samedi 21 mars 2015
‘89 BMW R100RT – Emporio Elaborazioni Meccaniche
Written by Marlon Slack.
Rome-based custom house Emporio Elaborazioni Meccaniche have taken a 1989 BMW R100RT land ship and have stripped, welded and ground their way towards a light streetfighter-cum-tracker that is destined to carve up Roman traffic. Under instruction from a customer to build a bike that blended tradition and futurism this small Italian company say they received aesthetic inspiration from Tron and Daft Punk to realize their customer’s wishes – and I certainly think he was able to ‘Get Lucky’ with this mean looking motorcycle.
It’s a little simplistic to look at a successfully denuded bike like this R100RT and miss the amount of hard work required to get it looking so clean. EEM started by swapping out the standard tank for an earlier R75 model and the rear subframe was removed and replaced with a bespoke unit that was, unusually for bikes featured onPipeburn, taller and more aggressively angled, with the idea of pitching the rider higher and more forward as well as offering better visual balance to the large fuel tank.
Suspension-wise, the front forks were replaced by a USD pair from a Yamaha and a Takasago rim was removed from a Suzuki motocross bike and made to fit and some lathe work was required to fabricate an adapter to mate the 320mm disc to the hub. The rear too, got a bit of attention when the stock rim was swapped out for a wider BMW GS hoop and no small amount of work was needed to battle the problems this raised – the lathe came in handy again and spokes had to be swapped out so it could clear the swingarm. A fresh Öhlins shock keeps the rear end firmly planted on the ground.
On the engine front this RT remains stock, except for the 2 into 1 exhaust system which was made in house and mounted to an Arrow slip-on that has cheekily been rebranded with the EEM logo. The hardest part EEM found was trying to sort a small, discrete battery powerful enough to get those big Bavarian pistons moving. After some trial and error they managed to find a small lithium battery that they could hide in an alloy box they mounted just next to the starter motor.
My personal favourite touch is the number board that acts as a shield for the headlight. Mounted behind a dark black polycarbonate shield the power of the LED lamp means it can still throw a decent beam of light, but is hidden neatly behind the plastic. I certainly think that it works a lot better than the usual ‘action-man-sized-headlight-fitted-in-the-middle-of-a-number board’ routine that most tracker builders end up running with. The guys at EEM are understandably proud of this work-around, dubbing the bike Lucifero – from the Latin ‘who brings the light’. Neat.
Controls are standard for the BMW but are now mounted to a set of enduro bars on top of aluminium risers. And the footpegs? EEM thought that the bike lacked a little bit of the ‘reuse as much as possible’ philosophy of previous builds so they beefed up the stock peg using some old chain. A large, back-lit electronic speedo sits below the bars, keeping the lines at the top of the motorcycle clean.
BMW customs are a staple of the custom bike scene these days and while many we see appearing around the world look a little samey, EEM have drawn upon some unusual stylistic inspiration from Daft Punk andTron to build something that looks distinctly different and is certainly harder, better, faster and stronger than the stock R100RT. It looks to be a fair bit lighter than the standard bike, a lot more interesting and above all, I think it’d make a meal out of the chaotic Roman traffic. It’s got just the right splash of gold and a nice combination of flat grey and gloss black to tie it all together. I might just go look at the photos one more time.
via PIPEBURN
WSSP ; Sofuoglu prend la pole Supersport en Thaïlande / Former champ Sofuoglu secures Thai WSS Pole Position
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) sera en tête de la grille pour la seconde manche du Championnat du Monde Supersport 2015 dimanche au Chang International Circuit. Arrivé en Thaïlande quelques jours après la naissance de son premier enfant, le triple Champion du Monde s’est assuré sa première pole position de la saison grâce à un chrono de 1’37.345 et partira devant le leader du classement général, Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), battu par le Turc de deux dixièmes de seconde.
Derrière les pilotes Kawasaki et MV Agusta, Kyle Smith (Pata Honda WSS Team) a placé un troisième constructeur en première ligne en s’installant en troisième position, malgré une chute en qualifications.
Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) est lui aussi tombé en passant sur des vibreurs encore humides des pluies de la matinée mais mènera la deuxième ligne devant Lucas Mahias et PJ Jacobsen du team Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres.
Le favori local Ratthapark Wilairot (CORE Motorsport Thailand) s’élancera pour sa part de la septième position, aux côtés de Roberto Rolfo (Lorini Honda) et de Gino Rea (CIA Insurance Landlords Honda), qui est actuellement troisième du classement général.
PJ Jacobsen et Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) étaient les seuls autres pilotes à chuter. Aucun des pilotes tombés ne s’est blessé.
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) will start the second round of the World Supersport championship, the first ever to be held in Thailand from Pole Position after an all-action 45 minute qualifying session. The Turk who recently became a father for the first time was in fine form from the start and with the humidity rising, the former champion moved to the top of the standings thanks to a 1.37.345s lap time. He was able to cling on thanks to several of his rivals falling on their potential Pole Position setting times in the closing minutes.
Championship leader Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) will join Sofuoglu on the front row along with Kyle Smith (Pata Honda WSS Team) who despite being one of the fallers was able to cling on to 3rd.
Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) also fell spectacularly after touching the kerbing at which was still wet from this morning’s rain shower. The Italian will be joined on the second row for tomorrow’s 17 lap race by the Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres pairing of Lucas Mahias and PJ Jacobsen who secured 5th and 6th positions on the grid respectively.
Local rider and fan favourite Ratthapark Wilairot (CORE Motorsport Thailand) was cheered loudly by the packed grandstand into 7th on the grid where he will start alongside Italian Roberto Rolfo (Lorini Honda) who is openly relishing the extreme conditions. Gino Rea (CIA Insurance Landlords Honda), currently 3rd in the World Championship standings will start 9th.
PJ Jacobsen and Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) wer the only other riders to fall. Both of them along with Smith and Zanetti were unhurt.
Rea décroche la Tissot-Superpole à Buriram / Rea Takes Tissot-Superpole in Thailand
Après une troisième séance d’essais libres qui avait eu lieu sous la pluie samedi matin au Chang International Circuit, les pilotes ont à nouveau pu travailler sur piste sèche en FP4 grâce aux températures très élevées du climat local et ainsi préparer au mieux la séance de Tissot-Superpole, qui s’est aussi déroulée sur le sec.
Suite à une Superpole 1 dominée par Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Team) et Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) a été le premier à s’élancer en piste en Superpole 2 pour établir un premier temps de référence sur pneu de course, qui faisait de lui le premier pilote à passer sous les 1’34 à Buriram. Le Britannique, qui avait pris la pole en Australie le mois dernier, a ensuite attendu les derniers instants pour passer sur pneu de qualification et a alors tourné en 1’33.382 pour battre Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils) de 0.011s et ainsi s’emparer d’une seconde Tissot-Superpole consécutive.
Battu d’un rien, Haslam, qui mène conjointement le classement général avec Rea, se maintient cependant sur une première ligne occupée, comme en Australie, par trois Britanniques puisque la troisième position est revenue à Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), classé à 0.356s de la pole.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), quasiment une demi-seconde derrière son coéquipier, Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team - Devils) et Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team) se sont quant à eux qualifiés en deuxième ligne.
L’ancien Champion du Monde Troy Corser, qui continue de remplacer Davide Giugliano chez Ducati, a réussi à décrocher la septième position, à 0.952s de la pole et devant les deux pilotes du Pata Honda World Superbike Team, Michael van der Mark, en progrès après son passage en Superpole 1, et le Champion du Monde en titre Sylvain Guintoli.
À l’instar de van der Mark, Mercado a lui aussi su profiter de sa qualification en Superpole 2 pour gagner plusieurs places et finir dixième, devant David Salom (Team Pedercini) et Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing).
Les Français Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team), qui a manqué la Superpole 2 à cause d’une petite erreur sur son dernier tour en SP1, Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) et Christophe Ponsson (Grillini SBK Team) partiront respectivement des 13e, 16e et 19e positions.
As the morning rain made way for hotter more humid weather, the track condition for the first ever Tissot-Superpole qualifying sessions was almost perfect with the track completely dry and the ambient temperature once again well into the 30’s.
The first ever Pole Position in the history of the eni FIM Superbike Championship in Thailand went to Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) who came out on top of an exciting final 15 minute shoot-out that decided the grid for tomorrow’s two 20 lap races. Today’s result marks the 6th Pole Position of his career.
In Superpole 1, Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda WSBK Team) were split by 0.211s, the pair claiming the first 2 positions in the session and progressing to join the already seeded top ten riders for the final qualifying session to determine the top 12 riders on the grid.
Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia) was on course to make it through but made a small mistake in the final corner on his final lap. He will start both races tomorrow from 13th just ahead of Nico Terol (Althea Racing) and Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who will join him on the 5th row.
Superpole 2 was once again all action from start to finish with riders able to manage two flying laps on the softer Pirelli tyre without any issue. This provided some nervous moments for the teams but pure excitement for the packed grandstand along both straights, as it was not clear when the ultimate top time would occur.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was the first to throw down the gauntlet with the fastest lap of the weekend, the first ever sub 1.34s lap of the Chang International circuit. Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) almost bettered it with his first flying lap before a mistake on his next lap ruined any chance he had at that point of the session.
Troy Bayliss (Aruba Ducati SBK) had sparks flying from his boots as he muscled his way into contention, the multiple former champion putting himself 3rd with 4 minutes to go.
With everyone now on the softer option tyre the timing screens were illuminated as each rider set about overhauling Rea who was still clinging on at the top of the standings.
As the chequered flag was waved signalling the end of qualifying it was joint championship leaders Rea and Haslam that came out on top, the pair separated by 0.011s. The Kawasaki rider notching up his 2nd consecutive Pole Position after taking top spot in Australia.
Alongside the front two Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) completes the front row with Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) and Chaz Davies (Aruba Ducati SBK) making up row 2 ahead of Bayliss, van der Mark, and Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda WSBK Team).
Today’s grid sees the top 7 covered by less than one second with 5 manufacturers represented in the top 8 places on the grid.
Race 1 tomorrow is scheduled to start at 1300 local time.
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