BARBOUR INTERNATIONAL A225

When Triumph and Barbour came on board as sponsors of BSMC III, the idea for a bike born of the two iconic brands was formed. And who better to do justice to that idea than Tim & Kev at Spirit of the 70′s.

The Barbour International A225 (named after the original Barbour International one piece racing suit) is of course a 2013 Triumph Scrambler. A bike so damn near perfect as standard, that there really was no need to go crazy and make changes for changes sake. Plus timings were tight, this build needed to be done and dusted in 12 weeks, while the guys completed 6 other client builds at the same time. Things are pretty full on down there in Kent right now.

Obviously doing justice to the look, feel and heritage of the Barbour brand was the main aim of this build, something Spirit wanted to achieve with more than just a green paint job. So the guys went for bespoke details like the seat which was upholstered in quilted Barbour International fabric by Glenn Moger, and even features a Barbour stash pocket on the rear. Tim says the fabric was matched to his trusty old Barbour jacket that he’s owned for years – hopefully they didn’t match the dirt and sweat stains too. The bike also has a side pannier which is a standard Barbour International Stainton Map Print Retriever Bag, fitted on a bespoke Spirit frame.

The bike may be pretty standard, but as ever it’s the attention to detail that Spirit are renowned for that makes this bike special. And not just aesthetic details either. This bike features Fox Podium RC shocks which were supplied by Mojo Suspension. Kev designed the Enduro style exhaust himself and says that if they get more than 10 orders, they’ll sell it as a Spirit accessory. The paint job was Kev’s too, executed immaculately by D-Luck’s in Brighton.

The motocross style handlebars are graced with Oury grips. The headlamp, petrol tank cap, shorty seat unit and carbon fibre front and rear mudguards are all Spirit’s own. The Brembo front disc and calliper, and many other parts came courtesy of Norman Hyde. Spirit used their own front indicator bracket to mount the Oberon indicators, and mounted the rear indicators in the frame rails which were shortened. The ignition was relocated, and various official Triumph accessories like the front brake reservoir, skid plate and EFI carb caps were bolted on.

The bike was launched to a great reception at BSMC III and has now started its summer tour. You can see it next if you’re lucky enough to be at Wheels and Waves.  After that it will be in Berlin at a trade show.  Then it will be coming back to Blighty for a Barbour International shop fit in Harrods.  Being as pretty as she is, she will no doubt be used in countless photoshoots too.   It’s another classy Triumph special that’s up to the usual high standards we’ve come to expect from Tim & Kev.  Thanks for making this one happen guys.  And obviously a huge thank you to Triumph and Barbour for having the vision for this bike, and for all their support of The Bike Shed.

2003 Yamaha XJR 1300 – it roCkS!bikes

It’s a fantasy that every road bike owner must have had at some time in their lives. ‘What if I could build a bike that was invisible to radar?’ The thought of those charming boys in ‘law enforcement’ totally unable to get a reading on you as you glide through your favourite set of corners. And not at a speed calculated to be ‘safe’ for everyone from the tanker truck full of petrol to the little old lady with failing eyesight, but instead at speed that perfectly suits your skills, the bike’s performance and the conditions of the day. It’s what the afterlife must be like. The afterlife and whatever inspired the owner of this beautiful Yamaha to brief her builders, Portugal’s It roCkS!bikes, to turn his stock XJR into the two-wheeled equivalent of a Stealth Fighter you see here.

The guys were generous enough to provide us with a little interview. We hope you like it.

Who are you guys? 

“Our names are Osvaldo Coutinho and Alexandre Santos and we own the brand “it roCkS!bikes”. We are from Oporto, Portugal; we are both Engineers and addicted to motorcycles.”

Why did you build this bike?

“This was a commissioned bike for a friend of ours. At first, he just wanted a new tail, seat and to fit some parts like up-side-down forks, Brembo calipers and the Motogadget Motoscope, but we told him that if we put our hands on his bike, it’d have to be all or nothing… and so it was!”

What year and model is the donor? 

“The CS_04 “Stealth” was built from a 2003 Yamaha XJR 1300 SP. It was bought by its owner to replace the Honda CB 750 that he had sold, and it was in excellent mechanical condition.”

What was your brief ?

“We heard the ideas that the owner had for his bike, like the rear end and the name “Stealth”, because he is somehow related to the real stealth airplanes. So, starting from there we just got to work to finish the bike just in time to show in Lisboa Art&Moto show last April.”

