The mainstream of Japanese custom bike building has a very specific look—largely created by the hugely influential Tokyo builder Brat Style. And the bikes themselves tend to be quite specific too, mostly based on Yamaha SRs and XS650s, the Kawasaki W650, and Harley-Davidson Sportsters. So it’s very unusual to see this style applied to a European marque. But that’s what the Dutch builder Rno Cycles has just done with this Moto Guzzi V50.
Rno is run by Arno Overweel, and is based in the small, low-lying town of Culemborg. The starting point was a 1985 V50 Monza, with the electric start removed and a kickstarter retro-fitted. Overweel upgraded the stock 24mm Dell’Orto carbs to 28mm items, and fitted them with K&N filters and custom intakes. The stainless exhaust is also custom, running straight under the seat and terminated with a shortened Supertrapp muffler.
Overweel chopped the rear section of the frame, and at the front, replaced the stock suspension with 50mm upside down forks from a Cagiva Mito. The bars are from a Yamaha Grizzly ATV, believe it or not, and fitted with Yamaha R1 controls. The clearest link back to the Brat Style look is the tank, lifted from a Harley-Davidson Sportster and adapted to fit with modified mounting points and a relocated petcock. The result is distinctive, well thought out and one of a kind. I wonder what the Japanese would make of this? [Images by Floris Velthuis. Thanks to Richard Pollock of Mule Motorcycles for the tip.]
What do you do with a half finished 2001 Buell X1 Lightning project bike? That was the question facing John Whitby when he saw it. His friend, Mark Blundell, runs a salvage yard in Canada where the owner brought the non running Buell to get it off his hands. When John and Mark later looked at the Buell, adding new plugs, a battery and some fuel, they had a runner, though still half way to somewhere only the previous owner could know. It sat in a corner for a year when John figured he could do something with it, he had visions of a cafe racer.
Buell X1 cafe racer in the Norton Manx style
Stripping the Buell down, a Lyta-style three-gallon short circuit Norton fuel tank was ordered plus an alloy oil tank and matching seat. Of course, those would never fit the Buell frame so surgery was involved, cutting away the top of the frame and rebuilding it to serve as the base for the tank and seat and creating the look of the Norton featherbed frame it was meant to emulate.
Buell X1 cafe racer in the Norton Manx style
A BMW fender, Lucas style lights, Norman Hyde handlebars, a Sportster carburetor in place of the fuel injection, lots of custom fabrication and all of the remaining Buell pieces combine to make a pretty convincing Norton Manx with some fairly obvious modern touches. In other words, you get the look of the old Norton with the handling of a modern Buell, in my mind, that’s a pretty satisfying combination and far superior to some of the repurposed Buells I’ve seen. Nice work, John!
I stumbled onto this bike, as I do so often, because it’s currently for sale on eBay. Cycle Canada has a very nice article about it, too. It seems to me, the new owner would have a pretty sweet ride and it serves as a source of ideas for anyone with an older Buell who might be tempted to rework it into something new.
Buell X1 cafe racer in the Norton Manx style
Buell X1 cafe racer in the Norton Manx style
Buell X1 cafe racer in the Norton Manx style