A family affair in the premier class / Le MotoGP™ est aussi une affaire de famille

Aleix and Pol Espargaro will be racing in MotoGP™ in 2014, but they will not be the first brothers to line up on the same premier class grid.

Aleix and Pol Espargaro will be racing in MotoGP™ in 2014, but they will not be the first brothers to line up on the same premier class grid.

There are a number of milestones with respect to brothers racing together in the premier-class - which the Espargaros can measure themselves against:

- The last time that two brothers competed together in a MotoGP race was at the USA GP in 2010 at Laguna Seca, with Nicky Hayden on the factory Ducati and Roger Lee Hayden riding as a replacement for Randy de Puniet on the LCR Honda. Both riders scored points: Nicky finishing 5th and Roger Lee 11th.

- The last time that brothers were on the full-time entry list for the MotoGP class was in 2004, when Kenny Roberts was riding the Suzuki and Kurtis Roberts was on the Proton KR.

- In addition to the Roberts brothers in 2004, other sets of brothers have competed together full-time in the premier-class in the same season; Nobuatsu and Takuma Aoki in 1997, Nobuatsu and Haruchika Aoki in 1999, Bernard and Marc Garcia (1994 & 95), Dominique and Christian Sarron (1989).

- The last time that brothers finished together on the podium in the premier-class was at the Imola Grand Prix in 1997, when Nobuatsu Aoki finished second and Takuma Aoki finished third.

- The only other occasion that brothers have finished together on the podium in the premier-class was at the Argentine GP of 1962, when Juan Salatino finished second and Eduardo was third.

Réunis cette année, Aleix et Pol Espargaró se sont déjà affrontés plusieurs fois au cours de leur carrière en Grand Prix mais ne sont pas les seuls frères à s’être retrouvés ensemble dans la catégorie reine.

A moins d’une semaine du début des essais libres du Grand Prix Commercial Bank du Qatar, l’épreuve d’ouverture de la saison 2014, motogp.com vous propose quelques statistiques des nombreux duo de frères qui ont couru dans la catégorie reine et dont les records pourraient être battus par Aleix et Pol Espargaró cette année.

- La dernière fois que deux frères disputaient une course MotoGP™ remonte au GP des Etats-Unis de 2010, à Laguna Seca. Nicky Hayden courait alors pour Ducati tandis que son frère Roger Lee remplaçait Randy de Puniet, blessé, chez LCR Honda. Les deux pilotes avaient fini dans les points, avec la cinquième place pour Nicky et la onzième pour Roger Lee.

- Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) et Kurtis Roberts (Proton KR) sont les derniers frères à avoir été simultanément inscrits pour une saison complète en MotoGP™, en 2004.

- En dehors des frères Roberts, de nombreux frères se sont retrouvés sur la grille de la catégorie reine pour une saison complète : Nobuatsu et Takuma Aoki en 1997, Nobuatsu et Haruchika Aoki en 1999, Bernard et Marc Garcia (1994 & 95) ainsi que Dominique et Christian Sarron (1989).

- Les derniers frères à être montés ensemble sur le podium de la catégorie reine sont Nobuatsu et Takuma Aoki, qui avaient respectivement pris les seconde et troisième places du Grand Prix d’Imola en 1997.

- Seuls deux autres frères sont montés ensemble sur le podium de la catégorie reine, Juan et Eduardo Salatino, au GP d’Argentine de 1962, avec les deuxième et troisième places.

Bespoke Royal Enfield by S2 Customs

 

With a population over 1.2 billion India has to be one of the biggest motorcycle markets in Asia, yet only a handful of motorcycle manufacturers have been investing into the Indian Motorcycle market.

 

Times are changing because India is changing and demanding. The youth in India has had enough of the Indo Jap mixed stock bikes. It’s time for a change and that change comes from a long held desire. Recently we have featured 2 other modified Royal Enfield’s from India. Today’s feature build a Royal Enfield custom aka 535 Panj so Penti is from S2 customs, and is further evidence the custom scene in India has started flourishing.

