SHINYA KIMURA’S ‘FASTER SON’ YAMAHA MT-07

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EXCLUSIVE Shinya Kimura is probably the world’s most famous custom motorcycle builder right now. But despite this fame, he’s a somewhat enigmatic figure.

He studied insects at college, but chose motorcycle mechanics as a career. It was a smart move: he quickly shot to fame in the 90s building ‘samurai choppers’ at Zero Engineering, a company he founded with backing from the aftermarket parts giant Plot Inc.

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Several hundred low-ridin’ choppers later, Shinya Kimura left Zero, left Japan, and moved to the small town of Azusa in California. In 2006 he set up Chabott Engineering and now builds three or four bikes a year, reputedly costing $100,000 or more. The waiting list is well over a year.

Kimura works on his own terms. He doesn’t build bikes to order, and doesn’t follow trends. So it was a surprise to hear that he’s just built an ‘official’ custom for Yamaha Europe. But digging deeper, maybe it’s not such a surprise: his very first bike was a Yamaha.

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“I have an emotional attachment to Yamaha,” Shinya says. “The first large motorbike I bought was the DT-1. I also loved the SR series, and I’ve always owned one or two of the SR400, SR500 or the XT500 since I was a teenager.”

Yamaha’s product manager Shun Miyazawa set the wheels in motion for the build. “We have been discussing with many custom builders, including Shinya, what role Yamaha should be taking in this growing custom world,” Shun reports.

“We had some ideas in mind already, and Shinya Kimura proposed exactly the same starting point—our modern 700cc liquid cooled twin engine.”

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An MT-07 (AKA the FZ-07 in the USA and Canada) was delivered to Shinya’s workshop. The middleweight roadster has garnered rave reviews from journalists and owners alike, and Shinya was similarly impressed.

Despite his focus on traditional metalworking and craftsmanship, he doesn’t believe manufacturers should revisit past glories. “It wouldn’t be right if you replicated the old designs and started selling them just because they look cool.

“Respecting old design and assimilating it, and then creating something new, should be the way to go for those who create and build today, including me.”

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The bike is called ‘Faster Son.’ It’s the first in a planned run of high-end customs mixing modern technology with vintage style—forging a connection between Yamaha’s current products and the iconic machines of the past.

So Shinya has completely reworked the MT-07 without diluting its usability. “I wanted to express my own taste without spoiling the important functions, such as riding, stopping, speeding and cornering,” he says.

“The engine is the latest technology from Yamaha; it’s not like the vintage engines with beautiful cooling fins. But the overall design of ‘Faster Son’ does not obstruct the newer design elements, or the nostalgic element, but rather flows and blends the two together.”

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There’s a hint of green on the tank that harks back to the classic Yamaha XS1. “To me the XS1 and XS650 are very symbolic, they represent Yamaha’s design philosophy,” Shinya says.

“They are bikes that never look dated, and continue to look beautiful in everyone’s eyes. That’s what I hope to inspire in current motorbikes…I was aiming to create a line for the bike that flows. In another words, a harmony, just like the XS1.”

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It sounds like a hard task given the MT-07’s ultra-modern hardware, but Shinya has made it work. ‘Faster Son’ was revealed at the Wheels & Waves festival in France, and immediately stood apart from all the other customs on display. The metalwork is extraordinary, and it doesn’t wear any influences on its sleeves.

It’s not a cookie-cutter “café racer.” It has fenders, a functional mirror and exhaust system, full instrumentation, and grippy Pirelli Phantom Sportscomp tires.

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“I looked within myself to make sure the function, form, and my personal design philosophy did not conflict with each other,” says Shinya.

“Always at the front of my mind is making motorbikes that I want to see, that I want to ride, and that I can have fun with. It makes me happy to create timeless beauty without following trends and fashions.”

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According to Shun Miyazawa, there will be more Faster Sons to come from Yamaha.

But Shinya Kimura has set the bar high. We can’t wait to see the next offspring.

Yamaha Europe | Chabott Engineering

via BIKEexif

‘81 Honda CB900F – 2 Wheels Miklos

Written by Marlon Slack.

2 Wheels Miklos is a workshop based in Surrey, England who restore, sell and customize everything from leaky old Nortons to leaky new Harley Davidsons. And while some of their work is fairly traditional, with nut-and-bolt stock Japanese super sports and ailing British twins routinely bought back to life, this time around Miklos have wheeled out this curious 1981 CB900F Bol d’Or. Equal parts 80’s tailored cigarette sponsorship, 60’s roadside coffee and with just a hint of the Monster energy drink crowd thrown in, the old Honda has found a new lease on life as a bike designed to turn heads in the summer sun.

