Journey of a lifetime: Classic Cars Challenge China 2014

Warning: reading this article could seriously disrupt your plans for 2014; because we challenge anyone to learn about the Classic Cars Challenge China (or ‘4C’) and not want, desperately, to take part...

Why? Why does this classic rally tour stand out among the many that take place every year across the globe? In a word: China. Home to a quarter of the world’s population and with a history stretching back an incredible 5,000 years, it’s a land of stunning landscapes and fascinating culture. One of those ‘must see before I die’ places. And what better way to see it than on a challenging (but fun) rally tour from Beijing to Shanghai.

Six days and 1,800km

Over the last few decades, China has astonished the world with its incredible economic growth – a growth that most Westerners only became fully aware of at the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Three years later, in 2011, with the approval of the Federation Internationale des Vehicules Anciens (FIVA), Classic Vehicle Union of China (CVUC) launched the first, annual ‘4C’, to which international enthusiasts brought their classics and drove from Beijing to Shanghai in 6 days... covering 1,600km. The route has since been altered slightly, and now stretches 1,800km.

And you can imagine why they were so keen: just picture driving through the ancient Chinese capital, the heart of thousands of years of Eastern culture, seeing for yourself the spectacular Bird’s Nest and Water Cube, the Great Wall, the streaming waters of the Yangtze River. When not behind the wheel, the participants could indulge in the finest Chinese delicacies and fragrant wine, all against the backdrop of some of the most startling natural scenery on the planet.

Two million spectators

Never fear, the 2011 event wasn’t a once-only event, as it ran again in 2012 and 2013 - last year welcoming 51 vehicles, along with 186 Chinese and foreign participants from 22 different countries. Even more remarkably, the organisers estimate that on its journey from Beijing through Tianjin, Qingdao, Lianyungang, Nanjing and Hangzhou to arrive in Shanghai, the spectacular motorcade was admired by more than 2,000,000 people. Two million!

And… the bit you were waiting for. From 9-21 October 2014, 4C again opens its doors and invites friends from all over the world to enjoy this extraordinary ‘China Festival’. This year, some 80 classic vehicles (eligible years are from 1920 to 1984) will make the journey of a lifetime, through some of China’s most visually arresting scenery. They will once again enjoy the route Beijing – Tianjin – Qingdao –Huai’an – Nanjing – Hangzhou – Shanghai. For those who are lucky enough to take part, it looks set to be the experience of a lifetime. Start clearing your diaries...

The application deadline is 30 June, and you can find out all the details at http://www.classiccarchina.org/4c/.

HOLOGRAPHIC HAMMER THE TZAR

Holographic Hammer is no stranger to the custom scene, being the render-master behind many well-known custom builds. In fact, few people realise that the man behind the Hammer works as a designer from BMW Motorrad and was the designer of the infamous and very beautiful Concept Ninety that Roland Sands went on to build for BMW. Anyway, he’s been teasing us with gorgeous bike designs for a long time now, so we were very keen to see what an influential taste-maker would do with his own personal ride, the Suzuki Tzar… And, we wanted to hear about it in his own words…

Being a motorcycle freak, what could be any better than building your own custom bike ? But before getting my hands dirty, I had to figure out what I exactly wanted: – A good steel frame for the stiffness, but it also had to run under the tank and not be perimetric to get a more classic look. – An oil-cooled engine because it is simple and reliable. – A big bore inline 4 cylinders to get decent torque and power. – Twin shocks for its beauty. – and all of it in a “modern” base to be ridden everyday.

After some quick research, only two bikes fit the bill, The Kawasaki ZRX 1200 and the Suzuki 1200 Inazuma. I went for the Suzuki simply because the tank looked better to me. I bought the donor a few weeks later and started to tear it apart. At that point I was very skeptical, the stock bike was miles away from what I had in mind… This bike is a light custom, the goal was to get the maximal impact with a tight budget so it was all about updating the chassis in some areas and reworking the all tail to get a proper cafe-racer fly line.

