Rallye Raid : Marc Coma champion du Monde 2014 / Marc Coma 2014 World Champion

Battu l’an passé sur le fil par Paolo Gonçalves, l’Espagnol Marc Coma (KTM Michelin) a pris sa revanche cette année en s’imposant au Rallye du Maroc et en décrochant du même coup le titre de champion du Monde 2014 de rallye raid.

Comme l’an passé, Gonçalves (Honda Michelin) et Coma abordaient cette ultime manche du championnat, dernière course de préparation avant le prochain Dakar, au coude à coude. Le titre se jouait entre les deux leaders des teams Honda et KTM, mais chaque équipe alignait la totalité de ses pilotes officiels au départ.
Comme souvent cette saison, Marc Coma a fait preuve de régularité et de sagesse pour remporter cette épreuve et coiffer du même coup son sixième titre Mondial. Devancé après trois jours de course par Joan Barreda (Honda Michelin), avant que celui-ci n’écope d’une pénalité (trente minutes) pour excès de vitesse, Coma devançait à mi-course Paolo Gonçalves, son rival pour le titre. Comptant une minute trente cinq de retard au départ de la cinquième et avant dernière journée, Gonçalves allait se faire piéger et chutait peu après le départ de la spéciale, abandonner après s’être blessé aux cotes et à l’épaule. La voie du titre était dégagée pour Coma, qui s’impose finalement devant son équipier Sam Sunderland (KTM Michelin), Helder Rodrigues (Honda Michelin) et Joan Barreda (Honda Michelin) vainqueur de cinq des six spéciales.
Marc Coma : « Nous savons tous que le rallye du Maroc est l’un des plus durs du calendrier, et en arrivant ici l’objectif était de ne pas prendre de risques en vue du championnat. Ce fut une semaine riche en émotions, puisque cette semaine j’ai fêté mon anniversaire, mon titre mondial et enfin la victoire au Maroc. Décrocher six titres mondiaux ne fut pas aisé, on a beaucoup travaillé pour en arriver là. »
Classement final du rallye : 1.Coma (ESP, KTM Michelin) ; 2.Sunderland (GBR, KTM Michelin) ; 3.Rodrigues (POR, Honda Michelin) ; 4.Barreda (ESP, Honda Michelin) ; 5.Faria (POR, KTM Michelin) ; etc….


Last year in Morocco Marc Coma (KTM Michelin) lost his World title during this last round of the World Cross Countries Rally Championship, as Paolo Gonçalves beats him and clinched the title. The Spaniard got his Revenge this year, winning the rally and the World title.

Even if teams Honda Michelin and KTM Michelin entered this race with their full squad, Gonçalves (Honda Michelin) and Coma were the main protagonists of this last round of the series, as one of them was sure to be champion at the end of the rally, also considered a rehearsal for the next Dakar.
In this rough and difficult race, Marc Coma rode once more safe and consistently to finally grab another success and his sixth World title. Winner of the first three stages Joan Barreda (Honda Michelin) was the first leader of the rally, but the Spaniard got a thirty minutes penalty for over speed so Coma was leading Gonçalves at mid race. Leading his rival by one minute and thirty five seconds when started the fifth and penultimate stage, Coma secured the title before the end of the race as Gonçalves crashed soon after the start of the stage and retired with a shoulder and ribs injuries. Coma was champion, but also got the overall win in Morocco; team mate Sam Sunderland (KTM Michelin) got his best result of the season with a second overall, followed by Helder Rodrigues (Honda Michelin) and Joan Barreda winner of five stages in this rally.
Marc Coma: “We know that the Morocco Rally is one of the toughest on the calendar so we came with tactics not to take any risks for the championship. But the feeling is amazing and it’s been a special week full of emotions because I had my birthday, then I won the title and today the win in the rally. To be six-times world champion is not easy. There is a lot of work behind it.”
Final classification of the rallye: 1.Coma (SPA, KTM Michelin) ; 2.Sunderland (GBR, KTM Michelin) ; 3.Rodrigues (POR, Honda Michelin) ; 4.Barreda (SPA, Honda Michelin) ; 5.Faria (POR, KTM Michelin) ; etc….

