ACE CAFE RADIO

    mercredi 3 décembre 2014

    WAYNE RAINEY’S CUSTOM YAMAHA


    Think of this YZF-R1, built by Mule Motorcycles, as the bike that saved US roadracing.
    By  (http://www.cycleworld.com)
    Mule Motorcycles Custom R1 studio 3/4 view
    It’s no exaggeration to say that this Mule Motorcycles-built Yamaha custom is the bike that saved roadracing in America. It’s the machine that initially brought together Wayne Rainey, Terry Karges, and Richard Varner and spawned a series of ideas from limited-production customs in concert with Yamaha to a roadracing-based reality TV show, which ultimately all led to the formation of the new MotoAmerica roadracing series that’s taken over AMA superbike racing.
    Varner is the man behind this bike and the “V” in KRAVE (Kargas, Rainey, Aksland, Varner), MotoAmerica’s parent group. He also happens to be a crazed motorcycle enthusiast and, as you might guess, designed the paint scheme to celebrate the bike’s role.
    “Gordon McCall who puts on the Quail Motorcycle Gathering is a buddy of Wayne Rainey’s,” Varner says. “Wayne wanted to get re-involved in the motorcycle industry beyond doing appearances for Yamaha, and Gordon got us all together to discuss what could Wayne do to get back into motorcycles in a bigger way.”
    Rainey had seen a Yamaha XS650-based café bike Varner had done and was intrigued since he’d gotten his start on those four-stroke twins in flat-track racing. But an initial hope was to build a limited-production bike that Yamaha could somehow be involved with, due to Rainey’s long history with the company and the matter of those World Championships…
    Mule Motorcycles Custom R1 stripped view
    There could be no one else to build this bike but Richard Pollock, the tightly focused beam of human energy that is Mule Motorcycles. You’ve seen Mule’s work here before, and Pollock is one of the most prolific builders of custom bikes in the world. He also worked with Champions Moto, Varner’s custom-bike and apparel company. As Pollock, Varner, and Karges brainstormed on the flight back from their Monterey, California, meeting with Rainey, one of them was flipping through a magazine with a feature on Yamaha’s legendary TZ750 two-stroke roadracer. It had a black engine. It was an inline-four. The cylinders were canted forward. “The idea began to gel,” Varner says, and the YZF-R1 came into focus as the perfect choice.
    Sketches were ordered, direction and design was chosen, and Pollack found the donor R1, a 2004 ex-Larry Pegram backup superbike.
    “I got it in the shop and totally disassembled it,” he says. “We made a fixture to mount the stock frame. I didn’t want to reinvent the geometry. It took about eight months to get the basic frame laid out and tubes bent, meeting the motor mounts, clearance for the clutch, et cetera. I was designing to get the look and stance of the TZ. The essence of the bike isn’t a dumbed-down R1 but an uprated TZ750. If you built the TZ using a current motor and did all the things to upgrade it to a more current spec, this is what it would look like.”
    The result is a fully hand-fabricated 4130 chrome-moly twin-spar frame that echoes the TZ750 tubular-steel piece but with modern geometry and Mule’s own custom adjustable-offset triple clamps.
    “I was designing to get the look and stance of the TZ. The essence of the bike isn’t a dumbed-down R1 but an uprated TZ750. If you built the TZ using a current motor and did all the things to upgrade it to a more current spec, this is what it would look like,” Pollock says.
    At the rear, the 6061 aluminum swingarm has the same dimensions as stock but is based on a 3-inch extrusion with tubular bracing made by custom swingarm specialists Trac Dynamics.
    Rainey, as you might imagine, has a few connections at places like Öhlins and Brembo. That’s where the oh-so-perfect Japanese-market conventional fork comes in, and the linkage-less shock was built from a menu of parts supplied and assembled by a factory insider.
    That was the end of the easy stuff. “One of the biggest challenges of the bike was packaging all the electronics and figuring out the wiring—it was a nightmare,” Pollock admits. “I built the bike, and there was just no place to put anything, so I had to work out that puzzle.”
    Pollock then showed me a wall-size wiring diagram he made and marked up to help make sense of the miles of wires in a modern, fuel-injected superbike.
    The ECU now lives under the fairing, à la TZ750, in a sweet, welded bracket on the fairing mount, and a wiring block is mounted between frame spars on the left. A lightweight carbon-fiber-shell lithium-ion battery from Lithionics is mounted in the tailsection.
    Mule Motorcycles Custom R1 tail section details
    Which brings up bodywork. Hanging on that chrome-moly frame is genuine TZ750 bodywork that has been heavily reworked. It’s been widened and massaged to fit the larger scale of the new machine while maintaining the stance that made the TZ750 famous. This might be one of the coolest tailsections of all time.
    The rear subframe is constructed using heim joints, allowing for up-and-down and fore-and-aft adjustment.
    While Pollock rates the wiring and other packaging as the biggest problem of the build, the Rob North-fabricated aluminum fuel tank and airbox, which are integrally designed, rate pretty highly: “We have at least a month in the airbox,” Pollock says. “I tell everybody we should have built an airbox and put a frame around it.”
    Rims are 18-inch Harley-Davidson XLCR, both rears, widened by Kosman to 2.75 inches at the front and 4.5 inches in back. Mule machines adaptors for brakes, sprockets, and stock R1 wheel bearings.
    Brembo supplied the radial master cylinder and redline monoblock calipers. Kosman then turned Pollock on to a company called Ultra Lite Brakes, which cuts discs from titanium and ceramic coats it to work as brake material. A single front bare rotor costs $1,100 but is 30-percent lighter than the steel equivalent. “They use them on NASCAR racers, but they aren’t done for bikes much because of the cost,” Pollock says. “We made the inner carrier and used Brembo buttons. They work great and seem to improve with use.”
    “One of the biggest challenges of the bike was packaging all the electronics and figuring out the wiring—it was a nightmare,” Pollock admits.
    Mid-build, Pollock took the bike to Rainey’s house for a star-studded party during the July 2013 MotoGP weekend. There, the bike got an incredibly experienced and knowledgeable audience: “Kenny Roberts was there; Masahiko Nakajima, head of Yamaha Racing; Chuck Aksland who worked for Roberts for years; and this guy named Dirk Debus, who works with all the data that all the teams collect,” Pollock relates. “I wanted feedback from guys who had been around the block. Kenny looked at it and he says, ‘Holy crap. You’ve got a lot of work into this thing.’ He understood the effort I put into it. Nakajima was really fascinated and crawled around looking at it.
    “If I was wrong about something, I wanted to know.”
    The results of the MotoGP inspection were a relief. “Debus suggested increasing the size of the airbox intake scoops and to relocate some electrical components,” he says. “Roberts said it needed a wider front rim for a better tire footprint, so we got a new rim made. Nobody had a big criticism, but I’m not sure they knew what to think! Who would do this kind of combo, right?”
    With that, Pollock forged ahead to the finish. The end result weighs less than most modern superbikes, makes 180 hp at the rear wheel, and will ultimately be set up with lights. What could be cooler?
    Well, maybe the planned TZ750-inspired R1 street tracker built using a similar for­mula. If these bikes are any indication of the enthusiasm of the people behind Moto­America, racing is in good hands.

