Préparateur moto Cafe Racer & Néo-Rétro

Parr Motorcycles

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#01 Retro-Moto

Dans le monde de la construction de motos, il y a toujours celui qui a tout déclenché. Une moto qui décrit vraiment ce que vous êtes en termes de style et de performance. Le Retro-Moto est cette moto pour moi. J'ai acheté cette moto en tant que Suzuki DR650 2003 de stock d'os en 2018. Mes plans initiaux étaient de jeter des roues et des pneus dessus et de le faire parcourir la ville sans aucun souci. Eh bien, ce plan original s'est rapidement développé dans une construction complète. Je suis un grand fan de l'audace, des couleurs et des lignes des motos anciennes, il n'est donc pas surprenant que le design de cette moto soit basé sur une vieille Suzuki RM400. Lorsque la construction a commencé, la moto a été entièrement démontée jusqu'au cadre. Tous les éléments inutiles ont été supprimés pour économiser du poids, estimé à 50 livres ! Le cadre a reçu une nouvelle boucle arrière pour maintenir le garde-boue arrière RM classique et un plateau sous le siège a été conçu pour contenir l'électronique. Une fois de retour de la poudreuse, la suspension Racetech a été ajoutée à l'avant/à l'arrière, des roues de supermotard Warp 9 de 17 pouces ont été installées et le groupe motopropulseur à faible kilométrage a été mis en place. Les plastiques jaunes classiques de Suzuki ont été ajoutés, ce qui a vraiment mis en valeur la moto en termes de style. D'autres goodies ont été ajoutés comme un Motogadget Mlock, un speedo Vapor, un kit carb dyno jet et un tuyau d'échappement personnalisé que j'ai fait pour réveiller le single. Aujourd'hui, cette moto est toujours mon pilote quotidien et s'appelle désormais le « Retro-Moto » !

#02 Retro-Scrambler

Après la réponse que j'ai reçue de Retro-Moto, j'ai décidé de construire un autre DR qui serait à vendre. Le nouveau serait une grosse amélioration par rapport au Retro-Moto en termes de style et de performances. Ainsi, est arrivée cette Suzuki DR650 2012 que j'ai récupérée en 2019 avec seulement 3 000 milles. La moto était en pleine forme et un candidat parfait pour la version 2.0 de mes builds DR. Je savais qu'un scrambler urbain allait être le concept de cette moto, car l'Indiana ne fournit pas plus que de la chaussée. En cherchant un design, je suis tombé sur une Suzuki TS de 1977 qu'un ami avait dans sa collection. Le réservoir jaune à long col et les ailes blanches m'ont vraiment marqué, c'est donc devenu la base de ma conception. La construction a commencé par démonter la moto sur le cadre nu et jeter tous les éléments inutiles pour perdre du poids. Le sous-châssis arrière a été retiré et un sous-châssis arrière nouvellement conçu a été installé qui incorporait une boucle de cadre arrière et un boîtier électronique. Le sous-châssis permet à la position assise d'être plus basse pour vraiment aller avec le thème du brouilleur. D'autres ajouts au cadre étaient un bras à utiliser avec l'amortisseur de direction Scotts et des butées de fourche pour que le réservoir reste sans bosse. Lorsque le cadre est revenu de la poudreuse, le plaisir a commencé. Les fourches RMZ450 nouvellement reconstruites et l'amortisseur arrière Cogent ont été installés. Des roues Warp 9 (19" à l'avant et 17" à l'arrière) et des pneus Shinko 705 ont été montés, ce qui a vraiment fait du vélo un scrambler urbain. Le réservoir installé provient d'une Suzuki TS250 de 1978 avec le design d'une TS de 1974. Les ailes blanches pour aller avec le réservoir provenaient d'une Suzuki TM. La performance était une grande clé avec celui-ci. L'en-tête FMF powerbomb a été associé à un tuyau d'échappement personnalisé, et le carburateur FCR39 reconstruit semble donner vie au DR. Les autres ajouts incluent un support de plaque d'immatriculation intégré, un mini compteur Motogadget Motoscope, un allumage Motogadget Mlock, un siège personnalisé avec des coutures bleu clair et d'autres goodies pour que la version 2.0 se démarque vraiment. Rencontrez le Retro-Scrambler !

