CAFÉ RACER 76

jeudi 29 janvier 2015

Land Rover History (National Geographic)

OEM Lightning

Taking cues from its namesake the English Electric Lightning, this cold war inspired custom utilises a modified mono shock swing arm, shortened front and handmade tail unit to great effect.

mercredi 28 janvier 2015

Wednesdays 10pm | 9pm central on Velocity. Master builder Bryan Fuller and motorcycle journalist Mike Seate provide an insider’s look into the craft and culture of motorcycles. In each episode, Bryan and Mike discover top builders from all over the world, join them in stripping down bikes to bare metal and then highlight their transformation into fast and stylish, race-ready machines. From cafe racers, to street fighters, to land speed bikes, they tackle some of the most challenging builds.

White Whale

Orson Welles and Moby Dick inspire an Arctic voyage

The Arctic tern or Sterna paradisaea is a seabird that migrates the length of the world from its breeding grounds in the Arctic Circle to winter in the Antarctic. In 2014, Barcelona-born skipper Albert Bargués decided to emulate the birds’ annual journey and spend a year captaining his aptly named boat The Sterna, with the (ultimately unrealized) goal to spend 365 days in total daylight. The indefatigable travel filmmaker Guille Cascante accompanied his close friend Bargués on the unique voyage, with a second trip planned for Antarctic in 2017 to complete the migratory cycle of its avian namesake.

White Whale in numbers (and words)
Most remote islands visited:
Bear Island, Barents Sea—a research station with a population of nine—and Pyamiden Svalbard archipelago, a Soviet mining town abandoned in 1991 with a population of 13.

The boat
A 27-meter aluminium sailing boat bought in Falmouth, England and sailed back to Barcelona. Built for speed and racing and suitable for the Arctic over fibreglass boats due to the icebergs.

Voyage casualties:
A broken arm (Albert Bargués), an iceberg collision (The Sterna).

Adventurer inspirations:
Tintin, Robert Louis Stevenson, Herman Melville, Joseph Conrad, Patrick O’Brian.

The voiceover:
White Whale features an excerpt of Orson Welles’ unfinished film from 1971,Moby Dick.

Duration of footage shot:
26 hours.

Road Hunter episode 3: Sicily, Agrigento valle dei templi

Third episode of the "road hunter", the new format produced by DMD Helmet. In every chapter DMD bikers invite our road hunter to share a drive with them. This time we where in Sicily for the DMD photoshooting of the new catalogue 2015. This is a little back stage of the photoshooting in the Valle dei templi and a wonderfull ride around the area of Agrigento.

BLACK CLOUD XJ650

We keep banging the Shed drum about folk who head off into an outbuilding, with a bag full of tools and a mind packed with ideas, because without these people the new-wave custom scene wouldn’t exist. The enthusiasm and passion is wide reaching and not bound by language or border. Lukas from the Czech Republic is one such shed-head who has been lured into the custom world. He swore he’d always be a dirtbike kinda guy but stumbled across the café racer concept of modifying motorcycles both old and new, and now finds himself hooked.

Lukas had caught the bug and acted accordingly, borrowing a van and heading out to find a donor; in this case a 1980 Yamaha XJ 650. Three and a half decades had been kind to the mid-capacity four-banger and it ran sweetly so Lukas and his buddy Victor could concentrate on the aesthetics and convert their imagination into reality. Steve McQueen is much adored and an inspiration to many, especially in motorcycling circles and in this case the Ford Mustang from his film Bullitt set the colour scheme for Lukas’ bike.

Before the fancy business of painting could begin the frame required the now familiar chop and loop. The battery and other gubbins has been relocated in the tail leaving the rear triangle open; a mesh crud guard keeps all but the most persistent grime away from the carbs and engine.

Whilst enjoying their newfound outlet for creativity the guys starting amassing tools and equipment and named their endeavour Black Cloud, so it seemed fitting to produce a trick top clamp.

Lukas wanted to achieve the flat line look so trimmed the bottom of the fuel tank and TiG welded the seems back together. The existing off centre and ugly tank cap was discarded, blanked off and replaced by a more symmetrical version. The paintwork is the work of another mate drafted in, Adrian from across the border in Slovakia laid down the Bullitt green, gold pin stripes and airbrushing to the tail.

