highlights from the second leg of 2013 Dakar which was won by Stephane Peterhansel.

Watch the highlights from the second leg of 2013 Dakar which was won by Stephane Peterhansel.

GOOD WEEK !!

HONDA CB550 CAFE RACER

There’s a great story behind this Honda, owned by 33-year-old Chris Booth of Vancouver BC. Until he was 28, Chris swore that he’d never ride a motorcycle: “They’re far too dangerous.” Then he went on a road trip to Speed Week at Bonneville with three friends.

Chris had never thrown a leg over a bike before, but one of his friends had brought along a Honda CB cafe racer. And he let Chris ride it alongside the track—with no helmet, boots or gloves. After getting off the bike, Chris asked him how much he wanted for it.

“When I bought ‘Anna’ she was basically a stock CB500 daily rider, with a 4-into-2 exhaust and a set of clubmans,” says Chris, who quickly learnt to ride on the road during the Vancouver winter. “I thought I’d start by fixing the big ding in the tank. Then I thought, maybe I’ll paint the tank a different color. And then I thought, I’ll add a bump seat.”

And so it began, with Chris scouring websites for photos and avidly reading sohc4.net, the online bible for owners of 1969-1982 Honda four cylinder motorcycles.

The next winter, Chris upgraded the suspension with cartridge emulators and Works shocks. He fitted dual front discs and rear-sets, and installed fresh Avon rubber. He also got his hands on a Rickman Commando alloy tank, and had it altered to suit the Honda.

Then he threw in a 550 motor he picked up for a song. After six months, the 550 blew up. So Chris built up a new 550 motor, bored it out to 592cc with Dynoman 10.5:1 pistons, and ported and polished the head.

“At that point that I really got into vintage GP bikes. Nothing beats standing the bike up out of a corner and tucking into the fairing. I tracked down a guy in Holland who re-pops old MV Agusta 750ss fairings for the vintage race scene in Europe, and bought one.” It took 20 hours to fit it to the bike and manufacture the brackets. The paint scheme is inspired by the Yamaha ridden by Ago in his last World Championship, and the modern Rizla Suzuki MotoGP colors.

Chris’ favorite mod, however, is the braced swingarm with a hugger: “She tracks so much better coming out of corners now.”

Despite the racebike looks and extensive rebuilding, this CB550 has never been off the road for more than three days at a time. Chris even takes the bike on long camping trips—as far afield as California and Death Valley. “I like to ride,” he says. “She’s built with handling, speed and reliability in mind.”

A cafe racer in the truest sense of the word.

Thanks to photographer Luke Uri. Kodak Portra 160 film images taken with a Contax G1 w/ 90mm Zeiss and a Yashica FX-3 w/ 50mm Zeiss.

from Bikeexif

Dakar 2013 – Leg 2: Peterhansel takes the lead

Victory on Stage 2 has taken Stéphane Peterhansel (Mini ALL4 Racing/Michelin) to the top of the order in South America. He was joined on today’s podium by Giniel de Villiers and Ronan Chabot who are now also second and third overall. Al-Attiyah and Sainz dropped 11 and 18 minutes respectively and are 6th and 11th overall.

Leg 2: Pisco-Pisco (327km)

The decisive factor of today’s competition was undoubtedly the Waypoint (WP) at Km74.99. Depending on the type of waypoint (eclipsed, concealed, safety or visible), competitors have to pass within between 200 metres and 3km of the specified GPS coordinates. Today’s 242km stage featured seven such WPs.

This morning, a number of bikers had trouble triggering the Waypoint at Km74.99, and the car competitors had difficulty with it, too. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Buggy) dropped more than 10 minutes and described it as a ‘closed’ WP which only appeared on his GPS 50km further on. His team-mate and overnight leader Carlos Sainz suffered the same fate, dropping 18 minutes in all.

At the end of the stage, co-drivers Lucas Cruz, Timo Gottschalk and Jean-Paul Cottret got together with their road books to try to identify the reason for the problem. “We hesitated and got a little lost, but we didn’t panic and we found the correct route before the others,” said Stéphane Peterhansel calmly while observing the co-drivers’ deliberations. “Even so, it was a tough day…”

The stage win ended up in the hands of last year’s Dakar winner who finished 2m38s clear of Giniel de Villiers (Toyota Hilux/Michelin). “Today was more complex than I was expecting, with lots of sand and little visibility,” reported the South African. “I didn’t start well, but I went better over the second part of the stage.”

The 2009 Dakar winner has moved up to second overall, ahead of Frenchman Ronan Chabot who delivered another surprising performance in his two-wheel drive SMG buggy. “Just starting the stage in fifth position today, in the middle of all the factory drivers, was a dream come true. We were competitive with the 4x4 cars over the dunes but then we veered a little too much to the left. We found ourselves just behind Peterhansel and we followed him to the finish.”