I have been maintaining and working on all my own bikes  for years, but I didn’t have the skills to do this, but luckily my best friend (Hugo Lambert) is a race mechanic and took care of the proper custom elements. We started to swap the front end for a 2006 GSXR 1000 fork and brakes, combined with LSL clip-ons, an Acewell speedo and a pair Braking PR19 master cylinders. The subframe has been shorten by 30 cms and totally reworked to place the battery and the CPU under the seat. The engine was fitted with K&N filters, bigger exhaust pipes with a ZARD silencer, a modified ignition finger and a pair of Yoshimura camshafts that brought the torque up to 13.5 Mkg and the power to 160 Hp. The major components were powder coated black, and we finished the bodywork with a Barry Sheene’s 1975 RG500 replica paint job.

If you still have no idea who Holographic Hammer is check him out on Facebook, but here’s a little more info from the horses mouth: Building a custom bike takes a lot of time and money, as a designer I realised that the first idea is rarely the best, perfection comes with exploring different options and trying unusual things. All my friends ride or work in the custom motorcycle business and I was always around them to quickly photoshop their garage builds, and make them so logos. That is the all meaning of Holographic Hammer, a digital tool helping and simplifying the manual labour.

I am convinced that doing a sketch before building helps to get the global proportion right and stay on track while doing it, because you can easily get lost redoing the same part again and again until it works. It doesn’t matter if the bike is gonna be built or if it’s just about making a cool picture, I am always having fun drawing custom bikes for friends, and that is how I ended up sketching for El Solitario MC, Untitled Motorcycles, Fuel Bespoke, Icon 1000, The Lucky Cat garage and Derestricted. If you would like to visualize your dream custom bike or simply see some cool shit? Make sure you check Holographic Hammer on Facebook and I will be very happy to to sketch it up for you!

As some engineers say; “Measure twice. Cut once.” We’d take it one step further when it comes to building a custom bike… Plan your build with some sketches, even on the back of a napkin, and you are less likely to end up with some weird Frankenstein’s Monster build… See more from Holographic Hammer Here.

MACGYVER TOOL KIT

Most tool kits include things like screwdrivers, knives, sockets, wrenches, and other things to help you put stuff together and/or tear it apart. The MacGyver Tool Kit is different. Like its name suggests, it's filled with common items that can be used to fix a wide range of problems, from stopping a leak to building a homemade rocket. Okay, so we're not so sure about that one, but we are sure you can find something to do with the bobby pin, match, rubber band, bubble gum, birthday candle, paper clip, and other "tools" you'll inside.

The Lion is ready to roar again... Peugeot returns to Dakar!

Once you’ve conquered the mountain with a nine-time World Rally Champion, your next step is to conquer the desert. That is what Peugeot will be looking to do when it returns to the infamous Dakar Rally in 2015.

Before you begin clambering for information, so far all driver line-ups, vehicle specs and support crew information have been contracted into the below sub-minute teaser clip. So that is to say, ‘naff all’ *. Speculation has already mounted though that the 208 – a T16 variant of which (well, not the road car obviously) took Sébastien Loeb to the top of Pikes Peak – may be ready to make a comeback with some massively modified suspension.

MINI, Toyota and Hummer may want to start quaking in their tyre covers. The last time Peugeot hit the Dakar, it brought them four-straight victories from 1987 to 1990, the most famous of which – Ari Vatanen’s successful climb in 1987 aboard the Peugeot 205 T16 – was the inspiration behind ‘Climb Dance’. Aside from two back-to-back victories for the Mitsubishi Pajero in 91-92, Peugeot and sister company Citroen took every overall Dakar win from 1987 to 1996.

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Dakar 2015 : Argentine, Chili, Bolivie… et Peugeot !

Peugeot took advantage of today’s presentation of the 2015 Dakar – which will start and finish in Buenos Aires, Argentina (January 4-17) – to announce its comeback to the event, 25 years after its last, successful participation. Carlos Sainz and Cyril Despres have been named as drivers of the Peugeot 2008 DKR.

Next year’s Dakar – the seventh in South America – will take the form of a 9,000km loop, starting and finishing in Buenos Aires and visiting both Chile and Bolivia. The event will begin in the Argentine capital on January 4 and, after four stages in Bolivia and several more in Chile, will end on January 17. There will be ‘marathon’ legs for all three classes but different rest days for the car, truck and bike runners.

