Motorcycle News - KREATIVE EXPRESSION: BMW K75C by JAX Garage
https://ift.tt/2PBrjlT Written by Tim Huber. Building custom bikes means different things to different people. For some it’s a way to make a living, while for others it’s a means of blowing off steam and getting to unleash a little creativity upon the world. For Australia’s Jas Baralija, it’s very much the latter. The Melbourne-based bike enthusiast holds a number of largely clinical positions by day, leaving little to no room in his work life for any form of real self expression. “Week in and week out, I work as a Consulting Mechanical Engineer / Forensic Engineer. This work involves investigating why things fail, mostly heavy vehicle and agricultural equipment related. I’m also involved in the homologation of vehicles in Australia as an agent. The work’s quite technical, therefore working on custom bikes is the only creative outlet I have,” explains Jas. Though Jas had done some work on his own bikes in the past, the BMW marked his first full-on custom job. The engineer-by-day was joined by Dom Scarpari; a mechanic with three-decades of experience, the proprietor of a company that sells custom components for drift cars, and Jas’ soon-to-be father in-law. Like Jas, Dom had done a bit of work on his own rides but had never gone the full custom route — though you’d never know it from looking at the duo’s inaugural build, which is made all the more impressive by the fact it was completed in approximately two-month’s time. The project began as a BMW K75C that’d been wrecked. The forks were toast and the plastics were damaged, but a modern inverted front-end was already in the cards and the bodywork was slated to be pulled, so the crashed K ended up being the perfect donor for Jas and Dom, who are operating under the banner of JAX Garage. “As things progressed during the build he encouraged me to look at doing custom builds as a side project and that’s how all this got started,” Jas tells us. Before reaching the cylinder head, air now passes through a one-off pie-cut stainless steel intake manifold, meanwhile the German triple now roars via a custom exhaust setup ending in an over-sized GP-style pipe running horizontally before bending up 135-degrees and ending in a meshed straight cut. A custom over-flow canister was also made in-house and then stowed away beneath the tank. The mid-to-late ‘80s BMW’s original fork was yanked and an inverted unit off a CBR929RR was dropped into place. The Honda’s front-end also meant getting its dual-disc and Nissin caliper arrangement. GKTech provided the duo with a custom front brake reservoir and bespoke braided lines, as well. Small, one-off fenders add another dash of modern flavour to the mix, as does the 7-inch Stedi Carbon Black LED headlight – which rests in a custom bracket. The 929 also gave up its rear-sets — the mounting of which required one-off brackets — and switchgear. The wiring was modified and the stock instrumentation was replaced with a new Acewell 2853 Speedometer. Beneath the seat Jas installed a lightweight Lithium-ion battery. The subframe was shortened, the chassis was de-tabbed and cleaned up, and Jas and Dom whipped up a custom frame bolt dress-up kit to mask the stock bolts. The chassis, swing-arm, and wheels were then hit with a coat of high-gloss black and the powertrain, headlight shell, and fenders received a coat of satin black. The K75C’s original tank was stripped of its Roundels and then prepped for painting along with the build’s bespoke bodywork, then covered in BMW’s Estoril Blue. Sitting above the rear triangles is a custom fiberglass tail section; a contemporary take on the classic humped cafe tail that feeds into the back of the stock tank with a level of finish only rivaled by high-end factories. A black leather saddle with blue diamond stitching decorates the one-off tail, while an small LED taillight, micro LED indicators, and a tidy keep things both clutter-free and street-legal. Together the pair have delivered a show-stopped of a K75C, with their talent on full display, along with the bike’s myriad of breathtaking one-off components. Based on the chops shown on their first build, we seriously can’t wait to see what the soon-to-be father and son in-laws cook up next. “Dom’s experience and wisdom was the most crucial part of making this a successful build… and I’m not just saying that because I’ll be marrying his daughter in a few months’ time,” says Jas. [ JAX Garage | Instagram | Photography by Christina Scarpari ] Motorcycles via Pipeburn.com https://ift.tt/2LY9tnG October 30, 2019 at 01:13AM
Motorcycle News - 2020 Aprilia RS 660 Confirmed for EICMA
https://ift.tt/31Tihmx Aprilia confirmed it will present the RS 660 at EICMA, releasing an image of the sportbike cloaked in shadow over its social media channels. The production model 2020 Aprilia RS 660 has the potential to shake up the moribund supersport class that in recent years has consisted mostly of small updates like the Kawasaki ZX-6R and limited edition models like the Triumph Daytona 765.
