MotoGP ; Márquez mène les essais libres au Grand Prix General de Valence / Marquez the pace setter as final round gets underway

Marc Márquez a réalisé le meilleur chrono de la journée de vendredi en MotoGP™ au Grand Prix Generali de Valence. Derrière lui, Jorge Lorenzo et Andrea Dovizioso complètent le Top 3.

Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) se sera mis en confiance aujourd’hui sur la piste de Cheste en terminant les deux premières séances d’essais du Grand Prix Generali de Valence avec le meilleur temps. Le Champion du Monde MotoGP™ 2013 et 2014 a tourné en 1’31.296 le matin et fini à une seconde du record du circuit qu’il avait établi en qualifications l’an dernier (1’30.237).

Moins performant d’un peu plus d’un dixième de seconde l’après-midi, Márquez demeurait néanmoins le plus rapide en piste et finissait la deuxième séance devant Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), Aleix Espargaró (NGM Forward Racing) et Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP). 

Vainqueur à Valence l’an dernier, Lorenzo avait lui aussi été un peu plus rapide le matin et occupe la seconde position sur le classement combiné, à 0.193s de Márquez et devant Dovizioso et Espargaró, qui ont profité de leur pneu arrière tendre cet après-midi.

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) complète le Top 5 de la journée, à 0.351s de Márquez, devant Cal Crutchlow (Ducati), Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), seulement dixième en FP2, Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP), Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech3) et Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3). 

Héctor Barberá (Avintia Racing) poursuivait son adaptation à la Ducati et s’est classé onzième devant Michele Pirro, en wildcard avec la marque italienne, et Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing).

Inscrit en wildcard avec Suzuki, Randy de Puniet a dû abandonner l’une de ses GSX-RR en bord de piste en fin de séance suite à ce que cette dernière ait laissé échapper un épais nuage de fumée. Suite à cet incident, le Français a conclu la journée à la dix-neuvième place, à une seconde et demie du leader. 

Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive M7 Aspar), qui deviendra pilote d’essais pour le HRC l’an prochain, a eu une première journée délicate sur la toute nouvelle RC213V-RS et a fini vingt-et-unième, derrière son coéquipier Nicky Hayden.

Mike di Meglio (Avintia Racing) était quant à lui vingt-cinquième.

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The MotoGP™ FP2 session saw Marc Marquez on the pace at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, with Andrea Dovizioso and Aleix Espargaro also amongst the top three. Marquez was also the fastest ride on the combined timesheets from FP1 and FP2, in front of Jorge Lorenzo and Dovizioso.

Marquez’s (Repsol Honda Team) time of 1’31.296 from the morning session was the fastest of the day, with Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) second best overall courtesy of a 1’31.489 lap. Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was third fastest on Friday courtesy of his best lap from FP2, which was less than 0.1s off Lorenzo’s pace.

Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) were both in Friday’s top five, which featured a real mix of manufacturers and technical packages.

Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team), Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP), Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) completed the top ten.

Wild card Randy de Puniet (Team Suzuki MotoGP) improved by over a second towards the end of the FP2 session, before a technical fault with the GSX-RR saw him pull over at trackside with smoke pouring from engine. He was 19^th overall.

For full MotoGP combined session results from Friday at Valencia click here.

Gone South with Vita Brevis Films

The open road provides a pathway to the uncontrolled spirit, a state of being that is universally felt yet so challenging to capture through a medium.

Gone South with Vita Brevis Films from VITA BREVIS FILMS on Vimeo.

BOBBER VS SCRAMBLER

When factories dip their toes into the world of custom building, it’s all too easy to smell a corporate stunt and dismiss the outcome as driven by research marketing and designed to drive ROI, but in this case Triumph have, well, triumphed, by challenging their own staff to contest an in-house build off – all on a voluntary basis and in their own time, and the results speak for themselves. There are no catalogue items lined-up to launch a range of accessories, and the boys at the factory have pulled no punches in rebuilding major components while throwing the EU regs out of the window with a pair of bikes that should have the pro custom builders out there checking their own levels of engineering ambition and creativity. Pulling off a factory custom build in the glaring public eye of social media with the most discerning and cynical audience imaginable meant just one thing: Knock our socks off – or die trying.

