 year old dairy barn in Idaho which they describe as "no longer home to lowing bovines, we now attend to the gentle rumblings of a slightly more untamed beast". Formed by a group of guys who all had different skills but one passion... classic motorcycles. Luke is professionally trained motorcycle mechanic, Bret is the owner of Glass From The Past (GFTP) which manufacture killer looking cafe racer fairings, race seats, fenders and tanks. Mike, Jeff and Andy are all graphic designers who love nothing more than getting their hands greasy on a vintage classic.

The pictured Ducati 900ss is one of their proud creations and we will let them describe this Cinderella story: "Boy meets bike, Boy likes bike, Boy crashes bike. Keep reading. It gets better. From the ashes of its damaged frame, all parts were removed. A one of a kind fiberglass tail section was crafted to work with a sectioned stock frame that was rebuilt from the rear motor mounts back. The proportions of this bike puts one in mind of the Scuderia Spaggiari Ducati and Tony Rutter's TT2. Once again, a GFTP piece was created just for this rising phoenix from the ashes: a modified 900SS front fairing to accept the headlights and turn signals. The tank is a collaboration of a 900SS tank and a late 80's 750 Sport. Custom brackets and period race parts complete the package". In my humble opinion this bike has been transformed from a chunky and dated Italian sports bike into a stylish modern cafe racer. For more images of this bike and others, including a fine Yamaha RD60, visit the well designed Union website.

1936 M30 Norton

This stunning M30 International 500cc motorcycle was recently sold by John De Kruif from the Norton site unusually named Rapid Hare. He bought the bike as a "basket case" and we love how John describes the build: "Restoring was not that difficult. The engine was rebuilt by Stu Rogers and you drop the engine parts at his place, wait for one and a half year, collect and fit. Many of the other parts are similar to abundantly available 16H items that can be made to fit with a little work. What's left is very careful assembly. It's not an original bike but then again, very few Inters are". You might be wondering why he sold such a beautiful machine? Well, like a lot of motorcycle enthuisasts he ran out of room in his garage and moved it into his house for a little while "where it spent a few happy years next to the television", he then ended up buying a vintage flat tank OHV Norton so this beautiful Inter had to hit the road. To read the full story and to check out a couple more pics check out John's Norton blog.