We’ve brightened the image a bit below, revealing more details like the RS660 logo and hint of the lower case Aprilia “a” on the fairing, and overlaid a shot of the concept shown off at last year’s EICMA show. The comparison isn’t quite perfect, but even working with just the faintest of details, we can see some significant differences between the concept and the production model. The fuel tank has a slightly different, and the rake angle has changed while the tail rises up at a sharper angle. The swingarm looks similar, as does the frame (or at least, what little we can see of it). Naturally, the production model has the necessary parts to be street-legal, with mirrors, turn signals and a license plate holder. We can’t see the exhaust from the teaser image, leaving us to assume an underslung silencer instead of the design we saw on the concept or even the production RSV4. As for the engine, we know the RS 660 will use a parallel-Twin derived from the 1100cc engine used in the RSV4 and Tuono V4. Speaking of the Tuono, photos and video of an alleged Tuono 660 have started popping up online, undergoing track testing at Imola with the RS660. Aprilia hasn’t said anything official about a Tuono version, though the company did say at EICMA last year that “the RS 660 project is the development base for a wider range that intends to make Aprilia a key player in an extremely strategic market segment in Europe, but also in Asia and the American market.” The 2019 EICMA show is just around the corner, so we’ll see whether the 2020 Aprilia RS660 will be joined by a Tuono 660 in Milan. The post 2020 Aprilia RS 660 Confirmed for EICMA appeared first on Motorcycle.com. Motorcycles via Motorcycle.com https://ift.tt/2Std7JO October 29, 2019 at 01:49PM
F1 News - Red Bull 'spit drivers out' - Hamilton backs Albon
https://ift.tt/31WwYFx Lewis Hamilton has urged Red Bull to support Alex Albon and said the team "often spit drivers out pretty quick". Red Bull demoted Pierre Gasly to Toro Rosso mid-season and promoted Albon for the remaining races. The 23-year-old Thai-Briton outscored Max Verstappen by 19 points in the six races the pair have spent as team-mates, which is three points fewer than Gasly's 12 races this season. Red Bull are yet to confirm a second driver for 2020. Hamilton said: "Alex has got a bright future ahead of him and I hope Red Bull give him the support over the years." Hamilton, who battled with Albon in the opening laps of the Mexico Grand Prix, said: "It's very, very important because they often spit drivers out pretty quick if they don't always do the job. I hope they're good to him. "It's also real challenge to go up against a driver in Max that's spoken so highly of by so many people and built up onto a pedestal. "He has come in so young, with all the difficulties he's had in his life as well. His story is quite an interesting one, succeeding against all adversity. So, on Sunday, it was quite cool to just sit and view him for a second." Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who made the decision to swap the drivers after the Hungarian Grand Prix, said: "Alex has scored more points than Max since the summer break, which you never would have expected. "He is doing a very good job considering it's his first year in Formula 1. He's getting stronger and stronger, he works very hard, he has good feedback in the car and I think he's impressed the whole team with his attitude and application." #F1 via BBC Sport - Formula 1 https://ift.tt/OHg7x6 October 29, 2019 at 01:12PM
Motorcycle News - Mental Morini: A wild Corsaro 1200 Veloce from XTR Pepo
https://ift.tt/2pn9coU
Pepo’s sharp eye and deft hand come from his vast experience. He’s the guy that originally founded the powerhouse custom shop, Radical Ducati. Then, after a thirteen-year stint at Radical, he went into a hiatus, before realizing that building custom motorcycles was all he wanted to do.
Luckily, our good friend and ace photographer Marc Holstein pinged us about this exotic number. It’s a Moto Morini Corsaro 1200 Veloce, and it’s got all the elements of a classic XTR Pepo masterpiece.
“They agreed that Pepo would build a custom bike, and that Oliver would leave him a lot of creative freedom. The Corsaro 1200 Veloce was chosen because it’s the most powerful bike in the line-up.”
The Moto Morini cuts a far more aggressive line now. To achieve this, Pepo lowered the front end, and fabricated a completely new subframe out back.
