The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

KR800 – Kawasaki Rotax 2 Stroke Street Bike

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What was I just saying the other day about not seeing very many mix and match frames and engines in custom bikes? Bill Shank thought we might like to see what he put together in his garage, his KR800, a Kawasaki ZZR1200 mated to a Rotax 800cc 2 stroke engine from a 2003 Ski-Doo. He isn't the first to mount a snowmobile engine in a motorcycle, but it's an interesting combo that, … [Read more...]

Royal Enfield Ace Fireball Cafe

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When you come up with an engine modification for the Royal Enfield called the Ace Fireball 535, it sort of defeats the purpose to slip it into a stock bike, except for the much greater performance, a lot of folks might miss it altogether. Chumma, one of the partners in the Fireball project, just finished his new Royal Enfield cafe. (correction: Chumma did the work on this … [Read more...]

NorKaw – Kawasaki Z1 Power Motivates a Norton Featherbed Frame by Mick King

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With today's specialized frames, wrapped around the specific engine they were designed for with no room to spare, we seldom see builders mixing and matching in a way that was common in years past. There are exceptions, like Norm Wilding's Kawabusa, for instance, a ZRX with Hayabusa power, but most of the customs work with the engine they came with. Mick King, whose NSU … [Read more...]

Motus MST Motorcycle on the Dyno and in the Cold

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We haven't been hearing much from Motus, but as Brian Case told me, "we've been underground for a while, but that's what Winter is for, to stay in the shed and build s#&t so you can get it done by Spring." And then he gets to ride the MST V4 test bike in January, not in Alabama, but in Michigan. Cold? Oh yeah, but that's what it takes. Link: Motus Now check out the video … [Read more...]

Aluminum Block to Engine Block

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Here's how Kirkham Motorsports, the guys that build those aluminum bodied Cobra roadsters, put a big block of aluminum on a diet. You start the workout with 30 hours of CAD work followed by 50 hours of programming and finish with 30 hours of CNC. This exercise formula trims the overweight 386 pound block of aluminum down to a svelte 64 pounds of engine block. Yes, you've … [Read more...]