The FortaMoto Monkeys: Building the Brute

Yamaha TR1 café-racer X2

Two completely identical café-racers with gold leaf on the tank. Wrench Kings built these special machines together with FortaMoto, to create the ultimate set of custom bikes. Two Yamaha TR1’s were completely rebuilt to the ‘Identical Twins’, which they are now.

The two battered and bruised TR1’s were both tucked away in a corner of the FortaMoto shop, just waiting to be made into something cool. ‘They would probably be called a barn-find by now on eBay’, Neal (founder of FortaMoto) said with a smile. ‘We had been in touch with Joost from Wrench Kings, together we came up with idea to build two bikes – instead of one. Fully identical and both featuring the traditional horizontal café-racer look; you need to keep doing crazy things and setting unreachable goals to keep up the challenge.’ The foundation for the project had been laid.

The motorcycle

The Yamaha TR1, or XV1000 as they are also called, were only produced for three years. And even though the XV series are often used for café-racer projects, the XV1000’s are pretty rare. ‘Normally you would be dealing with the 920cc, whereas this is the 980cc version – which is then called the TR1. And on top of that, this version doesn’t have a cardan drive – it’s chain driven and has a mono-shock at the rear’ Joost explains.

Design

The first step in the building process is coming up with the design. FortaMoto really liked the idea of a classic café-racer combined with modern components. The bike needed to be bad-ass, a real eye-catcher for their motorcycle clothing store in Amsterdam, but it also needed to be suitable for burning rubber on the Dutch dike roads. Laurens and Neal used a mood-board to determine the style together with Joost, then Wrench Kings made some design sketches. You could immediately recognise a low, small motorcycle in those designs – a bike which has been rid of all of the things that it doesn’t really need. The classic Benelli tank was one of the first things to be included in the design, and a nice set of spoked wheels have also been drawn into the blueprints. To give an original chopper-ish bike the look of a café-racer, a buddy seat was designed to make it look like it’s part of the tank.

Now the design is definite, it is time to start dividing the rest of the work. Spoked wheels and two pretty looking front forks need to be ordered, all the electronics have to be thought out, new Benelli tanks have to be purchased, and the gentlemen need to find someone to do an excellent paint job on the tank. The first new parts for the twins were handmade by Marcel van der Stelt, basically a specialist blacksmith. He created the seats from aluminium, which seamlessly connect with the tank – making them look like one part.

Building

After the bike is fully stripped, a new subframe is made. This subframe supports the aluminium seats, and has now become the first step towards the bike’s horizontal design. The mainframe is also stripped and rid of all useless nooks and crannies. ‘It took a bit of trial and error, but it worked out perfectly thanks to a Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K6 USD fork’ Joost tells us. ‘The fun thing is that FortaMoto really put their heads together with ours, and thus come up with good input. They came up with the idea for this specific front fork.’ ‘They don’t only look cool, they also offer better steering characteristics and improved shock absorption’, Laurens from FortaMoto explains. ‘Just to not make it easy, we are not going to use original wheels in a non-original front fork.’ The new rims are supplied by Excel, they were specially spoked by hand to fit the new front fork. The GSX-R front fork is originally equipped with Nissin radial brake callipers, which are known for not having amazing braking characteristics. It is for this reason that we replaced them with the shit-hot Brembo M4 callipers, which are completed with a radial RC19 brake pump from the same Italian manufacturer. To finish off the front fork, a machined aluminium fork crown by Cognitio Moto is used.

The rear wheel has been replaced by a 17 inch spoked rim, also made by Excel. ‘If we are talking about custom: this was built around a hub and brake shoe of a Yamaha XS650’, Joost says. Operating the rear brake is now done with the help of a push/pull rod, which works both ways thanks to the braking system. The standard mono-shock is replaced by a new type from Hagon Shocks. ‘They were made two centimetres longer in the factory, this was done specially for this project’ Laurens from FortaMoto explains. This way the rear end of the bike comes up a little bit more, therefore it fits the design better. The rubbers are the Supercorsa SP’s from Pirelli, a sporty tyre with a tight design to complete the wheels.

Engine

The engine has been completely blasted and resprayed. The valve covers have been polished, making the engine look like new. The bolts in the engine have also all been replaced with stainless steel ones. The inside of the engine is not being altered. ‘Always change a winning team, unless you don’t really need to’ Joost jokes. The carburettors are being revised and equipped with a K&N open air filter, which is attached to the original part of the frame. The exhaust has been special-made by Gerard Kramer, a specialist in the field of custom made exhaust pipes and frames. He made a very elegant exhaust with 50 mm bends, where the first bends run linear to the V-shape of the engine. The subtle silencer under the motorcycle doesn’t disturb the flow of the design, it does however provide the bike with sufficient silencing and great sound.

The bikes have both been adjusted on the Dyno test bench. ‘They now run perfectly and have a little bit more power than when they were brought in’ says Joost. This result is mainly due to the air filters and exhaust, both providing a better flow.

The final transmission is equipped with a new chain. ‘Originally the TR1 has a 630 chain, a very heavy and clumsy thing. We have now installed the much lighter 520 chain, which is at least just as strong. So it’s not only about the look, but also about reducing the weight and improving the handling of the machine’ Laurens says. The tooth wheel ratio has also been adjusted; the rear gear has become two teeth bigger, which gives more emphasis to the acceleration and less focus on top speed.

Sitting posture

Because the complete line of the bike is going to change, the sitting posture has to receive a big makeover too. The clip-ons (also taken from a GSX-R) provide a deeper posture. To give the legs enough room, Joost places the Tarozzi-steps far back. The aluminium seat is covered with black leather made by a car interior company called Ellermayer, known for the Dutch Spyker cars. The handles have been covered with the same leather. The extraordinary tank and seat have been designed by Livingstone Rijff of LifeCreations. The base colour is jet black and the tank has received a detail which has been inlaid with gold leaf. A hell of a job, it took about 4 weeks! In the circle which usually contains the Benelli logo, the recognisable FortaMoto monkey can be found.

Electronics

The electronics have also been completely rethought. The electronic heart is now the famous MotoGadget M-unit. You can start the bike by using your mobile phone, or by placing the magnetic chip against the sensor under the seat. It is even possible to read out the engine by the MotoGadget app on your phone. The thick 7” headlight doesn’t move together with the front fork, it is centred and for that reason always looks straight ahead. A subtle led-strip has been installed as lighting. The small indicator lights (also from Motogadget) provide bright light, but do not draw attention when they are not activated.

“Building the Brute” on YouTube

‘They look really awesome!’, Neal says when he views the final product. Joost nods happily, ‘they do look pretty damn good’. Iron Monkeys Bertus and Brutus are now gleaming in the FortaMoto store, and they can occasionally be spotted in the centre of Amsterdam.

A kick-ass YouTube series (“Building the Brute”) about the building of the bike has been made. It takes you through the process of designing, stripping and building the Iron Monkeys. The series also reveals how much time, effort and elbow grease goes into building a custom bike. The first episode can now be found on FortaMoto’s YouTube channel. Every two weeks on Thursday a new episode will appear online.