courses de Noel !!! Kassensymphonie

KEVILS SPEEDSHOP SCHWARTZ

It’s the middle of the week, which means Kevils Speed Shop must built another BMW by now. Ah, here we are, found one. Joking aside, Kev Hill must run a tight ship own there in Devon as the quality and quantity of bikes leaving his workshop would take some beating.

This 1980 R100RS is the third classically styled Beemer to receive the Kevils treatment. The first was commissioned by a clothing brand and the second by a private customer. Said customer, David, ordered a classic scrambler and paid a deposit, at which point Kev and the boys set to and built more or less what you see here. With somewhat less success they tried to reach David by all modern methods of communication but failed and after nearly eight months there was no choice but to sell the bike to someone else. Another existing customer snapped it up, before the inevitable happened; David called apologetically and had to order a second bike.

The aim was to make this version look like a production scrambler from the more simple, post-war period so parts from other marques have been seamlessly incorporated. Triumph USA spec high-rise and swept-back handlebars look meaner in black but really pile on the visual years; in an intentional way. Period switches and vintage style grips maintain the theme. The standard voltmeter in the headlight unit has been swapped-out for a Motogadget Tiny, with a white face to break up the black and keep things looking classily classic.

The mudgaurds have been painted gloss black with a white, twin pinstripe to match the fuel tank, before adding a retro number plate. The headlight with its continental yellow hue further belies the donor’s age.

Wire wheels make all the difference, replacing the giveaway modern cast mags. In this case the rims and spokes are powder coated black, with a pair of Continental TKC80s. The seat and detachable pillion pad are of course handmade, from quality brown leather, the latter fixes to a bespoke subframe that doubles as a luggage rack.

That retro number plate is perfect for confusing old people and scything through unruly pedestrians, I might fit one to my bike for dispatching iPhone engrossed idiots who insist on wandering into the road. Luckily for folk in David’s way the upswept Triumph silencers should provide fair warning.

As with all KSS builds, a complete and total strip down is carried out before replacing gaskets, seals and bearings; looking good stuck on the side of the road is a hard thing to pull off, so Kev makes sure his customers don’t have to try. In a similar vein, it’s rare for Kev to leave the standard Bing carbs in place as the Mikuni replacements are easier to set up, stay tuned for longer and offer crisper throttle response.

Thankfully this time David answered the phone, paid the bill and took delivery of his fine retro scrambler. From here it looks like it may well have been worth the extra wait. Check back here next week for another instalment from Kevils Speed Shop, no pressure Kev 

Professionally photographed by Focal Point studios Torbay

via The Bike Shed

Remember when Ferrari used to win races?

With the recent dismissal of Marco Mattiacci, the Ferrari F1 team seems as chaotic as ever. For the first time since 1993, it has failed to win a race all season – a far cry from the glory years of top-tier dominance under il Commendatore, which have been described in a new book by Veloce...

Despite the book’s title ‘Grand Prix Ferrari – The years of Enzo Ferrari’s Power, 1948-1980’, the 400-odd page hardback begins during Enzo’s formative years at Alfa Romeo in the 1920s, setting the scene for the fascinating story that was to come. After explaining how Ferrari developed his racing outfit immediately post-War – just as Alfa Romeo was withdrawing from GP racing as Italy’s main representative – author Anthony Pritchard goes on to document the Scuderia’s top-flight fortunes in great detail, recounting tales of triumph, tragedy and the occasional tantrum.

Each race during Enzo’s reign is detailed with a race report, along with detailed model development tables, racing specifications and chassis numbers – and an array of fascinating pictures, many of which are from the author’s collection and have never been seen before. Pritchard sadly passed away shortly after delivering the material to the publisher so, considering his position as a lifelong authority on Ferrari and Maserati, this limited-numbers book (no more than 1,500 will be produced) will be seen as the ultimate parting gift by many thankful tifosi.

Photos: Veloce Publishing

The book ‘Grand Prix Ferrari – The years of Enzo Ferrari’s Power, 1948-1980’ will go on sale in early December on the Veloce website.

