The Raiden Files - Portland to Dakar - A Riding Movie

Icon sends it's best riders on an adventure that tests man and machine to the limit in every condition imaginable. There's action, there's adventure, there's romance, there's drama. It's more than a riding video, it's a movie. Sit back and enjoy the show.

KEVILS R100 ANVIL

A few of us sat outside a pub last night recounting tales from the weekend’s racing at Sideburn Magazine’s Dirt Quake whilst one of the crew unleashed his finest Arthur Daly impression on a chap in need of a new ride. Well, the patter consisted of, “It’s a BMW R80, do you want it?” Said vehicle’s tacho had covered the equivalent of the equator, twice, and wasn’t exactly what you’d call a custom. It had small indicators and at some point Autosol and a rag had flirted with the silencers, yet as a mode of transport it was hard to fault.

There’s a reason why the Bike Shed and the other custom blogs and websites are awash with evermore creative adaptations of the Bavarian stalwart, they make sense. Ok, so the silly engine pokes out, by now original wiring will be shot, on the R100 you find yourself changing gear with the Bing’s float bowl and refinement is on par with a Masey Ferguson yet there is an intrinsic and far reaching appeal. And as we’ve recounted many times there is one British outfit that has capitalised on this demand and built a successful business giving people with exactly what they want, good looking and reliable BMWs. Kevils Speed Shop down in Paignton, Devon has the process dialled-in and as a result been able to deliver his customs all over the world. This is build number 75 and the workshop is as busy as ever.

Octavian, the new owner of this 1980 R100 is from Bucharest and knows a thing or two about build quality, his day job is organising the charter of mega yachts for the world’s well healed to enjoy the delights of the Mediterranean. He wanted a timeless custom that be might confused with a model rolling off the production line in the 1950s. Dealing with gem-encrusted flamboyance all day led Octavian to request a subtle and classical style. OK, so an Anvil isn’t exactly subtle but “a heavy iron block with a flat top and concave sides, on which metal can be hammered and shaped”, would be one way to describe the BMW’s fuel tank, and perhaps the inherent strength of the boxer motor.

As it turns out, this isn’t a BMW tank but a handmade alloy version, hammered-out by the Kevils team for a more vintage, 6 series feel, the brushed finish suggesting patina developed over many decades. Genuine patina isn’t something you’ll find on a Kevils build though, they learnt on the very early builds that the only way to ensure a bike’s reliability once it’s been shipped abroad is to start from scratch. Donors are literally taken back to their component parts and anything perishable is binned, no questions asked. This means a full engine refurb, wheel build and complete re-wire are now standard procedure.

Back in the good old days a headlight offered the perfect home for a speedo and the R50 style is often repeated today. A slightly retro-faced Motogadget gauge sits in the new bucket, complete with visor and period lens. Rebuilt forks, the early ATE version, are clamped by a Kevils own brand top yoke and gaitors further wind back the years. It wasn’t until the seventies when giant indicators began appearing on production bikes so tiny LEDs on unobtrusive brackets and hidden ones in the subframe rails will save Octavian from remembering the local arm signal code, whilst maintaining a historic aesthetic.

Black barrels and reverse megaphone mufflers go a long way to reduce the R100s bulk, especially important on this build as the Firestone Deluxe Champions are a normal width, as opposed to the cartoon proportions some of us have become partial to. The stance and silhouette is well balanced. A minor point maybe, but the Mikuni carbs fitted here offer a more classic visual, throttle response is also crisper than the bulbous Bings, despite retaining the original intake tracts and airbox housing.

Out back the subframe swap is a simple task. All the R&D was done years ago, so the guys need only unbolt the stock unit, reach up to the shelf and unwrap a fresh Kevils version. This also makes the seat pan fabrication much easier. Not only that, should one of the overseas customers have a prang Kev can ship the necessary replacement parts and there’s a good chance that a repair can be undertaken locally without having to repatriate the bike.

The normally shiny chrome shrouds on the Hagon shocks have been flatted down to match the tank and mudguards, the last thing Octavian needs is more bling in his life.

Timeless, perhaps that’s it. BMWs are timeless. Could that be the reason that we see so many of them are dusted off, tricked-up and sent out for another innings? From a glance, or to the non-aficionados, this bike could be two or even four decades old, or somewhere in between. That’s why Octavian chose this design and why he asked Kev to bring it to life. I wonder how long it will be before one of the wealthy yacht-goers makes him an offer he can’t refuse.

To speak to Kev about your dream build or to order parts for a project follow these links.

via The Bike Shed

WRC Rally Finland 2015 ; Les teams en tests en Finlande / Teams testing in Finland

A une semaine du Rallye de Finlande, 8e manche du WRC 2015, plusieurs teams sont actuellement en tests sur les pistes finlandaises, du côté de Jämsä, pour préparer ce rallye très spécifique.

