THE “SPIRIT OF MUNRO”

A moving tribute to Burt Munro and Indian’s new Thunder Stroke 111 engine.

Photographer :  Barry Hathaway via cycleworld

While we can all agree that Indian’s new Thunder Stroke 111 V-Twin is perhaps the most significant cruiser news since, well, the Harley-Davidson V-Rod, what about the cool retro-looking machine it powered at today’s historic Daytona unveiling? The stunning creation is called the “Spirit of Munro,” and in addition to being a rolling technology demonstrator for the new engine, this red streamliner adorned with gold-leaf Indian heads is a moving tribute to the “Munro Special,” the 1920 Scout-based creation that set speed records at Bonneville in the 1960s and was later immortalized in 2005’s “The World’s Fastest Indian.”

“We wanted to bring the engine to life in a compelling way,” explained Indian’s Robert Pandya, who called the “Spirit of Munro” an “emotional piece that celebrates the new engine while honoring all at Indian who came before us.” Entrusted with the build was Jeb Scolman, the 32-year-old proprietor of Jeb’s Metal and Speed, a Long Beach, California, shop that specializes in metal shaping and building hot rods. Scolman—a Bonneville veteran perhaps best known for his stunning recreation of Frank Lockhart’s 1928 Stutz Black Hawk land-speed-record car—is an old-school builder who relies on his eyes and hands more than computers and schematics.

Although the new bike has the same overall length as Munro’s original (13 feet, 7 inches), Scolman says it’s a bigger machine, largely because the crankcase of the new Thunder Stroke 111 engine spans 20 inches from side to side. The result, even with the hand-formed aluminum body’s exceptionally tight tolerances, is an overall shape that looks “more like a tuna than a salmon,” said Scolman, who fitted it with a “less organic” dorsal fin and also made sure the rider straddles the machine to emphasize it’s a motorcycle and not just a streamliner that happens to have two wheels. Moreover, while the new Indian clearly looks different from the original “Munro Special,” Pandya said he and his team really liked the idea of having the rider’s legs a bit exposed, which allows a boot to be put down when needed. “The bike is a clear reference to history,” explained Pandya, “but with a forward-looking vision of building something unique.”

Scolman said the bike, with a custom mild-steel frame, inverted, heavily raked fork, conventional twin-shock swingarm and large Brembo brakes (with proportioning valve), has not been built for a specific class at Bonneville, but he feels it could safely hit 200 mph, provided the engine has enough power. But that won’t happen this year, as the bike will be traveling the country on a publicity tour (on a special Scolman-built trailer, replete with Indian’s famous skirted fenders) , which will prevent it from getting the testing it clearly will need. But mark our words: The “Spirit of Munro” is no empty shell. It will see the salt in 2014.

Retro Moto's ‘81 Honda CM400

When you get down to brass tacks, being a bike customiser really is all about the metal. Whether you're welding it, grinding it, or shaving it off on a lathe, it's the way you use it that makes or breaks a great design. Some like it seamlessly smooth and reflective like a B-29 bomber. Some like it matt black like a charcoal cat hunting in the night, and some prefer it rough and corroded so it looks like it's 1000 years old. But which ever way you cut it, the more you love it and understand it, the better your handwork is going to look. Retro Moto's Junior Burrell is a guy that clearly loves the stuff, which was immediately obvious when we first saw this, his latest build. The wealth of intricate details, handmade parts, and array of different patinas says it in spades. If you love metal, we're guessing you'll love this bike.

Here's Junior. “I am a fabricator from Fort Worth, Texas. I run a part time motorcycle fabrication shop called RetroMoto. It’s a single man shop and I specialize in hand forming steel tanks.”

“I am inspired by an old man craftsman that didn’t have technology at their disposal. I chose to build motorcycles because the options and possibilities for creativity are endless. I build to be able to transform raw steel into art.”

