ACE CAFE RADIO

    samedi 17 novembre 2012

    Ellaspede Customs’ 1980 Honda CB250N


    Black. The coolest of the colours. If the all the colours in the world got together and had a “who's most like Steve McQueen” competition, black would have to be respectfully excluded after winning too many years in a row. In fact, it's so cool that your eyes only register it as black because it's absorbing pretty much all the light that is falling on it. So that makes it like some sort of pet black hole without all the nasty gravity and the sucking and the killing stuff. Johnny Cash loved it. Young Marlon Brando practically breathed the stuff. It's the colour of magic, power, evil and elegance. Let's face it, if you had to choose a single, lonesome colour to make every motorbike that was ever built between now and the end of the world, good old black would be it. And the guy's at Ellaspede Customs wholeheartedly agree. Their latest creation plumbs new depths of black coolness and as you can see from the photos, there's just no way you could ever imagine it being painted with anything else.
    Say hello to Leo, Ellaspede's boss blacker. “This 1980 CB250N (SuperDream) came to us as an unknown quantity via our latest customers Nick and Ben C.They had purchased it with a view to having some mods done in order to have a cool bike to help promote their Brisbane based Gents clothing store “Apartment,” and to have a little fun on.”
    “The unknown bit led to some interesting times electrically but all and sundry seem pretty pleased with the final result. As with many older bikes it’s hit and miss as to how much work will be required to get them on the road again. To help with this we found a donor 250N that came in very handy for broken/un-serviceable items that are part n parcel with aging vehicles. With most of the repairs out of the way and a freshly obtained roadworthy certificate we went about our modding duties.”
    “A custom kangaroo (I've never seen a custom Kangaroo before - Andrew) leather-clad seat with “A” motif straddles the adjusted rear frame. Low-rise bars with bar-end mirrors, a custom mount single gauge/pilot lights and a bottom mount headlight are notable new bits up front. Daytona indicators adorn front and rear.”
    “The bike arrived already black but all was stripped and prepped before a few new coats of satin black/clear-over satin black for a much needed freshen up. Relocated battery and electrics clean up the under-seat area and pod air filters and new mufflers with wrapped pipes are now dealing with breathing duties.
    This previously cheap and ugly little 80‘s city commuter now has a new lease on life and is forging an identity for itself in Brisbane’s CBD.”
    from pipeburn

    ‘Untitled Motorcycles’

    ‘Untitled Motorcycles’: B/W commercial for London customiser


    Beards? Check. Location for shoot a once-unfashionable, now achingly trendy part of London? Check. Grungy, chopped Bee-Emm twins? Oh yes, as this is all about the bike customising shop Untitled Motorcycles.

    You know we like these films. And, while it might not do quite so much for me as did ‘Twins in the Peaks: Fashion house Edwin and classic BMWs’, it’s another classic film noir in a 21st Century Shoreditch stylee.

    Text: Steve Wakefield
    Video: Leap Films

    Macau, Huff took pole


    La nouvelle pole de Rob Huff à Macao place le Britannique un peu plus près du titre. Mais le leader du Championnat se prépare à toute éventualité sur ce circuit urbain où il a pourtant l'habitude d'exceller.



    Rob Huff a encore augmenté son avance au Championnat en décrochant les cinq points de récompense pour sa pole décrochée avec le record du tour (2'29''422) à Macao. Le Britannique a devancé de plus de sept dixièmes son adversaire Yvan Muller et son rival direct Alain Menu qui accuse désormais 37 points de retard. Toutefois, s'il a dominé la dernière édition de l'ancienne colonie portugaise, le pilote Chevrolet ne prend rien pour acquis. « C'était un résultat fantastique. Macao est mon circuit préféré et c'est un rêve de décrocher une quatrième pole consécutive ici. L'équipe a fait une fois de plus un travail incroyable et ma voiture était parfaite dès le début. C'est tout ce que j'avais besoin : une meilleure position sur la grille et quelques points de plus que mes coéquipiers. Mais tout peut arriver et c'est généralement ce qu'il se passe. Nous avons vu que tout peut évoluer en un week-end, comme c'est arrivé à Yvan (Muller) en Chine. »