Ahead of the organisers’ press conference this morning in Paris, Peugeot tweeted the news of its Dakar comeback, a quarter of a century after its last participation. The French make won the event four times in a row from 1987 to 1990 with Finns Ari Vatanen and Juha Kankkunen, initially with the Peugeot 205 T16, then with the Peugeot 405 T16. Both cars were equipped with Michelin rubber.

Shortly afterwards, Peugeot released details of its 2015 cross-country rally programme. Carlos Sainz and Cyril Despres have been recruited to drive the Total- and Red Bull-backed 2008 DKR crossovers, but there was no mention of multiple Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel whose name has been linked with the project for some time.

The 2015 Dakar has the makings of being another classic, with the likes of Mini, Peugeot, Toyota, Ford and a number of other top privateer teams seeking to follow in the footsteps of this year’s car winners Nani Roma and Michel Périn.

A l’occasion de la présentation du Rallye Dakar 2015 qui partira et arrivera à Buenos Aires (du 4 au 17 janvier), Peugeot a annoncé son retour sur cette épreuve 25 ans après sa dernière participation (et victoire) avec Carlos Sainz et Cyril Despres sur des Peugeot 2008 DKR.

Le Rallye Dakar 2015 décrira une boucle sud-américaine de 9000 km autour de Buenos Aires qui passera par le Chili et la Bolivie. L’épreuve s’élancera de la capitale argentine le 4 janvier et sera de retour à Buenos Aires le 17 janvier après quatre étapes en Bolivie et plusieurs au Chili. Etapes-marathon dans toutes les catégories et journées de repos alternées seront au programme de cette 7^e édition en Amérique-du-Sud.

Avant le début de la conférence de presse ASO organisée à Paris, Peugeot avait tweeté son retour officiel sur le Dakar 25 ans après sa dernière participation. Peugeot a gagné quatre fois d’affilée cette épreuve entre 1987 et 1990 avec ses Finlandais Ari Vatanen et Juha Kankkunen au volant de Peugeot 205 T16 Grand Raid et Peugeot 405 T16 Grand Raid chaussées de pneumatiques Michelin.

Dans la foulée, le constructeur français a dévoilé son programme Tout-Terrain 2015 : Carlos Sainz et Cyril Despres piloteront des Peugeot CrossOver 2008 DKR aux couleurs de Total et Red-Bull. Stéphane Peterhansel, annoncé depuis longtemps chez Peugeot, n’a pas été officialisé aujourd’hui.

Avec Mini, Peugeot, Toyota, Ford et beaucoup d’autres équipes « privées » de pointe, l’édition 2015 ne devrait pas manquer de prétendants pour succéder à Nani Roma/Michel Périn en catégorie Autos.

Royal Enfield in Middle East Enduro Ride 2014

A Modern Motorcycle Diaries Adventure through the country of Oman on Royal Enfield's.

A 500 km Enduro Ride loop around the amazing scenery, off roads, and remote villages this middle eastern country has to offer.

Stories of Bike : Chemistry

Royal Enfield by Tendance

In Paris, the main Royal Enfield dealer is Tendance Roadster. They’re based in Levallois-Perret, near the old Clément-Bayard factory where Citroën built the 2CV. Dealer principal Guillaume Tirard is a fan of custom bikes too, and after a weekend getting bogged down in mud during a forest ride, he decided to modify a Bullet Electra Deluxe.
Compared to a stock Royal Enfield, Tirard’s bike has more considerably more power, more grip in the dirt, and less weight. He’s installed Tendance’s ‘Solution F Engine preparation,’ a kit that gives 27% more power via a high compression piston, a hotter cam, and a remapped injection system (and new control unit). The custom exhaust is slim and sits high, scrambler-style—a marked contrast to the unusually low placement of the standard exhaust.

The tank, headlamp and side panels have been refinished in matte black, and the tank fitted with classic knee grips. The wheels are now Akront-type Morad rims, shod with Mitas E-09 enduro rubber. New aluminum fenders have been installed, with a small rack behind the seat for carrying a daypack. Offroad bars create an airier cockpit and give the rider more leverage.