“The bike is a 1981 CM400; I purchased it the day after my previous build was stolen. It was just frame, wheels, and a locked up engine. I was able to find an '82 450 with a six speed, so it was purchased also. Since I was building it for myself, I wanted to make as many of the parts as possible.”

“These bikes are not popular because of the shape of the sub frame, so I chopped it off and built a more aggressive one. The hand formed steel tank is inspired by old Italian race bikes.”

“I built the tail to follow the lines and the seat is wood base with leather pads. I freshed up the engine and had the head ported and polished. The clip-ons are tach and headlight brackets are all connected and are one piece.”

“The rear sets are composed of the original engine's
oil pump and a pocket bike transmission”

“A couple of buddies of mine talked me into building the pie cut under tail exhaust, and I’m glad they did. The rear sets are composed of the original engine's oil pump and a pocket bike transmission. The bike is a blast to ride and do so every chance I get.”

(Photos by the obviously very talented Dat Mai) via PIPEBURN

The Nira Alpina Hotel, Silvaplana: A Bohemian newcomer

Just five kilometres from St Moritz, a new boutique hotel has opened. The Nira Alpina sits above the village of Silvaplana, and aims to be the perfect destination for winter sports enthusiasts looking for something less traditional than that which is usually found in the area.

You can leave your formal clothes at home. The 70-room hotel is made for relaxation. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows offer panoramic views of the Engadin mountains (a view always best taken in with a drink in your hand).Skiing in and out of the Nira Alpina could not be easier. A glass-enclosed covered walkway links the hotel to the Corvatsch cable car. Not only will guests be able to reach the slopes with ease, they’ll also be able to enjoy untouched powder snow, even being able to carve turns all the way down to the hotel’s main entrance.



That fur coat might yet come in handy - but only during bracing exercise on the slopes, not covering the shoulders for yet another formal cocktail party. The Nira Alpina is just not that sort of place.

For further information, see Nira Alpina Hotel website: www.niraalpina.com

Laura Leivo(ClassicDriver)
Photos:Nira Alpina

NASCAR POWER: THE RS-R FORMULA D ASIA 86

When faced with the need to stand out, a true challenge in any forms of motorsports, it’s pretty safe to say that RS-R have taken the correct path. With a need to replace their successful, yet ageing JZA80 Supra, for this year’s Formula D Asia championship, they ended up doing things a little differently. It was decided early on that the ZN6 would be the perfect choice for this whole new project…

…but the true dilemma came when they began brainstorming ideas for the powertrain. What RS-R and Flatwell have achieved with the 2JZ is nothing short of impressive, building upon the straight-six’s capabilities and reliability extremely well, extracting superb levels of performance that kept them competitive in the various drift series they entered their Supra in. However, while the “2J” would have been a great choice, it would also have been – how can we put it – predictable. So, what did they do? They took the complete opposite path and in the process challenged both themselves as well as their drivers. The result is the car you see here, well a 95% finished interpretation of it at least. So if you focus beyond the “in-progress” looks your will find what has to be the most complex drift-oriented Toyota 86 anyone has so far created…

…boasting a TRD NASCAR V8 swap. Now for all you Formula D fans out there, seeing V8 transplants must be pretty normal but you need to understand how uncommon this is in Japan. This is the first time RS-R have attempted anything like this and the result is simply mouthwateringly impressive.

Plus, seeing those TRD head covers in a Toyota chassis, well it just looks so right doesn’t it! The V8 motor was sourced from the US and originally came from Ed Pink Racing Engines (EPRE) in California.

EPRE converted it to fuel injection by welding in eight injector ports on the existing inlet manifold, fed by a pair of Wilson Manifolds fuel rails.

An LS-series electric throttle was then added along with the top mounted 90-degree elbow, the whole assembly along with Blitz mesh filter sticking right through the hood, something that will become the car’s most recognizable feature, especially after Kei Miura of TRA Kyoto completes the hood scoop that will cover it all. But more on that later on.

