CAFÉ RACER 76: 12/14/13

HARDALPITOUR 2013 by Tuttoenduro

550 km de pistes et de petites routes alpestres, environ 28 600 m de dénivelé cumulé, et tout ça en 24 h non-stop au guidon d'un gros trail !!!

HARDALPITOUR 2013 by Tuttoenduro from michele gas on Vimeo.</p>

Toyota Dakar Overdrive 1

LAVERDA SF2 RESTO-MOD

By Shaik Ridzwan | The Mighty Motor

Ah, Laverda. The great, lost name of motorcycling. KTM now has a mortgage on vibrant orange motorcycles, but in the 70s the color was synonymous with the Breganze factory in northern Italy.

Few builders get the chance to work on Laverdas these days, but Takashi Iwamoto of Cascade Cafe Racer in Hawthorne, California is one of them. And he’s done an amazing job on this machine.

The bike is 1975 Laverda SF2, bizarrely discovered under a pile of clothes by Takashi’s friend Hiro Ishihara. Hiro’s first idea was to transform it into a Laverda SFC, or a cafe racer with clip-ons—but Takashi had other ideas.

While Hiro was scouring the globe for SFC parts, Takashi dug a little deeper into his knowledge of vintage racers. With a little push, he convinced Hiro to embrace an endurance racer concept for the Laverda. This is more than just a specialty for Takashi: He’s spent years researching and building race bikes. It was decided to create something unique, with details reminiscent of the old factory racers. But at the same time, the Laverda had to be street legal.

The details of the build are mind-boggling. The first thing you’ll notice is the dual head light front cowl. An original SFC fairing was slim-lined and modified to fit the Marchal dual headlamps. (Both took forever to locate.)

The aluminum gas tank is a piece of art, handcrafted by Takashi with his signature 80s race-style quick filler. The frame was modified to add more of a race stance with chromoly steel tubing.

The handmade swingarm was one of the most challenging parts of the build. Takashi added an eccentric chain adjuster taken from a Kawasaki GPZ750, and the tailpiece is a modified RCB1000 endurance racer seat unit. The hand and foot controls are one-offs.

The engine needed attention too. In five days, Takashi blueprinted and built the motor with 11:1 high compression pistons and race cams. The 750cc motor breathes through two 36mm Dell’Ortos, with gases exiting via a handcrafted exhaust system.

It’s almost impossible to list every single detail on this SF2; It took Hiro and Takashi two years to gather the parts and to build all the one-off pieces. The finished product is something you could sit and stare at forever.

Well, until that switch is flipped and the Laverda roars to life.

via BIKEEXIF

Distinguished Gentleman's Ride Sydney 2013

Consider, if you will, the pitiful life of the average pogonophobic. ‘What's a pogonophobic,’ I hear you ask? A pogonophobic, dear reader, is a person with a morbid fear of beards or facial hair. How quickly their daily goings-on must transform into nightmarish, hair-filled scenarios brimming with unimaginable terrors. The accidental glimpse of Tom Selleck while changing TV channels. Waking in a cold sweat with a head full of Ned Flanders. And what could be worse than a monstrous craving for fried chicken only to flee in fright at the Colonel's wondrous white whisker wings? This is what; a veritable ‘perfect storm’ for pogonophobics the world over. They call it hell on earth. We call it ‘The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride’.

Video by MY Media Sydney and Paste Studios

2014 KTM USA Team Shooting!!

The KTM Team photoshoots are always a highlight each year as it is the first chance to see the guys with their new bikes (and the first time I get to see our new GFX on them!) as well as their new gear for the upcoming race season.

It’s interesting to see some of the guys running the Airshock, I heard a lot of good things about it from Stefan Everts when he was here so look forward to seeing how it is in competition now that they have worked out some of the earlier issues.

No photos of Dean Ferris yet unfortunately due to some riding gear contract complications, but lots of Ryan Dungey, Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin!

All photos by Simon Cudby.

