Triumph Bonneville "Urban Pearl" by Ton-Up Garage

Foto: triumphadonf.com
from Racing Café

Bol d’Or :BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent recruits Muggeridge and Zemke / Muggeridge et Zemke rejoignent BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent

Australia’s Karl Muggeridge and USA rider Jack Zemke have been recruited to join Sébastien Gimbert and Sylvain Barrier for the 2013 Bol d’Or, round one of the 2013 FIM Endurance World Championship.

L’australien Karl Muggeridge et l’américain Jack Zemke épauleront Sébastien Gimbert et Sylvain Barrier lors du prochain Bol d’Or, manche d’ouverture du Championnat du monde d’Endurance FIM (EWC).

Damian Cudlin was forced to decline BMW Motorrad France’s offer because of a date clash with the German Superbike Championship (IDM), while the nomination of Michael Schumacher was an April Fool, so team boss Michael Bartholemy was forced to look elsewhere for a replacement.

Muggeridge, winner of the Supersport world title in 2004 and IDM champion in 2010, will share the N°99 BMW-Michelin with Gimbert and Barrier. “I’m delighted to have this new challenge which I find highly stimulating. I think we have a chance of winning the Bol d’Or. It’s an event I’ve done twice before, and I came third in 2000 with Williams Costes and Sébastien Charpentier (Honda-Michelin). I feel confident, in great shape. I’ve been training, so I should be okay…”

The American Superbike star Jake Zemke has been named as replacement rider for his endurance racing debut.

“It wasn’t easy to find a replacement for Damian Cudlin for the first race because lots of drivers have commitments in their own championships the same weekend as the Bol d’Or,” admitted Michael Bartholemy. “We were lucky that Karl was available. I think he will add depth to our squad alongside Sébastien and Sylvain. Jake Zemke will be our reserve driver at Magny-Cours but I have a feeling he will contest at least one race this season. We have a line-up of fast riders and a bike/tyre package with winning potential…”

 Cudlin ayant dû décliner la proposition retenu par le championnat d’Allemagne Superbike (IDM) à cette même date et la participation de Michael Schumacher étant un poisson d’avril, l’équipe belge, managée par Michael Bartholemy, a été contrainte de trouver un remplaçant.

Champion du monde Supersport en 2004 et champion d’IDM en 2010, Karl Muggeridge, partagera le guidon de la BMW-Michelin n°99 avec Sébastien Gimbert et Sylvain Barrier. « Je suis heureux et motivé de relever ce challenge. Je pense que nous avons toutes nos chances pour remporter la victoire. J’ai déjà participé au Bol d’Or en 2000 aux côtés de Williams Costes et Sébastien Charpentier (Honda-Michelin) où j’ai terminé troisième. Je suis donc conscient du défi qui m’attend. Je suis en pleine forme et j’ai suivi une bonne préparation physique, ça devrait le faire. »

L’américain, Jake Zemke, engagé en AMA Superbike (championnat américain Superbike) fera ses débuts en endurance en tant que pilote remplaçant.

« Trouver un remplaçant à Damian Cudlin pour la première course n’a pas été facile, beaucoup de pilotes étant retenus par leurs championnats respectifs le même week-end que le Bol d’Or » souligne Michael Bartholemy. « Nous avons eu de la chance que Karl soit disponible. Je pense qu’il sera un véritable atout pour notre équipe aux côtés de Sébastien et Sylvain. Jake Zemke nous rejoint en tant que pilote de réserve pour le Bol d’Or mais je pense qu’il sera au départ d’au moins une course cette saison. Nous disposons d’un équipage rapide et expérimenté et d’un package moto-pneus très performant pour prétendre à la victoire. »

Red Max’s 900ss

You may have noticed that we’re big fans of Ducati cafe racers, so when we came across this 900ss from our friends, Redmax Speedshop down in the South of England, we had to get her up on the bike shed asap for your viewing pleasure.

This donor bike is late 80s Ducati, which is perhaps not the Bologna factory’s finest era in many respects, as they were churning out parts-bin specials, but the 900ss has turned out to be a great donor for some of the nicest customs around. Not only do they look great, but they also handle, are very light, and with a few simple tweaks they are reliable and fast.

Paul rode the bike in standard trim for a summer before realising it was destined for better things. He’d seen a couple of cafe’d 900ss customs on the net, which both had different elements he liked, so he knew what he wanted. All he needed to do was find the person to interpret his wishes and he was fortunate to come across Steve Hillary at Redmax Speedshop. Knowing the whole build was going be to managed via correspondence Paul was initially worried whether the guys would be able to understand what he wanted, but his trust in Steve and his crew clearly paid off.

His brief was to “cafe the 900SS, with 2 into 1 under seat exhaust, sort of rat looking, with less polishing more riding, bikini fairing and old school”, and as the build progressed it quickly exceeded his expectations.