What did you do to the bike?

“All the parts of the bike were disassembled and from the original bike we kept the gas tank, engine, part of the frame, swing arm, rear shocks, wheels and brakes. In the front, we fitted a Kawasaki ZXR up-side-down fork and Brembo brake calipers. To fit it all together we had to fabricate aluminium CNC 3D adapters for the calipers and axles for the wheels and steering column. On the rear, we refurbish the original Ohlins double shocks and replaced the original tires with a set of Dunlop Sportmax, in stock sizes.

The engine, which was in fairly good condition, was painted in matte black and all the bolts were replaced. The original air box was removed and we designed our own set of velocity stacks with filter, custom built by us especially for this project. To protect the air filters from direct water and dust, we also fabricated a fender for the rear wheel. The exhaust is a 4-2-1 titanium piece, with thermal wraps on the headers. Since the air flow was improved, the carbs were re-jetted and properly tuned. The oil cooler is a very small, high performance part fitted with new oil lines.

The lithium battery was moved to the rear end of the bike. We also fitted a digital dashboard from Motogadget. This unit was mounted in an aluminium bracket, also designed by us and CNC’d.

Since we had to keep the stock gas tank in this bike, we fabricated the seat and the metal rear section with a shape that follows the tank’s lines. The front and rear fender are custom fabricated aluminium parts and the seat is an exclusive handmade light brown leather piece.

All the paint was spray on and then covered with a thin layer of matte varnish. On the front we fitted a small headlight and matched the colour of the rest of the bike. Also the mount was also custom-made.”

What do you think of how it turned out?

“It turned out just like we wished, so we wouldn´t change a thing in this bike!”

How does she ride? 

“Since we reduced the massive weight of the original XJR, the bike feels very light and the tuned engine’s power really stands out… it just pulls hard at any speed The steering geometry is now much more radical, so the bike really encourages you to ride hard on twisty roads and have fun in the corners.”

The boys from it roCkS!bikes take a quick break from beating each other to pose with the new bike

[Fotographia: Rui Banderia]

WRC : M-Sport sur deux fronts / M-Sport on two fronts

Cette année, la structure de Malcolm Wilson est engagée au niveau international dans deux disciplines du sport automobile : rallye et circuit. L’équipe britannique a remporté sa première victoire fin mai en Blancpain Series avec la Bentley GT Continental.

La 1^ère victoire de M-Sport en WRC remonte au Rallye de l’Acropole 1997 où Carlos Sainz et Juha Kankkunen avaient offert un doublé aux Ford Escort WRC préparées par l’équipe de Malcolm Wilson. C’est en rallye que l’écurie britannique a acquis sa notoriété sur la scène internationale.

« C’est sans doute grâce à nos compétences développées en rallye que Bentley nous a approchés en septembre 2012 pour monter ce programme GT. », explique un Malcolm Wilson assez tourmenté depuis l’incendie de la Ford d’Hirvonen hier. « On n’a pas d’explications et on n’en aura sans doute jamais car on n’a rien pu récupérer. L’incendie est parti de l’arrière droit, selon Mikko, après 5 ou 6 km sur la liaison. Il n’y a eu aucune alarme en spéciale et ils n’ont rien noté non plus en faisant le tour de la voiture après l’arrivée. Notre mois de juin est déjà très chargé. Pour le Rallye de Pologne, nous allons préparer Fiesta WRC de réserve, nous en reconstruirons une plus tard. »

Le mois de juin est effectivement très chargé pour M-Sport avec les Rallye de Sardaigne et de Pologne, plus le Festival of Speed de Goodwood et la manche de Blancpain Endurance Series sur le circuit Paul-Ricard à la fin du mois (même week-end que Pologne).

M-Sport s’est lancé en circuit cette année, en Blancpain Endurance Series et British GT Championship, avec une Bentley GT Continental GT3 développée par Christian Loriaux et les ingénieurs M-Sport. Un projet né d’une feuille blanche, mené à bien en seulement six mois dans les ateliers de Cumbria, avant les 1^ers tours de roue officiels de la voiture il y a un an à l’occasion du Festival of Speed de Goodwood.

