STEVE’S K100

Friend of the Shed, Steve Heath from Dorset, has had a couple of a bikes featured so far this year, an R80 and anR100. The lairy Outspan orange R80 recently sold through the Bike Shed classifieds so Steve was positively swimming in two pence pieces. Anyone who’s built a bike and then advertised it will be aware that those who lambast them for a seemingly inflated price need to sod off to a cold outbuilding and try it for themselves. Unless you have a stopclock running like Gary Kasparov at the world championships, earning an easy crust from customising bikes is an unachievable utopia. Besides, Steve builds bikes for the love of it under his Soul’d Out banner.

Wanting to ride a fresh build to London’s Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, Steve discounted the smaller capacity offerings in his donor range and opted for the visually challenging K100 that was languishing in the garage. Like the slightly out of favour, plump ginger girl at the school disco, a K100 just needs a bit of love and a dark corner. And lets face it, at least a K100 will put out on first date, unlike the slightly frigid and underwhelming K75.

Steve put the K on an Atkins diet with a strict burpees routine, stripping pounds wherever possible. The design boys from Bavaria clearly never had to push any of their efforts around the factory as the over engineering results in some spectacular obesity. The clocks for example weighed 3 kilos, which sounds like lots of pounds to me. A new subframe with seat base replaces the hefty factory fitted option, with a proper, comfortable saddle on top ready for 500 mile days.

Heavy mild steal exhausts fitted by manufacturers are not only an easy place to save some weight but the perhaps the single simplest way to create presence with anything powered by an internal combustion engine. Steve fabricated a 4-into-1 system, leading to a Moto GP style silencer, which rumbles nicely without attracting an ASBO. A race-spec fuel pressure regulator was fitted along with a new fuel pump to give the engine an uninterrupted source of the good stuff. Said motor was in fine fettle so didn’t need any drastic stripping down.

Yup, here’s another weighty machine fitted with Continental’s TKC80s. Yes, this choice of rubber is not going to be the thing that finally gives Guy Martin an Isle of Man TT win but they are good news for custom porkies like the K100. Steve has them fitted to his KTM Adventure and peg-scraping antics are no stranger to his Sunday activities. Forks are dropped in the yokes a few mm, fork oil is thicker and springs are stiffer to sharpen the handling; the rear shock is wound to max on the preload to ensure a purposeful stance and extra firmness.

Organic carrots taste better than the homogenous straight ones from Tescos and bare metal looks better without paint. Well, that’s completely my opinion but I like rawness. So does Steve so he stripped the aluminium fuel tank, buffed it a bit and coated with a few layers of lacquer to keep oxidisation at bay. Matching side panels suggest a smidgen of racing intentions, whilst covering up the wide-wasted battery.

Continuing with the lightweight theme, plastic mudguards keep the crud out of the radiator fins, and Steve’s teeth. A Koso digital gauge is slim and barely tips the scales, so one was fitted to the handmade aluminium dash.

With midnight oil burnt and time running out Steve put the finishing touches to the K100 on a dark Saturday evening. The following morning was damp and foggy but as the sun won the battle for the horizon, the slightly misfiring Beemer was already parked up under the Shard’s shadow in London’s Borough Market, awaiting the start of the 2014 DGR. Luckily BSMC’s Ali Latimer was on hand with his neatly arranged tool kit to ensure a smooth firing order resumed. After a glorious day spent with likeminded folk under tanzanite skies Steve completed his five hundred mile round trip back home and stood, for a moment, pleased with himself and his endeavours.

No doubt Steve will be back with another build before Christmas, if he can get his priorities in order and stop having inconvenient heart attacks! No pressure Steve 

via The Bike Shed

Chevignon, The Real Choice

Back in the French Days pour Chevignon dont la collection automne-hiver se twiste dans l'époque avec esprit. Tout droit sortis d'un 90's revisité et de leur street culture, teddys collège, bombers, doudounes et cuir, comme avant, se font signe de ralliement du clan. Riders ou bikers, toujours en bande, jamais loups solitaires, réinvestissant la ville et, de casses en parkings, de cafés en soirées, en font leur terrain de jeu. Crazy Ducks ou Canards Sauvages, reste à choisir son crew, sa loi. Et, avec eux tracer sa voie.



CREDITS : 
Réalistaion : Yan Morvan 
Directeur de la photographie : Martial Schmeltz
Stylisme : Marine Braunschvig
Set Design : Vincent Olivieri 
Chef Groomer : Sebastien Le Corroller 
Casting, Crazy Ducks : Yannick Mabille, Antonin David, David Prat, Gary Allemann, Romain Leclerc, Simon Andraca
Casting, Canards Sauvages : Ulysse Leverve, Melvin Israel, Eliot Leblane-Hartmann, Tom Hygreek, Rory O’Hara, Samuel Lhermillier 
Ingénieur Son : Rémi daru, Antoine Corbin
Musique : Tech N9ne « The Beast », Universal Studios
Conseil Purchase Musique : Olivier Kreis 
Making Of vidéo : Pedro Podestà
Direction Artistique, Production et Casting : Al Dente
Remerciements : La casse d’athis Auto Mons, le parking Saint-Georges, le bar Hotel de la poste 75019, Medialab, Vantage, Panalux, Bicycle Store, Animaux Aupetit, Françoise Bornstein

Rouge à lévres

Moto GP ; Baz : « Je suis satisfait, malgré mes deux chutes » / Two light crashes as Baz searches for wet limit

Contraint à poursuivre son adaptation au MotoGP™ sous la pluie aujourd’hui à Valence, le Français est tombé à deux reprises mais a pu continuer à gagner en expérience sur sa nouvelle moto.

Arrivé dans le team NGM Forward Racing lundi pour ses débuts en MotoGP™, Loris Baz a dû composer avec une météo peu clémente aujourd’hui mais a tout de même couvert 32 tours. Le Français s’est classé neuvième avec un chrono d’1’46.143 et a apprécié sa seconde journée au guidon de la Forward-Yamaha Open, malgré deux chutes.

« Ma première impression sur piste mouillée était bonne, » a affirmé Baz. « Je voulais savoir comment les pneus allaient se comporter sur piste mouillée et j’ai donc profité de la pluie pour le faire. Je dois encore gagner en confiance avec les freins mais nous continuerons à travailler demain. Je suis satisfait, malgré mes deux chutes. »

« Tout va bien et ce n’était qu’une erreur en descendant les vitesses. C’était juste une erreur idiote. Je ne suis pas encore complètement à l’aise sur ma position de pilotage et ça vient peut-être de ça. Quoi qu’il en soit, je me sens bien et aujourd’hui il ne s’agissait que de faire quelques tours pour mieux comprendre la moto et les pneus. »

The second day of MotoGP™ testing in Valencia was made trickier by the rain on Tuesday at the Spanish track but Loris Baz was one of several riders adapting to new machinery this week who took the opportunity to try his bike in the wet.

The Frenchman completed 32 laps, setting a best time of 1’46.143 and finishing in ninth position. Two small crashes in the afternoon, without consequences for the rider, did not stop Baz from enjoying his second day on the Forward-Yamaha MotoGP bike.

The Frenchman said, “The first impression in the wet is good. I wanted to know how the tyres work on the wet so I took advantage of the rain to test. I still need to gain more confidence also with the brakes but tomorrow we will continue to work. Despite the two crashes, I’m satisfied.”

“I’m ok and it was just a mistake in shifting down. It’s just a silly mistake. I’m still not 100% comfortable with my position on the bike so maybe it came from that. Anyway, I’m feeling good. I was just doing laps today to understand the bike and the tyres.”