WSBK : Melandri conserve l'avantage sous le soleil de l'Algarve / Melandri holds on to top spot in the sun

Sykes a progressé mais n'a pas pu rattraper l'Italien en FP2.

Les conditions extrêmement chaudes de vendredi après-midi à l'Autodromo Internacional do Algarve ont posé quelques soucis aux pilotes du Championnat du Monde eni FIM Superbike, qui ont été bien peu nombreux à progresser sur leurs chronos au cours de la seconde séance d'essais de la manche portugaise.

Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) n'a signé que le cinquième temps mais conservait la première position sur le classement combiné, avec 0.047s et 0.059s d'avance sur le Champion en titre Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) et Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), les deux pilotes les plus rapides cet après-midi.

Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team), Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team), deuxième le matin, et Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) complétaient le Top 7 de cette première journée à Portimao, en s'étant tous classés à moins d'une demi-seconde de Melandri.

Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) a pour sa part fini huitième, devant Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) et Davide Giugliano (Ducati Superbike Team), qui a réussi à trouver une place dans le Top 10 pour être provisoirement qualifié en Superpole 2 après avoir rencontré de nombreux problèmes techniques le matin.

Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia) se retrouvait ainsi à la onzième place mais demeurait le premier pilote de la catégorie EVO et terminait avec une demi-seconde d'avance sur Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia), Sheridan Morais (Iron Brain Grillini Kawasaki) et Claudio Corti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse). Fabien Foret (Mahi Racing Team India) et Jérémy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) ont quant à eux fini dix-neuvième et vingtième.

Présent en piste le matin, Luca Scassa (Team Pedercini) a été forcé à déclarer forfait, n'ayant pas encore suffisamment récupéré de sa chute du mois de mai. L'Italien a été remplacé cet après-midi par son compatriote Riccardo Russo, habituellement engagé en Superstock 1000. 

La journée a été particulièrement compliquée pour les pilotes du Team Hero EBR, Aaron Yates et Geoff May, qui ont conclu au-dessus du temps maximal de qualification.

Sykes improves but is unable to displace Marco after FP2.
 The hot weather and blisteringly hot temperatures for FP2 saw only a handful of riders improve leaving Aprilia Racing Team rider Marco Melandri at the top of the combined standings a fraction ahead of the improving Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) who elevated himself to 2nd despite running off track in the final few moments of the session.

Behind the top two Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team), and Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) were 3rd to 6th respectively.

Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) got the better of Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) and Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) with Davide Giugliano moving up several places in the final ten minutes to claim 10th and the final automatic Superpole 2 place as it stands.

Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia) was once again the best classified EVO rider in 11th overall ahead of Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia), Sheridan Morais (Iron Brain Grillini Kawasaki) and the much improved MV Agusta Reparto Corse machine of Italian Claudio Corti who was 14th.

Luca Scassa (Team Pedercini) who rode in FP1 withdrew from the event, the Italian still not fully fit from his early season crash. He was replaced and FP2 by Riccardo Russo who made a midday switch from the Superstock 1000cc category that he was originally supposed to ride this weekend.

At the back of the field both Team Hero EBR riders had a torrid opening day with both Aaron Yates and Geoff May currently outside of the qualification maxima.

Roasting Tires, Toasting Freedom

Roasting Tires, Toasting Freedom from ICON 1000 on Vimeo.

Le Mans Classic : premiers essais, premiers chronos, photos

par Claude Foubert (Endurance-Info.com)

Les essais qualificatifs de Le Mans Classic avaient lieu ce vendredi de 15h à 22h, les essais de nuit ayant lieu de 22h40 à 2h40.

Les qualifications des Plateaux 1, 2 et 3 ont été une affaire de spécialistes, avec le meilleur chrono pour Christian Traber et la Talbot Lago ex monoplace décalée n°2 de 1939, une vedette habituelle de Le Mans Classic dans ce plateau 1. Christian Traber a devancé la Talbot 105 1931 n°12 de Birch/Burnett et l’Alfa Romeo n°138.

Dans le plateau 2, c’est un autre spécialiste de l’historique, même s’il court également avec assiduité au volant de GT contemporaines, qui s’est imposé. Le britannique Alex Buncombe et sa Jaguar C n°29 de 1952 ont damé le pion aux plus récentes Jaguar D. Buncombe a tourné en 4’57’’162 et a devancé d’autres spécialistes, Gavin Pickering (Jaguar D n°4) et Carlos Monteverde/Gary Pearson ( Jaguar D n°12)

Dans le plateau 3, les Jaguar D ont pris leur revanche, avec le meilleur chrono pour la Jaguar n°16 de Gary Pearson en 4’53’’925, loin devant la plus proche concurrente, l’Aston Martin DB4 GT 1960 n°27 de Alexander/Willmott et la Lotus 15 n°63 de Malone/Hall.