« M-Sport n’avait aucune expérience en circuit, mais nous avions les compétences humaines et techniques. En dix jours, le contrat était signé avec Bentley : M-Sport était responsable du design et du développement de la voiture. »

La Bentley GT Continental GT3 (V8, 4000 cm³ bi-turbo, 600 ch.) a débuté en course aux 12 Heures d’Abu Dhabi le 13 décembre 2013 par une 4^e place. La campagne 2014 a démarré par un top-10 sur le circuit de Monza avant une 1^ère victoire offerte par Guy Smith, Andy Meyrick et Steven Kane sur le circuit de Silverstone fin mai.

« Jamais je n’aurais cru me retrouver un jour sur un circuit et gagner. L’Endurance et le Rallye partagent de nombreux points communs, comme la stratégie, la façon de travailler… Le travail lors d’un pit-stop par exemple ressemble beaucoup à un celui lors d’un service-park. Il faut être rapide, précis, organisé…M-Sport avait déjà une certaine expérience dans cette façon de travailler. Nous avons beaucoup progressé et nous avons encore tant de choses à apprendre. Mais l’Endurance me plaît assez, oui… »

La plus grande course d’Endurance au monde va se dérouler la semaine prochaine au Mans. « Je suis sûr que Bentley aimerait y retourner, mais pas avec la voiture que nous avons développée car les GT3 ne sont pas acceptées. Je n’ai pas d’avis sur la question GT3/GTE, il y a quelque temps seulement, je ne savais même pas ce qu’était une GT3 ! Les 24 Heures du Mans seraient un énorme défi, oui. »

Matthew (le fils de Malcolm) gère la partie racing de M-Sport. « Il s’investit pleinement, il est très pointilleux. Je peux compter sur lui. Moi je me consacre à la partie commerciale avec Bentley car nous souhaitons monter un programme similaire au rallye en commercialisant des Bentley GT Continental GT3 pour nos clients. »

This year, M-Sport is active in both rallying and racing. Last month, the Malcolm Wilson-owned operation secured its first victory in the Blancpain Series with the Bentley GT Continental.

M-Sport’s first WRC victory dates back to the 1997 Acropolis when Carlos Sainz and Juha Kankkunen came first and second in the team’s Ford Escorts, and it’s in rallying that the British outfit forged its international reputation.

“It’s undoubtedly because of our expertise in rallying that Bentley first approached us in September 2012,” explains Malcolm Wilson, clearly fraught by the fire that destroyed Hirvonen’s Fiesta on Friday. “We don’t know what happened and probably never will. Mikko says the fire started at the rear-right, five or six kilometres along the road section. There were no warnings and the crew didn’t spot anything when they inspected the car after the stage. We’ve got a busy month ahead, so we will prepare the spare Fiesta for Poland and build another one later.”

In addition to Sardinia and Poland, M-Sport’s month effectively continues with the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Blancpain Endurance Series race at Le Castellet, the same weekend as Poland.

The team’s racing programme started with this year’s Blancpain Endurance Series and British GT Championship with a Bentley GT Continental GT3 developed by Christian Loriaux and M-Sport engineers from a clean sheet of paper. Six months after the green light, the Cumbria-born car made its first public appearance at Goodwood in 2013.

“M-Sport had no racing experience but we had the technical and human resources and we won the contract to design and develop the car.”

The Bentley GT Continental GT3 (V8, 4,000cc, bi-turbo, 600hp) kicked off its career with fourth place at the 12 Hours of Abu Dhabi on December 13, 2013. Its 2014 campaign began with a top-10 finish at Monza, Italy, before Guy Smith/Andy Meyrick/Steven Kane claimed its first win at Silverstone in May.

“I never thought I would be successful one day in racing. Endurance racing and rallying have a great deal in common, like strategy and the way you work. Pit stops are quite like service halts, for example. You need to be fast, precise and organised. We’ve made progress and we’ve still got much to learn but, yes, I quite enjoy endurance racing.”

The discipline’s biggest race takes place next weekend at Le Mans. “I’m sure Bentley would like to return, but not with the GT3 car we have developed because it’s not eligible. I’ve got no opinion on the GT3/GTE issue. Not so long ago, I didn’t even know GT3 existed! For sure, Le Mans would be a great challenge.”

The racing programme is managed by Malcolm’s son, Matthew. “He’s invested totally in it. He’s very attentive to detail and I know I can count on him. I look after the commercial side with Bentley because we would like to do what we do in rallying, i.e. sell Continental GT3s to customers…”

jeux .......