10/04/2007 by info.

Leroy-Thompson Choppers announced the release of the Ethyl frame, the frame used on Leroy-Thompson’s industrially inspired, hot rod Biker Build-Off bike, a bike that showcases Scott Webster’s imagination, combining simplicity of design and raw hand-formed metals with functionality and high performance parts.

The BBO bike is clean and begs to be ridden. Like all Leroy-Thompson products, the Ethyl is the hand-made creation of Scott Webster and built with inspiration drawn from his passion for hot rods, motorcycle racing, V-twins and his industrial background of the Midwest.

The Ethyl is a low and sleek frame with all kinds of curves, built for housing a 250mm tire. All Leroy-Thompson Choppers’ frames are manufactured with 1/8 and 3/16″ DOM tubing for strength and durability, and the Ethyl has a bent and drilled down tube for killer looks. The Ethyl is available 3″ out with either a 30 or 40-degree rake and 31″ neck height, and in either a Sportster or Big Twin platform. Like all Leroy-Thompson frames, the Ethyl is also available as a roller. Everything is machined in-house, including the axle covers and neck.

Leroy-Thompson Choppers is the brainchild of Scott Webster and is located just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Leroy-Thompson Choppers specializes in handcrafted motorcycles and custom parts, and has been featured in the book The Art of the Bobber, as well as magazines such as Barnett’s, Cycle Source, Freeway, Hot Bike, Hot Rod’s Bike Works, IronWorks, Street Chopper, The Horse Backstreet Choppers, WILD, and most recently on an episode of The Biker Build-Off on the The Learning Channel; check your local listings. You can visit Leroy-Thompson on the Web at: www.leroythompsonchoppers.com

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10/04/2007 by info.

Here’s another take on a Buell, this time from Fred Krugger. This one is built to run in the Bub Speed Trials at Bonneville and looks the part. Girder front suspension, very nice bodywork with twin exhaust outlets in the tailsection.

As Fred says on his site….” I am very happy to present my new finished project to you!!

I think that the new tendency will be trés 70’s, cafe racer, more racer that cafe…:-)

I make a point of thanking Custom Chrome, Fox, Béringer, Arlen Ness, El Cheapo for their support!

There remain to me now some completions and much of test to be able to roll in Bub speed trial to Bonneville.”

Link: Krugger Motorcycles

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10/04/2007 by info.

If you start with a bike like a Buell XB9R which is already fairly minimal and take off what you don’t think is necessary, you end up with a pretty basic bike. If you add a turbo, you end up with something that looks like a lot of fun. Jens Krüper has a company called Hillbilly Motors over in Germany and this Buell is the result of his handiwork. Specializing in high performance and racing parts for Buells, Jens put together the Hellbender to give other builders some ideas and to show how a few of his parts can dramatically change the bike.

Horsepower with the M-Tek turbo is 145 plus you get 121 foot pounds in the torque department, the only problem I see is keeping the front end planted, but not everyone would consider that a problem.

If you like lots of power in a short, light package, you can buy many of the pieces he used from his company. He offers the short tailsection and seat, triple tree, footpegs, handgrips, sprokets, belt tensioner, in other words, you can do some of this work yourself and try to build a bike like this or, if you wait until he is done with the final assembly work and showing the bike around, you can buy it from him for 27.000 Euro or £19,000. Pretty cool.

Another photo and link below:

Link: Hillbilly Motors via 2 Wheel Tuner magazine

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10/04/2007 by info.

COVINGTON, La. —

A boxed bathtub fell from the bed of a pickup truck and slid into a motorcyclist’s path Saturday, critically injuring the 72-year-old rider, Louisiana State Police said.

Charles S. Warren was thrown from his motorcycle when it hit the bathtub, and was being treated at St. Tammany Parish Hospital, according to a news release from Trooper Louis Calato.

He said the motorcycle, the box and the bathtub all ended up in the grass median of Interstate 12.

The pickup’s driver, Shain Autumn, 32, of Springfield, was booked with negligent injury and driving with an unsecured load, Calato said.

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10/04/2007 by info.

We’ve noticed at Pro-Street Cycles recently, that the amount of enquiries for wide tyre conversions has dried to trickle after the flood of the past 3-4 years.  If you’ve been checking out the custom motorcycles showing up at the bike shows, or those created for the build offs and featured in the magazines, you’ll notice the rear tyres are getting narrower, a LOT narrower. In the same way that someone finally noticed you couldn’t actually ride a bike that’s over ten feet long with some ridiculous rake, it’s also becoming apparent it’s pretty tough to ride those 360 rear tyre customs. Sure, if you never have to turn and you want to go fast in a straight line, they might work, but if you plan to use your motorcycle on real roads where you might run into some twisties, that super wide tyre will get pretty annoying. There’s also the danger those wide tyres are going to make your bike look really dated which you may want to keep in mind if you ever plan to sell it.

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