jeudi 13 juillet 2017
MALLE MILE 2017 REPORT: A JOLLY GOOD SHOW
In Europe, barely a weekend goes by without some form of motorcycle racing. If you want to test yourself and your bike, you can choose from flat track or drag racing, enter a build-off competition, or join a custom-oriented ride-out.
The two young gents behind the motorcycle luggage brand Malle London, Robert Nightingale and Johnny Cazzola, spotted a niche—and a gap in the calendar. Three years ago, they decided to put on a quintessentially British moto-inspired garden party, and The Malle Mile was born.
Sure, you can do track days, or join an amateur race series. But that all comes with added seriousness, and the effort/cost-to-fun ratio quickly falls out of balance. The Mile is a chance to ride to an event and watch a select few have a laugh. You stick a number on your headlight and let rip, head-to-head, against your mates. The winner is the one with the biggest smile, or the tallest tale of near-glory.
The formula has clearly worked: race places at The Malle Mile now sell out within hours. Social media and word-of-mouth have worked their magic, and attendance has rocketed. The schedule now includes a twisty hill climb, a mini-bike obstacle course, camping and a legendary after party in a secret room in the bowels of the mansion. It all makes for a belting weekend.
The feel and setting was similar to the early days of Goodwood events, in the late 1990s: an eclectic mix of vehicles and attention-to-detail, a festival of petrolhead nirvana creating an illusory escape from the real world.
There were clearly some motocross racers amongst the seemingly amateur bunch, as some of the riding was mighty impressive and a pleasure to behold. Particularly from a previous world champ of 87 years who, when helmeted, could have been mistaken for someone a quarter of his age.
The afternoon’s drag racing ran to a similar format, with pairings decided by presumed mechanical equality. Again, reaction times and traction were the ultimate deciding factor. One guy on a knobbly-shod Aprilia Tuono not only made a great noise on open pipes, but also shot a roost of lawn high into the blue summer sky.
On Sunday, the sprint race and the Motopolo tournament took place under a glorious summer sun. The Motopolo ball was of course truly artisanal, crafted from a special hide by one of the Malle luggage makers, and ideal for punting around—provided you were riding something light and nimble.
The clever money was on a multi-cylinder steed taking the win. But it was a Zaeta piloted by Lee Kirkpatrick of Krazy Horse Customs that took the top spot. Lee’s prize? A lap of honor bearing the Malle flag, and a hand-beaten aluminum trophy from deBolex Engineering. Both fine things, but for Lee, it was all about hanging out with his pals, making new ones, and simply having a laugh. Just the tonic for today’s serious and testing world.
Over the past few years, the limelight has been stolen by Wheels & Waves, DirtQuake and Glemseck. But what if you live in the UK, and want to sate your thirst for an adrenalin kick or entertainment fix?
The two young gents behind the motorcycle luggage brand Malle London, Robert Nightingale and Johnny Cazzola, spotted a niche—and a gap in the calendar. Three years ago, they decided to put on a quintessentially British moto-inspired garden party, and The Malle Mile was born.
Judging by Instagram feeds these days, people all over the world are making the most of their motorcycles, every waking hour. So why does the scene need a plummy shindig at some salmon-trousered chap’s stately home in the countryside? Well, it’s simple—participation.
Sure, you can do track days, or join an amateur race series. But that all comes with added seriousness, and the effort/cost-to-fun ratio quickly falls out of balance. The Mile is a chance to ride to an event and watch a select few have a laugh. You stick a number on your headlight and let rip, head-to-head, against your mates. The winner is the one with the biggest smile, or the tallest tale of near-glory.
Three years ago, just a few hundred folk pitched up at Kevington Hall (just south of London in Orpington) for the first edition of The Mile. They spent a summer’s day tearing up the lawn aboard homebuilt customs, classics and slightly inappropriate machines in the grounds of an impressive country pile.
The formula has clearly worked: race places at The Malle Mile now sell out within hours. Social media and word-of-mouth have worked their magic, and attendance has rocketed. The schedule now includes a twisty hill climb, a mini-bike obstacle course, camping and a legendary after party in a secret room in the bowels of the mansion. It all makes for a belting weekend.
For 2017 Robert, Johnny and their bespoke-overall-sporting crew upped the ante. They added a Friday evening cinema night, extra camping, boxing and a Motopolo tournament. Plus a classic bike display, and a bigger and better party.
The feel and setting was similar to the early days of Goodwood events, in the late 1990s: an eclectic mix of vehicles and attention-to-detail, a festival of petrolhead nirvana creating an illusory escape from the real world.
Saturday’s hill climb revealed a course slightly modified from the previous year, with tighter turns to curb the enthusiasm of the near-200 competitors. But that message was lost in the post: racing was close, though remaining gentlemanly. Riders must start with a left hand on their helmet; heats can be won and lost by those with the quickest reactions to pull the clutch in and select the correct gear.
There were clearly some motocross racers amongst the seemingly amateur bunch, as some of the riding was mighty impressive and a pleasure to behold. Particularly from a previous world champ of 87 years who, when helmeted, could have been mistaken for someone a quarter of his age.
He not only became one of the people to beat but the choice man to be beaten by. But perhaps the most impressive was motorcycle valeter Freddy Trott, who rodeo’d a road-legal and fat-tired Triumph Bonneville up the course with so much skill it looked like he was on the latest 250cc ‘crosser, not a near-250-kilo pig.
The afternoon’s drag racing ran to a similar format, with pairings decided by presumed mechanical equality. Again, reaction times and traction were the ultimate deciding factor. One guy on a knobbly-shod Aprilia Tuono not only made a great noise on open pipes, but also shot a roost of lawn high into the blue summer sky.
