How to turn the Ducati Scrambler into a tracker

The Ducati Scrambler is an obvious fit for ‘casual’ flat track racing. Ducati even made a ‘Flat Track Pro’ limited edition in 2016, which was essentially a new version of the Full Throttle with wide bars, a bunch of minor trim changes and a Temignoni muffler.

It looks like Ducati is now digging deeper into flat track territory: it’s commissioned a pair of flat track-style Scramblers from one of our favorite French builders, Bad Winners.

In his Paris workshop, Bad Winners’ head honcho Walid created two bikes—a race machine based on the original Scrambler Ducati sans front brake, and a road-friendly version based on the beefier new 1100.

At the Wheels & Waves festival earlier this month, the bikes pulled in the crowds and took pole position on Ducati’s ‘Land Of Joy’ stand. We’re not surprised: we reckon the stock Scramblers are good-looking bikes, but Walid has lifted them to a whole new level.

First, the 800. This is a bona fide flat tracker, with the front brake removed and a set of Excel 19-inch rims installed—shod with Dunlop DT3 rubber, of course. All the usual road-legal ancillary items are gone, and there’s a minimal new wiring loom that covers just the basics.

The suspension is stock, however—but should work reasonably well on the track. Most Scrambler owners would call the ride ‘firm’ anyway, and find it more comfortable when carrying a pillion.

Ergos are taken care of with grippy Ducabike foot pegs, and Gilles Tooling risers to lift and rotate the bars a little closer to the rider.

The engine internals are standard, but K&N filters now handle the intake side and there’s a Termignoni racing exhaust on the other end. A remapped ECU takes advantage of the improved breathing, and the bike now records 83 hp on the dyno—up ten horses on the original. A Scrambler 1100 swingarm now helps get the power down smoothly.

The new bodywork is carbon fiber, and dare we say, is a huge improvement on the typical, more retro flat track style. Especially the delicate, waspish tail.

“The idea was to use the line of the Scrambler’s tiny frame,” Walid says. “The bike is ‘tight’ and I didn’t want the usual flat track design. I wanted a twist of MotoGP style—and that’s how I arrived at the tail design.”

Walid started with sketches, then moved to 3D modeling. After printing out the shapes in hard paper, he cut foam to perfect the lines. The molds were made from the foam, and the results are sublime.

It’s almost too pretty to race. But race it did: at the Wheels & Waves festival earlier this month, Zoe David of Atelier Chatokhine gunned the 800 off the start line in the El Rollo series and qualified third. Unfortunately the race itself was red flagged, but the bike showed promise—enough for there to be talk of developing it for a full series of flat track racing in 2019.

Bad Winners’ Scrambler 1100 (below) shares the same crisp yellow-and-white livery as its smaller sibling, but is a completely different machine.

This one’s road legal, with the front brake intact. “The idea for this one was to show what we can do with the Scrambler 1100 without doing a big build, and just using plug-and-play parts,” says Walid.

The new fiberglass seat unit transforms the looks, swapping the stock 1100’s long perch for a perky leather-clad solo unit that lightens the looks of the 1100 considerably.

The huge stock muffler is gone, replaced by a short and sweet silencer, hooked up to a custom stainless steel pipe that hugs the line of the rear subframe.

The stock intake system has again been replaced by K&N filters. And there are Excel rims on this machine too, along with Ducabike pegs. It’s just enough to give the big 1100 a sportier vibe without compromising the functionality—unless you like to carry una bella ragazza on the back.

The best news of all? Bad Winners will be releasing kits in October this year, so Scrambler owners can give their bikes a dash of flat track style. There’ll be road legal kits for both the 800 and 1100 Ducatis, and a race kit for the 800 only.

If you’re in Europe, you can see Walid’s work up close at World Ducati Week, which will be held at the Misano circuit from 20 to July. The rest of us will just have to be content with these rather tempting images—while keeping an eye on the Bad Winners website for news of availability.

Bad Winners | Facebook | Instagram

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Split Personality: A two-tone Bultaco Alpina racer

We like to think our tastes are eclectic. Whether it’s an oddity out of the left field, or a classy retro race machine, as long as it’s well designed and well built, it ticks our boxes.

