Motorcycle Roadracing
This bike was never used as a dirt bike- it was converted into a cafe racer from day one. So the bodywork reflects that. It is also old and had what seemed like dozens of layers of paint on it that had to be sanded off. Sanding stuff like this Read more…
Just a quick post so you can see the custom made aluminum gas tank. A few days ago, I posted the picture of the old fiberglass tank that was really beyond repair. This new tank is a beautiful reproduction and matches the shape of the old tank nicely. We found Read more…
This is not exactly unexpected but it is still good news for the Ducati faithful. What a great season 2011 will be with Rossi and Nicky riding Ducati. I expect that there is rejoicing in the streets all over Italy today! Here is the press release from Rossi’s website- “It Read more…
Well, the guy I painted the Yamaha RZ500 for was happy enough that he brought me his Vintage 70’s Can Am 250 to work on. He has owned it since new and it has seen many race tracks in its day. Now, we are going to restore it so he Read more…
This is the 3rd and supposedly last of the Aprilia spoof ads. I liked the table cloth ad better, but this one is entertaining as well…
This is the latest RSV4 ad from Aprilia PR. I personally like the race scenes at the end the best but the ads are very creative. BTW, it is worth noting that Max Biaggi just earned his ninth victory in the 2010 SBK Championship.  With prior dual victories in Salt Read more…
I’m sure there are a lot of other “warehouse finds” out there, but lets face it, this is cool- a new, in the crate, 1979 RD400. It’s not worth millions like some cars would be, but it is still a super rare collectors item. I just wish they would put Read more…
If you remember a couple of months ago, BMW’s S1000RR tablecloth trick video hit youtube and pretty much went viral. It was a very well done video. Well, Aprilia has answered with a video of their own and it is pretty funny. Watch it in HD if your computer can Read more…
Maybe… Since most of the Japanese manufacturers brought virtually no 2010 models into the US due to the recession and warehouses full of leftover 2008 and 09, we can only hope that they have been hard at work on some tasty new stuff to battle the likes of BMW and Read more…
Harley-Davidson announced that the XR1200X Sportster, introduced in 2010 for export markets only, will be available through Harley-Davidson dealers in the United States as a 2011 model. The XR1200X is equipped with fully-adjustable Showa front and rear suspension components and can be dialed in to match rider weight, riding style Read more…
Just some light weekend reading for you… Here is a press release from JD Powers on motorcycle helmet owner satisfaction. I personally have both an Arai and a Shoei and while they are both great helmets, I prefer the Shoei for fit and comfort. But I have friends that swear Read more…
Here are a few pictures of the finished bike- I’ve included a picture of the bike in the Yamaha Museum for reference. As I mentioned in other posts, almost every one of the factory bikes was different. Some had different bodywork, some had slightly different paint schemes and the wheels Read more…
Today, I did the final buffing and polishing on the paint. Really, the quality of the finished product will depend on how much time and effort you put into the detail stuff like wet sanding and buffing. When you have different colors painted under the clear, wet sanding the edges Read more…
Well, today we are finishing some of the detail stuff- we wanted street legal turn signals that didn’t stick out obtrusively so I went with some small button style flush mount clear lens units. They actually look really good mounted next to the taillight and they are not noticeable except Read more…
The clear coat is on and drying. 3 coats of high solids clear will give it a depth after it is wet sanded and buffed out. I’ll let it dry a couple more days before reassembling it. There are some other detail things that I need to do anyways- the Read more…
All of the graphics are on and all of the touch-ups are done on the color base coats. The blue turned out to be just about perfect- we were trying to pick a shade from a bunch of internet photos and every one of them looked different but this shade Read more…
After lots of taping and masking, I sprayed the blue base coat on for the stripes. One thing I found is that while there are all sorts of 1/4 and 1/2 in masking tapes available, there is no 3/8 in… at least not that I could find. So I had Read more…
From Aprilia’s press release- NEW YORK – May 4, 2010 – Aprilia USA, the North American importer and distributor of award-winning motorcycles, announces the Ride Like a Champion tour, an education and training program for Aprilia dealers, just in time for the 2010 riding season. Aprilia dealers, who received product Read more…
Well, the bike is taped off to paint the blue stripes and you can start to see the final design coming together. We still haven’t decided if we want to paint the large red number plates on the lowers like the factory bike. It might be a bit much. I’ll Read more…
Today I taped off the panels and sprayed the red. The red that Yamaha typically used was a very bright red so spraying it over the white keeps it nice and bright. Lots of taping- it’s very important to get everything completely covered because any slight mist or overspray on Read more…
I saw this over at asphaltandrubber.com and just wanted you to see how dangerous quick refueling can be… Apparently, no one was seriously injured in the accident but it is pretty spectacular.
Today I spent a lot of time laying out the blocks in the stripes. Lots of measuring and then trial and error until I got the proportions and angles I wanted. Since the bodywork on this bike is obviously not the same as on the bike in the museum, it Read more…
Last time we sprayed a white base coat and 1 coat of clear on all the parts in preparation for laying out the graphics. After wet sanding everything with 400 grit so the red and blue base coats will stick, we mounted all the bodywork back on the bike so Read more…
Today I sprayed on the Polar White base coat and then 1 coat of clear so that while we are remounting the bodywork to lay out the graphics we don’t have to worry about getting dirt, fingerprints, etc on the white base. I will sand it all with 400 grit Read more…
Just a quick update- here are the parts all primed, sanded and ready for base coat paint. Since the base coat on this bike is basically just white, the parts will not really look any different in base coat- just a brighter white.
