Rally dos Sertões: HRC Honda Paulo Goncalves fastest in the bikes prologue.

It was a noteworthy display from Team HRC as the Rally dos Sertões in Brazil got underway, with Paulo Goncalves and Helder Rodrigues finishing the prologue in top positions in a race against the clock over a distance just shy of 10 kilometers.

Victory, in a very quick and surprise-free prologue, allows Paulo Goncalves to choose Sunday’s starting position in first full stage, which sets out from Goiania and winds up in Caldas Novas, 216.21 kilometers later. 155 km will be against the clock.

"I’m very pleased because I’ve won the prologue in the Rally," Goncalves said. "Sunday sees the first long special at 160 kilometers. I hope to be on form and be in the running for the victory as this rally means a lot to me."

Helder Rodrigues crossed the finish-line just 24 seconds behind his fellow-countryman in fifth position, which also sets the rider up for a good starting position on Sunday.

Helder Rodrigues reported: "Today is the first day of the race for us. It was a very short 10 kilometer special, and a very important one, as everyone was looking for a good position so as to avoid the dust tomorrow. That’s why it is so important to be in the best starting positions and keep pushing throughout the race."

The fine performance of the Honda Brazil team, should be highlighted, with Jean Azevedo scoring the second best time and Julio Zavatti, ninth.

"Today Team HRC began the Rally in good form," said Wolfgang Fischer, Team HRC Team Manager. "Paulo Goncalves won the Super Special and Helder Rodrigues finished well in fifth place. We are in the position to choose the starting-order tomorrow. The Honda Brazil team, who have been the best hosts, have also done a great job, and Jean Azevedo finished in second place. We have great opportunities and are very motivated ahead of Sunday’s long first stage." 

8 Heures d’Oschersleben : Honda Racing s’impose en Allemagne / Honda Racing triumphs in Germany

Honda Racing (Dunlop) enlève sa première victoire de la saison 2014 en remportant les 8 Heures d’Oschersleben, avant-dernière manche du championnat du monde d’Endurance (EWC). Deuxième, le GMT 94 (Michelin) conforte sa position de leader au classement général avant d’aborder la finale, les 24 Heures Moto, les 20 et 21 septembre au Mans. Bolliger Team Switzerland (Pirelli) complète le podium.

L’édition 2014 des 8 Heures d’Oschersleben a été marquée par de nombreuses chutes et n’a épargné aucun prétendant à la victoire excepté le vainqueur.

Le SERT a été le premier en à faire les frais avec la chute d’Anthony Delhalle au premier tour. Immobilisée 10 minutes au stand, la Suzuki n°1 a rejoint la piste en dernière position à cinq tours des leaders.

Puis, juste avant la demi-heure de course, SRC Kawasaki, alors deuxième, a chuté à son tour, gêné par un retardataire. La Kawasaki n°11 est repartie à la 36^ème place à neuf tours du leader.

Cinquième sur la grille, Honda Racing s’est hissé à la deuxième place dès le départ et s’est emparé des commandes au sixième tour aux dépens de SRC Kawasaki. Réguliers, Julien Da Costa, Sébastien Gimbert et Freddy Foray ont enchaîné des relais rapides permettant à la Honda n°111 de conserver la tête à l’issue du troisième ravitaillement. Efficace lors des arrêts au stand et bénéficiant d’une machine relativement économe, l’équipe Honda Racing rallie l’arrivée en bouclant 291 tours et en comptant deux ravitaillements de moins que ses concurrents. Contraint à l’abandon au Bol d’Or et à Suzuka, Honda Racing termine sa première course par une victoire.

Relégué à deux tours, le GMT 94 (Checa/Gines/Foray K) a réalisé la course quasi-parfaite. Installée à la deuxième place depuis la deuxième vague de ravitaillements, l’équipe de Christophe Guyot a déroulé son tableau de marche. Au début de la sixième heure, un violent orage s’est abattu sur le circuit obligeant l’ensemble des teams à chausser les pneus pluie. Dans ces conditions glissantes, de nombreuses équipes sont parties à la faute entraînant ainsi la neutralisation de la course sous safety-car au début de la septième heure. Mathieu Gines, deuxième, s’est fait piéger par de l’huile consécutive aux chutes. Rétrogradant à  la quatrième place, le GMT 94 a profité du restart et des arrêts au stand des deuxième et troisième pour retrouver sa deuxième position.

