Horizons Unlimited Travellers Meeting, Canada East (Ontario) September 2014. Venued at Camp Manitou in the Canadian Shield region of Parry Sound Ontario. Forests, trees, rock, lakes, rivers and great trails and great times for hardy motorcycle travellers to get together to inspire, inform and connect. Hosted by Grant and Susan Johnson with fabulous speakers, great riding adventures and camaraderie! Merci and thank you. Enjoy!
jeudi 18 septembre 2014
GOODWOOD REVIVAL 2014 RACE HIGHLIGHTS: BARRY SHEENE MEMORIAL TROPHY PART 2
The Beau Beaton/Craig McMartin Vincent Rapide from Australia was victorious for the second day running, giving the pair overall victory. However, first place was only achieved after a battle with the Duncan Fitchett/Jeremy McWilliams Manx Norton. Unfortunately for the latter pair, the Norton had locked up on Saturday, spilling off McWilliams and meaning that they no longer qualified for overall honours.
The 1993 500cc world champion, Kevin Schwantz, starred in the second part of the 16-lap raced as he rapidly moved up the field to an eventual fourth in the original Rex McCandless ‘Featherbed’ Norton that he shared with Rodney O’Connor.
MARCO’S DUCATI MONSTER
Thanks a bunch Marco, you’ve single handedly ruined my evening. Well, not strictly true, the wisdom tooth impaling my face and brain trying to escape through my eye socket played their part but seeing Marco’s bike broke the camel’s back. Just when you think your own fabrication skills, artistic flair and engineering vision are reaching a reasonable level, someone comes along and bats you out of the park.
This 2001 Ducati Monster S4 isn’t the work of a pro builder, but a restaurant manager from Verona, Italy. Not that I’m belittling restaurant managers, but Marco spends his days surrounded by gastronomic delights, sweaty chefs, hot waitresses and pedantic diners. It’s not as if he can pop out back during break time and lap a couple of valves in.
Choosing a water cooled Ducati donor is brave, especially with distinct lack of fairing to hide the ugly bits. But frankly, there is so much else going on that the radiator only appears in one’s peripheral vision after good long stare at the rest of the bike, and soon fades away. The strikingly obvious standout is the copper plated frame, standard Monster tube-work part front the tweaked and shortened tail. Not an obvious choose of finish but why the heck not. The swing arm, clutch cover, triple clamps and mudguard mounts have all received a layer and polished to a luxurious lustre. The mudguard itself was hand-beaten from copper sheet.
The engine covers and radiator have been powder coated black, so that they don’t feel left out against the dazzling semi-precious plating the other components are parading. Tyres are by Pirelli. You didn’t expect Japanese or German ones did you?
The tail unit is styled on a 750SS unit and of course, is handmade, with LED tail lights set into the hump. Details are slightly sparse, but they look like the indicator/tail combination units by Highsider of Germany. The seat cover neatly morphs rearward with brass press studs holding it in place, practicality and style also combined.
Marco must have some mates from Chile (they mine loads of the stuff if that’s a sniff tenuous for you) as there is even more copper on display up top, with the tacho mounted in a polished plate, complete with a Christmas tree of idiot lights.
The stunning wheel set is by Kineo. How they engineer an offset, single sided hubbed spoked wheel, with all spokes mounting to one side of the rim; is beyond my brain’s comprehension this evening. It must have taken time to work out and the materials used are definitely from the grown-up end of the periodic table, as these bad boys will cost you the same price as a roadworthy Monster, a whole one. Well, maybe a clean 900.
Builders often shy away from the Monster as the tank can become quite an ungainly mass to work around, the simple solution is to remove it and replace with a tried and tested visual winner, the Sport Classic version. Marco got hold of a GT tank and sculpted cuts outs for his knees, pin striping the outline with actual copper leaf, just to make sure you notice. Personally, I noticed the vintage styled breather pipe and I like it. Geek, yes, so what?
Looking form the side, the knee scallops share lines and blend beautifully with the nose fairing and tail unit. By no means an accident. The fairing is modelled on a seventies Avon design, with the bulbous headlight cover making a bold and thought out statement. Marco knows his onions.
So there you have it, a lovely copper plated display bike for Marco’s mates to drool over. Nope! It has a licence plate, an Italian MOT thingy and he rides it everyday to work, so everybody can enjoy his efforts, Bravo Marco.
He has a Facebook page, Gustoadulto, which means adult flavour. Don’t worry it’s more bike porn than Bunga Bunga. Follow Marco on Facebook and see what he does with his next project, a Moto Guzzi.
