BMW R1200R BY LAZARETH

Ludovic Lazareth has made a name for himself in France with extreme car and motorcycle customs. How about a Mini pickup powered by a 3.5-liter Range Rover engine? A trike with a Ferrari V8 under the hood? Or a custom Yamaha FZR1000 with Tron-style bodywork and a supercharger bolted on? Monsieur Lazareth has a wild imagination—and the engineering skills to match.

This BMW R1200R custom is the latest vehicle to roll out of the Annecy-le-Vieux workshop. And although it may look pretty wild to us, by Lazareth’s standards, it’s a very low-key build.

It was commissioned by a French client who wanted a ‘neo-retro scrambler.’ And the result is more than some high pipes and a new set of knobblies: According to Jean-Thomas Mayer, one of Lazareth’s young designers, “We kept only the engine and the Paralever suspension at the rear.” The tubular chassis is new, and the stock Telelever front suspension has been replaced by Yamaha YZF-R6 sportbike forks—widened to accommodate the chunky Continental Twinduro tires.

Lazareth’s aim was to mix the classic BMW cafe racer style—personified by the BMW Concept 90—with a touch of modernity and aggression. “Not horizontal like a café racer, but more dynamic,” says Mayer. So the visual dynamic of this R1200R has been shifted forward, helped by a truncated seat/tail unit. The 110hp boxer powerplant is now hooked up to an Ixil exhaust, with two mufflers sculpted from aluminum. And the cockpit has been reduced to the bare minimum, with just a simple digital speedometer and bar-end mirrors.

Head over to the Lazareth website for more images of this build. And while you’re there, check out his crazy half-car, half-motorcycle Wazuma.

Images by Charly Rosset.

Credits Ludovic LAZARETH—The factory boss / Designer manager & Mechanic | Franck PALENI—Workshop Manager & Painter | Cédric COLLAO—Mechanic | Loic GODEFROY—Engineer | Sylvain PIOTTE—Engineer Assistant | Jean-Thomas MAYER and Julien FESQUET—Transportation Designers

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Yamaha Hints at Upcoming Leaning Multi-Wheeler

Yamaha Motor Co. recently had its investors meeting, and the Japanese company left a curious item for its second-to-last slide in the presentation: a leaning multi-wheeler. Unfortunately, the proposed machine doesn’t appear to be a production version of the Tesseract concept (shown above), but instead a new sporty three-wheeled scooter, to take on bikes like the unfortunately named Piaggio MP3.

Expected for the 2014 model year, we should see the Yamaha’s Leaning Multi-Wheeler (LMW) at the EICMA and Tokyo Motor Show later this year. No word yet on what will be beneath the fairings, but it is expected that the leaning trike will around 300cc to 400cc in displacement, and go head-to-head with the MP3 on price (insert 99¢ download joke here).

For bonus three-wheeler fun, here is a video of A&R Eddie Smith riding his Kawasaki-powered TreMoto up Pikes Peak during the 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Source: Yamaha

via asphaltandrubber

Original Le Mans-spec ‘Blower’ Bentley to star at Bonhams’ 2013 Quail Lodge sale

“One of the greatest vintage supercharged Bentleys” – Bonhams’ words, not ours – will be offered for sale at the British house’s annual Quail Lodge sale this August...

No estimate has been advised; however, given its provenance (owned by arch-enthusiast, British ex-pat Charles R.J. Noble or his family for more than 55 years) and the fact that as one of the 50 original ‘Blowers’, and one of just three supplied as Le Mans-specification chassis, we are expecting it to change hands for an impressively high figure.

The supercharged Bentleys, commonly referred to as ‘Blowers’, were conceived by ‘Bentley Boy’ Sir Tim Birkin and funded by the ample inheritance of heiress Miss Dorothy Paget. For homologation reasons, 50 examples of the supercharged version of Bentley’s familiar 4.5 litre motor car had to be built.

The project, though, as a private initiative, never found favour with W.O. Bentley – and no 'Blower' ever won Le Mans.

Photos: Bonhams, Pavel Litwinski

For further information, visit bonhams.com

Bill Warner, The Fastest Man on a Motorcycle, Dies While Attempting 300 MPH in One Mile

The motorcycle industry is mourning the loss of Bill Warner today, as the 44-year-old land speed record holder died while attempting to break the 300 mph barrier over the course of a single mile. Racing in the ”The Maine Event” at the Loring Air Force Base, Warner’s partially streamlined and turbo-charged Suzuki Hayabusa veered to the right after clearing the one-mile marker, and went off the runway course roughly 2,000 feet later, before ultimately crashing.

According to reports, Warner was conscious and communicative after the crash, but he succumbed to his injuries about an hour and fifteen minutes later at a hospital near Caribou, Maine. It is not clear how fast he was going when he left the course’s runway, but he had been clocked at 285 mph while on the course.

It was only a couple years ago that we reported Warner’s 300 mph run (311.945 mph to be precise), at the same Maine Event speed meet. Warner set that record over a 1.5 mile distance, and is the only motorcyclist to break the 300 mph barrier on a “sit-on” motorcycle.

“No one will touch Bill’s achievements or be the type of racer he was,” said Tim Kelly, Race Director the Loring Timing Association, which hosts The Maine Event at Loring Air Force Base. ”He was a personal friend and the land-racing community is less for his loss.”

Asphalt & Rubber extends our best thoughts to Bill’s family and friends at this tragic time. Below is the video of Bill’s 311.945 mph run at Loring AFB in 2011. It seemed like the best way to pay tribute to this special person in the motorcycling community.

Source: AP

via asphaltandrubber