Auteur de la pole position, Penz13 se classe quatrième et remporte la catégorie Superstock devant le Qatar Endurance Racing Team, cinquième au général. Le SERT (Philippe/Nigon/Delhalle) est remonté à la sixième place. Le Team 18 termine septième. Troisième Superstock, le Junior Team Suzuki LMS pointe à la huitième place. Le YART, chutant en début de course, finit neuvième devant SRC Kawasaki (Leblanc/Lagrive/Foret) qui réussit à accrocher le Top 10.

On a dénombré de nombreux abandons dont ceux du YART 07, du Team R2CL, du Viltaïs Yamaha Experience notamment.

Avec 91 points, le GMT 94 accentue son avance au championnat. Bolliger Team Switzerland est deuxième avec 70 points. SRC Kawasaki (69 points) rétrograde d’une place. Grâce à sa victoire, Honda Racing se hisse à la quatrième place avec 50 points.

Prochaine épreuve : 24 Heures Moto (le Mans), 20 et 21 septembre 2014

Honda Racing (Dunlop) claimed its first victory of 2014 by winning today’s 8 Hours of Oschersleben, penultimate round of the Endurance World Championship (EWC). Second place for GMT 94 (Michelin) has consolidated the French team’s lead in the series going into the last round at Le Mans on September 20-21. Bolliger Team Switzerland (Pirelli) was third.

This year’s 8 Hours of Oschersleben was marked by a high number of falls and only the winning bike survived the distance unscathed.

The race’s first victim was SERT which suffered a fall (Anthony Delhalle) on Lap 1. After spending 10 minutes in its pits, the N°1 Suzuki re-joined with a five-lap handicap.

Then, just before the half-hour mark, the N°11 Kawasaki (SRC Kawasaki) fell while in second place after being blocked by a slower runner. It re-joined in 36^th place, nine laps down.

After qualifying fifth, Honda Racing got off to a strong start to figure in second place before passing SRC Kawasaki into the lead on Lap 6. Its riders Julien Da Costa, Sébastien Gimbert and Freddy Foray then recorded a sequence of quick laps which enabled the N°111 Honda to re-join in front after its third pit-stop. The team’s slick pit work and relatively fuel-efficient bike helped it to reach the finish after completing 291 laps, with two fewer stops than its rivals. It was its first win of the year after retirements at Magny-Cours (Bol d’Or) and Suzuka.

GMT 94 (Checa/Gines/K. Foray) produced a solid race and appeared in second place after its second fuel stop before starting to execute its game plan to the letter.

But with three hours remaining, a storm broke out over the German track and forced the teams to switch to wet weather tyres. The slippery conditions led to a high number of mistakes and the safety car was despatched at the beginning of the seventh hour. Mathieu Gines got caught out by a patch of oil which dropped GMT 94 to fourth. However, a good re-start and stops for the second- and third-placed bikes allowed the team to recover second spot.

After starting from pole position, Penz13 came fourth overall to win the Superstock class, ahead of Qatar Endurance Racing Team (5^th). SERT (Philippe/Nigon/Delhalle) fought back to sixth, chased by Team 18 and the third-placed Superstock outfit Junior Team Suzuki LMS. YART fought back from an early fall to clinch ninth, ahead of SRC Kawasaki (Leblanc/Lagrive/Foret).

The teams which failed to reach the finish included YART 07, Team R2CL and Viltaïs Yamaha Experience.

The result sees GMT 94 (91 points) increase its lead in the championship over Bolliger Team Switzerland to 21 points. SRC Kawasaki (69) has fallen back to third and Honda Racing (50) has moved up to fourth spot.

Next round: 24 Heures Moto, Le Mans, France (September 20-21).