When it comes to customizing motorcycles in India the Royal Enfield has to the first choice, Royal Enfield has been a reliable motorcycle for Indian motorcycle enthusiasts and it’s Army for decades. This Royal Enfield 535cc is a good first attempt from S2 customs.

Lets take a look at Indian metal fabrication history. You might be surprised to know that the art of metal work in India dates back 4500 years. The beautiful image of a dancing girl from Mohanjodaro bares testimony to this fact. Some of you may heard of the great Damascus sword, what you may not know is that Damascus steel was created from wootz steel, a steel developed in India around 300 BC.

Back to the feature of the day, Manmeet tells us “ Born and raised in the Doaba region of Punjab (Jalandhar), this is my first project and I teamed up with my dad. We had been discussing machines ever since I was a kid and one day we decided to start up a custom motorcycle shop.  We started the shop to beat up the metal hard enough to hear the thump out of it. We will be working on donor bikes from clients as well as our shop owned bikes.

The base for this build was a stock 2000 Royal Enfield 535cc. It took us around 2 months to complete as it was our first build. The team involved for the build was a fabricator/metal worker, a mechanic to take care of the mechanical work and I did the visualization of the bike from the fabrication to the paint job to the final renderings.

The modification work includes 72 spoke rims wrapped in Pirelli tyres. At the front this Royal Enfield custom features a one-off handlebar, Tri star headlight, pair of LED indicators and a single saddle seat. We have also added handle mounted rear view mirrors. The engine had been fitted with a performance air filter. Whilst other modifications includes a custom battery case with ignition switch.

The biggest challenge was to get the rims painted and re assembled, as these are not the regular ones which we find in the Indian market these days. For these I found an elderly retired rim specialist and convinced him to assemble the rims perfectly. My favorite part of this build are the rims off course, I also like the headlight, rear view mirrors and the engine, which looks fab after the paint job and the nickle screws”.

BSMC GEAR GUIDE #1

Until now The Bike Shed has focused on reviewing custom bike builds, but we feel it’s time to launch a weekly blog that focuses on the gear that’s enjoyed by those of us who participate in the scene. This could be clothing, helmets, gloves, tools or accessories. It’s not a technical guide, just simply stuff we like. We’re throwing the net wide to capture niche brands and individuals who make quality gear that feeds our culture. Each week we’ll focus on five different products.

1) ALEXANDER GT MK4 JACKET

First up has to be the defining biker garment, the leather jacket, and what could be more fitting than the stunning GT Mk 4 jacket from Alexander Leather’s Modern Classics collection. A modern take on a classic biker design, this jacket is fit for purpose.

Each jacket is hand-made to order in the customer’s choice of leather, colour and lining.  An artisan company based in Selkirk, Scotland, Alexander make jackets to last a lifetime, and the build quality reflects it.

Alexander were formed by Sandy Alexander, founder of the Shuh footwear brand and vintage connoisseur, and Will Lauder, former director and pattern cutter of the legendary Aero Leathers. They’ve assembled a team of leather craftsmen with over 262 years of experience. Each jacket is built stitch by stitch by one person. Inspired by 1920’s to 1960’s styling, they produce for the enthusiast and are uncompromising in their choice of high quality materials.

The GT Mk 4 features three large bellowed pockets, and one D pocket, the Alexander Cafe Racer collar, a wind flap shielding the zip, a  leather belt, a one piece back, and  stud cuffs.

This is a serious piece of kit.

http://www.alexanderleathers.com

2) RUBY HELMETS CUSTOM CONFIGRATOR

In six short years Ruby have forged a reputation for producing high end luxury helmets that are both resilient and striking. Designed by biker Jerome Coste, he set out to create “the finest helmets in the world”, an aspiration some would say he’s met.

