Speed Read, March 13, 2022

Honda goes electric—sort of—and Indian launches a limited edition FTR to celebrate its flat track successes. We also take a look at a Vincent-powered beauty from the French artisans at Godet Motorcycles, and have news of The Quail Motorcycle Gathering…

Indian FTR Championship Edition It’s not often you get the chance to compare dozens of motorcycles side-by-side. But a few weeks ago I was in one of New Zealand’s largest showrooms, with new models from several brands displayed alongside a dizzying array of secondhand machines.

It was an illuminating exercise. Some of my preconceptions were confirmed, and many others were thoroughly debunked. But the machine I kept returning to was the Indian FTR 1200.

It just looked ‘right,’ with great stance and style, good paint and build quality, and none of the bloat that seems to afflict most American V-twins.

It’s now three years since the FTR 1200 was launched, so Indian has juiced things up with a new ‘Championship Edition.’ It’s a tribute to the all-conquering FTR750 flat track racer, and the cost is $16,499.

The mods go further than just a snazzy paint job, because the CE uses a mix of parts from the other four FTR models. The suspension is ZF Sachs, fully adjustable and with 150mm of travel front and rear. That’s the same as the FTR Rally model, and 30mm more than the Öhlins kit on the FTR Carbon.

The Championship Edition also gets the touchscreen and electronics from the existing S and R Carbon models, red frame paint, and a bunch of carbon fiber parts—including the seat cowl, front fender, airbox covers and headlight nacelle.

The red cast wheels are F19/R18, as opposed to the standard 17-inch fitment for flat track, but the rubber is Dunlop’s DT3-R, which apes flat track tread patterns in a road legal format.

It’s all rather appealing, but you’ll need to be quick to secure this FTR. Just 400 will be made. [Indian Motorcycle]

Greenger Powersports x Honda CRF-E2 The electric dirt bike market is niche, and shrinks even further on the youth end of the size scale. But if you have $2,950 to spare, you can now buy an electric CRF from American Honda.

The CRF-E2 is not technically a Honda production vehicle: it’s built by the SoCal EV specialist Greenger. But it has many of the hallmarks of a small-capacity off roader from Big Red, including an aluminum frame, decent suspension and quality disc brakes.

The CRF-E2 is an alternative to 50cc mini bikes, but can handle riders weighing up to 99 pounds—which is probably the average 13-year-old boy in the US.

The (adjustable) seat height is about four inches higher than a CRF50 though, at around 25 inches. Fortunately the CRF-E2 weighs a fraction less, at 48kg (106lb).

Output is 3.3 hp, torque is a useful 18.4 ft-lbs, and there’s a rider mode that can limit top speed to 10 mph until the young ‘un is used to the machine.

Run time is listed as two hours, which is probably optimistic for aggressive riders or hilly terrain. But if you stump up the cash for an optional extra battery, you can quickly swap that in to extend the fun.

Anyone who has owned a conventional petrol-powered dirt bike will know that engine maintenance can be time consuming, especially for two-strokes. So this could be a breakthrough product for the kids’ market. And there’s little noise, even less smell, and no gearshifting.

You can bet the other Japanese manufacturers will be watching this development with interest. [American Honda Powersports]

Godet Motorcycles Grey Lightning If you’re lucky enough to own a Vincent motorcycle, or are acquainted with the history of the brand, you’ll know of Godet Motorcycles. The French workshop is one of the world’s leading Vincent specialists and can repair, restore or even recreate virtually any Vincent.

Godet also have permission from Fritz Egli to reproduce his famous Vincent chassis, but for this ‘Grey Lightning’ build, they created their own chassis based on another Vincent design.

This project has been planned for a long time, and is loosely based on the ‘Grey Flash’ classic race bike.

According to shop foreman François Guerin, “Our dream for some years has been to put a twin engine into our Grey Flash. So we had a lot of discussions with the customer and finally, he let us do what we wanted.”

The ‘twin engine’ is Godet’s own 1330cc Vincent-inspired v-twin, which has around double the 70 horsepower of the original 998 cc Black Lightning—helped by Mikuni TMR 40mm carbs and a stunning stainless steel exhaust system.

The chassis is optimized for handling and riding comfort, and the front end features Vincent ‘girdraulic’ forks—with updated geometry, modern dampening and Godet’s own brake system. Godet also fabricated the bars and hand controls, footpegs, the fuel tank and saddle.

