“Tricolore” is the latest creation of XTR PEPO, which is short for extreme and Pepo Rosell…

Pepo is the owner and creator of XTR PEPO and ‘extreme’ sums up the philosophy behind his workshop – “Less business and more fun!! Because you must live the life…. Be Extreme!!!”

After creating radically customized Ducatis for more than a decade under the aptly named “Radical Ducati” brand, Pepo took some time off to rethink his life. The conclusion was however that bikes are his life, so he started again in 2015 with XTR PEPO – with the explicit goal to have more fun!

XTR PEPO has created quite a few beautifully customized bikes since then (have a look at https://www.pepoxtr.com/copia-de-pepo-s-legacy), mostly Ducatis still with the odd Bultaco or BMW thrown in for (more) fun…

Pepo’s latest creation is the Tricolore, yes a Ducati-based bike and yes clad in the three colors of the Italian flag – green, white, red, as a tribute to the first Ducati 851 Tricolore.

This is a ‘from the ground up’ build, starting with the frame from an early Ducati Monster 600, reinforced to withstand the increased forces it would have to deal with. The rear subframe was replaced by an aluminum Ducati 851 piece, and YSS delivered an adjustable rear shock made specifically for the bike!

The engine is a heavily modified Ducati Monster S4RS motor (999 Coppa Bassa engine), with for instance an aluminum TSS light flywheel, and XTR’s own high volume airbox adding horsepowers to the already impressive power of the original engine. The exhaust features spaghetti pipes topped off with Sil Motor Roche replica carbon fiber silencers.

The bodywork is inspired by and partly sourced from the Ducati 851, with an 851 fairing, modified to house a Cagiva Mito 125 Lawson replica front light, and a homemade Ducati 851 glass fiber gas tank, with a transparent stripe on the side so you can always check the fuel level…

The list of high performance components Pepo sourced for the Tricolore bike is quite long, with quite a few parts made in-house, such as all the aluminum fairing brackets, the CNC-machined clip ons, carbon fiber mudguard, or the hand-made seat and upholstery…

All in all, Tricolore, XTR PEPO’s latest extreme custom bike, is a really lightweight – 165 kg – and powerful bike, which should be a real joy to steer around the racetrack – while it’s also fully street-legal…

pictures – Sergio Cardeña

Timothy Somers is a relative newcomer on the motorcycle scene –  certainly compared to an oldtimer like me who got on a bike for the first  time in 1980… 

But he – and his company Powerbrick – have really started to make an  impression in this two- wheeled world, and certainly among aficionados of  the K-series BMW’s. That’s where the roots of the company are, the 80’s to  early 90’s K-bikes from BMW, with the big rectangular engine blocks  hanging under them – hence the name ‘Powerbrick’.  

Timothy started riding in 2018, got a motorcycle driving license and  bought a BMW K100 at a good price. This was at the same time as he quit  his job at his design agency, having worked on the design and  production of many different consumer goods.  

As the K-100’s styling was really not to his taste and he had the time, he  started customizing the bike in his shed almost right-away, designing and  then making the first specimen of the part himself. And put every stage of  the transformation on instagram, which pretty soon had a steady inflow of  followers, who then also started asking for him to sell them these parts he  had designed.  

Powerbrick – the company – was born. He started to have the parts  produced in larger quantities and selling them  though his insta page. As a professional designer, Timothy completely  develops his products on his computer in 3D-rendering. And these designs  can be sent right over to the factory to be moved into production!  

The parts-business actually flourished during the covid years. I guess as  lots of enthusiasts were stuck at home with a K-series bike in the shed, had the urge to make it perform and look better, had time to scour the Internet  for ideas, but then also the time to actually do something about it…

Most sales originate from Powerbrick’s Instagram presence, maybe a bit  via Facebook, but all without spending money on marketing! More  recently, Powerbrick started to promote the brand at motorcycle shows,  like the BMW Motorrad days in Berlin and the BikeShed MotoShow in  London this spring. 

As to be expected for an internet-era company, Powerbrick’s clientele is  truly international, with lots of orders from the United States and Australia,  and relatively few from its ‘home market’, the Netherlands. 

