OLD DELHI MOTORCYCLES - BEHIND THE SCENES

Emory Motorsports Custom Porsche 356s

Third generation SoCal gearhead Rod Emory takes Jay through his 1958 Emory Special and 1959 Emory Outlaw.

Honda XL600 LM – Matteucci Garage

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Head of Italian workshop Matteucci Garage, Marco Matteucci, is adamant he’s not a mechanic. ‘I’m not even close, I wouldn’t offend the category’ he insists. Instead he comes to motorcycles from a different background, as a graphic designer and advertising photographer with over 20 years experience in the industry. And it shows, with an impressive attention to detail and immaculate fit and finish on his latest build, a Honda XL600 LM he’s dubbed ‘True Blood’. While he may not be a mechanic, Marco certainly built one of the most head-turning builds Pipeburn has featured this year.

Marco had been riding motorcycles for years, cycling through a host of stock factory bikes to get him around. And that was the extent of the relationship with his machines. ‘It was enough to turn the key and press a button… and for everything else there was a workshop.’ But in a moment of revelation when he realized he didn’t even know how to change the oil, let alone undertake some basic customization, he set about to try and learn a little more. And in a more dramatic way than most – he went into a local dealership and picked up three run-down motorcycles, a Moto Guzzi V35 Imola, Suzuki GS550 and Yamaha XJ550. That was 2013, only two years ago.

After a few months of hard work and eventually, a carefully orchestrated photoshoot, Matteucci Garage had a troika of café racers in his workshop. And he didn’t waste any time before rolling out some more creations, each better built than the last and each featuring deftly selected colour palettes.

While Marco doesn’t have a wealth of experience with bikes, he’s not short on vision. When he first picked up his most recent project, the old Honda XL Dakar bike, he already knew what he wanted to do, something other than the café racer styled rides he’s produced before. ‘I wanted to create a different bike. Unconventional, with soft and light lines but aggressive and raw at the same time’. And unlike many builders who can wax lyrical about their aims, with Marco I can see exactly what he’s saying and that he’s also knocked it right out of the park.

While details about the build are a bit thin on the ground at the moment, a few things can be gleaned about the work Matteucci Garage have undertaken. The bike has been stripped of all its plastic, its twin headlight assembly has been removed and the subframe has been heavily modified, running short and mounting a curved, aged red-leather seat buttoned like a Chesterfield couch. The leather on the seat and the brushed steel finish on the side of the tank give the old Honda a tactile feeling that’s hard to find on many custom bikes. And in a twist that I’m sure will please even some of the most grumbling Pipeburn readers, ‘True Blood’ runs indicators at the front and rear.

While it’s true that Marco isn’t a mechanic, these days that means little in of itself. Modern mechanics can often slumber through their entire career just doing scheduled servicing on modern bikes and never produce anything of the level that he has. In only two years Marco has shown us all that building a show-stopping bike isn’t just the cumulative effect of time spent dropping oil on a near-new motorcycle, or even a wealth of experience blinking at a MIG arc. It’s about passion, vision and attention to detail. We’ve all got no excuses now.

from PIPEBURN

RALLYE TT - ORTHZE BEARN (7 AU 9/08)

Vers un duel Dronde / Garicoix ?
La 15ème édition du Rallye Orthez-Béarn devrait être le théâtre d’un duel entre l’expérimenté Anicet Garicoix et le benjamin de la discipline, Louis Dronde, à moins qu’un troisième larron ne vienne créer la surprise sur un tracé modifié par rapport aux années précédentes.


LE TABLEAU DE BORD
15e Rallye Orthez-Béarn
Sixième manche du Championnat de France des Rallyes Tout-Terrain 2015.
Engagés : 70 dont 39 inscrits en Championnat de France, 12 en Challenge 2RM, 7 en Coupe de France SSV, 12 en Trophée des 4x4.
Parcours : long de 243 km dont 101 km d’ES (11), répartis en deux étapes. Départ d’Orthez, place de la mairie à Orthez le samedi 8 aout à 8h. Arrivée à Sainte Suzanne le dimanche 9 aout à 15h28.
Compte pour le CFR Tout Terrain (6/10), le Trophée Rallye 4x4 (6/10), le Challenge Rallye 2 roues motrices (6/10), le Trophée des Copilotes (6/10), la Coupe de France SSV, la coupe de France SSV TEAMS, les challenges du Comité Régional du Sport Automobile d’Aquitaine, le championnat automobile du Comité Régional du Sport Automobile d’Aquitaine.

