Le Qatar accueille l’ouverture de la saison MotoGP™ 2015 / The MotoGP™ paddock returns to Qatar

Le Championnat du Monde FIM MotoGP™ 2015 commence cette semaine au Grand Prix Commercial Bank du Qatar.

Le paddock MotoGP™ retourne au Circuit International de Losail cette semaine pour l’ouverture de la saison 2015. Après des mois d’attente, la première manche promet d’être passionnante, d’autant plus que les essais de pré-saison réservaient bien des surprises.

Ducati semble avoir renoué avec la compétitivité pour 2015 et avait dominé le dernier Test Officiel de la pré-saison au Qatar, avec une toute nouvelle Desmosedici GP15 conçue par Luigi Dall’Igna. Le nouveau prototype italien a été très rapide sur la piste de Losail mais semble surtout ne plus souffrir de la fâcheuse tendance à sous-virer qui affectait ses prédécesseurs. Andrea Dovizioso et Andrea Iannone n’ont maintenant plus qu’à concrétiser sous les projecteurs de la piste de Losail.

Suzuki est de retour en MotoGP™ avec un tout nouveau team officiel baptisé Suzuki Ecstar, qui engage Aleix Espargaró et le rookie Maverick Viñales. Les deux Espagnols ont énormément travaillé sur la GSX-RR depuis l’an dernier et ont déjà prouvé sa compétitivité durant la pré-saison mais le team espère tirer bien plus de son potentiel au long de l’année.

Suzuki n’est pas la seule marque de retour en MotoGP™ cette année puisque Aprilia a décidé de reprendre la compétition en Grand Prix un an plus tôt que ce que le constructeur de Noale avait initialement annoncé, et a fait appel à Álvaro Bautista et Marco Melandri pour développer la RS-GP afin de la rendre compétitive pour 2016.

Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda), le double Champion du Monde et tenant du titre, est de nouveau prêt à faire face à ses adversaires, dont les principaux seront d’après lui les pilotes du team Movistar Yamaha MotoGP mais aussi son propre coéquipier Dani Pedrosa.

Valentino Rossi et Jorge Lorenzo seront déterminés à rivaliser avec Márquez dès la première manche de la saison afin de reconquérir le titre mondial. Rossi était revenu à son plus haut niveau l’an dernier grâce à quelques changements réalisés en coulisses tandis que Lorenzo avait été le pilote à marquer le plus de points sur la seconde moitié de l’année après un début de saison catastrophique.

Également sur prototypes Factory, Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda), Scott Redding (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Racing), Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech3), son coéquipier Bradley Smith et les pilotes du team Pramac Racing, Yonny Hernández et Danilo Petrucci, promettent quant à eux de se livrer une passionnante bataille pour la place de premier pilote satellite, bien que certains d’entre eux espèreront se frotter aux pilotes officiels et éventuellement atteindre le podium.

Dans la catégorie Open, Karel Abraham (AB Motoracing) avait été le plus rapide lors du test de pré-saison à Losail et sera opposé cette année à Nicky Hayden et Eugene Laverty du team Drive M7 Aspar, qui roulent eux aussi sur Honda RC213V RS, à Héctor Barberá et Mike Di Meglio du team Avintia Racing ainsi qu’à Stefan Bradl et Loris Baz du team Athinà Forward Racing. Le jeune Australien Jack Miller, vice-Champion du Monde Moto3™ l’an dernier, courra aussi dans la sous-catégorie, avec CWM LCR Honda, tandis que Alex de Angelis sera engagé sur une ART par Octo Ioda Racing.

En 2015, la grille sera un peu plus importante avec un total de 25 pilotes, contre 23 en 2014, et n’aura jamais compté autant de Champions du Monde ou de pilotes ayant au moins une victoire en Grand Prix à leur palmarès. 

Disputé en nocturne, le Grand Prix Commercial Bank du Qatar suit un programme différent de celui des autres Grands Prix et commencera dès jeudi avec une première séance d’essais tandis que la course MotoGP™ aura lieu dimanche à 21h, heure locale.

The 2015 FIM MotoGP™ World Championship kicks off this weekend with the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar.

The MotoGP™ paddock will arrive at the Losail International Circuit this week for the start of the 2015 season. After months of waiting the first round is upon us and what a season it promises to be, as already during preseason testing a few surprises have been thrown up and there are some big stories making the headlines.

