Harley Sportster - DK Motorrad

Home > Auto Klasik > Harley Sportster - DK Motorrad



If someone asked me to recommend a bike that would make a great cafe racer, a sportster wouldn't be high on the list. Actually, it probably wouldn't even be on the list at all. A young German bike builder living and working in Switzerland is trying to change that. Christian de Kant from DK Motorrad has been building bikes since he was 17, which might sound like a long time until you find out he is now only 22 years young. In this relatively short time he has built some very impressive bikes. He usually builds custom bikes based on old-school frames from the ’40s and ’50s. But his love of Harley's and cafe racers has led him to develop his own mass produced bolt on kits for 2006 and up Sportsters. Christian was inspired by the many 'bolt on' parts that can be found on Japanese bikes and thought: "why not do the same for sportsters?"



So Christian did a bit of research and found a company in Italy called MAS Engineering that could mass produces the parts he designed. Looking at MAS Engineering's website, these guys are no newcomers in manufacturing aluminium parts – they make parts for most brands of motorcycles. The DK Motarrad Cafe Racer kit consist of tank, seat, exhaust, front fender, pinion cover, belt cover, handle bars and fairing - and everything is made from high quality aluminium.

Whether or not you like the look of this Harley Sportster cafe racer, you have to give Christian credit where credit is due. To design these kits and have the tenacity to follow through with getting them manufactured in larger numbers is a real testiment to a guy of his age (meanwhile we're still struggling to print a few more more pipeburn t-shirts). We have a feeling we'll be hearing more from this ambitious Deutchman in the years to come.

You can check out the complete range of parts at the DK Motorrad store.







PS. The more attentive of you will have noticed that DK Motorrad is also a brand new sponsor of Pipeburn. In the interests of full disclosure we'd like to state that Christian's support of us had absolutely nothing to do with us choosing to featuring his bike; we just thought it was pretty damn sweet. As you were.

sumber :
http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2011/8/10/harley-sportster-dk-motorrad.html

Sportsman Flyer Racer

Home > Auto Klasik > Sportsman Flyer Racer



Back in 1910 the world's first board track was opened at the Los Angeles Coliseum Motordome near Playa del Rey, California. Now, 100 years later, board track racers are again making a comeback to America's west coast. These stunning bikes are being hand-built in Gilroy, California by Pat Dolan who started the company out of passion for these classically styled motor bicycles. The “Sportsman Flyer Company” started not as a business, but as a hobby" he says. "I have built and collected cars and bicycles for years and have always wanted to add a Schwinn Whizzer motorized bicycle to my collection". So while Pat was searching for the right bike, he started seeing motorized bicycles around the place with newer two stroke engines. That's when he decided to build one and started the project with a vintage Schwinn Panther frame.



We'll let Pat go into more detail of how the Sportsman Flyer came about: "This particular frame, commonly called a straight bar frame because of it's unique middle frame tube in the front triangle, is very similar in shape to early motorcycles. Gas tanks were added into the pocket between the top and middle frame tubes on these early motorcycles, so it only made sense to build a gas tank to fit the Panther frame in the same fashion. Using my fabrication and CAD design skills I designed and built my first in-frame gas tank that fit the Panther frame perfectly. Soon I had people asking if I could build more of these gas tanks. As I continued with my own build I quickly discovered that most of the unique vintage style parts I needed were simply not available. This led to the development of a series of vintage style parts not available anywhere else. Soon people were requesting custom frame and tank kits, as well as seats, handlebars, wheels, and mounts for more powerful engines. The Sportsman Flyer Company was born."



This red 'Racer' model is said to be "true to it's namesake". The chassis comes set-up to house the two-stroke single cylinder Morini S6S 50cc engine - which gives you around 9.4 horses of power. To quote the Sportsman website: 'If you like the quick throttle response and durability of a modern two stroke engine, this is the model for you'.

These esquisite little racers even come with a certificate of authenticity, serial number and record of the original owners name and build date. The kits also start at 1920's prices (well almost) - for $1250 you receive a basic frame, fork and tank. The Morini engine will set you back a bit extra; they usually retail for around $660. Then all you need to do is dust off that leather helmet, polish those aviator goggles and wax your moustache. Huzzah!









(Thanks to Peter Brock for the tip - no, not that Peter Brock)
sumber :
http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2011/8/15/sportsman-flyer-racer.html