    Murrays Brewing x Sol Invictus Motorcycles x Bearded Tit

    Murray's Brewing in collaboration with Sol Invictus Motorcycles worked with Sydney Illustrator and Artist Mike Watt at Redfern's Bearded Tit to transform a custom Mercury Motorcycle through the use of hand painted characters and labels mirrored from the Murray's Brewing selection.

    Murrays Brewing x Sol Invictus Motorcycles x Bearded Tit from Billy Zammit on Vimeo.

    Everyone involved has their information listed below:
    Song by White Knuckle Fever - Bull By The Horns
    billyzammit.com/promotional
    murraysbrewingco.com.au/
    solinvictus.com.au/
    mikewatt.org
    thebeardedtit.com/

    XXth anniversary of Le Jog 6th to 9th December 2014

    The 6th December 2014 will see the start of the 20th edition of the Land’s End to John O’Groats Classic Reliability Trial & Tour, the toughest event of itsLe Jog 2014 kind in Europe and possibly the world. Known to everyone as Le Jog (it even featured on a TV quiz show – “what event runs under the acronym Le Jog”), this Iconic event continues to attract crews from across the world and has become a “must do” on the wish list of all classic car enthusiasts.
    To celebrate the 20th running of the event, the route will include features and locations that have become part of Le Jog folklore. Starting from Land’s End, crews will go straight into Test 1 within the complex and then follow a route to Regularity One; a re-run of the very first regularity on the first event in December 1993. The 1993 event saw the introduction of the now famous Jogularity system on regularities and in celebration of this milestone, HERO will re-run that very first Jogularity (sorry to disappoint those of you who were on the first event and may have notes on the locations of the timing points – the timing points will be in a different location)
    John Kiff, the route coordinator and one of Peter’s deputies was on that first event and is working with Guy Woodcock who joined the team in 2013 to ensure the 20th le Jog will be an event to remember.
    The Porlock Hill climb will again feature on the event as will a cream-tea stop provided by the ladies of Porlock village. Betty Cottles, another venue known to Le Jog competitors will be the location for lunch on Leg One.Le Jog 2014
    Leg Two will start from Gordano services on the M5. Whilst not a location used on the first Le Jog, the venue has proved ideal for Le Jog with the added bonus of being able to provide a test site. The introduction of a joker system in 2013 to aid crews on the tough Welsh leg was received well by novice crews and this innovation will continue in 2014.
    The traditional night navigation section along some of the well-known Rally roads in Wales will again be a feature, with the first car due into the overnight halt in Chester just after 2am. The restart on Sunday morning will take crews north east to another iconic venue, the ford test at Stanhope. From there via tests at Eastgate, the crews will take a route to Carlisle for the Sunday overnight stop. Carlisle has played a part in Le Jog for many years and the City Authorities have granted permission for a ceremonial restart from the precinct outside the Crown and Mitre Hotel on Monday morning.
    The final two legs will start from Carlisle on Monday 8th December and crews will head north across the border into Scotland. Plans include visits to several locations in Scotland associated with Le Jog since its inception; before the crews finally arrive in John O’Groats in time for breakfast.
    The Civic Leader of Wick, Councillor Ross, will host a reception at the Assembly Halls on Tuesday evening 9th December, and this will be followed by the traditional black-tie awards dinner.The BMW Team Le Jog 2013
    HERO is delighted that a number of people involved in 1993 will be on the event, including John Brown (the originator of Le Jog) and Evan Mackenzie; both will be Stewards.
    As plans progress and more information becomes available, further details will be posted on the website

    Auto Fabrica’s Type 3B is a Bugatti-inspired symbol of simplicity


    Rather than draw up another bike from scratch, the brothers at Auto Fabrica chose to reinterpret one of their previous designs with unusual materials and colours. Hence, the Yamaha SR250-based Type 3 has spawned the Type 3B…
    “The Original Type 3 was a bike built based purely on fun,” says Bujar Muharremi, one of the two brothers that make up UK-based motorcycle customiser Auto Fabrica. “Due to the success and huge amount of interest it generated, we decided to build another; this time, we wanted to push it slightly in the colour and trim deparment.” The brothers opted for a take on the original Bugatti blue colour for the tank, while black suede usurped the brown leather used on the seat of the original bike. However, a small triangle of tan leather was applied to the rear of the seat: this will become a signature flourish on all future Auto Fabrica bikes.

    Textural interplay

    This interplay of different textures reaches beyond the seat material, too. “We wanted a mixture of matte and gloss: the seat contrasts in itself by playing on suede and leather mixed together. Another example of this can be seen on the wheels. We powder-coated the wheels in matte black, but aqua-blasted the stainless spokes and kept the nipples polished.”
    The hand-bent exhaust is another example of Auto Fabrica’s focus on coherent design throughout the build. “We wanted the exhaust to not have a straight line on it. The triple curvature allowed the exhaust to tuck close to the frame as well as follow the line of the frame on the exit side. It's fitted with a two-stroke baffle to keep it from sounding too raw, and 2 pie cuts at the end were introduced.”
    With a simple, understated design that uses intricate details so subtly, we really cannot wait to see what’s next to come out of the Auto Fabrica workshop – and now it has been transformed from an out-of-hours hobby into a full-time business, that shouldn’t be too far away.
    Photos: Auto Fabrica
    You can find several classic Yamaha motorcycles for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

    Born-Free Show 2014 by Meditation 4 Madmen

    A brilliant short from the fine folks at Meditation 4 Madmen.


    How Lister turned the XJS into a Ferrari-beater


    There’s no doubt that the Jaguar XJS was a fantastic grand tourer but, as the replacement for the legendary E-type, it seemed a little bit conservative. Then a tuning company using the revived Lister name transformed it into a 200mph supercar...
    The relationship between Lister and Jaguar goes back almost 50 years, and is synonymous with sports car racing. Brian Lister began building his giant-killing sports-racers in 1954, but it wasn’t until 1957, when Sir William Lyons offered him the engines and gearboxes from the ageing Jaguar D-type, that Lister achieved international success.
    Lister designed and built a lightweight chassis around the Jaguar mechanicals, and clothed it in a slippery aerodynamic body. These Lister ‘Knobblies’ swept all before for them for the next few years, winning countless races in the UK, Europe and America.
    Legendary names such as Stirling Moss, Archie Scott-Brown and Masten Gregory all scored victories at the wheel of Lister-Jaguars, often defeating the works Aston Martins in the process.

