Unofficial ZS War Bike Projects

[TacAir]

In 1939 Clyde "Slim" Williams and John Logan rode motorcycles from Faibanks Alaska to Washington DC. to push for an Alaskan highway.

Read about the trip here
http://deltana.org/images/1939_MC_trip.pdf

Film clips are HERE



Ya, and they were brass.

[Dak Kovar]

That's badass indeed. Thanks for posting that.

DK

[Dak Kovar]

Confusedyeti:
Here is some more information about that folding British para bike:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welbike

DK

[Dak Kovar]

More pictures:


Old

New


Some fan built one of these for real. I'll try to find the article and post a link.



Armored Ketten. Only one or two were made as an experiment.



DIY Chopper






These are for Kace. hehehe


A Renard. Wicked looking bike. Put some MT21s on it and I'll take it.
http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2011/6/28/ ... ycles.html


Of course I'd need a proper helmet.


I quess they copy the Germans also.


Family BOV


Almost like a Welbike


This was just too cool to leave out.


I'm not gonna caption this one. (Presents the photo and backs away)


Found here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... tem=#v4-36


Does not look fun.


Another way to move a lot of stuff.


The opposite of dressing Gray Man is dressing line Cpt. America. They will either cheer you or fear you. Both work.


BMW: The future of War Bikes. Electric will be interesting.


Interesting post war picture.
http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo ... after-wwii


Found out this was a BMW. Interesting.

[KaceCoyote]

IMS tank ordered. woot

[KaceCoyote]

Sorry for the low photo quality, ran out of light.

[Dak Kovar]

Looks sweet, Kace. What kind of tires are you running? I'm assuming it is still your daily rider?

DK

[johndoe]

Here's my beast in a ditch on the Dempster on the way to the Arctic Circle this June:



But all the money spent on crash bars, skid plates, brush guards, etc was well spent, as she kept right on going:



Of course, shortly thereafter I got a flat in the middle of nowhere, which made having a spare tube and some tire irons the real hero of the trip :

[Dak Kovar]

Nice rig Johndoe. Having the extra tubes and the tools to do the fix saved you a long walk I bet. lol. Good lesson. I guess knowing HOW to do a repair like that is just as important. How long was your ride and do you have any other good lessons you could share on a ride like that?

Thx,
DK

[skelco]

the Spitfite, All set to blend in to the english countryside

[Dak Kovar]

Love the paint. I once had plans to do one of my bikes in WWII German night fighter paint. Just for grins.

DK

[skelco]

Love the paint. I once had plans to do one of my bikes in WWII German night fighter paint. Just for grins.

DK

One of the guys in my club did a bike up like a P-61 Black Widow

[johndoe]

Nice rig Johndoe. Having the extra tubes and the tools to do the fix saved you a long walk I bet. lol. Good lesson. I guess knowing HOW to do a repair like that is just as important. How long was your ride and do you have any other good lessons you could share on a ride like that?

Thx,
DK

I think it was a bit shy of 6000 miles all told, completed in a bit under a month. As for lessons, I really learned how badly a long bugout will suck. I tried to camp as much as possible, and it was cool for a week, but it got pretty old quick. Getting off a bike from riding all day and not having a warm bed was pretty miserable a lot of times, especially in the rain and cold. Contemplating a long bugout on foot just freaks me out now.

Overall, though, the big lesson is the importance of prepping, which I don't really have to convince anyone of here.

[skelco]

Nice rig Johndoe. Having the extra tubes and the tools to do the fix saved you a long walk I bet. lol. Good lesson. I guess knowing HOW to do a repair like that is just as important. How long was your ride and do you have any other good lessons you could share on a ride like that?

Thx,
DK

I think it was a bit shy of 6000 miles all told, completed in a bit under a month. As for lessons, I really learned how badly a long bugout will suck. I tried to camp as much as possible, and it was cool for a week, but it got pretty old quick. Getting off a bike from riding all day and not having a warm bed was pretty miserable a lot of times, especially in the rain and cold. Contemplating a long bugout on foot just freaks me out now.

Overall, though, the big lesson is the importance of prepping, which I don't really have to convince anyone of here.

check out my pal Ilario's trip, talk about bug out http://www.vespanda.com/

[Dak Kovar]

Thanks for the comments gents. Those Vespanda photos are fantastic. There is one in there he took with an ADV rider. Cool shot. Time to go back to ADV and read some more about those guys and their lunacy.

Johndoe: I would think you are right about setting up and trying to sleep in a steady rain.....it would suck. Maybe it would be ok if I was 20 again, which I'm not. Did you post a thread about your trip anywhere like ADV? Got a link? (BTW, note to self: Use Tacoma to BO and the XR only to scout....or something.)

DK

[johndoe]

Thanks for the comments gents. Those Vespanda photos are fantastic. There is one in there he took with an ADV rider. Cool shot. Time to go back to ADV and read some more about those guys and their lunacy.

Johndoe: I would think you are right about setting up and trying to sleep in a steady rain.....it would suck. Maybe it would be ok if I was 20 again, which I'm not. Did you post a thread about your trip anywhere like ADV? Got a link? (BTW, note to self: Use Tacoma to BO and the XR only to scout....or something.)

