Lead the attack This week, we’re looking at an unusual combination of a rare classic French scooter and a modern Honda powertrain. We’ve also got a stylish Triumph Bonneville, a barely touched Ducati MHR Mille and a shiny new MV Agusta Serie Oro 1000.
Bernardet x Honda Hybrid Scooter by Seb’s Atelier and Objet Marcant Just returned from a trip to Italy, the urge to buy a vintage Vespa or Lambretta is extremely strong. On the life chart, age and interests have a direct correlation with the level of feeling motorbike do—although they’re an often-criticized segment of the two-wheeled world. They’re cheap(-ish) to buy, cheap to run, and much more practical than traditional motorcycles thanks to onboard storage and lack of gears.
Today, scooters made in Japan, Taiwan and China are more common than any other type, but in the 1940s, local manufacturing was more common. That gave rise to European companies like Bernardet. Founded by the three Bernardet brothers, the company began by making sidecars in a small workshop south of Paris.
Eventually, efforts shifted to scooter production between 1947 and 1959. The bodies and running gear were produced by Bernardet, while the engines were supplied by Ydral, Marcel Violet and (eventually) Bernardet himself.
Parts for those brands are hard to come by these days, making it difficult to maintain old Bernardet scooters. That’s exactly the situation that Seb Ledis of Seb’s Atelier and Marc-Antoine Giorgi of Objet Marcant found themselves in with this gorgeous 1952 Bernardet C50. Luckily, they had a plan…
The solution was to replace the original Ydral 125cc engine with one from a 1997 Honda NX125. After many nights (and beers), the marriage between the 72-year-old scooter and the much younger engine was complete. The engine power remains the same, but the Honda is twice as powerful and infinitely easier to service and maintain. Seb and Marc-Antoine also built a custom 12V wiring system and converted all the lights to LEDs.
The engine now runs a Suzuki carburetor and a custom exhaust. A Volkswagen Beetle selector is mated to a six-speed gearbox (which sounds like fun). A new fuel tank has been added above the driver’s knees, in front of the diamond-stitched red leather seats.
The wheels are painted to match the seat and the Objet Mercant logo is hand-painted. The front bumper is from a Vespa and the rear air vents are from a rare Manurhin scooter. The red tinsel grips on the flat track handlebars match the red polycarbonate screen.
This is a stunning art deco design that looks amazing with over 70 years of authentic patina. Kudos to Seb and Marc-Antoine for blending old and new so perfectly. [Source]
Triumph Bonneville scrambler by Reverie 790 cc air-cooled engine Bonneville Victory The Bonneville is the bike that introduced so many people to cafe racers and custom motorcycles. The Bonneville line still exists today and is one of the best modern classic options out there—but it’s also gotten more powerful, and as a result, more complicated and more expensive.
This gorgeous custom Bonneville mixer from Reverie is based on the 2005 Triumph Bonneville 790. The 790cc engine has the typical 360-degree parallel twin sound, with two valves per cylinder, a pair of carburetors and not much else. It’s a wonderfully simple machine with all the charm of a classic motorcycle, but without the oil leaks.
Reverie tore the Bonneville apart, stripping it down to the nuts and bolts. The frame was nickel-plated and the fuel tank was custom-made from a carbon-kevlar composite. The rear subframe was cut, bent, and finished with a custom leather and Alcantara seat.
The tank and seat combination is decidedly desert sled-like, so the alloy fenders are mounted high to match, along with a custom high-mount exhaust. The high-mount exhaust highlights the Bonneville’s beautiful double-decker frame, while the subtle nickel plating on the frame highlights it just enough to contrast with the black and silver engine paint.
The front suspension has been upgraded with rebound and compression adjusters, and the rear has been replaced with a longer, more extended reservoir shock. The 19F/17R wire-spoked wheels are shod in Michelin Anakee Adventure tires. The rider’s cockpit area has been kept slim, with the speedometer embedded in the fuel tank. The carburetor has been re-jetted to fit the filter housing, and the oil cooler has been removed, with oil now running through the frame like the Triumphs of old.
For years, the air-cooled Bonneville has been one of the most affordable ways to get started in classic motorcycling—so it’s great to see a streamlined one on the market. [Source | Via]
For sale: Ducati MHR Mille 1985 Earlier this week, we outlined a shocking program coffee racing car based on the rare Ducati MHR Mille. But if you really want the original, there’s a nearly-new one for sale right now at Iconic Motorbikes in the US. And it’s a steal.