WRC Hirvonen, Evans et Kubica avec M-Sport

After two years at Citroën, Mikko Hirvonen will return to M-Sport’s ‘factory’ line-up in 2014, alongside Elfyn Evans. Robert Kubica will also have an M-Sport Ford Fiesta RS WRC for the complete season.

Après deux saisons passées chez Citroën, Mikko Hirvonen est de retour dans l’équipe officielle M-Sport aux côtés du Gallois Elfyn Evans. Robert Kubica pilotera lui aussi une Ford Fiesta RS WRC M-Sport sur l’ensemble de la saison 2014.

After the announcements of Volkswagen, Citroën et Hyundai, Ford/M-Sport is the last WRC outfit to name its squad for 2014.

Hirvonen, a former Ford factory driver (2006-2011), returns to M-Sport after two years at Citroën. The Finn and his loyal co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen have contested 104 of their 150 world class starts in Fords, and have claimed 14 of their 15 wins with the American carmaker.

The move marks a new phase in the 33-year old’s career and he will serve as something of an elder brother to his new team-mate Elfyn Evans, 24, who will also drive a Ford Fiesta RS WRC all year with co-driver Daniel Barritt.

After winning the Ford Fiesta Sport Trophy in 2007 and the WRC Academy in 2012 in a Fiesta R2, Elfyn Evans was given a chance to drive a World Rally Car in Sardinia last year (6^th overall) thanks to M-Sport. He then drove a Fiesta R5 at world level in the WRC-2 class which he won in Wales to round off the season. “This is just fantastic,” says the Welshman. “It’s a long-term programme that will allow us to build up to our objective. We are under no illusions for 2014 which will be a year of discovery for us. We are counting a great deal on the experience of Mikko and Jarmo.”

In a separate press release, M-Sport has announced that ex-F1 racer Robert Kubica, 29, will drive a Fiesta RS WRC throughout the year in the colours of the Polish oil company Lotos. The 2013 WRC-2 champ (with Citroën) has finally opted to switch to M-Sport with whom he took part in a secret development session in 2012. The name of his co-driver has yet to be announced.

Après Volkswagen, Citroën et Hyundai, Ford/M-Sport est la dernière équipe à avoir confirmé ses équipages pour la campagne mondiale 2014.

Pilote officiel Ford de 2006 à 2011, le Finlandais Mikko Hirvonen est de retour « au bercail » après deux saisons passées chez Citroën. Sur leurs 150 rallyes mondiaux, Mikko et son fidèle copilote Jarmo Lehtinen en ont disputé 104 au volant de Ford et ont remporté 14 de leurs 15 victoires avec la marque américaine.

A 33 ans, le Finlandais démarre une nouvelle carrière chez M-Sport où il aura un peu le rôle de « grand frère » pour son équipier Elfyn Evans (24 ans), titularisé sur une Ford Fiesta RS WRC pour l’ensemble du championnat avec son copilote Daniel Barritt.

Vainqueur du Ford Fiesta Sport Trophy en 2007, puis de la WRC Academy 2012 sur une Fiesta R2, Elfyn Evans a eu l’opportunité de débuter au volant d’une World Rally Car grâce à M-Sport au Rallye d’Italie-Sardaigne 2013 (6^e) avant de se voir confier la nouvelle Fiesta R5 en catégorie WRC-2 et de terminer la saison sur une victoire au Wales Rally GB. « C’est tout simplement fantastique », a déclaré Elfyn. « C’est un programme sur le long terme qui nous permettra de progresser pour atteindre notre objectif. On ne se fait aucune illusion pour 2014, ce sera une saison d’apprentissage et de découverte. Nous compterons beaucoup sur l’expérience de Mikko et Jarmo. »

Par ailleurs (et dans un communiqué de presse séparé), M-Sport a annoncé que l’ancien pilote de F1 Robert Kubica (29 ans) pilotera une Ford Fiesta RS WRC aux couleurs du groupe pétrolier polonais Lotos sur l’intégralité du championnat 2014. Champion WRC-2 avec Citroën, Robert a finalement choisi l’équipe M-Sport avec laquelle il avait effectué une séance de développement en secret en 2012. Le nom de son copilote n’a pas été annoncé.