Agent Provocateur

MotoGP : présentation de Yamaha Racing à Madrid (Espagne) / Yamaha Racing presentation in Madrid

L’équipe Yamaha Racing a présenté ses nouvelles couleurs et son programme sportif mercredi à Madrid pour la saison 2015 du Championnat du monde MotoGP en compagnie de Valentino Rossi et Jorge Lorenzo.

Le team Movistar Yamaha MotoGP a dévoilé son projet pour la saison 2015 mercredi à Madrid où a été révélée la nouvelle livrée de la Yamaha YZR-M1 que piloteront Valentino Rossi et Jorge Lorenzo cette année.

Les deux pilotes étaient accompagnés de Luis Miguel Gilpérez, le président de Telefónica España, de Kouichi Tsuji, le directeur général du département Motorsport de Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd, ainsi que de Lin Jarvis, directeur général de Yamaha Motor Racing Srl, et Massimo Meregalli, directeur du team Movistar Yamaha MotoGP.

L’équipe va désormais s’envoler pour la Malaisie pour participer aux premiers essais officiels de la saison du 4 au 6 février sur le circuit de Sepang avant d’aborder la première course le 29 mars au Qatar.

Nonuple champion du monde, Valentino Rossi est revenu à son meilleur niveau en 2014 en renouant à deux reprises avec la victoire. The « Doctor » a terminé à la deuxième place au classement général juste devant son coéquipier,  Jorge Lorenzo, qui a connu un début de saison plus difficile. Mais le Majorquin s’est ensuite ressaisi pour s’imposer deux fois.

Si les deux pilotes affirment que Marc Marquez (Honda HRC), double champion du monde en titre, reste l’homme à battre cette saison, Rossi et Lorenzo, se présentent également comme de redoutables candidats au sacre mondial.

Yamaha Racing revealed its new team colours and MotoGP World Championship programme at a presentation attended by Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo in Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP has introduced its 2015 programme and taken the wraps off the new livery that will feature on Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo’s Yamaha YZR-M1s this season.

The two riders were joined by Telefónica España president Luis Miguel Gilpérez, the managing director of Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd.’s motorsport department Kouichi Tsuji, the managing director of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl Lin Jarvis, and Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Director Massimo Meregalli.

The team will shortly fly to Malaysia for the first official test of 2015 at Sepang (February 4-6) ahead of the year’s opening race in Qatar (March 29).

Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi bounced back in 2014 to win two races. The Doctor came second in the final standings, just ahead of team-mate Jorge Lorenzo who recovered from a tougher start to the season to secure two victories.

Both riders agree that two-time champ Marc Marquez (Honda HRC) will be the man to beat in 2015 but they both see themselves as genuine potential title winners.

Land Rover Defender - The ultimate Camper conversion

Land Rover Defender - The ultimate Camper conversion built by Alu-Cab. If you enjoy Andrew's videos, click here:http://www.patreon.com/Andrew_StPierr...

Survivor Customs - Part One - Exhaust

Part one of three documenting the creation of a full custom vintage flattracker based on a Triumph TRW 500 Twin.

Filmed over 3 hours at the Survivor Customs HQ in Middlesborough, UK.

Survivor Customs - Part One - Exhaust from Drifter Visual on Vimeo.

1972 Harley-Davidson XLH Sportster by Elkabikes

Written by Marlon Slack.

Most custom bikes are meticulously thought out for months before a spanner is turned or an oxy torch is lit. Parts will be carefully considered and increasingly often many late nights will be spent in front of Photoshop tweaking the colours and lines of a build before any action is taken. Moscow-based Elkabikes bucked this trend by producing this 1972 Harley-Davidson XLH in under a month using parts they begged, borrowed, scrounged or purchased from Ikea. That’s right – Ikea. It’s not a bobber or a café racer – it’s a Harley-Davidson Flat Packer.

The story behind this tatterdemalion oddity is a testament to the small Russian workshop’s love of improvisation, raw metal and quite possibly, vodka. Elkabikes heard about an upcoming motorcycle show and much like anyone with a fast-approaching deadline – a student, journalist or motorcycle blogger (ahem) they placed the project to one side and went about working on their other more pressing projects – chiefly the stripped-back bicycles the team also build. Things with the Harley only really kicked into gear a month before the show started – when they began sourcing parts and putting the bike together with no budget, no clear plans and plenty of gusto.

Aleksey Gurbanov from Elkabikes said that the fuel tank was the first item to make its way onto the bike. The distinctive narrow tank was sourced from a local flea market and the raw, stripped-back finish dictated the direction of the rest of the build. From there the seat was fabricated and upholstered in a striking purple, giving the bike its basic lines. And then… well, that’s where things get interesting.