    Revived in the 1980s

    The Lister name eventually faded away until 1986, when it was revived by an engineer named Laurence Pearce. His new company, Lister-Cars Ltd, was based in Surrey and modified approximately 90 Jaguar XJSs, which were marketed as Lister-Jaguars.
    Turning the XJS into an insanely powerful 200mph+ supercar required some very extensive modifications. For starters, the 5.3-litre engine was increased in size to six litres which, at the time, made the Lister-Jaguar capable of a 0-60mph time of 4.5 seconds, bettering that of the Ferrari Testarossa.  A five-speed Getrag manual gearbox was installed, and the suspension and brakes were uprated to cope with the extra power.

    All-British brute

    The bodykit featured widened wheelarches, a front air dam and a rear spoiler, turning the docile XJS into an aggressive and muscular brute with the looks to match its performance.
    The car offered here, which is going on sale at Bonhams’ Collectors’ Automobilia and Motor Car Auction in Oxford on 7 December, is thought to be the only Mk.III cabriolet ever made.
    Since its original conversion in 1987, one of its previous owners, who clearly felt that 482bhp wasn’t quite enough, sent it back to Lister to be modified yet further. The engine was bored out to seven litres so that it now kicked out 600bhp, and a new sports exhaust system was added.
    Photos: Bonhams
    You can find numerous classic Jaguars for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