Third fastest for Chabot was sufficient for him to gain a footing on the provisional podium, but his team-mate Guerlain Chicherit was forced to replace his SMG buggy’s rear transmission on the stage: “We had to cover the last 100km at reduced speed.”

Argentina’s Orlando Terranova (BMW X3 CC) was fourth, chased by Russian Novitskiy (Mini). Lucio Alvarez (7^th, Toyota) was delayed by unseated tyres, one of which occurred after a small ‘off’. Meanwhile, Poland’s Holowczyc (Mini) dropped about 10 minutes after getting lost.

The Truck class was won again by Gerard De Rooy (Iveco/Michelin), 1m1s clear of Loprais and 7m52s faster than the ex-World Rally Champion Miki Biasion (Iveco/Michelin).

Stage 2 classification:

1, Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini), 2h35m38s. 2, De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota), +2m35s. 3, Chabot/Pillot (Buggy), +3m52s. 4, Terranova/Fluza (BMW), +5m26s. 5, Novitskiy/Zhilstov (Mini), +9m33s. Etc.

Provisional positions after Leg 2:

1, Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini), 3h0m20s. 2, De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota), +2m38s. 3, Chabot/Pillot (Buggy), +2m46s. 4, Terranova/Fluza (BMW), +6m26s. 5, Novitskiy/Zhilstov (Mini), +9m33s. Etc.

Dakar 2013 – Leg 2: Barreda retaliates!

The second stage of the 2013 Dakar was claimed by the in-form Joan Barreda Bort (Husqvarna/Michelin). The Spaniard finished more than three minutes clear of Juan Pedrero and was five minutes faster than Matt Fish. Cyril Despres lost further time after getting lost and has fallen to 12th position.

Leg 2: Pisco-Pisco (327km)

The second day of this year’s Dakar remained in the Pisco/Ica area, a region favoured by tourists thanks to the Paracas National Reservation (Peru’s equivalent to the Galapagos) and the Ballestas Islands which are home to pelicans, penguins, cormorants, etc.

Paracas sits on the Pacific coast and its luxury hotels and residences contrast with nearby Pisco, some 80 percent of which was destroyed in an 8.0-magnitude earthquake in 2007.

The planet didn’t have time tremble under the wheels of Joan Barreda Bort’s Husqvarna Rally 450 RR/Michelin today, however. After emerging as one of the revelations of the 2012 event, the Catalonian biker won this year’s SS2 by a margin of 3m16s over his compatriot Juan Pedrero (KTM/Michelin).

“I decided to push hard today,” reported the rally’s new leader at the finish control. “Unfortunately, like a few other riders, I made a big navigational error shortly after the start. After getting back onto the right track, the rest of the day went well.”

“The navigation was tricky at times and there was some very soft sand in places. It won’t be easy for the cars,” commented David Casteu who was seventh-fastest today. A high number of competitors had trouble finding the Waypoint at Km74, including Paulo Gonçalves (Husqvarna/Michelin).

In contrast, everything went well for Casteu’s Australian team-mate Matt Fish who was third, ahead of Ruben Faria who finished well clear of his own team-mate, Cyril Despres. The KTM/Michelin star lost more than 10 minutes: “I veered too far to the right of the correct heading and found myself in another valley, but all the scenery looks the same here. I was with three other riders and it wasn’t easy.”

Yesterday’s pace-setter Chaleco Lopez from Chile dropped 18 minutes and has fallen to 20^thoverall.

Stage 2 classification:

1, Barreda (Husqvarna), 2h42m31s. 2, Pedrero (KTM), +3m16s. 3, Fish (Husqvarna), +5m53s. 4, Faria (KTM), +6m26s. 5, Caselli (KTM), 7m10s. Etc.

Provisional positions after Leg 2:

1, Barreda (Husqvarna), 3h24m11s. 2, Faria (KTM), +5m36s. 3, Pedrero (KTM), +6m36s. 4, Casteu (Yamaha), +6m58s. 5, Despres (KTM), +8m50s. Etc.

from motoracinglive

TWO PODIUMS FOR RED BULL KTM AT SX OPENER IN ANAHEIM

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ryan Dungey finished third overall on the KTM 450 in the opening round of the 2013 SX season at Anaheim on Saturday night and Germany’s Ken Roczen scored a podium second in the SX Lites West riding the KTM 250. In 2013 Marvin Musquin is contesting the SX Lites East competition.

While Dungey had solid practice times and survived several spills in his heat race to finish sixth to qualify for the main event of the night. He got off to a better start in the main and rounded the first corner in fourth to begin a four-rider battle for the lead with Davi Millsaps, Trey Canard and Justin Barcia. Dungey pressured Barcia for third for the first ten laps but when in striking distance he again when down in a small crash and lost some ground and valuable time. Then in the next lap it was Barcia who crashed and Dungey moved into third and held on to the podium spot to the checkered flag..

