virée en ural

Un look de DBR9 GT1 pour l’Aston Martin Vantage GTE 2016

par Laurent Mercier (Endurance-Info.com)

Aston Martin Racing fait évoluer sa gamme de Vantage en vue de la saison à venir. Les modèles GTE, GT3 et GT4 reçoivent quelques évolutions à un moment où une partie de la concurrence sort de nouvelles autos. Les V12 Vantage GT3 et Vantage GT4 ont été améliorées au niveau de la performance et de la fiabilité.

Quant à la Vantage GTE qui est actuellement à Ladoux pour l’établissement de la Balance de Performance 2016, elle a reçu quelques modifications pour faire suite à la nouvelle réglementation GTE qui autorise des changements importants au niveau de l’aérodynamique. Le plus visible est le diffuseur arrière qui peut désormais dépasser de 100 mm au-delà de l’arrière de la voiture. L’aileron peut lui aussi être étendu à la même distance. A l’avant, le splitter a été repensé pour améliorer le flux d’air sous la voiture afin d’optimiser le nouveau diffuseur. On se rapproche du look d’une DBR9 GT1 de feu le World GT1.

Pour ce qui est de la V12 Vantage GT3, les modifications sont nombreuses : transmission, amortisseurs, radiateurs d’huile, différentiel, siège, optimisation du moteur, etc… La Vantage GT4 reçoit pour sa part la dernière boîte de vitesses semi-automatique à 7 rapports, un capot offrant un meilleur refroidissement.

SINROJA MOTORCYCLES R1

Words by Ross Sharp · 

Learning is one of life’s greatest gifts. There’s no end learning, but there is always a beginning. Brothers Rahul & Birju Sinroja were born in a small Indian town and were exposed the wonders of mechanical objects from an extremely early age. The family manufacturing business produced moulds for shoe soles and plastic toys so factory visits were a way of life for the boys. Spending their formative years surrounded by fascinating equipment and encouraged by their father, it’s no surprise that we’re talking about the Sinrojas on these pages.

When it became time to impress the ladies Rahul & Birju decided they needed to buy a set of weights to bulk-up but their father suggested; “we own a factory in which you can let your brains go wild with imagination and even better we have machines to make anything you want, so why not make those weights.” Thankfully the guys pursued bike rather than body building.

A few years later and the Sinroja family were in the U.K. and the brothers were studying, engineering of course. Rahul became obsessed with all things mechanical and during his time at university became inspired by the New Wave Custom Scene. The two stroke RXS100s and Royal Enfields that were a backing soundtrack to his formative years became aural fuel to stoke the fires of motivation and after a trip to Bike Shed London Rahul’s mind was made up. Despite family pressure to stick to four wheels he worked every spare hour available selling mobile phones, saved-up and bought a BMW R80, despite not even having a licence.

On the 3rd of January 2015 Rahul celebrated his 24th birthday, not with a Jagerbomb drenched blowout, but with a decision to get go big and follow his dream. He took out a loan, cleaned out the shed, built a wooden bench and rolled in the R80. With the Kickback festival circled in red Sharpie just 2 pages away on the calendar, Rahul had his work cut out.

Luckily the donor was a 1989 Monolever that had been fastidiously cared for by enthusiast owners and the overall condition was a testament to their old school regard for proper maintenance. Despite this Rahul completely stripped the R80 down to its component parts, with the aim of concentrating on detail and finish. After de-tabbing the frame, fork legs, wheels and triple trees were blasted and painted. Yup, not powder coated. Despite advances in the latter, paint still gives a superior finish and is easier to touch-up, especially when the bike is delivered with a paint pen so customers can take care of chips as they happen.

Being build number 1 Rahul’s welding skills were still in their infancy so Vonzetti were enlisted for the subframe and seat, which looks great. In a bid to get his family involved, perhaps a ploy to avert them from the reality of him actually having a licence, Rahul’s mum was enlisted to stitch the leather fork covers. (Good mother management skills, this boy will go far).

Whilst the tank was being treated to a retro inspired, two-tone paint job by GD Design attention turned to the mechanicals. The word rebuild simply doesn’t do this bike justice. Every single bearing, piston ring, seal and gasket has been replaced on the inside whilst the cases have been vapour blasted and painted. The finish is stunning (we’ve seen the bike in the metal) with the cooling fin edges and raised lettering returned to bare aluminium. They guys at Scriminger Engine Developments returned with a zero-hour, better-than-new engine.

With so much attention given over to the aesthetics and mechanicals it would have been a shame to mess things up with errant wires and cables so Towzatronics put in a fresh loom to run the Motogadget keyless RFID ignition system and all-in-one Speedster Tiny gauge. A small battery is hidden under the seat leaving the rear triangle open. Personally I prefer the look of the Monolever set up, which now has a bespoke Hagon shock keeping the rear under control.

