Magazine

Yamaha Fazer “Sixtino“

30 October, 2019 by caferacer Leave a Comment

This time it was not a Harley, a BMW or a Triumph. It was a 1998 Yamaha Fazer, yes, a naked one from the late nineties; That was the motorcycle that Lord Drake Kustoms received from his client.

Yamaha Fazer Sixtino by Lord Drake Kustoms

I want you to customize a motorcycle, which can be corporate and I want it to be with a 98 Yamana Fazer. ” This is what José (owner of Sixtino Design Labs) told Fran Manen of LDK.

“I loved the idea, Fran told us, and the challenge that the base was a motorcycle so little seen and those that do not use for the custom seen now, that they usually repeat the same model over and over again.”

The customer was clear that he wanted something scrambler, with taco wheels and the gas tank in matt green. From there Lord Drake Kustoms was free to choose the path he wanted.

How they did it

A job without many difficulties, which may seem simple, but that is very well done and with very special details such as the square headlight and the mask, which are those that give personality to the motorcycle and that have allowed us, in addition, flee from the boring monotony of the typical seven-inch round headlights or that of the round headlights with grid.

The rear turn signals, once the subframe was modified, were incorporated inside their tubes. The front and rear suspensions of the motorcycle were also modified to give a more stylized line to the entire project.

The military-type green tank, with the entire motorcycle in matt black, the brown seat and the detail of the light tinted in yellow has made this bike a very attractive combination that surprises everyone who sees it naturally and not through a photo, starting with its own creators who did not expect this result with a motorcycle like the Yamaha Fazer.

On the Sixtino Design Labs there is a phrase that says: “We are passionate about combining innovative ideas with designs that please the eyes.” This phrase has been the leitmotif of this project; It has been innovated using a motorcycle not very common until now in the world of customization and has been combined with a scrambler / street tracker-based design, which has resulted in a very striking and colorful motorcycle, according to the opinion of all those They have seen her.

The owner of LDK, has been so satisfied with this project that he has already begun to make another motorcycle with the same base (Fazer 98) but with some surprises and improvements that we will know shortly.

Technical data

Base: 1988 Yamaha Fazer 600 cc.
Fork: Original modified (-3 ”) with external bellows and the original one modified also with the custom link.
Deposit: Original modified.
Subframe: Modified.
Seat: Custom made and upholstered.
Exhausts: Collectors treated with ceramic layer and modified to adapt the tail.
Wheels: 130 Metzeler pneumatic front and back the same brand but 170.
Lighting: Tinted rectangular headlamp with mask, front / rear turn signals and LED taillight.
Speedometer: Digital Motogadget and witness strip.
Handlebar: BMX 7/8 style with new folding handles and handles.
Mudguards: Custom made front.
Side covers: Customized with grilles.
Other Works: Mirrors, transmission and chain kit, paint and powder painting of the entire motorcycle, graphics, passenger footrest modification, wiring, license plate support manufacturing, etc.

The wolf king … BMW Mardanis

29 October, 2019 by caferacer Leave a Comment

Sexual debauchery, Christian clothing, eating habits that included alcohol consumption… Mohamed Ibn Mardanis (nicknamed the wolf king of Murcia, Spain) became famous on both sides of the border for his lifestyle and if he had reigned in these times, I would probably have ridden this BMW R1200S, just finished by Lord Drake Kustoms.

Perhaps it has been, the most fun and exciting LDK project of the last year for the spectacular result and especially for being a BMW base not very common so far in the world of customization.

Fran Manen (owner of LDK), received a call from Fernando Cuello in which he commented that they had recommended Lord Drake Kustoms as the right company to make his dream come true: A BMW and unique and brutal.

At a later meeting they finalized the project and finally it was decided to use as a base a BMW R1200S from 2007. Fernando’s instructions to Fran to make the motorcycle were clear and strict: matte black and orange, a huge tank, cafe-racer style but with stud wheels and as simple as possible.

He began work and halfway through the almost finished tank Fran noticed that it was too large to paint everything in matte black and that some graphics should be added in orange, he called Fernando to explain it and hence the idea of putting a name . “Mardanis,” Fernando said, and then explained the origin of it; After the conversation and without having seen the motorcycle yet, Fernando’s expectations multiplied, he was so excited about the project that he decided that he would not see it until it was finished and that then he would have a great party in his honor.

