Florett Gulf

Another twho wheeled adorned with Gulf colours; this time a lesser know German make called Kreidler ~ although in the late fifties one third of German mped were Kreidler. This is a 50cc moped, so quite a diminutive example of the race colors, especially with clubman bars.

Here's the bike in regular livery:

Although a small cc'd engine they did specialize to be Grand Prix winners in the 50cc class. Their better know model of this "Florett" line is the earlier one, nearly Italia in its design lines.

...and here's the racer, a svelte marvel!

Gulf color on a Honda 550 cafe "Le Mans Special"

Here's a beautifully detailed cafe racer prepared in glorious blue and orange. Thiunassuming rebuilt 1975 model has been methodically reconstructed with special care to details such as the sumptuous tank, tail section and he controls.

The orange painted frame is a great detail (ooh if I'd only had that thought with mine!)

A super little feller, probably fun to ride too.Build by Chris Trotter from Bozeman, Montana.

The '72 Bonnie Cafe Project so far...

The updates to the bike have been taking shape over the winter. The bars have been swapped out for a pair of M-bars, a shape developed to work specifically with the 70's steering triple tree where clubmans won't fit. These are from Norman Hyde in England; he specializes in upgrades for both Meriden and Hinckley Triumphs. Also from NH are a pair or rearsets, these change footing position with well manufactured cast aluminium plates and gear and brake levers. There was some fanagling with the fitting points as these were developed for the pre oil in frame unit models. There is still some tweaking with the fine adjustements and mounting to ensure the kick start lever swings cleanly, the gear change pivots correctly and rear brake rod arm levers well.

The tank was repainted to include a Gulf decal, adding to the Le Mans theme. Also a narrow nosed seat from a T140V has been included, swapping out the boxier seat that came with the original project bike. New downpipes and long Dunstall mufflers complete the clean, low fast look I'm trying to achieve with this bike.

                         ...looking forward to warm spring days!

Gulf Racing Colors

More and more bikes are cropping up with the sky blue, orange and navy pinstripe colors of the Gulf Oil scheme. It's the one previously mentioned in this blog being Steve McQueens Porsche appearance in Le Mans.

Michael Delaney: "A lot of people go through life doing things badly. Racing’s important to men who do it well. When you’re racing, it... it’s life. Anything that happens before or after... is just waiting."

One german garages version of an upgraded Bonneville (mark II 2000 models)

Another with swept back exhausts and racing fairing.

Ducati, orange frame 'n' all. Sublime...

The muscular Triumph Rocket Three; a drag strip racer.