“Photo mockups were produced with me giving Steve the shits with literally hundreds of emails “umming and ahhing” trying to decide the exact route to go, looking at the tank, fairing and seat options available and that big decision, what colour and which graphics…”

“First off was a fairing. Steve had the plan to use a Norton fairing with a removable headlight cover to maintain the racer look, but the fairing was massive and I was dubious. Steve took my comments onboard and it was shaved down to within an inch of its function and the tight look I wanted was there. Different seat options were looked at that would work with my under seat exhaust along with various upgrades proposed, my confidence in Steve’s work grew to the point I just replied to his further suggestions with “sure, do it”!”

“The tank was an issue and I really had my heart set on an aftermarket 70′s SS style tank, but that wasn’t going to happen unless I pulled the expense pin on something completely customised. So the next best plan was to cut the side scallops out of the original tank and make her look right. I think this part of the bike is what I really like the most, it changed that bulbous original into a sleek one off custom that’s a credit to Steve and his team…”

“I made a decision to not worry about doing any major mechanical upgrades apart from the 41mm FCR’s, as the bike is plenty fast enough for what I need. I almost lost the original Verlicchi aluminium swing arm due to a sprocket bolt coming loose, but Steve saved it. Rebuilt the Marzocchi’s on the front, tidied up the brake lines with some Goodrich braided hoses, beautiful new Hagon rear shock that proved a troublesome fit, 916 fluid pots and levers, custom mounted old school looking headlight, a beautiful pair of rear sets to match the cut and coated hangers, coated everything else, and throughout Steve utilised all the existing parts he could and fabricating where he couldn’t…..”

“In the beginning I really thought I knew exactly what colours to paint the frame, tank, seat, stripes, decals, the whole enchilada. This proved to be the most difficult part of the bike for me… When you rely on photo’s of a build to help you make decisions you are pretty much shooting blind when it comes to dimensions and profiles, as we all know bikes can take on so many different looks from all the different angles and perspectives, so that’s when I really had to put my trust in Steve, fuck me, what a killer creation he ended up making.”

The bike has now been safely delivered to it’s new owner in Germany. So, is Paul happy with the end result? “Hell yeah!” was the reply, so, top work as usual by Steve Hillary and the Redmax Speedshop crew. You can see more of Red Max Speed Shop’s work on their website and Flickr pages, or here on The Bike Shed.

1984 BMW K100 - BSK SpeedWorks

If you are anything like me, you'll always have your latest ‘bike of interest.’ To the uninitiated, that's the bike that is currently catching your eye. The one that you look at first when you surf eBay or thumb through the local classifieds. And for me right now, the bike is definitely the BMW K100. What it is about the K that really pushes my buttons, I'm not quite sure. Maybe it's the ludicrous car engine laying on it's side in the frame. Maybe it's the shaft drive, or maybe it's just the jaw-dropping mass of the things. Whatever the case, if I started a new project bike today, a Beemer K100 would be it. And it's not just me who's thinking along these lines. Take, for instance, one Ben Kingham of BSK SpeedWorks in Bedfordshire, England. He too has the bug, and I think it's fair to say that he been bitten worse than I have. A lot worse.

Here's Ben. “My family has been in the bike business for over 100 years. In the early 1900's my great grandfather owned a bike shop and sold some of the first motorcycles in the country, just down the road from where we are now based. Currently we specialise in K series BMWs, and are one of the very few places that supply performance/custom parts for this bike.”

“What we know is mostly through racing our BMW K100 in the current BEARS championship and is backed up with over 30 years of building and racing classic bikes. We build replica Ks to almost any spec, for road or track.

Obviously a far cry from the original BMW K100 tourer that this machine was derived from, this ‘café racer’ is built for performance. Weight is kept to a minimum with more than 50kg in excess flab having been removed compared to the standard bike.”

“The engine has been rebuilt with new parts fitted as necessary, including a new clutch and reconditioned oil/water pump, and with our improved air intake and exhaust system and a few choice tweaks, it does go.”

Ben's mods to the bike are obviously quite extensive. The engine has been mildly tuned, and should be putting out around 90 bhp. Ignition is supplied from a Bosch LE-Jetronic unit. The frame has been chopper, lightened, and strengthened. The rear shock is a RAM jobby, and the fronts are Goldline progressives. Rubber is 3.50 120/17 on the front, and 5.00 160x17 out back. The dash is an ever-popular Acewell unit. And to finish off, both the exhaust and the rear-sets are fashioned by the BSK boys themselves.

Now it may interest some of you, especially those trapped in an unseasonably cold and snowy British Isles, that this exact bike is currently for sale. If you too have been bitten by the K100 bug and feel the need for some tilted four action, feel free to hit up Ben and the boys here.

(Photographs via the talented Matt at Bone Photographic)

via PIPEBURN