Posted by Justin Lorraine on Tue, May 21, 2013 @ 11:19 AM
Here’s the lowdown on the uber-cool S&S 55th Anniversary show bike built by Francesco Mattioli of Crazyoils, for the S&S display at the 2013 Big Bike Europe show in Essen, Germany.
Since the European continental coolness index has its own scale, S&S wanted a special display bike with European attitude for Big Bike Europe. Something a little different from the show bikes we travel with here in the states. To make that happen, S&S contacted Francesco Mattioli of Crazyoils Custom Bike Builders to build a special bike for the show. Francesco’s shop is located in Segrate, Italy, just outside of Milan.
Francesco is a member of the International Master Bike Builders Association and is building a reputation in Europe and the United States for his unique, stylish and most importantly, rideable custom bikes. You can check out his work at his website at http://www.crazyoils.net/. S&S asked Francesco to build a custom bike based on a Harley-Davidson® Sportster® motorcycle that would be unique and innovative, but at the same time still retain that Sportster mojo.
Francesco started with a stone stock 1991 XLH 883 Deluxe, but since S&S gave him a free hand in the design and construction, all that we really knew about the end product was that it would be really cool and it would be very fast. We knew it would be cool because Francesco was building it, and it’d be fast because of the S&S parts that would be used in the engine. In Francesco’s words “You cannot have a great engine without having a great performing bike to go with it. But at the same time it will still look like a Sportster.” We had no doubt that this would be a stunning bike from the very beginning, and these photos show that our confidence was not misplaced.
As amazing as this bike looks, it’s not just a pretty face. This bad boy was meant to move. That’s what bikes are for isn’t it? Since the engine has been upgraded from 883 to 1200cc with the S&S 883-1200 conversion piston and cylinder kit, not to mention S&S 482 cams, Crane Hi-4N ignition, S&S Super E carb, a Stealth air cleaner with Muscle cover and S&S performance mufflers, it should be an exciting ride indeed. Lookin’ good. Soundin’ good. Goin’ fast.
Posted by Justin Lorraine on Mon, Jul 02, 2012 @ 11:50 AM
S&S Cycle's Engineering Manger, Jeff Bailey has been busy. Not only is his plate full with his tasks here at S&S HQ, but he's also determined to break some records. We've talked about his Bonneville run here before and now he's at it again. Here's what Jeff had to say about his recent activity:
"Racing at the ECTA event in Wilmington, Ohio went really well. My family (wife Jill, 2 daughters and my dad) and I drove down on Friday. Gene Dlask towed my bike and gear down on Thursday. He also brought Bonneville 200 mph Club member and long time friend of S&S Warner Riley with him. Gene and Warner got my bike through tech on Friday while I was driving down.
On Saturday morning, we were ready to run. I made 5 runs and worked my way up from 141 to 145 mph even though there was a stiff 15-25 mph headwind. I only had about 101 hp to work with and an open bike (no fairing) so I was reasonably happy with the first day’s results. Gene made 3 runs. The first one on his turbo ZX14 was 199 mph. The wind was “exciting” enough that he parked it until later in the day when the wind was a little better. He was able to make a 207 and 208 pass. These runs were good enough for both of us to set records in our classes. So at the end of the day, Gene was presented with a Wilmington Ohio 200 mph Club hat and shirt!
On Sunday morning we made another gearing and jetting change to my 1350cc bike and expected less wind. We were close to the front of the line and ready to run at 8 am. I made a nice 147.9 mph run. Gene made 210 mph pass a couple riders after me. We were both feeling really good and ready to keep making changes and going faster.
Unfortunately, at 8:30 while I was at the registration trailer turning in my slip for a new record, we heard them call for the fire/rescue crew over the CB. A rider went off the end of the runway apparently somewhere around 175 mph. 73 year old Gerald Deneau was killed in the accident. *S&S would like to extend our condolences to the family of Gerald Deneau. This unfortunate event is a reminder of how vital safety is in the motorcycle / racing world.*
After learning what had happened, Gene and I decided to pack up and head home. They said they would resume racing when the crash investigation was complete, but we didn’t really feel like running anymore and didn’t expect that they would rush the investigation to get the racing back underway.
