Rat Rod Custom 1950 Mercury Rescue!

It's always a good idea to buy a car off the Internet sight-unseen, right? That's what a friend-of-a-friend of Roadkill did with the kustom Merc—and maybe he made an even worse decision when he allowed Freiburger and Finnegan to wrench on the thing and deliver it to him. This deal was set up by a Roadkill fan, Jim Norman of Norman Vinyards in Paso Robles, California

Borile B450 Scrambler

Written by Ian Lee.

I've always been a fan of scrambler bikes. This has been in part thanks to a couple of 1960's period motorbike mags I have in my collection. Hard-jawed scrambler riders riding their bikes at impossible angles, safe in the knowledge their 'state of the art' cork helmets will give them protection should they need it. One modern day bike builder is channeling the spirit of those original trials type bikes, but putting some new age reliability into his offerings. Based in the town of Vò Euganeo, Borile is a boutique bike workshop, producing small volume models in their range – so there is no chance of pulling up next to one at a set of lights. Today's feature bike is the B450 scrambler, Borile's first bike to utilise the new 450cc engine, containing componentry supplied by Ducati. And it's a brilliant tribute to the scramblers of old. 

Starting with a frame fashioned from high strength steel tubing, Borile have created a scrambler style profile. Nestled in the frame sits a 452cc thumper, the top end using the same parts as fitted to the Ducati Desmodue model, mated to a Borile bottom end. The 2 valve head contains a belt driven SOHC, the bore is 98mm x 60mm, and the compression is 12:1 on this thumpin' special. Lubrication is wet sump, the oil fed through a trochoidal pump. 

This classic looking bike is helped in reliability by being fuel injected, running a 40.5mm throttle body, with a digital electronic ignition system fitted. Power is relayed through the multiplate clutch, to the removable 6 speed transmission, giving a top speed of 158kmh. 

For handling, the bike is fitted with hydraulic 41mm forks at the front, giving 140mm of travel. At the rear sit hydraulic adjustable units, allowing for different options in relation to rebound and preload. The bike rolls on a 100/90x19" tyre at the front, and 130/80x18" rubber at the rear. Braking ability is thanks to the twin piston hydraulic disc setup front and rear, running 260mm and 210mm rotors respectively. 

Aesthetically, the bike wouldn't look out of place at a 60s bike meet. A high set exhaust, pointing skyward with a chrome silencer, allows for better than average clearance. With a wheelbase of 1370mm, the bike gives the ability to manouevre while still giving stability at higher speeds. Helping with the weight distribution on this machine is the fact that the fuel tank is under the seat. 

Inspired by the roads surrounding the town of Vò Euganeo, Borile has spent a quarter of a century building bikes that are functional and reliable, as well as attractive to the eye. For that 60s look, with reliability built in you would be hard pressed going past this boutique bike builder. Borile's website sums it up best when they describe their bikes as having 'qualities that are worthy of a product that is truly hand made in Italy'. 

via PIPEBURN

‘NEW TRITON’ BY BRITALMOTO

Think of a Triton, and you probably imagine a sleek, silver-and-black special from the 1960s. A product of its time, infused with the heady aura of the Manx racing scene.

There are some people who believe that the concept of a Triton is still valid in the 21st century. And after seeing this machine from Swiss specialists Britalmoto, I’m inclined to agree. As befits the name, we have a powerful Triumph engine in a sweet-handling Norton frame. But this Triton is no rose-tinted, vintage fantasy. It’s a marriage of the best components provided by the modern-day manufacturers.

Britalmoto’s Ivo Tschumi explains his reasoning. “The situation today is very similar to the 60s. Triumph is building air-cooled twins with a superior reputation. The engines are very reliable and have a large tuning potential. On the other hand, Norton is building the new ‘Commando 961.’ It’s an excellent bike, especially the rolling chassis.

“But one of my customers was unhappy with the engine and transmission of his 961. He knew the potential of the current Triumph twins, so he asked us to transform his Norton into a ‘New Triton’.”

What sounds easy developed into a 450-hour project.

Ivo and his father Fritz extensively modified the Norton frame to fit the Triumph Thruxton engine. The engine mounting points and swing arm supports had to be re-engineered and fabricated in-house. The new swing arm pivot point location is almost identical to the original, so the excellent road performance of the Norton chassis is maintained.

To add to the complication, Britalmoto’s customer wanted more performance from the stock Triumph engine for his dream bike. So Britalmoto boosted capacity to 1087 cc using a big bore kit, Carillo rods, modified throttle bodies and bigger valves. The motor now puts out 96 rear wheel horsepower and 104 Nm of torque.

To keep the gases flowing freely, Fritz and Ivo installed larger-diameter primary pipes made from stainless steel and mufflers from the Italian company QD Exhausts, suppliers to racebike manufacturers such as Zaeta and Pierobon. An EBC Racing clutch with uprated springs handles the extra power.

The stock Öhlins suspension of the Norton 961 is retained, and the wheels are still 17” at both ends. We’re looking at a Norton wheel and Brembo brake system up front, and a Triumph Thruxton wheel and Nissin calipers at the back.