It features some astounding details too. The filler is a twin-cap setup from Fuchs Workshop, and Pepo’s built a holder for the LiPo battery into the tailpiece. And even though the barely-there seat pad sure doesn’t look comfy, it suits the overall vibe.
Just behind it is the OEM dash, mounted on a new bracket to tuck it in close.
It’s a real tidy setup overall, right down to the small bracket that holds the remote Brembo reservoirs.
XTR Pepo | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Marc Holstein Motorcycles via Bike EXIF https://ift.tt/2Mf9b0c October 29, 2019 at 12:12PM
F1 News - Ferrari already making plans for 2020 season
https://ift.tt/2MWQCgj Ferrari team principle Mattia Binotto says they are determined to sharpen up their race management over the final races of the season to ensure they are best placed for 2020. The team have let a number of wins slip this year, owing to a combination of driver, operational and strategy errors. Team boss Binotto said: "We have started the last six races from pole position but have only gone on to win three and we want to do better than that." "We are encouraged we have a package that can fight for wins at most tracks," he added. Ferrari started the year with a car that was competitive only on circuits dominated by long straights, which played to the standard-setting performance of their engine and did not expose the lack of grip from their chassis. But aerodynamic upgrades in recent races have closed the gap to Mercedes and Red Bull on cornering performance and Ferrari head to this weekend's US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, as the team to beat in Formula 1. Binotto added: "It's a significant improvement on how we started the year and credit must go to all the people in Maranello and at the track, who have worked so hard to fight back from where we started. "We need to use the last three races of this season to further develop as a group and to operate in the sharpest possible manner in order to be better prepared for next year. It is a very tight field at the front and every detail matters if we want to win more often." In Mexico last weekend, Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel started together on the front row but a too-early pit stop for Leclerc and then allowing themselves to be out-thought on strategy by Mercedes with Vettel left them second and fourth at the end of the race. Binotto said after the Mexican Grand Prix: "Going to Austin, no doubt we have all the possibility to win. Let's try to start on pole and win and not start on pole and not win. I am pretty sure we can do it." Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is on the verge of tying up a sixth world title and will do so in Austin as long as he does not lose more than 22 points to team-mate Valtteri Bottas. The only possible scenario in which Hamilton will not clinch the title is if Bottas wins the race - and even then the Briton needs only to finish eighth to become champion. Hamilton has won five of the seven races held at the Circuit of the Americas since its debut on the F1 calendar in 2012 and it is one of his favourite tracks. Last year, Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen, Leclerc's predecessor in the team, won the race and Vettel and Leclerc both go to Austin believing they can beat Hamilton. Vettel said: "The US GP in Austin is a very different proposition to the high-altitude of Mexico. The Circuit of the Americas is an exciting track, with a wide range of cornering speeds and lots of changes of direction. It's quite bumpy, particularly in the big braking zones so it's easy to lock wheels there. "The strategy choice is quite open, with both one and two-stop plans looking possible. "Last year's event was difficult because none of us got much useful running due to the poor weather on Friday. "The forecast for this year is dry but quite cool. It should be a good circuit for us but, as we saw last year, we can take nothing for granted and the competition is also strong." #F1 via BBC Sport - Formula 1 https://ift.tt/OHg7x6 October 29, 2019 at 11:42AM
F1 News - Rivals wrong to be too hard on Verstappen - Palmer
https://ift.tt/2qWAfbf Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, who left Renault during the 2017 season, is part of the BBC team and offers insight and analysis from the point of view of the competitors. Max Verstappen caused a stir in Mexico last weekend. It was a race he could and should have won, but didn't because of some naivety and a disregard for the rules. There is no excuse for his actions in qualifying on Saturday, when he failed to lift off as he passed yellow warning flags for Valtteri Bottas' crashed Mercedes. But on a wider level Verstappen is actually taking some unwarranted criticism at the moment. Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Bottas were quick to throw jabs at Verstappen in the post-race top-three news conference. Hamilton said you had to be aware you are racing Verstappen and give him extra space, and alluded to the fact that he isn't the smartest racer. Vettel agreed. And Bottas declared the Red Bull driver came from nowhere in his overtake in the tight stadium section and could blame only himself for the puncture that ruined his race. In reality, Verstappen's race was actually almost blameless. Hamilton's notion that Verstappen "torpedoed' him at the start is well wide of the mark. Actually, it was Hamilton who was bold in trying to pass Verstappen around the outside at the start. Hamilton ended up getting into a massive slide all on his own, and that forced Verstappen off on to the grass at Turn Three, along with the Mercedes. This wasn't anything more than plain, hard racing. So finger-pointing at Verstappen post-race is just unfair. Verstappen was actually the innocent victim in that incident, which demoted him from his fourth place at the start down to eighth. From there, Verstappen's move on Bottas consigned him to a race of recovery, but there was nothing wrong with that. It was a lovely overtake and - again - good, hard racing. Yes, it was aggressive, but Bottas has no right to be complaining about it. Does Verstappen deserve his reputation?When you actually analyse the last year and a half of Verstappen's career, since Canada 2018, he has been brilliant, and at least as fair as most of his rivals around him. The sad truth for him is that he is carrying the reputation along with him that he earned in his early Formula 1 career, when he arrived as a raw 17-year-old with only a year's experience in car racing under his belt. Looking at some of the incidents of recent times, it is other drivers generally at fault:
The only real misdemeanour Verstappen has made has been beating Leclerc to the win in Austria by driving him wide on the exit of Turn Three - a move not as bad as either Vettel's or Leclerc's in Mexico or Italy, and one that, while it could have gone either way, the stewards deemed legal. Verstappen's move on Bottas in Mexico was the only overtake any of the front-runners could put on each other in the entire Grand Prix. He was simply unlucky to pick up a puncture for it. And his recovery drive was incredible. After driving around for an entire lap on three wheels, Verstappen finally emerged from the pits on lap six a full minute behind race leader Leclerc. After a further 66 laps, having passed 14 cars, most of which were on track with some spirited moves that at times were arguably a bit too risky, he ended up 68 seconds away from the race winner Lewis Hamilton, and pretty much still a minute behind Leclerc. Verstappen also completed 67 laps at good pace, on a single set of hard tyres, that put Hamilton's 'miracle' 48-lap stint into a relative perspective. Paying the price for a foolish errorVerstappen's Sunday was purely unlucky. But his weekend began to unravel because of his foolish moment on Saturday, and subsequent petulance in the news conference. That is what cost him a likely victory. Had Verstappen followed the rules at the end of qualifying, he would have been on pole position, not next to Hamilton at the start. He never would have needed to pass Bottas, and he had the pace to win this Grand Prix at a canter. Verstappen is one of the outright fastest drivers out there, as each of his three Red Bull team-mates in the last year can attest. So what went wrong? His initial pole lap in Mexico was superb, underlining his pace, and putting team-mate Alexander Albon in the shade. At the end of the session, attempting to improve on his time, he kept his foot to the floor past Bottas' crashed Mercedes, when yellow flags were flying. That was foolish and cost him the pole he was so desperate for. All drivers are aware of the rules when it comes to passing yellow flags. It has been ingrained in them for years. You have to back off. I was given exactly the same penalty as Verstappen in China 2017, after Antonio Giovinazzi hit the wall in his Sauber. I thought I might get away with it, because I did actually lift off past the incident and had no time on the board anyway, so either way it was a risk I had to take. Haas driver Romain Grosjean received an identical penalty at the time, and the message became perfectly clear. Since then, there have been other cases of drivers improving under yellows, but they are getting rarer and rarer, and are usually involving someone, like Grosjean and me in 2017, who has no time on the board and therefore nothing to lose. Verstappen in fact picked up the same penalty for the same crime in Sochi last year, but that was in a nothing-to-lose context - he was going to start from the back regardless. However, in Mexico, Verstappen had everything to lose and nothing to gain. But he wouldn't necessarily have known that. In the cockpit, he probably thought Bottas' crash was going to cost him pole, as his rivals might improve and he wouldn't be able to. That is the only mindset that makes sense here, and therefore Red Bull could have helped him out from the pit wall. Albon and Leclerc came through and didn't improve before Bottas crashed. Hamilton was close enough to Bottas to not have yellow flags when he