Hormis Hyundai Motorsport qui avait calé une séance de roulage en Finlande au mois de juin, les principaux teams engagés en WRC sont au pays des 1000 Lacs cette semaine.

M-Sport a programmé quatre jours de roulage pour Elfyn Evans et Ott Tanak, et organise aussi une journée de travail pour Lorenzo Bertelli en fin de semaine.

Après la belle performance de Tanak en Pologne, l’objectif est de peaufiner les set-up de suspension de la Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Un ingénieur de Rieger était présent en début de semaine. Evans et Tanak ont cumulé les kilomètres sur différentes bases et sur un terrain souvent humide. Mais les conditions ont tout de même permis de tester les gommes soft et hard proposées par Michelin.

Volkswagen Motorsport est aussi dans la région de Jämsä cette semaine. D’ailleurs, tous les teams se retrouvent au Jämsä Oy Hotel ! Depuis sa victoire au Rallye de Pologne, l’équipe allemande n’a pas vraiment pris de repos. Les pilotes VW ont roulé sur asphalte début juillet, en Corse, près d’Aléria, pour préparer le nouveau Rallye de France (1-4 octobre).

Vainqueur sortant du Rallye de Finlande, Jari-Matti Latvala a parcouru quelque 300 km hier au volant de la VW Polo R WRC, sous la pluie et sur des pistes creusées d’ornières. Il roule encore aujourd’hui avant de passer le volant à Sébastien Ogier pour deux jours. Andreas Mikkelsen sera en action dimanche.

Citroën Racing sera également en roulage près de Jämsä à partir de demain et ce pour trois jours avec Kris Meeke et Mads Ostberg, puis lundi avec Khalid Al-Qassimi. La semaine dernière, les DS3 WRC étaient en Allemagne pour préparer l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland (20-23 août).

Les prévisions météo ne sont pas très optimistes pour le Rallye de Finlande qui s’élancera jeudi prochain, avec 50-60 % de risques de pluie. Il a plu régulièrement depuis début juillet et les pistes devraient rester souples, voire humides en sous-bois.

With a week to go before World Rally Championship action resumes with round eight in Finland, a number of teams are currently testing near Jämsä to prepare for this highly specific classic.

With the exception of Hyundai Motorsport, which travelled to Finland in June, all the top teams are in the land of the 1,000 lakes this week.

M-Sport has planned a four-day test for Elfyn Evans and Ott Tanak, while Lorenzo Bertelli will get a day in the car at the end of the week.

After Tanak’s star performance in Poland, the aim is to further fine-tune the Ford Fiesta RS WRC’s set up. An engineer from Rieger attended the early part of the test and Evans and Tanak have been clocking up the kilometres at different locations in frequently damp conditions. That hasn’t prevented them from trying the soft- and hard-compound tyres brought by Michelin.

Volkswagen Motorsport is also in the Jämsä region and all the teams are actually staying at the same hotel (Jämsä Oy Hotel)! Since its victory in Poland, the German squad has had little chance to rest, since its drivers were in Corsica earlier in July for asphalt testing ahead of the Rallye de France (October 1-4) which returns to the Mediterranean island this year.

The 2014 Rally Finland winner Jari-Matti Latvala completed some 300km on Wednesday in wet weather which led to the formation of ruts. He is back in the VW Polo R WRC today before handing over to Sébastien Ogier for two days. Andreas Mikkelsen will take over on Sunday.

Starting tomorrow (Friday), Citroën Racing will also run for three days near Jämsä with Kris Meeke and Mads Ostberg, with Khalid Al-Qassimi getting a turn on Monday. Last week, the French team was in Germany to prepare for the 2015 ADAC Rallye Deutschland (August 20-23).

The weather forecast isn’t good for Rally Finland and the likelihood of rain stands at 50/60%. Indeed, it has rained frequently since the beginning of the month and the ground promises to be quite soft, especially under tree cover.

SR400 ‘Grace Racer’ – AN-BU Custom Motors

The back alleys of cities all over Japan have delivered some of the coolest custom cars and bikes from small workshops that punch well above their weight. From the Hyper Lemon tuner cars of JUN to the retro-tech bikes produced by AC Sanctuary – you don’t need millions and a huge facility to produce incredible machines in the land of the rising sun. And nobody exemplifies that spirit more than custom bike building genius Fujita Koichi and his one man operation AN-BU Custom Motors.