PURE KLASSE: DIAMOND ATELIER’S BMW R80

The BMW R80 ticks all the boxes for custom builders. It’s reliable, simple to work on and cheap to buy. And, as with all R-series airheads, it looks pretty good straight out of the box.

Unfortunately, the popularity of the venerable BMW means it’s edging into cliché territory: most customs look pretty much the same. The R-series is ripe for a fresh approach, and here it is—courtesy of two young, first-time builders from Munich, just down the road from BMW’s own headquarters.

Diamond Atelier is the new company of 21-year-old Tom Konecny, and 24-year-old Pablo Steigleder. “We’re not building bikes to become rich and famous,” says Tom, “but to add something to the custom scene. “We’ve never raced around a track, but we know what looks good. And that’s what we’re trying to achieve.”

Believe it or not, this 1992 R80 RT is Tom and Pablo’s first build. Tom has owned the bike since he was 17, and felt it was time for an overhaul.

Hardly anything from the original R80 remains. The 18” spoked front wheel and floating brake discs are from an R100R; they’re now hooked up to a Brembo PSC-16 brake master cylinder and Brembo calipers, via stainless steel hoses.

The forks have been lowered three inches to improve stance, and are clamped by custom upper triples. Top-flight controls are fitted to Fehling clipon bars—including Magura levers and a Tommaselli quick-action throttle system. The headlight is a combination of Yamaha and Honda parts.

The componentry is beyond approach, but it’s the perfect lines that catch the eye. To match the angle of the new seat unit, Tom and Pablo lifted the fuel tank a couple of inches. The tail section is crafted from fiberglass and padded with industrial-gradecaoutchouc—a natural rubber compound.

“We built the entire rear frame from scratch,” says Tom, “and made it about 15 centimeters narrower, to give the bike a sleek and lightweight look.” The rearsets are from Tarozzi and underneath the seat is a featherweight Porsche GT3 Cup car battery.

Diamond Atelier have kept the stock exhaust headers, but ditched the middle silencer and fitted short cone pipes—which have custom-made inserts to pass the strict German TÜV regulations.

Little touches help to give the bike its highly crafted feel. The frame has been completely de-tabbed and cleaned up, and new housings were designed for the alternator, starter and shaft drive. Round valve covers and air filters complete the look.

The delicate blue paint is not something you’ll find in the Glasurit color guide: it’s hand-mixed to create the palest of pale blues, with vestigial black pinstriping providing a link back to BMW’s heritage.

The result is simply jaw dropping. And even the hardcore stalwarts of the Munich custom scene were impressed: “At the local biker hangout bar, a guy described us as ‘the boys who would never win a race, but have the coolest looking rides,’” says Tom. “I admit we would gladly accept this description!”

“The R80 wasn’t built to be faster or more comfortable than the original, or to save gas. But it’s got our own Diamond Atelier look going, which we think is unique and just right for us.”

It’s just right for us too—and a good omen for the future of the custom BMW scene.

Diamond Atelier website | Facebook page | Images © 2014 Philipp Wulk.

via BIKEexif

1957 FORD COURIER SEDAN DELIVERY

This pristine 1957 Ford Courier Sedan Delivery is a far cry from what we consider a delivery vehicle in the modern age – We’re more used to seeing wheezing diesels puttering into our driveways with deliveries, but it wasn’t always like this.

In 1957 when gasoline was cheap and global warming was just something that happened in summer, delivery cars like this were built with 190bhp 272 cubic inch V8s and styling inspired by the jet age. Times have certainly changed, but not necessarily for the better.

Plugged into that V8 is a 3-speed manual transmission and it all rides on coil-spring independent front suspension, a live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf-spring suspension, and it’s all brought to a halt by 4-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.

