WSBK PORTIMAO ; Sykes remporte la première course en échappée au Portugal / Sykes wins his 21st WSBK race to stretch his championship lead

Le Britannique a fini avec une confortable avance sur Guintoli et Baz.

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) s’est imposé pour la septième fois de l’année en dominant la première des deux courses de la huitième manche du Championnat du Monde eni FIM Superbike 2014 à l’Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

Sous un ciel nuageux, le détenteur de la pole position a été devancé par Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) et Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) au départ mais n’a pas tardé à reprendre l’avantage et à creuser l’écart tandis que ses deux adversaires se retrouvaient dans un groupe de cinq poursuivants qui comprenait aussi Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team), Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) et Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team).

Sykes comptait déjà deux secondes d’avance à la mi-course, suite à laquelle Guintoli est parvenu à remonter en deuxième position. Le Français n’a pas pu revenir sur le Britannique mais s’est aisément assuré la seconde place devant Baz, Melandri et Rea tandis que Davies était tombé dans le douzième tour suite à contact avec Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team). Le Gallois avait pu repartir mais a plus tard été contraint à rentrer aux stands tandis que Haslam a terminé en onzième position après avoir redémarré à la seizième place.

Les quelques gouttes de pluie à l’origine du drapeau blanc dans le onzième tour n’ont au final pas eu de conséquence sur la course. Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) a fini par prendre le dessus sur Davide Giugliano (Ducati Superbike Team) et Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) pour prendre la sixième place.

Neuvième, David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team) a battu Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia) sur le fil, de 0.014s, alors que le Français avait mené la bataille pour la victoire en catégorie EVO durant toute la course. Jérémy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) a pris les points de la douzième place devant Niccolò Canepa (Althea Racing). Fabien Foret (Mahi Racing Team India) a quant à lui été contraint à l’abandon, tout comme Toni Elías (Red Devils Roma Aprilia), tombé en début de course.

Spots of rain can’t stop the reigning champion from winning again.
 

An enthralling 20 lap race 1 saw Tom Sykes emerge victorious at a cloudy and overcast Portimao.

At the start it was Pata Honda’s Jonathan Rea that took the holeshot, leading for the opening three laps before Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) overtook him into turn one at the start of lap four.

By half distance the constant swapping of positions had allowed reigning champion Sykes to stretch his lead to 3 seconds, before seconds later the white flag was waved to indicate that rain was beginning to fall.

Behind the leader five riders that included Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team), Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team), and Sylvain Guintoli, Leon Haslam on the second of the Pata Honda’s slowly began to close the gap, giving the fans a six rider group battling for the podium places.

Leon Haslam took out Chaz Davies after losing the front end of his Pata Honda, both riders able to remount with Davies later retiring. Haslam eventually finished 11th.

At the front Sylvain Guintoli had elevated himself to 2nd and began to quickly reduce the gap to Sykes before he responded to retain a lead of 2 seconds until the flag.

Guintoli made his return to the podium in 2nd ahead of compatriot Baz with Marco Melandri 4th.

Jonathan Rea faded to a lonely 5th ahead of Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) who passed Ducati’s Davide Giugliano and his team mate Eugene Laverty on the final lap to finish 6th.

Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia) and David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team) were never more than 0.1s apart for the entire race with Salom eventually coming out on top by 0.014s on the line to claim the EVO honours.

Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) crashed out after improving from his lowly grid position whilst Fabien Foret (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki), Geoff May (Team Hero EBR), both Grillini Kawasaki riders Bryan Staring and Sheridan Morais, Peter Sebestyen (Team Toth BMW) and Chaz Davies all retired.

HELLE’S XS250 “CRÈME DIAMOND”

We need more women building motorcycles. As we lust over the continuous stream of gorgeous custom bikes that grace these pages there is no denying one major common denominator, they are pretty much all built by men. As I showed my wife around the BSMC 3 show I was fascinated by the features she spotted, pulled apart, appreciated or hated on the bikes, stuff I had not even considered. It would be awesome to see more bikes built by a female creative eye.