Well, today we are going to put the epoxy primer on the sanded and prepped parts. The first picture is the hand made aluminum gas tank. The 2 holes are where the relocated oil tank fillers stick through. Most paints don’t stick well to bare aluminum so it is important Read more…
After I stripped the bodywork off of the RZ, I went to work getting all the old paint off of the fairings. Lots of sanding! Since the parts were old and used, there were also some spider cracks in the gel coat from bumps, flexing, etc. These require repair by Read more…
I am starting on a new project this week that will be super-fun! This RZ500 is owned by a client who is trying to create a road legal replica of Kenny Robert’s last GP bike. So we have some pictures from the Yamaha museum in Japan that will serve as Read more…
From a friend with “connections” to Buell… “Speculation about the bike indicates a displacement of 1199cc with much less weight and more horsepower than the current 1125R, it’s the kind of bike you would build if you were planning on World Super Bike competition, or more to the point, the Read more…
Unfortunately, we will never get to see one of these on the road but the picture is intriguing in a “what if” kind of way… I do wish we could see it from the front with headlights, etc since it looks much better than the 1125R.
BMW is so proud of this video that they sent out this press release- Awarded S 1000 RR Dinner Spot most successful BMW film on YouTube with more than 1 million clicks. With currently almost 1.4 million clicks the S 1000 RR Dinner Spot became the most successful BMW film Read more…
This is a copy and paste straight from Buell’s website. 185 HP- very nice. Check out the rest of the specs, it is pretty impressive. Obviously not street legal, but I suspect that some of the nice pieces will filter down and be available to those who bought the last Read more…
This is a glimmer of hope in an otherwise very bleak powersports industry. The fact that BMW is adding dealers may just be wishful thinking, but I suspect that they are planning on converting some owners of other brands. BMW has a great lineup now with the addition of the Read more…
So, if you haven’t ever seen this, it is worth watching. This guy lives up there and obviously has the course dialed in. But still, this is impressive. The guy filming is also on a Wing and you can hear his footpegs scraping in every corner. (Thanks for the link Read more…
I have fixed a few bikes when guys have hit deer, and it is always a lot worse than this. The fact that he kept the bike up and didn’t crash is amazing. Probably more luck than skill, but hey, it’s better to be lucky than good sometimes!
This is not surprising considering the state of the industry and the economic conditions. Many dealers I have talked to are struggling to even stay in business so the manufacturers are obviously hurting as well… At any rate, they are not doing anything that some of the big auto companies Read more…
As a follow-up to yesterdays post, here is a nice BMW intro video for the S 1000 RR. Looks like the Italians and Japanese have some real competition to contend with…
Here is a quick little press release from BMW concerning their new S 1000 RR Superbike. When you are riding around on a +/-200HP bike that weighs in at about 400lbs, it might be necessary to have some really good training under your belt if you want to stay alive. Read more…
When you pit 2 bikes like this against each other, you have to remember that they are so close and so good that you are really comparing preferences instead of hard data. I suspect that 2 different testers may well have picked a different winner- and as they point out, Read more…
Jay Leno is one of the good guys- he loves motorcycles, cars and pretty much anything with a motor. So, it is really cool to see him do the dealer show intro for Piaggio Group’s line-up, which include Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Vespa. Press release from Piaggio Group- Moto enthusiast Read more…
You had to figure that Erik Buell would figure a way to keep his dream alive and apparently he has done just that. While they will not be making any more street production bikes, they will continue to race with bikes made under license from Harley Davidson. Here is the Read more…
If you have been coming to motobikeblog for the past 3 years, you are probably wondering what is going on! Well, we are merging 2 sites into one for more (and better) content. NationalSuperbike is the other site where I post pictures and galleries of bikes I have converted and/or Read more…
Last year’s F4 had a MSRP of $25,000.00 so I would expect this new model to be somewhere north of that considering the dollars weakness vs. the Euro. Still, if you have the money- even in this economy, it would be hard to find something better to spend it on. Read more…
To get a really nice 2500.00 bike, you either need to be lucky or be willing to settle for a small bike like a 250 Ninja or a Suzuki GS500- or maybe an old cruiser. Today’s bike is in the� “lucky” category. Most older big bore bikes are usually in Read more…
Helmet cams have been around for a while now and the prices have fallen to where they are affordable to pretty much anyone who wants one. But with everything going HD (including Youtube), it was just a matter of time until high quality HD helmet cams hit the market. Well, Read more…
I saw this over at Autoblog and wanted to pass it along. Apparently, this will not be a production bike. So, If I can get some dimensions on the graphics, I might just have to paint one as a special project and use the “Gulf ” logo on it as Read more…
Well, in this category you have a plethora of options depending on what year and size bike you want. The bike I see listed in this price range that I consider a particularly good deal are 05-06 CBR600RR’s and an occasional 07 like the one in the picture. Here is Read more…
I was talking to a friend yesterday and he mentioned that Spies needed a little help to guarantee victory in the Superbike Series. Well, he got it- courtesy of Haga- I really like Spies but I was still pulling for Ducati. From USA Today: PORTIMAO, Portugal (AP) — Rookie Ben Read more…