The grey-blue paint is not a color you often see these days, but looks sublime—and matches the Godet race bike. A jaw-dropping example of timeless style and clever updates. [Via]

The Quail Motorcycle Gathering is back After cancellations in 2020 and 2021, The Quail is scheduled to return to the lush green lawns of the Quail Lodge in Carmel, California. The date is Saturday, May 14, 2022 and more than 350 vintage and modern motorcycles, scooters and bicycles will be on display.

As well as the usual broad range of categories, this year’s featured classes include the Harley-Davidson XR-750, two-strokes, mini bikes and the BMW /5 series.

The MC will be long-time friend of Bike EXIF and founder of The Vintagent website, Paul d’Orléans. Roland Sands will be there too, since he’s been nonimated as the Quail’s 2022 Legend of the Sport.

It’s always a brilliant show, on a par with the best automotive concours events. Tickets for the day start at $55, which includes parking if you’re riding a motorcycle to the event.

A selection of food trucks will be providing nourishment and beverages, but you can also plump for a $90 Admission + Hospitality ticket that includes a buffet lunch in a private seating area.

If you’re within riding distance of California, get your tickets here. And if you’re not, the next best thing is this video recap of the 2019 show. Enjoy.

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Low Rider, high praise: The Mooneyes ‘Best of Show’ Dyna

The most prestigious custom event in Japan is the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show, better known as Mooneyes. If you pick up a trophy there, it means you’re at the top of your game. And at the most recent show, the top award went to Takuya Aikawa of Sureshot for this skinny Dyna Low Rider.

This is not the first time Aikawa has enjoyed a short walk and a handshake at Mooneyes. He took out the ‘Best of Show’ award in 2019 with a 1968 Shovelhead—a very different build to this 1997 FXDL.

Aikawa has been running Sureshot since 2003, and is based in Chiba, just to the east of downtown Tokyo.

“Slender and skinny customs are the style of my shop,” he tells us. “I wanted to make a slender Softail-style frame for this machine, based on the Dyna frame with the evolution engine.”

He’s called this machine ‘DST’—an amalgam of Dyna and Softail. But turning the concept into reality was easier said than done, because it meant changing the twin rear shocks to to a monoshock setup, and installing a cantilever swing arm.

Aikawa-san first considered the structure of the frame. “I was pondering how to create a beautiful silhouette like, a rigid frame chopper,” he says. “I wanted to recreate the beautiful triangle that stretches from the neck to the axle shaft, on a bike with suspension.”

The factory Low Rider frame is thick, with a square main tube. It didn’t fit Aikawa’s concept, so he fabricated a new main tube. Other parts, such as the down tubes, are modified factory components.

Harley’s own Softail frames are pretty rugged, and not suitable for making skinny choppers. So Aikawa decided to use a cantilever aluminum swingarm, which is a very heavily modified Ducati S4R unit.

“It’s slender and beautiful, with a very organic design,” says Aikawa. “The structure, with the drive chain going outside the swing arm, feels ‘fresh’.”

A detachable swingarm, more akin to a subframe is on the opposite side, making it easy to change tires. And to emphasize the skinny frame, the underside of the seat unit has been made narrower than the frame itself.

Local specialist Studio Wokini upholstered the seat, and right ahead is the very visible monoshock. Originally designed for current Milwaukee-Eight softails, this shock was made by Racing Bros in Taiwan. It’s a most unusual placement (and piece of engineering), and probably tipped the Mooneyes judges into giving the bike the top award.

The suspension linkage is underneath the front part of the slim seat; the seat itself is mounted on the frame, and the rear fender is mounted on the swingarm.

Like the tail section, the tank was hand-made from aluminum—without any filler to smooth it off—with the heads of the Big Twin engine cutting into the base line a fraction. The candy orange paint was applied by Rod Design, with Rio Studio adding the logo and pinstriping. It’s a nod to Harley’s traditional racing colors.

The blacked-out 96ci engine is now running new pistons, 510-spec high-torque cams and a 4-5/8″ Stroke Flywheel from S&S Cycle. It’s visually cleaned up a little too, with fussy parts like the carburetor stay and breather hose either eliminated or concealed.

The engine breathes through a Screamin’ Eagle Keihin carb, and the high-set exhaust system was fabricated by Aikawa-san himself. A Dyna 2000i programmable ignition system keeps everything running smoothly, and power hits the back wheel via a hydraulic clutch and an Ultima open primary belt drive.

The wheels are much less familiar. The front is 21 inches, and the rear 18, the golden ratio size favored by Aikawa when making skinny choppers.

Both wheels are entirely original designs, machined up from five pieces at the front and four in the rear. The spokes are offset to one side and the brake calipers and hubs are contained within the width of the rims, in keeping with the slimline vibe.