Mark ‘Makr’ Atkinson has played at both ends of the spectrum. His BMW concept with designer Mehmet Doruk Erdem broke the internet last year. Now he’s hit back with something completely different: a schizophrenic Bultaco Alpina-based racer, painted in contrasting colors on each side.

Based in Utah, Mark is a machinist by day—able to run old school manual machines and program the latest multi-axis contraptions. He spends his down time building bikes and competing in land speed racing.

He once told us he typically builds a new race engine each winter—from scratch, starting with a big billet of solid aluminum. He didn’t quite have to go to that extreme on the Bultaco, but he still had his work cut out.

Stylistically, this project screams ‘classic road racer.’ But it actually started life as an old scrambler—a 1975 Alpina 350.

“Even though I have exercised my competitive edge in land speed racing, I mostly love going around corners on motorcycles,” Mark tells us. “I built this Bultaco road race TSS-kinda-replica as a fun project. And it really is a reflection, at the core, of what I like to see in all motorcycles; small displacement, light weight, and the proper amount of strokes.”

Mark sourced the Alpina locally, then set about solving his first problem: the engine was completely locked up. “I took it apart and thought: ‘these vertically split crank cases are a pain in the ass’,” he recalls.

“So I machined an o-ring groove around the main case and primary cover, so it wouldn’t leak and I wouldn’t have to take it apart again. The rest went back together as it should.” Thanks to copious amounts of elbow grease, the engine now looks brand new. Mark fitted a flat slide carb that he found in a box, adding a curved intake to help it clear the frame.

The exhaust is a “stainless sheet menagerie,” with some guesswork to get the port timing right. “It seems to work OK,” he says. (Why are we not surprised?) “There is something that is uniquely Spanish about Bultacos, and I am sure the other brands from this area and era too.

“I love the work that went into them.”

“Bultacos get a bad rap for sometimes questionable quality—but I don’t see it. They are beautifully made, even if seen through the eyes of a non-CNC, crafted-as-you-go lens. They won many world championships in a bunch of different motorcycle racing genres, so they did a lot right.”

The tubed aluminum frame is all Mark’s handiwork, following a design he’s been sitting on for a few years. It includes a machined rear engine mount that incorporates the swing arm pivot, and ties into the upper main frame tube.

Two machined legs, connected by bent round tubes, form the swing arm. It’s hooked up to a new rear shock from Gears Racing.

A set of unspecified Suzuki forks do duty up front. Mark tells us that the head angle is set up pretty steep, with not much trail. “But it handles okay. It’s skittish, but at a couple hundred pounds it would be, no matter what.”

The wheels are a mixed bag. Mark sourced a Moto Guzzi Matador front wheel, then spooned on an old Goodyear race slick from his land speed bike. The Guzzi’s drum brake stayed in place, but apparently it has the effectiveness of a wood block. “I machined about ten pounds out it,” says Mark, “but it didn’t help much.”

Other than the motor, the rear hub’s the only piece of the original Bultaco Alpina left. It’s now laced to a raised lip Borrani rim via a set of Buchanan’s stainless spokes. The Avon Roadrider it’s wearing was dug out of a stack of random tires that Mark has amassed.

Moving to the bodywork, Mark fashioned a new tank from aluminum, with the angles and rear cutouts being a nod to the TSS road racers of old. He dismisses the rest of the bodywork as simply ‘bought,’ but a close look reveals some lovely touches in between everything—like the elegant fairing bracketry.

Everything’s finished in a lustrous black and red finish, split by a polished section. Mark did the paint in a DIY paint booth in the corner of the shop. The seat’s covered in the same hide as his ‘Alpha’ BMW build, and it’s been done by the same guy—Eli Scarbeary.

The leather grips are Mark’s own creation, as are the clip-ons they’re mounted to. “I designed ones that use one bolt to pinch the fork tube and bar,” he says. “And I machined them at 25 degree angle—like Jarno Saarinen used in his glorious heyday.”

There’s probably a ton of detail we’re missing, but the overall package has us hooked regardless. Mark’s Alpina looks tight, perfectly balanced and well judged from any angle. It’s a sign of a builder at the top of his game—but Mark’s nowhere near done learning, or experimenting.