came through the crash site, but was slower in the final sector anyway. But Red Bull would have known the rules as much as the drivers, and they should have just told Verstappen to abort the lap as soon as the crash happened, because it was clear that his pole lap was going to be unrivalled anyway by that point. The team would have been able to see, but Verstappen in the car would have been unaware - hence his keeping his foot in past the yellow flag. But this doesn't excuse Verstappen, who should have known he had to back off anyway, as Sebastian Vettel had done ahead. What was surprising is that it seemed to take Verstappen's comments in the media to spark an investigation at all. This was where the Dutchman really dug his own grave and forced the hand of the FIA, who by this point had no choice but to investigate and subsequently penalise the Red Bull man. Clearly on the defence under questioning as to why he had not lifted off, Verstappen was rattled and reeled off a load of curt answers that were both an admission of guilt and a scant disregard for safety at the same time. A driver acting more cleverly might have been able to avoid the questions better than Verstappen, or certainly not answer them as directly as he did. He also seemed unaware at this point as to what the rules were - not only by plainly breaking them in the action of keeping his foot down, but also by suggesting that if he were found guilty he would just have that final lap time deleted. That is the penalty for being guilty of exceeding track limits on a qualifying lap, not for driving flat out past a crashed car, as he had found out a year previous in Russia. Judge Verstappen for now, not thenWith his aggressive driving, and bullish remarks he makes himself arguably the most polarising driver on the grid at the moment. It was only a year and a half ago, after all, that he declared that he would punch in the face the next reporter who asked him about his series of early 2018 accidents. But the reality is that in Mexico one error of judgement cost him, and made him an easy target for those around him and the media to harp back to the old version of him. Qualifying in Mexico did highlight that there is a level of immaturity to him, on and off the track. But Verstappen is still only 22; there's plenty of time to mature. Ultimately he is one of the best and certainly most entertaining drivers out there. While he has certainly had a chequered past in F1, right now he still cops a lot of flack he doesn't deserve, from both his fellow drivers and the media. #F1 via BBC Sport - Formula 1 https://ift.tt/OHg7x6 October 29, 2019 at 10:12AM
Motorcycle News - 2020 Indian Challenger Review First Ride
https://ift.tt/2MYmroQ 2020 Indian ChallengerEditor Score: 89.0%
What exactly the hell is the meaning of this, letting a 30-year old kid be the Powertrain Project Engineer for an all-new bagger? What could a callow youth like Shane Williams, who roadraces a 15-year old GSX-R600 and rides a Tuono on the street, possibly know about the bagger mentality? When they’re not tearing around on sportbikes (and Indians!) because the snow’s too deep, Shane and Product Director Josh Katt are plotting mostly legal routes to get to work on Polaris snowmobiles. If that’s not heretical enough, Indian put a Swedish guy who designed BMW motorcycles for 15 years in charge of design – Ola Stenegard. The culmination of all that – I think it was Shane Williams who said it – is “the first bagger that’s fun to ride.” I don’t know if I can go quite that far, but the all-new 2020 Indian Challenger really is a big step funward in the big bagger category. All the Indian guys on the project (the ones I asked anyway) are as big fans of the BMW K1600B bagger that won MO’s last bagger comparison as I am, but they also freely admit the German bike wasn’t their primary target when they built this one: The Challenger’s aimed squarely at the biggest-selling big bike in America, the H-D Road Glide. Or is it the Street Glide? You get the picture. Heck, they even brought an RG along on the launch for us to ride and compare. The Challenger takes up the challenge with an all-new liquid-cooled “PowerPlus” engine that does a pretty good job disguising its liquidity, for people for whom that’s still important; no unsightly hoses to be seen, and the radiator is unobtrusive enough. Greater cooling capacity lets everything be tightened up, including compression ratio – now up to 11:1. That’s the same CR as the 116-inch air-cooled V-twin in the latest Chieftains, but instead of that engine’s old-timey 103.2mm x 113mm bore and stroke, the Challenger goes all modern oversquare, with 108 x 96.5mm dimensions. Instead of the air-cooled engine’s claimed 126 pound-feet of torque at 2900 rpm, Indian says the Challenger’s producing 128 lb-ft at 3800 rpm. Critically, instead of just not mentioning horsepower (ala Harley-Davidson’s longstanding practice), Indian’s proud to announce the new liquid-cooled 108 makes 122 horses at 5500 rpm. My in-house rectal dyno puts it at about 110 rear-wheel Dynojet horsepower, which