Thanks Marco, writing this and enjoying your bike has distracted me enough to not notice the wine bottle emptying (Spagna, mi dispiace) and my face ache fading. Be sure to send us photos of your next bike.
via The Bike Shed
RENARD SPEED SHOP’S DUCATI CAFE RACER
The custom world is dominated by studiously cool and monochrome bikes, so this bright and breezy little Ducati café is a welcome splash of color.
It’s the work of the Estonian boutique manufacturer Renard—makers of the mighty Grand Tourer sport cruiser. Renard’s Andres Uibomae also operates a custom workshop from a barn in Southern Germany, and that’s where this lovely Vento 350 was born.
Andres bought the Vento sight unseen, and wasn’t quite sure what to expect. After all, it’s a real oddity in the motorcycling world. “A Ducati bevel single … from Spain?” The bike was missing its gauges, lights, brakes and the top yoke, and what was left was in a poor state. “But the general look of the bike was incredible, with a long tank and a racebike character.”
After a little research, Andres realized that his ‘Ducati’ was actually manufactured by the Spanish company MotoTrans, which had a license to build Ducati engines until the early 1980s. “But there is no real technical information available about these machines—just a few scanned documents in Spanish. And spare parts are unavailable. So I decided to make a project bike.”
Since there wasn’t much left of the original Vento, Andres and his partners at Renard Speed Shop decided to improvise—and upgrade. They’ve fitted a brake system from ISR, the Swedish company fast making a name for itself in the custom community. The front brake disc is from a BMW R 1200 GS, adapted to fit, and the master cylinder comes from AP Racing.
The forks are standard Telesco items—as owners of 1970s Ducati Scramblers will recognize—but overhauled. They’re now hooked up to triple trees from an old Suzuki motocross bike. “We’ve also modified the frame and the swingarm quite a bit,” says Andres. “The original frame lacked stiffness, so we’ve reinforced it. And the rear subframe is now a trellis-type design, similar to a more modern Ducati.” It’s supported by a pair of familiar Öhlins piggyback shocks.
The custom exhaust system is extremely neat, hugging the right-hand side of the motor and then crossing under the frame to exit on the left. There’s a beautiful CNC-milled new instrument panel nestling between the fork uppers.
The seat and tail unit are also custom, but the highlight is the long, squared-off tank. It’s actually stock, but with the vivid red paint and huge vintage Ducati logotype, impossible to ignore.
“Riding this bike is like being in a movie, everybody is watching!” Andres laughs. But you have to be careful: “The gearlever is on the ‘wrong’ side, on the right. The first time I took it for a spin, I had to constantly remind myself to use only the front brake. If I messed up the rear brake and shifting gear, the result could be fatal!”
The Vento is now in very good hands: the owner is musician Leslie Laasner, who parks the bike next to his Wrenchmonkees Laverda.
Now there’s a man with immaculate taste.
For more high-end Estonian goodness, visit the Renard Motorcycles website or Facebook page.
via BIKEexif
CB77 Brakpan Bobber- 100th feature
Most creativity is born out of necessity and these creations are designed to bring about a practical improvement in an aspect or quality of our everyday life. The owner and builder of our featured motorcycle, Tim, is an Industrial Designer, who earns a living expressing this form of creative ability. His bobber does not fall under this form of creativity. It falls under that wonderfully impractical form of creativity which is purely a physical manifestation of the creator’s personal need for artistic expression. Tim also restores and has vast knowledge of the early 1960′s Hondas and so in his own words…
“I’ve been collecting Hondas for several years now and one particular model that I’ve developed a special affection for is the CB77 305cc Super Hawk, which I consider to be one of the best looking bikes Honda ever made. When it was launched in the early sixties it knocked the European manufacturers offerings into a cocked hat. Here was a little 305cc machine from the Axis Powers that gave the mid-size Brit-bikes a hiding; and the 650’s a good run for their money. Heavily over-engineered with roller bearing cranks and cams, twin carbs, twin leading shoe brakes front and rear and exceptional build quality; they became very popular and have developed a bit of a cult following during recent times. Fortunately, or unfortunately, they’ve also become quite rare and as a result have become quite valuable; but parts are also becoming incredibly hard to come by. So much so that I’ve taken to buying parts for them whenever I can. Which leads me on to the raison d’etre of the Brakpan Bobber.”
