The Sultans of Sprint is more than a motorcycle race. The ranking is not just based on performance on the 1/8 mile dragstrip, but also the style of the motorbikes and how creatively they are put together, as well as online voting all count towards the final scores. The first race of the 2018 Sultans of Sprint, The Reunion, took place last weekend in Autodromo di Monza in Italy.
There will be four rounds of races plus a show run for this year’s Sultans of Sprint. Before the next round takes part on 29 June to 1 July at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, let’s look at some of the contestants rocking the carnival-like sprint.
VTR Customs x BMW Motorrad ‘Spitfire’
With the ‘factory class’ being introduced for the first year, BMW Motorrad created two one-off custom bikes specially for event. The first one is the ‘Spitfire’ based on a BMW water-cooled R 1200 R engine and the chassis of VTR Customs previous race car, Eddie 21. Taking inspiration from creator Dani Weidmann’s past as an airplane mechanic and a hobby pilot of an old war plane, the aluminium-bodied bike was formed, incorporating cockpit instruments from an English World War II Spitfire.
Krautmotors x BMW Motorrad R nineT Pure custom
Rolf Reick of Krautmotors has created a motorbike that changes its look in every Sultans of Sprint event. He removed the tank and seat bench from his BMW R nineT Pure and replaced them with one of the monocoques created by himself. He will have to create five monocoques in total, but that doesn’t seem to bother him as he can change the monocoque any time in a matter of seconds, and it is also easy enough for a less experienced enthusiast to handle. For the first race, he went for the style of a Dirt Tracker monocoque with a new steel tank and a seat hump.
Workhorse Speed Shop x Yamaha XSR700 ‘Sakura’
‘Sakura’ pays tribute to the 1985 Yamaha FZR750 Gauloises’ Bol d’Or racer from the Sonauto team. Brice Hennebert from Workhorse Speed Shop reworked the Yamaha XSR700 donor bike: the cooler has taken the position of the headlight, while the aluminium fairing is attached to customised brackets. The seat was also made of aluminium, while the original fuel tank was taken out and replaced with a 2-litre hand-made aluminium tank behind the belly pan.
Mellow X Triumph Thruxton R ‘Phantom Blaze’
Little about the specs on the ‘Phantom Blaze’ has been revealed, except that German studio Mellow Motorcycles has given the Triumph Thruxton R a Rotrex compressor kit, an improved and larger exhaust system and a special cooling system for the exhaust for making it even more powerful. The slightly muted shades offer a retro tone, the significant figure, 59 (which was the year Triumph’s signature Bonneville was launched) is also found on this custom bike.