The resourcefulness Aleksey Gurbanov and his team employed on this old XLH is impressive. The exhaust was welded together from scraps donated by another motorcycle workshop and the handlebars were made from Kawasaki and Harley Davidson parts. The air filter cover? Two dog bowls held together by an old bicycle nut. The oil tank is a modified toilet brush holder. The rear light was purchased from Ikea and the white globe was swapped out for a red one. Really.

The engine itself required a bit of work, thankfully devoid of toiletries or camshafts fashioned from a skårsgardflöglet bedhead. On inspection the stock Bendix Zenith carbs were totally ruined and had to be thrown out, to be replaced by a new S&S Super E. At the same time all the gaskets were changed and the starter motor was removed. (Remarkably, Harley have had ‘electric legs’ on their Sportster series since the late 1960’s – and who said they weren’t innovators? That’s right, everyone. But once upon a time the Sportster was a comparatively light, spritely model with a few innovative features).

The last three days of the build resembled something out of an American reality TV show, with the team working well into the night to prepare the bike for its debut. After a cantankerous startup, with the old Ironhead belching oil all over the workshop floor, the bike finally started and was ridden to the show the morning it opened. And judging by the size of that fuel tank, I’m guessing it the show wasn’t too far away.

Elkabike have crafted together a truly unique take on the venerable Sportster that will certainly create heated discussion among Pipeburn readers. With it’s 70’s-esque purple seat and the raw metal… well, everything – I think it looks terrific. But if you baulk at the sight of an early 70’s XLH with a toilet brush holder oil tank and a student’s desk lamp for a stop light, take heed – the frame has been left standard and one day, if the owner chooses, it can be returned to its former glory. But in the meantime I’m glad the guys from Elkabike turned their hand to this old piece of American iron – dog bowls and all.

via PIPEBURN

Dust & Motorcycle stories

On the tracks of the famous Gauchos and Dakar's dust road with the beautiful Royal Enfield Classic 500. A great motorcycle adventure by Mono 500...

Dust & Motorcycle stories, Chapter I from Mono 500 - Riding Experiences - on Vimeo.


Dust & Motorcycle stories, Chapter II from Mono 500 - Riding Experiences - on Vimeo.

FERRARI 250 GT COUPÉ BY ELLENA

In the late 1950s a small batch of Ferrari 250 GT Coupés found their way into the workshop of Carrozzeria Ellena – a small coachbuilder previously named Boano after its founder, Mario Boano.

Mario was recruited by Fiat, so he handed the reins of the coachbuiling to his son-in-law Ezio Ellena, who partnered with Luciano Pollo and called the new enterprise “Carrozzeria Ellena”. The Ferrari 250 GTs produced by Ellena are instantly recognisable thanks to the slightly higher roofline and the lack of vent windows in the doors, the styling of the Ellena is considered by many Ferrari purists to be one of the cleanest of the 250s with the best ergonomics.

Although it was intended as a GT car, the Ellena has serious performance chops. It was capable of doing the 0-62 mph dash in 5.9 seconds – a staggeringly quick time in the era, in fact it would have been favourably comparable with many race cars at the time. This speed was thanks to its 240bhp 2953cc SOHC allow V12 with triple Weber carburettors and a 4-speed all synchromesh transmission.

The handling characteristics of all the 250 GTs were excellent and the Ellena was no exception, it sits on independent front suspension with unequal length wishbones, coil springs, and tubular shock absorbers, and has a live rear axle with leaf springs, Houdaille shock absorbers with twin trailing arms. Unusually for the 1950s the Ellena is also fitted with 4-wheel disc brakes – giving it better stopping performance than almost anything else on the road when it was released.

Despite its rarity the Ferrari 250 GT by Ellena is still one of the most affordable cars from the 250 series, though it’s important to point out that I’m using the word affordable rather loosely here – it’s still going to cost its new owner somewhere in the $420,000 to $505,000 USD range.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid on it at the Paris Auction on the 4th of February, you can click here to visit RM Auctions.

Photo Credits: Tom Wood ©2015 Courtesy of RM Auctions

GARB: FREE TIME

Buck Mason Chambray Work Shirt ($88). Buck Mason Standard Fit Jean ($135).Buck Mason Navy Henley ($48). Buck Mason 30 Year Belt ($72). Apartamento Magazine ($39). Oak Street Bootmakers Trench Boot ($426). Rolex Stainless Steel Oyster Perpetual Watch ($6,800). Shinola Linen Journal ($18). Ray-Ban Aviator Sunglasses ($175). Apolis Transit Issue Keychain ($38).

This edition of Garb is presented by our friends at Buck Mason.

talon pointe ...