Dans ce plateau,un équipage attirait les regards, celui de la Jaguar D n°33 formé de deux noms bien connus des amateurs de l’endurance, Alain De Cadenet, dont les protos avaient la faveur du public manceau dans les années 1970, et Brian Redman, 77 ans, –trois victoires à Daytona et deux à Sebring- étant associés sur cette Jaguar.  Les deux britanniques ont encore de beaux restes puisqu’ils ont signé le 12^ème chrono sur les 73 voitures chronométrées.

Autre équipage dont les noms ont une résonance particulière, celui formé de Pierre Fillon, Président de l’Automobile Club de l’Ouest, et de son frère François, l’ancien Premier Ministre dont on sait    est un grand amateur d’automobile. Les deux frères pilotent une Alfa Romeo Giuletta SZT de 1962 et ont réalisé le 43^èmechrono, chrono fait par François Fillon.    

 Les photos sont ici

Les chronos sont là

HONDA CB 350 AHRMA RACER

The term ‘café racer’ is bandied about so much these days, it’s virtually lost all meaning. But this sleek Honda CB 350 is one of the few modern customs that live up to the moniker. Even better, it’s fresh out of the workshop and ready to race in the AHRMA Production Class race series—if you can bear the thought of putting a scratch on that immaculate bodywork.

It’s the personal project of Jason Paul Michaels, co-founder of Dime City Cycles and a man who knows a thing or two about building bikes. Michaels is not too vain to call in extra help though, and in this case, he approached Scott Turner, the multiple Daytona-winning AHRMA Sportsman 350 national champion. How’s that for a pedigree?

For Michaels, building the bike was a release from the pressure of running one of the most successful aftermarket parts companies in the USA: “A way to blow off some steam, and take a break from the daily rigors at Dime City,” he says. “Scott shared quart after quart of knowledge on perfecting the CB 350. To use his words, we wanted it to be ‘thefunnest bike there is to race!”

It’s a ground-up rebuild, torn down 100% and reassembled from scratch. Scott’s input extended to the tiniest details: Little things like back-cutting the transmission gears, installing solid chain rollers, and taking a notch out of the points case. (And adding a few extra washers here and there, “Because they just need to be there.”)

Building a race bike involves a learning curve. “When working with a seasoned builder and racer, there are things they figure out—due to necessity on the race track—that street builders like myself would never uncover,” says Michaels.

The mid-controls are a case in point. AHRMA Production Class rules dictate that a bike must be as close to stock as possible—including the fenders, seat, carburetors, a period-appropriate exhaust and so on.

So the mid controls on this Honda CB 350 were custom fabricated to push the limits of what AHRMA rules allow with back and upward placement, along with several other little tweaks. “To hit the track, we only need to use the quick disconnects built into the harness to remove the headlight, then swap in the number plate and fasten the belly-pan to the bottom,” says Michaels.

The mechanical spec is high end, with an engine completely rebuilt using .50 over pistons, Mikuni VM29 carbs, custom headers and Norton peashooter mufflers. It’s a bike designed to go fast.

Unfortunately, it will not be Michaels riding it. He’s a man with very little spare time, and honest enough to voice fears that he’d lay it down if he rode it in a race. “Scott hasn’t backed off, and I’m sure he’ll get me on the track sooner rather than later—but it’ll be on a different bike.”

So Michaels has decided to put the CB 350 up for sale. “The bike isn’t ‘brand new,’ it’s as-new. It has approximately 600 miles after the complete rebuild and got full adjustments to valves and other items at the 500-mile break-in mark. It’s a turnkey bike read for anyone to ride. Just a couple of kicks, and you’re on your way to the ton.”

Tempted? Contact Jason Paul Michaels via the Dime City Cycles website.

