Sunmaster14: Winner at Big Bike Custom Show

Sunmaster14 was one and a half years in the making with a lot of tribulations and hard work involved. She's my brainchild. I laid awake at night designing her in my mind and then drawing her in the morning. I built her from the ground up and I know every bolt and spacer. 

For me she's an extension of myself and I'm very proud how she turned out.

In the past year, she's been shown on many motorcycle blogs and websites (Pipeburn, bikeEXIF, SRTimes etc) and feautred on several prrinted magazines (SpecialCafe in Italy, MotoLegend in Japan, SuperBike Mag in South Africa and others).

The icing on the cake though, was given to me last Sunday in Bangkok.
After a first selection of over 80 bikes, Sunmaster14 got into the final with other 9 bikes. All the bikes were displayed at Terminal21, one of the biggest shopping malls in Bangkok who hosted the event "Big Bike Custom Show".
Looking at the other bikes, my expectations weren't too high. I thought maybe a 3rd place was within reach, so when the presenter first called the second runner up and then the first runner up, I lost all hope. But then, against all odds, they called my name!
Even my friends who came to support me couldn't believe it. I was the only foreigner among all the Thai riders and judges after all.
Yet here we are, Sunmaster14 and I, with our lovely trophy and a gigantic 50.000Baht. :-)))))

                  

Thanks for your support friends!

Happy Happy :-)

With the judges and promoters 

Project SUNMASTER 14: Completed

It's been one and a half years in the making, with up and downs and lots of newly gained experiences, but it's finally done. You've probably seen some of the work I've done here on the blog but I've been careful not to give too much away.

Last week she had an appointment with the guys @ FAT pictures, who shot some great photos at an abandoned car dealer.

People are quick to label everything out of the ordinary as café racers these days, but my bike is definitely not one. My inspiration comes from the racing bikes of the 60’s and 70’s, where every part had the specific objective to make the bike go faster. My goal was to create a bike with simple, timeless lines and with an eye for the essential.

The first thing you notice are the sensual curves of the one-off custom made aluminium fairing, made by the same supplier who also crafted the brushed aluminium tank and the seat cowl. The leather seat was made by the guys at The Sports, one of Thailand’s best customizers. The tank strap, the plexiglass fender under the seat and the tank badge on the other hand, are my own work.

The frame has been powder coated….3 times! “The first shop I’ve sent the frame to, managed to do an awful job, twice! It was only when I found Cog’n’Roll, a powder coating shop in Bangkok, that it turned out the way I had envisioned it. I think this satin dark bronze color looks great and matches the dark brown leather parts on the bike.

The engine was stripped down, cleaned and rebuilt and while the internals haven’t been touched, lots of goodies have been added on the outside. It now inhales through an open Keihin FCR39 carburetor and exhales through a powerful sounding megaphone muffler. Several engine add-ons like an oil cooler and bigger sized cooling fins ensure the proper cooling in Thailand’s hot weather.

A special mention should go to Nose at Paknam 2 Wheels, the only guy I trust to work on my SR. He got me out of an electrical nightmare and I’m forever grateful for that.

Sunmaster 14 doesn’t just look the part, it runs on quality parts as a racing bike should: Akront rims, Ohlins rear shocks and WP progressive springs at the front, Over rear sets, as well as a lightweight aluminium swingarm. 

This is my first custom job from the ground up. It has been a challenge at times and a great learning experience. I must say, I’m very happy with the final result.
Next week it will go to Siam Discovery, a very big shopping centre in Bangkok, to be shown as part of an exhibition called "Art on the move". Fitting, very fitting.

A detail shot of the seat cowl and the real leather upholstering done by The Sports.
The Yamaha aluminium badge was something I had laying around and wanted to incorporate it.

A freely breathing FCR39 makes a lot of difference!

All lines flowing the way they should

The leather tank strap I made

The proud owner :-)

The Plexiglas fender I made

The brass badge I made 2 days before the shooting. It looks better from a distance, believe me.

New Project Bike: SUNMASTER 14

This is the very first post of what will be a pretty long thread. This is the beginning of a new adventure.

Please allow me to introduce my new project: SUNMASTER 14.

Sunmaster 14 is the name of my new SR love child. The name comes from a character from the Isaac Asimov science fiction series "Foundation". Ironically, in juxtaposition to his grandiose name, Sunmaster 14 is a person of rather understated qualities. I immediately loved the name and the stark contrast it highlighted and I made a mental note to use that name some time in the future. Skip 5 years forward to the present.

I won't give away all the details of my new bike for 2 reasons. First of all, it is still mainly in my head, so things can change pretty fast once you try to put your ideas into practice. Secondly, I believe the project should be a step-by-step discovery for you as it is for me.

This will be the first time I single handedly build a bike from scratch. That means stripping my beloved street tracker to the bare bones and rebuilding it following a completely new concept. I will share my frustrations as well as my little triumphs, so as to give an insight to other novice builders like me, to what it means building a bike. The more expert builders among you will probably face-palm themselves pretty often. Please forgive my ignorance, I'm still learning.

Sunmaster 14 will follow a short list of guidelines:

- sleek, essential design

- form follows function, but form is still important

- SM14 will be inspired by the past, with small and unintrusive hints to the present

- most importantly: SM14 will not be a CAFE Racer! Verily I say unto you, Sunmaster 14 will take out the 'cafe' from the 'Cafe Racer'!

Starting point is my 1998 Yamaha SR400, which I continuously customized over the course of 5 years.

First step is to strip down the bike completely.

Taking off the seat and tank doesn't require any special skills. When it comes to the wiring loom however, the hair on my neck stand up to attention. Carefully labeling every plug and wire is a must.

After a fierce battle, the beast has been killed!

Quick jump forward...
Removed all electrical components, handlebar and top yoke, fenders, rear tire and the engine of course. Extracting the motor was actually much easier than I anticipated. With one simple movement it came out sideways. Piece of cake!

I had a broken bolt on the lower triple tree. Drilled it. Extracted it. Boom. Problem solved.

Next, slide the front forks out of the triple tree. When you remove the triple tree, the old ball bearings will fall out. Don't worry, they are meant to be like that. Best thing is to change them with new conical tapered bearings!

The bearing housing is stuck tightly inside the neck. Here's my special ball bearing remover tool...

After removing the swingarm and once the frame is bare, I got rid of that ugly helmet lock bracket and the original exhaust bracket.

The engine went off to a shop in Bangkok to get cleaned up, a new cam chain installed, valves cleaned, cylinder powder coated black and brushed side covers + sprocket cover.

Mine is on the right.

Before....

and after....

The frame came back last week. At first it looked alright, but once I unwrapped it completely, this is what I discovered...

Needless to say that I was pretty pissed of, but this being Thailand, I had to adhere to the Thai custom of not showing my true feelings. So, armed with a copious amount of self control, I went back to the shop. My Thai is basic at best, but by continuously pointing at the hard evidence, I got the message across. Now the frame is back at the powder coating shop and should be back next week. Fingers crossed!

Update will follow soon!