    THE BUSINESS OF CUSTOMIZING OLD MOTORCYCLES


    Adam Kay of Untitled Motorcycles on old school customs and starting a bike-building business.
    from BIKEexif
    Untitled builds interesting and usable old school motorcycles in a small workshop under the railway arches in north London. And they’re doing a very good job of it too. So when we read an interview with Untitled’s co-founder Adam Kay in Classic Bike Guide, we jumped on it. It’s a great counterpoint to John Ryland’s piece on building custom motorcycles for a living.
    “I do this because I love it,” says Untitled’s Adam Kay. “A few years ago I bought a BMW from Rex Martin, who was running Victory Motorcycles in Kentish Town. I asked him to help me rebuild it into a very basic custom, with a shorter seat and different mudguards.”
    An old school BMW built by the London workshop Untitled Motorcycles.
    “I started a Facebook page to document the build: a simple ‘how to’ blog. Lots of people liked it, and I still get people writing to me about those pages. People started asking if we could build stuff for them.”
    Rex became Adam’s business partner, and Untitled Motorcycles was born.
    Old school charm: detail from a BMW built by the London workshop Untitled Motorcycles.
    WHAT WAS YOUR BIG BREAK? “A guy who used to hang out at the workshop suggested Rex and I build a couple of bikes to show at the Alexandra Palace Custom Show. I think our BMWs were the only non-Harley bikes there.
    “We took the BMW badges off and called them ‘Untitled.’ We put price tags on both bikes, which were way too expensive and took a year to sell. But we got several projects as a result of that show.
    “Then we built UMC-002 (below), a BMW scrambler with high-level pipes. It got a huge amount of interest and people started coming to us.”
    UMC-002, a BMW scrambler with high-level pipes built by Untitled Motorcycles.
    Since then, Untitled has become a highly respected shop, known for its ‘urban’ and rideable street bikes. They’ve been featured extensively online and in the new wave custom bible The Ride.
    HOW DO YOU PAY THE BILLS? “As a business, Untitled has always been healthy: we were profitable after our first year. You can make money building custom bikes—and you don’t need to have money upfront to build the bikes.”
    Until now Untitled has focused purely on bike building, but Adam is looking to expand operations and build on the brand.
    The workshop of London-based Untitled Motorcycles.
    “We’re about to start selling bolt-on parts developed from our custom builds. We’re doing a plug-and-go BMW subframe, because the way they’re built allows you to customize them relatively easily. Other bikes you have to cut and weld new tube, and not everyone can do that—or has access to a mate with a welder.”
    The BMW rear end will be sold in different versions, from bare subframes through to the full package with fender, indicators, stoplight, and shocks. “The electrical components have four-pin connectors that plug straight into the existing loom. The idea is that it’s all bolt-on, ready to go.”
    Modifying a frame in the workshop of Untitled Motorcycles.
    They are also designing merchandise. “We could probably make more money from just selling merchandise. But first and foremost, we build bikes. I’m not against selling clothing or parts that have been developed from our bike-building expertise.”
    T-shirts and stickers—the standby items in any custom motorcycle shop.
    Adam has been astute enough to tap into the American market, but not in the conventional way. “Hugo Eccles, an industrial designer who co-built the UMC-021 (below) with me, recently moved from London to California. He was planning on establishing a custom bike-building business out there, so we formed a partnership. We now have a workshop in San Francisco and our first US build will be a Moto Guzzi cafe racer.”
    This stripped-back R100 RT comes from London’s Untitled Motorcycles and it just oozes vintage charm.
    SOCIAL MEDIA: DOES IT WORK? “We’ve promoted our business through Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. You get ‘likes’ but does that translate into business? I think so. People in the USA like our stuff and that’s purely though the internet. Our web stats show that a big percentage of our traffic comes from America.