Hopefully the work of Helle from Copenhagen might just encourage one or two more women into their sheds and to start getting some grease under their fingernails.

This is not the first creation to emerge from Helle’s shed and appear on these pages, in 2013 she showed her Suzuki GN 250, which sold earlier this year through the Bike Shed classified section. Next on her build list had been a Kawasaki Kz400 but when she came across this little Yamaha Xs250 in great condition the opportunity was too good to pass up. Back in her shed Helle found plenty of things about the Yamaha that did not meet her approval, “too thin tires, boring black handlebars, big old-fashioned instruments, way too much chrome; big chrome fenders, chrome chainguard and shiny rims. So I got rid of all the things I did not like.”

One thing Helle did find to her liking was the engine, “I like when a bike shines, but the motor was glossy enough in itself. Very clean and shiny, like a diamond.” With this in mind the theme for the build was born, Diamonds. After all, as Helle points out, “Diamonds are a girls best friend”.

A pair of fat diamond Coker tyres on black painted rims kickstarted the theme and instantly changed the feel of the bike, “it got this Beefy look that I like so much.” The pattern of the tread recurs in the choice of the plush brown grips. Next up Helle’s attention inevitably turned to the seat.

“Of course the theme should also be reflected there. I ripped my old couch for leather and made this nice natural brown seat with diamond pattern in beige stitches”.  That is dedication to a cause! Imagine what your significant other might say if you tore up the sofa for a motorcycle seat? I guess if the result looked this good you may just get away with it.

Helle encountered her first problem with the battery, she had initially fitted a tiny lithium unit hidden under the seat but it would not hold charge even over a short ride so she swapped it out for a larger version. The sewing machine came back out and with a few remnants of the old couch she fashioned a leather battery box and strap to suspend it in the space under the seat. “I found out I’m pretty good at sewing in leather, so I have now invested in an old industrial Pfaff sewing machine so I can make my own seats in the future.”

As the bike came together Helle stood back and admired her work, “I thought it was crème for my eyes. The bike was so nice and clean you could lick it. So of course the colour of the tank should be like vanilla ice crème,” The name of her steed was chosen, the Crème Diamond. The yellow tint headlight adds a little extra sparkle to the palette.

We don’t go for gratuitous pictures of beautiful women gracing motorbikes here at the Bike Shed, we prefer to see images of bike and triumphant builder together. Just like these.

Helle and her boyfriend Jesper apparently have a collection of motorcycles building up in their shed awaiting creative attention, we look forward to seeing the results of their next build. In the meantime might we suggest getting this lady a diamond in a different setting Jesper?

via THE BIKE SHED

HONDA GL1000 BY ER MOTORCYCLES

When I hear that a shop has torn into a Honda Gold Wing, my curiosity is immediately piqued. As clichéd as it is, “less is more” is a maxim for many builders—and Honda’s legendary tourer is the exact opposite.

Thankfully the bike in question is a 1975 GL1000—the first production model ‘Wing. That means less bodywork and four cylinders, unlike the six sported by the starships of the late 80s and 90s.

If anyone can put a unique spin on a GL1000, it’s Slovenia’s ER Motorcycles. Blaž Šuštaršič and his team are rapidly earning a reputation for building tasteful customs with an air of brooding intrigue.

According to Blaž, this GL1000 belongs to an Italian gentleman. “Italians are true hedonists, and our client on this project is no exception. After our first meeting it was clear what la dolce vita is all about and we wanted to translate it into our rebuild.”

The client was planning to do some travelling with his GL1000, starting with a trip from Verona to Nordkapp, Norway. So reliability and practicality were to be top priorities—without neglecting aesthetics. “In terms of design we wanted to create a robust yet comfortable travel bike, but keep its original vintage feel.”

The GL1000’s engine received a refresh, with a new clutch and belts, but ER opted to retain the stock carbs and air box. They fabricated a new exhaust system though, and capped it with twin SuperTrapp mufflers. The wiring is all-new, based on a Motogadgetm-Unit linked up to Motogadget m-Switches and a Motoscope Classic speedo.

