BIKE

hello

Ping. That was the alarm on my phone, keyed in months ago, reminding me that today I had a ferry to catch. That’s HAD a ferry to catch. Instead, when I should be drinking beer and talking nonsense in the bar of Brittany Ferries Pont-Aven, cruising towards the Bay of Biscay and on to northern Spain for ten days of motorcycling entertainment, I’m sitting at home writing this. Maybe I’ll have that beer anyway, and some chorizo flavoured crisps. There’s no telling what might happen next in this strange summer but while my riding pals are hoping that we might be able to get some European kilometres under our wheels in 2020, I’m not betting on it. In England dealers have re-opened, after a fashion, and riding is back on again, but…

inspired by britten... and britain

‘You could argue the Engrich’s 1200cc parallel twin is more extraordinary than Britten’s V-twin’ FRAME It’s a hollow backbone machined from solid aluminium that loops over the engine. It took 900 hours to design and make – more than most award-winning custom bikes. ANCILLARY COMPONENTS Designing and machining all the brackets, covers, fasteners etc took 2500 hours. Yes, 2500. TANK This is CNC machined from solid and has a 2.4mm wall thickness. Time to design and build: 700 hours. AIRBOX This is 3D printed, along with tank styling cowls and rear body work. SWINgARM This is from a 2016 Triumph Speed Triple, as is the saddle. The gearbox and clutch are from a ZZ-R1100. CRANKSHAFT Made from a 65kg billet of Assab 718 steel. SPECIFICATION Price: TBA Engine: oil and air-cooled 1200cc parallel twin, tungsten 1/2 -stroke balancer piston Power: 100bhp+ Torque: 80 lb.ft+ Wet weight: 210kg When details…

adam drops a brick

ELECTRICS All new, all Motogadget. Loom is based around an M unit, with Motoscope pro digital instruments. WHEELS These are from an R8R0RT police bike. Tyres are Bridgestone Adventurecross AX4NS. TAIL UNIT This was made on a 3D printer and houses Motogadget Blaze lights. SUBFRAME AND SHOCK Adam made the subframe and fitted a YSS shock that’s designed for the later KNN00. The K100’s engine layout is one of the most peculiar, looking, as it does, like the motor fell on its side during production and BMW built a bike round it anyway. But in Adam Kostka’s build, it looks intriguing and stylish, with a dash of brutalist elegance. The bike is based on a 1990 K100RS – the faired version of BM’s ‘flying brick’ – and aside from the engine, tank and shaft drive, is all new. ‘Looking…

rider required

In many ways the 851 is a more important Ducati than the sultry 916. Not only did it feature Ducati’s first watercooled engine and their first 4-valve desmodromic head, it was also the first performance motorcycle to use fuel injection. And in SP form – like the one here – the 851 brought race suspension to the road. It’s an extraordinary motorcycle, even before you add in the slew of World Superbike victories. So, if you’re a connoisseur of all things V-twin and fast, you just have to own an 851, ideally a minter. Which is where this bike comes in. Having done just 135 miles – yep, 135 – since it left the Ducati factory in June 1989, and having lived most of its life in storage, it was in…

with added practicality

The old 701 Svartpilen was a decent motorcycle hindered by a preposterously high price – £9349 for a 693cc single?! – and the existence of a cooler, more aggressive and cheaper café racer style option in the Vitpilen 701. With this new twin-cylinder version, Husqvarna evidently want to broaden out their Svartpilen’s appeal. The engine is the 894cc parallel twin from the 890 Duke R (tested on page 44), which makes 119bhp and 73 lb.ft of torque – a significant step-up on the 701’s 70bhp. More importantly, the 890 is in a different galaxy when it comes to relaxed motorcycling. The 693cc single is an extraordinary device, but it’s as soothing and motorway-friendly as a hedge trimmer. The chassis and swingarm appear to have come from the 890 Duke too, which means…

what’s the rush?

‘In other companies you’d have a lot of marketing specialists and arse kissers to get through’ REAR END All new, with ample room for a pillion, provided they’re a squirrel. EXHAUST All new titanium job handmade by SC Project. The heat shield is carbon fibre. HEADLIGHT The LED unit is all new, with cornering lights in a CNCmachined alloy housing. The rear cover is carbon fibre. ENGINE The same as the Brutale 1000RR’s, but with different mapping to suit the new exhaust. Radial valves, titanium con-rods, eight injectors and a ride by wire throttle. SUSPENSION Öhlins semi-active at both ends. ENCLOSED REAR WHEEL A carbon cover hides the forged alloy rear for a drag strip look. SPECIFICATIONS Price: £32,000 (est) Engine: 998cc 16-valve transverse four cyl Power: 208bhp @ 13,000rpm Torque: 86 lb.ft @ 11,000rpm Dry weight: 186kg Fuel tank: 16 litres MV Agusta have returned from lockdown by starting…