If you don’t know much about the history of the MHR Mille, we’ll fill you in. It starts with one of the greatest stories in motorsport: the comeback of Mike ‘The Bike’ Hailwood at the 1978 Isle of Man TT.
Before retiring from Grand Prix racing in 1967, Hailwood was one of the most decorated riders in history with 76 wins and 112 podiums from 152 starts. He was also the Isle of Man TT master, with 14 wins and 19 podiums.
However, it was his 1978 Isle of Man TT victory that was the most historic. Hailwood retired from Grand Prix motorcycle racing for eleven years but continued to race in non-championship events around the world. He surprised everyone by turning up at the 1978 Isle of Man TT on a Ducati 900SS supplied by Sports Motorcycles, Ducati’s UK dealer.
No one thought he could compete, let alone win the race. Ducati themselves were so impressed that they decided to release the 900 MHR (Mike Hailwood Replica) in his honor. Once again, the appeal of the Hailwood name proved the naysayers wrong.
The first production run of 200 certified motorcycles in 1979 sold out so quickly that Ducati decided to continue production until 1986. By the time it was finished, Ducati had sold around 7,100 MHRs—making it the best-selling rear-wheel-drive twin-cylinder Ducati ever produced.
The original bicycle was a 900SS with updated fairings (like the one Mike rode to victory), but over the years the engine capacity has increased and additional features have been added. The original bikes were designed to be pure racing replicas and didn’t even have electric starters or rubber foot pegs.
The bike you see here is a 1985 MHR Mille. Along with the larger engine, the MHR Mille got adjustable Verlicchi clip-on handlebars, an updated instrument cluster, rubber footpeg inserts, a hydraulic clutch, and the all-important electric starter. It also got a Conti exhaust and bigger Brembo brakes.
Around 1,100 MHR Milles were built, and they were the last rear-wheel-drive twin motorcycles Ducati ever produced. That alone makes them extremely desirable machines.
This particular MHR Mille is for sale with just 1.5 miles on the odometer. The bike is currently in Australia, having spent most of its life in Japan and the last decade at the Australian Motor Museum. It’s safe to say the bike has only been started a handful of times in its entire life—so it’s in dire need of a purchase, service, and re-entry. [More]
New MV Agusta Superveloce Serie Oro 1000 If I had to pick any sports bike from the past five years to put in my fictional Bike EXIF garage, I would choose the MV Agusta Superveloce. Its retro yet futuristic design, timeless paint job and fantastic materials list have had me drooling over the Superveloce since its launch in 2020.
Starting with the F3 800 as a base, the MV Agusta design team wanted to give this modern sports bike some vintage flair. The Italian brand has an incredible history, so there’s no better place to look for inspiration than its historic three-cylinder Grand Prix machines. Who knew that cleverly layering 1960s and 1970s-inspired bodywork onto a brand new bike could result in such a ridiculously beautiful machine?
Now entering its fourth year of production, MV Agusta has just launched the new Superveloce 1000 Serie Oro. And boy, is it a thing of beauty.
The first thing that stands out is the gorgeous red and silver paint job, which covers the newly designed body and bodywork. What started out as a sleek and elegant body has become more angular and sharp four years later. Still, it looks just as great as before, just more modern—and nothing screams ‘modern sports car’ like big aerodynamic wings.
The rear end is also more aggressive than the original, framed in particular by the quad-exit titanium exhaust system from Akrapovič. The new seat is upholstered in leather and Alcantara, and titanium fasteners have been used throughout the bike in a bold manner.
Like MV Agusta’s previous high-end Superveloce offerings, the 1000 Serie Oro features carbon fibre that stretches as far as the eye can see (actually, most of the carbon fibre is hidden under the paint, but it’s still there). The ‘1000’ in the name denotes engine displacement, with the 1000 Serie Oro sporting a 1,000cc four-cylinder engine rather than the 800cc three-cylinder found on the F3.
Brembo brakes and electronically adjustable Öhlins suspension are fitted at both ends. To take things a step further (and to justify the undeniably high price tag the bike will attract), Pirelli has developed a special version of its Supercorsa SP V4 tire for the bike, featuring red side stripes and a red Pirelli logo.
Limited to just 500 units, the 1000 Serie Oro is the best version of the Superveloce yet. And like previous versions, it’s likely to sell out quickly. [MV Agusta]
