Márquez signe sa huitième pole de l’année en Australie / Sensational Marquez takes 8th pole position of 2015

Le Champion en titre partira devant Andrea Iannone et Jorge Lorenzo dimanche à Phillip Island pour le Grand Prix Pramac d’Australie.

          

Pilote le plus rapide sur l’ensemble des essais libres, Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) a confirmé sa supériorité en qualifications samedi après-midi à Phillip Island et s’est offert sa huitième pole position de la saison avec un chrono de 1’28.364, soit une demi-seconde de plus que le record du circuit, qu’avait enregistré Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) en 2013.

             

Ce dernier, qui a dix-huit points de retard à rattraper sur son coéquipier Valentino Rossi pour espérer être Champion du Monde cette année, sera troisième sur la grille de départ après avoir été suivi par Andrea Iannone (Ducati) sur ses tours lancés. L’Italien avait réussi à être plus rapide que l’Espagnol de quelques dixièmes au début et a ensuite réalisé le même chrono que le Majorquin sur son dernier run, remportant cependant la seconde position pour avoir un second meilleur tour plus rapide que celui du pilote Yamaha. Les deux pilotes étaient au final à 0.316s de Márquez. 

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) a de son côté tardé à s’assurer un départ en tête de la seconde ligne et n’était vraiment pas loin de la première (+0.032s). Il retrouvera en seconde ligne Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda), cinquième à plus d’une demi-seconde de la pole, et Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar), qui poursuit son excellent week-end après avoir fini le vendredi dans le Top 3. 

                

Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) n’a de son côté pas réussi son dernier tour lancé et a échoué en septième position, à plus de trois dixièmes de seconde de son coéquipier et rival, Lorenzo. Le leader du Championnat du Monde MotoGP™ partagera la troisième ligne avec Aleix et Pol Espargaró, qui avaient respectivement signé les deux meilleurs temps de la Q1 avec le Team Suzuki Ecstar et Monster Yamaha Tech3. 

                 

Lourdement tombé en FP4, Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) partira au bout de la quatrième ligne, derrière Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) et Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing).

                 

Quatorzième, Héctor Barberá (Avintia Racing) sera le premier pilote Open sur la grille, devant le rookie australien Jack Miller (LCR Honda), tandis que les Français Loris Baz (Forward Racing) et Mike Di Meglio (Avintia Racing), qui se prépare pour son 200e Grand Prix, partiront respectivement 19e et 22e.

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Marc Marquez claims his 30th MotoGP™ pole position by over three-tenths from Iannone and Lorenzo, with Rossi starting from seventh.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez took pole position at the Pramac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix with an incredible display of riding. In near perfect conditions (Track temp. 42˚C) at Phillip Island the Spaniard set a 1’28.364 to clearly show his rivals he is back to full fitness after breaking a bone in his left hand before the Japanese GP.

               

No one had an answer to the reigning MotoGP™ World Champion's one-lap pace, despite it being almost half a second slower than Jorge Lorenzo’s 2013 Pole Record (1’27.899). Marquez, after finishing second in FP1 on Friday, has topped every session since and his race pace looks ominous at the only track on the MotoGP™ calendar where he has not scored a point in the premier class. He led the way from the very first lap in Q2 and was never knocked off the top, improving his time on his third run as he made use of a two-stop strategy.

                

Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone (+0.316s) also made use of a two-stop strategy and the extra soft option tyre available to him to record only his third front row start of the season. The Italian set an identical time to Movistar Yamaha’s Lorenzo, but will start from second due to count back.

Lorenzo (+0.316s) completes the front row in third, making it 13 front row starts this year. It is actually his worst qualifying performance since his 8th in Assen as Lorenzo also made use of a two-stop strategy. However the two-time MotoGP™ champion will take heart from the fact the man who is leading him in the title standings by 18 points, Valentino Rossi, will be forced to start from seventh.

Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa (+0.348s) looked like he would be on the front row as the clock ticked down in Q2, but will instead have to start from the front of the second row in fourth. LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow (+0.548s) followed up his excellent third place overall in practice with fifth, his best Qualifying result since he started the Indianapolis GP from fourth and it sees him as the leading Satellite rider.

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Viñales (+0.568s) continued his excellent weekend and will start from sixth, just 0.02s behind Crutchlow. It was his best Qualifying performance since his 2nd at the Catalan GP as the Spaniard made use of the sweet handling of his GSX-RR around the fast and flowing Phillip Island circuit.

