Simple Complex Blue

All complexity in simplicity is the main motto of my next project in the style of bobber. As usual, this story of a custom building, has a beginning. I wanted to embody in a metal densely knocked down, brutal motorcycle, without unnecessary details and other rubbish. There should be nothing superfluous, only the most necessary set for the philosophy of bobber building.

I decided to make the Soviet M72 as the basis for this project, in view of the small number of quality custom built on this platform. The frame and fork became the foundation and skeleton of the project. All the "extra" pipes and brackets were removed from the frame, all the seams were reinvented. But the fork underwent a very serious modernization, and was literally turned out on the wrong side (the left and right feathers were exchanged in places, so that the levers of the suspension were on the outside and the fork could receive a wide wheel).
The levers of the fork were mirror-digested, and the fork was cut down about 5 cm. Now, a wide wheel of 16 inches entered peacefully. The rear part of the frame is also slightly expanded, and the suspension is underestimated (high ground clearance, retracted engines - frequent stylistic error of the Soviet customs). The front wheel is based on the rear rim of the Kawasaki Vulcan800 and its own brake drum (substantially modified, redecorated, sits on a needle bearing). It turned out very dense running system with a fat brutal fork and on thick wheels. A thick horned handlebar, made with a back-up lever of its own production, matches the fork.

Now there are a lot of catalog headlights, stoppacks, turn signals and other products of Chinese industry, which are really unpleasant to take into hands, not to speak about putting it on a motorcycle. A headlight was bought from the tank and a stop signal from the old lawn. Import substitution in action, qualitative, iron, native, brutal! From basic details, only a gas tank has catalog origin.
Almost finished bobber had already pleased with its simplicity and conciseness, but as usual, I decided to add a certain feature. The top of the engine was cut off from the M72 block and the top from a later 12-volt Ural was welded. In order not to make any adapters for the generator. In the meantime, all defects in casting and unnecessary holes were welded. Then the engine with all the lids and the box were polished together, so that there were no steps, everything was polished.

After that, for two weeks, by my hands, with a small hammer the engine was minted. This texture is magical and unusual, these 150000 beats were worth it ... These little details have tremendous power, as they form the image of a motorcycle, its perception. Filled with this energy of manual labor, the motorcycle is perceived at a different level and becomes something more than just a motorcycle. So this way it gets its soul.

Of course, to match the engine, I had to outfit other details in a similar way. That required a lot of time and unprecedented assiduity. But it was worth it. Just look at this.
The desire for simplicity made me work well on the gearbox. The wiring is all made of black wires that are laid out imperceptibly and do not distract from the cleanliness of the lines. Handles, footsteps - ordinary, rubber, for the sake of simplicity and laconism. Silencers without excess kits come to the right and immediately end (made of stainless steel and have built-in flutes of complex design).
A ready motorcycle needs to be taught to ride, to solve all the issues. One of them was an electronic ignition, delivered solely for the sake of compactness and invisibility (only one wire from underneath imperceptibly went under the engine cover ...). But it was not reliable and I had to put a native ignition. But there is no electronics at all, not a single microcircuit. Absolute simplicity and reliability.

For daily driving it will be necessary to install a mirror and turn signals, which will partially deprive it of clean lines. The seat has a tapped texture to match the engine. A great painting completes the image of custom.