CX500 Madness

Via ADVrider member Jehu.

The Virago: Wrapping it up

The final stages of a build always take way too long, but we are getting there. Did a ton of invisible stuff and we wrapped the exhaust. Many people say (sometimes jealously) that wrapping exhaust is just for hiding ugly welds. Well, in this case, they are right. We made the exhaust with a very, very old stick welder without even an on/off switch, it didn't help that all the pieces used for the exhaust were slightly different in material, thickness and size. So we knew we had to wrap them, but we had postponed it to the last stage of the build as not to damage the wrapping while working on the bike. We are not too happy with the result, the exhaust are difficult to wrap and they look a bit too big now, but we expect it to start looking better as the wrapping will slowly turn brownish over time.

The bike runs great now, sounds great too (bit loud, but f*ck that). Idling sound is spot on. We really have to find some time during the daylight to do some further testing, filming and a photo shoot.

Ural by Saint Motorcycles

Sweet!!

Via PSB

The Kawa is on the road

Zoran Requested to have the license plate and the rear light moved to the back off the seat, so I did that. I made a rear fender to protect the intake filters (not on the photo's yet), repaired the throttle cable and tuned the carbs a bit.

Runs really nice, nice warm sound too! (in the video it is still on the choke, so it's a bit loud/rough). There seems to be a problem with the clutch though. I'll see if I can find the problem later on.

Can a BMW K-series bike be cool?

I never liked the looks of the BMW K-series. I tried to envision the possibilities for these bikes on a couple of occasions, but I never managed to find any.

Max did. Max is from Northern Italy and he send me these photo's. Thank you Max! Really cool bike!

Working on the Virago

The BMW caferacer

It has been a long while since I rode it. I thought I remembered it being about as fast and about as fun as the CB750. I must be getting old, because my memory was way, way off.

Being used to the CB now, I almost crashed it the first couple of hundred meters. Everything on the bike is violent. Gas response, the brakes, engine braking, cornering..... Absolutely fantastic. To say that I enjoyed riding it is a massive understatement. What a bike to ride.....

Just a shame the tank cure treatment failed. I'll continue this season with a messy looking tank and I'll try to fix things after the season again.

JR'S SWEET R75/5

I don't do much reblogging. Most blogs I visit are much larger than mine, so I just assume that when I post something, you'll have seen it somewhere else already. But this time I'm making an exception for this BMW. I found it on the excellent Spanish El Solitarion MC blog and I love it. Subtle changes are sometimes so much more telling than radical rebuilds. This is what El Solitario has to say about the bike:

This runner sits proud and cheeky, kicking ass daily on Madrid's stop lights. JR is a big fan of the 75/5 and when he found this 1972 unit, he didn't think it twice before jumping on her. Originally a Belgium bike, was imported and registered in Spain under historic plates. Once resting in his garage, JR rushed to the grinders and shaved off the clumsy lookin subframe, adding the sweet "Speedster" tail that she irreverently shows off now. Other mods; are the lower shocks that balance the stance, blacked (Wassell style) ribbed fender, classic Ford Model A rear light in an upright position, custom seat, Firestone Deluxe Classics (400.19 on the front and 450.18 on the rear), Renthal MX bars, shortened pipes and a classy & well executed 2 tone paint to finish the deal.
As JR shouts:"... is not a bobber, not a chopper not a racer... its just a F***ing ROD BIKE that never rests!"

The Wrenchmonkees CX500

Wow. Just wow.

Lucky shot

My girlfriend managed to capture the grumpy awakening of the Virago after two weeks of sleep as the flames are spitting out of both exhausts.

The CX 500 Cafe racer

We don't have many photo's of the CX500 I made for my girlfriend. Yesterday was an excellent opportunity to change that. I think the CX500 is really under appreciated. Stock it's ugly, I have to agree, but the ride is a lot of fun and with some effort you can turn it into a decent looking bike.

Spring!

At least, it sure felt that way.... I still have major problems with the BMW gas tank (the tank cure treatment didn't work), but I really needed to take it for a ride. The CX hasn't been out of the shed in over 6 months, it too needed fresh air.

It was absolutely fantastic.