Specification

Complete Engine Rebuild w/ Powder Coated Covers & Cases
.50 Over Pistons
Back-cut Transmission Gears
Tensioner Wheels Replaced w/ Solid Delrin CAM Chain Sliders
Polished Fins
Custom Headers w/ Norton Peashooters Mufflers
Mikuni VM29 Carburetors w/ Emgo Throttle & Aluminum Velocity Stacks
Vintage Finned Valve Tappet Covers
All Stainless Steel Fasteners
New Chain & Sprockets

Gloss Black & Silver Flake Paint-job by Kevin Bates
Vintage Red hand pinstripes by Liza Hopkins
Stock CB 350 Tank w/ New Gas Cap & Petcock
Stock CB 350 Rear Fender
Stock CB 350 Front Fender
DCC Original Headlight & Ears
Lossa Engineering Handlebars
DCC Original Cafe Racer Seat w/ Flip-up Hinge
DCC Original Classic Retro Round Taillight
Hand-made Aluminum Number Plates
All Stainless Steel Fasteners
Stock CB 350 Seat pan with DCC Original Cafe inspired seat covering

Front Avon Race Compound Tires w/ Stock Wheels Powder-coated Black w/ Stainless Steel Spokes & Nipples
Rear Avon Race Compound Tires w/ Stock Wheel Powder-coated Black w/ Stainless Steel Spokes & Nipples

New Custom Harness
Dyna Coils w/ Points Ignition
Anti-Gravity Battery
Ricks Electric Hot-shot Regulator / Rectifier Combo

Stock CB 350 Frame Powder-coated Gloss Black
Progressive 412 Rear Shocks
Progressive Front Springs w/ Fork Gaiters
CB 400F Top Triple Tree Powder-coated Black w/ Tapered Bearings
CB 350 Lower Triple Tree w/ Tapered Bearings
DCC Original Steering Damper Kit

Stock CB 350 Front Drum (EBC Shoes w/ Turned Hub) *All Hardware Re-chromed, Motion Pro Cable
Stock CB 350 Rear Drum (EBS Shoes w/ Turned Hub)

via BIKEexif

2014 Harley-Davidson Street 500 by Speed Merchant

With Harley-Davidson recently unveiling two new models, the Street 750 and Street 500, we were wondering who would be the first to customise one. Well, we don’t have to wonder anymore. The guys from The Speed Merchant were approached by Mike Davis from Born Free on behalf of Harley to see if they were interested in customising one to be showcased at the Born Free show. Of course they said hell yeah. “Having never seen one in person, it was very intriguing” says Brandon from The Speed Merchant. “The new Harley-Davidson Street 500 is what showed up at my shop with about 3 months to get the job done.” They were given an open brief by Harley, but with all the choppers at Born Free, they wanted create something a little different that would stand out from the crowd.

Speed Merchant engineer and designer Brandon “Brawny Built” Holstein decided to build the bike with a nod to the Flat Track tradition. He started by removing most of the stock parts from the bike. Front end, wheels, bars, rear fender, battery, rear subframe, and exhaust – shedding 50lbs (22kg) from the stock bike. He replaced the stock wheels with some Sun Aluminum rims with SS spokes laced up to HD hubs. The front end was replaced with a set of Speed Merchant mid glide trees made for the HD 48 Sportster. Huntington Beach Harley Davidson donated the front end to the build. They topped off the front end with SM preload adjusters. To finish up the front, Brandon made a classic styled aluminum number plate that incorporates the overflow for the radiator and a LED driving light supplied by Lazerstar Lights.

Brandon used a Speed Merchant radial mount brake bracket up the front and mounted a Tokico caliper to it. The bars are a custom set made in house as well. The controls are off a GSXR 600, and 750, topped off with some Pazzo levers. The throttle is a 1/4 turn set up from Joker Machine – used mainly for speedway.

“Next I decided to mount the tank in a different position.” says Brandon. “I raised the tank by about 4″ to provide a more traditional stance. To match the line of the tank I started with the tail section next. After cutting off the stock subframe, and pulling the wiring from under the seat, I started laying out the new subframe set-up. Part of the new subframe houses all of the stock wiring just under the seat. The new tail section was shaped out of aluminum. Once the tailsection was finished, I fabricated a seat pan that was handed off to Bates Leather. They nailed it with this custom tuck and roll design.”

To change the stance of the bike, the guys at Speed Merchant used some tall rear shocks supplied by Ohlins USA. “They were kind enough to support this build.” The taller shocks provided extra ground clearance and helped to enhance the stance of the bike. To round off the rear section of the bike, Brandon decided to modify the rear swingarm by adding some extra bracing and hollowing out the square tubing. Then they made a battery box to mount the 8 cell Anitgravity Battery just above the swingarm.

Having such a new model created some challenges for Brandon and his crew. Like trying to find a front sprocket to convert this bike to a chain drive. “Luckily I was able to find one. I used a Super Sprox rear sprocket, with a black EK 530 chain. I made a custom aluminium front sprocket cover. Rounding out the rear end was a radial brake bracket with a Tokico caliper to match the front.”

The last thing that SM fabricated was the custom exhaust. Cone Engineering donated there 2″ core muffler for this build. Brandon used this and then recreated the front headers to fit the bike – a full stainless system is just what the doctor ordered.