“I am excited to get on the podium at this race,” remarked Dungey. “It is a long series and it is good to get a podium finish at the first round to get us off on a right start. Last year, we had a great race at the second round of the series and I am looking forward to going to Phoenix next week and hopefully moving up on the podium.”

It was also a good start to the season for the factory team’s young German rider, Ken Roczen who took a second overall in the opener of the SX Lites West Coast. Roczen impressed the sold out crowd with a great performance to earn his first podium of the season after turning heads earlier in the day after setting a blistering pace in the first practice. He also clocked the second fastest time in the following two timed practice sessions.

Roczen got a great jump off the start of the first 250 Supercross heat. He was second after the first corner and passed Jessy Nelson for the lead half way through the next lap to go on an win his first heat of the season.

In the main event, Roczen again put himself in great position when he avoided a huge pile up in the in the first rhythm section and was in third place. He then made the move on Malcolm Stewart to advance to second. But early in the race Roczen cased a jump and jammed his wrist so he after the race he said he then focused on maintaining his second position in the 15-lap main. ‘Mookie’ Stewart also had a good night out, bringing the JDR KTM machine home in fifth overall.

After the race, Roczen commented, “You can’t win the championship at the first race, but you can lose it. I am glad that I was able to finish on the podium and put my team in good position for the championship.”

Next Event: Phoenix, AZ – January 12, 2013

All photos by S.Cudby

450 SX Main Event Results:
1, Davi Millsaps
2, Trey Canard
3, Ryan Dungey – KTM
4, Chad Reed
5, Jake Weimer
6, Andrew Short
7, Justin Barcia
8, James Stewart
9, Justin Brayton
10, Kevin Windham
Other KTM
12, Matt Goerke – KTM

250 Main Event Results:
1, Eli Tomac
2, Ken Roczen – KTM
3, Cole Seely
4, Jason Anderson
5, Malcolm Stewart – KTM
6, Ryan Sipes
7, Zach Osborne
8, Tyla Rattray
9, Max Anstie
10, Michael Leib
Other KTM
13, J. Savatgy – KTM

Speedfreak : Work in progess

pictures by owner Carsten. 

Honda ct 110 Express

Photography Chris Pearce at Dimension Studios

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AndyCopeland

Totally Crazy Custom Scooters

Here, in this post we revealed the weird scooter stuff. Normally this Japanese trend is simply too wild not to mention. These scooters apparently become a sport to customize the big scooter, for example Yamaha Majestic. You will see some of them really insane styles. Air Ride and killer paint jobs. Let’s find out wonderful images of the most rad ones given below.

In BikeGlam News

FOR 2013 : ON THE ROAD AGAIN !!!

HyperCar RaceCars Vs LMP1 / DP RaceCars

Leo Parente and ShakeDown look at all the new HyperCars being built for the road - Porsche 918, Ferrari F150, McLaren P1, Audi R20, et al, then asks, "Why not race THESE cars at Le Mans, WEC, ALMS, Grand-Am vs the current Prototype racecars?" So, the question goes to YOU - Which should be the ultimate car class in Le Mans racing - The current LMP1 / DP's or a new HyperCar class?

Rooke Customs by Jesse Rooke

Here is a nice photo gallery of some special bikes built by Rooke Customs, all of which were created by the inspiration of Mr.Jesse Rooke. For those who do not know, Jesse Rooke is an American customizer who is a little special: his career basically begun when he still was a little child as he was competing with BMXs, dirt bikes and skateboards. He’s even been a baby-wrestling champion.

A bad motorcycle accident forced him to three years of semi-paralysis which did not allow him to walk for about two years. It was during this period of forced inactivity that he started toying with the idea of entering into the racing world, and so he began to design and build prototypes for Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki. As we said, Jesse Rooke is of a special kind: in the wake of the experience with prototypes, he then embarked on a new challenge. He saw a Jesse James show on Discovery Channel and decided to devote himself to the creation of ‘tailor-made’ custom bikes. That was the beginning of his real career, and also the birth of Rooke Costoms.

Since then, Mr.Rooke has received a number of awards. Each motorcycle that comes out of Rooke Customs is a one-of-a-kind model, and its production is very much appreciated by the American fans who do not hesitate to spend big money get their own bespoke motorcycle. And then the company released his own merchandise: through its official website it is possible to buy t-shirts, posters, caps and more. Rooke Customs can create any sort of motorcycle, and they work with cars too. Obviously, anything that comes out of their workshop is an absolutely valuable pieces, made ​​with the finest materials and therefore pretty expensive as well, but just imagine yourself riding one of these beauties.

from TWOWHEELSBLOG