Toyota en WRC en 2017 / WRC action for Toyota from 2017

Toyota vient d’officialiser son retour en Championnat du monde des Rallyes FIA à compter de la saison 2017. Entre 1973 et 1999, Toyota a remporté 43 rallyes WRC et 3 titres mondiaux.

Toyota a organisé ce matin une grande conférence de presse au Japon pour annoncer ses programmes sportifs 2015 et au-delà.

A cette occasion, Akio Toyoda, président de Toyota Motor Corporation, a officialisé le retour de la marque en WRC depuis 1999, avec un modèle basé sur la Toyota Yaris et développé par Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG).

TMG a déjà effectué plusieurs séances d’essais avec une Yaris WRC/Michelin en 2014, sur terre et asphalte. Stéphane Sarrazin, Sebastian Lindholm et Eric Camilli poursuivront les tests cette année.

Volkswagen avait annoncé son engagement en WRC jusqu’en 2017. Le Championnat du monde des Rallyes FIA devrait alors compter dans ses rangs les deux plus grands constructeurs automobiles mondiaux.

Toyota has officially announced that it will return to the FIA World Rally Championship in 2017. From 1973 to 1999, the Japanese make scored 43 WRC victories and three world titles. 

Toyota used its press conference this morning in Japan to reveal details of its motorsport programmes for 2015 and beyond.

Toyota Motor Corporation Akio Toyoda confirmed the make’s intention to return to world class rallying for the first time since 1999 with a Toyota Yaris developed by Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG).

TMG tested the Yaris WRC/Michelin on several occasions on dirt and asphalt in 2014. The programme will continue this year with Stéphane Sarrazin, Sebastian Lindholm and Eric Camilli.

Volkswagen has announced its commitment to the WRC until 2017, which means the FIA World Rally Championship will then feature the planet’s two biggest automotive groups

BEHIND THE TON UP BOYS

Behind The Ton Up Boys is a short film from the ’60s showing the original era of the cafe racer, the 59 Club and the Ace Cafe. There isn’t much good footage out there of the period – especially footage shot from moving vehicles of the Ton Up Boys in action, so this film is an interesting insight.

The film seems to have been created to show the other side of the motorcycling world, in the ’60s and ’70s the Ton Up Boys made a bit of a nuisance of themselves on British roads, and the death toll amongst their ranks was troublingly high. At only 9 minutes long the film is a quick watch and well worth the time, after watching you might want to read a little more about The 59 Club, in which case you can click here.

Via The Manifold

via SILODROME

America Start Your Engines: NASCAR on NBC featuring Nick Offerman

America it’s time for a gut check. If the founding fathers saw us holed up in our little cocoons…texting each other smiley faces they’d hang their powdered wigs in shame. When our idea of danger is eating gluten, there’s trouble afoot. Yes, we the people have gotten soft and all the likes in the world aren’t gonna’ save us now. But one thing will…and it rhymes with MASCAR. 

In America Start Your Engines, Nick Offerman and NBC Sports sing the praises and espouse the virtues of NASCAR as they deliver the ultimate badass-anthem inviting you to get some NASCAR in your life. 



Like us on facebook! https://www.facebook.com/NASCARonNBC 

Follow us on twitter! @NASCARonNBC https://twitter.com/NASCARonNBC 

Our 10 favourite watches from the 2015 SIHH in Geneva

The Geneva watch show has long marked the opening of the ‘watch season’, as it were. We attended the 25th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie – SIHH for short – and now bring you our favourite new models, from A. Lange & Söhne to Parmigiani…

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon

The story of the Royal Oak Offshore dates back to 1993, when Audemars Piguet introduced an evolution of the Gérald Genta Royal Oak collection. In 2015, the new self-winding Tourbillon sets new standards – not only because its light movement weighs a mere 0.45g, but also because it has been moved to the front of the watch, so its intricacies are on display.

A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater

The A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater has much in common with electro-pop pioneers Kraftwerk: both were ahead of their respective times, and both did so in a rather unorthodox way. The Glashütte-based watch manufacturer’s ‘mechanical digital clock’ marked the watch world permanently with its first appearance, and now the family receives a melodious update. Our personal highlight of the show.

Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Grande Complication

With the new Rotonde de Cartier Grande Complication, Cartier’s ‘Queen of complications’ Carole Forestier has managed to fit three complications (minute repeater, perpetual calendar and flying tourbillon) within a case just 5.49mm thick. It’ll come as no surprise, then, that it takes 30 weeks to build each one.