Dunlop Streetsmart tyres are a pleasant change from aggressive knobblies from a visual standpoint and with the forks properly lowered by 10mm and stiffened with Progressive Springs, the ride is apparently excellent compared to stock.

An awful lot has been done with BMW’s R Series over the years and neither Rahul or the Bike Shed would try to suggest to readers that this bike is groundbreaking in its deign but that’s not the point here. This is a fine example of a young, intelligent guy having the guts to chase his dream and make damn sure that he does everything within his own powers and skill-set to deliver on a promise. After all, customer satisfaction is what makes a business thrive, not cutting corners. As a result, this bike, the R1, wasn’t just ready in time for the Kickback show, it won 2nd place in the Young Builder Competition.

Bike Shed don’t do show awards, we are 8-time World Procrastinating Champions so nobody would ever make it home on time, but if we did the Sinroja brothers would definitely win the Polite Young Gentlemen Award for being thoroughly charming and pleasant to deal with at Bike Shed London 2015. Not just our opinion either, one show visitor decided he liked the R1 so much and the cut of the Rahul’s jib that on the Sunday night an order was placed for 2 commission builds. R2 and R3 were in the making.

Since then another three customers have placed orders and Sinroja motorcycles have planted their exquisitely finished flag, neatly on the map. Sadly though, business is a cruel mistress and demands her pound of flesh,so the R1 needs to find a new home to help fun the dream. With 1 years mechanical and electrical guarantee and 3 years free servicing, it won’t hang around for long. And if the bike submission we received is anything to go by, expect excellent levels of professionalism. In fact, note to builders with iffy photos, please make them like this, thanks.

We’ve left a load of detail out as we’re beginning to sound like the Sinroja press officer, so do get in touch for more details or meet the guys at the DGR in a couple of weeks.

via The Bike Shed

The Glemseck 101 bike festival in 101 stunning images

Last weekend, the European motorcycle community hit the major bike festival Glemseck 101, at the former Solitude racetrack near Stuttgart. Photographer Frederic Seemann was there for Classic Driver – to capture the hottest equipment on camera...

The spirit of Solitude

“Biarritz has ‘Wheels and Waves’ on the shores of the Atlantic, and we have the spirit of the former Solitude racetrack,” declared Jörg Litzenburger four years ago, when the motorcycle festival was launched in France. The organiser of Glemseck 101 was right. But he could never have imagined that this spirit would attract so much attention on the event’s 10^th anniversary, from 4 to 6 September 2015, that on Saturday it had to close to new arrivals because of too long a queue on the highway exit. Motorcycling is back, with an all-new motorcycle culture – and the café racer scene inspires a whole new generation. 

The essence of the motorcycle

Best of all, there is a new spirit of tolerance among the participants: café racers, scramblers, bobbers, tourers and choppers, all sit happily side by side. And you can dress how you want, whether old-school or casual – it’s the essence of the motorcycle that’s important, not the value. There is no brand envy, and young women are plentiful in the previously male-dominated domain. 

Individuality and creativity rewarded

Compared with Glemseck 101, some say that Wheels and Waves has lost its charm. The familiar French laissez-faire couldn’t stand up to the onslaught, with hours spent waiting for accreditation and a chaotic field for the famous hillclimb, the Punk’s Peak Race, the heart of the event, proving rather disappointing. In Stuttgart, everything went smoothly, despite the crowds – and Jörg Litzenburger and his team are working hard to ensure that Glemseck remains just as smoothly run in future. Every sprint participant is carefully selected to give the audience an exciting variety, and also to give new entrants a chance. Individuality and creativity are prized above the mere name of the manufacturer, so there was, for example, a special run for the new cult vehicle, the R nine T. Every year, Deus, Blitz, Urban Motor, El Solitario, Jens vom Brauck and Wrenchmonkees present their latest creations, and classic dealer Premiummotorrad was also allowed to join this select company – this year with a 1981 Egli-Honda. 

Prominent privateers

While it’s important to include motorcycle stars at such an event, it’s easy to allow them to dominate. Fortunately, at the Glemseck 101, the privateer entrants were very much at the fore, and where there were professionals taking part, they were mostly in dedicated classes. One such event was the showdown between Kawasaki test-rider Francesca Gasperi on the new Ninja H2R versus Troy Corser astride the new Lotus C-01, the latter’s first public appearance. 

One weak point...

In all, there was only one weak point – the voice of Jörg Litzenburger, or lack of, on the Sunday. After his seven-hour commentary stint on the Saturday, Sunday was simply too quiet without him. His encyclopaedic knowledge and enthusiastic tone were the perfect accompaniments to the event, which, in any case, brilliantly revives the spirit of the former Solitude racetrack.

Photos: Frederic Seemann for Classic Driver © 2015

 Not only is Tobias Aichele known for being one of the major experts in the European motorcycle scene, but also for his company, Premiummotorrad at Motorworld in Stuttgart, where he has many interesting classic motorcycles for sale.