Rallye Deutschland : Les joies de Latvala, les peines d’Ogier.../ Latvala’s joy / Ogier’s woes…

La deuxième journée de l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland a remis Jari-Matti Latvala dans la course au titre Pilotes 2014 après la sortie de route définitive de son équipier Sébastien Ogier aujourd’hui. Le Finlandais est confortable leader du rallye devant Kris Meeke (Citroën, +56s6) et Thierry Neuville (Hyundai, +1min00s9) en pleine bagarre pour les accessits. Les Français Maurin et Lefebvre sont en tête des classements WRC-2 et J-WRC/WRC-3.

L’équipe Volkswagen Motorsport a confirmé que le champion du monde Sébastien Ogier ne sera pas de retour demain après son violent accident ce matin, sa Polo R WRC n’étant pas réparable dans les trois heures imparties. Cette décision devrait permettre à Latvala de réduire l’écart avec le Français au championnat Pilotes. Si Jari-Matti s’impose à Trèves demain après-midi, il devrait revenir à 21 points du leader, voire 18 s’il remporte la Power Stage.

Même sans la contribution d’Ogier, Volkswagen est en bonne voie pour décrocher son second titre mondial Constructeurs consécutif demain, à domicile. Pour retarder l’échéance, Meeke devrait terminer 2^e et Mads Ostberg remonter de la 8^e à la 4^e place.

Deuxième, le pilote Citroën est sous la menace de Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) qui a mis une pression énorme sur le Britannique aujourd’hui. Meeke compte 4s3 d’avance sur le Belge et il reste 75 kilomètres chronométrés demain (4 ES). Comme l’an passé, Thierry Neuville va donc vivre une dernière étape très intense au Rallye Deutschland !

« La Citroën DS3 WRC/Michelin est fantastique et je suis sûr que je pourrais faire mieux avec un peu plus d’expérience à son volant sur asphalte », expliquait Kris Meeke, qui avouait que ce ne serait pas un drame si Neuville le prive de la 2^e place. « Je vais juste rouler à mon propre rythme. S’il me bat, et bien tant pis… »

Dani Sordo (4^e, Hyundai) et Andreas Mikkelsen (5^e, Volkswagen) suivent à quelques longueurs. Autre bagarre très attendue demain, celle pour la 6^e place entre Hirvonen (Ford), Evans (Ford) et Ostberg (Citroën) groupés en 6s1. Bryan Bouffier (Hyundai) s’est fait piéger par un des innombrables « Hinkelstein » dans Panzerplatte Lang 2.

Sauf erreur de notre part, c’est la 2^e fois cette année que Robert Kubica prendra le départ de la dernière étape sans avoir eu recours au Rally2 (après l’Argentine). Le Polonais complète le top-ten après avoir remporté une nouvelle spéciale cet après-midi (ES12).

Le WRC-2 a changé de leaders plusieurs fois aujourd’hui suite aux déboires de Bernardo Sousa et de Pontus Tidemand dans Planzerplatte. Julien Maurin (Ford) dispose de plus d’une minute d’avance sur l’Estonien Ott Tanak. Sébastien Chardonnet est lui aussi sorti dans Panzerplatte.

En WRC-3 et J-WRC, Stéphane Lefebvre (Citroën/Michelin) compte 48s5 sur l’Allemand Christian Riedemann. En Fiesta Trophy, l’Espagnol Yeray Lemes est leader avec une grosse minute d’avance sur Tom Cave.

The second day of competition in Germany has revived Jari-Matti Latvala’s hopes of challenging for the 2014 title after Volkswagen team-mate Ogier exited the rally for good today. The Finn can now afford to control from in front, while Meeke (Citroën, +56.6s) and Neuville (Hyundai, +1m0.9s) continue their battle for second place on Sunday. Frenchmen Maurin and Lefebvre top the WRC-2 and WRC-3 orders respectively.

It has been confirmed that Sébastien Ogier will not re-join the rally tomorrow after his big crash this morning. This decision has handed team-mate Latvala a golden opportunity to reduce his deficit to the Frenchman in the provisional Drivers’ championship standings.