The sturdy motor was treated to a good service, with new seals and gaskets where required before coating in high-temp matt black paint, with some gold accents to match the pin striping. Corroded nuts and bolts have been swapped out for shiny nickel or chrome plated ones.

Lukas seems to have a good network of friends keen to help out at Black Cloud, Pavel pitched in with his wiring skills cutting out any botched repairs and hiding all the necessary electricity in the tail.

Good friends, sharing a passion for motorcycles and bringing a vision to life. Sounds like a perfect recipe from the Shed cook book. Lukas has another project in the pipeline, keep an eye on Facebook for updates, but in the meantime McQueen’s Toy is for sale.

Thanks to Michal for the photographs.

via PIPEBURN

1974 Honda CB550 – Café Cycles

Written by Martin Hodgson.

The CB550 was not a staple of the classic café scene back in the halcyon days but if they built them like Café Cycles that might have all changed. With the Café Racer culture booming again it’s easy for the new generation to forget its simple roots.

Most of the world’s biggest custom builders and even manufacturers have turned out big dollar Café bikes, but in a small workshop in Rhode Island a lover of British bikes and a master of hand formed aluminium parts, Pete Chase is proving the old simple ways still work. In fact he likes British bikes so much he barely cuts them up, preparing to turn out perfect custom Hondas with a British flavour!

Having half a dozen CB500 and CB550 bare frames in different states of disrepair in his workshop Pete needed a spark of inspiration to get this particular bike going. That came when passing by a yard sale he spotted from the corner of his eye what appeared to be an inline four cylinder engine. Pulling over he discovered it was in fact a CB550 engine that turned over relatively easily, asking price, just $40. Now with just a frame and engine to work with Pete set about building a masterful café bike just like it was done in the days of old.

To ensure the CB would be firing for many years to come the cases were split and a full rebuild undertaken. The rod and crank bearings were Plastigauge’d to ensure all were to spec while the primary chain and all bottom end seals were replaced. These are smart changes to make on any CB engine that has been left sitting, so to the new clutch and springs Pete installed. Up top the cylinders were honed, genuine Honda rings fitted and the head rebuilt, with mild porting, lapping of the valves and also polishing the cam lobes and rocker arms.

With the engine now ready to give years of active service Pete selected the right frame from his collection and then set about cutting it in half. In his own words “I basically chopped the bike in half right behind the gas tank. I built a new rear end with hoop in the back. I made new shock mounts about 2-1/2 – 3 inches forward from stock. On the swing arm I moved the lower shock mount forward by about 2 inches. This allowed me to lean the rear shocks forward, and raise the ass end up” and who can argue with that, a man on a mission with a grinder cannot be stopped!

While this is definitely a Japanese bike the tins and paint work combine the best of British. The old art of hand forming metal is one of Pete’s specialities and he made the beautiful seat pan and cowl in true Café Racer style. The tank is from a later model CB550 and what could be more Old Blighty inspired than a colour scheme of British Racing Green and Wimbledon White. The paint work is so good you’d never guess it was done in his parent’s garage due to an overcrowded workshop. The Lucas light, velocity stacks, Norton style exhaust and blacked out engine all hark back to a day of simple, classic styling.

Japanese bikes weren’t exactly popular amongst the café crews of the 60’s, but if you took any of the Café Cycles bikes back to the glory days of the Ace Café it’s hard to think that even the tea sipping Norton aficionado’s wouldn’t be reaching out to shake Pete’s hand, Bravo!

[Photos by Matt Francis]

via PIPEBURN

De Tomaso's most successful saloon was – a Maserati

In an effort to forget the unsuccessful Citroën era as quickly as possible and instead take up the mantle of the legendary 1960s Maserati Quattroporte, the then-new Maserati owner Alejandro de Tomaso plundered his own larder…

When Alejandro de Tomaso took over the reins of Maserati from Citroën in 1975, he was confident of the potential for a comfortable, high-performance saloon. He had already created such a car in the form of the De Tomaso Deauville, and believed that a new Maserati Quattroporte was the way to go for the beleaguered Trident. According to De Tomaso, the 1974 Quattroporte II, built on the extended chassis of a Citroën SM, was not right at all: the 3.0-litre V6 – a sad let-down after the powerful V8 of the first Quattroporte series – combined with front-wheel drive, left little room for sportiness. Alejandro was not impressed.