Ducati have dramatically come back with a competitive machine for 2015, with the Luigi Dall’Igna designed Desmosedici GP15 dominating the final preseason test in Qatar. The new machine is not only fast, but the Italian factory team seemed to have finally cured the understeer problem that affected previous versions of the bike.  While the GP15 has shown good pace since it debuted at the second test in Sepang, it will be interesting to see how it performs over the race distance under the floodlights at the Losail Circuit in the hands of the Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone.

Suzuki have returned to MotoGP™ with an all new factory squad, the Suzuki Ecstar Team, featuring riders Aleix Espargaro and class rookie Maverick Viñales. They have been developing the GSX-RR machine over the last year, and already it has proved competitive, plus the team believes there is a lot more potential to unlock in the bike throughout the season.

On the subject of comebacks, Aprilia have also returned to the MotoGP™ grid for 2015, although this year will be more of a season-long test for riders Alvaro Bautista and Marco Melandri, as they look to develop the RS-GP bike to be competitive in 2016.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez will be looking to defend his title once more, having claimed back-to-back championships in the past two seasons. The young Spaniard believing that the serious challenge for the titlewill not come from Ducati, but his own teammate Dani Pedrosa and the Movistar Yamaha’s.

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo will be desperate to wrestle the title from Marquez’s grasp, and with 11 world titles between them plus a renewed determination this season, the Movistar Yamaha team will be looking to claim the Championship once more. Rossi experienced a resurgence last season, having made some changes behind the scenes, while his teammate Lorenzo ended the season brilliantly, after a disastrous start to 2014 effectively cost him any chance of the title.

There is also the interesting battle of the satellite teams with riders Cal Crutchlow on the CWM LCR Honda RC213V, Scott Redding on the factory spec Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Racing Honda, the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s of Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro plus the Pramac Ducati’s of Yonny Hernandez and Danilo Petrucci all set to do battle in Qatar.

In the Open class it was Karel Abraham who ended on top at the final preseason test, but it should prove to be an interesting season-long battle between the Drive M7 Aspar Honda RC213V-RS’s of Nicky Hayden and Eugene Laverty along with the Avintia Ducati’s of Hector Barbera and Mike Di Meglio, and the Athina Forward Racing Yamaha’s of Stefan Bradl & Loris Baz. Plus Jack Miller, the runner-up in the Moto3™ Championship last year, will be looking to impress on the Open spec CMW LCR Honda, while Alex de Angelis is on the Octo Ioda Racing ART Machine.

In 2015 the number of riders competing in the MotoGP™ class has increased to 25 - up from 23 in 2013 - and this season there will be more riders on the grid that have won Grand Prix World Championships than ever before. Twelve riders, who have won a total of 28 titles between them, will line up under the lights in Qatar to compete in the first round, along with 4 rookies to the class in the shape of Viñales, Miller, Laverty and Baz.

The schedule for the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar differs from other rounds in that it is spread over 4 days, with two days (but the normal amount of sessions) of free practice commencing on Thursday, qualifying on Saturday, and the MotoGP™ race scheduled to start at 9pm local time on Sunday night.

THE HUNTER: A SCRAMBLER WITH EXTRA FIREPOWER

By Wesley Reyneke | Rather Be Riding

The Triumph Scrambler’s biggest selling point is its looks. It might not be the strongest contender in the performance department, but it has a nostalgic appeal that few others can match. And it’s easy to upgrade.

This stunning Triumph Scrambler was built by Erne’s Euromotos—a dealership and custom shop in Zürich, Switzerland. It’s the perfect blueprint for anyone wanting to transform his or her own Scrambler with performance-based mods.

The engine gets a big power boost via larger valves, hotter cams, and a higher compression ratio. To increase airflow, Erne’s modified the air box, fitted a free-flowing filter, and installed a Zard exhaust system. The fuel injection was then remapped—making this particular Scrambler good for a reported 95hp.

Given this significant jump in power, suspension and braking upgrades were in order. A Brembo P4 braking setup was added at the front, along with a Galfer disc designed for the Thruxton.

Öhlins suspension components were set up at both ends: FG324 upside-down forks at the front, and S36P shocks out back. The forks are held in place by new triple trees from LSL, and the tires are Continental’s dual-sport-specific TKC80s.

LSL also supplied a set of X01 Superbike bars, bar risers, and adjustable clutch and brake levers. Other (less obvious) LSL parts include a chain guard, sprocket cover, main and passenger foot pegs and foot controls. The regulator, ignition and horn have all been relocated to clean up the front end as much as possible.