If he wins, the Finn will close the gap to the defending champ to just 21 points, or even 18 points if he is fastest on the Power Stage.

“I just want to take things carefully now,” admitted the Finn. “We’ll see how we approach the Power Stage when the time comes. It’s never nice to see your team-mate in difficulty.”

Meanwhile, even without Ogier’s contribution, VW appears to be heading for a second consecutive Manufacturers’ crown on Sunday afternoon. To prevent that from happening, Meeke will need to secure second place for Citroën and Mads Ostberg will have to climb from overnight eighth to at least fourth at the chequered flag.

A man who would like to scupper the French make’s remaining chances is Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) who has spent the day piling the pressure on Meeke in an attempt to steal the silver medal. However, the Ulsterman has responded maturely to maintain a cushion of 4.3s over the Belgian with 75km of competitive action remaining (four stages).

“The Citroën is working fantastically well and I am sure there could be more to come if I had more experience of the DS3 WRC on asphalt,” enthused Meeke who has been repeating that it wouldn’t be a drama for him if Neuville deprived him of second place. “I just want to stick to my own pace. If he beats me, so be it.”

Dani Sordo (4^th, Hyundai) and Andreas Mikkelsen (5^th, Volkswagen) follow some distance back, but there’s an interesting last-day fight ahead for sixth spot, since Hirvonen and Evans (Ford) and Ostberg (Citroën) are covered by just 6.1s.

The steady run of Hyundai’s third man Bryan Bouffier ended after contact with one of the implacable hinkelsteins on Panzerplatte Lang 2.

In contrast, this is the second time this season that Robert Kubica (Ford, +6m39.1s) has survived to the final day without making use of the Rally2 ruling. The Pole rounds off the provisional top 10 behind Martin Prokop.

The WRC-2 lead has changed hands several times today following trouble for Sousa and Tidemund on the visits to Panzerplatte. Julien Maurin now enjoys a margin of more than a minute over Ott Tanak.

In WRC-3, Lefebvre is 48.5s clear of second-placed Riedemann.

Leg 2 - 2014 WRC Rallye Deutschland

White Collar Bhaskara Thruxton

Angelina Jolie playing Lara Croft never looked quite real. You could stare at the screen, admiring her celestial, silver-clad proportions, mind wandering off into a daydream, asking; can what’s in front of me actually be real, or have the CGI wizards waved their wands around furiously and tricked my wide, misty eyes?
When Ram from White Collar Bike sent these images in, at first I thought Dutch had found a new 3D render filter in Photoshop, those of you who have seen this bike bouncing around the internet will know that this is most definitely not the case. This is mouthwatering, A-grade engineering. Ram designs and builds bikes for friends in his spare time, and is humble in suggesting that he is not a pro-builder, White Collar Bike isn’t even a company. Frankly, if this isn’t a pro-build then I am at a loss as to what is.

Rather than start with a donor bike and modify, Ram bought a 2012 Triumph Thruxton engine from eBay and set to work designing a bike around it. He gets bored easily so wanted to have interchangeable and removable parts so the seat and fuel tank cover simply clip on and off, black, blue and red Kevlar covers are the current range. And to match, or not, there are three different seat configurations, each mocked up in clay before being carved from solid wood. Boredom must have set in as one seat features a machined triumph logo.

To save repeating myself, all components have been designed, modelled and machined in-house by White Collar Bike. Ram, please send us pictures of your machine shop.
The forks are not WCB, merely a common-as-muck pair of Öhlins FG series, with the garish gold anodising removed. The rear shock is Öhlins too, mounted to a combination of billet and 8mm tubular aluminium swingarm and eccentric Ducati 1098 hub. I’m salivating over my keyboard here!

The triple tree is, you’ve guessed it, hewn from a sizeable billet with handmade clip-ons and brake fluid reservoirs; after market Brembo RCS 19 levers have been used though. Come on now Ram, don’t get lazy on us.

The headlight, machined from solid, the foot pegs, machined from solid, countershaft sprocket guard, machined from ….. you get the idea.