The hand controls are a mix of Norton and Triumph parts, but the headlight and mounting bracket are custom fitments. The foot controls are from Free Spirits. The tank comes from the Norton 961, but the seat unit is new. “The original felt too big,” explains Ivo.

“It was not our intention to build a ‘typical’ custom bike,” he continues. “We wanted to keep the character and the original appearance of the Norton Commando 961. It’s only at a second glance that you see it is not a repainted Norton, but a true ‘New Triton’.”

It’s a fascinating concept and one that works well visually. The appearance is more muscular than the original Triton, but then again, so is the performance.

Is this the bike that Norton should have built in the first place, rather than the 80 hp 961 being sold today?

Images courtesy of and © Sabine Welte 2013. Head over to the Britalmoto website for more information on Fritz and Ivo Tschumi’s builds.

via BIKEEXIF

FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP ; Fuji : Toyota Racing sort vainqueur d’une course qui n’a pas eu lieu

Tout était réuni pour une grande fête sur le Fuji Speedway pour l’antépénultième round du Championnat du Monde d’Endurance. La pluie a eu raison de la course où aucun tour n’a été bouclé sous drapeau vert. Il n’aura fallu pas moins de trois procédures de départ pour finalement mettre un terme définitif à ces 6 Heures de Fuji. On attendait un duel équilibré et à armes égales entre Audi et Toyota mais la bagarre n’aura pas eu lieu. C’est finalement la Toyota TS030 HYBRID de Nicolas Lapierre, Kazuki Nakajima et Alex Wurz qui est déclarée vainqueur d’une manche disputée uniquement sous régime de neutralisation. Il a été décidé que tous les pilotes marqueront la moitié des points dans les différentes catégories, ce qui fait que cette manche tronquée a tout de même son importance, Audi décrochant son deuxième titre de suite à deux manche de la fin. Victoire OAK Racing en LMP2 grâce à la Morgan LMP2 de Bertrand Baguette, Martin Plowman et Ricardo Gonzalez. Fred Mako, Darren Turner et Stefan Mücke raflent la mise en GTE-Pro sur l’Aston Martin Vantage GTE. Aston Martin Racing fait la passe de deux au Japon avec une victoire en GTE-Am pour Bruno Senna, Kristian Poulsen et Christoffer Nygaard. Dans le camp du Rebellion Racing, on peut se satisfaire d’un deuxième podium en quelques heures. Après avoir remporté le Petit Le Mans, le team suisse s’est classé troisième à Fuji avec Mathias Beche et Andrea Belicchi qui ont terminé derrière l’Audi R18 e-tron quattro de Loïc Duval, Tom Kristensen et Allan McNish. Les deux arrêts successifs de la #1 lors du deuxième départ a fait chuter les champions du monde en titre en queue de peloton, tout comme la seconde Toyota qui était partie en retard lors du premier tour de formation.

On a pourtant cru à un possible vrai départ lorsque la pluie s’est estompée mais sitôt les bâches enlevées sur les autos, les conditions sont vite redevenues compliquées. Il aura fallu toute la dextérité d’un Yannick Dalmas pour pouvoir garder sur la piste l’Audi RS5 qui fait office de satefy-car. On ne peut pas critiquer les décisions de la direction de course qui a su faire preuve de sagesse. Les grincheux diront qu’on n’annule pas une course parce qu’il pleut mais il vaut mieux anticiper les problèmes et ne pas faire n’importe quoi. Les pilotes ont vite compris qu’il était impossible de rouler dans ces conditions. Il est toujours plus facile de critiquer dans son canapé.

Il a été décidé d’attribuer la moitié des points (plus de deux tours couverts) alors qu’il n’a été bouclé que 16 tours, tous derrière la voiture de sécurité. Distribuer la moitié des points pour 16 tours couverts a de quoi paraître étrange. La procédure des différents podiums a bien eu lieu, certainement pour récompenser le nombreux public présent encore sur place. Là aussi, on peut féliciter les fans japonais qui ont été patients. Une belle leçon pour nous européens !

Ces 6 Heures de Fuji ne font pas les affaires de Tréluyer/Lotterer/Fässler au championnat. Selon les calculs du FIA WEC, Duval/McNish/Kristensen comptent 147 points contre 106,25 à leurs homologues de l’Audi #1. Chez Toyota Racing, Buemi/Sarrazin/Davidson  totalisent 81,25 points. Audi est sacré au classement Constructeurs. En LMP2, OAK Racing reprend l’avantage avec Baguette/Plowman/Gonzalez, le trio de la #35 comptant 114,5 points contre 109 au Pecom Racing, 98,5 à OAK Racing (#24) et 81 à G-Drive Racing. AF Corse prend un peu d’air en GTE-Pro avec 3 points de plus que Porsche AG Team Manthey et 6,5 sur Aston Martin Racing (#97). AMR (108 points) est également aux commandes du GTE-Am devant IMSA Performance Matmut (96) et 8Star Motorsports (93).

 Le classement des 6 Heures de Fuji est ici

 Le prochain meeting se tiendra à Shanghai le 9 novembre…

via Endurance Info