The chunky taillight and indicators of the stock Royal Enfield have been replaced by slimline items more in keeping with the retro feel of the bike, and the large two-up seat has given way to a lightweight brown leather sprung seat.

They’re relatively simple but well-chosen mods, and they completely transform the character of the rather staid Bullet Electra. Top marks for a thoughtful build—and I bet it’s très amusant to ride as well.
Visit the Tendance Roadster website (in French) and Facebook page for more details. Images by Daniel Beres.


via BIKEEXIF

Pistons, Passions and Sicilian Pleasures

No one does emotion quite like the Italians… especially when it comes to cars (food) and racing. This trailer promises an enticing mix of fun, thrills, humour and – of course – no lack of pistons and passion, if plans for the proposed filming in 2014 come to pass...

When the idea first came about, the film was to be documentary about Felice Nazzaro’s victory in the Targa Florio of 1913, in a car of his own manufacture. Later plans decided that it would instead concentrate on the early life of the legendary race’s founder, Vincenzo Florio, but whatever the final content, this short teaser shows what a fabulous Sicilian treat is in store.

OUTSIDERS MC BARELY LEGAL

The title barely legal should get a few new search engines pointing our way, but it is pretty appropriate for this latest build by Bert & Jene in the Netherlands, AKA Outsiders Motorcycles, as the bike has very little in the way of street-legal lighting and the pipes a L O U D. Loud.

The bike is built around a Honda CB250, but this one punches above it’s weight in stance and attitude. It started out as a modest build through Ab who came to them via Facebook. “He wanted a simple tune-up and some small mods. We met in Utrecht and talked about the bike and his vision with it.”

Ab had bought the bike and had originally planned to do all the work himself, but ‘life got in the way’ – as it does – so he went to Bert & Jene to finish the work. The initial instructions were very simple. It had to be a cafe, black with chrome, and fast. Ab’s idea was to get the guys to change a few things and then add new parts later, but after spending some time chewing it over he changed his mind; “fuck it, go all out”. A proper build was on.

“We started by tearing the bike down to the frame and began to modify it. The rear was chopped and looped. Chambers were inserted and welded to make the new shocks fit snugly. The battery tray was welded on to the frame and it was de-tabbed, and a bracket for the rear fender was welded on.”

The first thing we noticed about the bike were the chunky upside down forks. Spindly forks are not the most attractive feature of small capacity custom builds, and changing them out for something more meaty makes a big difference. In this case the donor tubes came from a Aprilia RS125. “The tripleclamp had to be modded and new needle bearings were placed. The top-clamp (which had “Aprilia” engraved) was welded flat and a hoop was welded on for the speedo.”

The front hub had to be modified to make the 320mm disk work with the speedo, and a bracket was fabbed-up to hold the shortie front fender. The tank remains the stock item, as early CB tanks were always pretty, and the seat is in the usual custom flat bench style. New tyres were joined by new chain & sprockets, grips and a simplified loom and switchgear.

Builds like this sound so easy, but things don’t always go as smoothly as you might hope. “The engine ran, so we took a quick scan (compression test, valve checkup etc) and found it was ok. When placing the engine back and doing final check-ups we couldn’t get the timing right. The camchain was half a tooth off either way. We took the engine apart a bit further and found out the previous owner had placed an non 250 camshaft and welded the 250 camsprocket on half-assed. We had to grind the cam in little chunks to get it out of there because the cam could not go out the normal way.” It had to be replaced.

The bike was delivered and Ab was overjoyed. “Hugs all round” apparently. Sounds like our kind of build-service. Thanks to Bert, Jene and Ab for sharing. This is the third Outsiders Motorcycles build to feature on these pages, and you can see more from Bert & Jene here on The Bike Shed and on their Facebook pages.

From beach to mountain peak: Oris Rally Clásico 2014

If the Spanish island of Mallorca means nothing more to you than sun, sand and sangria, there's a good chance you've never heard of the Oris Rally Clásico...

Well, now you have - and if you're remotely interested in classic rallying, I'd recommend getting your 2015 entry in as soon as possible because I've just returned from this year's event and it was truly impressive.