The paint was done by John Edwards of Old Tyme Custom paint. SM wanted to keep it really clean and simple, but highlight the gold on the bike. Once the color was laid down the bike was handed over to Pacman Line & Letter Company to pinstripe and hand letter the Harley-Davidson. Then finally some pearl was laid over the top before clearing it.

The bike was unveiled at last weeks Born Free 6 and attracted an unprecedented amount of attention – with a constant crowd around the bike for the whole show. The guys from Speed Merchant some it up best with this quote: “In a sea of choppers, it was for sure, the dark horse and a massive attention grabber.” 

Photos by Mike Quinones from ourCaste

via PIPEBURN

1963 LOLA MK6 GT

The Lola Mk6 GT is a car that may look vaguely familiar – it was the result of a collaboration between Ford and Lola, and it would eventually become the basis of the iconic and hugely successful Ford GT40.

Similar to the GT40, the Lola Mk6 GT had a mid-mounted Ford V8, a space-frame chassis, a lightweight body with a Kammback profile and an exceptionally low roofline. The Mk6 was entered into the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans, due to the lack of a transport truck the Lola was actually driven to the circuit from the Lola factory in Slough, before undergoing an oil change and rolling out onto the track.

Ford were deeply impressed with the performance potential of Eric Broadley’s Lola Mk6, they saw it as a vehicle that could take the fight to the dominant Ferraris, and win. Lola was contracted to built the GT40 by Henry Ford II himself and just a year later the first completed vehicle rolled out of the factory.

The Ford GT40 would go on to win Le Mans 4 times in succession between 1966 and 1969, ending Ferrari’s dominance and vindicating Henry Ford II’s gamble on Eric Broadley’s mid-engined design. The runaway success of the GT40 led to the original Lola Mk6 being forgotten by most, which seems a shame as the humble Lola was essentially the beta version of Ford’s first Le Mans winner.

Only 3 Lola Mk6 chassis were made before attention shifted to the GT40 program, as you can imagine this rarity coupled with the heritage of the model has led to soaring values – it’s exceptionally rare for an original Lola Mk6 to come up for sale and when it does, collectors from around the world fly in for the auction.

If you’re in the market for an original Mk6, you can click here to visit this particular car’s lot listing care of RM Auctions.

Photo Credits: Robin Adams ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auctions

via SILODROME

KINGSTON CUSTOMS 900 IL SARDO

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then where does that leave emulation? Perhaps not as sincere an endeavour but when standards are as stratospherically high as they are in the custom bike world, wholesome gentlemanliness goes out the window. There’s no denying it, nearly every man on the planet would sell an organ to walk a day in Steve McQueens shoes. Pick a day, any day. You could be at 230 MPH down the Mulsanne Straight in a Porsche 917 or wheelying through the desert on a CR250 Elsinore with $1m dollars in your pocket just for turning up. And if you picked the straw that got you the Steve with no shoes, it’d be because there’s one of the world’s hottest girls next to you.

And her friend.

So Dirk of Kingston Custom in Germany wanted to build a Triumph that reminded him of the King of Cool, ripping it up on the International Six Day Trials of the mid-sixties. No pressure then Dirk! Buddy and Triumph nut, Uli Brée ofTriworx supplied a 900 Scramber last autumn and expected something special in return. True to form, Dirk hasn’t let him down.

Obviously these days you can’t get away with a paint job, knobblies and some fancy welding on the zorst so this bike was taken to the private room at the back, the one with a velour curtain and stripped down, right down. The subframe was modified to accept the Komp-Tech seat unit and the tight rear loop is pretty well executed. It needed to be, as nickel plating is very unflattering if you’re welding looks like a pigeon shit. The local electroplater got a workout with this build, the Athena Motocross foot pegs going into the bucket along with the Honda XLV sidestand. The frame was chemically dipped, then painstakingly ground, sanded and buffed before even joining the other parts for a fizzy chemical bath. The result is truly stunning. If this sounds like a waste of elbow grease, wait til you hear what he did with the wheels.

Triumph’s 900 twin is ample for most applications and there’s certainly enough grunt on tap for the Mitas E10s to flick up some decent roost. K&N offset oval filters keep the desert out and a rather lovely Arrow exhaust system does the barking through an in-house muffler. Is there anything more racy that zorsts held together with springs? Reminds me of my first ‘crosser.

As mentioned, Dirk likes a bit of nickel. So much so that he removed all the spokes and sat for hours rubbing the chrome from the rims to reveal the more handsome coating beneath. Proper! The brake rotors are by Galfer, the wavy ones. Bates lamp with a drilled visor is a nice touch.

