CAFÉ RACER 76: 12/04/13

mercredi 4 décembre 2013

YAMAHA XS 400 CUSTOM

The humble Yamaha XS 400 is often overlooked by people who are lured by the larger XS650 and although I’m well aware of the attraction of additional power, I’ve always been a huge fan of slightly smaller engined, lighter weight bikes.

When men first had the idea of dropping an engine into a bicycle, they used very simple, low-powered engines combined with very light, single down-tube bicycle frames which resulted in motorised velocipedes only just powerful enough to dislodge your monocle.

As time progressed and engineering pushed ahead motorcycles with 10hp engines were usurped by motorcycles with 20hp engines and as the decades passed we found ourselves looking at bikes with almost 200hp that weigh in at over 500lbs – 20+ times more powerful and 4 times as heavy as the bikes our great-grandfathers raced around wooden stadiums wearing leather helmets and having the time of their lives.

Telling you all of this is my way of saying that bigger isn’t always better.

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The Yamaha XS400 was first released by Yamaha in 1977, it’s very closely related to both the XS250 and the XS360 with all three models using an air-cooled parallel twin with a 180 degree offset, overhead-cam, 4-stroke engine. The model number indicated the swept capacity of the engine, as is often the case with Yamaha models.

The 392cc unit in the XS400 has a horsepower rating of 36, a 6-speed transmission and a top speed of 109mph if you can find a stretch of unpoliced asphalt and you have the nerve to bang the needle off the red line in 6th gear.

The beautifully customised bike you see here is the work of Kruz Company in collaboration with Niyona, the bike arrived at the garage in appalling condition and required a full tear down and rebuild. The engine was pulled from the frame and rebuilt from scratch, the frame was then cleaned and repainted before the engine was returned. A hand-made leather seat was produced by Niyona and that fuel tank was sourced from a Honda CB125, the front springs were rebuilt and lowered 60mm and new Brembo brakes were added to the front end.

As the XS400 neared completion a pair of Heideneau tires were added, a Renthal handlebar, Mini speedo, RCS clutch control and custom wiring loom were all added before the bike was rolled back out of the garage – ready for its photoshoot by True Biker Spirit.

If you’d like to see more from Kruz Company you can click here, to see the other products made by Niyona you can click here and to see more work from True Biker Spirit you can click here.

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Yamaha XS 400 Custom 740x492 Yamaha XS 400 Custom

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All images – True Biker Spirit.

via SILODROME

Riding With the 12 O’Clock Boys

As controversial as ever, like it or not these guys are getting some major coverage. I would bet the no. 7 on the kids bike is because he looks up to James Stewart and if he had a full set of gear and the possibility of tearing up a motocross track he would, but instead he is just a kid in the ghetto… From The New York Times: A group of dirt bike riders in Baltimore have been called reckless. But to them, riding their bikes provides a sense of escape. -

Startech Range Rover Sport unveiled at Essen, features styling & performance upgrades

Putting the sport into Range Rover Sport

Following a preview earlier this year, Startech has introduced their Range Rover Sport at the Essen Motor Show.

Range Rover Sport by Startech 02.12.2013

Designed to enhance the model's sporting appeal, the crossover has been equipped with a new front bumper that has larger air intakes and integrated LED daytime running lights. Moving further back, there's a rear diffuser, a stainless-steel sports exhaust system and 22-inch alloy wheels. Last but not least, the model can be equipped a suspension lowering module that reduces the ride height by approximately 25mm.

To spruce up the cabin, Startech offers premium leather and Alcantara upholstery as well as carbon fiber and exotic wood trim.

Under the hood, the 3.0-liter SDV6 turbodiesel engine can be equipped with an SD30 S tuning kit which enables it to produce 323 HP (237 kW) and 680 Nm (501 lb-ft) of torque - an increase of 31 HP (22 kW) and 80 Nm (59 lb-ft). The extra oomph allows the model to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 6.9 seconds before hitting a top speed of 222 km/h (138 mph).

Source: Startech

Going SOUTH

from my buddy Martin Petersson: “First leg of our trip, going south, in moving pictures! Includes highlights such as: Volcano riding, Christian drops his bike in a river, Julia rides with horses and I pop a wheelie”.

TRAVELS WITH OTTO : Twenty-years and 500,000 miles—this is a road trip that never ends.

By: David Ethier

In twenty-five years, Otto has driven over 500,000 miles (125,000 of them on unpaved roads), been through 200 countries, and 23 territories. Otto drove through northern Iraq and Afghanistan during the wars. Otto has been to Mt. Everest, Sudan, and has been in a shipping container 36 times. In 2012, Otto was the first-ever foreign vehicle to enter North Korea.

Otto is a 1988 Mercedes G-Wagon—the most well travelled vehicle on Earth—and his caretaker is a German man named Gunther Holtorf.

The plan was to travel Africa, from north to south. Take the car and stay flexible by foregoing traditional food and lodging costs. Keep the front seats, put a two-meter plank in the back, sleep on it, and place storage underneath.

Buy food in local markets and cook out of the back with a gas stove. Hang a water bucket over a tree for showers. That initial plan was to drive Otto for eighteen months. But, pretty soon, Gunther and his wife, Christine, realized that the more they travelled, the more they had yet to see.

An eighteen-month itinerary turned into five years spent in Africa. Afterward, they ping-ponged around South America. Then Panama. Central America. And then North America—all the way up through Prudhoe Bay, Alaska before hanging a right and traversing across Canada to Goose Bay in Newfoundland. This wasn’t the plan; it just happened. And kept happening.

