Renstar

RenStar

Roland Sands builds a Bike Outside the Box

WHY ARE we here at the Streets of Willow Springs roadrace course to ride a V-Twin custom?

"Any excuse to rent a track, get out and burn laps on whatever we can get our hands on," exhorts ex-national-roadracing-champion-turnedbig-time-custom-bikebuilder Roland Sands.

He's also here to shakedown his latest creation, a tasty, tight waisted number based around a big hulking Star Vee-motor.

The project took flight when long-time colleagues Derek Brooks-a Yamaha product planner-and prototype/cus tom builder Jeff Palhegyi were out with Roland, riding supermoto and shootin' the proverbial poop. One subject was the direction of Yamaha's spin-off Star Motorcycle product line and a possible collaboration with RSD, Roland Sands Design. Sands revealed he had an upcoming spot on ESPN2's new "Chopper Nation" televi sion series;

perfect placement for a Star custom he wanted to build paying homage to Randy Renfrow, his former roadracing teammate, taken by the hand of fate in August of 2002 in, of all things, a simple fall down a flight of stairs. In a long AMA career, Renfrew was a champion on 250s,

Formula One 500s and Pro-Twins, and was universally acclaimed as the most likeable man in the paddock.

“I think about Randy all the time, and the fact that I never got to say goodbye,” muses Sands.

“This is my goodbye.”

Wait a minute: A custom built in tribute to a fallen roadracer?

“Breaking from tradition is exactly what Roland does, and that’s what he did with this bike,” says Brooks. “I’m blown away!”

One of the broken traditions built into every one of Sands’ custom bikes is rideability, and the new bike, christened “RenStar,” would be no different.

Unlike one of those china-doll choppers that look pretty as long as it’s ridden straight down the boulevard, RenStar takes to the twisty road less traveled, much like CW’s July ’05 coverbike, Glory Stomper,

Sands’ breakout custom built for Performance Machine, his dad’s aftermarket company. RenStar’s geometry is tighter than the Stomper’s with 2 degrees less rake, and it’s a little shorter overall. This is due in part to ditching 8 inches of transfer case during conversion from belt to right-side chain drive, a move that also frees up a little horsepower.

Speaking of which, there’s only one place to look when searching for more power from a Star cruiser motor:

Patrick Racing, winners of four consecutive AMA ProStar Hotrod Cruiser Class championships. Motor mods are many, starting with punching out displacement from 1670 to 1854cc-that’s as big as you can go without modifying the cases. Opening up the airway was next via a blended manifold, ported cylinder heads, 2mm-larger valves and a 42mm flatslide Mikuni in place of the stock 40mm CV carb. A lumpier, ceramic-faced camshaft goes in, as do Patrick Racing valve springs with titanium retainers and lifters. Trick telescopic pushrod tubes allow access to externally adjustable pushrods, also part of this package.

Cosmetic finishing touches are its nickel-plated cylinder heads and black Warrior engine covers. Collectively, Patrick Racing’s motor massage amounted to a substantial gain, netting 105 hp at the crank.

Racing cues reverberate throughout RenStar, from an R1-inspired, fabricated-from-scratch aluminum swingarm to an Öhlins shock and fork, the latter a 43 mm upside-downer. Over Racing rearsets look the part, and Dunlop tires keep with Roland and Randy’s racing loyalties.

As next-gen bikebuilder (and former race-kart champ) Jesse Rooke commented, “RenStar screams Roland Sands Designvery cool with racing overtones not common in the custom world. It’s a great example of the new breed of custom builders using their personal experiences to influence the bikes they build.”

Another track-bike carryover is a simplified electrical system. The start button is hidden below the swingarm pivot, behind the motor and just outside the battery box. There are no other switches. No tach or speedo, either, and on the handlebars only PM (surprise) Contour clutch and brake controls at your fingertips.

Reach down, thumb the button and the breathed-on motor fires right up, sounding good (and loud). You know it’s warmed when you burn your leg on the no-heatshield exhaust ppe. ouch!

This is no grocery-getter (surprise again). RenStar shows heavy steering until you pick up the pace. That's what hap pens with a fat 240mm Dunlop out back, a 120mm front tire and narrow handlebars. Apply throttle, move up through the gearbox and the heavy steering goes away. You can ride RenStar in a way that would have a traditional chopper tying itself in knots or dragging itself skinny, throwing sparks all the way. A single PM 320mm front brake rotor and radial mount four-piston caliper are more than willing and very capable of stopping the speeding Star.

Adorning the hand-fabbed aluminum solo seat cowl is the number 96, Renfrow's familiar race numerals. Look closely and you'll see that 96 Star-brand emblems have found their way into the Air-Trix paintwork in subtle remembrance of a lost friend.

Turns out a roadrace track is the perfect place for this bike.

Mark Cernicky