The lids are available in three designs; the open-faced retro styled Le Pavillon and the more contemporary styled Le Belvedere; and then there’s the  “when Evel Knievel meets James Hunt on Friday the 13th” full-faced Le Castel.

Not content with providing the customer with the helmets in an eclectic array of stock colours and limited edition designs, Ruby are now offering an ‘a-la-carte‘ online ‘costume’ configurator where you can create a one-off bespoke design. By choosing from their extensive range of colours, patterns and finishing details you now have 273, 375 ways to create a unique design and your very own customised Ruby helmet. Or if you really want something special, you can book an appointment with their designers and they will create something for you.

You can buy from their boutique at 1 Rue Herold, 75001 Paris, or online.

http://www.ateliersruby.com

Whatever way you go, you’ll end up with protecting your precious brain matter with something very special.

3) TELLASON LADBROKE GROVE JEANS

Denim jeans are entrenched in the mythology surrounding custom bikes, and you’ll hard pushed to find quality that matches Tellason.

A niche manufacturer out of San Francisco owned and operated by old friends Tony PaTELLA and Pete SearSON, Tellason were born out of lifelong obsession with denim. Each pair is made from raw, selvedge denim manufactured in the legendary Cone Mills’ White Oak plant in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The guys state: “By starting with raw denim, you not only get to provide your own real-life wear patterns, you also get the benefit of a custom fit as raw denim will mold to your body the way a great pair of leather shoes molds to your feet.”  These jeans just get better and better the more you abuse them.

Heritage is premium to Tony and Pete, and they’re very proud of the fact that their jeans are not only made in America, but that the pocketing, thread, buttons, rivets and leather patches are as well. It doesn’t stop them from giving their gear a London slant. The jeans in their range are named in homage to their other life long obsession, The Clash.

The Ladbroke Grove, (named after the home of Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon), is a slim tapered fit with button fly and lined back pockets available in 12.5oz, 14.75oz, and 16.5oz indigo denim.

These jeans got London Calling.

http://www.tellason.com

4) ELMC ENGINEER BOOT

The engineer boot was first manufactured in 1939 as a boot primarily used by shipbuilders in Portland, Oregon, building ships for World War II. The smooth design with lack of protruding fittings, nails or laces prevented snagging injuries around belt and chain drive machinery, and so they were eagerly adopted by bikers, quickly achieving iconic status in motorcycle culture.

What better way for Eastman Leather, the famous military jacket specialists, to launch their motorcycle brand, ELMC, than with a stunning pair of engineer boots. They’ve taken a 30 year reputation for producing the highest degree of authenticity and applied it to their bike gear. They are high quality, low volume producers, with each garment constructed from custom-made hide.

The Havana Engineer boots are made from USA Chromexcel hide on original lasts in Japan. They have a stack Japanese ‘Woodsman” heel and a UK Goodyear storm welt and  a steel shank. They’re triple stitched at high stress points and have a hand stitched shaft seam. The soles are US Vibram and the buckles steel pressed.

These boots are as tough as they come, and as beautiful as you’ll find anywhere.

http://www.elmc.co

5) MUFF VOLTMETER

Very occasionally you come come across something that is such a killer idea that you kick yourself and curse that you didn’t think of it first. One of those things is the Muff Voltmeter.

Dreamt up by bike builder, cafe owner, now voltmeter designer, and our good mate Josh at Muff Customs, this is so simple it’s genius.

It’s the most compact voltmeter out there and doubles up as a key fob. Unclip the studs and open the Italian leather, and a tiny digital voltmeter is revealed. It displays voltage from 4 to 60 volts to let you know why your damn ride won’t start. You simply connect the press studs to the battery terminals or frame for a reading. It even extends to fit old school Beamer batteries.

Simple as that.

You can buy it online, or with a cup of coffee at Muff Cafe, 4c Roach Road, Hackney Wick, London E32PA.

http://www.muffcustoms.com

Rally Palli's Sprinter

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