Cafe Rider. Caffeine and Gasoline. Dubai

crankandpiston has a rare moment of social activity and attends the opening night of Cafe Rider in Dubai.

When the invite to Cafe Rider’s opening night landed on our virtual desk we had a quick confab and immediately decided not to go. It’s not that we have any prejudice or anything against motorcycles and bikers but, with the exception of our man Mo who likes sitting on a Fat Boy and photographer Arun who seems to have fallen off every bike he has ever ridden, we aren’t too clued up on bike culture here at crankandpiston.com. Here, the car is always the star. Add to this mix an opening night full of smelly biker dudes wrestling each other and, well, you get where we are coming from with our extremely unprejudiced point of view.

And then our social media guru Monja only went and called in to Cafe Rider and reported back that “we should attend”. Monja (love that girl) has one of those annoying noses like Samantha from Bewitched that twitches when she senses something cool, normally pertaining to clever design or things of cultural interest. So, with Frau Frorath giving me my marching orders (you’re not the boss of me!) I scuttled across to Cafe Rider to see what the crazy German (love that girl) was on about. Obviously, I went the day before the opening night to avoid getting embroiled in biker wrestling activities.

What greeted me was not what I had been expecting. Not at all. Damn Monja and her twitching nose but she was right! This Cafe Rider joint is a beautiful warehouse affair with a few choice Brass Balls bobbers decorating the open floor space. A glass-walled custom motorcycle garage with the latest project being worked on at one end, comfortable sofa sitting area at the other and a large coffee bar dominating the back wall. Cafe Rider is more than just a bike shop and café, it’s about people. So I decided to venture back for the opening night. Although I was still determined to avoid the wrestling aspect.

Preconceived ideas about anything in life are usually wrong. The collective people gathered at Cafe Rider were all friendly beyond reproach, from every walk of life and with a shared passion for motorcycles and fine coffee. A dude played guitar, welcome speeches were made and I washed down three tasty shawarma with a couple of shots of caffeine from the bar. All-in-all a very enjoyable evening with great people in a fantastic new hang-out in Dubai.

I wouldn’t even have minded wrestling with some of the bikers.

Thanks to – Cafe Rider

Amelia Island Concours 2014: What not to miss

With just a few hours to go before the 2014 Amelia Island Concours begins, we take a look at some of the most enticing car classes – set to draw a total of more than 250 high-end exhibits…

On 7-9 March, the Amelia Island Golf Club will play host to its annual concours d’elegance. Legendary racing driver Jochen Mass will be this year’s honouree; a reunion with his Sauber-Mercedes C9 on the 25th anniversary of their Le Mans win is likely to prove an emotional one. Other milestone anniversaries to be celebrated include McLaren’s 50th and Maserati’s 100th.

Moss's monstrous Maserati and friends

Headlining the centenary toast to Maserati will be the unique 450S Le Mans Coupé, affectionately referred to as ‘Il Mostro’. Penned by Frank Costin and realised in physical form by Zagato (which incidentally has a dedicated class at Amelia, too), other notable associated names include Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss – the latter having campaigned it at Le Mans in 1957.

RM Auctions at the Ritz-Carlton 

Now in its 16^th year, the RM sale at Amelia’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel will see the gavel lifted on no fewer than 90 upper-echelon cars, including 16 from the Pray Collection – the most highly anticipated being the 1937 Delahaye Torpedo Roadster by Figoni et Falaschi. The late Mr Pray’s wife affectionately named it his ‘French Mistress’ – and several other automotive concubines that have enjoyed many years of single-ownership are to be found in the lotlist. 

Return of the Batmobiles

The BMW ‘Batmobile’ class at this year’s Amelia will be crowned by one of the most famous CSLs of all: Alexander Calder’s Art Car. The first in a succession of famous BMWs draped in the designs of topical artists, it was also famously entered into the 1975 Le Mans 24 Hours – a perfect marketing companion to the newly introduced ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ campaign that endures to this day.

Jolly good fun

“For an event like ‘The Amelia’, a class of beach cars is appropriate and ideal,” points out Amelia Concours founder Bill Warner. “After all, when you take a break from the concours field and sit on the veranda at the Ritz-Carlton with a cool drink in front of you, you stare at the ocean and the beach.” At Warner's behest, numerous ‘Jolly’ beach cars will form on a (perhaps sand-covered?) section of the field, with exhibits including the Fiat Multipla-based Eden Roc by Pinin Farina.

Plenty of high-end classic cars can be found in the Classic Driver Market.

carrosserie

Harley vs. Indian: The Great Race 2013 (Australia)

A digital memoire of the 2013 Great Race, Australia 
(Please note that the digs at Indians are in jest! Some of my good friends ride the other brand) When you hear me laugh during the video, I'm not laughing at the water logged Indians on the side of the road...I'm laughing and the lunacy of riding in hail that was 1/2'' or 12mm in diam and belting the bejusus out of me.

The Indian vs Harley Great Race is a navigation, reliability, and time-trial event. This year the event was based in Jinabyne NSW. The courses that we traveled over, were some of the best touring and cornering roads in Australia. There is no real speed involved - it is more about getting your bike around the course and checking in and out of check-points whilst correctly answering questions at each check-point... Overall, the Great Race is about riding with your mates, regardless of whether they are riding a Harley or an Indian.

As competitors, we all take it seriously and the time honoured rivalry that has existed between the 2 brands since their inception, is still alive and well.

Most of this video footage was shot in the beautiful High country.

Harleys were the winners this year!

For those of you who are interested, check out my frame products to restore old Harley frames.
website: http://www.raceframe.com.au/

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