WSBK : Giugliano décroche la Tissot-Superpole à Donington

samedi, 24 mai 2014 11:45

Haslam et Melandri complètent la première ligne

Davide Giugliano (Ducati Superbike Team) a remporté la Tissot-Superpole samedi après-midi à Donington Park à l’occasion de la cinquième manche du Championnat du Monde eni FIM Superbike 2014. Sur une piste trempée qui avait piégé de nombreux pilotes dès la séance d’essais FP4 précédant les qualifications, l’Italien a tourné en 1’44.903 avec sa 1199 Panigale R et sera en pole pour la deuxième fois de sa carrière.

Seul Britannique en première ligne, Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) a signé une excellente performance en s’emparant de la seconde position, sa meilleure qualification de l’année, et a échoué à seulement 0.106s de la pole sur son dernier tour. 

Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) a pris la dernière place en première ligne en terminant à deux dixièmes de son compatriote tandis que le rookie anglais Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team), qui manquait la première ligne pour la première fois de la saison après avoir chuté en Superpole, et Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) se sont qualifiés en deuxième ligne.

Le Champion en titre Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), double vainqueur à Donington l’an dernier, partira septième devant Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike), le leader du classement général, qui a comme Guintoli perdu ses chances d’atteindre la première ligne en chutant. 

Toni Elías (Red Devils Roma) avait dominé la Superpole 1 et a finalement pris la neuvième position, devant Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team) et Ayrton Badovini (Team Bimota Alstare), qui avait fini deuxième de la Superpole 1 et a chuté dans la deuxième partie.

Pilote EVO le plus rapide vendredi, Niccolò Canepa (Althea Racing) est tombé en Superpole 1 et sera seizième sur la grille de départ tandis que les Français Fabien Foret (Mahi Racing Team India), qui avait choisi de ne pas rouler, et Jérémy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki), tombé et non classé en Superpole 1, seront respectivement dix-neuvième et vingtième. Romain Lanusse (Team Pedercini), qui débute en WSBK ce week-end, partira juste derrière ses deux compatriotes, en septième ligne, pour les deux courses de 23 tours.

JOHAN’S Z650

While most students are getting in another round of Sambucas, Johan Persson, a Mechanical Engineering student from Stockholm, Sweden is saving up for grinding discs and welding wire.  ”Geek” I hear some some say, couldn’t be further from the truth, Johan has his priorities right and must surely be the coolest guy in class pulling up on this 1977 Z650.  Unless his lovely girlfriend is reading this, then he is working on other people’s bikes in order to buy you a diamond encrusted unicorn.

Skills picked up spattering for two years at Triumph have paid dividends on this and the previous two builds and enabled Johan to fabricate most parts himself on budgets that don’t seem possible.  The rolling-resto job was picked up for $350 which included the thoroughly overhauled engine, jackpot!  But unfortunately it had been left standing for nearly a decade, money pit!  After skipping college to go and pick it up the first job was, you guessed it, a frame loop to prop up the new seat, which was upholstered for the princely sum of a beer by his mate Björn Persson.  They’re not related, just the Swedish lack of surname diversity.  The frame was painted matt black, from a tin, and looks just fine from over here.

Johan’s eBay and Blocket (Swedeish Craigslist) accounts took a pounding as new parts were not a financial option. Front and rear Bates lights, a Bonneville front fender used on the rear, clip-ons, Öhlins shocks and CB750 brake master cylinder were all sourced for bargain prices.  He then got all carried away and had a decedent moment, splurging hard currency on a brand new ignition system. This left nothing in the pot for replacing the starter motor so that’s been blanked off.

The fuel tank is now devoid of fancy paint and the scratched-up, raw steel ‘n ‘ clear-coat suits the bike perfectly. Wiring is hidden beneath and as much as possible has been snuck away out of sight leaving the cockpit clean enough to keep most Scandinavian minimalists happy.  A cycle computer is fastened on for the annual Mot-type inspection but apart from an oil pressure light there are no instruments or lights, or front fender for that matter.  Johan figures that if blue lights flash in the mirror he’s going too fast and if his chin is wet then it’s raining and the subway will get him home dry.  The grips are hockey tape and must give plenty of feedback, and buzz.  Fork internals are now 50mm shorter for a purposeful stance and sharper handling.

Minimalism has taken president over safety up front, with one of the brake discs being sidelined for a future project. Endos are passé anyway.  The original 4-into-1 exhaust was rusted to pieces so what could be welded to was kept and mated to a hand-rolled silencer and packed with, well silencer packing.

Being kickstart only the electrical system doesn’t need much juice so the standard battery was replaced with a much smaller scooter version, strapped to the swingarm with a 1960s Swedish Army belt. Ring ring, ring ring, “Hi, is this MacGyver?  There’s a dude from Stockholm after your job!”

