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dimanche 1 février 2015
Van Beveren Victorious with Yamaha at Enduro du Touquet
Expedition Overlands Alaska/Yukon
SEBASTIAN’S Z440
Sometimes timing is everything, in fact almost always. Nguyễn Việt Thắng – aka Sebastian Nguyen from Vietnam was grading his photos of his first custom build when he stumbled upon The Bike Shed. His click of Facebook’s infamous like button pushed The Bike Shed over the 300,000 milestone, so we sent Sebastian a package of BSMC goodies to say thanks. He replied with these photos of his Kawasaki café racer. Nice when fate works out like that.
Sebastian is no stranger to customisation. He owns a car tuning company called GTPs in Ho Chi Minh City, high-end Fast & Furious type stuff, but has buddies at a couple of custom bike shops to steer him in the right direction. A local magazine ad yielded the 1982 KZ440 donor and so the eBay trial and error project began in ernest.
The first component for the recycling pile was the skinny front fork, superseded by an infinitely stiffer set from a ZX6R, complete with clipons. Originally a set of ZX7 alloy wheels were sourced but proved too wide for the swingarm, which was a blessing in disguise as more classical wire wheel look was the preferred choice, so a 36 hole front hub from a Kawasaki Z900 was laced to an 18″ Excel rim. But not before a Ducati Sport Classic set-up was unsuccessfully tried. The rear also proved tricky, but a solution was found with an XS Performance 18″ hoop and KZ1000 48 spoke hub. Not sure who has been busier here, Sebastian or the postman.
One definite upside to building bikes in Vietnam is the extraordinary wealth of hands-on skills that so many still posses. In this case the fuel tank, bar-end indidcators and exhaust have been fabricated locally. Making a speedo was beyond the remit of his mate’s skills so a Koso unit was ordered. The headlight is from a Honda CB233S, this bike is a true Bitsa.
The engine was in rude health so required a service and tune-up to cope with the pod filters and free-flowing exhaust. One of the pesky Kehin carbs refused to fall into line and fuel smoothly, so eBay was enlisted once more to source another.
The shortened front mudguard, café tail and upside-down forks play their part in the squat stance, and the kicked-up rear hoop breaks up the flat visual line perfectly.
Vortex rearsets look the part and allow Sebastian’s small frame to bunch up, hunker down and give that frontend a proper workout.
The painstaking eBay searches, lengthy shipping times from the U.S.A. and commitment to a trial, error and learn approach meant the whole project to Sebastian two years. Whilst waiting for parts to arrive the sight of his two wheeled statue became a slightly depressing sight, but thankfully perseverance won the day.
It’s great to see young guys, and gals, knuckling down to bring their ideas to life and we’re sure to see more of Sebastian in the future. Well, the near future, we want to see a picture of the 300,000th Facebook follower on his bike wearing a BSMC T-shirt.
via PIPEBURN
Monte carlo historique : mise en bouche
via News Classic Racing | Publié le 1er février
A l’issue de l’étape de concentration, les équipages ont rejoint le Parc Fermé de Monaco, après une première ZR de mise-en-bouche entre Saint-Jean-la-Rivière et Levens. Le 18e Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique est entré dans le vif du sujet
Z.R. 1 - SAINT JEAN-LA-RIVIÈRE / LEVENS ( 11 ,97 km)
Le départ a été donné sur la M19 environ 200m après la bifurcation M2565/M19. Une route en virage large, plein sud, traversant le lieu dit L’Imberguet pour arriver au village de Duranus. A la sortie du village, la route devient plus étroite et sinueuse en sous bois avec des petits ponts souvent verglacés. La montée vers le village de Levens s’effectue ensuite en plein sud en passant par la stèle du Saut des Français avant d’arriver par une grande épingle en fin de ZR
Le Top 5 après la ZR1
1 – Anders Bremer/Clas Bohman – Porsche 924 Turbo – 0 pt2 – Marco Trevisan/Urs Ernst – Austin Healey 3000 MkII – 1 pt
3 – Kurt Leimer/Markus Abeler – Porsche 912 – 1 pt
4 – Torstein Bergum/Sven Age Bergum – Porsche 930 Turbo – 1 pt
5 – Arnaud Doublet/Patrick Vial – Alfa-Romeo Alfetta GTV – 1 pt
-> tous les résultats
Une dizaine de concurrents ont été contraints à l’abandon depuis le départ, parmi lesquels Jean-Michel Raoux / Yannick Dieu et leur rare Facel-Vega Facellia de 1960 (bielle) et un habitué de l’épreuve monégasque, André Recordier, trahit par l’embrayage de sa Fiat X1.9.