Horray for us mortals, some parts that Ram didn’t produce, Ducati Diavel wheels with Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tyres, how very hum drum.

Red Kevlar tank panels, one of the 28 seat and colour combinations. I think I like black with the Café-GP seat combo the best.

Exhausts, handmade of course, improving engine breathing and matching the wide throat velocity stacks. Brembo Monoblocks up front and matched calliper in the rear.

Well, I was going to head to the workshop and make some parts for my own bike but after seeing these pictures I’m not sure I can be bothered. Ram’s part-time, non-pro efforts have rendered me feeling my skills are woefully inadequate. Thanks Ram!
That said, I can’t wait to see his next masterpiece. This one has been sold, mid-build, to Ram’s friend Bhaskara; it would be great to see some shots of this futuristic beast out on the road, just to dispel any slight notion that this has all been a computer generated daydream.
via The Bike Shed

8 Heures d’Oschersleben : Honda Racing en tête à mi-course / Honda Racing in front at half-distance

Après quatre heures de course, Honda Racing mène les 8 Heures d’Oschersleben, troisième et avant-dernière épreuve du championnat du monde d’Endurance (EWC). Le GMT 94 (Michelin) et le Team R2CL complètent le podium provisoire.

Les 8 Heures d’Oschersleben sont parties sur un rythme élevé et n’ont pas épargné les principaux favoris à la victoire. Premier à en faire les frais, le SERT (Anthony Delhalle) chute dès le premier tour. La Suzuki n°1 est immobilisée pendant une dizaine de minutes dans son stand. Elle reprend la piste en dernière position à cinq tours du leader. A mi-course, le SERT est revenu à la 11^ème place mais compte toujours le même handicap de tours sur la tête de la course.
Auteur du meilleur départ, Grégory Leblanc (SRC Kawasaki), deuxième sur la grille, a mené les cinq premiers tours avant de laisser les commandes à Julien Da Costa (Honda Racing). Les deux pilotes, roues dans roues, ont enchaîné les tours rapides et ont creusé rapidement un écart sur leurs principaux poursuivants. Juste avant la demi-heure de course, Grégory Leblanc, gêné par un retardataire, a chuté. La Kawasaki n°11 a plongé à la 36^ème place à neuf tours d’Honda Racing. Elle occupe actuellement la 25^ème position mais n’a pas réussi à réduire l’écart.
Parti prudemment, le GMT 94 s’est installé à la deuxième place suite à la deuxième vague de ravitaillements. La Yamaha n°94, en prise avec le YART 07 lors du troisième relais, a profité de la chute de Broc Parkes pour se donner un peu d’air. Alors que le pilote australien venait de signer le meilleur chrono en course en 1.27.266, il est parti à la faute. Trop endommagée, la Yamaha 07 a été contrainte à l’abandon.
Au guidon de la Honda n°111, Julien Da Costa, Sébastien Gimbert et Freddy Foray ont maintenu une cadence soutenue permettant à Da Costa de conserver la tête de la course avec une avance de 35 secondes à l’issue du troisième pit-stop. A mi-course, ils comptent un tour d’avance et un ravitaillement de moins.
Team R2CL est troisième à deux tours. National Motos et Bolliger Team Switzerland complètent le Top 5. Les deux premières machines Superstock, le Qatar Endurance Racing Team et Penz13, auteur de la pole, occupent les sixième et septième places au général. Dans un bon rythme, elles sont retardées par des arrêts au stand plus longs.
Il reste encore quatre heures de course. La pluie est annoncée pour la fin d’après-midi. Honda Racing tient-il sa première victoire de la saison 2014 ?

With four hours completed, Honda Racing leads the 8 Hours of Oschersleben, the third and penultimate round of the 2014 Endurance World Championship (EWC). It is joined on the provisional podium by GMT 94 (Michelin) and Team R2CL.