LES GRANDES LIGNES
Les principaux favoris pour le scratch et les places d’honneur
Championnat de France : Dronde (Fouquet Nissan), Garicoix (Rivet Porsche), Pierrine (Fouquet Nissan), Costes (Fouquet Nissan), Poincelet (Fouquet Mazda), Hirigoyen (Fouquet Nissan), Barthe (Fouquet Honda), Foucart (Rivet Mazda), Urrutia (Rivet Nissan), Orhatégaray (Gembo), Joël Chopin (Rivet Nissan), Didier Iribaren (Rivet Nissan), Fabrice Rivet (Rivet Cyclone).
Challenge 2RM : Larroquet (Rivet Honda), Clevenot  (Cledze Suzuki), Boutet (Caze Honda), Hébert (Caze Renault), Latchere (BMC Honda), Martin (Tomahawk Suzuki).
SSV : Fontanillas (Polaris), Chahon (Polaris), Favre (Canam).
Trophée des 4x4 : Olaïzola (Jeep Cherokee), Andrieu (Isuzu D-Max), Menanteau (Jeep Cherokee), Barres (Mitsubishi Pajero), Harichoury (Jeep Cherokee), Darracq (Toyota KDJ 90).

LES ENJEUX MAJEURS
Pour la victoire et le Championnat de France
. Pour cette 15ème édition, l’organisation a réussi à attirer la majeure partie des animateurs de la discipline.
. La bagarre pour la victoire est très disputée sur chaque rallye depuis le début de la saison. En 5 épreuves, 5 pilotes différents (Pierrine, Garicoix, Favy, Castan, Dronde) se sont imposés !
. L’an passé, nous avions assisté à une superbe empoignade entre Louis Dronde et Anicet Garicoix. Cette année, ces deux-là devraient une nouvelle fois animer les débats.
. Actuel leader du Championnat, Christophe Costes risque de suivre la bagarre à distance puisque son principal rival pour la course au titre, Emmanuel Castan sera absent.
. Les outsiders Alain Pierrine, Mathieu Hirigoyen, Sébastien Urrutia, Vincent Foucart, Patrick Orhatégaray, Vincent Poincelet, ou encore Fabrice Rivet pourraient bien créer la surprise !
 . Soulignons les premiers tours de roues de Grégory Vincent avec le Tomahawk Evo de Michael Caze.

Pour le Challenge 2RM
. Si le plateau n’est pas très fourni dans la catégorie, il est de qualité. En effet, 6 pilotes peuvent s’imposer !
. Stéphane Boutet tient la corde pour décrocher le titre dans le Challenge 2RM mais depuis quelque temps,  Yann Clevenot vient semer le trouble avec son Cledze.
. Malchanceux depuis quelque temps, Nicolas Larroquet essayera de viser la plus haute marche du podium.
. Sur le premier rallye de la saison Olivier Latchere s’était mis en avant avec son BMC, il devrait à nouveau se mêler à la lutte en tête tout comme Jérémy Hébert et Nicolas Martin.

Pour la Coupe de France des SSV
. Le SSV a le vent en poupe depuis l’arrivée de l’été. 7 concurrents sont engagés mais pour la victoire finale, il faudra logiquement compter sur Alexandre Chahon, Frédéric Favre ou encore Cyril Fontanillas.

Pour le Trophée des 4x4
. Comme d’habitude, au milieu des 12 engagés, les T2B et T2B+ auront les faveurs des pronostics. Après son abandon au Gers, Franck Olaïzola aura à cœur de s’imposer dans le Béarn. Toutefois, Marion Andrieu,  Vincent Barres et Joël Harichoury viseront également cette première place tant convoitée.
. Anthony Menanteau, de son côté, aura pour mission de ramener la Jeep de David Toulou à bon port et sans égratignure.
. A domicile, l’actuel leader du Trophée des 4x4 2015, Fabien Darracq essayera de monter sur le podium final avec son petit Toyota T2.

OULTON PARK FESTIVAL

One of the UK's greatest motoring icons will be celebrated at the second Oulton Park Mini Festival, with a bumper line-up of entertainment on and off the track. On-track entertainment will be provided by an all-Mini racing line-up, with all types of Mini set to star, from the original Austin Cooper S to the latest BMW incarnation.