Ignition is handled again by a direct coil system borrowed from an LS engine, replacing the distributor that was run originally.

The engine already came with billet aluminum anchor points, so what Flatwell had to do (the shop that was commissioned to build the 86) is machine some mounts and position the whole unit properly in the vast engine bay. And I say vast because there is plenty of clearance all around the engine, one of the benefits of designing a car around a boxer motor. The 86 really is made for swaps!

The stainless steel headers have individual temperature sensors for each cylinder, one of the many parameters that are logged via the Motec engine management system. In this way the best possible performance can be extracted safely from the engine at all rpm, as the ECU continuously monitors and adapts to even the smallest variation of temperature, A/F ratio and knock. This allows both drivers of the car, Manabu Orido and Fredric Aasbø to make full use of the close to 750 HP the motor churns out without many concerns. This is precisely why RS-R went for this set-up, the NASCAR engine offering the best of everything – ample power and torque, simplicity and reliability. All they had to do it drop it into the compact ZN6 chassis and set it all up for its new dorisha duty!

Lubrication is dry-sump of course but for best weight distribution the oil tank, as you will see further down, is located in the trunk and feeds the scavenger pumps up front via very long and very large diameter braided lines. Big engine big everything else – including the truck sized Fram oil filter.

We were invited to check out the car’s first shakedown test in Suzuka Twin the other week, where both Orido and Fredric worked hard with the team to iron out little problems and get everything working properly. You will be finding out all about that from Fredric’s own blog soon, but needless to say it was impressive seeing the RS-R guys at work once again, fine tuning an all new machine and make it perform so damn well in such short time! But enough of that, let’s get back to the car itself! As you have probably already noticed the exterior of the 86 has been pumped up with a full 6666 Customs Rocket Bunny aero, the same that is used on Fredric’s own car back in Norway. Kei Miura will be adding some custom touches like the hood scoop and a custom rear diffuser section, but the most important additions to the car itself –  from a performance point of view – were the front and rear overfenders. These allow the Enkei wheels to be pushed right out to increase front & rear track and give tons of space for aggressive negative camber, as well as toe and caster adjustments.

Behind the front RP03 hides a Project µ brake upgrade with big 6-pot calipers and 2-piece slotted discs, 4-pots at the back Also take a look at the spacers that have been added to further increase track and play around with geometry on the test day.

To appreciate the car you have to look beyond its unfinished, multi-colored exterior. The stock red doors are to be replaced with lightweight dry carbon items to slash a good 20+ kg from the body and the whole car will be painted white before the trademark RS-R graphics are applied.

There isn’t much bumper left, everything has been cut away to expose the underpinnings of the custom rear treatment. The tubular section is there to hold the custom cooling set up in place…

…as well as to offer an anchor point for the megaphone titanium exhaust. Actually it shouldn’t even be called an exhaust but a screamer pipe, from where thunder is released when Fredric or Orido give the slightest prod to the throttle. Never has anyone heard a V8 scream like this in Japan, that’s for sure!

Sending drive to the rear wheels is a Winters Performance quick change rear end that not only allows tons of adjustability for the various tracks in the Formula D Asia series, but great reliability…

…when pulling these sort of full-throttle-in-fourth-gear epic drift moves! The rest of the driveline is finished off with a Hollinger sequential transmission…

…further helping to annihilate lots of sets of Yokohama Advan Neova rubber!

Undo the two rear latches and the top quick release pins and the featherweight carbon trunk lid is easily lifted off the car…

…revealing this work of art. It may look extremely complex in there but the need to balance the weight efficiently in the car dictated the need to shift components into the trunk.

The big tank is for the dry-sump lubrication and on top of holding 12 liters of top of the line synthetic oil, it’s also fitted with a warmer to get the oil up to temperature before it’s circulated into the engine.  The rest of the piping you see feeds the two L-shaped radiators that have been beautifully…

…positioned on each corner of the trunk area… Along with the engine’s water pump…

…an additional two electric pumps are added to help flow the coolant the extra distance.