The two of them spent over twenty years together, touring, living on 500-800 Euros per month, and returning to Germany or Jakarta intermittently to maintain Gunther’s mapping business. They averaged two-thirds of the year on the road until, in 2010, Christine succumbed to cancer. Naturally, she insisted that Gunther keep traveling. He keeps a photo of her on the dashboard.

About that trip to North Korea: the German ambassador filed an application on behalf of Gunther & Otto and, to the German foreign ministry’s surprise, the late Kim Jong Il approved.

In North Korea, Gunther and his son had escorts all the way up to the toilet visits. Gunther drove an escort in Otto, while his son rode along in a trailing car. The same thing happened in China–you need an escort to drive a foreign vehicle through the country–yet they were lucky enough to be able to drive through Tibet before it was closed to foreigners.

Otto even visited that beach.

If you haven’t heard about Otto before, that’s by design. Gunther verges on Luddite status, refusing to blog about Otto’s travels. He doesn’t have a Facebook page, Twitter handle, YouTube account – he doesn’t even have a digital camera or cell phone.

His position: If you are in the center of the Sahara desert, a satellite phone might work but only to tell someone you have that problem, but they can’t help you anyway. When you travel, you must take care of yourself. Gunther has had to fix countless flats and replace minor spare parts, but Otto still has the original gearbox, transfer case, axles, and differentials.

The man with five active passports (all nearly full, with a stack of fifteen old ones) sees no benefit to posting all of his pictures to the Internet. He has paid for everything on his own, refusing sponsorships. He didn’t want logos plastered all over his car, for security reasons. And, when asked about being the world’s most travelled man, Gunther redirects to Otto: I want Otto to be remembered…It’s not me that is special; it’s the car.

For more, check out Gunther's interview with Outside.

All images via screenshots of 23 Year Road Trip.

via huckberry

Sleeping beauty: Cisitalia awakes from extended slumber

In this haunting video, we see a beautifully patinated Cisitalia D46 awoken from a deep sleep – evoking memories of Tazio Nuvolari’s legendary performances at the wheel of one of the 31 D46s produced…

Video: Giorgio Oppici

Best of historic rally cars 2013 ; Show e pure sound

RBC’s CB250

Over the last few weeks we’ve been sending Bike Shed T shirts all over the world – South Africa, Australia, Germany, even India. It’s a good feeling to know how global this ‘scene’ has become. So when this cute CB250 build turned up from Croatia, we just had to feature it.

Zeljko started RBC (Retro Bikes Croatia) for the same reason most of us would start a bike building business. He got bored of working in an office making lots of money for other people, and decided to try and make some for himself, doing something he loved. He describes himself as having a ‘connection’ with older bikes, and set up RBC with the aim of producing quality, affordable bikes in a classic or Cafe racer style. Nothing coming off the workbench will ever be too ‘extreme’ as he always wants to make sure the bikes are everyday usable.

The CB250 was chosen because it’s relatively rare in Croatia (unlike here in the UK where couriers still thrash around on them in their dozens) and its satisfyingly beefy enough even though it’s only a 250. The other big attraction is the ease of maintenance (hence their popularity with the aforementioned couriers) which is very important for the young riders Zeljko is aiming at. They want style, but they have to watch the pennies too.

The engine has remained completely standard, all it needed was a good clean up, some new sparks and an oil and filter change. The Keihins were cleaned and inspected, re-jetted, synchronised, and equipped with open filters. The airbox, side panels, clocks, bars, rear fender, stop light, indicators, mirrors and countless other nameless parts were removed to get ‘the look’ he was after.

The frame, forks, swing arm and wheels were powdercoated and the tank painted. A modern front brake master cylinder was fitted (no one likes early 80′s disc brakes) along with steelbraided hoses, fork gaiters, clip ons and Beston grips. The seat and battery box were hand made and the frame was modified so they would fit neatly. The electrics were renewed and moved partially under the seat, and the rear chrome fender was modified to fit. In fact, lots of parts were made specifically for this bike during the build simply because Honda could no longer supply them.

Zeljko stresses that he’s not a pro builder and had no previous experience doing anything like this, but he does say he has a strong determination, and that, combined with the help of family and friends enabled him to finish his first project. Now he is focussing that determination on making RBC a serious player in the bike building world, and wants to be recognized as the first of its kind in Croatia.

The bike has only just been completed, and is now for sale (surely not for long) in a partner’s showroom in Zagreb. The cafe racer/shed build/custom bike world tour continues.

Posted by Ian@TheBikeShed

Dirtbike Magazine’s 2014 450 (+350SXF) Offroad Comparison

“Dirtbike Magazine took out all the 450 machines to their local stomping grounds for their 450 Offroad Comparison. Just because a bike or bikes does well in the motocross world doesn’t necessarily mean it will fair the same in offroad. We put these bikes to the test for several weeks to find a winner. You will have to wait for the winner in the upcoming issue of Dirtbike Magazine but we wanted to give you a glimpse now of the comparison…maybe you will even be able to guess which is the winner? “

THE 1968 BERTONE LAMBORGHINI MIURA

The 1968 Bertone Lamborghini Miura is one of the rarest and most beautiful cars of the 60s, hell it’s one of the most beautiful cars ever. Built by Nuccio Bertone for Lamborghini in 1968 for the Brussels Auto Show of the same year, the car never saw a production run and stands today as the first Bertone Lamborghini.

Nuccio Bertone went on to build a number of other cars for the former Italian tractor manufacturer, namely the Athlon, the Bravo, the Espada and the ugly ducking, the Genesis.

The Bertone Miura was sold to the International Lead Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO) who went on to use it as a display vehicle for the use of zinc-based alloys in road cars. Fortunately the New York City real estate developer Adam Gordon bought the Miura in 2006 and had it restored to its original condition. It went on to be shown at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.