love the result.”
The stock petrol tank was
also too heavy. After his earlier
adventures in carbon fibre you’d
think Torgil would choose that
material, but this time he went for
2mm sheet aluminum. “It’s more
straightforward and not as time-
consuming as carbon fibre. Still,
I used carbon for the rear section
and bikini fairing.”
On those round number plates
on the sides, the JPS logo has been
replaced with DAN, after the
bike’s owner. The name is also onwe wanted with this build.
That article about the John
Player racers gave us some nice
inspiration, and he agreed with
most of my ideas. The only time he
disagreed was when I wanted to
paint the engine black. But sure, it
looks pretty cool this way, too!”
The most important thing for
a café racer is that it shouldn’t
weigh much, according to Torgil.
“A stock SR500 weighs 175 kilos,”
he says. “I can’t understand how
the motorcycle producers can
possibly make their bikes so
heavy—do they make them out of
concrete and lead or what?”
The wire spoke wheels and
drum brakes were dumped to
save weight. Saving money wasn’t
as important, so Torgil bought a
complete ISR disc brake setup,
front and back. The wheels
were replaced with bespoke
magnesium wheels from Dymag
in England, 3.15 x 19-inch up front
and 4.25 x 18-inch in the back. “It
cost us £1750 for both wheels, but I
IF YOU ASK TORGIL WHAT THE FTG IN FTG CONSTRUCTION
STANDS FOR, HE WILL GIVE YOU THE ANSWER...
http://www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 250 | 100% Biker | 89