Over the past couple of years, more motorcycles were bought as a  development platform for his parts on one hand, and to show off the parts  that he is producing on the other. These motorcycles are then sold when  finished, making Powerbricks a custom shop on top of a parts design and  manufacture business.  

Last year (2022), Powerbrick realized two of such full custom conversions,  they are planning to do three this year and then keep on a steady but controlled growth path – 4 full conversions in 2024. Timothy wants to  keep full control of his customs, building them in accordance with the Powerbrick style and not limited by demanding customers. The Powerbrick set-up in Schiedam, in the Netherlands, reflects this very well: a spartan but well-equipped workshop – come office and warehouse – in a soon-to-be-torn-down industrial space, and just  Timothy and Sasza, his trusted sidekick, doing all the work…  

Powerbrick produces and sells custom triple clamps, subframes, air-filter sets,  headlight covers, tank caps, exhausts… All in all some 70 different parts,  all designed in-house, and produced exclusively for Powerbrick. Mostly for BMW’s K-series, but more recently they are expanding to the R-series  as well.  

And, right now, Powerbrick stands at the beginning of an exciting new  adventure, taking on Harley Davidsons. For the Amsterdam/Rotterdam HD  Dealer, Powerbrick is starting to convert 3 brand- new Harleys; a Sportster,  an adventure-touring model, but also an electric bike , the LiveWire. We  are excited to see what those bikes are going to look like!

So what do you do when you want your vintage 1969 Honda CL350 turned into a caferacer – to not only bomb around the city on, but which also turns heads wherever you take it?

You stuff the bike in the back of your VW Golf, throw in a couple trash bag full of parts that either fell off or you had already gathered, and drive the 90 miles or so from Seattle up north to Bellingam, WA. Cause that’s where Moto Design Garage are based, a motorcycle building shop who like to do everything themselves, including CNC-ing parts from scratch. Plus – they are big fans of 3D printing and design, another great way to reproduce obsolete parts or even better – reimagine them!

For this bike, the customer’s original plan to keep the dual shocks was abandoned in favor of a mono-shock setup. A Ninja 650R rear shock was mounted with custom CNC-cut brackets. This proved to be quite a challenge, as a mono shock conversion drastically changes the ergonomics of the bike and they had to to find proper spring rate, movement, etc… They did reuse the stock hub, refurbished and powder coated it, laced it to a new rim and voila – a smoother ride, and the back part of the bike looks really clean and mean now!

The whole front end was replaced with one from a GSXR and fitted with all new 17” SunRims and billet front hub. New headlight was joined to the bike with in-house 3D-printed headlight fork clamps and CNC-cut headlight brackets.

And then for the important part in the middle, the motor. It did not just get that stylish black and Evo gray finish, lots had to be done before it was ready to hit the street again! The motor needed a new cylinder, a good used one was found and serviced along with new piston and rings. All seals and gaskets where replaced and the top end went through. Plus, a new Shockwave electronic ignition system, VM30 Mikuni carbs, and an appropriately loud 2-1 exhaust setup…

And it does not stop there: the entire electronics tray, which you can see under the seat, was 3D-printed in-house. Reinforced with trellises and underbracing to provide structural strength, it holds an M-unit and a AG801 battery.

The only custom work not done by themselves was upholstering the seat cover, which they outsourced to a long-time partner who they trust, gets their style and makes the seat look good to boot!

When asked about the end result of this cool conversion, Moto Design Garage said: “It rides so well! Keeping in mind it is a 1960’s machine with new parts but it still has that old school feel. It vibrates, it smells, it needs to be spoken nicely too haha but it is a fun nostalgic type of ride for sure!”

Intro & Ingredients

Once in a while, you strike gold! The motorcycle I’m writing about today made its first appearance in the wild at the Big Twin Show in Houten, the Netherlands, earlier this month. In our case, we got a bit (a lot) of a head’s up. I have been personally involved since a frame and a few crates of parts were inspected and, after a haggle and a handshake, collected. We have previously posted about a Blast from the Past, and about a Modern Interpretation of the famous concept. While often considered the first cafe racer and the heritage of custom builds, these bikes are now considered unicorns. They often find a home in a living room or a museum, rather than a garage. A few years ago, we were brave enough to call it “one of the most legendary machines out there”. What I am referring to is the ‘Triton’, a Triumph engine in a Norton frame. These bikes were built in the UK between 1950 and 1970, in various attempts to put the fastest engine into the best handling frame.

