Once again, a comment on one post deserves a post of its own and Todd's comment on Julian Farnam's A-N-D Vehicles company is a great example. I had never noticed Julian's motorcycles before, but after seeing his frame and front end work it's obvious he deserves a closer look.
The bikes shown here are designed using, in one case, a Yamaha RZ350 engine and in the other a Kawasaki EX500 engine. He did a nice job with the single sided front end and his frame looks great. According to the comment Julian left on the other post, his business closed a few years ago but he's still building and modifying frames.
I often wonder if a company like his had started a few years later when the Internet would enable word of his work to spread more widely if things might have continued on. Then again, putting these photos out here now might renew interest in his designs and give him the opportunity to get back in the business. There's a lot of good work here, it would be nice if we could see Julian doing more of it.
UPDATE: Julian sent in a few more photos
More photos below:
Yamaha RZ350 powered design by Julian Farnam
A-N-D motorcycle frame by Julian Farnam
Single side front end with dual disc brakes
AND motorcycles AK-1 built by "Dr. Mike" Baylor
AND motorcycles AK-1
RZ500 powered AY-1 currently being built - Julian is building 4 of these frames, 3 will be available for purchase
Mayakovski says
August 28, 2007 at 1:28 pmVery nice, great craftsmanship.
I hope his starts up his company again.
hoyt says
August 28, 2007 at 1:37 pmHello Julian – fantastic work. awesome aluminum/steel trellis chassis.
On Michael Moore’s website (http://www.eurospares.com/index.htm) there is a photo of a booth of casting patterns. Did you cast the aluminum swingarms for the front-end?
Good luck
p.s. based on the eurospares site, I now know the origins of the spine frame Guzzi. I like the round spine instead of the box spine.
jp says
August 28, 2007 at 1:50 pmOooh. RZ500…two-stroke mayhem in a nifty frame!! Oh, to have immense amounts of disposable income!
GAMBLER says
August 28, 2007 at 4:26 pmWOW – great looking designs
wonder what he could do with a Kawi EX250 as the donor bikes sell for less then $1K – how light, & how much weight over the front end –
Julian says
August 28, 2007 at 5:31 pmThanks guys, I appreciate the enthusiasm.
Hoyt asked if I did the aluminum castings for the front swingarms. I didn’t actually poor the metal, however I did build all the match-boards (patterns) and core boxes seen in the photos. It was very time consuming, but worth it in the results. All my other projects (wheels and other frame components) I now send out to have the patterns made. Some are CNC machined in ABS plastic then mounted to boards.
By the way, the cast front swingarm is hollow and has an array of internal ribs and bosses to capture the linkage bearings. It was a very complex part to cast. I used some of the reject castings for destructive testing.
Julian
curt winter says
August 28, 2007 at 6:51 pmJulian, I think I met you one night in Pleasanton over a friends house. I rode over on one of my HD powered sport bikes, great to see your work and wish you the best of luck. You do incredible work, very nice.
Curt Winter.
Julian says
August 28, 2007 at 7:48 pmHey Curt, Ya. That was at Case de Stark, aka the Party Garage (Dave Stark’s house) I see you on your custom HD on Santa Rita once in awhile. Nice bike! It deserves an articele too!
RH says
August 28, 2007 at 8:09 pmHow did the AK compare to the EX? That sounds like a fun and relatively cheap racer project engine. Just got one myself last weekend……..
I vaguely remember one of the racing papers (Roadracing World – or American Roadracing before it went down the toilet) printing a small article a long time ago on an individual’s roadracer project. There was a picture of several unfinished castings obviously intended for an FFE configured chassis. I thought the article said the bike was going to use a big single.
Julian says
August 28, 2007 at 8:52 pmHi RH, Wow, that was a very old article. RRW eventually did a total of three articles including a very extensive rider review of the AK-1 at WillowSprings Raceway. Yes, there were plans for a forkless bike (to be sold as kits) that would be powered by a 600cc Rotax single. I have four frames almost completed, then abandoned that project for the AK-1s.
To answer your question, there is no comparison to the stock EX. The AK-1 chassis is a very modern, race proven chassis that out performs the stock chassis in every way.
To begin, the AK-1 frame is 12 lbs lighter than stock. It is much stiffer in the main frame area. The engine sits 2 inches farther forward for better weight distribution. The rake is about 5 degees steeper than stock at 21* (from verticle). The overall package uses modern components such as GSXR forks, wider 17″ wheels, R6 fuel tank, and a race style solo seat.
Jr. Ulrich gave it a very good review in the RRW article, although he said it lacked power (well, its an EX500 engine afterall). Sr. Ulrich liked it as well. He said it was very predictable on the track and thought it would be a perfect entry level race bike.
Feel free to leave your email address and I’ll send you a copy of the RRW article if you’d like.
Cheers,
Julian
todd says
August 28, 2007 at 9:39 pmOK, I’ve got Curt Winter a few miles from me on one side and Julian a few miles away on the other. I think that proves that I’m living in the right place. Maybe their talents will rub off on me…
-todd
hoyt says
August 28, 2007 at 11:14 pmhey – how ’bout a big twin sportbike with a Julian Farnam front-end ? That would garner some head scratching.
Gus says
August 29, 2007 at 9:59 amThe AK-1 looks much better than the stock frame too. There is a good balance between the amount of frame and engine that is visible. The aesthetics are secondary to function, but when someone can combine both & have the bike perform great, there is a distinct difference.
Jason says
August 29, 2007 at 1:46 pmAwesome Julian! You should get that company back up and running!
dr mike says
August 29, 2007 at 6:07 pmthe ak1 project was very fun and pretty easy to build. julian is extremely knowledgeable and very helpful. i could do it, and i’ve never built a motorcycle before. and they look way better in real life than pictures convey.
the first track outing is coming soon……
mike
easyrider says
October 2, 2007 at 9:30 amAwesome…
I have seen your bikes on the net before and I must say you inspired me to dream again…
I have decided to build my own alternative bike. It will be powered by an Rotax 650 single from my curent BMW F650 and will have a mono-backbone and Hosack fork designed by myself.
I would like to use a mono swing arm but That will be decided by my tight buget.
Hope to have some work finished by the begininig of the next seson. (I hate Romanian winters)
TheoA says
February 17, 2008 at 2:30 amHow can I get ahold of Julian ?? Perhaps he could get in touch with me about the AK1 frame, or the frame on the above pictured RZ….
TheoA says
February 17, 2008 at 2:31 amemail is: TAftonomos@gmail.com
Thanks!
BEN says
July 12, 2009 at 4:04 pmhey julian ,I was checking out the net and I saw the rd-5oo in there ?
I didn’t forget about it , just getting ideas on it oright talk to ya later…………
pOLLY BARTOLOTTO says
September 8, 2009 at 8:21 pmHI JULIAN, AWESOME BIKES! DO YOU HAPPEN TO BE RELATED TO WALT FARNAM FROM ASCOT SPEEDWAY? HE WAS FROM VENTURA AND USED TO COME DOWN TO GARDENA WITH HIS DAD. JUST CURIOUS.