is a giant step up from the typical big twin’s 80 or so, south of 5000 rpm, and if you want to push the Challenger’s tachometer needle into the red, all the way to 6500, nothing’s preventing you. In spite of that higher revvability, the new motor’s happy to burble you smoothly along below 2000 rpm all day in relaxed-cruising mode, or effortlessly along the freeway at 80 mph and 3200 rpm. The difference is, when you want to go a little faster, a slight movement of the right wrist has you at 100 just as effortlessly. Matter of fact, 120 comes up pretty dang fast, too. I never quite had enough road to find out where it all ends. Normally you wouldn’t take the motorcycle press up Nacimiento-Ferguson Road on your new bagger, which drains crazily to the Pacific from the coastal mountains south of Monterey, but Indian felt like it was the right thing to do. As it turns out, the Challenger tackled those convoluted miles of second-gear switchbacks and dirty twists and turns as enthusiastically as the world’s biggest supermoto might have, the main diff being you don’t have to stick out your feet because the floorboards already have them there. Exiting those tight corners gave the new 108 a chance to really shine. The Dark Horse and Limited models also got the now de rigeuer 6-axis IMU. You could feel the rear Metzeler spin about a third of a rotation heeled over on its edge as you’d give it an injudicious handful of gas, and then the lean-sensitive traction control would step in for just a split second, and off you’d roar to the next corner. About 3000 to 5000 rpm is the new engine’s real happy place, and I swear I think it lifted the front wheel a couple of times out of those tight corners. Salvo Pennisi, star of Mark Miller’s Sicilian vacation and a head of development at Pirelli/Metzeler, was in my mirrors the whole way. Later, he confessed he was having a blast on the Challenger, and kept thinking to himself “I’m doing something really stupid” every time he cranked the throttle to the stop, but kept doing it anyway. The Challenger’s “Smart Lean Technology” always has your back. Pennisi was along for the ride because Metzeler built custom Cruisetec tires for the bike – a kind of hybrid, reinforced sport-touring tire of the kind the company more commonly produces for BMW and other high-horsepower sport-tourers, but also designed to deal with this big V-Twin’s instant low-rpm torque and weight. (Salvo says the new tires are fantastic in the wet, too – but then he is a paid spokesperson.) When we first clapped eyes on the new bike, in Carey Hart’s large garage, I thought it was a smaller and lighter thing than the Indian Chieftain I’d got to the central California coast upon earlier in the day. Alas, that’s more an optical illusion brought about by Ola Stenegard’s crisp styling: A look at the spec charts later reveals identical rake/trail and wheelbase numbers between Chieftain and Challenger, and a claimed dry weight of 805 pounds for the Challenger – 7 pounds more than the current Chieftain Dark Horse. I suppose it is like Reid Douglas the PR guy points out: Nobody in bagger land really asks for lighter/smaller. Well. On the road, on twisty roads especially, I never would’ve guessed the Challenger’s heavier. The specs also contend that the Challenger has about ⅓-inch more ground clearance than the Chieftain, and a seat that’s nearly a full inch higher (still low at 26.5). I suspect raising the whole bike that much, combined with Salvo’s custom Metzeler Cruisetecs, is what gives it a considerably more agile feel than the Chieftain: That and the more sprightly feel a big dose of horsepower gives any vehicle. The extra height also gives the Challenger serious cornering clearance; you’re motoring pretty smartly along before the floorboards touch down. Here’s to Indian for taking us on a decidedly “sporty” route on the new bike. I jacked a bit of rear preload into mine to get it to carve a bit sharper. Stiffer fork springs wouldn’t have been bad, and with all that power shoving the 800-pound gorilla into those tight corners, the front Brembos felt a bit marginal. But for 98% of the riding most of these bikes will be doing, those things won’t be a problem; mashing the rear brake is way more effective on a big bike like this than on some mincing little sportbike. You also just really can’t complain about the suspension’s very nice bump compliance for normal baggering around. On the straight and narrow, even though the new engine’s turning about 3200 rpm at 80 mph to the Chieftain’s 3000, the Challenger runs smoother and freer, and sorts through its six gears easier, with a nice slip/assist clutch. The ergonomics between the two are nearly identical, but the seat on the Challenger moved rearward about an inch to provide more room – which taller people will dig, but moved the handlebar a smidge too far forward for my 5’8” bod. Not a dealbreaker by any means, thanks to standard cruise control. Notable by its absence are standard heated grips. WTF? Then you’ve got your all-new wind-tunnel sculpted frame-mounted