Here, I would like to present one built in the Netherlands, in 2022. The basic recipe for a classic Triton is relatively simple:

1. Norton (Wideline) Featherbed frame – 1pc.
2. Triumph Pre-Unit 650 twin engine – 1pc.
3. Roadholder fork – 1pc.

Trying to source these main components is one thing, trying to make them fit each other and look good is another… Let’s get into it!

It’s all in the details

Georges Martin, inspired by Egli, built this particular frame and swingarm based on the Norton wideline featherbed measurements. He ingeniously routed an oil line inside the frame for the crankcase breather.

Piet from Land’s End Motorcycles in Hengstdijk, the Netherlands overhauled the 650cc 360° parallel twin engine. He increased the capacity to 750cc, plugged in matching pistons, and topped it off with a T140 head to convert to a pushover exhaust. Furthermore, he installed a belt-driven Bob Newby racing clutch to transfer all 55 horses to the Norton AMC transmission. Yes, that is the same Bob Newby who won several TTs in the 1980’s. All this mounts into the frame with waterjet cut 7075-T6 aluminium brackets. Piet also serviced the Roadholder forks and mated these to the frame. He further modified the frame to also fit the polished aluminium oil tank behind the engine and underneath the seat.

Rolling along

In the front, Haan Wheels in Schijndel laced a Grimeca 4 (!!!) leading shoe hub with stainless steel spokes and a 19″ Morad high shoulder rim. The 18” rear around a weight-reduced conical hub. Both were drum-polished to achieve that top shine finish. Bridgestone Battlax BT45 rubber ensures optimal contact to the road surface.

A touch of modern

Not all on this bike is a collection of old and refurbished parts from the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, the UK, and the US.

If you look closely, the vintage Tommaselli Matador levers neighbour modern Motone CNC milled aluminium push button controls. This is one of the hints at what lies underneath the shine. When laying new wiring, one might as well go all the way and replace analog fuses and switches with a digital control unit. In this case, a MotoGadget mo.unit replaces all relays and fuses, and simultaneously simplifies the wiring. The pulse switches control the unit via a low current circuit, allowing for small diameter wires inside the clip-ons. The thicker wiring for 12 volt supply to the power draining components are thus no longer routed via the switches. Yes, I’m looking at you, H4 headlight!

The chrome headlight bucket also houses a digital voltmeter and LED indicator lights for the high beam, oil pressure, and the indicators. Bright as the sun, these tiny LED indicators are another hint at the high-tech core of the motorcycle. We concidered and accepted these modernisations, because the original manufacturer of Triumph and Norton lights, Lucas, is jokingly known as ‘the Prince of Darkness’.

When you are on the bike, you can clearly see the indicator lights and voltmeter when you peak between the original Smith’s tacho and speedo. Bob Carter in the US rebuilt these, since some things are best left to the experts.

Hand built

Behind these beautiful gauges sits la pièce de résistance, a handbuilt aluminium petrol tank. It subtly dips below the spine of the frame, yet perfectly aligns with knees where it narrows to meet the seat. Combined, the curvature of the tank and the seat play a large part in the aesthetic that stops people in their trot. They often utter something along the lines of “I have no idea what it is, but it’s beautiful”. The seat hump houses the lithium ion battery and control unit. Maarten, or Yellow Rider, Zevenaar, famous for converting Yamaha’s into vintage racers and board trackers, made it by hand, since the available humps did not follow this curvature. The broad silver band aligns with the metal strap that secures the tank. Seats are his specialty, and his craftsmanship shows!

One of the largest challenges with this build was to find parts that fit. And when you cannot find something, you fabricate it. There is a lot you can bolt on nowadays, almost all manufacturers offer parts to personalise your bike further. Aftermarket suppliers often go as far as offering various types of entire kits to convert your motorcycle. Just sometimes, your hand tools are not sufficient to fabricate the parts needed, and that’s when you call the cavalry.