Erne’s dipped into the JvB-moto catalogue too—fitting a JVB headlight, side panels and rear fender. A Motogadget Motoscope Tiny speedo was installed via Motogadget’s m-TRI: a signal adapter designed specifically for plugging Motogadget components into modern Triumphs with minimal fuss. The bar-end turn signals are Motogadget’s m-Blaze Discs.

After a little back-and-forth on paint, the client settled on a satin olive green for the tank and fender. The Triumph emblem on the tank and Erne’s logos on the side panels were done in gold, taking cues from the distinctive Öhlins components. Gold highlights can be found elsewhere too: like the adjustment dials on the levers.

Rounding off the bike is a slimmer, shorter seat with custom upholstery. The diamond-stitch pattern has been created with a green thread that’ll darken over time to match the tank. That pattern is replicated on the grips—a pair of Biltwell Thrusters—which is typical of the well-considered detailing on this project.

The Scrambler’s brawny stance and olive finish have earned it the moniker Le Chasseur(‘The Hunter’).

A fitting name for a Scrambler that’s right on target.

Erne’s Euromotos | Photos by Marc Schneider

via BIKEexif

Limbächer Classic Motorcycles

Limbächer Classic Motorcycles from THD Video on Vimeo.

Drifting the Original AE86 In The Rain

Motorsport runs deep in NZ culture, so we met up with the Hutt Valley Motorsports Club at Manfield Park to test some of their best homebrew track cars. 

Jared Rush's 1984 Toyota Trueno AE86 is a fine example of what can be achieved on this platform with excellent backyard engineering, and is crazy fun to slide in the wet! 

Honda NX650 Motorpsycho by Basic Garage

                       

                      

                       

Confession: A few days ago when I should have been researching new feature motorcycles for Moto Rivista, I was actually online shopping looking for my next pair of sunglasses. When what should I come across, none other than RETROSUPERFUTURE®’s SS2014 Motorpsycho collection.

You can imagine my relief when I saw what had been revealed along with this new collection, that’s right, the feature of the day! The stars aligned for me, I found my next pair of shades and we were able to meet a new builder to feature on Moto Rivista. Introducing Federico Pazzi, Pier Francesco Pazzi, Eugenio Rapposelli of Basic Garage from Milan, Italy.

Pier tells us “We customize motorcycles by creating teams of builders with different skills depending on the project. We started in 2011 working with a small laboratory in Abruzzo (Luthor, Tarantula, Apocalypse) and now we are working on new projects together with different teams in Milan, as well. The first motorcycle we did in Milan is the Motorpsycho for the RETROSUPERFUTURE® brand.
We give our customized motorcycles names of comic villains: they are fascinating powerful losers. Without them there wouldn’t be any heroes. We are also organizing, together with Anvil Motociclette, the summer event SunRide Motospeciali (riders meeting, custom exposition, music festival)”.
On to the bike, Motorpsycho is based on a 1988 Honda NX650. Conceived by RETROSUPERFUTURE®’s creative team, Basic Garage and the exclusive artwork by Japanese legend Keiichi Tanaami as a tribute to the alternative lifestyle that inspired this year’s Motorpsycho collection. This special project celebrates youthful rebellious countercultures, cross-country road trips, subversive psychedelia and the endless search for liberty.

Keiichi Tanaami one of the leading pop artists of postwar Japan has poured his creativity and imagination into this ironically appealing pattern, perfectly designed to fit the motorcycle’s curves and shapes.
RETROSUPERFUTURE® has a tradition of collaborating with exceptional craftsmen, this custom 1988 Honda NX650 is no exception. Working side by side, RETROSUPERFUTURE® and Basic Garage’s craftsmen have built and equipped this classic bike with unique materials and features, such as unique steel grills on the front and side of the bike, custom-made black chicken leg-skin for the seating, moulded aluminium side panels, black steel braided brake line, and, above all hot psychedelic bodywork sporting Tanaami’s eclectic skeletal drawings.
Celebrating exceptional creativity and out of the ordinary craftsmanship, the RETROSUPERFUTURE® motorcycle Motorpsycho is a unique one-off artwork. Whilst not available for purchase, Motorpsycho will be exhibited worldwide at select shows. Watch the video of Keiichi Tanaami’s work on Motorpsycho.