Although the clip-ons look the part they aren’t the most comfortable for long riding trips with his buddies, so a set of touring specification motocross bars leaning in the corner of the garage might be added in the near future.  And riding his creations is exactly what Johan focuses on, he’d sooner have a cheap rat of a bike that can be thrashed, bashed and locked up in town, than a show pony requiring a warm stable and a blanket.

This build exemplifies what can be achieved on a micro budget, with minimal tools and a skill set in its infancy.  If this isn’t motivation enough to start plundering the piggy bank, surfing eBay and making some room in the shed, back garden or parents dining room then you need to start thinking about your own priorities.

Johan has bought a super-cheap BMW R75 for this winter’s budget build so we’ll see him here in the spring with the result. We love your work, gold star and a smiley face on your coursework so far.

KAWASAKI W650 BY REVIVAL CYCLES

Revival Cycles is a long time favourite of ours, the team of custom motorcycle builders based in Austin, Texas have produced some of the most eye-catching American customs in recent history. When we discovered they’d been hard at work on a Kawasaki W650 we were understandably intrigued and so emails were exchanged and the images you’re seeing here today are the result.

The Kawasaki W650 is a carburettor-fed, parallel-twin that Kawasaki introduced in 1999, it’s clearly taken its design inspiration from the 1960s Triumph Bonneville – which is no bad thing. Some have gone so far as to call the W650 the most reliable British bike Japan ever produced, which seems to poke fun fairly at both nations – Britain for building unreliable bikes and Japan for copying the designs of others.

Following in the footsteps of the Yamaha SR400, the W650 has rapidly become one of the most popular targets for customisation both inside and outside of Japan. The simple, reliable parallel twin coupled to a simple frame, twin rear springs and huge aftermarket for parts has led to a massive number of wildly varied designs.

This W650 has been tastefully modified into a timeless cafe racer, a drum brake has been added at the front and a new fuel tank, seat and rear cowl have been bolted into place. Clip-on handlebars, a scrambler-style exhaust and a new headlight complete the bike, and a grey/sky blue paint scheme has been applied to the tank and rear cowl.

Sadly, Kawasaki was forced to discontinue the W650 and its little brother, the W400, in 2008 due to emissions regulations. By 2010 popular demand for the bikes led Kawasaki to develop and begin selling the all-new, fuel-injected W800 – a bike we’re seeing become increasingly popular with custom bike builders.

If you’d like to see the build process of this Revival Cycles W650 you can click here, you might also want to take a look at their back catalogue of customs – it’ll occupy you for at least one full afternoon.

BMW AIRHEAD BY AUSTIN PAINTWORKS

Once in a blue moon, a bike comes along from a workshop I’ve never heard of, and blows my socks off. This is one such bike: a Rennsport-inspired BMW airhead from Bill Twitchel and Matt Musial of Austin Paintworks, Texas.

AP is primarily a paint and motorcycle restoration shop, but I have a feeling their clientele is about to change. Bill and Matt occasionally take on special projects, and that’s how this 1977 R60 became a tribute to the glorious Rennsport RS54 racers of the mid-50s. BMW built very few of these ‘factory racers,’ and today they fetch over $140,000 at auction.

Matt Musial takes up the story: “Our customer Doug Hector bought the R60 frame, engine, tank and forks from a collector several years ago. We restored a 1958 Cezeta scooter for Doug last year and he was pleased with the results, so he asked us to take the R60 parts and build a Rennsport-like rider.

Although the airhead engine and frame are from the 70s, Bill and Matt have captured the spirit of the original factory race machine. It helped that they had only two mandates: make the BMW both track and street legal—hence the headlight behind the front number plate—and keep the project within budget.

With the help of mechanic David Martinez, the bike was completed after 180 hours of work. And that work was considerable, including modifying the frame to receive Earles-type leading link forks and a stiffer, racing-style rear end.

The tank is from metalworking genius Evan Wilcox. Once in Texas, it was brushed and painted blue-grey with old school lacquer, and pinstriped by hand in black. It’s finished with hand-formed aluminum badges, again painted with a brush. The wheels and hubs are just as immaculate, sanded and painted to a better-than-new finish.

The engine has been upgraded with Mikuni carbs and velocity stacks—rarely seen on a vintage airhead—and the airbox has been removed to make space for a modern battery, refinished to match the classic vibe.

Fashions come and go in the motorcycling world, but this is the kind of build that will never lose its appeal. Keep an eye out for the Austin Paintworks name—I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more about Bill and Matt’s work in the years to come.

Images © 2014 Jake Herrle. Contact Austin Paintworks via their website or Facebook page.

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