Triumph decided to pit their internal teams against each other in a build-off that started back in May, and the finished bikes were revealed at the Milan show this week. The only thing we can complain about is that it’s a competition so one team has to be declared the winner. To me, both bikes are stand-out custom builds, and I’d hate to have to split them and pronounce one better than the other… although I’ll be eating my words at the MCN show in two weeks time when I’ve been asked to help do exactly that. Ouch.

Each of the teams was given a new Bonneville to play with, but with so many posh parts available in the factory, plus more than a few skilled machinists and engineers, it was clear from the outset that these weren’t going to be cookie-cutter customs. The heat was on…

TFC1: The Bobber

A traditional bobber was out of the question for a team who count three Bonnie customs and a chopped V8 amongst their own personal vehicles. Their build was to be a single-sided, twin-tube hard-tail with a girder front end supported by twin Fox factory shocks with a remote bar-mounted adjustor. The rear-end features a seat supported by a third Fox unit and adjustable linkage, and also houses a Radianz LED light in two neat strips.

The cylinders have been reversed, turning the carbs and bellmouths to the front of the bike, allowing a super-clean exhaust to exit at the rear, while the engine internals were completely reworked. The engine remains fuel-injected, with all the electronic sensors that are required stuffed into one half of a split tank sourced from a ’69 Bonnie US Export. Start and kill buttons were added to the dummy half, which also contains a reduced loom and bespoke electronics board, along with a MotoGadget speedo and keyless ignition. The other side of the tank houses the fuel, the fuel injection pump and filters, and is finished with a pop-up fuel cap.

Astonishingly, the frame parts have been glued together (ok, “bonded”) with some hi-tech bespoke adhesive by ThreeBond, to allow a weld-free finish. We assume it’s all safe and proper! Four-pot brake calipers make sure the beast pulls up to a sharp stop and of course the wheels had to be wire-spoked.

TFC 2: The Scrambler

We see plenty of Triumph scramblers here on the Bike Shed, and some of them are stunners, so it’s all the more impressive how far this build stands out in such a densely-populated crowd. The team’s goal was to take on the genre with a build that was more than a simple nod to the old desert sleds and trackers that many of us aspire to. This build was going to be all about performance, handling and genuine off-road ability.

Before their donor Bonnie had even reached the bench the team had decided on their approach, which was to match the geometry and suspension travel of a modern competition motorcrosser, coupled with a properly uprated power plant. The exisiting steel frame was ditched in favour of a bespoke aluminium unit with light weight and aggressive geometry. It also served to hide all the throttle linkages and cables. The subframe was built from titanium, hand welded in-house before being finished with shot-blast and masked welds. …Trick enough for you yet?

The single-sided swingarm was pinched from a Speed Triple, which we can only assume is tucked away around the back, standing on a wooden block. It’s been inverted and modified – and it looks wicked. This setup required a mono-shock conversion, which benefits from a Nitron Racing System shock which is paired with a set of bespoke forks up front, and radial calipers don’t hurt either.

You’ll note the finish on the fuel tank, and by now will have realised that it’s unlikley to be 3M carbon-look wrap. Ace Fibreglass & Carbon assisted the team by producing a full carbon tank, plus battery tray and a few other bits of bodywork. The tank alone weighs less than a third of the original item, continuing the theme of weight-loss coupled with power-gain.

Those power gains come from a host of tweaks, including skimmed and ported heads, with large valves and Daytona throttle bodies, matched to a set of modified spun aluminium inlet trumpets. The team also engineered a one-off set of high-lift cams matching the Daytona profile. Although the bike hasn’t been dyno’d the team expect a full 25% increase in power.

Taking the grunt to the dirt are a pair of 17 inch Kineo wheels fitted with chunky treaded 180 rear and 130 front tyres, which is more supermoto than scrambler, but it should also provide flickable handling and great traction on the road – even on those Continental knobblies.