X-Trial : Bou (Montesa-Michelin) impérial à Marseille
Toni Bou a remporté la deuxième épreuve du championnat du monde FIM X-Trial à Marseille en ne laissant aucune chance à ses adversaires. Octuple champion du monde, Bou se détache déjà au classement général en s’imposant pour la deuxième fois en deux courses. Adam Raga (Gas Gas – Michelin) et Albert Cabestany (Sherco – Michelin) complètent un podium 100 % espagnol.
Toni Bou a dominé la deuxième épreuve du championnat du monde FIM X-Trial en offrant un superbe show aux spectateurs présents au Palais des Sports de Marseille. Incapable de rivaliser avec le champion du monde en titre, Adam Raga a terminé deuxième devant Albert Cabestany plus en retrait.
Jeroni Fajardo (Beta – Michelin) a assuré la quatrième place devant le premier Français Alexandre Ferrer (Sherco-Michelin), cinquième également lors de la première manche début janvier à Sheffield. Ferrer, soutenu par le public, était en bonne voie pour se qualifier pour la finale, avant de commettre une erreur éliminatoire dans la seconde section des qualifications.
Cette deuxième épreuve est à oublier pour Dabill, sixième, victime d’une casse de suspension arrière. Le Britannique a été contraint d’utiliser son mulet.
Pilote wild-card, Loris Gubian (Gas Gas – Michelin), et Eddie Karlsson ont été les deux premiers éliminés à l’issue des qualifications et se classent respectivement septième et huitième.
En remportant une deuxième victoire consécutive, Toni Bou (40 points) a déjà creusé l’écart sur ses adversaires et compte 13 points d’avance sur Raga et Cabestany, deuxièmes ex-aequo.
Résultats : 1. Bou ; 2. Raga ; 3. Cabestany ; 4. Fajardo ; 5. Ferrer ; 6. Dabill ; 7. Gubian ; 8. Karlsson
Classement général : 1. Bou, 40 points ; 2. Raga, 27 pts ; 2. Cabestany, 27 pts ; 4. Fajardo, 18 pts, 5. Ferrer, 12 pts ; 6. Dabill, 6 pts, 7. Gubian, 4 pts, 8. Brown, 2 pts ; 9. Karlsson, 2 pts
Prochaine épreuve : France, Pau, 6 février
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RASIO D’KARMAH
Some bikes look absolutely stunning on a computer screen in all their pixelated glory, smothered behind a sepia filter like a sultry pin-up. But there’s always that nagging question; will the machine live up to the dreamy looks once a leg is swung over and the wheels start rolling? Like that pin up, there’s always the risk they’ll have the personality of a paper cup. Sure, we all know we can have a laugh on something with knobbly balloon tyres and 30 bhp, but sometimes, that craving for proper road rubber and a grunty power unit comes-a-knockin’.
And it’s times like that when the Rasio D’Karmah would do very nicely indeed.
With their name taken from the Welsh for ‘Racing’ it comes as no surprise that Rasio’s bikes have one foot firmly in the performance hemi-sphere, with the other seemingly in stunning aesthetics. Growing from a friendship through motorcycle racing, a passion for all things with two wheels and ultimately, the overwhelming need to have fun, Mark and Andy got inspired, got a garage and got building. It was after the first Bike Shed meeting in Shoreditch, that initial builds were planned, boiling down to a simple remit: “Stripped of all un-needed junk, clean, uncluttered cockpits and ultimately be built to be ridden; a racing ethos if you like.”
The exception that proves the rule, a distinctly unloved 1980 Ducati Darmah was found discarded in a barn. Being a literal barn fine, it had lay unloved for more than 20 years until a chance conversation landed it in the guy’s hands. Whilst not the most inspiring specimen from the Italian brand, the Darmah nevertheless has a loyal following and restored examples tend to stick very closely to the factory spec. This wasn’t the Rasio way, so risking the wrath of the owners club, the decision was made to head down a path of no return.
Decided early on that the original forks and twin rear shock setup would be discarded, the frame required some serious modification. All completed in house, an entirely new headstock was fabricated and grafted on, in anticipation of a Ducati 1098 front end; meaning Ohlins and Brembo goodness. The frame also received new top rails, along with additional gusseting and bracing around the front to ensure the enhanced braking prowess wouldn’t tie the original trellis up in knots.
At the rear, the swingarm was converted to accept a monoshock, the suspension picking up directly under the main frame top tubes, while a nifty Ohlins Shock keeps the rear wheel planted. This combination of traditional trellis and quality modern suspension integrates beautifully, making the bike deceptively simple to look at.
Whilst it’s easy to slap on a set of stainless spoked wheels and call it Cafe’d, Rasio went a different route.Astralite’s are now back in production after a 20 year break, the perfect period wheel for the bike. Made in the UK to modern metallurgy and manufacturing standards, the gold anodizing ties the whole bike together. Planting it firmly in the late ’70s, early ’80’s the split rim design ties in beautifully with the boxier styling of the L-twin. A firm nod to the performance options available to the bike when it was originally made.