I fully believe that my 1999 Buell X1 with a 1350cc S&S engine is a 150 mph bike with a little more tuning. I came home with an A-PG 1350cc record in the ECTA organization. I will run it again sometime, but in the near term, my focus is now turning to my 1995 Buell S2 with a 3000cc engine and a fairing. Again, the goal is to head to Bonneville this fall prepared to run over 200.
My engine is a 3-5/8 +.040” bore x 3-13/16” stock stroke S&S engine built on 3-5/8” bore Super Stock cases. The cylinders and heads are pretty much stock other than some angle work on the valves. Other than the overbore to get to 1350cc, this is S&S’s 79” Hot Setup kit with 92-1130 series pistons with 11.3:1 compression. I used a G carb, stock Buell header and a custom muffler to make between 101-105 hp.
I want to thank Dave Miller from Spectro Oil for his support and Tom “Santa Clause” Anderson from the Buell Brother’s Race team from the front fender. "
Congratulations to you Jeff and we love having the S&S family carve their names in the record books. This was a great way to prep for his upcoming runs at the BUB speed trials in Bonneville this August.
Posted by Justin Lorraine on Wed, Oct 12, 2011 @ 09:55 AM
Our friends over at the PowerSport Institute, who carry out our S&S Dealer technical training program, along with tech training for all aspects of the powersports industry, have a new project to show off. Last August during the 2011 Sturgis rally, the students and instructors at PSI unveiled a custom bike build that was entered into the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building.
This build is the pride and vision of PowerSport Institute Students. Hence the bike's name, "Students Pride". This 2004 Big Dog has an S&S 107" engine and was hand built by the students from fabrication of fuel tank, forming of handmade side covers, fitting the seat pan to Corbin one-off seat and mounting Corbin bags to a Softail Frame. The one-off pipes were designed and manufactured by SuperTrapp. All molding, paint prep, selection and application completed by PSI students with assistance of PSI Instructors.
Student Builders (from left to right): Brenda Riley, Angelica Hrach, Brandon Timberman, Matt Laughbaum, Tom Lucas, John Fabrizio, Carl Lehman. Not pictured: Samuel Doyle, Nat John, Lucas Berkes, Wade Haller and Thomas McDaniel
PSI's Campus Director, Bernie Thompson reflected: "I enjoyed the enthusiasm and the passion the students demonstrated during the build, they knew it was for a special event and took a lot of pride in the workmanship. I enjoyed the entire event to see the industries creative minds with their unique craftsmanship skill was incredible. PSI was the only technical school entered into the event with some of the best bike builders in the world. A special thanks to S&S for your support."
This bike was built with industry partners support.
- S&S supplied engine components
- Baker Driveline supplied a complete transmission
- Gardner Westcott supplied all the fastners
- Super Trap built a one off exhaust for our students
- Jim’s supplied all tools that the students used for this build
- Tricky Air supplied the rear and front Springer air suspension
- Avon supplied the tires for this build
- Corbin supplied the rear bag and fender assembly
- Diamond Heads supplied PSI with a great job on cutting the heads and cylinders
- Daytona Sensors supplied the Ignition
- Accel supplied other ign parts
- Cosmetics supplied all the gaskets and seals
- Frame Lock supplied a frame loc system for the bike to be transported with... and worked GREAT
- Sherwin Auto Paint supplied the paint and supplies for this build
This is PSI's first entry into the AMD World Championship and their efforts were well recieved. The PSI bike placed 8th in the Production Manufacturer class and walked away with a very nice 9th place, out of 87 bikes, for the people's choice internet contest. Well done! We look forward to seeing what the students at the PowerSport Institute comes up with next year for the AMD build.
But, that's not all... PSI is gearing up for SEMA in November. At this show, a couple of lucky students have been invited to attend and build a bike during the show. This bike started out as a 2002 Stock CVO bike and will be air brushed by the Ohio Technical College during the show and as the students from PSI are building.
Related: S&S takes a road trip to the PowerSport Institute facility for S&S Dealer training classes.