Jules Cluzel meets his Suzuki and World Superbike crew

FIXI Crescent Suzuki new signing Jules Cluzel made his first visit to the team’s headquarters in Verwood, England today to get his first chance to meet his crew and try out for size the Suzuki GSX-R1000 that he will be racing in next year’s Superbike World Championship.

Cluzel immediately felt at home in the fresh surroundings, as he was introduced to his new Crew Chief Lez Pearson and the rest of the team that he will be working with next season. The 24-year-old Frenchman was eager to swing his leg over the race bike and immediately said that he couldn’t wait to get it out on the track, because it felt right straight away.

The FIXI Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 was emblazoned with Cluzel’s racing number 16 when he first set eyes on the bike and he quickly adapted himself to the seating position, even asking the crew to make adjustments, and suggested some future alterations, to enable him to start the first test with a bike that fits him.

Cluzel will get his first chance to ride the Yoshimura-powered FIXI Crescent Suzuki at a test in Spain early next year, before he begins his competitive career with his new team at Phillip Island in Australia on Sunday 24th February. Before that though he will meet up with new team-mate Leon Camier tomorrow, when the pair will be attending an official function on behalf of the team’s title sponsor FIXI.

Jules Cluzel:

“I am really happy to have come here to England and meet the team and see my new bike. I am really looking forward to riding the Suzuki GSX-R and I am very excited about the first exit in the first test, because the bike felt great as soon as I sat on it, now I want to ride it! This is a new challenge and I am really happy to be involved in this with FIXI Crescent Suzuki. I have met all my new crew and they were really friendly and I’m really looking forward to working with all of them.”

Lez Pearson – Crew Chief:

“I have met Jules briefly before, but it was good to meet him properly today and get his first impressions of the bike. I became a fan of his last season and saw that he was a real talent and I’m sure that is something we can help him grow at FIXI Crescent Suzuki. He’s an intelligent and enthusiastic guy and the whole crew are excited about seeing what he can do on the bike. He’s already given us some ideas about how he would like the bike setting up for him, so we already have an idea of what he wants. We are all really looking forward to working with him and the first test can’t come soon enough.”

with TWOWHEELSBLOG

HONDA CB750 STAINLESS BY STEEL BENT CUSTOMS

This Honda CB750 cafe racer by Steel Bent Customs is a fantastic example of minimalist custom motorcycle building, there’s nothing on the bike that doesn’t need to be there from a purely functional perspective and I kind of think that this is how it should be.

The bike started life as a 1980 Honda CB750 in need of a little TLC, the team at SBC stripped her down and gave her a good sorting before rebuilding her with only the absolute essentials. They fabricated a set of clip-on handlebars, fitted a set of levers from a GSXR, added a fuel tank from a 1982 Honda CB900 Super Sport and bolted on a brushed 4 into 1 exhaust.

As is the norm with Steel Bent builds they took the engine to bits and re-jetted the carburettors, changed all the fluids, added new tires on the front and back, a new sealed battery, new plugs and wires. Considering the stock reliability of the CB750 this cleaned up example should be capable of a hell of a lot of milage without breaking a sweat.

If you’re interested in the bike you can pick it up for $6,500 USD via Steel Bent Customs here, they’ll be posting it on eBay next week so now might be a good time to get in before people start bidding.

from Silodrome

Toyota GT 86 ad banned in UK because it promotes 'dangerous driving'

Toyota's "The Real Deal" advert for the GT 86 has been banned in the UK because it "condoned dangerous driving".

Although Toyota’s ad is set in a fake CGI city as a way to distance itself from any sort of dangerous real-world driving, it has been banned in the United Kingdom because it might “encourage motorists to drive irresponsibly” and also because it “condoned dangerous driving.”

One of Toyota’s representatives told UK’s Advertising Standards Authority that the ad doesn’t condone such behavior and that it is impossible to recreate it in real-life conditions. Although it’s banned from TV, the ad is live on YouTube and everyone can see it. 

Kawasaki Custom Anniversary Z1 showbike – EICMA 2012