#03 Retro-Tracker

After finishing another Suzuki DR650 build, I decided to change things up and build a Honda to add to the stable. The design concept was a street legal Honda tracker inspired by the legendary Honda RS750 flat track bike. With such an iconic design and success behind its name, I knew I had to build a road worthy Honda tracker to give praise to the RS and do it right. When searching for the donor bike, I knew I’ve always wanted to build a XR650R. Being one of the best dual sport motorcycles ever built, I knew it would be perfect for this build. Finding one proved difficult but after a month of searching, I picked one up a state away and the build soon started. Going into the build I had much of the design already done because its been in my head for years now. Red, white, and blue tracker with high pipe exhaust was the gist. When the build started, I stripped the bike to only the necessary items. First order of business was the tank. With a 2” square backbone, I knew I would either have to build a tank or find one that fits. I purchased a 74 Elsinore tank just to see if it would fit, and with slight mods, it fit like a glove. To get the proper stance, suspension was next. I swapped the stock forks for CRF Showa forks that I rebuilt with Racetech goodies and lowered. The rear shock uses the stock shock rebuilt and lowered. With the proper stance, I started on the subframe. The subframe had to include an integrated electronics box, license plate holder, keyed ignition and the rear needed to be angled higher so motorists could see the integrated LED brake lights. Next was the exhaust which needed to compliment the look of the classic flat track vibe. A left side dual exhaust was made with SuperTrapp mufflers to add some flavor. I then started on the seat/tail section which was made to sit flush with the gas tank and include a small number plate as well. With all the main parts made, it was off to paint. The most important part of this bike was the paint. It needed to compliment the look of the RS750 but also be different. I wanted to the paint to flow front to back instead of having the design stop at the tank and tail section. I knew the red, white, and blue was going to be bold, but this bike needed it. Once I got everything back from paint, the newly rebuilt motor was installed in the red frame immediately. Soon the bike was sitting on the 19” Dubya Excel wheels wrapped in Mitas H-18 tires. Soon everything came together including the subframe, dual left side exhaust, and tank. To compliment the dual LED brake/running/ and turn signals in the rear, I added LED strips in the radiator guards for the running lights and turns in the front. They are bright and work great! For the carb, I chose the Lectron based on reviews and reliability, works flawlessly! Some other electronic items added was a Baja Designs S2 Pro for the headlight, a Motogadget Motoscope mini was used for the speedo and mounted to the tank is the TrailTech temp gauge. Push buttons on the handlebars controls all the functions of the bike. For the seat, I wanted it to have a little flare but subtle. I decided to have the seat wrapped in black vinyl on the sides and Alcantara in the middle. For the brakes, they were rebuilt and Galfer rotors help stop the pig. The XRR does not come with a key, so a keyed ignition is integrated into the electronics box. After 8 months of building this bike, its now complete and coined the Retro-Tracker!

Customer BMW R Nine T

I had just finished the XRR street tracker build in 2020, when I was contacted by a customer wanting a BMW R NineT built. When we were speaking about the project, I was excited and nervous all at the same time. It was a build that was going to be completely out of my wheelhouse since my main focus is on single cylinder/dual sport bikes. He really believed in me, so I took on the project and stepped out of my box in a big way. I soon picked up the customers bike at a dealership in IL, and the build started. The bike is a 2017 BMW R Nine T Racer model. The goal for this project was to transform this racer model into more of an urban scrambler. The focus was going to be on suspension, wheels/tires, exhaust, and nickel plating the frame. Since the customer lives in CA, it was important to make sure the exhaust was as close to CARB compliant as possible and modifications such as framework would be to a minimum. I was given a picture of inspiration and a baby blue helmet to match the paint, then the teardown started. The plan was to build a new tank and tail section, so those areas of the bike were addressed first. After removing the tank and tail of the BMW, I looked at the frame and lines of the bike. The R nine T has a lot going on underneath the tank and tail section of the bike, so working around everything was going to be a challenge. Since I was going to limit the amount of cutting and altering of the OEM frame, I decided to design a removable subframe that would sit outside the original frame but still be supported by the OEM frame. This would allow me to work around the OEM frame instead of altering it. The first version of the subframe was made to accompany a new tank. Since the owner wanted to keep the OEM airbox, we decided to keep the OEM tank and alter the subframe to work with the stock tank. The subframe would also house all the electronics so a splash guard and license plate holder was integrated in the new subframe. After the subframe was made, a tail piece and seat was made next, which also houses the brake light. I wanted to show off as much of the nickel frame as I could, so the tail piece sits on top of the subframe instead of covering it. With this in mind, a supporting brace was created underneath the tail piece, so the rider is actually supported by the OEM frame and not the removable subframe. The owner liked the look of the smaller headlights with a small fairing, so I made a fairing to accompany the smaller headlight and cover the stock speedo/tach. The last piece to be made was the exhaust. It is a 2 into 1 left side exhaust that uses a CARB complaint catalytic converter and a competition werkes muffler. After everything was made, the bike was torn down to just the motor. Since I normally do not work on BMW’s or bigger bikes in general, I had to have the engine hang from my ceiling to make the rebuild that much easier. The bodywork was sent to paint and the frames were sent to nickel. Once I got everything back, the rebuild started. The frame was mounted to the motor and soon I was able to throw some wheels on it. The wheels are gold Excels, 19x2.15’’ front and 17X4.25’’ rear wrapped in Shinko 705 tires. For the suspension, the bike was upgraded with Wilbers cartridge inserts in the front and rear shock was upgraded. After the black vinyl and alcantara seat was installed, the bike was finished. Other items installed on this bike were Rizoma front blinkers, and MotoGadget blaze pin blinkers for the rear. I could not be happier with the way it came out. This whole build was a learning process for me, so I am glad I stepped out of my box to take it on. One thing is for sure, German engineers know what they are doing. Even the bolts on that bike are nice ha-ha. Definitely would consider a similar build in the future. This is way out of my box, so I hope people like it, I sure do!