When the day finally came when the “Mardanis” was revealed to its owner and a group of friends, it was at the spectacular party that was held on the estate where the ruins of Mohamed Ibn Mardanis castle “The wolf king”, in Monteagudo (Murcia).

DATA SHEET:

BASE: BMW R1200S
YEAR: 2007
CYLINDER: 1200 cc
FORK: Original modified
REAR SUSPENSION: Modified
DEPOSIT: Craft
SUBCHASIS: Craft
SEAT: Handcrafted including upholstery
ESCAPES: Modified collectors and Supertrapp queue
FRONT WHEEL: 130 Continental Tire
REAR WHEEL: 180 Continental Tire
LIGHTING: Headlamp with support, turn signals and rear light
SPEED: Relocation of speedometer and control panel.
OTHER WORKS: paint, powder paint, graphics, cuffs, passenger footrest modification, wiring, etc.

“Urbantracker” the Scrambler that hits the World Stage

28 October, 2019 by caferacer Leave a Comment

The scrambler “Urban Tracker” was a hit at the 2018 AMD World Championships

"Urbantracker" by Lord Drake Kustoms — There’s a Sportster Xl883R lurking under this offroad-ready custom.

Giving Harley’s iconic streetbike off-road chops is a thing, and a good one in our book. The movement even reached the world stage at the AMD World Championships this year when Fran Manen of Lord Drake Kustoms (LDK) entered this dirt-minded Sportster and Scrambler, called “Urban Tracker,” in the Modified Harley class.

How it was made

Lord Drake Kustoms started with a 2010 Sportster XL883R and made it off-road capable by ditching the stock suspension for a WP inverted fork and sturdy set of Öhlins piggybacks on the rear. The longer Öhlins shocks not only provide more travel, they also free up space between the tidy steel tailsection and back tire.

While we generally consider rippin’ around back roads on a Sportster a solitary experience, Urban Tracker’s tailsection includes a small pillion pad if you want to share the insanity with a friend. The bike’s fold-out passenger pegs are even still in place!

While the motorcycle started out with 883cc of displacement, it now delivers an even bigger 1,200cc punch. Custom pipes are routed nice and high and bellow with SuperTrapp’s bass-filled exhaust note. That cutout tank will come in handy for leg placement when it’s time to stand up on the mid-controls during adventures in the dirt. An ever-so-brief steel fender, fabbed in-house, should deflect some of the debris kicked up by the front 19-inch Metzeler Karoo 3 tire.

The slick front number plate that serves as a housing for the twin offset headlights was also made in-house. The bike even has an LED strip doing turn signal duty and brake lights beneath the tailsection. And, yes, that’s a license plate mount back there too. Slap on a set of mirrors and you could ride to your favorite fire road without fear of getting pulled over by the local constabulary. Then it’d be time to test the tackiness of the Karoo 3s.

Several clues on the bike hint at Manen’s personality. The popular saying, “Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul,” is painted on the sides of the gas tank. On the bottom panel of the tailsection is another popular quote, with a twist—“Although I walk through the valley of death, I will never fear evil. Because you are with me and I also have a good horse.” Then there’s his race number, 69, which needs no further elucidation. Seems like Manen is quite the character.

While scramblin’ Sportsters have been a thing for a while here in the States, it seems like the international scene is getting word how much fun it is to rip off road on a properly dialed V-twin.

Copper Boss ¿A Triumph Bonneville?

25 October, 2019 by caferacer Leave a Comment

At the end of 2014 the owners of one of the largest Triumph dealers in Europe, located in Belgium, visited Fran Manen to learn about their work and the facilities of Lord Drake Kustoms in Spain. At the beginning of 2015, that visit became an agreement for Lord Drake Kustoms to begin modifying and customizing motorcycles for the aforementioned Triumph dealership.

The first commission was a Triumph Bonneville with the objective that it be different, attractive in appearance and that it could be done in a little less than a month, because it was the first … It had to coincide with the opening of a new line of sales of exclusive and customized motorcycles by LDK, and this must be the flagship. Although time was short, here is the result: the “Copper Boss”. They practically left the owner of LDK white letter to do what he wanted with the motorcycle and only gave him a note: “Street tracker with very urban airs.”

And Fran had it very clear, nothing of typical black, gray or brown colors. No anti-caloric tape in the leaks. No long table seat. No arc at the end of the chassis and no Firestone tires, “all of them elements that, apparently, have become characteristic in most Triumphs when they are customized, whatever their style,” Fran tells us.