Montblanc Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphères Vasco da Gama

With the new Villeret Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphères Vasco Gama, Montblanc has revealed a watch that displays three time zones – local, home and world time – by using connected Northern and Southern hemispheres in the lower part of the dial. This worldly knowledge doesn’t come cheap, however: the Hamburg manufactory will relieve you of around 250,000 euros in return for one of the 18 rose-gold pieces produced.

Parmigiani Bugatti Type 370 Révélation

To celebrate its 10th year in partnership with Bugatti, Parmigiani has shown three new interpretations of a watch built for the famous French marque. The Bugatti-Parmigiani partnership always generates interesting pieces, and the Type 370 Révélation is no different – offering glimpses of the inner workings through a radiator-like grille that can be fully opened.

Richard Mille RM19-02 Tourbillon Fleur

The most expensive and visually free-thinking watch of the show was Richard Mille’s 1.5-million-euro ‘RM19-02 ’, which places a flying tourbillon within the five petals of an 18-carat gold purple magnolia. Working either in a cycle, or on demand via the pusher at 9 o’clock, the five petals open to reveal the flying tourbillon escapement, which in turn rises by 1mm to give the wearer a better view (and to replicate the natural movement of a stamen). 

IWC Portugieser Hand Wound Eight Days Edition '75th Anniversary'

SIHH 2015 saw IWC celebrate the 75th anniversary of a watch entwined with the company’s history: the Portuguese. To celebrate, the company has re-christened the line ‘Portugieser’, and created an elegant limited-edition wristwatch that boasts an 8-day power reserve encased in a design that harks back to the 1930s original.

Greubel Forsey GMT Black 

First to integrate a miniature globe into the fascia of a wristwatch, genius watch duo Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey are now reaping the rewards via order books bursting at the bindings – yet their innovation shows no signs of abating. At SIHH 2015, Forsey shows his famous GMT watch in black. Well, they say it’s slimming, after all…

Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 Carbotech

For the first time, Italian manufacturer Panerai has produced a model from the 1950s collection that isn’t enclosed in a metal case – instead using a carbonfibre composite dubbed ‘Carbotech’. As you might expect, this promises to offer a level of durability unprecedented in the watch world, but let’s be honest: the bigger draw is the pretty pattern it creates.

Ralph Lauren Automotive Skeleton

This year, Ralph Lauren will reveal no fewer than six watches dedicated to subjects from his world-class car collection. SIHH 2015 sees the launch of the Automotive Skeleton, which pays tribute to his Pebble Beach-winning 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. The semi-open face is framed by amboyna burl, a wood traditionally used to decorate the interiors of the most luxurious automobiles.

You can find a wide range of classic watches for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

Drive away the ‘baby GTO’ blues with an Alfa TZ1

Alfa Romeo’s petite Tubolare Zagato coupé from the early 1960s is widely referred to as the ‘baby GTO’ – but while associations don’t come much grander, Alfisti will argue that the TZ has earned metaphorical stripes of its very own…

Ahead of its time

Developed over a four-year period largely by ex-Ferrari engineer Carlo Chiti’s Autodelta racing outfit (which was soon incorporated into Alfa Romeo as its official competition division), the TZ was truly ahead of its time. Not only did it employ cutting-edge tubular chassis construction and wear beautiful hand-beaten aluminium bodywork penned by Zagato’s Ercole Spada; it also boasted double-wishbone suspension (independently sprung at the rear), all-round disc brakes, and groundbreaking aerodynamics. Of the latter, the low frontal area and kamm-tailed rear are the most apparent, also lending the TZ its unmistakable silhouette.

The art of agility

While the 250 GTO made use of Gioacchino Colombo’s legendary V12 to dominate GT racing, the little Alfa employed a plucky 1,600cc four cylinder producing up to 160bhp – plenty, considering the 660kg total mass, a mere 10% of which was accounted for by the hollow chassis. After its debut race at Monza, in which it romped home in first, second, third and fourth, the TZ was soon put to work in such prestigious events as Le Mans and the Targa Florio. The latter particularly suited the car’s agility, proved by class victories in 1964 and 1965.

Don't call me babe

Like its bigger cousin from Maranello, the TZ – subsequently designated a TZ1 to avoid confusion with its TZ2 successor – has become one of its respective manufacturer’s most valuable collector cars. Its beauty, top-level competition pedigree, groundbreaking dynamic make-up, rarity (just 112 were built) and associations with a marque truly in its prime epitomise desirability, boosted further by its contemporary competition eligibility. Just don’t mention the b-word… this diminutive Alfa is nothing but a fully-fledged grown-up.

Photos: © Amy Shore for Classic Driver

The 1964 Alfa Romeo TZ1 pictured here – which has period and contemporary competition history – is currently for sale through London-based Classic Driver dealer Fiskens.