Climbing the Calobra

Organised by local petrolhead Antonio Dezcallar, this was the 10th edition of the rally which covers around 650km of the island in three days - much of it around some of the most breathtaking roads you're ever likely to get the opportunity to drive, including the legendary Calobra Pass which climbs 668 metres from sea level in a distance of 10 kilometres, thanks to its 26 hairpin bends.

As guests of the rally, Team Classic Driver competed in a mildly tweaked VW Karmann Ghia belonging to Dezcallar which, in the best air-cooled VW tradition, proved ready, willing and able to tackle anything that we threw at it - albeit at its own, rather sedate pace.

'Sedate' was certainly not a word that could be applied to some of the other cars on the entry list, which included more than a dozen highly tuned Porsche 911s (including one beautifully prepared by Classic Driver dealer Flat Six Cars), a Lancia Stratos, a Metro 6R4, a TR8 and a Shelby Mustang to name but a few.

From Shelby to (new) Stratos

Throw into the mix a Renault 5 Maxi Turbo driven by none other than French rally legend Jean Ragnotti and even the unique 'New Stratos', conceived, developed, owned (and driven) by German automotive supplies tycoon Michael Stoschek, and you have a recipe for unparalleled motoring fun.

With the stage roads closed to other traffic and lined with cheering fans, the event was charged with a fabulous atmosphere and we have to award full marks to the organisers for creating a rally which was truly thrilling, yet really well controlled from a safety point of view. For full results of both the regularity and race categories, see orisrallyclasico.com - which is also where to go if you decide to enter next year. We highly recommend it...

To mark its sponsorship of the rally, Oris has created a limited-edition (1,000 made) Calobra driver's chronograph, featuring a case back engraved with an image of the legendary Calobra pass which is known locally as the 'Nus de sa Corbata' or 'tie knot'.  It costs £2,650 – for further information, see oris.ch.

STEVE’S CB200T

This gorgeous little CB200T built by Steve Baugrudl proves once and for all that small really is beautiful. Steve has already wowed us once here in the shed with his stunning XS650 which was sold through The Bike Shed Custom Classifieds to a lucky bugger in New Zealand.  But unbeknown to us, Steve was working away on the CB at the same time.

The ’75 model came to Steve as a $60 Craigslist find from a local college student. Unsurprisingly, it was a complete mess with a badly dented tank from a CB175 and a load of parts missing.  It also hadn’t turned a wheel for years.   But despite the sorry state of the cosmetics, the engine had only done 2000 miles and it had great compression, so the only thing Steve had to do was clean the engine up a bit and rebuild the carbs.

In Steve’s opinion, the tank is the most important part of a build, and it took him a long time to find one that came complete with the rubber middle section and the chrome side pieces.  Eventually Ebay came to the rescue, and a mint CB200T tank winged its way to Milwaukee where it was treated it to an epoxy coating, and a stunning black and gold paint job.

The frame was heavily modified, you can’t make a CB look this pretty without getting the angle grinder out.  All the tabs were removed as was the rear end, and an integrated fender was welded into some new frame bracing. The rear seat pan was formed from steel sheet by a local fabricator, then the whole thing was painted black and clear coated. All electrics, including the battery, were tucked away underneath the seat, and the cafe racer stance was achieved with some vintage NOS clip ons.

The front disc brakes from the stock CB200 were shot and new calipers are impossible to find, so Steve swapped them out for a drum setup from a CB175.  A step backwards in performance, but a whole load more surface area to paint gold! Without doubt the striking feature of this bike (aside from the gold paint) is the high scrambler pipes. CL200 pipes are nearly impossible to find now, so instead Steve sourced a mint CL175 set on DoTheTon.  Apparently they fit right on without any modifications – why does that never happen to us??

We’re not the only ones who think this bike looks a little bit special, it features in a book entitled “How to Build a Cafe Racer” by photographer/writer Doug Mitchel, who also took the photos for this story. (http://amzn.com/1935828738) Steve says this bike doesn’t just look the business, he also says its a blast to ride being light, nimble and surprisingly pokey.  We’ll take your word for it on the performance side of things Steve, but in all honesty, we’d be too busy checking ourselves out in shop window reflections to notice.  Thanks for sharing mate, and we can’t wait to see what comes out of your shed next.