“The Bultaco came out nice—I learned a lot,” he says, with typical modesty. “But I had to Loctite everything, and even then it shakes it apart!”

“I only build bikes because they interest me and challenge me to learn new skills. I am working next on an all-carbon fiber electric motorcycle with crazy steering, and then I think I will build an airplane.”

“After thirty years of building stuff I am excited every day for the next interesting thing. I may run out of time before I build all the things in my head!”

Speed of Cheese Racing | Instagram | Images by David Arellano

Mark would like to thank David Tagg at Wrights Motorcycles for the wheel help, Misa Macias and Jhony Mendoza for paint correction, and all the massive talent at Luxe Auto Spa.

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2019 Honda Insight: The 55 MPG Beast

The 2019 Honda Insight hybrid is here, and it offers a whole lot of practicality and reliability with a familiar Honda face – none of that goofy, “look at me driving my car from Mars styling” (cough, Prius, cough) – and it gets you 55 MPG in the city.

Fifty-Five? Holy Sh-

Features & Trim Levels

It is, indeed, a relatively normal looking car. I’m not sure why the first gen hybrids, Priuseseseses and such, had to go with such goofy styling, but all I can assume is that now the car buying public is used to what a hybrid is, and Honda figures they’ll be more comfortable buying them regardless of the wrapper.

Honda says the 2019 Insight has an EPA rating of up to 55 mpg in the city, lots of premium features, and starts at $22,830. Which strikes me as very inexpensive for what you get in the three different trim levels: LX, EX, and Touring. All trim levels come standard with multi-element LED headlights, push-button start (racy!), and the Honda Sensing suite of advanced safety and driver-assist technologies.

Other Insight EX goodies include the eight-inch display/audio system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Insight Touring adds leather seating surfaces, an eight-way power driver’s seat, Honda’s Satellite-Linked Navigation System, and dual-zone automatic climate control.

But let’s face it, Honda figured out how to make near-perfect automotive interiors back in the 80s. All the cool, discussion worthy stuff here lies under the hood, or unseen altogether.

2019 Honda Insight: Photo: Honda North America.

Power & Performance

The 2019 Insight is motivated by a third-gen Honda two-motor hybrid drivetrain. A 1.5-liter DOHC i-VTEC Atkinson-cycle inline-4 engine does the heavy lifting, and features a 40.5-percent thermal efficiency rating. That ICE is mated to an electric propulsion motor, cranking out 197 lb-ft. of torque. The whole shootin’ match adds up to a total system output of 151 horsepower.

Honda points out how this two-motor design allows the Insight to run without the need for a conventional automatic transmission. Hmmm, I bet tearing the drivetrain apart on one of these guys would be interesting and fun.

Honda further tweaks the energy regeneration system through the use of steering wheel-mounted Deceleration Selectors. These work similar to transmission paddle shifters, and allow you to toggle between three different levels of regenerative braking performance. Grab the left selector to increase regenerative braking, and the right to reduce it. Honda says the system not only increases battery charging via regeneration, but also helps reduce strain on the brakes themselves, letting the driver tailor their regenerative braking level for different conditions.

And yeah, that’s cool and all that, but why don’t you people make an Si variant where the paddles allow you to tailor performance? Just a thought.

Photo: Honda North America.

Drive Modes & Battery Placement

The full hybrid powertrain on the Insight uses power from all systems – the gasoline engine and electric motors –  to accommodate the driving conditions you might find yourself in, moment to moment, and can seamlessly shift through three distinct drive schemes.

In EV Drive, the Insight is powered completely by its electric drive motor, drawing power from the battery. In Hybrid Drive, the gasoline engine drives a generator that supplies electrical power to the drive motor and, in certain circumstances, Engine Drive operation connects the gasoline engine directly to the drive wheels, the way Gottlieb Daimler intended.

The battery for the 2019 Insight lives under the rear seats, housed in something called a “compact intelligent power unit.” The clever packaging solution allows the Insight to offer an impressive 15.1 cubic feet of trunk space. You can fold the rear seatback for long loads (with a 60/40 split in EX and Touring trims), and there’s a grand total of up to 97.6 cubic feet of interior space.

