APOCALYPSE PAK

from http://www.thispak.com/

Regal Rovers: A Royal affair with Rangies

A scandal-free affair in the Royal Family? Yes, there is such a thing, at least when it comes to royal circles and their love of the Range Rover. The Royal Rangie is as much a part of the Queen’s public persona as her pastel-coloured hats and Corgis. Nor is it just the Queen who loves the luxurious SUV. 

Whether for State visits, hunting trips or to go to the races, the British Monarchy loves to arrive in a Range Rover – and so it has been since the first version of the luxury off-roader. When the Range Rover was officially launched in 1970, the British Royal Family acquired several variants of the three-door Range Rover ‘Classic’. It was perfect for State visits to Africa, for example, when the Queen needed to traverse the worst roads in comfort. The photo shows Elizabeth II with Prince Philip, standing in front of a white Range Rover on a visit to Zambia in 1970.



Prince Philip, a keen hunter, must appreciate the benefits of a modern-day Range Rover. His own models are easy to recognise, as they carry a special bonnet ornament that varies depending on the vehicle’s purpose: a galloping horse for horse racing and a Labrador with a dead pheasant in its mouth for hunting, and so on.



The royal love of Range Rovers has been passed down to subsequent generations of the Windsors. Both Princess Anne and Prince Charles are frequently spotted in them, while images were widely published of the then-pregnant Diana, sitting with the Prince of Wales on the bonnet of a green Range Rover at the Grand National. Although Charles today – as well as his children – seems to prefer Audis, it’s a Range Rover that the Prince will choose for turning up at a polo match. 



Despite the fact that the British Royals are not known for their modernism, the Windsors’ Range Rovers are almost always up to date. And it is usually the Queen herself behind the wheel, taking an active part, just as she did as a Princess during WWII, when she was photographed undertaking maintenance work on an Austin K2 ambulance.

Text: J. Philip Rathgen(ClassicDriver)
Photos: Getty Images

Sebastião Guerra’s FX650 SG-01

Sebastiao Guerra is from Lisbon in Portugal and has been a mechanic since he was just 18. He graduated to workshop leader in one of Portugal’s biggest Honda dealerships, so it’s fair to see he knows a lot about meddling with bikes from the big H. Since 2001 he’s been doing his own thing and this scrambler is the results of his labours, and it’s being featured in this month’s Motociclismo – a Portugese motorcycle mag.

The donor bike is a Honda FX650 Vigor 1999, which is not a well-loved or popular bike in Portugal – or anywhere else for that matter. It originally belonged to a customer, but Sebastiao liked it so much he snapped it up when the customer decided to sell, and he’s still wondering what else he can do to make it even better.

The bike has been stripped down and rebuilt, and every part and component has had some kind of modification or treatment – but many parts were successfully re-used or re-adapted to keep the costs under control, and other parts were made by hand, such as the battery box. The only new parts are the lights, exhaust, bars and tyres.

Sebastiao kept the original tank and seat, although this has been reshaped to match the frame, which has been chopped at the back. Black wrap keeps the high pipes from toasting his left leg.

Now that this bike has turned out so well, Sebastiao is well and truly bitten by the custom bike bug and already has SG-02 under way for a customer.

SG-02 will be based on the increasingly popular Honda NX650 Dominator, a bike which has produced a few really nice custom scramblers over the last 18 months, so we look forward to featuring his take on this platform in these pages.

Meanwhile Sebastiao looks justifiable pleased with himself. Meanwhile, picture credits to Rui Botas/Motociclismo

 from thebikeshed

1982 YAMAHA XS650

Ever since I saw the Yamaha built by Frenchman Sonic Seb, I’ve had a thing for slammed XS650s. Granted, they’re not the most practical of customs, but sheesh—they look good.

This one comes from Taiwan, the country best known for giving us Rough Crafts. Builder Mark Huang is based in Taipei, and like most Taiwanese builders, he faced a few challenges—the first being the scarcity of the XS650 in that country. “I had to get this 1982 bike from California,” Mark says, “but it was in great condition. I then spent four months turning it into a Japanese-style street bobber.”

Since 2005, Mark has been running a motorcycle parts company—so he’s seen a lot of bikes, and knows how to get the look he wants. Central to that look is the tank, and in this case it’s from a tiny Honda CB50. Finished with an amazingly intricate paintjob from Air Runner, it’s matched to a custom seat unit with the bare necessity of padding required for rider comfort. A custom-fabricated aluminum fender flows neatly over the 18” rear wheel.

The front suspension is stock XS650 but lowered just over three inches, and Mark fitted 11-inch shocks at the back. The final touch is a hand-made exhaust system, terminated with reverse cone mufflers. The level of finish throughout the XS650 is quite extraordinary.

The XS650 will join Mark’s 1977 Harley-Davidson shovel in his garage. If you’re inspired to build one yourself, check out our Archives for other XS650 builds from around the world.

from BIKEexif