This Ferrari 512 M Changed the Racing World Forever

When the Sunoco Ferrari 512 M first appeared at Daytona in 1971 it was a revelation. Manned by a dream team that included owner Roger Penske, chief mechanic John “Woody” Woodard, and drivers Mark Donohue and David Hobbs, the car combined Ferrari’s pedigree with Penske’s legendary attention to detail in everything from his crew’s uniforms to the polished wheels. Slated to run at Daytona, Sebring, Le Mans, and Watkins Glen, this 512 M was the odds-on favorite every time the Penske team rolled it onto the starting grid.

In a historic run of bum luck, however, the car never won a single race.

Debuting at the 24 Hours of Daytona, Donohue put the 512 M on the pole. Just before midnight, however, Vic Elford blew a tire on his Porsche 917 and in the ensuing slowdown, Charles Perry and his 911S ran into Donohue and the 512 M. The Penske crew taped and patched up the car as best they could and watched Donohue and Hobbs fight their way back to a third place finish.

Next up was the 12 Hours of Sebring, where the 512 M was once again on the pole. In the fourth hour of the race, away from photographers’ cameras, Pedro Rodriguez, driving a Porsche 917, rammed Donohue multiple times, sending the Ferrari into the pits for repairs. Once again, the pit crew managed to get the car back on the track, where it finished sixth.

Shipped to France for the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Ferrari 512 M was considered an underdog against the long-tailed Porsche 917s, which had a speed advantage over the Ferrari. Alas, the Sunoco team barely got a chance to prove itself: the 512 M retired with engine failure on Saturday evening.

Finally, it was back to the United States for the Watkins Glen 6 hours. Donohue was leading in the 54th lap when a broken steering knuckle sent him into the pits and out of the race. The Penske team came back the next day to run the car in the Watkins Glen Can Am race but the car’s original racing days were over.

Despite its misfortunes on the track, the Sunoco Ferrari 512 M and the team that ran it remain among the most important racing stories of the 1970s. At a time when racing teams paid little attention to “spit and polish,” Roger Penske demanded that his cars and his teams be precise, disciplined, and spotless. Remove bad luck from the equation and this insistence on excellence would’ve paid off. As it is, it still changed the world of motorsports, as other teams quickly realized that they would have to change their own operations if they hoped to compete successfully in the long term.

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WRC, Mexique : Complètement à l’Ouest !

Le WRC est à l’Ouest ! En effet, au Mexique, le Championnat du monde des Rallyes FIA 2015 atteint le point le plus occidental (101° Ouest) - et le plus élevé (2781 mètres d’altitude) - de la saison.

Après le Nord, l’Ouest… Mais beaucoup pensent que les concurrents du WRC avaient atteint l’endroit le plus septentrional de la saison au point stop de Rojden - 60°29.433’ de latitude Nord – lors du dernier Rallye de Suède. Faux. C’est au Rallye de Finlande, en août prochain, que le WRC sera au point le plus septentrional de l’année, Jyvaskyla se trouvant sur le 62° parallèle nord.

En revanche, ce week-end, à Leon de los Aldamas, le Championnat du monde des Rallyes FIA va bien toucher son point le plus occidental de la saison. Le parc d’assistance du Rallye du Mexique se trouve à 101°39.436 Ouest. La spéciale la plus à l’Ouest de l’année sera Guanajuatito (ES19), dont le départ se trouve au-delà du 101^e méridien ouest.

Au Rallye du Mexique, les concurrents du WRC vont également atteindre l’altitude la plus élevée de la saison. La spéciale d’El Chocolate (ES4/8) passe à 2781 mètres et ses 44,13 km se situent à une altitude moyenne de 2520 mètres.

En Argentine, le WRC atteindra son point le plus austral à Merlo, province de San Luis à 250 km de Cordoba, où se déroulera une nouvelle Superspéciale (32°sud). C’est évidemment en Australie, à Coffs Harbour, que nous serons le plus à l’Est (153°), en septembre prochain.

Altitude, décalage horaire avec l’Europe (-7 heures), températures élevées et longues spéciales : le Rallye du Mexique est éprouvant physiquement pour les équipages.

‘77 Honda CB550 – ‘Blacksquare’

Great Britain and the United States of America have a proud history of building on each other’s innovations to move the whole of Western Civilisation along. While English minds may have created the industrial revolution, it took Henry Ford to crystallise the whole thing in mass production for the people. And while (arguably) it was Elvis who recorded the first Rock ‘n’ Roll song, it was clearly The Beatles and the Stones who perfected it ten years later. Then along comes New Jersey’s Kyril Dambuleff and his associates, who have managed to create ‘Blacksquare’ – one of the most beautiful, and one of the most British-looking bikes we’ve seen in a month of high tea Sundays. Philip Vincent, eat your jolly heart out.

The Blacksquare was based on a 1977 Honda CB550, and as Kyril puts it, “it was built with the objective to optimize form and function and to maximize the power to weight ratio.” In other words, their mission was to create a custom motorcycle that was elegant, simple, light and fun to ride. “The solution was a minimalist approach and to make sure we really paid attention to the details. Everything that is not essential for the machine to run has been eliminated.”

“There are no instruments. No mirrors. No front fender. No switches. No blinkers. No conveniences. No luxuries.”