At the front, the brake caliper is from Brembo, but the rotor is from the Italian company Braking—originally designed as an aftermarket part for Honda CBRs.

The forks have been narrowed with the help of new triple trees, and re-sleeved in aluminum for a minimalist look. Custom bars are integrated with the risers, and set deep between the fork tubes is a vintage fog lamp from a car—with a discreet nacelle above.

Aikawa only finished the Low Rider on the load-in day of the Mooneyes show. So he must have been relieved when media crews and other builders cheered as the bike rolled into the venue.

Did he have an inkling he might take home ‘Best of Show’? Who knows. But this beautifully engineered Dyna is a more than worthy winner.

Sureshot | Facebook | Instagram | Images by (and thanks to) Kazuo Matsumoto

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The Survivor: A Harley Sportster hardtail by MB Cycles

You know you’ve been building custom motorcycles for a long time, when a bike you built two decades ago makes its way back into your workshop. That’s the story of this Harley-Davidson Sportster hardtail from MB Cycles. Or rather, it’s the story of its frame—because that’s the only original part left on it.

MB Cycles owner Martin Becker first built the Sporty hardtail for his brother twenty years ago, when he was just starting out. His brother eventually parked the Harley and moved onto other bikes, until recently, when he sold it back to Martin.

“It was in a bad condition and hadn’t run in years,” Martin tells us. “Everything was f-d up except the frame. But the cool thing was that the title had ‘MB Cycles’ listed as the manufacturer—this isn’t possible anymore nowadays.”

The frame had originally come from the Dutch frame builders, VG Motorcycles. “They do top replicas of old Harley frames, custom frames to order, and frames like the one I used on this Sportster,” says Martin. “This is their standard Sportster frame, with stock measurements like the old OEM hardtail frames.”

Martin stripped the bike down to its nuts and bolts, sandblasted the frame and stuck a 1996 Harley-Davidson XL883 Sportster motor in it. Once he’d cobbled together a rolling chassis of sorts, he parked it in his showroom to elicit a commission from potential customers. It didn’t take long for someone to bite—so Martin set about resurrecting one of his oldest projects.

To finish off the rolling chassis, he matched the hardtail frame up to a replica springer front end. Next he laced up a set of 16F/15R wheels, using hubs from a late 80s Harley Evolution model. There’s a two-piston Samwell brake caliper out front and an OEM Harley brake at the back, both running with Goodridge hoses.

The old Sporty motor’s been refreshed—and beefed up. It’s now a 1,200 cc mill, thanks to new S&S Cycle cylinder heads and Wiseco pistons.

Martin also installed a Dynatek Dyna S ignition and S&S coils. The aftermarket CV-type carb and ‘fly eye’ style air cleaner are off-the-shelf items, and the exhausts come from BSL Products in Austria. The humble Sportster now makes 65 hp, which is 12 more than it did in 96.

The worn-in look on the exhaust system is a theme that’s repeated throughout the build. Some parts have been finished in muted tones or made to look beat up, while others wear bona fide patina.

The fuel tank’s actually from the 1930s, borrowed from Martin’s own stash of vintage parts. It needed some mods to fit, but it still wears its original paint. There’s a modified Penz fender out back; a new part that Chiko’s Pinstriping painted to match the tank.

The aftermarket oil tank is new, but fits the vintage theme perfectly. Above it is a custom spring-mounted saddle, upholstered in leather from an old office chair. A tiny handmade front fender finishes off the bodywork.

Metal Skin Works handled the powder coating on the project, including the frame, which is done in a sort of matte metalflake effect. But despite the aged look of the bike, it’s packing a number of stealthy modern parts.

Up in the cockpit are tapered handlebars and fresh risers from ABM, attached to a burly top yoke from Wunderkind. They’re kitted with modern mini-switches, Kustom Tech controls and Biltwell Inc. grips. A Motogadget speedo sits discreetly to the left of the fuel tank.

The headlight’s a custom part, made by combining the internals of an aftermarket light with the housing of an OEM Harley fog light.

Martin also added Kellermann turn signals all round, with the rear units doubling as taillights. The footpegs are from Biltwell Inc., the license plate bracket is from Hippy Killer Kustom, and the chain guard is hand made.

Two months after he booked the job in, Martin was ready to hand the keys to this Sporty’s new owner. But she had changed her mind, and wanted something wilder to upstage her boyfriend and his MB Cycles-built Buell.

Martin put it on the market, and it was snapped up in no time by a friend and regular MB Cycles client. And we’re not surprised—as retro Sportster hardtail bobbers go, this is as good as it gets.

MB Cycles | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Riders Eyes Photography

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