A Maserati born from the De Tomaso Deauville

De Tomaso let the Quattroporte second series die a quiet death, with only a handful made, and soon afterwards came up with the Quattroporte III – a development of the Maserati Kyalami, a coupé that was itself based on De Tomaso underpinnings. The third-generation Quattroporte used a modified De Tomaso Deauville chassis, and it was powered (through the rear wheels) by Maserati 4.2- and 4.9- litre V8 engines with up to 300HP. Meanwhile, the clean, sharp design of the new saloon came from the pen of Giorgetto Giugiaro.

Good things come in threes

The handling, performance and ride of the Quattroporte III convinced the pundits. If the Italian saloon had some weaknesses in the details, it was nevertheless extremely popular and the transport of choice for numerous celebrities, including the Italian President Alessandro ‘Sandro’ Pertini, the American publisher Malcolm Forbes and star tenor Luciano Pavarotti. With over 2,000 cars built, the Quattroporte III went down in history as one of the most successful models of Maserati ever created.

On 6 February 2015, Artcurial in Paris will offer the Maserati Quattroporte III in the attractive colour combination shown here. The car comes from the estate of the Moroccan King Hassan II and has covered 124,000km. The estimate is just 10,000 to 14,000 euros.

Photos: Rémi Dargegen for Artcurial

Which famous sports car is hidden beneath this Opel Manta body?

It’s a sunny day in the Alps, sometime in 1972. A Mk1 Opel Manta leads a convoy of vehicles through the twisting mountain passes – but beneath the familiar coupé body is the running gear for what will eventually become the Porsche 924…

At this point, the project is destined to blossom into a new front-engined Volkswagen coupé, an eventual replacement for the mid-engined 914. Volkswagen has already commissioned (and paid)Porsche to develop the new car on its behalf; the engineering team is using a pack of ‘mules’ to test various engine and suspension set-ups.

Hiding in plain sight

These come to include not only a trio of Opel Mantas – chosen for their packaging similarity to what’s only known as ‘Project EA 425’ for the moment – but also a BMW 1600, bought second-hand back in April to serve as a basis for initial tests on the Audi-derived 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine. And while the Weissach-based engineers make developmental headway both at home and on the road, Harm Lagaay finalises the exterior design in the clay studios, ahead of a final presentation of EA 425 to the VW board in Spring 1973.

The story doesn’t end there, as we know. Roughly a year later, VW will launch the Scirocco – and contemplate passing EA 425 over to Audi, for which it could serve as a replacement for the 100. Eventually, though, a deal will be struck whereby Porsche assumes the rights to the design, and EA 425 will become the entry-level Porsche 924: the company’s first front-engined car.

One heck of a tail

Although initially upsetting the purists, the 924 will go on to compete at Le Mans, while Turbo and Carrera GT variants cater for those that will bemoan the car’s lack of power. But first, let’s stop off in Autumn 1976. A top-secret programme has been launched to attack the endurance records set by the Mercedes C111 prototype earlier this year, using a standard (albeit turbocharged) 924 as a basis. During aerodynamic testing, the 924 bodywork receives drastic modifications, including covered wheelarches and a ‘long-tail’ – but management ultimately deems the latter too far a deviation from the standard car.

Soon, Porsche will hear of a fresh attempt by Mercedes to shatter its own endurance records with a new Wankel-engined prototype. The top-secret 924 project is canned and archived – but some of the aerodynamic addenda investigated will ultimately come to be used on the road-going Carrera GT homologation special.

Photos: Veloce Publishing

QUÉ BONITA! A SUBLIME R100 RS FROM SPAIN

Since he established Kiddo Motors in 2010, Sergio Armet's held our attention with a steady stream of good-looking custom bikes, like this BMW R100.

By Wesley Reyneke | Rather Be Riding

Ever since he established Kiddo Motors in 2010, Sergio Armet has held our attention with a steady stream of keen-looking builds. Customers have noticed too—so Sergio’s had to grow his team.

Last year, 24-year-old Christoffer Mårtensson—a product designer from Malmö, Sweden—hopped over to Barcelona to join the workshop. He’s now cut his teeth on this stripped down BMW R100 RS.

