Dji Phantom flies into Volcano

Une éruption volcanique a pu être filmée de très près à l'aide d'un drone. Les images, ont été tournées sur l'île de Tanna, au Vanuatu, à deux heures de vol des côtes australiennes.

1978 Kawasaki KZ400 ‘Elsa’

Having two daughters of my own, I’m a sucker for a good father and daughter story ­– especially when it involves building a beautiful motorcycle. Sadie Glemza from Ohio has been brought up on the sweet smell of gasoline. She was four years old the first time her dad let her ride a motorbike. As she got older, Sadie started racing Junior Dragster, running 8.00′s in the 1/8 th mile. So when she came across a beat up old KZ400 for $400 she thought it would be a great project to do with her dad – who knows his way around a wrench set. “My dad has always been my go to person for anything about a car or motorcycle and it was only fitting we worked together on creating this gorgeous build” says Sadie. So with limited funds they got to work on the bike she calls ‘Elsa’.

The father and daughter team started by doing a complete strip down of the old non-running kwaka. They sand blasted, cleaned, and polished everything. To give the bike a lower stance, they shortened and chopped the frame lowering the whole bike almost two inches.

“We completely tore it apart and rebuilt the engine, welded in a skeleton key flush gas cap, hid the electrical and battery under the seat” she tells us. Living in an area of Ohio that has a large Amish community, Sadie commissioned their skills to upholster the seat – and what a lovely job they did.

They removed the front fender and relocated it to the back of the bike, almost touching the rear Dunlop K81 4.5 tire. They also powder coated the rims and frame black, added some classic clubman bars and then Sadie cut the leather and wrapped the grips herself.

To keep that nostalgic look, a 2-1 megaphone exhaust was chosen – and yes some pipe wrap as well. To finish the bike off, the tank was painted in blue and off-white by Dave Piscione.

We think Sadie and her dad have created a stunning and tasteful KZ400 on a limited budget. Not only did Sadie learn a lot about building motorcycles but she also learnt a lot about her dad along the way. We particularly love the little sticker that reads ‘Dad built. Not bought’. Priceless.

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‘63 Honda C110 – Dauphine-Lamarck

‘Jolie laide’ is a unique French expression that is often used to describe someone or something that is unconventionally attractive. The direct translation into English is ‘ugly beautiful’, but you’d be mistaken if you were to think that the phrase was a case of damning with faint praise. It’s been used in reference to some of the world’s most beautiful women, include Sofia Coppola and the remarkable Charlotte Gainsbourg. And today we’d like to use it in reference to something else rather remarkable. Meet the most ugly beautiful bike we think we’ve ever seen, Dauphine-Lamark’s unconventionally beautiful ‘69 Honda C110.

“This is my new time machine,” say’s DL’s Philippe Ricaud. “It’s a 1963 C110 that eats 125s for breakfast. I brought this bike on the internet for $50. The engine was dead but the overall condition of the frame was rather good so I took her home.”

“For this bike I wanted to create a simple, fuss-free racer. I also decided to create it with Honda NOS parts. I started with the engine and installed an S65 piston and a 16mm carburetor with nice, big jet. She goes all the way up to 60mph now, which is pretty exciting if you happen to be on board.”

“Next I decided to reduce and reinforce the front forks, which really made the bike look more trimmed down and lean. I also reversed the handlebars, added some sporty Michelin tires, and topped it off with some cool Takegawa grips.”

“Dauphine-Lamarck’s speciality is 60s, 70s and 80s Honda motorcycles; we aim to make our bikes accessible, especially for suburban Parisians, and therefore we often choose smaller Hondas. The Philosophy of DL is all about the passion for the history of objects, or the beauty of their past. What can we do with these beautiful old things? Honda have a lot of popular two-wheelers under 126cc with beautiful histories. And the best part is that people still appreciate them, in spite of modern influences.”

“I think that the motorcycles we create correspond more to a way of life than to some specific genre or type. Hopefully that shows in this build. I hope your readers enjoy it.”

[Photos by Ana Le Lardic]

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1969 DE TOMASO MANGUSTA

The De Tomaso Mangusta is said to have been named “Mangusta” (meaning “Mongoose”) after a deal fell through with Carroll Shelby to build the next generation Shelby Cobra under the De Tomaso roof in Italy. The mongoose is the only animal that eats cobras in the wild, they’re known as fearless and agile animals with the added bonus of built in acetylcholine receptors which render them immune to snake venom – I’m sure the subtlety of the name wasn’t lost on Carroll.

Despite the agreement falling through the two men are said to have remained good friends and rumours abound that the first few engines used in the early Mangustas were actually built by Shelby’s engineers in the USA.

The Mangusta was released to the public in 1967 as a replacement for the De Tomaso Vallelunga, a car that had been plagued with issues resulting in less than 60 being made. The all-new Mangusta was conceived to battle it out with other mid-engined Italian cars of the era and so it was fitted with a fire-breathing American V8 (either a 289 or 302 depending on the shipment location) coupled to a ZF 5-speed transaxle and clothed in a stunning body designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro.

De Tomaso sold approximately 10 times more Mangustas than they had Vallelunga, making the car relatively successful for the small-scale manufacturer. The design of the car and its American heart led to it being successful in the USA where 251 of the 401 chassis were sold, the ease of maintenance and cheapness of engine parts made it a hugely popular exotic car – it’s been estimated that the Mangusta would have maintenance costs approximately 80% lower than a comparable Lamborghini or Ferrari from the same era.

The Manugusta did face a small number of challenges, probably most importantly its weight distribution of 32/68 (front/rear) led to it being a little tail happy when driven with gusto. The chassis was also not particularly rigid and the ground clearance was so low it could almost be used as a boat during heavy downpours. These drawbacks don’t phase true connoisseurs of classic De Tomasos, these are men with a penchant for young women and old cologne who don’t believe you’re really driving until the rear wheels are overtaking the front bumper and the tires are producing enough smoke to cause PTSD to manifest in the residents of Pompeii.

With a total weight of 1322 kilograms (or 2914lbs) the Mangusta stood only 3 inches taller than the Ford GT40, the classic Giugiaro wedge looks utterly stunning from any angle, the gullwing doors over the engine bay offer a wonderfully unsubtle way of showing off the V8 and the gated shifter is something that all cars should be fitted with as a matter of course.

If you’d like to roll the Mangusta you see pictured here into your garage you’ll need to attend the Monaco 2014 Sales held by RM Auctions on the 10th of May and make sure you pack your chequebook as it’s likely to sell for well over $200,000 USD.

Photo Credits: Tim Scott ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auctions

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