Looks aside, the guys at Miklos wanted the bike to be low, tight and fast. And when hunting for horsepower out of an old bike, there’s far worse places to start than the Bol d’Or. While its predecessor, the CB750F, was an incredible performer for its time it was becoming outmatched in the late 70’s when paired against the blisteringly fast Kawasaki Z series. Honda sent their crack team of engineers back to the drawing board and they produced the CB900F. Featuring 90 brake horsepower of reliable, useable horsepower cradled in a frame that wouldn’t try and throw you down the road when you grabbed a fistful of brakes.

In its day, the engine produced excellent mid-range performance paired with typical Japanese reliability so the modifications Miklos did were pretty straightforward. It was outfitted with a set of pod filters, the carburettors were jetted and Italian Marving 4-into-2 header pipes were fitted to mufflers fabricated in-house.

But to get the bike low and tight, considerably more work was required. Öhlins piggyback suspension was fitted to the rear, while the front forks and both wheels were taken from a modern Triumph Trophy sport tourer. EBC contour wavy brakes were fitted with stainless steel lines that run up to a Brembo radial master cylinder – and if the braking setup is designed to haul the transcontinental Trophy to a stop, this Bol d’Or should be able to stand on its nose rather easily.

The Harris clip-ons and a Norvil nose cone fitted by Miklos brings the rider closer to the café racer crouch than the original 900’s ‘sit up and beg’ riding position. At the rear the bike runs the distinctive Z1 ducktail seat finished in white, which when combined with the white fairing and guards gives the bike an air of cool 80’s track day special.

However, the finish on the tank is much more ostentatious. Rather than doing some of the elaborate paint schemes seen on their other builds, the whole tank was stripped and chromed. That’s right – it’s not an aftermarket aluminium unit but the whole 20 litre fuel tank was given a mirror finish. And yes, they say it is as difficult to keep clean as you’d imagine.

2 Wheels Miklos pride themselves on bikes that are reliable, built well and turn heads. And when you look through their website and come across their brass-bell-toting 1200cc WL replica Harley and baby blue chequered BMW R80 scrambler, you can see they’re doing a pretty good job at it.

They’re a workshop with a lot of ambition, a wide appreciation for every kind of bike you can imagine and judging by some of their other builds, no small amount of humour. Watch this space.

via PIPEBURN

24 coffees in 24 hours – on night watch with Porsche at Le Mans

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is not just demanding for the teams racing – much is required of the spectators, too. Our own J. Philip Rathgen didn’t want to miss a minute of the race, so set about drinking a cup of coffee every hour. Here's who he caught up with during his caffeine-fuelled 24 hours…

There’s hardly a sports-racing team that doesn’t dream of taking home the coveted overall victory at Le Mans, such is the race’s fame and prestige. As such, I decided that I wanted to experience every minute of this year’s edition, to find out exactly where the fascination comes from. Naturally, I sought help along the way, by talking to Le Mans veterans, team bosses and motorsport fans in general. And to defy fatigue? An hourly intake of caffeine, from flag to flag. 

Espressos one to six – the start

Friedrich Enzinger is a native Styrian, and seems surprisingly relaxed while I tell him of my plan to stay awake. Then again, he is the team manager of Porsche’s LMP1 programme, and probably has far more important things on his mind, like trying to win the team’s 17th overall victory at Le Mans. Porsche returned last year to the top flight after a 16-year absence. The race will soon be underway, so I ask how he’s feeling. “I’m very excited. A little nervous, but I mustn’t show this to my team.” And what will he drink to stay awake? “I am Styrian, and drink only water,” he says with a smirk, before disappearing into his box. 

I’m faced with a huge trailer with four big antennae protruding from the roof, up into the sky. “Pretty impressive, huh?” asks a young man, dressed in Porsche Motorsport apparel. “Do you want to have a look around?” I nod, and follow the chap, whose name is Sebastian, up into a room above the trailer. Fortunately, coffee is served – hour three’s cup seems like an age ago, so hour four’s is a welcome treat. The vast bank of screens, flashing red and green, suggest that this is where the team’s live data is recorded. “These help to detect errors on the cars in the early stages of the race,” says Sebastian. Another coffee down and without wanting to disrupt the man any longer, I get on my way just as 919 Hybrid #19 surges into the pits. 

The first crash... between cups seven and eight

Tirelessly, the cars contest lap after lap, as the sun slowly sets below the Porsche Curves, shrouding the asphalt in darkness. Suddenly there’s a scare on the track: a Porsche GTE car spins and catches fire, the driver quickly extracting himself from the inferno, thankfully unscathed.

While ordering my ninth espresso, I begin chatting to an English motorsport enthusiast. “Forget Silverstone or the Nürburgring," he says; “Le Mans is the best race in the world for me. The atmosphere is unique, and no other race really separates the wheat from the chaff like this one.” Upon leaving, he issues me with some important advice: “gin is a far better substitute for coffee, and the best help against fatigue.” 