And what were the modifications?

Elegant ivory color and, for being the famous British brand, decided to combine ivory with a “British racing green” type tone that resulted in a somewhat lighter green than the original Triumph … and finally it was necessary to give it the striking touch but at the same time vintage and it was an aged copper that took care of it. Because it was the first commission, the number 1 was placed and from there the project began to be shaped.

Fuel tank made especially for this motorcycle. The entire metal rear section with a somewhat different style to what we are used to seeing, the seat and its handmade upholstery. In addition to many other modifications and small details such as the rear turn signals integrated into the motorcycle’s own chassis bars. And most importantly, immaculate details and finishes and outstanding in the last screw of the motorcycle.

This motorcycle was presented in Belgium, and has meant a before and after in the concept of transformation of this type of motorcycles … Such was the acceptance of the work of LDK, that two other orders were made: a Triumph Bonneville T-100 and a Triumph Thunderbird 1700 cc (Beauty and the Beast).

Technical data

Name: Copper Boss
Motorcycle: Triumph Bonneville year 2005
Engine: 800 cc carburation
Deposit: steel made by LDK
Filter: open box filters K / N
Chassis: rear part and rear footrest trimmed
Exhaust: modified by LDK
Handlebar: made by LDK
Rear: manufactured by LDK in metal
Seat: manufactured / upholstered by LDK
Front fender: original modified
Front suspension: original modified by LDK
Rear suspension: higher air, shock absorbers
Flashing: rear incorporated to the chassis and front on handlebars
Tail light: built into the tail
Wheels: Continental off road tires
Others: mini odometer, oil meter watch, old copper details, gas cap, headlight with shallower depth, Avon cuffs, footrests, front sprocket covers, etc, etc.

“Sixty-Nine” the sexy bobber

24 October, 2019 by caferacer Leave a Comment

The “69”, the truth is that I do not know if this name has it for the year of manufacture or because it refers to the acrobatic amatoria posture… perhaps for both reasons.

"Sixty-Nine" a bobber by Lord Drake Kustoms

I opt for the second option because it is a bobber motorcycle that as I was working on it seemed more daring, sexier and maybe even something rampant and radical. Yes, but with elegance!

The year also counts because it is still a reference to the old school of that time but adapted to the moment and tastes of the market now.

What I was sure was that I wanted something striking and at the same time simple and elegant. That is why I combined the luminosity of white with the classicism of black, with a golden touch aged between the two, but without abusing because I did not want to fall into making a vulgar motorcycle or “chavs”.

“It’s simply the” 69. ” Sometimes it relaxes you, and sometimes it puts you a hundred. ”
Fran Manen

With a very casual style and for all audiences (for bikers and non-bikers, for young and less young people), something to roll on any promenade in the purest Californian style, and that people look at you when you pass, with a powerful sound and lively. Of course, the somewhat radical stance that encourages you to give your fist to the entrance of a highway! It is simply the “69”. Sometimes it relaxes you, and other times it puts you a hundred.

Modifications of the original

Regarding the changes, the belt has been replaced by a chain kit designed by LDK, something more appropriate to the new style. The height of the rear suspension has also been reduced by two inches and the front one modified.

The escape is also a work of Lord Drake Kustoms, as well as both fenders and the mandatory license plate holder, also replacing numerous parts such as handlebars, turn signals, cams, fists, footrests, spark plug wires, mirrors …

This motorcycle has been in second position in the “Sportster” category of the European Harley-Davidson Bike Show “Eurofestival” held in May 2014 in Saint Tropez (France).

Technical data of “Sixty-Nine” bobber

Name: “Sixty Nine”
Style: Old School / Bobber / Cafe Racer
Brand: Harley-Davidson
Model: Sportster 1200 C
Engine: 1200 cc
Transmission: Chain kit by LDK
Controls: Forward controls
Brakes: DNA discs
Front wheel: 21 ”Rims Fat Daddy
Rear wheel: 16 ”Rims Fat Daddy
Fuel tank: Peanut 3.3 gallons
Front Suspension: Modified LDK
Rear suspension: -2 ”lowered
Front fender: LDK
Rear fender: LDK
Seat: H-D
Escape: from LDK
Air filter: Drag
Speedometer: Joker Machine
License plate holder: LDK
Lights: Headlight, pilot, turn signals …
Others: Handlebars, grips, cams, gas control, footrests, spark plug wires, mirrors …