“Several months ago I was informed about a batch of CB77s that had become available. Having three in my stable already, I took a friend with to share the treasure and the expenses. The result was that he got a fairly complete bike and I got a 50% complete high-bar model which had the rare-as-hen’s-teeth Denso hooter that I had been desperately searching for to complete my restoration project. A while later a good friend of mine, Tony, asked if he could compare some of my engines to sort out a timing issue on his restoration project. He checked out the 50 percenter and announced that it had good compression and that the timing was bang on. I didn’t think much more about it for a few weeks. Then one night, as I went to sleep, an idea popped into my head and the following morning I had the insatiable desire to swing some spanners on the beast. I started by taking off the back shocks and dropping the bike as low as it would go. Then I hunted for a fuel tank in amongst all my spares. I went through a few and eventually settled on a monkey bike tank that I had lying around. It looked a bit odd, but the main idea was there. Then I messed around with the bars, trying a few different sets and finally decided the best lines came about when I flipped the original high bars. Yank the fenders off, fit the front one to the rear and suddenly things started to look pretty funky, although the tank wasn’t quite right. Then I remembered that I had seen a funky 70’s style CB100 tank at the CMC which I had hidden away for another day when I had some loot to pay for it. I eventually grabbed that tank hoping like mad that I could make it fit the CB77’s strange frame. It was like euphoria when I plonked it onto the bike; suddenly everything lined up and I knew I had a good thing going.”
“The rest of the bike kinda built itself, with bits and pieces pulled from my stash of cool stuff and hard to get stock parts. The bike took up residence in my lounge and I’d fiddle with it now and then when I had a chance. A bit of wiring here, carb rebuilding there. For the first time in ages I was having fun again building a motorcycle.”
” I decided to keep everything raw and as found, being inspired by the raw creations of Slim’s Fabrications. This guy’s got skills, but sadly a lot of people don’t get it because they can’t see past the raw metal and bare welds. That’s why I left the bike the way it is, why I used rare stock parts and novel details: I want it to piss off the finger pointers and the tyre kickers. What I really get a kick out of is the suicide shifter and clutch set up. This has people baffled, partly because it’s made of re-bar and partly because they can’t comprehend how it works. Well, it does, it just needs a little bit more brain power; sorta like patting your head and rubbing your tummy. While riding a motorcycle.”
“The finishing touches were done the night before February’s Piston Ring meeting, which included fitting some new stainless steel struts to replace the rectangular tubing that I had initially fitted; a saddle made from a piece of steel, some foam and a dish towel and fitting the tail light and license plate mount (stock CB77 parts made from unobtanium). Annoyingly, I never got to ride it to the Piston Ring as the battery had gone flat. The next time I wanted to ride it was to the CMC, but unfortunately the clutch decided it would not disengage. I finally managed to get it all together and running just in time to take it to the CRoSA Meet Up at Harvard Cafe; and man was the agony worth it. The bike handles like a dream (helped in part by the genuine vintage Dunlop Racing tyre) and puts a serious smile on your dial. The carbs just need a little more fettling to make her run a bit better.”
“As for the name? The Brakpan Bobber. Courtesy of my good mate, while we were enjoying a few Peronis one night. He reckoned it looked like it had been found in the back of a garage somewhere in Brakpan; and the name stuck. Somehow it just fits with the bike’s persona.”
via http://www.retrowriteup.com
GOODWOOD REVIVAL 2014 RACE HIGHLIGHTS: BARRY SHEENE MEMORIAL TROPHY
A pair of former world champions, 1993 500cc GP king, Kevin Schwantz, on his first visit to the Revival, and two-time World Superbike title-winner, Troy Corser, were among those contesting the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy. The battle during the early laps, though, was between former MotoGP racer Jeremy McWilliams on a Norton Manx, Beau Beaton, riding a Vincent Rapide and Adam Child on a Matchless G80.
Beaton proved the quickest and was able to hand a sizeable lead over to partner Craig McMartin that they were never to loose. McWilliams was to fall off and the Child/Clive Ling Matchless to drop back leaving second place to be fiercely contested by Glen English and Sheene’s nephew Scott Smart, who had taken over the two Norton Manx of Steve Plater and Glen Richards respectively.
ASTON MARTIN ; Vanquish Carbon Edition.
Aston Martin embraces the dark side with the introduction of the Vanquish Carbon Edition.
A few days ago Aston Martin dropped a 17-second teaser video with the promise of ‘unleashing Dark Forces’. This naturally piqued our interest. They have now delivered on their threat, embraced the dark side and unveiled the Vanquish Carbon Edition which is possibly the most sinister looking Aston Martin ever released. Details are currently slim pickings but the video below certainly captures its dark and powerful presence.
Great power, however, is nothing without, er, a great powerful engine and they also have that covered with the latest version of their 6-litre V12. New engine management sees power rise to 568bhp, propelling the evilness of the Vanquish Carbon Edition to 100kph in just 3.6-seconds and topping out at 323kph. All helped by a new 8-speed Touchtronic III automatic gearbox. And the sacrificial slaughter of a unicorn. Probably…
Source – Aston Martin
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