The 2014 8 Hours of Oschersleben kicked off at a fast pace which caught some of the expected front-runners by surprise. The first team to suffer was SERT when Anthony Delhalle fell on Lap 1. The N°1 Suzuki then spent some 10 minutes in its pits before re-joining in last place, five laps down. It has since forced fought its way back to 11^th, but still with the same deficit to the leaders.
Grégory Leblanc (SRC Kawasaki) got away to the best start from second on the grid and led for five laps before being passed by Julien Da Costa (Honda Racing). The two riders then raced wheel-to-wheel as they pulled clear of their chasers thanks to a sequence of quick laps. Then, just behind the end of the first half-hour, Leblanc fell when he was hindered by a slower runner. The N°11 Kawasaki dropped to 36^th spot (+9 laps) and is currently 25^th, still nine laps behind.
After a cautious start, GMT 94 emerged in second place after the second wave of refuelling halts. The N°94 Yamaha then took advantage of a fall for YART 07’s Broc Parkes to earn a little breathing space. The Australian had just posted the fastest race lap to date (1m27.266s) when he made his mistake and the N°07 Yamaha was too damaged to continue.
The trio on the N°111 Honda (Julien Da Costa/Sébastien Gimbert/Freddy Foray) has been running strongly since the start and Da Costa re-joined after the bike’s third stop with a 35-second lead. It is now one full lap clear, but it has an extra pit stop to make compared with its rivals.
Team R2CL is third (+2 laps), chased by National Motos and Bolliger Team Switzerland, while the top-two Superstock runners are Qatar Endurance Racing Team and the pole-winning Penz13 (sixth and seventh overall respectively). Both squads are on a good pace but their pit stops take longer.
There are four hours to go and rain is expected before the end of the afternoon. Can Honda Racing hold on to collect its first victory of 2014?

 

Royal Enfield AVL 350 – Bull City Customs

Written by Ian Lee.

Royal Enfield motorcycles make a great platform for building custom bikes. Old school Brit styling, reliable single cylinder engines and factory spoke wheels. This is exactly what New Delhi based Bull City have done with their latest build, putting their skills to work on a Royal Enfield AVL 350cc, and producing something far removed from your everyday Enfield. With a build brief calling for an “old school thumper”, the Bull City workshop decided the idea has been done alot, and needs some special touches in order to stand out. That is why there is a rhino-skin inspired paintjob on the tank for instance – which I’m pretty sure is a first for Pipeburn.

Stripping the mid sized thumper back to basics, the clunky factory fenders were replaced with shorter ones, and the frame shaved of all superfluous bracketry. The toolbox is gone, replaced with a leather carrier bag mounted above the shorty pipewrapped exhaust. New framework has been mounted on the bike, and the battery box is sheet metal unit fabricated up by Bull City themselves.

At the front end sits a set of custom built T riser bars, adorned with a unique headlight surround enveloping the Yamaha RX100 headlight. The handlebars are Proracer items, mounted up with aluminised grips. Rolling stock is made up of 18 inch rims, with 120 profile at the front and 130 profile at the rear.

An impressive aspect of the build is the metal work carried out. The 22 litre fuel tank is a one off special, along with the ‘lightweight’ side plates. The foot pegs have been made from Royal Enfield engine internals, adding to the overall metallic touch to the build. This is matched with the fuel tank cap fashioned from a main shaft sprocket.

From the front to the back, there is little that hasn’t been aesthetically touched up over the course of the build. With much of the metal work coming from Bull city’s own workshop, this Royal Enfield is definitely a fun looking ride. We’ll leave the last word to Bull city: ” We wanted to build something you’d imagine riding across the Himalayan foot hills and also something you could take out for a beer without a second thought.” We’ll drink to that.

via PIPEBURN

Rallye Deutschland : Une matinée pleine de rebondissements

Jari-Matti Latvala continue de dominer l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland après s’être imposé dans Panzerplatte Lange (ES10, 42,51 km). Grâce à un judicieux choix de pneumatiques, Neuville (Hyundai) a pris la troisième place du général, à huit secondes de Kris Meeke. Maurin et Lefebvre ont pris le pouvoir en WRC-2 et J-WRC.