ZADIG MC ONE PUNCH

One Punch Mickey - a pikey bare knuckle boxing champ with a penchant for “dags” and caravans was brought to vivid life by Brad Pitt in the 2000 Guy Ritchie film Snatch. He is a character that has inspired a thousand dodgy impressions and many a burst of eager yet unfruitful abdominal workouts. And now he has inspired a motorcycle, this stunning “Vintage gypsy dragster” by Zadig MC. Fabian Giordano, the man behind Zadig, deploys a unique method of design for his creations, he picks a literary or film character and then builds the bike he envisages them riding.

“D’ya like dags?” Yes Mickey, but I prefer your ride.

Zadig MC first burst through the Bike Shed doors a little over a month ago when their stunning Salander Model, inspired by the titular character from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, provoked many a lustful gaze. If you missed it, you missed out. Catch up here and discover all about the wonderful charitable intentions of Zadig MC. Should you require any further motivation to click through you would also uncover some culinary advice on what best accompanies strawberries and many glorious pictures of a very lovely lady adorning said machine.

Back to One Punch Mickey and Fabian.

“This project was emotionally intense because Snatch is not only a film for me. It’s the name of my dog and a long story. The father of Snatch, a best friend of mine, had a car crash with his wife and they left us forever. They left a dog and an 8 month baby behind them. Stolen lives… The reason why sometimes, some dates, when everybody is happy, I feel very dark. When facing death you discuss nightmares and faith, I explore this relation on this bike.”

With a bland 2007 Harley XL883 Sportster as his starting point Fabian let loose his rampant creativity. The frame was chopped and modified to house the motors oil, liberating the area beneath the seat. Fabian had this space reserved for the super special, sinuous, intestinal exhaust, capped by a pair of brass tips. Fears of an overheating derriere are assuaged by the use of thermal insulation tape beneath the heavy bandaging on the pipes.

To attain the hunched stance of the unpredictable fighter the forks were dropped through the yokes and the internals were correspondingly upgraded with firm progressive springs. Koni shocks and Roland Sands clip ons married with modified Suzuki GSXR rear sets on custom mounts complete the fearsome riding position. Bare knuckle fighters do not crave comfort.

When the gorgeous Camille Rochet isn’t aboard the exquisitely detailed tank makes do as the bikes crowning glory. It was found in a scrapyard without any identifying marks, Fabian has no idea from what model it came from, guesses on a postcard please (sod it, use the comments section). It was heavily-modified to hold the injection harness and the fuel pump. Fabian restored and painted the tank in bloody red before destroying and burning it in the pursuit of patination.

“The colour remembers a burned heart and the engravings the gypsy world, the devotion, the Medieval Ages in Europe and the soul of the bike.”

Many parts received this brutal treatment in the pursuit of their finished form, check out this epic quote from Fabian.

“My idea was to continue to explore & introduce the destruction processes into the artistic vocabulary of custom building in order to collapse means, subject matter and affect into a unified expression for the purpose of giving identity to motorcycles.”

The hand crafted, vintage leather solo seat was commissioned from Ends Cuoio in Italy. Fabian also tinted and aged the Brooks leather grip tape to match. The levers are custom fabricated with tiny switches sealed into them, completely clearing the bars of clutter and yet maintaining street legality.

The retro yellow headlight illuminates the road and adds a burst of colour to the monochrome palette. I can’t decide whether it represents a ray of hopeful sunlight in a dark world or the sinister flash of a gypsy traveller’s tobacco stained teeth and whiskey yellowed eyes.

Here is another example of Fabian’s hardcore approach, epitomising the gritty heart of this machine.

“The techniques used include demolition and wreckage through the use of burning, tearing, punching, and the implementation of destruction by natural elements such as fire, corrosion, water, and gravity.”

When a teaser shot of One Punch landed on the Bike Shed Facebook page yesterday the like button took an absolute hammering, within 24 hours nearly 10,000 people had expressed their online adoration and we were not a bit surprised. It is a beast of a bike, a fitting tribute to One Punch Mickey O’Neil.  We cannot wait to see which character Zadig MC embodies in their next creation.

A special thank you from Zadig MC to photographer Sebastien Laurent and model Camille Rochette, a special thank you from the Bike Shed to Fabian for sharing One Punch with us.

via The Bike Shed