The BMW’s owner was after something “in a classic café style”—with a budget geared towards reliability rather than outright performance. “The idea was to keep the patina,” says Sergio, “but with a clean and minimalistic look.”

Sergio immediately set Christoffer to work on the frame. Rather than rebuilding just the rear, the team decided to redesign the entire frame from front to back. “We wanted a straight line from the engine through to the subframe,” says Sergio, “and wanted to eliminate the BMW’s characteristic engine incline.”

Once the frame was done, Kiddo modified the drive shaft to work with the revised geometry and reinforced the top yoke. They then added a hand-made leather seat and front fender to complete the bodywork.

To make sure the BMW runs for years to come, the engine was completely overhauled. Sergio also decided to bring the electrical system up to date: he’s installed a 14V alternator, a 14V voltage controller, power coils and a new CDI.

All of that’s hooked up to a brand new, simpler wiring harness, running off a Motogadget m-Unit and a Lithium-ion battery. (The battery’s mounted behind the gearbox in a custom-made casing.) Motogadget also supplied the Motoscope Tiny speedo (sunk into the headlight) and handlebar switches, and Kiddo have installed a keyless m-Lock system too.

The rearsets are from Tarozzi—fixed to a set of one-off brackets—and there are mounting points for passenger pegs. Up front are a pair of Tommaselli clip-ons. The headlight is from Kymco and the taillight is a LED Bates-style unit.

Other neat little touches include a Monza gas cap, Goodridge brake lines and blacked-out Norton style silencers. Avon Roadrider tires round off the package.

We can’t tear our eyes away from the BMW’s tank though—finished in bare metal with a dash of turquoise.

Note how the color of the fuel lines matches the tank—it’s just one of many thoughtful details that make this build simply magnifico.

Kiddo Motors website | Facebook | Instagram | Photos by Roger Casas | See more Kiddo builds in the Archives

via BIKEexif

JD Classics opens boutique showroom in Mayfair

Essex-based classic car dealer JD Classics has opened a discreet new 10-car showroom on the site of a would-be art gallery in the heart of Mayfair, London…

The headquarters of the company will remain in Maldon, Essex, home to the firm’s 60 craftsmen, technicians and engineers. However, with the company developing such an international reputation in recent years – and the client base to go with it – it was in need of a more central location, with closer proximity to the major airports for clients on flying visits.

Discreet yet inviting

The new site is far from brash: it might be located in one of the Capital’s wealthiest areas, but the showroom is a low-key affair tucked away on a quiet side street, a stone’s throw from Berkeley Square. Rumour has it that JD Classics fought off competition from the world’s top art galleries in securing the site. That’s another race victory for the company, then.

JD’s CEO Anthony Wenyon reveals that much thought went into both the location and the general aura and choice of cars on display from the company’s impressive stocklist (virtually 100% of which it owns outright, by the way). “Derek Hood [JD Classics’ founder] and I spent a long time searching for the right location, and then on deciding how to create the right atmosphere. We wanted it to be warm and inviting for not only our existing customers, but also to passers-by more familiar with the art world and the Mayfair lifestyle – people that might not yet have considered a high-end classic, hence the open-door policy.”

Wall-to-wall with automotive beauty - literally...

The spaces in the Mayfair showroom are reserved for the company’s upper-echelon cars only, so expect the likes of E-types, Miuras and Lussos, all presented immaculately, beautifully lit and set against a backdrop of bespoke murals and classical music. Whether you happen to be in the area, or are on a one-night stopover in the Capital, the new site is a must-visit location for any classic car enthusiast.

Photos: JD Classics

Rallyteam ........

mardi 27 janvier 2015

WRC ; Ogier égale McRae ; Ogier goes level with McRae

Grâce à une 25e victoire mondiale obtenue au Rallye Monte-Carlo 2015, Sébastien Ogier rejoint l’icône écossaise Colin McRae au palmarès du WRC. Sébastien Loeb, quant à lui, porte son score à 905 épreuves spéciales remportées.