Au départ de l’ES8, Sébastien Ogier et Julien Ingrassia sont de nouveau sortis de la route, endommageant une barrière de sécurité et provoquant l’annulation de cette spéciale. L’équipage champion du monde est OK mais a été transporté à l’hôpital pour des examens.
Sur la route menant le camp militaire de Baumholder et les spéciales de Panzerplatte (ES9 et ES10), une « remote tyre fitting zone » permettait aux équipages de choisir leurs pneus pour ces deux ES asphalte les plus difficiles du championnat. Le revêtement agressif impose logiquement des gommes hard.
Mais ce matin, les risques de pluie étaient suffisamment importants pour que la majorité des pilotes optent pour des pneus Michelin soft S2, sauf les deux pilotes Hyundai Motorsport, Dani Sordo et Thierry Neuville, restés sur un choix de Pilot Sport hard (H2).
Il ne pleuvait pas quand les 1^ères autos se sont présentées au départ de la plus longue spéciale du rallye (ES10, Panzerplatte Lange, 42,51 km). Et une demi-heure plus tard, les pilotes ont confirmé que les routes étaient sèches. « C’est sec en grande majorité », a annoncé Bryan Bouffier (9^e), équipé de pneus soft. « Peut-être 5% d’humide. »
Au volant de sa Hyundai i20 WRC chaussée de pneus Michelin H2, Thierry Neuville a logiquement réalisé un excellent chrono, reléguant Andreas Mikkelsen (5^e) à près de 13 secondes. Le Belge a également dépassé son équipier Sordo (4^e) pour prendre la 3^e place provisoire : « On a fait le bon choix de pneus, mais mon pilotage n’était pas parfait. J’ai commis quelques erreurs et nous devons revoir nos notes », racontait Thierry.
On pensait alors que Neuville allait déposséder Kris Meeke de la 2^e place, dont la Citroën était chaussée de pneus soft, mais le Britannique a défendu vaillamment sa position : « Complètement fou. Etant donné les choix différents, je pensais que les écarts seraient importants, mais on n’a perdu que 5s2 sur Thierry sur 42,51 km. Ca me va. »
Thierry Neuville n’a pas signé le meilleur temps. Jari-Matti Latvala s’est montré plus rapide de 7/10^e de seconde au volant de sa Volkswagen Polo R WRC. Il compte désormais 45s8 d’avance sur Meeke à mi-étape.
Nouveau changement de leader en WRC-2 où Julien Maurin (Ford), en pneus hard, a pris l’avantage pour 4/10^e de seconde sur Tidemand. En WRC-3 et J-WRC, Stéphane Lefebvre a pris la tête après la sortie de route d’Eric Camilli à la fin de l’ES10.
 

ERNST’S BONNIE EIGHT SIXTYFIVE

He’d only met her a few hours ago. So how did Ernst Berlin find himself in a motel room on the seedier side of town, his new acquaintance by his side? It was less down to smooth talking and more due to a dodgy battery. Either way, something happened that night as his freshly acquired Bonneville was taken home to meet the family…

A day job operating a care home for the elderly provides a sedate pace of life, hence the decision in 2013 to give bikes a go. After a brief flirtation with an suitably elderly named Suzuki Gladius, a trans-Continental 2008 T100 was found; a sound base to work from for a first custom build. However, without access to the tools required for major fabrication, there was the difficult job of creating a cohesive bike from myriad parts.

Lots of chromed plastic clutter mars the standard Bonneville, so bobbed mudguards, smaller lights and instruments shrink the visual weight from the front and rear of the bike. Also necessitating the relocation of the ignition switch from its original headlight-ear placement. The number of times I’ve left my key in the bike suggests this is no bad idea.

The tuck and roll of the British Customs Slammer seat, provides a comfy perch and works well to hide the potentially awkward tank/seat interface the Hinckley Bonnie can suffer from. The bouncy bits have been fettled by way of Ricor Intimators up front and set of Ohlins finest at the rear. Combined with a set of not-too-knobbly Shinko 705s the road holding is a much improved experience.

