the end of the silencer so no one
can miss it. Well, if you had this
motorcycle you’d be pretty proud
of it, too.
The stock SR had the oil in the
frame and Torgil stayed with
that concept. He just chopped off
the rear section of the frame and
fabricated a new one, including
the swinging arm with eccentric
rear axle mounts. There’s also
those great little details like that
emerald-green windshield. “I
bought some green Plexiglas,
heated it up and formed it into
shape really slow and carefully”.
Lots of metal parts like
handlebars, foot pegs, etc are
made by hand by FTG. The
plating is pretty special—many
parts have first been sandblasted
and then nickel-plated. For some
reason this has resulted in a
bronze-satin finish.
The bike was finished too late
in the season for the Norrtälje
Custom Bike Show, and so Torgil
aimed for another show with a big
cash prize for the winner, the Gold
Bike Award at Gränsö Castle on
the east coast. It would become asuccess with a bitter aftertaste...
“The bike fell over in the trailer and the paint job
got damaged pretty badly” says Torgil. “My wife
talked me into entering the bike at the show anyway,
and I won first prize. But man, I was completely
devastated. It’s bad enough to destroy your own
stuff, but to fuck up someone else’s! I took me a week
to get up the courage to call Dan and tell him what
had happened. But, of course, he understood I hadn’t
done it on purpose. It cost me 500 euros to get the
paint job redone.”
Today the bike weighs in at about 110 kilos instead
of the original 175 and the dyno has showed 38 rear
wheel horsepower thanks to a ported head and
higher-than-stock compression. Torgil says the
bike is extremely fun to ride—which is exactly what
the owner does with it. Oh, and Torgil Duncansby?
You might be thinking that’s a strange surname for
a Swede. Well, Torgil simply took the name of the
village Duncansby in Scotland where he fell to his
knees and proposed to his first wife!TORGIL AIMED FOR ANOTHER
SHOW ... IT WOULD BECOME
A SUCCESS WITH A BITTER
AFTERTASTE
SPECIFICATION
SHEET
ENGINE:
Yamaha SR500 single, Lectron
flatslide carburettor, ported head, high
compression piston, stock ignition,
5-speed gearbox, one-off stainless
exhaust by FTG Construction.
FRAME
Single downtube by Yamaha and FTG
Construction in 2391 steel.
FRONT END:
19” Dymag wheel, ISR brakes, 140/70
x 18” Avon RoadRider tyre, Yamaha
SR500 forks, aftermarket CNC-
machined yokes, clip-on handlebars by
FTG Construction, ISR hand controls, 5”
Bates-style headlight.
REAR END:
18” Dymag wheel, ISR brake, Avon
RoadRider 140/70 x 18” tyre, modified
Harley shock absorbers, carbon fibre
mudguard by FTG Construction, Calles
Choppedelar taillight.
MISCELLANEOUS:
Aluminium fuel tank by FTG
Construction, oil tank in frame,
seat base by FTG Construction and
upholstered by Joel ‘Stitch’.
PAINT AND FINISH:
Paint by Totte Landberg. Nickel plating
by Flintlings.90 | 100% Biker | issue 250 | http://www.100-biker.co.uk
BIKE FEATURE YAMAHA SR500