www.boxertrix.com

Here it is then - the results of our last 6 months or so development - the RAM-MOTO "Scream"............here in POC form, stilll, some small issues of design and detail to be finished - but essentially .......... it.

Probably a Marmite jobbie, but in the great scheme of things we did it because we wanted to, and it beats going down the allotment or golfing.

It's also acted as a development platform to refine our products - RAMSHOX, various GRP parts, Plug "Power Leads", "Y" Pipe, tuning chip, RAMSTRUT [ adj paralever ] and other parts.

The second and third styled [ Stealth and BCR - Boxer Cafe Racer ] bikes are being built up, and inevitably they will evolve. With our cars we reckon by car #4 we will have it as we want it !

At the moment designed for R1100S donors [ we now have 3 ], but we will design a special rear section that will attach to all other Oilhead models to allow the same conversion.

That does look good!!!!

Like that. Clean looking.

Yep, nicely done!

Cheers

I used to be be a big fan of cafe racers until they've suddenly become "hipsta"
That how ever has some nice details, love the speedo in the tank. my biggest thing when designing custom bikes is how clean they look with as much wiring as possible hidden, and that looks pretty good to me

All Marmite pluses so far then !!!

Thanx for the kind comments.

I'm a child of the 60's [ born 1944 ] and grew up with the original crop of "Cafe Racers" and always adhered to my own thinking and embraced the uncluttered style of the day.

A bit more [ !! ] difficult with "electronic everything", but we were determined to make the overall bike as lean and lithe and uncluttered as possible.

As the "tank" [ actually fuel reservoir ] now lives behind and above the motor [ 20 ltrs ] - all the electronics packs had to be moved. BMW [ gawd bless 'em ] took their usual - "oh this parts bin part will do" approach, and when you unravel all the ravelled [ must be a word ] spaghetti of wiring - it is JUST long enough to reposition the electronics behind the side panels! It's amazing just how much of nothing resides behind the fairing and "tank" on the stock bike. No ABS here [ or wanted ] - so a bonus in the space department. All we need is in the Acewell, so it was a no brainer when we wanted to declutter the top yoke area. We looked at mounting it on the top yoke, but that seemed to contradict what we wanted to achieve. As the "tank" [ cover ] was essentially a clean sheet of paper jobbie, we had some design latitude to shape and place the accessories. The Monza cap is a dummy which gives access to the tank proper filler below.

We're not happy with some aspects of the design [ style ], and those will be attended to on the #2 and #3 bikes. It'll be bike #4 before we are satisfied [ probably ].

All the newly developed parts are being productionised for general use - the RAMSTRUT is already out in the market and all the GRP moulds are now made. We listened to what folk were saying about retaining both stands with a belly pan - so ours does ! Holes and vents are optional.

More development pix available from the past 6 months if there's any interest.

looks great, personally I'd like a tiny flipscreen but that's a personal taste thing

I know it's not a BMW , but this was the last project bike I built, I think i spent more on the wiring than anything else, as i wanted it to be super clean.

Well done!!..for me I would remove triangular panel under seat to feature rear shock and pipe.

Mitch1100 wrote:Well done!!..for me I would remove triangular panel under seat to feature rear shock and pipe.

Thanx again.

RB - yet another example of a nice uncluttered bike - kudos.

Mitch - the triangular side panels are coming in for a reshape - after we made them we realised it's the only part with straight lines and doesn't "flow".

Idea one is to bring a radius in at the top rear to soften the flow and make the seat appear "shorter". The second thoughts are to make a new seat subframe with a gentle curve and side panel to suit. Personally I favour route 1 - AC is going fo #2. We'll make up a complete rear subframe to enable us to fit the same kit to lesser Oilhead models with the trellis rear seat frame.

We HAVE to retain the side panels as all the electronic squitter now lives there !

Here's the POC for the "tank" and re-sited electronics, which now live in a totally enclosed [ but with good airflow ] compartment. Note the masking tape - the designer's best friend !

The tank retains all the OEM items, so functions as the original



Early mock up of the Y Piece [ and adjustable Telelever ]. What you can't see from this shot is that the pipe is split just after the junction of the "Y" - allowing the OEM underseat silencer to be used - or for us, the side exit. Jigs now being completed for aftermarket replacement [ OEM style ].