Leaving the frame mostly unaltered, ER then turned their attention to improving luggage capacity. Front, rear and side carrier racks were hand-made, as well as a headlight bracket and a neat radiator guard.

Hagon shocks were installed at the rear, and the 16” wheels are now kitted out with Avon MKII tyres. The engine is protected by custom-made crash bars, which double-up as spotlight mounts. ER has also fitted Renthal handlebars with trimmed Biltwell Thruster grips, a 7” headlight, and a Posh tail light.

The client’s need for packing space also led the team to manufacture a set of bespoke travel bags. “I love how those bags turned out, they really complete the overall look of the bike. They required long working hours to get the looks we wanted—and meet all functional needs—but it was worth it.’’

Tying everything together is a sublime matte blue, black and white paint job on the stock tank, matched to a well-padded, one-off leather seat. Tiny details abound: such as heat shields on the mufflers to protect the luggage, and a small plaque on the left engine cover with Nordkapp’s latitude. Everything was done in-house, and the entire build was completed in just two months.

The team dubbed the GL1000 “Nordiq”—a combination of its intended destination and the color on the fuel tank. “We really enjoyed working on this one, it was one of the most rewarding projects. We hope the bike will offer a unique travel experience—un viaggio perfetto if you wish.”

With equal portions of practicality and looks I’m sure it will. But what I really want to know is if they’re planning to produce any more of those bags.

Images by Jernej Konjajev. Follow ER Motorcycles’ news via their website and Facebook page.

via BIKEexif

BLANCPAIN ENDURANCE : Zandvoort, Course Qualif : Bleekemolen/Proczyk (Lamborghini/GRT) de bout en bout

Il aura fallu attendre le tout dernier des 30 tours de course à Zandvoort pour connaître les vainqueurs de la course qualificative du meeting Blancpain Sprint Series. Même si Jeroen Bleekemolen et Hari Proczyk, au volant de l’une des deux Lamborghini/GRT, ont fait la course en tête de bout en bout après être partis de la pole, la Mercedes SLS AMG GT3/HTP Motorsport de Max Götz a bien donné le change dans les ultimes boucles. Max Buhk avait donné le ton en s’élançant dans la #84. L’équipe technique HTP Motorsport a réalisé le ravitaillement parfait pour talonner la Lamborghini de tête dès son retour en piste.

Rien ne bougera jusqu’au damier, Buhk/Götz concédant 408 millièmes sur Bleekemolen/Proczyk. Malgré un ravitaillement raté, l’Audi R8 LMS ultra/Belgian Audi Club Team WRT de Ramos/Vanthoor revient de loin pour terminer au 3ème rang avec une belle prestation du tandem. On trouve même deux Audi du Belgian Audi Club Team WRT dans le quinté de tête avec Rast/Ide 4èmes, devant Jäger/Baumann sur la BMW Z4 GT3/BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert.

La course a été interrompue à deux reprises, une première fois pour sortir du bac l’Audi/Phoenix de Markus Winkelhock, une deuxième pour dégager la Ferrari/Villorba Corse de Salaquarda et la Lamborghini/Reiter de Rosina qui s’étaient accrochées. La pluie est venue troubler la course après seulement 20 minutes. On a joué la perfection chez Grasser Racing Team pour rentrer au moment idéal, soit dès la 1ère seconde de l’ouverture de la fenêtre.

Course compliqué pour l’Audi R8 LMS ultra/G-Drive Racing de Rusinov/Ortelli qui est partie de la voie des stands pour rallier l’arrivée au 9ème rang. Les deux BMW Z4 GT3/BMW Sports Trophy Team Brasil ont abandonné, toutes deux suite à un contact. Malgré une belle entame, la Mercedes SLS AMG GT3/HTP Motorsport de Dusseldorp/Afanasiev a elle aussi abdiqué.

Le classement est ici