Il n’est pas faux, ni vexant, d’affirmer que le retour de Sébastien Loeb en WRC a donné un sérieux coup de boost à cette 83e édition du Rallye Monte-Carlo. A voir les milliers de spectateurs au bord des routes et les attroupements autour du nonuple champion du monde tout au long du rallye, on se demande encore comment les marques Citroën et/ou DS peuvent se passer d’un Loeb en WRC en termes d’image et de communication…

Au niveau des performances, Sébastien Loeb n’est pas mal non plus (leader jusqu’à l’ES7, 5 meilleur temps) et ceux qui doutaient de sa compétitivité après 18 mois d’absence en rallye sont désormais rassurés… même si le résultat final (8e) est son plus mauvais à Monaco où il n’avait jamais fini au-delà de la 2e place au volant d’une WRC !

Mais le grand vainqueur de ce Rallye Monte-Carlo long, difficile, piégeux, est évidemment Sébastien Ogier, malgré une position bien inconfortable et inédite pour lui - sans splits, le double champion du monde a roulé « en aveugle » jusqu’à dimanche –. Seb a roulé très fort sur les spéciales du Champsaur pour prendre la tête de l’épreuve, après avoir « reçu » 30s9 dans l’ES1 et 15s dans l’ES3 par son rival. A partir de l’ES8, Ogier a pu dérouler jusqu’à l’arrivée pour remporter sa 25e victoire mondiale. Il égale le record de feu Colin McRae et talonne El Matador Carlos Sainz.

De son côté, Volkswagen signe un triplé historique à Monte-Carlo, où seules quatre marques avaient réussi cet exploit depuis 1973 (Alpine-Renault en 1973, Lancia en 1976, Audi en 1984 et Citroën en 2003). Jari-Matti Latvala et Andreas Mikkelsen n’ont signé aucun meilleur temps, mais ils ont profité des infortunes de Tanak (sortie ES10), Evans (touchette ES11), Bouffier (sortie ES2), Kubica (pb électriques et trois sorties)… pour monter sur le podium. Mads Ostberg et les deux pilotes Hyundai i20 WRC, Neuville et Sordo, ont également bénéficié de ces faits de course pour conclure aux places d’honneur.

La nouvelle Polo R WRC 2015 a donc frappé fort pour ses débuts en course. Mais on a pu constater que les évolutions apportées à la DS3 WRC (8 meilleurs temps sur 14 spéciales) ont permis à Loeb et Meeke de suivre le rythme sur ce terrain si particulier. Qu’en sera-t-il sur neige et sur terre ? En parlant de Suède, les trois VW vont ouvrir la route jusqu’au dimanche, soit 260 km chronométrés…

Du côté des privés, Sébastien Chardonnet (DS3 WRC) a connu un rallye difficile avec deux sorties de route. Henning Solberg (11e, Ford) n’avait plus roulé sur asphalte depuis 2012 et a rendu une prestation sans faute. Discret lui aussi, Martin Prokop (Ford) a terminé dans le top-ten.

Michelin a remporté son 24e Rallye Monte-Carlo depuis 1973. Pour affronter la glace, la neige, le givre, l’humide et les routes sèches de cette 83e édition, toute la gamme de pneumatiques hormis le Pilot Sport H4 (hard) a été utilisée.

Sébastien Ogier’s 25th world class win on Sunday in Monte Carlo takes him level with the late Scottish legend Colin McRae. Sébastien Loeb has taken his score of WRC stage victories to 905.

It has to be admitted that Sébastien Loeb’s presence provided the 83rd Rallye Monte-Carlo with a big boost. You only had to see spectator numbers and the crowds that formed round the nine-time world champion throughout the event to understand how popular he remains. He is still very much a valuable asset for Citroën in the WRC in terms of image and communications…

The Frenchman is still extremely competitive, too, since he led up to SS7 and posted five fastest stage times to reassure those who doubted his ability to bounce back after an 18-month absence from the championship. That said, eighth place was his worst ever Monte Carlo result since he had previously never finished any lower than second in a World Rally Car!