                             

                              

                             

“Honda NX650 Motorpsycho” specifications:

• Base Honda NX650
• Manufacturing Year: 1988
• Continental tkc 80 twinduro tires
• Handmade glass fiber fairing by elaboratorio
• Motoscope pro by motogadget instruments
• Handmade custom seat in chicken leg skin
• Lowered front fork stainless steel grills Four headlights (mixed led and halogen)

• Custom-made aluminum side panels 19” front rim
• Honda CG125 gas tank led back light and turn signals
• Drag bar handlebar
• Semi-gloss black steel braided brake line
• via http://motorivista.com

 

Rogue's Sieben | 1980 Puch Magnum Moped.

Rogue's Sieben started as a 1980 Puch Magnum Moped. With virtually every part upgraded, this old two stroke is in many ways a modern day beast. The automatic two speed engine has been rebuilt with a high performance crank to handle the power increase from the 19mm Dellorto, added 4 pedal reed block, 64cc Polini cylinder, auto retarding ignition, and hand made expansion chamber. Pushing the original 25mph top speed to the now 55mph mark is quite thrilling on just a 145lb bike.

‘89 BMW R100 – Retro Moto

In this life, you’ll soon find out that there are friends, and then there are friends. Friends are the ones who will drop you home on their bike after you’ve had a few too many. Friends are the ones who’ll wash the vomit off the back their favourite leather jacket and never mention the night again – until your wedding day. And afterwards, they’ll take you aside and tell you that they skipped all the crap on your wedding registry list and decide to make you a custom motorbike instead. Needless to say, Junior Burrell from the Texan shop Retro Moto is one of those friends and this is the bike he made for his buddy.

“My newly-wedded buddy had just joined the Air Force and he had a month until departure,” says Junior B. “We had decided to build him and his bride a bike. The plan was to get it done so they’d have two full weeks to ride it and enjoy each other’s company before he left.”

Junior shopped around and found the perfect build platform at a local BMW shop called Perry’s. It was a stock R100 complete with a full fairing and all the options boxes ticked. “Not that we really wanted for those options, but the bike itself was a low mile example and it had just been fully serviced. Despite our luck, there was still a lot we wanted to do to it and with the timeline we had, we knew it’d be tough.”

Without pausing for thought, Junior smiles and states that all the night were late nights were totally worth it. “We built it in six or so very late but fun evenings over the course of two weeks. It was in a great state and a mechanic had just been over the engine, so thankfully we didn’t have to worry about the mechanicals.”

The two then stripped her down and started on the stainless subframe and alloy seat pan. Since Junior had mainly been working in stainless of late, the structural options for the subframe was an automatic choice. And the slick, brat-style seat to top it off wasn’t a difficult call, either. The new tubing was also drilled to allow the rear wiring to hide inside.

“I  repainted the tank, hooked up the Acewell gauge and made a mount for the Hella light. The charge light was relocated under the tank, and a progressive suspension shock was bolted on. Then came the new tires and some powder coating for the wheels, along with a set of Renthal bars.” As the icing on top of the (wedding) cake, Junior added a quick reroute of the stainless exhaust into a spiffy new cone muffler, and finished with the world’s smallest sissy bar to wrap up the neat little tail light.

Naturally, Junior took it for a quick burn before he handed it over. “The ride is the best part; after dropping 80 pounds, she became quicker and much more agile. Torque is in abundance, even from the smallest twist of the throttle. She rides smooth and handles amazingly.”

Texas. The lone wheel state

“In the end we made our deadline and the newly wedded couple rode off into the sunset. It was enough to bring a tear to my eye… or maybe it was just the wind and the ash from my smoke. I can’t be sure.”

[Photos by Brandon LaJoie]

via PIPEBURN

ELLASPEDE BENELLI SS 125

We all know there are still those bikes tucked out of sight, long forgotten and gathering dust. Deep under a pile of magazines and old dust sheets at the back of the shed of that curmudgeon across the road. There be gold in that garage, but like treasure, finding it is only half the problem; you’ve still got to dig it out. And when you do, will it still shine as brightly as when it was out of reach?

Even for those bikes which are part of the family, a known quantity when laid up, once wheeled back out into the sunlight after decades in the dark, taking the rose tinted specs off may provide some shocks.

So it was for John, owner of this delightful 1974 Benelli SS 125. Fond memories of Uni days spent zipping about on the little Sports Special were strong but having been laid up for more than 25 years, what would he find?