Freshly powdered engine cases, mudguards and extraneous bracketry tie the bike together nicely, keeping it black and chrome on the mechanicals to really let the paint shine. Tim at Alcalde Customs laid down the beautiful triple colour paint, using Ernst’s jacket as a reference. The ‘eight sixty five’ script work means it might be some time before the 904 big bore kit is fitted, but a downtube oil cooler is tucked away to keep things happy in any event.

A man after my own heart, Ernst wanted some more go to match the show. Hence the rather flaccid standard Bonneville engine being pepped up with some Mikuni flatsides, pod filters and a freer flowing exhaust. After countless hours of fine tuning, Ernst now says that the bike is far more responsive with some noticeable extra punch, and a far more raucous soundtrack I’d wager.

Ernst’s Bonnie, named after on an old ‘Berliner Crew’ sew on patch, is finished for the time being. But as many of us know motorcycling is contagious and the effect is rapidly spreading throughout the family. His wife is now learning to ride, and it looks like there may be one or two more projects in the pipeline.  Can’t wait to see them Ernst!

Ernst is a pretty decent photographer too, check out his work here.

via The Bike Shed

BAMBUKAAT PORUS

All around the world, at any given moment, you can guarantee their will always be a group of like minded friends riding, chatting, scheming, laughing and having themselves a damn good time on their motorcycles.  In India the word to describe this specific pastime is a “Gedi” and more often than not it will include obligatory tooting of horns at passing young ladies. It was on one such Gedi that Pritpal and his three companions, whilst chewing over the custom motorcycle scene in India, reached the conclusion that they should band together and start creating their own custom machines. Many such pipe dreams that spawn over leisurely rides filled with coffees and brews remain purely as figments of imagination but in this case, the boys had the wherewithal and commitment to see it through. This is the first fruit of their labour.

“We were all a bit skeptical about it at first until one of us bought a second hand Royal Enfield, then we knew there was no turning back.”.  To begin they sourced a well appointed workshop just outside their city of Rupnagar, with the bike inside their dream was beginning to take shape but they needed a name to fly above the door. “While we were hustling in & about the workshop we still couldn’t come up with a name. Many different names popped up, but one stood out; BAMBUKAAT, an unofficial name from the old days in Punjab that was given to motorcycles because of the simplicity of the machine itself. We wanted to bring that simplicity back in trend.” With a brand and design ethos in place the four likely lads brain stormed multiple ideas, references and designs before arriving at a finalised plan for the conversion. Work began.

Amongst the major parts withdrawn from service were the bars, wheels, headlight, and tank. Wider Bars were fitted and stripped of any unnecessary electrics which were relocated to a custom box, the original 350 wheels were deemed too small and replaced with chunkier units. The all in one Royal Enfield headlight/top yoke binnacle was exchanged for a traditional fork ears set up with a taped, eye lidded light. The tank was replaced with a specially fabricated 22 litre receptacle that illustrates Pritpal and his associates’ skill and ambition. To achieve the desired stretched out stance for the bike the swingarm was lengthened, reclining the rear shocks by a few degrees. The rear wheel is sheltered by a short custom rear fender.  The Engine was thoroughly gone over before receiving a coat of black and a shining chrome exhaust and muffler.

They all decided that the perfect name for  this first Bambukaat bike was “Porus”, after the King who ruled the Paurava region of ancient India, now Punjab, and fought against Alexander the Great.  So despite their aim of a simple aesthetic, the gents wished to advance all of our historical knowledge a touch!

The understated paint scheme of a khaki green/grey with gold detail is embellished with brass highlights including the brake arm, fuel cap and a small crown which adorns the bar mount. The brown leather custom seat with matching roll is most certainly fit for a kings backside.

The build took one month, with Pritpal working almost every day and night. “In the end it was all worth it. The bike has been showcased at many places and everywhere it has been getting a great response. The appreciation we have received makes us even more confident about the future of the custom motorcycle culture in India.”

Great work Gentlemen. We look froward to seeing more builds form your workshop and others around India. In the meantime we will endeavour to make sure the ideas born out of our next “Gedi” receive the same commitment and passion as yours.

Keep and eye on their Facebook  page for future builds.

via The Bike Shed