Riding 3000 KM in 9 Days across Egypt on a 150cc scooter, an Epic Expedition across Egypt called the Cross Egypt Challenge.
Follow Alex Chacon as he documents this amazing one of a kind journey into the heart of Egypt, venturing where most tourists never go to discover its hidden treasures! This rally brings in riders from all over the world to discover the real Egypt and promote tourism.
Learn about Alex and his expeditions at https://www.ModernMotoDiaries.com
mercredi 22 juillet 2015
DIFF’RENT STROKES: ROLAND SANDS’ SMOKIN’ YAMAHA
At the Born Free show a couple of weeks ago, there was a lone road racer in a sea of choppers. And not a Harley or Triumph, either: it was a two-stroke Yamaha.
Born Free organizers Mike and Grant must have been scratching their heads, but they had the good grace to let “2 Stroke Attack” into the show. And we’re betting it was the fastest bike there by a country mile.
“I worked on it for a year after I found a donor RD400 at a swap meet for $600,” Roland Sands tells us. “It didn’t run. The only thing left now is the cases and the California title.”
Sands is an ex-racer, so most of the builds that roll out of his Los Alamitos workshop are tuned for performance. But this machine is on a whole different level.
The air-cooled parallel twin motor was rebuilt by Yamaha specialist Ed Erlenbach—owner of the world’s fastest RD400, at 164.73 mph. Ed has ported and tuned the repro Webco aluminum heads, which are fed by dual Mikuni flatslides.
The exhaust system is equally uncompromising, with hand-made expansion chambers made by Brian Turfrey hooked up to TZ250 silencers.
As you can imagine, the transmission has its work cut out. So it’s packed with hand-cut Erlenbach gears and mated to an early TZ250 dry clutch with Barnett plates.
Team Kenny Roberts also provided the gauges—taken from a 500 GP bike. The the 17-inch magnesium wheels are also track fitments, used by Roland in the 90s, and the tires are Dunlop KR race slicks.
The seat and tail unit, with stripes echoing the exhaust welds, is a neat fit. “Aaron Boss made that tail section a long time ago,” says Roland, “and it fit the bike perfect, so we used it. Then Scott Dimick and I did a lot of the fabrication in the last couple of weeks, in between the Victory Project 156 build.” The pinstriping is by Tom “The Undertaker” Clark: It says “2 Stroke Attack” in Japanese.
The frame that’s trying to keep this firecracker of a motor under control comes from a TZ250. Help comes in the form of very sexy black-nitrided Öhlins forks: FG43 Road & Track items straight from the Swedish factory.
The magnesium triples are from Team Kenny Roberts, c.1995 era, and under the seat is an Öhlins TTX shock. It’s pushing against a genuine TZ250 ‘banana’ swingarm.
Team Kenny Roberts also provided the gauges—taken from a 500 GP bike. The the 17-inch magnesium wheels are also track fitments, used by Roland in the 90s, and the tires are Dunlop KR race slicks.
Roland has literally made his mark on the bodywork. The tank is from the TZ250 Roland won the AMA Championship with in 1998, with the crash dents hammered out.
The seat and tail unit, with stripes echoing the exhaust welds, is a neat fit. “Aaron Boss made that tail section a long time ago,” says Roland, “and it fit the bike perfect, so we used it. Then Scott Dimick and I did a lot of the fabrication in the last couple of weeks, in between the Victory Project 156 build.” The pinstriping is by Tom “The Undertaker” Clark: It says “2 Stroke Attack” in Japanese.
There are too many other parts to mention, but most are from the RSD catalog—from the gas tank strap to the clip-ons and grips.
It’s a stunning bike that goes against the flow of the usual raked-out, stretched choppers at Born Free.
“Stretch?” says Roland. “Yes, it’s a good idea to stretch before you ride it. It’s f—ing small.”
‘13 Triumph Scrambler – Macco Motors
Written by Marlon Slack.
The Scrambler is my favourite of the retro classic line up. It’s strikingly good-looking, reliable as any other Triumph and the engine has far more character than the standard 360-degree powerplant offered by Hinckley. It’s an ideal everyday ride, for around town or even some light off-road work. And that’s how this custom started, when Spanish workshop Macco Motors were approached by a client who wanted to customize his 2013 Triumph Scrambler. The owner, Gonzalo, had been riding the motorcycle around the rural outskirts of Barcelona for the last two years, but he wanted something more than the standard offering from Triumph. “The idea was to build something simple and with a strong look at the same time.” the guys from Macco say. And after some research and some clever modifications, I think they’ve nailed it.
The first thing that team from Macco did was to scour the internet for some images of enduro bikes from the 60’s and 70’s, from an age before Krusty Demons and Monster energy drink sponsorship relegated dirtbike aesthetics to the backwards-cap brigade. “We reviewed the look of vintage scramblers and trail bikes, with their high seats and compact lines,” Macco say, “And we were pleased that Gonzalo was open to some new ideas and colours.” A plan was drawn up and presented to their customer.
After a nod of approval from Gonzalo, work started to trim the Scrambler into something cleaner. First to change was the awkward headlight ears on the standard model, with a new 7” lamp fitted with an ‘invisible’ bracket, inconspicuously mounted from the triple tree. The ungainly plastic speedometer and idiot lights that are fitted to the Triumph were also ditched, replaced by a Motogadget Mini mounted flush into the headlight bucket. Behind that, Rizoma bars and brake fluid reservoir are matched to bar end mirrors, helping keep the front end far simpler and cleaner than the stock bike.
Next, the team at Macco turned their eyes to the fuel tank. They decided the bulbous, rounded lines needed to be altered, but swapping out a tank on an EFI bike can be troublesome at best, with the tank mounted fuel pump being sensitive to any shift in position. Instead the team worked with the existing shape, indenting the sides of the tank giving it stronger, better defined lines. It’s a simple modification that turns the indifferent look of the standard fuel tank into something a little more aggressive.
Despite the 270 degree firing order of the pistons, the larger front wheel and smaller headlight, the main feature that defines the Triumph Scrambler is the chromed twin exhausts. However the owner wanted them swapped out for something a little more distinctive. “Gonzalo was keen on trying some different pipes. Something simple but smaller. We designed a shorter than standard pair of slim exhausts, coming in parallel from the engine and with some protection to keep the legs really safe.” After a briefing from Macco, Roberto from nearby workshop GR exhausts made the plans a reality.
To complete the simplified look of The Climber, the rear of the frame was cut down and replaced with a loop, and a seat quite unlike the usual work Macco get asked to complete. “We’re used to making seats with attractive shapes,” they say, “but we found that a plain, simple and thicker seat really fitted the look of The Climber.” It’s made in real leather too, “So as time goes by, it’ll look even better.”
And I think that’ll be the case with the rest of the bike. The build is restrained and practical, with the bike running indicators and fenders, mirrors and good quality rubber. It’s got new Hagon suspension at the front and rear, a larger than standard headlight and a thicker, more comfortable seat. The Climber is one of the rare builds that you’ll see which manage to refine the looks of the original without sacrificing reliability or safety. Gonzalo’s got to be one very happy customer.
[Photos by Cristiano Morello] via PIPEBURN
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