Richard II Bike

Delighted to have finished the Richard II Bike - its come out really well and rides and sounds a treat.

• 1970 FLH Harley
• New S&S 93" Shovel Engine
• Baker 5 Speed
• Billet Brakes 12 pots on twin discs at front and single disc at rear
• Paint by Keith Baker - "Swift Like Lightning"

Bike No. 7 Update - Richard II Bike

With all the excitement of the Custom Bike Show, I thought I would do a quick update on the Richard II Bike.  As this is essentially a re-assembly of a an existing bike (with a new engine) its going quite smoothly.  Paint will be ready by 7th March and so within a few weeks it should all be ready to test.  I need to sort out some admin for it, like getting the SORN removed, and a new Tax disc (free as the bike is 1971), and getting the V5 changed to reflect the new colour and engine - then the small matter of insurance, which is painful as unless they can tick a box on a computer saying that it is a specific model  - then computer does not compute.  Anyway here are some Hipstamatics of the bike so far.

Bike No.7

I had thought this was going to be Bike No.8, but due to circumstances I have brought it forwards and Bike No.8 will be the BMW R80, which will surface around the end of the summer I expect.

Anyway Bike No. 7 has no name yet - but it used to be the famous Blower Bike built by my friend and collaborator Richard Taylor in 1995. It started as an old 1971 Harley (so no Tax), built with amazing detail and a legendary Harmon engine harnessed to 2 superchargers - it only ever did 600 miles before the owner blew it up.  The engine was replaced with a Rev Tech and the blowers left on but disabled and the crucial gears thrown away, and its been garaged pretty much ever since.

I bought what is left of the bike last summer, with the simple aim of making it a nice rideable period style Harley - the period being Arlen Ness's golden years of the 80's and 90's.  Its going to be a very simple job, with a brand new S&S 96" Shovelhead engine, some new beach bars, a nice 2 into 1 exhaust and a slick black paint job from Image Design Custom.  All I need to do now is decide what the look I want and get on with it.  I want it finished for my first big ride of the year which is the 2nd Harley Davidson HOG Rally in Croatia at the end of May 2011 which will be around 1500 miles each way - so a real test.

Here is what the bike looks like now:

The 2011 Projects Bikes No.7 & 8

When I set up 7Ages, the aim was to try and do about 1.5 bikes a year - on the basis that each bike takes about a year to materialise and getting 2 out a year was just too much effort for what is a part-time project.
So 2008/9 produced Macbeth and Hamlet, 2010 has produced Othello and later on in August Bike No. VI  Caesar Racer will appear.
I now have the projects ready for 2011 and its good to know that there is something to plan ahead and look forwards to:

• Bike No.7 - I have already posted about this on the blog and its provisionally called Romeo's Beemer - a 1982 BMW R80 I bought on Ebay earlier this year.  I have just made the first investment in this bike by commissioning a set of wheels for it, from Taylormade Wheels in Wales - they will be matching 23" diametre wheels like on the last three bikes, but this time I am having them made from Billet Aluminium with the same spoke pattern as the original wheels.  In addition I have had to have the old BMW shaft drive and drum brake hub incorporated in the rear wheel - not an easy job.  Once the wheels are here I can then think about how the frame is going to work and how I am going to style it.

• Bike No.8 - I have agreed to buy the remains of the Blower Bike (see earlier post), and I am going to restore it to its former glory - only without the twin superchargers - by putting a brand new 93" S&S Shovelhead engine in which is totally appropriate for the 1971 vintage of the original bike.  When it was created as the Blower in 1995 all the styling cues were very much of Arlen Ness  - the undisputed King of custom bikes, such as the masses of billet aluminium and the huge extended fenders.  I really want to retain this feel, as I believe its due a resurgence in the custom field, after a period of back to basics bobbers.  The bike will be a beach cruiser with wide bars and a summery Californian paint job - I also want it to appeal to women riders after I watched huge crowds admiring a friends' female designed Sportser in St Tropez - and of course this bike has a very low seat height and ride position.

The Blower Bike

My partner in 7Ages is called Richard Taylor, who has been building bikes for years and is a genius engineer (he is my Mentor!) - he first came to fame in 1995 with the Blower Bike which featured on Top Gear, Big Breakfast, numerous magazines and show awards too.  In a bizarre quirk of fate this bike which he sold in 1995 has come back home, having completed about 700 miles all in - although the original Harman engine has gone.
The bike is registered as a 1971 Harley (so no TAX) and is a complete hand built beauty which has TWO superchargers, one for each cylinder, and when working is the nearest thing to a road going rocket on two wheels you could find - it needs a new engine and a restoration and styling to bring it into the 21st Century - and I am tempted - but anyway here are some pictures to show you what its like.  I would also add that when started up with the 2 blowers feeding a 120 cubic inch engine its going to sound like the Starship Enterprise.