Entirely CNC-Machined Cycle

Another crazy O'Toole (no relation... ?) has just completed the RV100, a machine where all parts were designed on the computer, milled using a CNC machine, and where the only welds occur in the fuel tank:

The concept behind the bike is to eliminate the paradigm of the welded tubular frame. Welded tube frame are labor intensive, require expensive jigs and fixturing, and the quality of the weld is very much dependant on the quality of the welder. In contrast, the RV100 frame components are cut on a numerically controlled machine (CNC). This makes the production of parts very repeatable, and makes the production of unique parts routine.

Very, very interesting technique, and also pretty interesting to look at, even for a test mule.

Ebay find - Speedway Racer!

Spied this beaut up for auction on eBay. From the description:

Up for auction is a Jawa Speedway racer ! This is a alcohol burning 90 HP 500cc bike with no brakes! What a trip to ride! The bike is complete, runs and is very good condition with no damage . The tires are in very good condition. Study the pictures if interested, what you see is what you get.

Bonneville Speed Week

Photoblog of various goings-on at Bonneville Speed Week.

Return of MV Agusta to racing in America

From MV Agusta USA:

The return of MV Agusta to racing in America is a reality. Using the F41000R in Superstock trim, Eraldo Ferracci brought the rudiments of his team and a pair of young riders to Jennings GP for a private two-day test using Pirelli tires on November 8 and 9, 2006.

Italian Superstock champion Luca Scassa (age 23) and American Matt Lynn (age 22) turned laps under mostly favorable conditions at the Florida track looking for basic setup information and a shakedown for the nearly stock motorcycles.


Scassa is well acquainted with the MV Agusta motorcycle and brought his suspension settings with him to an unfamiliar track. Lynn has raced at Jennings GP but started from scratch on a bike he had never seen or ridden. Both worked through the challenges diligently to arrive at a point where they could begin fine-tuning and offering feedback to keep the MV Agusta technicians heading in the direction of fielding a competitive machine for the US Superbike series.

By afternoon on the first day, both riders were already tantalizingly close to the track record of 1:15:444 of Canadian champion Pascal Picotte set earlier this spring at a joint test of all the Canadian Superbike teams. Just before lunch on day two, Scassa went 1:15.448 and Lynn 1:15.545 hand-timed.

Under sunny skies and with track temperatures climbing nicely, Scassa smashed the record in the mid-afternoon with a 1:14:81 and backed it up a lap later with a 1:14:85 on spec Pirelli tires identical to those used in the Canadian Superbike Championship. Lynn's best of 1:15.2 was also under the old track record and two seconds faster than he had ever been at Jennings GP.

Scassa said, "It's cool being in America, but for sure I came here to do a job and we did some good work. We have much more to do to make the MV Agusta into a superbike but the bike is good and work is OK for me. I'm excited to do this."

"I'm really excited," Lynn added. "We came here with a blank sheet of paper and went to work. It was a lot different from what I have been riding, but once we got the MV basically set up it was really fun. Eraldo knows what he's doing and what he wants. We just kept at it and that's what we need to do. I can't wait to ride it some more. It's fast!"

Ferracci will now travel to Italy to consult with the factory again, delivering information from the test and input from the riders and technicians. The next outing for the Fast by Ferracci MV Agusta F4 1000R will be at the Daytona tire test in December, after which the team will prepare in earnest for the 2007 AMA Superbike Championship.

For sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail mvracing@cagivausa.com.

Bienville

J.T. Nesbitt and former Confederate employee Dave Hargreaves have begun a new design company located in the French Quarter of New Orleans called Bienville, and they've got some conceptual work on display. Mostly hand-drawn, which I find interesting. Their QuadRacer concept is particularly appealling. Stop on by and check them out.

HVC has hard-to-find rubber spares

One of the problems my bike suffers from (and I'm sure many bikes of similar age) is rotting or missing rubber parts. Nothing major, mind you, but simple little things like the battery and airbox straps, bodywork bushings, and lever rubber - things that don't need to be there for the bike to function, but sure would help finish things up. Details.

Well, HVC is now carrying a whole bunch of hard-to-find spares. Here's a list of the things I'll be picking up in the near future:

1. Right Side Cover Dampers (HVC20041) - mine are disintegrating
2. Kick Start Rubber Cover (HVC20050) - mine are hardened, cracked, ugly
   
3. Shift Lever Rubber (HVC20051) - current replacement is crap
4. Seat Hinge Clevis Pins (HVC20056) - one fell out many miles ago
5. Battery Strap (HVC20057) - never had one
6. Center Stand Bumper (HVC20074) - never had one
7. Neutral Switch (1L9-82540-00-00) - getting tough to find N
8. Air Box Cover Strap (HVC200114) - disintegrated the first time I touched it
   

Glass From The Past updates, new products

I was pleasantly suprised when I visited Glass From The Past today and found a fresh new site. There's a bunch of new products, as well as a few galleries of customer bikes and nifty old adverts. Drop by and admire those slick cafe seats!

Nice R5C on eBay

There's an auction for a nice-looking R5-C on eBay right now... thought I'd pass it along...

Also, there's this beautiful cafe XS650 as well... have a gander.

Three Fast, Three Furious?

I watched The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift last night. I know, I know... but what can I say, I'm a motorhead, and anything like this interests me. Despite the bad acting, the movie was actually pretty good, better than the other two - that's for sure. Anyways, I digress.

For a movie supposedly set in Japan, you would think there would be some motorcycles around somewhere. There were a few scooters... and a few bicycles... but as far as I could tell, only one motorcycle. And it was a chopper with NOS bottles for fuel tanks. A chopper! In Japan! The only motorcycle! Wha?

I guess I was hoping to see a little more sportbike-sportscar crossover in this film... o well.

Lacing a Spoked Wheel

Instructables has a great step-by-step how-to on lacing wheels. Although the wheels in the example are from a Royal Enfield Bullet, the info within is still an excellent read. I've seen the motorcycle builds on TV and this process has always confused me. Check it out.