“A headlight, tail lights and a license plate holder are all present and functional since they are required by law. The motorcycle is street legal.” Only the frame, engine, front forks, rear wheel hub, and side covers were retained from the ‘77 original. All the other components were either custom-made or custom-fitted, and that’s probably why it looks so damn good.

Aluminum, brass and stainless steel were used for all new parts, including the foot pegs, clutch and brake pedals, seat pan, brackets, velocity stacks, exhaust pipes, wheels and spokes, along with many other parts forged during nights hunched over a cold, metal lathe somewhere in Jersey. As a result, bike’s weight was reduced to a total of  170kg/375lb, down from the factory wet weight of 192kg/423lb.

Add a rider to the scales and you’re getting close to the magic 1cc-per-pound benchmark. That’s as good as a late-model 911 Carrera 4 and unlike the Porsche, riding this bike around town won’t make you look like your local bank manager undergoing a mid-life crisis; it’ll just make you look cool.

Kyril wears his gasoline-pumping heart on his sleeve when it comes to his influences. “This project was inspired by the works of talented custom motorcycle builders such as The Grave Crew, Falcon Motorcycles, Raccia Motorcycles, and many others. And it would have been impossible to complete without the help of many mechanics, machinists, welders, painters and other craftsmen.”

Did someone mention attention to detail?

“Building a custom motorcycle is a hell of a lot of fun, but it is a long process, too. It took me more than 2 years to finish.” In an attempt to help out some of his fellow aficionados and builders, Kyril took the time to note down some of the build’s finer details.

“The frame has a trimmed tail section. I removed the passenger foot peg supports, kick stand bracket, centre stand brackets, seat hinges and seat lock, and added new mufflers support panels and a kick stand bracket.”

“The engine is the original ‘77 HONDA CB550 unit, completely rebuilt with all-Japanese OEM parts. The carbs were treated similarly, but with the addition of a custom brass shaft for the main stay and brass velocity stacks by Steel Dragon Performance.”

“The tank is a BCR ‘Dolphin’ model. The rubber is by Avon and spokes are by the Devon Rim Company. Rear shocks are Hagon units, and the exhaust is a custom-made stainless set-up with Emgo tulip-shaped mufflers. The tail lights are refinished antique units with new Lucan glass lenses, and the battery is a Ballistic Evo-2 unit.”

via PIPEBURN

HAPPY LANDINGS: CLOCKWORK’S CB750 CUSTOM

By Wesley Reyneke | Rather Be Riding

Samuel Guertin used to spend his days wrenching on choppers—the kind that fly. But after a decade working as a helicopter mechanic, he decided that customizing cars and bikes was more fulfilling.

So he changed his flight path and Clockwork Motorcycles was born, with a base in the countryside half an hour east of Montréal, Canada.

This CB750 custom is called Fury, and it’s Clockwork’s fourth build. “When I found the donor—a 1971 model—it was pretty funny to look at,” explains Samuel. “It was a weird, failed attempt at a gothic bobber-slash-chopper. It deserved better fortune.”

Samuel decided to make the CB750 a little more chunky and curvaceous. It was time for a well-judged series of subtle nips and tucks.

That meant shortening the frame at the rear to a more bobber-esque length, while the swing arm was extended by two inches and hooked up to a pair of Progressive Suspension rear shocks.

The extra visual bulk required more meat up front, so Samuel has installed a set of Suzuki GSX-R600 forks. They’re non-inverted units for a more period correct feel, and fitted via a custom-made aluminum triple tree and front hub. The GSX-R also donated its front brakes—now fed by a Nissin master cylinder via braided stainless steel hose.

The modified oil tank (below) is an especially neat touch, appearing at first glance to be a stock side cover. There’s custom fabricated panel on the lefthand side to match.

The wheels are 16-inch Harley-Davidson items, laced with stainless steel spokes and nipples, and wrapped in Firestone Deluxe Champion rubber. (Samuel knows he’ll get flack from some quarters for his tire selection, but that’s okay).

For the seat, he settled on a shape that would complement the bike’s beefy new demeanor. Ginger at New Church Moto was responsible for the upholstery: a classy mix of leather and suede.

Clockwork’s mods are more than just cosmetic though. The engine has been completely stripped down and rebuilt, fitted with CNC-cut valve seats and bored out to 836cc with a Wiseco kit. A stunning set of Keihin CR29 race carbs handle the fueling, with a four-into-one stainless exhaust system providing the soundtrack.

Samuel has thoroughly reworked the wiring too, with a full Motogadget installation that includes the m-Unit control unit, a Motoscope Tiny speedo, m-Switch handlebar switches and an m-Lock keyless ignition. It’s all powered by a small Lithium-ion battery stashed in a hand-built electronics box.

The cockpit is equally tidy, with custom-bent clip-ons, leather-wrapped grips and a small headlight. Bullet turn signals were installed, and the quirky taillight is from Prism Motorcycles.

When it came to the CB750’s final paint scheme, Samuel had little interest in bright colors or complex designs. “I didn’t want anything flashy or shiny to steal the show,” he says. “It’s all about lines, shapes and curves—so all the colors are muted tones.”

The final color scheme is sublime, flattering the Honda’s brawny new lines just as intended. Monsieur Guertin has certainly found his calling, and thankfully it’s nothing to do with choppers.

Clockwork Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Photos by Cimon B Photography

via BIKEexif