ACE CAFE RADIO

    jeudi 24 juillet 2014

    1951 BSA STAR TWIN BONNEVILLE RACER


    bsa_star_twin_3
    There’s something unusual about the salt flats at Bonneville, for some reason the sodium from this location in Utah inspires some of the most jaw-dropping amateur engineering on earth – the veterans call it “salt fever” and once you’ve got it, you’ve got it for life.
    One such sufferer of salt fever is Dan Daughenbaugh, a remarkable man capable of backyard engineering at a world class level. His current project centres around a 1951 BSA Star Twin engine that he’s rebuilding and re-engineering into a world record capable salt flat racer.
    Rather than dilute his words by retyping them, I’ve decided to format them and add them below, so you can read the story of how this bike came to be. A team of filmmakers has united behind Dan and they’re currently raising funds to create a documentary surrounding him and his BSA Star Twin called “A Line in the Salt”, if you’d like to see the trailer and kick in a few bucks to help, you can click here to visit the campaign on IndieGoGo.
    “About the summer of 2011 I was beginning to toy with the idea of building a bike to race at Bonneville. I had been involved a little with other forms of motorcycle racing but never as a competitor. I had begun to assemble parts. The front frame loop I traded a guy a Harley wheel.
    The bottom of the loop was rusted through the tubes. David Bird made the rear loop and I welded it up in my shop on a homemade frame-jig. The front end is a Honda CL350 that I machined the trees to fit the head tube. I had to machine an axle to use the spool wheel in the Honda fork legs. The suitable pre 1956 motor for the class I wanted to be in was found after a local shop had burnt to the ground.
    A few days later they had a Fire Sale and there it was blackened and charred, all the pot metal parts had melted off but the cases were still good! The motor is a real mongrel inside. The stock crank had been know as a week link from when they were new and at the power levels I wanted to make would surely fail. I got to machining a later crank from a 70′s lightning in my garage to fit in the early cases.
    With that done I wanted to use longer rods to lower piston speed and take advantage of less rod angularity. I settled on Carillio Triumph 650 units hat were 1/2 inch longer than original. These had to be narrowed .160 on the big end to fit the crank. Nothing like milling away on brand new $600 rods. With those fitted Im running Triumph trident pistons in STD size.
    There is a .063 spacer under the barrel to keep the pistons from hitting the head Compression comes in at 13.6:1 and I run it on a Methanol/Nitromethane mix. The camshaft is a Harmon and Collins roller unit that was made in the 60′s, I have never seen another one. I made the pushrods out of aluminum and the valvetrain is a mix of modern ford V8 parts and Titanium pieces.
    The rocker arms as well as many other internal parts have peen polished to reduce windage and stress risers. Since the race In Ohio I have rebuilt the top end, made a new stainless 2-1 exhaust, rebuilt the trans complete machining the trans case for better bearings and upgraded the wheel bearings. Im hoping with the new upgrades and additional room we will go well above the current 111mph record.”
    Click here to visit the official A Line in the Salt website.
    bsa star twin 15 1480x986 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 14 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 13 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 12 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 11 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 10 1480x986 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 9 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 8 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 7 1480x986 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 6 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 5 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 4 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 3 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 2 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    bsa star twin 1 1480x957 1951 BSA Star Twin Bonneville Racer
    via SILODROME

    IPOTHESYS BY FILIPPO BARBACANE


    Moto Guzzi Griso Custom 13
    The motorcycle you see here is called “Ipothesys”, it’s officially labelled “Prototypo 1″ and it’s the first in a limited edition of bikes that will be produced by renowned custom motorcycle builder Filippo Barbacane of Officine Rossopuro.
    Ipothesys is directly based on the frame and engine of the Moto Guzzi Griso, a 1200cc V-Twin that Moto Guzzi has been selling just about as fast as it can make them. Barbacane wanted to take the Griso and create something with more advanced performance capabilities, so in late 2012 the stock bike was rolled into the Officine Rossopuro garage and work began.
    The Griso was stripped to its bare essentials, the front and rear suspension was discarded as was the fuel tank and existing body work. The air box was replaced with a stand-alone pod filter and a new subframe was added to lower the riding position and reduce weight. A new fuel tank, rear cowl and front fairing were created and bolted into place.
    A bespoke 2-into-2 exhaust was fabricated and fitted, once this was done Barbacane turned his attention to the springs, in order to give the bike serious performance chops the suspension and braking was replaced and tuned for the track. Up front, a pair of beefy Marzocchi SBK-spec RAC 50mm forks were added courtesy of a new triple-tree, on the back a Bitubo XXF-11 mono-shock was bolted into place.
    The front and rear brakes were replaced with Brembos, as an Italian it would have been absurd for Barbacane to have chosen anything else, the slew of other, smaller parts is too extensive to list here but if you’d like to read more or order your own you can click here to visit the official website of Ipothesys Motorcycles, they’re currently producing these in limited numbers and have plans for Ipothesys 2 in the coming year.
    Moto Guzzi Griso Custom 740x493 Ipothesys by Filippo Barbacane
    Moto Guzzi Griso Custom 15 740x493 Ipothesys by Filippo Barbacane
    Moto Guzzi Griso Custom 14 740x493 Ipothesys by Filippo Barbacane
    Moto Guzzi Griso Custom 12 740x493 Ipothesys by Filippo Barbacane
    Moto Guzzi Griso Custom 9 740x493 Ipothesys by Filippo Barbacane
    Moto Guzzi Griso Custom 3 740x493 Ipothesys by Filippo Barbacane
    Moto Guzzi Griso Custom 6 740x493 Ipothesys by Filippo Barbacane
    Moto Guzzi Griso Custom 5 740x493 Ipothesys by Filippo Barbacane
    Additional information via Bike EXIF.
    via SILODROME

    Snapshot, 1967: Who'd even notice Raquel Welch?


    Take a look at this stunning beauty. No, not Raquel Welch, although we admit she’s fairly provocative – but we’re far more interested in what’s under the dark blue dress of the 1960s Italian beauty standing next to her. Can you identify the car?
    The characteristic boat-tail, narrow rear lights and reflectors, chrome bumper and dual exhaust tips – these would describe many an Italian Spider travelling the highways of 1960s America. But in this case, Raquel Welch is leaning on one of the 200 examples of the Ferrari 275 GTS, a convertible built primarily for the American market. In 1967, Welch appeared in the film Fathom, along with the Pininfarina-styled, open-top Ferrari – and legend has it that director Leslie H. Martinson generously gave her the car after the release of the film.

    A perfect pairing

    Raquel Welch owned and drove the Ferrari, chassis number 07359, for some years before selling it on. We’re not sure where that particular GTS is today but, in August, RM Auctions will be offering two similarly attractive specimens for sale: a black GTS from 1965  and a silver GTS from 1966, both of which can be found in the Classic Driver Market.
    Enzo Ferrari had many beautiful daughters: the fastest and most attractive Ferraris of all time can be found in the Classic Driver Market.

    Argentina