Restaurant, hotel and casino chain Hard Rock Café will open the new venture on Tenerife, Spain. Hard Rock Café is famous for the rock and roll memorabilia and the walls of the new hotel will be neatly decorated with a lot of items from various performers. However, this time round, they have done a unique thing before the opening. They will have a custom bike built and it will be a fantastic café racer. The project will be under a watchful eye of Diego Bermudez, the editor of Spanish custom motorcycle magazine called “Revival of the Machine”.
Harley and Rock
Hard Rock is often associated with Harley Davidson and it wasn’t hard to guess which model would commemorate the opening. Bermudez, however, isn’t satisfied with any Harley and he really wanted to make this special. Instead of the latest releases which are quite impressive, he decided to go with a vintage two-wheeler – Harley Davidson FXS Shovelhead, that was popular in the 1970s.
Getting Help
Bermudez was in need of a local builder who was up to the task, so he asked Alberto Caimi to assist him. Caimi is the head wrench turner and designer at Valencia’s Bolt Motor Co. The two have met and designed a concept which will turn the Shovelhead into a Harley café racer. The project goes under the name of Old Wine, which is rather self-explanatory.
It was just a matter of time when Harley Davidson Spain would get on board with the project and they offered support and sponsored the entire thing.
The Changes
Everything was ready to get the project underway. A full engine overhaul was required and the motorcycle received new seals, gaskets and serviceable parts. Furthermore, a twin spark set up is being to increase the efficiency of the engine combustion. Instead of standard four, the new bike has six gears and to make the shifting smooth, a hydraulic clutch is installed.
The balance had to be found between adding modern parts and retaining the older vehicle, which is why the FXS’s frame remained original. Despite that, handling had to be improved and the forks have been revamped as well. Furthermore, the team used a Brembo oversized radial set up as the braking system whereas the 40-year-old wiring was crying for a refresh.
But that’s not all they’ve changed.
The Harley Davidson fuel tank should not be a part of the café racer design and luckily, Bermudez and Alberto know what they are doing. A BSA race tank from the 1960s was perfectly fitted the frame giving the motorcycle the look it deserved. Moreover, the team managed to create a balanced bone line in spite of the hunched backbone that is characteristic for the Shovelhead. All of the other components and elements that were necessary for the bike to get finished were manufacturer from the ground up.
Pain Job
This Harley Davidson looks unique not only because of the parts and the know-how of two experts, but also because of the paint job. And for this one, a man named RafaGarica-Cano deserves all the credit. A bolt-themed scheme was used for the body, but a tad of gold and black is added to the v-twin, and that brings all the difference. He also positioned logos perfectly, giving this bike the true Hard Rock Café appearance.
The Hard Rock hotel presentation in Tenerife awaits this bike, but after that, the Old Wine is going on a tour. Next year, it will be one of the special guests at the inauguration of a new hotel in Madrid, Spain. The life has just started for this brilliant café racer.