    “Without the internet I don’t think we’d be where we are now—we’re known worldwide. But it means you also have to be on the computer, answering emails and generating new stuff to keep people coming back. I’ve noticed that people flick from bike to bike. Attention spans appear to be very short.”
    The internet also carries a lot of negativity, which can divert attention if taken seriously. But that doesn’t worry Adam.
    Adam Kay and Hugo Eccles of Untitled Motorcycles.
    “When we started building bikes I worried about it, but not any more. I don’t care who is building a bike—it takes a lot of hard work and real ingenuity. I love the people in this business and the people it attracts, even the ‘haters.’
    “At least they offer an opinion, even if it might not be a view you share. And it’s good to create discussion.
    “At the end of the day, whatever people are saying online, it’s another motorcycle back on the road—and surely that’s got to be a good thing?”
    There’s no doubt the internet is fueling new interest—but why classic bikes, and what’s the attraction of customizing them? “People want things that are niche and vibrant,” says Adam. “It’s about having something to aspire to, and expressing individuality.”
    Old school Honda CB350 cafe racer motorcycle.
    HOW INVOLVED ARE YOUR CLIENTS? “We’re getting more and more customers coming in to the workshop to help build their own bikes, and we’re teaching them. It’s worked so well, we’re considering setting up a series of bike building courses.
    “My dad was an engineer, a hands-on guy building boats and cars, and a part-time rally driver too. He once built a complete MGA from crates of spare parts he’d bought. I’ve been around that stuff all my life, and it’s a similar experience working with Rex. Every day I learn something new.”
    And that’s the reason Untitled are willing to help newcomers by encouraging them to participate in their own bikes builds and showing them some of the techniques.
    They don't come more old school than this this board track-inspired Triumph T100 SS.
    “Customizing a motorcycle is not easy. One of the great things about allowing people access to the workshop is that they suddenly realize it’s not a simple job. And they understand why a custom can cost more than £10,000 to build. Building a bike is a very time-consuming process.”
    As a society we stopped doing hands-on years ago. Manufacturers of motorcycles—and cars, electronics and household appliances—use planned obsolescence. Nothing is built-to-last, and it’s no longer built-to-fix either: at least not without a degree in computer science.
    Kawasaki KZ100 cafe racer built by Untitled Motorcycles of London.
    Like many people interested in new wave cafe racers and street trackers, Adam is amazed that manufacturers have been slow to sell bikes that are easily customized by new riders. And that’s despite companies dipping their toes into the scene with sponsorship of custom shows like The Bike Shed Event.
    “It’s great what BMW is doing with the R NineT but it’s also a twelve grand bike. It’s a great base for customization but what young kid, just into biking, can afford that? It’s the same with the Yamaha Bolt. Why not do that with smaller-capacity bikes that can be easily modified and will inspire kids to get into bikes?
    “I think that’s why classic bikes have become popular among younger riders. They want to get into doing things with their hands: it’s an untapped hunter-gatherer instinct or something. It’s sad that schools have closed engineering workshop classes. Who’s going to do that kind of work if you don’t get introduced to the basics at school?
    “People want to get their hands dirty and they’re bored with modern bikes they can’t touch. People want to feel stuff and modern bikes are so unemotional. The old stuff, you feel it, you touch it, and it’s visceral. Yes, old bikes need looking after but that, in itself, adds value. It’s more of an experience riding old bikes. You can feel an old bike throbbing away.
    “It’s got life: it keeps you alive.”
    A version of this article by Gary Pinchin appeared in Classic Bike Guide. Reproduced with thanks. Images by Damian McFadden, except Hugo Eccles portrait by Erik Jutras.
    Untitled Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram | Bike EXIF coverage of Untitled builds
    An old school BMW built by Untitled Motorcycles.
    BikeEXIF

    Dickies: Kustom Kulture Forever


    Pirelli 2015

    Vyshel novyj kalendar Pirelli 2015 3 Вышел новый календарь Pirelli 2015