The Courier Sedan Delivery you see here is currently part of the Jeffrey Day Collection, it’s been given one of the most detailed restorations you’re ever likely to find on a former commercial vehicle and it’s being offered for auction today (the 9th of October 2014) by RM Auctions at the Hershey Sale.

If you’d like to view the full listing or register to bid online, you can click here.

Photo Credit: Darin Schnabel ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auctions

‘79 Honda CX500 – 502 Moto

It’s a truism to say that most builders have a kind of love/hate relationship with their project bikes. From the elation experienced when a seat comes together perfectly with a frame to the utter torment of broken bolts, mysterious misfires and parts that magic themselves into other dimensions after they hit the floor, it’s more than common for builds to drag their makers through a gamut of emotions. But I think it’s fair to say that Brad White from Louisville, Kentucky’s 502 Moto has a painful build story that beats most. And when I say painful, I mean just that.

The Little Stranger build literally started as an accident. After the 450 lb. 1979 CX500 purchased by sculptor and fabricator Brad White ended up on top of him, fracturing his collarbone but only slightly injuring his ego, he knew things had to change. Even prior to the accident the vintage Honda was in need of everything; brakes, tires, fluids, and just about anything else you could imagine. Following the accident, Brad made his way down the I-71 South, from Columbus to Louisville, Kentucky; a town which is becoming widely recognized for its ever-growing vintage bike scene.

Brad, who is known both regionally and nationally for other vintage bike builds, recently teamed up with mechanic and partner Michael Van Benten, to form 502 Moto. Little Stranger is the bike that has launched the look of their fledgling company; a look that was described by one recent observer as “metal as fuck.” The long, low stance is a result of the guys stretching the swing arm four inches back and raking the steering neck to create a more menacing look. By lowering the narrow forks internally, placing a pentagram wheel upfront and inserting bronze Paiste cymbals in the rear. Yes, you read that right. Paiste – as in drums. Little Stranger is equal parts Slayer and Salt Flats record setter.

Paiste cymbals never looks so good. Drum roll, anyone?

At first look, what most people notice is the custom deluxe tank, which Brad gently manipulated with a ball pen hammer to create a tasty pair of knee pockets and a trick, recessed fuel filler. To visually balance out the fatty 4.5 gallon tank, the rearmost section of the frame was removed, altered with a hoop, and then new shock mounts and tail section were crafted to create a more aesthetically pleasing look. Digging into their previous chopper builds for some inspiration, the front fairing got some vintage stacked rectangle lights that have been frenched into a manipulated KZ400 fender found lying on a shelf.

Brad’s trademark black and white paint scheme wasn’t left behind, as the front forks got striped “hooker stockings” to match up with the race inspired side covers, painted to mimic last-minute electrical tape number changes seen by Brad and Michael over the years at the local races. The rest of the bike was shot in-house with Audi Nimbus Gray pearl with a “vintage Moto Guzzi” stripe on the tank and cleared in satin to keep it as punk rock as possible.

Flames and smoke are kick ass during a rock show, but Michael wanted to make sure that never occurred while on the road with Little Stranger. To achieve this he rewired the entire bike, placing any of the previously visible electronics under a soft-leather seat with the irregular stripe in the stitch, crafted in-house by the boys at 502 Moto. The exhaust system was chopped up and rerouted as a two into one. Bespoke heat shields continue the stripe pattern and it’s finished off with an upswept Triumph muffler, which lines up nicely with all the angles and is quiet like a Honda should be.

All up, 502 have created a good-looking, comfortable ride from a barn find that responds well in the corners and goes like hell on the straightaways. And Little Stranger doesn’t look out-of-place in the twisties with clean vintage restos or stretched out along side a chopper or five. Next time you find yourself south of the Mason Dixon line, why not stop by?

[Photos by Nicholas Karem]

via PIPEBURN