Ellaspede Co-Founder Steve Barry fills us in:

“This story begins in 1978 when John purchased new, another bike (the same as this one) to commute to Uni on. After years of service, including at least one long road trip, the little piston gave up and the bike was disassembled for assessment, boxed, then put into storage.

Cut to 1986 John happened on an advert for what was at the time the only other 125SS he’d ever seen. So now he had two Benellis with broken engines. The 2nd one (the one you see here) was mechanically righted and ran for a while until the engine gave up again, with an apparent misaligned bore cited as the issue.”

“Fast forward to 2013, John revisited the pair of 125s (still in storage) and via some encouragement from his wife, decided to resurrect one out of the two. By this stage the once fresh baby Benellis were not all they use to be and John knew it would require serious work to get one going again. After seeing one of our other bikes in an exhibition that year, the couple approached us. After consultation we made a start on the build in the second half of 2014.”

“John’s thoughts were to rebuild mechanically and freshen aesthetically using salvageable parts from both of the bikes where practical. Well, the mechanical rebuild was big and the aesthetic freshen up turned out to be major, transforming this little Italian basket case into something brilliant. The 125cc engine (known as “eggs” for obvious reasons) required 40 years worth of work to bring back to life.

We thought we’d be fabricating and machining new parts to replace certain old parts, such is their scarceness, however John managed to find a replacement piston and rings along with some other items in Italy. With these in hand and after some hydro blasting, we sent the 125 motor through the mill and produced a sweet little single the Benelli brothers themselves would be proud of.”

“As mentioned, the idea of an aesthetic freshen-up grew to something more and part of that incorporated some subtle modifications to modernise usability and toughen the looks, whilst importantly maintaining “elegance and sophistication”. After a complete strip the frame was given a general clean up, the pillion peg mounts were removed and bracing added. The centre stand required straightening and was also braced for good measure.

“The frame (along with many other parts) was then sent off for powder-coating in satin black. A local chroming house did a great job in refurbishing the interesting clip-on handle bars, headlight lip, under-tank strips and side cover plates. The original seat pan was shortened, beaten to suit, lowered, re-foamed, shaped and upholstered.”

“New Ikon shocks now hold up the rear end and the forks were re-chromed then re-built with new seals. Wheel choice is important and the the original hubs came up a treat after blasting and light polishing with 1.85 x 18 front and 2.50 x 18 rear Excel rims laced on. Avon Roadriders are the tread on duty and as a package this combo gives the bike a more substantial presence.”

“Paintwork is similar to the original colour with “the right amount of metal flake” for a bit more 70’s flare and glitz. The electrics were all rebuilt to 12V specs and the addition of indicators help the safety side of things. In this case Posh Chamfers were employed. The original taillight was cleaned, polished and mounted on an interface to the custom rear stainless guard. The front guard is also a fabricated stainless unit.”

“Many hours were spent rebuilding, refinishing and replacing items across the bike. John supplied us with three old Delorto carbs to get it running. After a clean and inspection it was decided to go new and the Delortos were set aside in favour of a Mikuni round-slide. With a modified Postie bike manifold fitted, numerous jetting changes, mixture adjustments and timing tweaks we had the egg singing better than Pavarotti.”

“The final piece of the puzzle was applying the “Motobi” logo to the seat rear. (Some internet research will provide an understanding of the Benelli/Motobi logo relevance) Over the course of the build this cute little bike has become a favourite around the workshop and now once again has proudly hit the streets, starting the next chapter in it’s story.”

With both aesthetic and mechanical improvements abound, Ellaspede have worked wonders with the little Benelli and the owner John once again has the base on which to make a million new memories.

Be sure to follow the guys on Facebook and head over to their site for the latest projects.

via The Bike Shed

Snapshot, 1965: Fast pussycats, fast cars!

Banished from widespread release other than at late-night showings, Russ Meyer’s exploitation movies of the 60s and 70s often involved low-budget orgies and luscious female leads...

Strong women behind the wheel

'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!' remains valued as a budget, politically-incorrect masterpiece of alternative film, starring three strippers Varla, Rosie and Billie on a troubling road trip through the Californian desert. Billie drove an MGA, Rosie a Triumph TR3, and Varla a Porsche 356.

"The Porsche was one of Russ Meyer’s cars and was grey both outside and inside," recalled actressTura Satana in a 2003 interview. "Russ loved women and he wanted to show that women can be strong too. Therefore, I should drive his Porsche. He was quick, hip - and I was the unstoppable woman behind his wheel."

Photos: Rex