And what do Brits do after racing and before a party? Boxing of course. A championship-size ring was set up, and after a demonstration between two tough-jawed pros, the ring was opened up to onlookers. Anyone who reckoned they could manage a single three-minute round was invited to have a go.
As for the party…well, you had to be there.
On Sunday, the sprint race and the Motopolo tournament took place under a glorious summer sun. The Motopolo ball was of course truly artisanal, crafted from a special hide by one of the Malle luggage makers, and ideal for punting around—provided you were riding something light and nimble.
The sprint heats were followed by a knockout stage: this was quite a task to organize, considering the volume of eager riders. But slowly the potential champs and wannabe heroes were filtered out, leaving those with knobby tires and/or the reactions of a gunslinger.
The clever money was on a multi-cylinder steed taking the win. But it was a Zaeta piloted by Lee Kirkpatrick of Krazy Horse Customs that took the top spot. Lee’s prize? A lap of honor bearing the Malle flag, and a hand-beaten aluminum trophy from deBolex Engineering. Both fine things, but for Lee, it was all about hanging out with his pals, making new ones, and simply having a laugh. Just the tonic for today’s serious and testing world.
Perhaps watching racing is becoming a bit old hat, and it’s the taking part that counts?
Malle London | Words by Ross Sharp of The Bike Shed | Images © Mihail Jershov of MJ Studio | MJ Studio Facebook
mercredi 12 juillet 2017
Dust & Motorcycle stories, Chapter II
On the tracks of the famous Gauchos and Dakar's dust road with the beautiful Royal Enfield Classic 500. A great motorcycle adventure by Mono 500...Chapter2
Dust & Motorcycle stories, Chapter II from Mono 500 - Riding Experiences - on Vimeo.
Dust & Motorcycle stories, Chapter II from Mono 500 - Riding Experiences - on Vimeo.
Portuguese Porsche 356 Is An Outlaw Roaming Lisbon
Story by Tiago Freixo
Photography by Pedro Ramos Santos
Cars were always present in my life; one of the first things I remember is standing along with my grandpa while he worked on one of the the interiors of the several cars that passed through his small workshop close to Lisbon. So many memories come to my mind when I think of cars, like that episode when I was driving a Fiat 126 in his lap when he told me that the car was that small so it could fit me better, or even my uncle’s black and pink Mini Moke, where I learned what a handbrake is for. Then time passed and I didn’t think about them as much, until my uncle came to me and asked if I wanted to work with him. I was just 18 years old.
The restoration workshop worked out well, and it expanded from a small space for three cars, into two big spaces with room for more than 30. We have restored cars for collectors, purists, and even international auctioneers, but it felt like something was missing. Therefore I decided to start on my own, working on a project close to what you can see on this Porsche seen in the photos.
When Pedro, the current owner, called me and asked if I had a classic car available for daily use, I had just gotten a 1970 E-Type cabriolet that I thought could be a good option. So, I called back to test the Jaguar idea, which he loved, but it wasn’t exactly what he was looking for either. As we all know, options in the classics world aren’t lacking. But even with so much available, our hopes for finding the right car were almost lost at some points in the search. But right there, forgotten in the back of the workshop, was a Porsche 356 B coupe, lost in the middle of all those who made up the shop’s population at that time.
Pedro asked, “What about this?” To which I replied that “this” needed a lot of work, to which he immediately responded “How long?” I naively said maybe two months… and I was far from knowing what he really intended. Basically he wanted a car that didn’t exist, at least not until it was built for him. The car was meant to fit him with some very particular characteristics. A hot rod in which anyone would recognize the original model, a car faster than before, and one that could be used day by day and with air conditioning. (Damn air conditioning!)
From the first day, we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy job, because we didn’t even know exactly what we wanted yet! We started making some sketches of the car, sent them to the painter and hoped that everything turned out right once it came time to have it applied to the metal. For the interiors, the initial plan was to use a dark brown leather, that is, until the day of ordering the hides when I decided at the last minute to change it to this more caramel tone. It was the right decision, and in my opinion is the perfect match, giving light to the interior, which is hard to find on a darker-colored one.
We were lucky with the mechanics, from a general point of view. The car was in very good shape already, although the engine was fully rebuilt regardless, because we wanted to increase power significantly with the Weber carbs. The suspension issue was solved easily with the replacement of the silent blocks and upper and lower arms, and also new Koni shocks. To lower the car, we used a regular DIY kit with some changes of our own, and it’s the same story with the disc brakes.
Outside, we stripped down the body and decided not to use the front and rear bumpers on the finished version, the absence of which lends a cleaner look to the car, which was finished by closing the holes and resurfacing the metal around it. Hand-built plexiglass rear screens and bullet-type rearview mirrors giving a racing touch to the car’s style that started with the removal of the bumpers. In short, and not detailing the endless hours without sleeping spent fine tuning and detailing it, the last thing to install was the A/C, and once that was working properly and the car was “finished,” I can’t express the satisfaction of feeling the inside of the car fresh and complete for the first time.
The feeling of driving the car is similarly amazing—obviously it will never be a supercar, but the sense of speed, the comfort in the curves, the very direct steering, all makes it the perfect daily classic!
For those interested in all the pieces modified on this 356, the full list is as follows: bumpers removed and holes filled; front disc brakes added; lowered via Koni suspension; engine rebuild with big-bore 1750cc kit and Weber (40) carburetors; 12v conversion; sports exhaust; custom plastic side windows; center fuel fill in the boot lid; extra-long-range front lights; bullet-type side mirrors; custom leather interior with RS-type seats; steering wheel changed to MOMO Indy with wood finish; 15″ larger-diameter wheels powder coated matte black; electric A/C system with hand-built radiator on the rear; Michelin tires for daily use; tinted yellow front lights.
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