To sum it up, Triumph set themselves a potentially horrible challenge. The custom bike scene isn’t built around modern manufacturer’s bikes, and we all love to complain about the corporate vibe of the modern motorcycle marketing machine, but these two teams have put their heart and soul into two of the most authentic and original builds we’ve seen for a while, and they did it all under wraps and with minimal fanfare. Hats off to the teams, and to the business, for giving them free reign to do what few other manufacturers would dare to do in-house.

The tough part? Now you have to vote for your preferred build. If we were in charge, both would come equal first. VoteHERE. And if you come to the NEC in a couple of weeks time, you’ll see the bikes there.

via the bike shed

EXCLUSIVE: HUSQVARNA MOTORCYCLE CONCEPTS

Husqvarna has always had that elusive cool factor. Bikes sporting the classic “gun sight” logo have traditionally been fast and good-looking—just like famous owner Steve McQueen, whose weapon of choice in the 1970s was a Husky 400.

Today, that cool factor has just ramped up a couple of notches. Husqvarna has thrown the wraps off two stunning new ‘401’ concepts at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan.

Created by the industrial design company Kiska, they’re designed to gauge public reaction before possible production.

There are two machines: the Vit Pilen (“White Arrow” in Swedish) and the Svart Pilen (Black Arrow). They take their inspiration from the famed Silver Pilen of 1955—a machine that was lighter, smaller and faster than its competitors.

The 401 concepts are anything but antiquated, though. They’re sporting upside-down WP forks, lightweight trellis frames, and 17-inch wheels with modern rubber. Power comes from a state-of-the-art 400cc water-cooled single. Output is 43hp and the bikes weigh a mere 135 kg (297 pounds).

Kiska’s senior designer Björn Shuster explains the thinking: “The 401s are not recollections of the past. They’re about purity, simplicity of form, and economy of line. Those are the fundamentals of the Husqvarna design language. It doesn’t matter if it was 60 years ago or now, the same mentality remains.”

“A lot of modern machinery has become so hyper-focused, it’s difficult for the customer to inject his or her own style into the bike. So we wanted to create a platform that offers more freedom,” says Björn.

“Maybe you want to run tall bars and a high pipe for some fire-road fun. Or install clip-ons, for more weight over the front end at your next track day. Or perhaps you just prefer one stance to another. It’s up to you.”

401 Svart Pilen (above) The Svart pays homage to the rich off-road heritage of Husqvarna. It’s still very much a road bike, but the ancillary components will make your life easier when the pavement ends.

The muffler is mounted high, out of the way of rocks and debris. The headlamp has an integrated cage that fully encloses the bowl: it’s the old headlamp grill reinterpreted in a modern way.

The solo seat has a grippy texture and makes room for a small utility rack at the back.

There’s a matching rack on the tank, giving the rider multiple storage options for longer off-road trips.

The riding position is upright, with wide bars and grippy pegs. A skidplate protects the crankcase and the tires are aggressive but street-legal knobbies.

401 Vit Pilen (above) “This model is meant to show how simple and pure a roadbike can be,” says Björn. The rearsets give maximum clearance in the corners, and clip-ons are mounted to stout triple clamps. A neat detail: the clamp bolts are installed from the front, allowing the surfaces to be as clean as possible. Even the headlight holder is integrated into the clamps, which also support the digital display.

From the engine cradles to the fenders, each part has been constructed with the Husqvarna ideals of simplicity, honesty, and cleaniness. The muffler is not your typical trapezoidal ray gun sticking out of the back: it’s just a clean oval section, and all the better for it.

“The Vit Pilen is what a stripped down street bike should look like,” says Björn. “Reduced to the minimum and lightweight. The stance and proportions let you know what it’s waiting to do.”

If the reaction to the 401 concepts is good, we’re told that Husqvarna will put them into production.

If the price was right, would you buy one?

Husqvarna Motorcycles | Kiska | Images by Piers Spencer-Phillips of Derestricted

via BIKEexif