What do you do when you need a test mule for your self-developed motorcycle frame, but winter is coming and you are located somewhere in the Swedish Northern Outback?
NCCR, a family company from Delsbo/Sweden, whose team is since nearly two decades specialized on Buell motorcycles and aftermarket parts, developed a range of extra strength Docol steel frames for both Buell engine platforms, air- and water-cooled. In the middle of their work on what they call their Swedish Rotax powered V-Twin Superbike, Julia who’s in charge of construction at NCCR and Birgit who works with design decided to have some fun. “That project with the Rotax engine is great, but we are still in the state of CAD construction and I really needed a break and get my hands dirty”, Julia recalls. Birgit adds: “But we wanted to build something beyond the usual, nothing “out of the box” and without any limitation of usual Custombike stereotypes”.
So, mother and daughter sat down and came up with the story of what it will be like in 2 decades from now to go North in winter to Haparanda (a town on the coast line close to the finish border) to pick up the last 11mm drive belt for the 2002 Buell XB 9 R. The world will either be electric or post-apocalyptic by then and fuel won’t be available anymore. Winters might be less cold, but weather protection should be a good thing for that ride. Even if cheap EU import in the last years ruined the Swedish Moonshine tradition, the self-distilled booze is still a reliable source there up North and will be for sure in 20 years from now. So, the idea was to weld two fuel cells on both sides of their Backbone Docol steel frame for the air-cooled Buell engine family. “We anyhow will need to go from village to village to hang with the locals on that trip to get the booze and also that design will give us a nice spot to have a big backpack on top”, Julia laughs.
We anyhow will need to go from village to village to hang with the locals on that trip to get the booze and also that design will give us a nice spot to have a big backpack on top
The Firebolt’s engine was kept untouched including the factory race kit, but the injection system was converted from top filling to side sucking and got directly an E85 conversion to handle the alcohol.
In the barn, Birgit found a set of 17” spike tires, leftovers from NCCR’s 238km/h world record ice speed run back in 2009 with stunt rider Craig Jones on Lake Dellen. Now the ladies had the main parts for their “The Revenge of the Wastelands” project together.
“We have in ME Racing in Borlänge a very well stocked and skilled supplier for our SSAB Docol R8 tubes. However, when we asked for 100mm diameter 1,5mm tubes, they had to give us a pass. After some thinking, Lars Lagestam from SSAB, the Docol steel manufacturer, came finally up with the idea to use some 5mm seamless tubes and machine them down”, Julia recalls.
Of course one of the tubes jumped off the super turner, but after that drama most of the work was straight forward. The NCCR backbone frame got its side fuel cells welded on with the electric fuel pump integrated on the left side.
The front fairing is a reproduction of a 250 Puch race bike from the 60’s by Kent Riches from Airtech in California. The front lamps are full LED road legal 4,5” Bates style out of NCCR´s Brands4bikes aftermarket program and simply perfect for long winter nights. At Brands4bikes, they also found 2 Highsider Apollo “all in one” taillight, brake light and blinker combinations, which fit snugly into the end of the Docol tubes under the seat. A lithium ion battery sits now together with the other electric components in the modified Buell XB fairing carrier. Many more of the stock parts were kept untouched, as it is part of the NCCR aftermarket frame concept that parts like fork, swingarm and even the shock can be re-used. However, the “Revenge of the Wastelands” comes with a Wilbers rear shock to get rid of the original external reservoir. Finally, a steel tube protection was manufactured around the exhaust and NCCR’s in-house leather department made the seat and grips.
Before the trip now goes to Haparanda, NCCR got an invitation from SSAB for a photo shoot in the steel mill in Borlänge. “It was really cool to see where the steel we work with comes from”, says Birgit and Julia adds, “So many great locations, we definitively should come back next year when we have our Swedish Superbike with the Docol Trellis frame ready”.
Pictures by:
Birgitta Krüper, NCCR
Johan Stolpe, Confetti
Fredrick Källängs, Kallangs Photography
About ME Racing
More than 30 years in the fast lane.
Specialize in full Docol Tubes R8 and Chromoly 4130 tube chassis and roll cages.
Established and well-known brand in the world wide racing world.
As a leading and innovative chassis manufacturer, we have supplied winning chassis for several elite teams in both rally, drag racing and circle track racing.
SFI chassis committee member FIA/SBF certified
About SSAB
SSAB is a Nordic and US-based steel company. SSAB offers value added products and services developed in close cooperation with its customers to create a stronger, lighter and more sustainable world. SSAB has employees in over 50 countries. SSAB has production facilities in Sweden, Finland and the US. SSAB is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm and has a secondary listing on the NASDAQ OMX in Helsinki.