fairing complete with electric up-and-down windshield, and behind it I found much happiness and serenity with the shield adjusted to just below my line of sight. The weather never really heated up on my two days on the bike, but even stopped in traffic I never felt much heat wafting up from the big engine at all. You can’t really sense that the automatic rear-cylinder deactivation has killed the spark except for the little icon on the dash that lights up to tell you the rear heat source is now acting as a 54-cubic inch cool air pump. At the end of the day, two days really, I do have to agree that this new Indian really does ratchet up the fun quotient. There’s nothing terribly original about giving a thing a bunch more horsepower, but until now nobody else in this category bothered (except BMW, but that’s an inline Six and kind of an apple among oranges). Why not? Torque is good and has traditionally been the main ingredient when baking a bagger. But any self-respecting hot rodder can tell you that’s only half the equation; rpm and horsepower are equally important, and as Kevin Cameron pointed out elsewhere, the bore and stroke of the new Challenger engine are almost identical to the inimitable 427 Chevrolet big block of yore. The roller-rocker/hydraulic lifter tech that makes those rpm possible isn’t much more cutting edge than a big block Chevy, but it still works fine and means no more valve adjustments. It’s probably not a coincidence that riding the Challenger puts one in the same slightly antisocial but uplifting frame of mind as peeling out in one’s Chevelle past the high school parking lot (it’s easy to turn off the TC with a gloved finger). Not that that’s modern, but baggers are also about appealing to nostalgia. Not that this bagger necessarily is, since Indian says its audience is younger and hipper, just like the people who design and build them. Which is also not a coincidence. Speaking of modern, whenever something’s new in the world of motorcycles, there are always at least a couple people in the crowd who hate it; looks are probably a thing the people who greenlighted the Victory Vision are still more keenly aware of than most. I didn’t hear anybody knock the looks of the Challenger at all, which walks that line between traditional and modern pretty nicely. Everybody seems to be a fan. At the risk of sounding like I’m on the Indian payroll lately, what with first the FTR1200 a few months ago and now this thing, I’m going to have to say I think they knocked it out of the park again. The Indian wars are well and truly on again, the Germans are about to enter the fight too – and it’s beginning to be a helluva lot of fun to be a “cruiser” guy.
Motorcycles via Motorcycle.com https://ift.tt/2Std7JO October 29, 2019 at 10:06AM
Motorcycle News - Honda CB750 Bol d’Or by Elemental Custom Cycles
https://ift.tt/2plwvzr Written by Martin Hodgson Road rules and regulations can be the bane of a custom bike builder’s existence, the strict confines of the law chipping away at the rebels born free soul. In Germany the TUV certification to get a motorcycle road-legal adds even more stress, meaning many builders thoroughly design a bike before spinning a spanner. But for Thomas Lambert of Elemental Custom Cycles, located near Nuremberg, he decided on this project to visualise and build as he went. Embracing the more organic process until it revealed this stunning Honda CB750 of the highest quality. With the company motto being “life is too short to ride boring motorcycles” the end result was always going to be anything but dull. However the exercise of designing the build as he went allowed Thomas to use techniques old and new, as well as unconventional methods until he had an end result that was a rideable final design! “I started with a 1982 CB750 Bol d’Or in pretty poor condition. The first thing I did was lowering the front and adding a loop. That made it look like almost any other CB750 build you see around, so I decided to go for something different.” Looking around the shop he found an old Suzuki fuel tank that had plenty of beef to it and stuck it up on the Honda backbone. Liking the look he realised what was now out of place was the spindly front forks and this set in motion the redesign of the entire front end. Using a set of Japanese superbike USD forks was the solution with a machined upper triple clamp making the conversion possible. Not only did Thomas get the extra muscle he was looking for in terms of form, but the function with full adjustability is also light years ahead. While the old braking package from the ’80s is also significantly improved thanks to the massive Tokico six piston calipers clamping down on a set of EBC wave pattern discs. Significantly, Thomas chose not to try and adapt the stock wheel but instead utilise the 17in superbike unit that allows for a much broader selection of modern rubber, with a Michelin Pilot selected for the task. This left the rear needing a serious upgrade to match and a Suzuki GSXR swingarm has been adapted to fit the old Honda frame. But for the shock