With all that nickel to look at some contrast was required so an aluminium bash plate was fabricated with some jolly neat lightening holes, but this didn’t escape the buffing wheel either.

Nothing Kim Kardashian about this derrière, everything is in proportion with humps, bumps and knobs all in exactly the right place. 370mm YSS shocks ensuring nothing heads too far South.

Those who don’t know, the boffins at Moto Gadget make some top-of-the-line electrickery in the way of lights, speedos and wiring solutions. Modern Triumph twins and triples don’t like to have their clocks removed, as if in true 1970s style, the CAN-Bus system goes on strike and renders the bike unusable. The m-Tri unit solves this so one was fitted to Dirk’s scrambler, along with a set of indicators. Hiding from view slightly is the Daytona Velona speedo, they look smart, trust me.

There are some bikes that you just know will feel right, this is one of them. The seat looks comfy at the back but clear at the front for leg out berm-busting. The chunky LSL bars are inviting and Nissin RFX levers reassuring, or am I just getting carried away because I want a go! The tank colour is awesome, similar to the Rickman Matisse but bang up to date, especially cool with the polished knee panels. Although I’m sure he will insist on riders wearing silk trousers.

I’ve looked long and hard and can’t find anything to fault. Apart from the wall, Dirk, your tiling is appalling, the floor isn’t level and that log doesn’t look very well seasoned. Pah, and there we were thinking he was a perfectionist.

After all the polishing and fitment of top notch parts ‘il Sardo tips the scales at a positively heroin chic 189kgs, in comparison to the muffin-topped 230kg standard scrambler. Quite a result in both the engineering and the aesthetic.

If Steve is up there somewhere, I’m sure he’d swap a kidney for a day in Dirk’s shoes and a blast across the desert on this celebration. Surely the sincerest form of flattery.

via The Bike Shed

Aprilia termine ses trois jours de test avec Biaggi au Mugello / Aprilia, Biaggi conclude three-day Mugello test

Max Biaggi a soumis l'ART MotoGP à une série de tests intensifs cette semaine au Mugello.

L'ancien coureur italien a bouclé pas moins de 176 tours du circuit toscan sur l'ensemble de ses trois journées d'essais et a signé son meilleur tour en 1'50.940. 

Le chrono n'était cependant pas la priorité d'Aprilia, qui cherche avant tout à enregistrer un maximum de données pour développer sa moto actuellement utilisée en Championnat du Monde MotoGP™ mais aussi son futur prototype pour le retour officiel de la marque en MotoGP™ en 2016.

Romano Albesiano, directeur d'Aprilia Racing, a commenté : « Max a eu un très bon rythme et nous avons collecté d'importantes données. Il n'y a pas grand chose à ajouter à ce que j'ai déjà dit cette semaine. Nous avions décidé de travailler avec Biaggi parce que nous savions que son expérience nous apporterait des informations importantes et de ce point de vue, le test s'est passé comme prévu. »

Biaggi était satisfait de son feeling sur l'ART et a ajouté : « Le bilan de ces trois journées est clairement positif. De tous points de vue, l'adaptation à la moto, les pneus, les freins, et l'effort physique fourni pour faire autant de tours, qui était important, surtout quand on a passé autant de temps sans rouler. »

« Nous avons fait du bon travail, nous avons pu évaluer les différentes solutions proposées et je pense que nous avons donné au team de bonnes idées. »

Italian manufacturer Aprilia have wrapped up a three-day Mugello visit, in which Max Biaggi extensively tested the ART-Aprilia MotoGP bike.

Biaggi completed a marathon haul of 176 laps over the 72 hour workout, recording a best time of 1’50.940.

For Aprilia however the lap time is not crucial at this stage, as they are more focused on gathering key data for the continued development of their current bike - already being used in the MotoGP™ World Championship - and in preparation for a new Aprilia prototype they hope will race in the premier class in 2016.

The importance of the tests was clear to Romano Albesiano, Aprilia Racing manager, who commented: "Max’s pace was very good and we have gathered valuable data. There is little more to add than what has been said already this week. We decided to try Biaggi because we knew we would get important information from his experience, so from this point of view, the test went as planned."

Biaggi was happy with the feeling with the ART, saying, "The balance of these three days is definitely positive. From all points of view, adaptation to the bike, the tyres, brakes, not to mention the physical effort with so many laps, it becomes important especially if you have not been on the bike for a long time."

"We did a good job, we were able to evaluate the different solutions available and I think I've provided some good ideas to the team."