Hi beachcomber
Honest appraisal from me.
I don't think the r 1100s is a good as base as a airhead unit is for building a cafe racer. Everything is just too big to get the paired down look that a true cafe racer needs. The frame is the wrong type to enable you to get good lines. The alternator sat up high under the tank stops you getting a decent tank shape with the standard frame.The engine , you can get away with as the colour helps mask is size. As others have pointed out the bike needs to have a lightness about it and the panels between the front and rear frame fill in are making the bike look really heavy and bulky. It's a sod trying to find places for the electrical gubbins a injected modern bike needs.
The workmanship you have put in and achieved is second to none and I know from personal experience how difficult it is to build specials.
Personally if I was using the r 1100s as a base, I would have a new frame made (tubular)and would use conventional forks . I would also junk the injection system and run carbs with a electronic ignition setup.
Please do not take my view as any way detrimental to the time, effort and money you have put into your projects. Ones man take on things is entirely different to the next.... Etc....
Good luck with the other projects and future sakes
All the best
Gus

gus wrote:Hi beachcomber
Honest appraisal from me.
I don't think the r 1100s is a good as base as a airhead unit is for building a cafe racer. Everything is just too big to get the paired down look that a true cafe racer needs. The frame is the wrong type to enable you to get good lines. The alternator sat up high under the tank stops you getting a decent tank shape with the standard frame.The engine , you can get away with as the colour helps mask is size. As others have pointed out the bike needs to have a lightness about it and the panels between the front and rear frame fill in are making the bike look really heavy and bulky. It's a sod trying to find places for the electrical gubbins a injected modern bike needs.
The workmanship you have put in and achieved is second to none and I know from personal experience how difficult it is to build specials.
Personally if I was using the r 1100s as a base, I would have a new frame made (tubular)and would use conventional forks . I would also junk the injection system and run carbs with a electronic ignition setup.
Please do not take my view as any way detrimental to the time, effort and money you have put into your projects. Ones man take on things is entirely different to the next.... Etc....
Good luck with the other projects and future sakes
All the best
Gus

Gus,

thanx for the appraisal ..............in response to your comments and thus the raison d'etre for doing the project.

Airheads - totally agree, but after building 8 of them over the years you suddenly become one of the "let's all be different together" gang. There's only so much you can do in the Cafe Racer genre with Airheads before it becomes a bits fitting excercise. I used the same Metisse tank on 3 of mine ! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Airheads, but a Cafe Racer is a Cafe Racer ........

Size [ gross ] WAS our major problem with the Oilhead as the original bikes have all the grace of a pregnant Whale. That said, there is only so much you can do to trim the bulk down. The original bikes work because they are what they are - but when you want a leaner, de-cluttered look you either go BCR [ there we go again - "let's all be different together" or you have to try to break the mould. To be honest I had fully expected a rake of "what are you doing to our classic bikes you hooligans".

Initially we did have the area under the seat open - agree - looked much better - then we had to lose the electronics....... Also, before anyone else points it out - the seat is probably too big enough.

We DO have a one off frame - but that would negate the idea of a simple parts replacement and we didn't want to get into the realms of MSVA. As it stands, the bike retains all the oriiginal components and only requires a normal MOT.

I subscribe to a number of German mags [ BMW and Custom ] and have seen what the Germans have been doing with the Oilheads. There are some stunning [ design and engineering wise ] "Specials", but the idea here was to produce something that could be replicated as a commercial enterprise.

We headed this "Marmite", as I didn't expect anything other than that opinion wise. I fully expect the minus column to grow !!! Your response is measured and as you say - personal opinion and I appreciate you have taken the time to add your comments. Your commets re: the engineering work / effort are much appreciated.


OMG - have you seen what we did with the Oilhead to create a Y Trike ???

The latest poor unsuspecting donkey ......... for the "new" project [ turbocharged ]

Ooooohhhhhhh!
If there ever was a bike that needed a makeover and a turbo"............
There it is in all it's glory!!!
Please make it pretty and fast.

Gus
Ps ok , just make it fast then.

gus wrote:Ooooohhhhhhh!
If there ever was a bike that needed a makeover and a turbo"............
There it is in all it's glory!!!
Please make it pretty and fast.

Gus
Ps ok , just make it fast then.

No, the plan is "pretty" [ different ] AND fast !!!

Just as with the Scream, first job is to remove all the fuggly bodywork and see what re-packaging we might have to do. This time around that also involves the packaging for the turbo, intercooler, larger oil cooler, etc.,etc.

I have a couple of directions in mind for the bodywork makeover - so it will be out with the cardboard an masking tape in true Blue Peter fashion and see what works. That last statement is of course very subjective and could be even more of a Marmite jobbie !!

I hope to have the Turbo unit here in the next 2 weeks, but I've already mocked up on one of the R1100S' with an old IHI Turbo I had lurking around [ ex. Alfa Romeo ], and it looks more than do-able.