Koichi takes that tradition even further, from his small workshop in Nagoya he works on both cars and motorcycles many from the 1980’s. He is a mechanic by trade but what sets him apart from so many is his style; AN-BU custom builds aren’t really café racers or bobbers, they don’t fit any particular category. But like so many artists, Koichi of the mechanical kind, has his own style and when you see an AN-BU bike there is no doubt just who the man behind the build is. And so it is with this 80’s racer inspired Yamaha SR400 known as Grace Racer; it’s industrial, it’s inspired by the golden era of punk, it’s designed to destroy the back streets with a purpose and it is 100% Koichi.

The Yamaha SR400 is a cult bike in Japan and one of the main reasons the small bike custom scene is so strong around the world today. A reliable single cylinder that pumps out enough power to have fun, lightweight, old school design but with handling that makes it a hell of a lot of fun. Being the mechanic he is the engine in Grace Racer is a little beauty that’s built to blast, the fuelling has been drastically improved with a flat slide Mikuni FCR carb with a velocity stack.

With the extra air and fuel running through the 400cc engine the exhaust needed to match, so an increased diameter single pipe system built by Koichi flows under the engine, with a dirt bike muffler stopping just short of the rear tyre. Like almost every SR build Koichi has fitted a pod style oil breather, but rather than mount it to the block, full diameter pipe is retained to affix it under the seat. Both the raised height of the breather and the extra volume in the pipe means successful crankcase breathing without the oily mess, this build is all-purpose.

The body work on Grace Racer scream AN-BU from the Rocket style range, this is the style that Koichi has become so admired for and he crafts it all himself. The seat is a slender solo seat (TYPE5) styled from fibreglass in-house with a steep hump to keep the rider locked into position. Extended time in the saddle of this beast is no problem at all as the padding is generous rather than plank like and has been covered in 1980’s jacket style leather.

The front fairing is signature Koichi; Rocket BALLE TYPE3 it has an overall shape of the 1970’s Ducati SS but with far more aggressive lines. Even the windshield makes a statement, flowing curves are ended at right angles, its part salt flat racer and part F15 and it looks just right. The headlight is side mounted, but rather than simply go for an easy flush fit, an additional piece of fibreglass is shaped and bolted into the fender to create a projector light look. To finish out the body work it was coated in a matte finish dark grey with a red horizontal stripe across the tank and neat AN-BU graphics down the sides of the fairing.

Having a mean looking Industrial machine, with a nasty growl and the punch to back it up is no good if the bike doesn’t handle and stop. Well this might be one of the best SR400’s ever built-in those two areas as Koichi leaves nothing to chance. The wobbly stock stanchions are gone from the front end and in their place fellow Yamaha inverted forks have been fitted. Out back the bike retains the twin shock rear end, but now with fully adjustable shocks and height adjustable progressive springs. This is an SR that can be tuned for the weight of the rider, the style of riding and the tyres fitted. And while old school rubber looks cool the sticky new Bridgestone’s give far superior performance in every way. Pulling that performance to a halt is a twin disc front end and a single Brembo disc rear, old school low weight and modern stopping power gives the best of both words.

Those brakes came courtesy of the Yamaha 3 spoke wheels they were bolted too and once again Koichi gets the mix of old and new absolutely right. Custom rearsets are fitted behind the line of the swingarm pivot point for the ultimate racer riding position. They are matched to low slung clip-ons that grab the forks considerably lower than a standard set of bars and allows the rider to really tuck in out of that cool night air.

By now you realise just how purposeful this build is and why have a bike built to be ridden hard if you can’t run it on the street. So along with the single headlight, mirrors, bullet indicators front and rear and a small tail light all result in one thing, street legality. That number plate that hangs off the back, that is the sign the highlights what this whole build and culture of Japanese customisation is all about.

When the sun goes down and the street lights come out, you find yourself standing on an overpass drowned by flood lights an industrial area below you and from the dimly lit industrial back alleys of Nagoya blasts a road racer with the attitude of the Sex Pistols and the growl of a fighter jet. You hear it coming, the exhaust popping and banging as it’s swung violently through the tight turns and rough little lanes ways. Then it appears in the distance, opening its lungs and firing towards you on that straight stretch of road.

With each click of the gears it thunders closer to your face, the single headlamp like the Maglite of a cop staring you down. And then it screams by and every sense is captured in time, the smell of a carby-fed thumper, the scream of the single pipe and for a split second a bad ass industrial urban racer is just inches from your nose… aboard, Koichi! As the noise trails off and the cool air becomes silent again, you peer over the rail of the overpass. You caught the taste, tomorrow you shall return to that industrial area and find the man and the machine that change the way you view motorcycles, just look for the sign, AN-BU Custom Motors.

via PIPEBURN