Random from the archive

Abstract :

Back in 2003, I thought I'd jump from my lovely Honda CB600 Hornet on something bigger. I had been offered by a friend this 2001 Honda 929 CBR he was rebuilding. This is how I saw it the first time.

Homologation process

Today, Greeny and I went to the vehicle inspection center so to put an end to the homologation process. We had an appointment at 10am, arrived at 9.50 and were taken cared of at 10.45. Enough to read old magazines from the waiting room, much to the dentist way. 

Our turn came and the tech guy immediately said he could not go against what Triumph had put on the partial homologation notice, because they do not receive homologation instructions for bikes that had undergone the European reception process. "I guess the only thing I can do is to trust what Triumph has put on this piece of paper ...". Well, ok then, sounds good to me.

Greeny waiting its turn in the sun

All in all, it didn't take more than 5 minutes to be said the complete homologation statement would be sent to me by mail tomorrow. I guess it means I won't be allowed to ride with that british plate any longer ... too bad.

Rossi back to Yamaha

Could Rossi have already signed a contract to return to Yamaha ? Reading from several sources, he apparently has.

It all started two days ago with a piece of news in La Gazetta dello sport stating Rossi may have signed a 3 years double agreement with Yamaha : 2 years in MotoGP, then 1 year in WSBK. 

Later that day, Niall Mackenzie - former GP500 racer, BSB champion and current Eurosport consultant -  twitted something about a surprise in the blue team for next year.

Today Ducati MotoGP team confirms the break up with Rossi at the end of the season.

There are a few more things to learn from that new contract with Yamaha : 

- Andrea Dovozioso who was hopping official Yamaha support for next year might not get it and would probably have to stay with Tech 3.

- Yamaha will be back in WSBK for 2014 as an official team supporting Valentino Rossi.

Want to fast forward to 2013 ?

Random from the archive

Abstract

This picture was taken in the Paris Motorcycle show back in 2003. The bike is a preproduction Voxan Black Magic. People drooling enough to accept the 15 000€ bill (which was a lot of money back then, compared to rest of the bike field) were asked to place an order on Voxan's website. As a restarting company, Voxan did not have a dealer network any more, so they imagined that (at that time) revolutionary way of selling their bike.

While being a beautiful motorcycle, the Black Magic and sporty-derived version Charade never sold enough to save Voxan.

KTM 690 by Ruleshaker

Yet another KTM ? Tell me you don't want to try one of these ultra light bikes on a sunny afternoon on your favorite twisty road ... This one's been built by French dealer Ruleshaker.

Longer leg

With longer shocks installed, the big S needs its side stand lengthened. Guys at Metal Machines have offered to handle the job for me as it needs a bit more than 3cm of extra length welded. It surely is going to be much cheaper than an OEM part. At 180€ unmounted, a long side stand for Boxercup Replika models must be made out of titanium.

It took me a bit of time to figure out how to remove the side stand, but it's now ready for the mod.

Mysterious forks

I bought that fork yesterday complete with yokes and brake calipers. It's a Showa down a Honda 929 CBR. I've read these are pretty sensible to suspension optimisation work. It will be a nice addition to the Speed Triple project. Yes, it's going to take the fork conversion way, even though it migtht take a bit of time before gathering all the required parts and finally ending up swappping the forks.

It also came with a horn and a contact swith. The latter had to be removed quickly as the seller wanted to get it back and I had no use of it. It's actually completely useless without the CDI unit on these HISS Hondas. So off it goes.

I'm surpised just how light the top yoke is. Gonna have to refresh the paint though ... and cover that Honda sign too ...