setup Thomas went down a less conventional path. “I wanted to link the new rear damper directly to the frame, which turned out to be harder than I thought. I had to put in two rear shocks from a Yamaha R1 to get the spring constant right.” With things moving freely the Suzuki also donates its underslung brake caliper and a small wave pattern EBC rotor has also been swapped in. While the rear tyre means traction will never be a problem thanks to the mammoth 180section Michelin Pilot on the GSXR wheel. With such a clean rolling chassis it was time to turn the attention back to the bodywork and ensure the smooth lines were retained. To achieve this Thomas has brilliantly frenched in not only the Motogadget mini into the top of the tank, but the LED warning lights too. With the slick pop up gas cap to finish, he turned to modern technology to ensure the rear was just as good. “I built a 3D model for the rear cowl, 3D printed it, smoothened it and used it to build a negative form for the final part, which I made from glass fiber.” The tail unit fits perfectly around the frame and with the lights integrated into the subframe loop the installation is spot on. An all-new wiring loom takes care of the electrics with a full array of Motogadget products used across the bike. Cracking the throttle on the LSL clip-ons gets the rebuilt carbs flowing the fuel. While a top end rebuild and new gaskets have the low km motor purring away at idle. Although things get raucous with some more RPM thanks to the hand built stainless exhaust exiting out of a LeoVince muffler. “The bike was then completely disassembled, most parts of the chassis and suspension were powder coated. The tank and seat cowl were painted in an Audi metallic grey with red applications. Every seal and bearing was replaced and it was reassembled again,” Thomas explains. Who designed a stunning set of rearsets in CAD and then milled them out while waiting for everything to come back. The end result is as clean as they come, passing the TUV without fuss and proving even when ECC takes a different approach to a build, the finished item is as picture perfect as everything else they do. [ Elemental Custom Cycles | Instagram | Youtube | Photos by Christian Motzek ]
Motorcycles via Pipeburn.com https://ift.tt/2LY9tnG October 29, 2019 at 03:50AM
Motorcycle News - Riding Gear – Rev’It! Worker Overshirt
https://ift.tt/2os2hdJ Overshirts have become commonplace in motorcycle riding gear catalogs. They can’t promise the same level of protection as a full leather suit, but they offer a casual streetwear look without sacrificing your safety altogether. The REV’IT! Worker overshirt is the perfect example of what a good motorcycle overshirt should offer. Boasting a timeless look, quality materials and CE Level 1 protection you’ll feel right as rain on or off the bike when it’s covering your back. Motorcycles via Return of the Cafe Racers https://ift.tt/2M9riRb October 28, 2019 at 11:46PM
Motorcycle News - Dutch courage: Moto Adonis tackles the Ducati S4R
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The S4R can still hold its own against many modern roadsters, but it was launched 16 years ago—and tired examples are now popping up on the secondhand scene. Which makes it an ideal base for a custom build, as the Dutch shop Moto Adonis has just discovered.
“My loyal customer and friend Stijn came to me with the desire to own a one-off, futuristic cafe racer,” says Daan. “I also had a desire: to build a custom based on one of the most brutal and best steering motorcycles I have ever ridden, the Ducati S4R.”
Stijn recalls the brief: “It needed to be brutal, slick, and with a nice ‘flow.’ A unique bike. I’ve always liked Ducati, and it was cool that Daan had the same idea. It was the first Ducati that Moto Adonis would build.”
After stripping the S4R down to the essentials, Daan called in a little help from his friends and reconfigured the upper frame to hold the tank-and-seat combination.
“The top [circular] lights are for long dark roads, and the bottom [strip] lights are for the streets of Antwerp—where this bike lives,” says Daan.
The 43mm USD Showa forks on the S4R are superb, so Daan has wisely left them alone—aside from refinishing and shortening them slightly. At the rear, he’s upgraded the Showa monoshock to a new Wilbers unit with a black and gold finish.
The radiator was tricky. “It had to be removed because it was way too big,” says Daan. “So we redesigned and re-engineered the radiator to be as small as possible.”
“I give my cars and bikes names,” says Stijn. “This bike needed the name DUC92—because 1992 was the year the Monster was introduced.”
“It was hell to build this bike,” Daan admits. “But on the first ride, when I hit the throttle…there was nothing better than that feeling. Except perhaps the look on Stijn’s face when he did the same thing!” Moto Adonis | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Lenn is More Motorcycles via Bike EXIF https://ift.tt/2Mf9b0c October 28, 2019 at 12:08PM |
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