                 

Championship leader Valentino Rossi’s recent good run in qualifying came to an end as he put on his worst performance since he claimed 8th at Indianapolis. The ‘Doctor’ improved his time from Practice by over seven-tenths, but it was only good enough for seventh and sees the Doctor start the race from the head of the third row.

               

Viñales’ teammate Aleix Espargaro will start the race from eighth after making it through from Q1 alongside his brother Pol, who qualified in ninth.

               

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was tenth fastest, with Brits Scott Redding (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) completing the fourth row, despite the latter becoming the only rider to crash so far throughout the weekend in FP4.

              

Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) will start from 14th as the leading Open class rider ahead of local hero Jack Miller in 15th (LCR Honda) and Eugene Laverty (Aspar MotoGP Team) in 16th. Nicky Hayden (Aspar MotoGP Team) celebrated the announcement he will be inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame at Valencia by qualifying in 20th.

Check out the full MotoGP™ Qualifying results; the 27-lap race starts at 16:00 local time on Sunday.

              

The Münch Mammut was the ultimate ’70s superbike

Seldom has a motorcycle been more aptly named than the two-wheeled behemoth known as the Münch Mammut…

Tipping the scales at an elephantine 600lb and originally powered by a 1,000cc, four-cylinder engine from the NSU Prinz car, engineer and racer Friedel Münch’s original Mammut of 1966 preceded Honda’s comparatively weedy CB750 ‘Four’– officially ‘the world's first superbike’ – by a full four years.

During those four years, the Mammut was nothing short of the mightiest motorcycle a man (or unusually strong woman) could get his (or her) hands on, boasting a top speed of 120mph and an effortless, 10omph cruise – all for a mere $4,000, three times the price of a BMW R69.

Handmade to order and thus extremely exclusive, it’s thought that fewer than 500 Münch machines were built across the various model lines, which included the 1200TTS ‘Münch 4’ that appeared in 1968 and the Titan 2000 of the 1990s. The latter offered 150 horsepower and was so heavy that it required a hydraulic centre-stand to get it off the ground.

On Sunday 18 October, Bonhams will offer the rare chance to own a Mammut, when a TTS 1200 model from 1971 goes under the hammer at its Autumn Stafford Sale with a modest 30,000 kilometres on the clock. Tidy and original, it boasts all the classic Mammut features such as Münch’s own-design, 10-inch diameter front brake, a ‘turbine’-style rear wheel and that distinctive headlamp nacelle that envelops the instruments.

By dint of being exotic and individual, Mammuts have traditionally attracted the rich and famous – so it comes as no surprise that the late, motorcycle-mad publishing tycoon Malcolm Forbes owned two (he gave one to actress Elizabeth Taylor), that French actor Gerard Depardieu rode one in the film ‘Mammuth’, or that insatiable petrolhead Jay Leno has got one tucked away in his legendary garage.

Few, however, have looked quite so ‘right’ on a Mammut as the late playboy Gunter Sachs. When Sotheby’s dispersed his remarkable art collection in 2012 following his death the previous year, it issued cocktail party invitations that depicted Sachs riding his beloved Mammut at speed while dressed in the entirely appropriate outfit of white linen shirt, white trousers, white plimsolls and – never one to overlook the importance of safety gear – a pair of flying goggles.

For an estimated £28,000 - £35,000, you too could make like Sachs by buying the 1200TTS offered for sale by Bonhams. Save for a cracked front brake casting, it’s on the button, ready to go and looks like an awful lot of rare motorcycle for a relatively small amount of money. And, like the Mammut itself, we reckon values can only get bigger...

Photos: Bonhams / Getty Images

Bonhams’ Autumn Stafford Sale takes place at noon on Sunday 18 October in Staffordshire, UK. You can find the full catalogue listed in the Classic Driver Market. 

OLD EMPIRE MOTORCYCLES GLADIATOR

Torque is one of those feelings that you first experience as a child, hopefully. The first time a grownup takes you out in a sports car and you get pinned back in the seat under hard acceleration, it’s addictive. Adolescence brings with it the fallacy that power is the mighty altar to worship yet it’s torque that turns up to the party first and puts smiles on faces.