When hoiked out of the frame, the motor was in a sorry old state externally, but sweet inside having only covered 10k miles. And while the squared off covers don’t quite have quite the grace of the earlier Ducati power units, a metric ton of polishing paste has transformed it into a star attraction.
Rasio, being guys who like to do things properly, stripped the motor anyway. Cases were blasted and powder coated and many a long night polishing got the supporting parts up to visual standard. Rebuilt with new bearings and shells throughout, she breathes through a set of new Dellorto PHM 40 carbs. The whole unit hangs in the trellis looking unfeasibly simple, yet unmistakably Ducati.
The stunning lines of the bike can really be attributed to that tank. It’s an NCR replica from an old 900SS race bike but it needed susbstantial work to bring it back to life. After a thorough hammering, welding, filing and English-Wheeling, a classic timeless black and gold paintjob looks like it came straight from a factory racer. Butting up against the solo seat, the combination is the definition of ‘purposeful’. With the Rasio Dragon logo capping the black vinyl hump, it’s down to the recessed tail light to remind you this is roadbike; but whip that number plate off and you feel you could go hunting for Hailwood.
Maintaining the D’Karmah’s identity, the original headlight was retained, being modified to contribute to the minimalist remit. Keeping the cockpit clear, the speedo was inset into the bucket, and the necessary relays and fuses were tucked inside along with it. A new wiring loom incorporates a light weight Ballistic Li-Po battery, further reducing weight and allowing it to be kept out of sight. This is one of theose bikes that looks almost purely mechanical in it’s functionality.
Despite being assembled from 3 decades worth of parts, the bike is extremely cohesive, to the point that if Ducati released it as a sibling to the new Scrambler, you’d never question it’s origins. As Mark says:
“Throughout the build, the objective was to blend the modern running gear with the classic Bevel drive motor but with a period cafe racer look. Not easy given the original donor but we think we’ve pulled it off and created a classicly styled Café racer with modern day overtones.”
On the first run out, they happened upon an owner of a Mike Hailwood replica and the guy quickly became besotted with the decidedly un-dowdy Darmah. That sounds like a home-run to me.
With a full pipeline of projects, the Rasio guys are going to be busy trying to loft themselves over the stupendously high bar they’ve set. But with a Honda CX, BMW Airhead and a classic styled Triumph Chop in the works, it sounds like there’s something for everyone. Head over to their Facebook page for some previews of what’s coming.
And a hearty slap on the back must also go to Max Grizzard for the gorgeous photos of the bike, and for somehow making England look like something from an Italian Renaissance painting. Splendid.
via PIPEBURN
Timeless Classics: Aston Martin DB5
You might sigh and roll your eyes heavenwards at the inevitable reference to James Bond, whenever an Aston Martin is mentioned. But in the case of the DB5, well, you can hardly help thinking of 007, can you?
It was, after all, in no small part due to the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger that the DB5 became so famous and successful. Since then, it appeared in another four Bond films, and finally in the relatively recent Skyfall… when Bond’s cherished classic met a tragic end. It’s the Bond connection that has led some commentators to call the DB5 “the most famous car in the world”.
The most desirable of the David Brown Aston Martins?
But to Aston aficionados, there are plenty of other reasons why the DB5 is considered the most desirable of the David Brown Aston Martins. While it looked very similar to the final series of the DB4, it was a much-improved animal under the skin. For a start, it had a larger, smoother, more powerful 4.0-litre all-aluminium engine with three SU carburettors and – after the first 89 cars – a new five-speed manual gearbox. What’s more, the brakes were upgraded and an oil-cooler fitted. As for the interior, the DB5’s tinted electric windows were at the cutting edge of automotive fashion in 1963. But if even electric windows sound like too much faff, you could opt for air-conditioning and simply relax in the reclining seats, surrounded by luxurious wool-pile carpeting. This was no Spartan, race-derived sports car.
Object of desire
It’s not just in retrospect that the DB5 became an object of desire. After the model was launched in 1963 – and Goldfinger arrived on the silver screens in 1964 – Aston Martin made a profit for the first time in years. Aston’s service manager Dudley Gersham was quoted as saying, “If we had been able to produce 50 DB5s per week, we would have sold them.”
The pictured car might not be wearing the Bond-preferred Silver Birch paintwork, but is just as stylish in the dark blue it acquired during a full RS Williams restoration in 1984 (replacing the original Dubonnet Red). A rare, left-hand-drive-from-new example, still with its original engine, this 1964 car has factory-fitted air-conditioning and makes a stylish statement thanks to its chrome wheels with Dunlop whitewall tyres. It will be offered for sale by RM Auctions in Paris, on 4 February 2015, carrying an estimate of €550,000 to €700,000.
Photos: RM Auctions
This article is part of the 'Timeless Classics' feature series that is presented and supported by our friends at RM Auctions
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