DK

I posted a pre-trip thread seeking some route advice on ADV but haven't gotten back over to do a trip report. Now that you mention it, I need to do so. I met a bunch of fellow ADVers on the trip and would like to see if I can track them down. I just was so wiped out when I got home, and I literally had to move across the country two days after getting back I forgot about it.

[johndoe]

Nice rig Johndoe. Having the extra tubes and the tools to do the fix saved you a long walk I bet. lol. Good lesson. I guess knowing HOW to do a repair like that is just as important. How long was your ride and do you have any other good lessons you could share on a ride like that?

Thx,
DK

I think it was a bit shy of 6000 miles all told, completed in a bit under a month. As for lessons, I really learned how badly a long bugout will suck. I tried to camp as much as possible, and it was cool for a week, but it got pretty old quick. Getting off a bike from riding all day and not having a warm bed was pretty miserable a lot of times, especially in the rain and cold. Contemplating a long bugout on foot just freaks me out now.

Overall, though, the big lesson is the importance of prepping, which I don't really have to convince anyone of here.

check out my pal Ilario's trip, talk about bug out http://www.vespanda.com/

Wow, that's awesome!

[Jim_in_Calgary]

the Spitfite, All set to blend in to the english countryside

This is pretty good, but if I was going to ride this to work, I'd probably like to have 2 more spare tires/wheels in my backpack.

[blackedout]

No way am I going to bug out on this thing, but it sure is fun. Harley sportster modded to run fast and far.

[bucho]

With knobbies.

[bucho]

With motard wheelset.




Still need to get a larger tank.

[bucho]

Sorry was busy earlier when I posted the pics of my bike, didn't have time to finish my post.

04 DR650: stock suspension but upgraded fork springs and shock for my weight/riding style (best $ spent), 8" baja headlight, TM-40 flat slide carb, Renazco seat, DR250 taillight mod, a small rear rack that I picked up used from someone off of the ADV website, 1 tooth smaller front sprocket (I think its a good compramise for both street and offroad). Also have a TwoBrothers exhuast w/ a quiet tip (very important in my opinion).
Sooner or later I'll put a larger 4.9 IMS tank on it. I'll also get around to adding heated grips too. For anyone who rides in cold weather heater grips are fragging awesome. Heated grips combined with over mitts/hippo hands allow you to use light weight gloves all winter.

Its a good middle of the road dualsport bike. Big enough to go on the highway and still able to do single track. The second wheelset gives the bike a wider range too. The motard wheels are great and what are on the bike 90% of the time. Knobbies gets torn up quickly on pavement, its nice to have good street rubber. The motard wheels handle great on dirt/gravel roads the only real drawback is braking. As long as you can keep your momentum then do better then you think they would offroad. But of course I have a set of knobbies for real offroading. It takes about 20-30 minutes to swap out wheels.
I wouldn't use this bike as a BOV. I have a wife, small child, and a couple dogs. But I have a conversion van to use as a base of operations and could use the bike as a scout or to make supply runs.

I also have a KTM 300EXC (2-stroke). For anything offroad the KTM is so much better. Its an honest 100 pounds lighter. But the premix might be too much of a pain having to keep a stock of 2stroke oil and the bike's ability to carry gear is limited.

[bucho]

What are people's thoughts for carrying firearms on bikes?

I have a concealed carry permit. I have a nice shoulder rig I carry my Glock in. It fits nice under my riding gear. And is accessable with through the chest zipper. Or I have a snubby revolver I carry in the chest pocket of my riding gear. I know some people say they would never carry a pistol on their person b/c they don't want to land on it during a crash, but I think that would be more of an issue w/ a pistol worn on your hip.
When doing hardcore offroad riding I'll carry a pistol in backpack section of my camel back. Its not super accessable (having to unsling my pack), but it is there.

The only long gun I've ever brought along is a short double barrel shotgun side by side. That breaks in half and the pieces could go in a backpack. Has anyone ever used any sort of fork mounted rifle scabbard? Not that I'd try to use it for everyday riding. But during a zombie apocalypse it might by handy to be able to pull out a long gun as soon as you dismount...

[MaconCJ7]

What are people's thoughts for carrying firearms on bikes?

I have a concealed carry permit. I have a nice shoulder rig I carry my Glock in. It fits nice under my riding gear. And is accessable with through the chest zipper. Or I have a snubby revolver I carry in the chest pocket of my riding gear. I know some people say they would never carry a pistol on their person b/c they don't want to land on it during a crash, but I think that would be more of an issue w/ a pistol worn on your hip.
When doing hardcore offroad riding I'll carry a pistol in backpack section of my camel back. Its not super accessable (having to unsling my pack), but it is there.

The only long gun I've ever brought along is a short double barrel shotgun side by side. That breaks in half and the pieces could go in a backpack. Has anyone ever used any sort of fork mounted rifle scabbard? Not that I'd try to use it for everyday riding. But during a zombie apocalypse it might by handy to be able to pull out a long gun as soon as you dismount...

I carry on my person as a matter of habit. No sense in advertising you're carrying by opening up the saddle bags and putting your pistol in the holster. In the event of a wreck, I'd have bigger worries than landing on my pistol, i.e., living. As for a mounted rifle scabbard, I'm all for it and have been contemplating how to go about it. Something non-intrusive to the suspension and steering, as well as easily removable for when there is no rifle to lug around. Most likely, it will end up being mounted behind be though. Haven't researched existing devices yet, but it is on my to-do list.