    Yvan Muller a perdu les commandes du Championnat après son week-end vierge de points à Shanghai et a même vu son coéquipier Alain Menu le devancer au classement Pilotes. A l'issue des qualifications, le triple champion de la discipline accuse 42 unités de retard et doit désormais espérer une contre-performance de ses coéquipiers pour maintenir ses rêves de sacre. « Je suis heureux avec ma deuxième place. Je n'étais pas satisfait de ma voiture hier et c'était la même chose ce matin. Mais nous avons progressé étape par étape même si cela n'a pas suffi pour décrocher la pole. Toutefois, être en première ligne est une bonne chose. Je n'ai pas de regrets à avoir car je n'ai commis aucune erreur. Je ne pense pas que j'aurais pu être plus rapide. C'était le meilleur que je pouvais faire avec ma voiture. »

    Alain Menu reste le rival le plus proche de Rob Huff même si le pilote helvétique accuse un retard important sur le poleman. Le Suisse a pris la troisième place sur la grille avec tout de même une seconde de retard sur le chrono référence. « Je voulais clairement me battre pour la pole et je pensais être en mesure de le faire à l'issue de la Q1. Mais Rob a réalisé un superbe tour. Mon objectif est toujours de remporter les courses de ce week-end. La troisième place n'est pas une mauvaise position, d'autant plus que le départ sera lancé. Je pourrais bénéficier de l'aspiration mais je suis certain que Rob et Yvan sauront comment conserver leur place. »
    BY Jacques-Armand Dupuis(AUTOHEBDO)



    vendredi 16 novembre 2012

    Jules Cluzel meets his Suzuki and World Superbike crew


    FIXI Crescent Suzuki new signing Jules Cluzel made his first visit to the team’s headquarters in Verwood, England today to get his first chance to meet his crew and try out for size the Suzuki GSX-R1000 that he will be racing in next year’s Superbike World Championship.
    Cluzel immediately felt at home in the fresh surroundings, as he was introduced to his new Crew Chief Lez Pearson and the rest of the team that he will be working with next season. The 24-year-old Frenchman was eager to swing his leg over the race bike and immediately said that he couldn’t wait to get it out on the track, because it felt right straight away.
    The FIXI Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 was emblazoned with Cluzel’s racing number 16 when he first set eyes on the bike and he quickly adapted himself to the seating position, even asking the crew to make adjustments, and suggested some future alterations, to enable him to start the first test with a bike that fits him.




    Cluzel will get his first chance to ride the Yoshimura-powered FIXI Crescent Suzuki at a test in Spain early next year, before he begins his competitive career with his new team at Phillip Island in Australia on Sunday 24th February. Before that though he will meet up with new team-mate Leon Camier tomorrow, when the pair will be attending an official function on behalf of the team’s title sponsor FIXI.

    Jules Cluzel:
    “I am really happy to have come here to England and meet the team and see my new bike. I am really looking forward to riding the Suzuki GSX-R and I am very excited about the first exit in the first test, because the bike felt great as soon as I sat on it, now I want to ride it! This is a new challenge and I am really happy to be involved in this with FIXI Crescent Suzuki. I have met all my new crew and they were really friendly and I’m really looking forward to working with all of them.”
    Lez Pearson – Crew Chief:
    “I have met Jules briefly before, but it was good to meet him properly today and get his first impressions of the bike. I became a fan of his last season and saw that he was a real talent and I’m sure that is something we can help him grow at FIXI Crescent Suzuki. He’s an intelligent and enthusiastic guy and the whole crew are excited about seeing what he can do on the bike. He’s already given us some ideas about how he would like the bike setting up for him, so we already have an idea of what he wants. We are all really looking forward to working with him and the first test can’t come soon enough.”
    with TWOWHEELSBLOG