The big winner in the Principality at the end of the long and treacherously complex event was, of course, Sébastien Ogier who had to cope with running first on the road for the majority of the event. He also had to live without ‘split times’ for the first time. Even so, he succeeded in easing into the lead in his home valley after being beaten by his rival by 30.9s on SS1 and by 15s on SS3. Once in front after SS8, however, he was able to cruise to his 25th world class victory which takes him level with the late Colin McRae and not far behind Spaniard Carlos Sainz.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen monopolised the podium in Monte Carlo, an achievement accomplished by just four other makes: Alpine-Renault (1973), Lancia (1976), Audi (1984) and Citroën (2003). Neither Jari-Matti Latvala nor Andreas Mikkelsen won a stage but they benefited from the misfortunes of Tanak (accident, ES10), Evans (accident, ES11), Bouffier (accident, ES2), and Kubica (electrical problems and three accidents) to claim second and third places. Mads Ostberg (Citroën) and Hyundai i20 WRC drivers Neuville and Sordo finished in the wake of the VW trio.

The 2015-spec Polo R WRC won out of the box, but the latest version of the DS3 WRC notched up eight fastest times from 14 on this highly specific event. We will soon see how it performs on snow and dirt. Talking of Sweden, the VW drivers will be first on the road on Friday and Saturday (260 competitive kilometres).

Privateer Sébastien Chardonnet (DS3 WRC) had a tough week (two crashes) but Henning Solberg (11th, Ford) didn’t put a foot wrong on his first asphalt event since 2012. The consistent run of Martin Prokop (Ford) was rewarded with a top-10 finish.

Michelin tyres claimed their 24th Rallye Monte-Carlo success since 1973.

Road Hunter episode 2: Austria. Faaker See and the Finkenstein castle

Second episode of the "road hunter", the new format produced by DMD Helmet. In every chapter DMD bikers invite our road hunter to share a drive with them. This time Marco take him in a nice road around Faaker See in Austria during the Faaker See european bike week. Who is gonna be the next?

Naked Speed: Meet Bryan Fuller

The Typhoon - Old Empire Motorcycles

The Imperial Collection is restricted by one rule ‘design without compromise’. The bike is developed organically as the build progresses without a predetermined layout or time scale. The result is beyond limits, without compare, just pure motorcycle.

Arizona auctions reveal new trends for 2015

Each year, the Arizona auctions offer us an early look at the forthcoming trends in the classic car market. We’ve analysed the results from the sales held by the ‘big three’ – here are our findings…

As expected, Bonhams and RM both achieved the largest single lot results of the Arizona sales with their ex-Scuderia Filipinetti Ferraris, achieving $9.4m and $9.6m for their 275 GTB/C and 250 LM, respectively. RM also achieved two world auction records for Ferraris, with a 275 GTS and a 288 GTO fetching a corresponding $2.37m and $2.75m, while Gooding sold its headline lot – a LWB Cal’ Spider – for $7.7m.

However, success was by no means across the board for all Ferraris: 275 values in particular look to have plateaued for now, perhaps simply down to no fewer than six being offered across the Arizona auctions. That said, it appeared modern, limited production Ferraris might be an emerging trend to watch in 2015, as one of our market experts suggested it might a few weeks back: RM sold a 575 America for a heady $517,000, with Gooding doing well to fetch $286,000 for a 360 Challenge Stradale.

Keep searching those barns!

It appears the cachet of the ‘barn-find’ rings truer than ever in 2015, which will no doubt delight Artcurial ahead of its Rétromobile auction in a few weeks. Despite stuttering prices for Dinos in Arizona, Gooding commanded a healthy $418k for a not-so-healthy 206, also selling a dilapidated 356A Speedster for $484,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $275,000-375,000. It starts to get a little absurd, however, when a ‘barn-find’ Cobra sells for $979,000 – just $100,000 less than a good example that, unlike the former, still wears its original paint.

On face value, it appeared two of the auction house catalogue must-haves – the Porsche 2.7 RS and Mercedes 300 SL – have slowed following last year’s price surges. Neither of the 2.7s could attract bids beyond their reserve prices, but the Mercs were perhaps caught out by over-enthusiastic estimates: on average, the total prices have risen slightly since 2014, but the majority still sold below their middle estimates. According to Robert Johnson of Classic & Sports Finance, this trend was reflected across the Arizona sales: “Although the auction houses will be happy with average sell-through figures of 90%, there’s a lot to be said of the amount of cars selling below or in the lower half of their estimate windows. Across last year’s auctions, this figure remained constant at 40% – at Arizona this was more like 65%.” Johnson also points out an increase in price separation of the very best examples of any given model; it seems buyers are becoming even more particular about provenance.