Pit stop on the 12th cup

It’s three o’clock in the morning, and just half of the race is complete. I wonder how the drivers of each car can withstand the physical and mental strain Le Mans presents. Even with an abundance of caffeine in my system, it’s the constant, enchanting action on the track that’s really keeping me awake.

In the paddock I meet with Klaus Bischoff, a Porsche motorsport veteran. As a race engineer, the Swabian was heavily involved during the glory days of the 1970s and 80s. Among the hustle and bustle, we order a coffee in the hallowed halls of the Porsche LMP1 box. Bischoff explains to me how, as a boy, he used to wait for hours on a highway bridge near his home in Asperg for a Porsche 550 Spyder to howl past on a test-drive. “From then on I knew that I wanted to work on this race car,” he says. For Bischoff, the most important Le Mans of them all was in 1971. “I was one of two mechanics taking care of 917k number 22, the car in which Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep won the race. A victory at La Sarthe for any mechanic is a formative event for his whole life.” I’m beginning to understand the mystique and allure of this 13.5km circuit. 

Obsolete caffeine

Another six coffees down and I find myself in the Porsche team tent, trying not to nod off in front of the television monitors broadcasting the race. It’s time for another cup, and while I hunt, I speak to the grandson of Porsche’s founder, Ferdinand Porsche. Wolfgang Porsche first visited Le Mans when he was a young boy. “I must have been 10 or 11,” he says. “At my first Le Mans I wanted to stay awake for the whole race, too. When I was tired and weary, my mother would advise me to lie down for 10 minutes. So that’s what I would do, but, given how tired I was, I would end up sleeping for half an hour, and wake up incredibly annoyed at myself.” That’s a feeling I understand only too well. 

The last laps and the last cups of coffee

At a famous and historic race such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it’s almost impossible not to run into a racing legend along the way. Take Jacky Ickx, for example, the six-times Le Mans winner and veteran of many disciplines of motorsport. He’s with his daughter, Vanina Ickx. I ask them both what they remember of their first Le Mans experiences. “I can’t really answer,” says Vanina. “I knew that there was some awfully long race in France, but I probably only really took note when my father raced here for the final time in 1985”. Jacky laughs, adding “I only knew of Le Mans when I started racing here. Before it did not play a role in my life, and I never dreamt of driving in the race.” In any case, a win at Le Mans is definitely the basic ingredient of a racing legend. “As a racing driver, you aimed to win at Le Mans, Monaco and Indianapolis,” says Jacky. Quite.

24 coffees; 17 victories

The race enters the final two hours. More and more people filter into the Porsche tent, because two 919 Hybrids occupy first and second positions on the track, followed by the strongest of the three Audis. Armed with a cup of coffee, stood next to me is Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the president of the watch brand Chopard, which has sponsored the LMP1 programme since its inception. “For me, this race is legendary,” he says. “So many big names of motorsport have taken the start here, and as a young boy I was completely fascinated with Le Mans. It’s simply wonderful.” Also present is the president and CEO of Bugatti and Bentley, Wolfgang Dürheimer, who shares the passion for the race. “You know, as a child, my bedroom walls were plastered with posters of my heroes such as Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell,” he says. So will we see Bentley make a return to Le Mans? Dürheimer smiles, without comment. We will see…

The two Porsches lead the field, followed closely by the Audi. The tension is high, as everyone’s eyes are trained on the monitor following Nico Hulkenberg as he guides his 919 Hybrid to the finish. And then the dreams of many of those I have spoken to in the last 24 hours become a reality – Porsche wins Le Mans for the 17th time. The rapture is enormous. For me, it’s time for my 24th and final cup of coffee. As I order, I get a tap on the shoulder from Friedrich Enzinger. I congratulate him, and we drink our last cups of coffee, before the victory celebration lasts well into the night. 

Photos: Porsche, Jörn Kengelbach 

You can find historic Porsche racing carsfor sale in the Classic Driver Market. 

Spotted in London - classics and supercars spreading their wings

With the longest day in the UK fast approaching (just where has the first half of this year gone?), it appears owners of classic and modern cars alike are keen to make the most of their machines, come rain or shine…

Regularly driven rarities

Our talented and hugely popular street-snapper Alex Penfold has, as per usual, been out and about on the streets in and around London, capturing the very finest classic and supercars, out in the wild. We particularly love the 'Wolf of Wall Street', driving his Countach in the pouring rain. Bravo.

For more, visit Alex's regularly updated Flickr and Instagram pages.

Tatoo....

Inspiration vol.06

INSPIRATION Vol.06 -HAPPINESS IS…- on February 6th and 7th, 2015. 6th Annual Vintage Clothing & Americana Fashion World Gathering at L.A. MART Los Angeles, California. Presented by Rin Tanaka (My Freedamn!)