Arai SZ-Ram IV "Cafè Racer" 2012

Foto: naps-jp.com

Vans OTW Alomar x Dimitri Coste

For his second collaboration with the Vans OTW Collection, Advocate Dimitri Coste redesigns the Alomar with his passion for motorcycles in mind. Clad in black leather, the Vans OTW x Dimitri Coste Alomar takes styling cues from biking boots and jackets, utilizing a toe guard and diamond stitch detailing into its construction. Checkered accents and flag logo tie back to Dimitri’s ongoing O.S.F.A. (One Size Fits All) project which promotes the amateur racing lifestyle while the alternating outsole and lace tip color blocking celebrate Mr. Coste’s French heritage. Custom tongue and hangtag branding complete the Vans OTW x Dimitri Coste Alomar for a limited release this month at select OTW retailers.

Stoner named as the 20th MotoGP™ Legend

The Australian becomes the 20th MotoGP™ Legend, joining an exclusive club, whose members are: Giacomo Agostini, Mick Doohan, Geoff Duke, Wayne Gardner, Mike Hailwood, Daijiro Kato, Eddie Lawson, Anton Mang, Angel Nieto, Wayne Rainey, Phil Read, Jim Redman, Kenny Roberts, Jarno Saarinen, Kevin Schwantz, Barry Sheene, Freddie Spencer, John Surtees and Carlo Ubbiali.

Stoner concluded his career at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana taking third position in a thrilling race ran in mixed conditions, five and a half months after announcing his decision to retire at the end of this season.

Big things were heralded for Stoner when, as a 15 year-old, he made his World Championship debut as a 125cc wildcard at Donington Park in 2001. Having graduated through the same academy system that also produced his future factory Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, Stoner fully capitalised on the bold move made by his family of moving to Europe to further his fledgling career.

A full time Grand Prix career started in the 250cc category under Lucio Cecchinello’s guidance in 2002, but it was a step down to the 125cc class the following season that saw Stoner’s talent begin to fully flourish with four podiums and a first victory in the final round of the campaign. In 2004 he challenged for the title, taking KTM’s first ever Grand Prix win and ending the season fifth overall.

A step back up to 250s with Cecchinello’s team in 2005 produced a thrilling battle with Pedrosa for the title as Stoner amassed five wins on the Aprilia, and the next year he and the LCR team debuted in the premier MotoGP class on board a Honda as the Australian displayed flashes of brilliance – which included a pole position in only his second race at Qatar and second place in Turkey – mixed with a few disappointing crashes, all part of the learning experience. He had shown enough to encourage Ducati to make an offer to ride on their factory team the next season, and what followed was a stunning campaign.

A maiden MotoGP victory in the first race of 2007 at Qatar was a self-confessed surprise for both rider and team, but once he followed this up with wins at Turkey and China a title challenge became a more than realistic target. His standout performance at Catalunya, where he battled toe-to-toe with five-time champion Valentino Rossi will go down as one of the great races in history, whilst he dominated the mid-season with pole-to-flag victories at three consecutive races at Laguna Seca, Brno and Misano. Stoner went on to secure the title with four rounds to spare, and ended 2007 with a total of 10 wins, 14 podiums and 5 poles.

Defending his title in 2008, Stoner fought rival Rossi intensely as the pair crossed swords on a number of occasions, their duel at Laguna Seca still being talked about as one of the greatest battles of recent years, and the Australian eventually ended the season runner-up to his Italian adversary despite taking 6 wins and 9 poles in a strong second campaign on the Desmosedici.

2009 did not run a smooth course for Stoner, a mid-season three-race break due to fatigue uncovered a lactose intolerance that had affected his physical condition on the bike, and he ended the season 4th overall in the standings. 2010 was to prove not much easier as he took only three wins – all in the final third of the season – on an increasingly hard to tame Desmosedici. By that stage it had already been announced that Stoner would ride for the factory Repsol Honda team in 2011.

The switch proved a resounding success as the 2007 World Champion displayed the same kind of dominant form that delivered him his first title four years earlier. Pole position and victory in the opening round in Qatar was a sign of things to come, and by the time Stoner won the race in Phillip Island to clinch the title with two more rounds to spare he had already taken nine victories. Added to that race success was an incredible consistency, which saw him finish off the podium just once – in the second round at Jerez where he crashed out through no fault of his own. Winning his home race in Australia for a fifth consecutive season handed Stoner not only his second World title, but his 32nd career MotoGP victory, as he took victory from another pole position – his 11th of the season; this represented a new record for the most poles in one season in the MotoGP four-stroke era.

Stoner went into the 2012 season as clear favourite after his dominance in 2011, however the first races revealed that Jorge Lorenzo would prove a much tougher challenge than the year before. In addition to this, rumours about his retirement had been rife from the second race in Jerez, which the Australian ultimately confirmed in Le Mans. His year was cruelly interrupted by a nasty injury obtained in a crash in Indianapolis, which saw his fracture his right ankle and damage his ligaments badly, keeping him out for three races. He came back from injury in Japan, yet it was not until his final home race in Phillip Island that he once again showed his true colours, with one of the most dominant performances of the year. He bowed out in the final race in Valencia with a podium finish, taking third in the championship with five wins, ten podiums, five pole positions and ten front row starts.

Stoner retired at the age of 27, having amassed two MotoGP™ World Championships, 45 Grand Prix victories, 89 podium finishes and 43 pole-positions.

WITH http://www.motogp.com

1938 DKW NZ350

from pipeburn motorcycles 

Some bikes we receive come served on a platter with amazing photos, hilarious quotes and pages and pages of information from the builder. Other times we have to work for it. Like this amazing DKW which was spotted in some random Moscow motorcycle club photos. After a bit of detective work and a couple of emails to our 'friends' in the Russian mafia, we quickly tracked down the owner/builder. His name is Vasiliy Arkhipov and as you might have guessed from looking at this bike, he has some skills up his sleeve. After working in the automotive industry for over 7 years, Vasiliy who is only 30 years old, now works in the aerospace industry as an industrial designer, specializing in carbon fibre. So he decided to use all of his talents to create a bike that is out of this world. 

To fully appreciate the build and the bike, I have to give you a really quick history lesson on Russian motorcycle manufacturing. It might sound like something out of a Russian spy movie, but this bikes history started back in 1945 when drawings and equipment were taken back to the USSR from the German motorcycle manufacturing plant DKW. They made an almost exact copy of the legendary DKW NZ350 at the Russian plant called Izhevsk, and named it the IZH350, which became one of the first production motorcycle in Russia.  

Here's Vasiliy to tell us more about this unique project. "A good friend of mine got one German made 1938 DKW  in very poor condition and he also had some parts from the IZH. In Russia, the bike is valuable to collectors so we decided to reincarnate it. We had a spare engine from Yamaha Diversion, which we decided to use. Wheels and brakes were taken from a Yamaha R6. Then we had to redesign the frame, making the motor fit inside it. After that we redrew the tank, making the diffusers for carbs that hides the filters. Rear wing, graying and bracket for registration number all made of carbon fiber. The electrical system and battery are located in a leather box under the seat."

This ambitious project took Vasiliy around 10 months to complete. "At the end, I've got a very comfortable bike for every day use" he says. We think he got a lot more than that. Vasiliy has built a stunning bike that is part vintage, part modern, part historic, part futuristic, part innovative and part genius. And my favourite part? Those carbs going through the tank.