Polaris knew this when they set up Victory Motorcycles nearly two decades ago and decided that the old adage of ‘There’s no replacement for displacement’ would be hold true in their product line up of big-bore v-twins. This 1650cc Victory Hammer by Norfolk young guns Old Empire Motorcycles is a transatlantic blend of modern brawn and nostalgia.And in the patinated dark tan corner, weighing in at 650lbs, all the way from Dickinson County, Iowa; The Glaadiaatooooorr.

The customer for this commission wanted a bike capable of eating up continental miles in comfort, perhaps on something that would have enough torque to spin planet earth beneath him rather than use speed to reach a destination. Being a Brit, Alec Sharp, founder of OEM, likes an underdog so decided against the tried and tested Harley-Davidson platform and opted for the Victory.

“The Gladiator was actually our first commission based on a concept drawing by the very talented artist Martin Squires. We have found in previous experiences that a build can develop in a couple of different ways. Sometimes everything falls into place naturally as the build progress and without wanting to sound overly arty, the bike kind of builds itself. However there are other times our bikes take a little more deep thought in making sure everything comes together correctly, especially when based upon a predetermined concept. It’s one thing drawing something in pencil and something else entirely making it work!”

Having removed the equivalent weight of normal motorcycle in plastics, pipework and cast wheels Alec and Rafe set about adding the OEM stamp of practical retrogression. For a more balanced look the super-wide rear wheel sizing was altered courtesy of an 80 spoke dual flanged rim with a hub machined by Harrison Billet to adapt to the standard pulley and incorporates a floating disc. Real world practicality with aggressive looks is achieved with Pirelli’s Scorpion dual sport rubber.

Up front sees a matching 80-spoker between the beefy forks, but it wasn’t as plain sailing as it looks explains Alec, “We re-engineered the internals to drop it an inch to get a nose-down stance. Although this sounds simple, an unbelievable amount of work is required to make the forks function properly yet sit lower. The top yoke was removed and a billet replacement with integral warning lights and two aluminium housings were machined to fit the custom made Smiths-OEM chrono speedo and tacho.”

The swept back bars seemingly disappear behind the clocks, leaving a clear view of the dash, and give a relaxed riding position suitable for pounding the miles in comfort.

Making modern machinery look simple is no easy feat as Alec goes on to tell us “The original subframe was removed so we had a fresh start at a new bolt-on section that needed to tie in cleverly to accomplish the simple lines of the concept, but retain a wide enough seat for all-day comfort. An added complexity was the twin spar frame design, with two top tubes splaying out from the head stock (imagine a Ducati trellis type layout) meaning that following our visual designs we would want to drop the tank nice and low to get that curvaceous line, reducing the fuel capacity from around 17 litres to around 4…. What a ball ache.”

“We had already committed to making The Gladiator as per Martin’s sketches so we spent an enormous amount of time fabricating an underseat fuel tank and relocated the fuel pump there too, and on the other side we made an electrics box. So what you are looking at in terms of the leather panniers on the side is actually a fuel tank on the left and the leccy box on the right. Mind you they are still useable panniers too as the brief was the customer needed the ability to carry a bottle of wine and map, we made it so he can carry double just in case.” 

There’s a low fuel sender within the pump which alerts the rider, by way of an LED, that the big old girl’s thirst needs quenching.

The original tank was narrowed and gutted and a new inner fabricated with balance pipes, a tap, internal breather and billet filler caps. There are also tie points along the underside so a tank bag can be used if needed. Greg from Black Shuck has nailed the mottled effect seen on previous OEM builds and the Gladiator’s armour was treated to a mean smokey silver and black version. The Cerakoted engine casings with brass detailing further testament to Alec’s fastidious attention to the most minor of details.

Fellow detail fanatic Will from London Vehicle Wiring was lured up from the smoke to make sense of the professor’s madness and ensure the electricity not only stayed in the panniers but would stand the test of time once the owner and bike had migrated far away from OEM’s HQ. With a Power Commander installed the 1650 cubic centimetres of American muscle can be tuned to suit the more open filters and lightly baffled stainless exhausts. It must sound beastly.

“We’ve learnt a considerable amount since those initial drawings and its amazing to think that we have finally managed to create something rideable and useable from those early sketches.” 

As ever, Alec & Rafe try to utilise the skills of local businesses and craftspeople to achieve their goal of building truly individual motorcycles. It must be working as the Gladiator’s owner has set off, roaring across Europe, and there are other builds in the pipeline to be featured here soon.

