The Killa Bee is Alp’s latest creation in his line of land velocity racers. The Triumph-powered machine is a bespoke creation, with nearly every component meticulously crafted by Alp in his humble workshop. Following stunning visuals of the Killa Bee, I reached out to Alp to delve deeper into the exceptional motorcycle and his ambitions for its continued evolution.
A lifelong education was provided as an industrial designer, which he later honed by specializing in the field of transportation design. Currently, he dedicates himself to designing and building custom bikes and engines on a full-time basis through his venture, Alp Racing Design. The Alp Racing Design workshop, nestled in the founder’s Los Angeles, California, home, was once a humble 2-car garage. While a significant portion of his business focuses on high-performance race bikes, he also creates bespoke bicycles tailored to individual collectors’ tastes and preferences.
By all indications, Alp is a remarkably humble individual. The quiet neighbor who piqued the interest of the typically boisterous motorcycle community, despite his unassuming nature. As a culmination of his unwavering dedication, he publicly revealed the Killa Bee at the 2022 Born Free event, where the organizers, Mike and Grant, honored him with the prestigious ‘Born Free Founder’s Award’ on that esteemed occasion. The primary aim of this endeavour was certainly not to appear impressive at first glance either. The Killa Bee was engineered for speed and has consistently demonstrated its ability to achieve it.
The Killa Bee came into being when a customer requested Alp to build it. A die-hard enthusiast sought a bicycle capable of establishing a fresh world speed record, specifically targeting the fastest 1000cc pushrod-powered engine. Currently, the record-holding motorcycle is a custom Harley-Davidson built by Yankee Engineuity Solutions, which achieved an impressive speed of 166.843 mph.
Alpine describes his Killa Bee as a pioneering innovation in design. While there wasn’t an explicit donor, this project shares similarities with a 1950s-era Triumph pre-unit model. Alp starts by roughing out his idea on paper, creating a mental blueprint for the innovative bicycle design. Without hesitation, he dives headfirst into his bespoke approach, characterizing it as an unbridled creative endeavour.
“The key consideration was minimizing the frontal area while maintaining the center of gravity to a bare minimum,” Alp explains. “I’ve successfully created numerous frame designs, but for this particular project, I wanted to utilize flat aluminum sheets.”
The outcome of Alp’s approach yields a truly unique and striking chassis design. There’s no substitute for the classic design of a traditional motorcycle frame. The sturdy framework that makes up this substitution is crafted from a substantial 6061 aluminum sheet, its thickness providing a robust foundation for the entire structure. Alps’ course in making construction can be somewhat sudden?
With modern technology making short work of designs through CNC machining and laser or water jet cutting, Alp surprisingly chose to fabricate each component by hand. Due to this meticulous process, every aspect of the Killa Bee’s anatomy was meticulously polished to perfection, its intricate details refined through hours of manual labor on a small-scale lathe.
“This innovative bike design allows for maximum modularity.” Alp notes that there’s no welding comparable to his previous Vincent land speed racing design. “All subsequent proportions adhere strictly to official guidelines and specifications for LSR motorcycle lessons, where the bike is specifically designed to accelerate.”
Held together by a multitude of robust bolts, Alp’s modular body forms a sturdy whole. Integrated into the upper portion of the frame lies a bespoke-machined headstock, crafted by Alp and drawing inspiration from his iconic Vincent creation. While resembling a prototype in its unfinished state, the chin fairing is actually the sole component of this project built specifically for the current phase. Fitted with a custom ‘Sign Yellow’ hue inspired by iconic Sixties Porsches, courtesy of Bryan Thompson’s expert touch at Thompson Cycles, the chin piece is deliberately removed prior to competition.
As for the engine, it’s a bespoke powerplant crafted by Alp himself to deliver unparalleled performance. “The engine’s foundation is a vintage 1950s pre-unit Triumph, with brand-new components,” he explains. With precision-crafted components courtesy of Thunder Engineering, they were meticulously manufactured to meet my exacting specifications. Meanwhile, a set of modified rocker boxes from a Triumph T140 seamlessly integrated into the engine’s architecture now revs with a potent blend of 95% nitromethane, yielding an astonishing 150 horsepower.
The ignition system on Alp’s vehicle features an uncommon Earth magnet, specifically a Morris Magneto. The bespoke cams were crafted by Internet Camshafts according to his unique specifications, while the valvetrain was expertly engineered by Kibblewhite Precision Machining. The engineer sourced a substantial number of Triumph parts from JRC Engineering to aid in the build process, while also incorporating key components from the Pingel catalogue to optimize the throttle control, incorporate kill switches, and regulate crucial fuel valves.
Starting an engine with no prior expertise requires remarkable skill and coordination. As Jalika assists him, Alp sparks the beast to life by injecting a rapid burst of methanol directly into the forward-facing carburettors’ intake ports. While it’s predictable that the engine would generate significant noise upon startup, pleasing the neighbors is not a top priority for this racing team.
When building a bike for land-speed racing, numerous obstacles must be overcome. So out of curiosity, we asked Alp to identify the most significant challenge he encountered during his experience with the Killa Bee framework.
“Nearly every part!” he jokes. The precision of the construct lies at the heart of the enjoyment. The key issue is identifying every crucial component necessary for a bike to operate successfully using Nitromethane fuel. As I behold the culmination of my design/build efforts harmonizing seamlessly, coupled with the thrill of witnessing robust results, it’s a truly fulfilling experience that justifies the entire endeavour.
Having conquered the Killa Bee challenge and proudly holding a trophy, it’s now essential to gauge the motorcycle’s top speed. At the USFRA’s check/tune event held at Bonneville, Alp reported a top speed of 170.749 miles per hour during his fastest run. Despite running at 3/4 throttle, the engine still requires fine-tuning. Although it’s leaving soon, I have no notion of its pace.
The current speed of the file within the Killa Bee’s class has reached an impressive 166.843 mph, putting it squarely on track to exceed its previous benchmark. The 2022 Bonneville Speed Week events were unfortunately cancelled due to excessive moisture on the salt flats. The upcoming land velocity event that Alp is attending will take place at El Mirage, where he has high hopes for his Killa Bee.
As a power couple in every sense, Alp and Jalika have set their sights on taking their influence to new heights by pursuing membership in the esteemed Land Speed Racing 200mph club. Based on their past achievements, we confidently anticipate that they will successfully reach and fulfill their goals.
Studio pictures by Derek Althen