Modern machines will compete in the Power Maxed MINI Challenge and the Scottish MINI Cooper Cup, which makes its annual pilgrimage south of the border. The classic Issigonis design is represented by the Mini Se7ens and Mini Miglias, two championships renowned for wheel-to-wheel action.

Expect the venue to be filled with Minis, with enthusiasts travelling from far and wide to soak up the atmosphere. There will be opportunities to mingle with like-minded souls from Mini owners' clubs, browse Mini paraphernalia in the trade village, see the famous Russ Swift stunt show and get closer to the race cars in the open paddock and free grid walk as they are prepared for battle.

# 029 Etik motorcycles®

# 029 Etik motorcycles®

Du néo-rétro en perfusion pour cette Kawasaki 750. Entre bronze et acier, cette machine trop souvent oubliée est pourtant une hymne à la polyvalence et aux escapades réussies en toute sobriété.

Yamaha XT600 – Nick van Woert

Written by Martin Hodgson.

Stereotypes are dangerous things. When you get an artist from New York City send you pictures of his ride, you expect perhaps a Vespa. Or a Segway. Or, god forbid, a fixie. Well Nick van Woert not only owns this radical 1991 Yamaha XT600, he built the thing with his own hands. Stereotype destroyed. And speaking of destruction, a friend has given the bike the nickname “Woert Hog” an homage to both Nick’s name and another close quarter’s machine of demolition, the A-10 Thunderbolt Warthog.

One of the first issues you face with the bulk of modern dirt and enduro bikes when it comes time for customisation is that the tanks are almost exclusively plastic, hidden behind more plastic covered in stickers. Perfectly fine for the job, but not a material you can easily shape or customise. To solve that Nick found some 16 gauge steel lying around his art studio and set to work fabricating a tank in just a day. Wanting to keep it simple and lay down as few welds as possible the tank takes on the appearance of a fold up cardboard box, only made out of armour like metal. Not only does the industrial look enhance the visuals the design yields stock fuel capacity without any airflow interruption to the engines cooling fins.

The subframe Nick had already fabricated and this too dictated some of the tanks shape, but the design also allows for a bolt on/bolt off versatility unique to this machine. In a heartbeat the seat can be changed out for an enduro item, two up or even a long distance setup with racks and storage. The seat in the photos is a leather item perfect for the urban New York environment with leather work from Meccanica in Brooklyn.

When it comes to building an Urban Assault Vehicle there is one area that simply cannot be compromised, as Nick would say “Suspension is everything!” Gone are the little XT forks for a modern set of Showa 47mm inverted units normally found on a Honda CRF 450R with 16 setting points of adjustment for rebound and dampening. While out the back hasn’t been left to wallow and dive with a new rear shock from the big guns at Works Performance. To give the bike the right look and improve the versatility of the handling the front rim is now entirely new and down to 18 inches and a new Sun rim laced to the stock hub for the rear.

Lighting the roads and pointing to the next target is a headlight fashioned from a Hella driving light that has been mounted upside down to give a slim profile and allows for tight fitment into the fork space. Front turn signals are almost impossible to see until illuminated and are fashioned from tiny LED strips tied to 1/8th steel rod with grocery store bag wire. While the taillight is from James Crowe at West America that Nick slightly modified to hold the rear turn signals. Strafing the streets of NYC only requires minimal information to be returned to the rider and that job is taken care of by the ever popular Motogadget mini speedo.

The big single thumper packs plenty of punch straight out of the box with 45bhp on tap and plenty of torque across the rev range. But who doesn’t want a little more power at their disposal, so the engine now sucks air direct from atmosphere by a more than visible velocity stack. The standard exhaust headers were then cut at the merge collector and modified to run a single pipe back under the seat giving the bike a very narrow appearance. Capping the end of the pipe work is a spring mounted Cone Engineering muffler that lets everyone in the neighbourhood know Nick is in the area; look before you cross the street!

While the Military spec Warthog was like most defence procurements; drastically over budget and built with great delay. Nick’s custom XT was built without design, on budget and with each piece or modification completed in just a day. Even the tank and subframe were both completed in a single day each, a level of productivity almost unheard of in the automotive industry. Nick might own ten bikes of all shapes and sizes, but this is by far his favourite. Just don’t get in its way – it’s built to cut you down!

[Photos by Julien Roubinet] via PIPEBURN

YAMAHA XV 950 R - LOW RIDE by Motosketches

BMW