Maarten also crafted the base plate and adapted the subframe hoop before it went to powder coating. RAL 6005 with a structured finish is a unique combination that is a tad lighter than the famous BRG. British Racing Green. It really makes the bike pop and sets it apart from that traditional black, chrome, red colour scheme. Finally, Maarten fabricated stainless steel actuator and anchor rods for the rear brake and gearbox, as well as the brackets for the Norton Peashooter exhausts.

Big (T)winner

At the show, we’re getting very curious about the sound. And with us, a few other people in the audience looked at the cafe racer category winner at the Big Twin Bike Show with great anticipation and hope. Luckily, after tickling the Amal 930 carbs, a firm kick draws in the air via  DNA filters, the Beck electronic ignition generates a spark, and the parallel twin roars. Just a tad louder than the crowd ;)

Um cassino on-line que oferece acesso a uma variedade de jogos de azar, incluindo caça-níqueis, roleta, pôquer e muito mais emhttps://betandreas.br.com/

Photo credit: Jan Eggink Photography

The saga continues
We wrote about Danny Schneider’s first build for Indian Motorcycle back in July 2021.
The then new partnership between the man behind Hardnine Choppers and Indian Motorcycle was launched with a custom built 1931 Scout.

Last week he was back on the scene when Indian Motorcycle revealed his latest custom build during EICMA in Milan. the bike was presented alongside the new 2023 models from Indian Motorcycle on their freshly designed booth.

Bagger inspiration
With its distinctive paint scheme inspired by the factory’s King of the Baggers racers, stripped back front end and performance parts, Danny’s Scout Rogue was an eye-catching addition to the Indian Scout lineup on the booth, inviting visitors to take photos and discover the finer details of this intriguing build.

From action hero to creative icon
As a former FMX star and award-winning vintage custom builder, Danny Schneider has honed a reputation for exciting, performance orientated custom bikes and is no stranger to working with Indian Motorcycle. In fact, the build he credits as his best ever was the aforementioned 1931 Indian Scout, the bike that started his love of (and partnership with) Indian Motorcycle.
“Ever since they launched the FTR, I’ve been hooked,” says Danny.

Roughing up the Rogue
“My idea when I first saw the Scout Rogue, I actually liked it a lot, was performance racing – this is where I’m coming from – I really wanted to craft it to suit my hard riding style and we’ve done everything we can to enhance the machine with performance parts. We started out with the Öhlins front forks and Öhlins rear shock, suspension is the most important thing for me coming from a motocross background.”

Modifying the triple trees to accept the Öhlins front forks, the handlebar has been replaced with a 22mm higher ProTaper unit fitted with ProTaper soft grips and the Scout Rogue’s mini-fairing adapted to work with the new bar placement. The stripped back, racing feel is also enhanced by miniature turn signals and the removal of the front fender.

Racing look
The racing look and spec continues with performance tracker wheels from Roland Sands Design allowing the use of twin OEM discs grabbed by dual Beringer calipers operated by a Beringer master cylinder/lever with Danny creating bespoke adapters and mounts for the wheels and the braking system. For performance gains during starts and gear changes, the clutch lever is also by Beringer with a Dynojet quickshifter ensuring the slickest of shifts and a one-off 2-into-1 exhaust by Jekill and Hyde ramping up the soundtrack.

“I’ve added some custom touches, by cutting down the primary cover to the minimum that’s still safe but making it lighter and giving it a more performance look and I’ve also added wider footpegs to suit my riding style. But, look closer and you’ll see the gold leaf applied to the iconic insignias on the engine and the gas cap, the gold stitching in the seat which all complement the awesome paint by Vince Customs.”

More to come
“I’ve been building bikes for about 10 or 12 years now. But I stopped for a while as I’d lost a bit of the passion. When it came to the Rogue, it just came back, the light just fired up again. Indian Motorcycle engineering is amazing, they think further than other brands. If you need to do something, it’s done super quick. This is what I love.”

“Now it’s just a case of setting up the bike, dialling in the suspension and going for a ride. Riding to me is everything. It’s absolute freedom.”

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/avHMZdTFWGI” width=”800″ title=”Indian Motorcycle Scout Rogue by Hardnine Choppers”]

Builder details:
Builder: Hardnine Choppers
Address:
Zentweg 15
3006 Bern
Switzerland
email: danny@hardninechoppers.com

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