In the meantime check out    The Hurricane (in progress)  |  Bike Shed Archive  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Web  |  Video

Photography by Vaughan Treyvellen via The Bike Shed

BMW R65 – Moto Adonis

Written by Martin Hodgson.

From an old factory in the Dutch city of Roosendaal, Daan Borsje and his team at Moto Adonis share a common purpose of “building awesome vintage bikes”. Having shown they can build clean vintage customs with an impressive portfolio of both European and Japanese vintage machines, they decided to take a different path on this, their latest build. From the remains of an old Dutch Police Bike, a BMW R65, they have created a Neo-Utilitarian Scrambler that wouldn’t be out-of-place shredding the boggy fields on the Keutenberg or centre stage in a new Mad Max film. Stripped of all its law enforcement paraphernalia, the little BMW from the R range was taken back to bare bones to reveal the outlaw within.

The “shorty” rear end is becoming more popular by the day, turning long two up designs into a sleeker more stripped down look. But very few builders go as far as Moto Adonis have on this build to ensure the look is engineered for perfect functionality. Hacking the back off a frame can do all sorts of things to reduce chassis rigidity and compromise the rear suspension, so to counter this they’ve built an entirely new subframe with twin loops to support each side and a single piece kicked up rear hoop at the back to support the seat pan. The whole frame and new subframe was smoothed out, detabbed and finished in black. Adding some serious class to the build is the handmade, diamond stitched, Alcantara covered seat that keeps the rider’s weight close to the centreline of the bike.

The factory tank is the classic BMW design of the era, while everyone else was going for rounded flowing aesthetics, the Bavarians had a completely different take with a boxier, slab side look. To continue the neo-utilitarian theme the boys have stripped back the paint to the bare metal with the sanding marks left very deliberately in place. The undersides are painted matte black to further accentuate those beefy metal sides and a totally new take on a centre stripe was achieved by firing up the blow torch and laying down the flame. It’s a Mad Max style touch that while out of left field fits perfectly with the overall theme of the build. To complete the minimalist body work a bobbed front fender is finished in the same black as the frame.

Also painted in black the BMW crash bars that protect those exposed airheads would normally go largely unnoticed and on most customs they’re often removed. But here they serve a purpose and drastically add to the look of the bike, to serve their roll they’ve been modified with the addition of two new brackets each side. These hold the new twin spot lights that stare down the road like a vicious animals eyes and light the dark like no other motorcycle. Joining them on the crash bars are the factory speedo and tacho which required a total rerouting of the drive cables. Providing the third eye from the standard location a grilled out headlight further enhances the BMW’s “tough” credentials.

Steering the beast is a set of Motocross bars that have the factory switch blocks cleaned up and mounted to them. One of those buttons fires the distinctive 648cc flat twin airhead into life and it is the perfect scrambler engine. What it lacks in horsepower it makes up for with gobs of torque right across the rev range and the flawless fuelling of the Bing carbs means wheel spin is easily controlled on the throttle.

To get a little extra power and add to the aural arousal of the boxer burble the guys fitted up a pair of hooligan mufflers to the factory pipes which have been heat wrapped to avoid pipeburn. (Why would anyone want toavoid Pipeburn? – Andrew) While the airbox remains, the engine has been largely blacked out and in true utilitarian style the battery is on display for all to see.

If there was a perfect tyre for a BMW Scrambler it would have to be the Motocross range from German company Heidenau and these are exactly what the guys have fitted. A no nonsense dirt tyre in a traditional trials tread pattern they’ll handle any surface you can throw at them and the build quality is first class. These have been fitted to the factory BMW wheels that are finished in a striking black powder coat that was also applied to the shaft drive, hub and other components for a durable finish.

The last thing you want on a Scrambler is a brake that is going to lock and fold the front end over, here the engineers at BMW had a solution long before ABS and Moto Adonis have kept it in place. The factory master cylinder features a piston significantly smaller than that of the caliper piston, providing a piston to piston ratio far greater than was considered normal at the time for unbelievable progressing stopping.

A nice finishing touch is the small, tiny even, LED tail light that is mounted inside the rear hoop. Its proportions could not be more dramatically opposed to that of its forward facing counterparts; Which just goes to show this Dutch Scrambler is utterly focussed on what is ahead and will take you on a journey anywhere you can think to go leaving the rest of the world behind as you chase the light at the end of the tunnel.

[Photos by Mark Meisner] via PIPEBURN