Manufacturing & Pricing

The 2019 Insight will join Honda’s lineup of electrified vehicles, alongside the Clarity series – Clarity Fuel Cell, Clarity Electric, and Clarity Plug-In Hybrid – and the new Accord Hybrid. The 2019 Insight is manufactured at Honda’s Greensburg, Indiana plant, while the 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle two-motor system, intelligent power unit, and hybrid battery pack is produced in Ohio.

Below is a handy chart that shows you the breakdown for the 2019 Honda Insight.

Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He is the author of Bricks & Bones: The Endearing Legacy and Nitty-Gritty Phenomenon of The Indy 500, available in paperback or Kindle format. His forthcoming new book The Future In Front of Me, The Past Behind Me will be available soon. Follow his work on Twitter: @TonyBorroz

Trim	MSRP	MSRP Including $895 Destination	EPA Fuel Economy Ratings (city / highway / combined)
Insight LX	$22,830	$23,725	55/49/52
Insight EX	$24,060	$24,995	55/49/52
Insight Touring	$28,090	$28,985	51/45/48

Photos & Source: Honda North America.

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Letter From The UK: Brexit & Car Industry Repercussions

The Saturday just past, June 23^rd, was a significant milestone for the United Kingdom. It was on that very date two years ago that the British public – or at least those who could be bothered to get up off the couch and go vote – elected to leave the bloated political arena that is the European Union.

Since then we have endured 24 months of increasingly nasty and often false promises and threats and the automotive industry is at the heart of it. The appalling division this nightmare has engendered can be compared to that which has taken place in the USA since President Trump was sworn in.

The difference is that, in America’s case, the divisive issue is a person, in the case of the UK it is an ideal.

Brave New World

In the shining light of a new dawn in American politics, the election of Donald Trump could be seen as a stunning repudiation of the establishment. How successful he has been will depend upon who you ask; there is no middle ground it seems.

Similarly, over 40 years ago the British people were sold a new economic deal that made total sense, although there was no mention of political union. Depending upon who you ask, the EU is either a great success or it is an ideological empty bucket with a hole in it through which tax payer money pours. The envisioned brave new world of mutual respect has, since that fateful day two years ago, crumbled into the sort of bickering you expect in a school playground.

On the one side a weak and vacillating British government, on the other a bunch of un-elected arrogant stuffed shirts. It’s a disaster and one of the biggest headaches is what to do about the car industry.

Abandon Ship

In the halls of power it is all about who is in control and wearing the biggest hat, which is of no help whatsoever to importers and exporters. We are due to leave the Union in March 2019. With so much to decide you would think it would be in the interests of all involved nations to get it sorted out, but no. Is it any wonder that car makers and all the ancillary manufacturers and producers involved in the building of cars have not a clue about which way to jump.

It does not help when companies like BMW threaten to leave the UK entirely. Well, they are a German company so they would say that, wouldn’t they? The fact is that Great Britain is a strong market for BMW cars and their other badges, Mini and the prestigious Rolls Royce. Why is it reasonable they would do something like that?

It gets worse. Instead of looking ahead and arriving at positive decisions you get this: The very pro-Europe Dutch government have chosen to make threats. They have issued advice to all businesses in The Netherlands warning their exporters that they may lose free trade access under existing deals “if a large part of your product consists of parts from the UK.”

Rules of Engagement

You see, after Brexit, component parts made in the UK will no longer count towards the ‘rules of origin’ and ‘local content’ under international trade rules. To qualify for EU free trade deals, normally at least 55 percent of a product’s parts must come from an EU country. In the case of automobiles this could count against them. Ford, for example, makes a huge number of engines here, some of which are exported for the production of their products in Europe.

Not only does Britain make whole cars for export, we also provide car parts in huge quantities. If we are not in the EU our exported goods could attract trade tariffs of the type the American President is currently threatening.

Of course there are ways around these issues. Norway for example has a different deal with the EU that works for them; it wouldn’t work for the UK but it demonstrates that it is possible to get a deal.  Reasonable people can see this but, of course, politicians are rarely reasonable.

Geoff Maxted is a motoring writer, photographer, and author of our Letter From The UK series. Follow his work on Twitter: @DriveWrite

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