It’s all topped off with this overflow tank.

To further help shave weight off the rear glass has been replaced with a lightweight lexan sheet while the roof has been hacked off and a dry carbon one fitted in its place. The attention to detail truly is mind boggling.

This rough cover placed over the lateral rear windows is a piece custom made by Nakawatase-san, Kei Miura’s newest employee and known for his crazy military themed Volklinger S14 Silvia. Once cut out it will help channel even more air towards the rear radiators and give another bespoke touch to the car’s exterior.

Open the soon to be replaced stock doors…

…and your first sight is the highly bolstered Bride racing seat, where Fredric and Orido will do their thing.

This Nardi steering wheel is what Orido used during the test days, with Fredric preferring a deeper cupped Tanida item for a more “rally-style” driving position.

All engine parameters are displayed via the Motec SDL3 digital display dash unit…

…and if you peek behind the semi-stripped stock dash you can just about see the Motec M800 unit, the brains of the car.

I thought this was a neat way to take care of the switch panel, rather than lining up a bunch of old style toggle switches on the center console everything is cleanly  arranged in this easy to understand switch panel. The buttons are even rubberized so that you don’t slip while pressing them while wearing race gloves.

With Fredric being quite a bit taller than Orido, an adjustable pedal box was a must so that, just like in the Supra, both drivers can be easily accommodated.

One of the most important commands in a drift car is of course the handbrake (or e-brake/side-brake depending on what sort of English you speak). The level actuates the Wilwood hydraulic pump that instantly locks the rear wheels to initiate drifts or help the driver prolong them.

The rear section of the cabin is where the fuel system is laid out along with the aluminum water lines…

…and the beefy braided oil lines.

RS-R and Flatwell knew their new Formula D Asia car had to be special, but after spending some time looking over the 86 in detail at Suzuka Twin, not to mention observing two days of testing, we can safely say they have really outdone themselves in every way.

We were lucky enough to get some images minutes ago from the RS-R guys showing the almost completed look of the 86. The team were back out for one last test session in Okayama yesterday…

…with Orido, fine tuning the suspension set up before the car is sent off on its 9-month voyage around Asia. Needless to say we can’t wait to see Fredric rip up the track in Melbourne next month at the first round of the 2013 FDA season!

Specs:

Engine & driveline: 2006-spec 5.7 L TRD NASCAR V8, custom engine mounts, Ed Pink Racing Engines fuel injection conversion, Ed Pink Racing Engines direct coil ignition conversion, Ed Pink Racing Engines electronic throttle conversions, Blitz mesh filter, custom dry sump system with rear mounted tank, custom rar mounted twin L-shaped radiators, twin electric water pumps, custom fuel system, Motec M800 ECU, Hollinger sequential transmission, Winters Performance quick-change rear end

Suspenson & Brakes: RS-R adjustable front & rear dampers, wide selection of springs, custom front subframe, custom front lower arms and tie rods, Project µ 6-pot front calipers, Project µ 4-pot rear calipers, Project µ 2-piece slotted rotors front and rear

Wheels & Tires: Enkei PF01 9.5Jx18, Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 235/40R18 (front), 265/35R18 rear

Exterior: 6666 Customs Rocket Bunny full aero, custom Rocket Bunny side intakes, carbon fiber doors, carbon fiber trunk, carbon fiber hood, custom Rocket Bunny rear diffuser & hood scoop, carbon rood, lexan rear glass

Interior: Fully spot welded and reinforced chassis, custom weld-in roll cage, Bride racing bucket seat, Taktata MPH-341 racing harnesses, Nardi steering wheel (Orido), Tanida steering wheels (Fredric), race switch panel, Motec SDL3 dash display, Flatwell adjustable pedal box, billet ARC handbrake lever & Willwood hydraulic pump

RS-R Japan

RS-R USA

Formula D Asia

from SPEEDHUNTERS