1979 Honda CB750F Super Sport "Montjuïc Special"by Luis Etchenique

 

I'm not often impressed by motorcycle builds, but this Honda CB750F Supert Sport built by my friend Luis Etchenique is just a work of art in my eyes. Luis Etchenique built this bike as a tribute to the Honda RCB machines that won the 24 Hours of Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain, back in 1976.

 

Stan Woods in Montjuic 1976

The 1976 edition of the 24 Hours of Montjuïc, won by Stan Woods and Charlie Williams on a Honda 941, was the 22nd edition of this race, organized by the Barcelona Motorists Association at the Circuit de Montjuïc on the weekend of July 3 and 4. It was the second round of the European Endurance Championship (called the FIM Cup until 1975) that year.

That year's extremely hot Barcelona summer forced the Honda Britain ( Stan Woods/Charlie Williams ), and Honda France ( Jean Claude Chemarin/Christian Leon ) teams to remove the machines' cowlings as to allow for a much needed improved cooling. You could see all the hardware, the mechanisms, the internal components. I recall being at the pits ... in awe of such raw performance and engineering.

I was at the time a teenager, and I promised myself that one day I would build a bike that would convey a similar feeling; a bike where you could see its engine, the carbs, the exhaust -- its guts and its soul.

For this project I used a 1979 CB750 Super Sport I found ( in need of many of its original parts ), which otherwise would've probably ended up in someone's junkyard. 

Ian Coates Honda XRV750

Via : North West Honda Super Centre. In 1999 Ian Coates decided to go on a 4 month off-road biking trip, 14 years and 250.000 miles later he returned.  “My Wife was fuming” He said. Ian Coates is a highly skilled vehicle mechanic and did all his own roadside repairs and had his wife either ship parts to him or met him in person with the parts. His XRV750 Africa Twin is still going strong with over 300.000 miles and Ian, aged 79 is planning to take this bike to The Isle of Man TT Races in May this year. We asked him what issues he had during his trip, he said his most frustrating part of the trip was in Sudan “The Sandstorms in Sudan were a pain as the air filter kept getting clogged so I fff’d it off!” Ian said the favourite part of his trip was New Zealand and that “When I get old I will retire there!” Sadly we couldn’t persuade Ian to upgrade his Africa Twin this time but we couldn’t not share his amazing story!

Here is his story from his own words : "I'm no good on the computer but very good at riding round the world by myself and getting lost in the wilderness and surviving. I left my home in Hebden Bridge Yorkshire, England in 1999 and flew to Johannesburg, South Africa, to be a mechanic and driver of a Land Rover that was going back to England. There was 2 other people that were organising the trip, the owner and his friend on the Land Rover, but after about 3 weeks they left the Land Rover so I had to be the driver and the mechanic. It was an old 101 ex British army land Rover with a trailer. there was also some passengers. When I got to Kenya, I could not get visas for Ethiopia and the Sudan they was having a war but not with each other they found someone else to fight with. So I had to turn round and drive back to Johannesburg, the passengers had to fly back to England. I phoned my wife up and asked her to send my 1991 Honda Africa Twin to me in Johannesburg and told her I will ride back to Hebden, England, which she did. 

When I got my bike in Johannesburg, I road to the most southern point in South Africa then road back home to Hebden, England. It took me 1 year and these are the countries I road round on my way back home : 1) South Africa, 2) Swaziland, 3) Mozambique, 4) Botswana, 5) namibia, 6) Zimbabwe, 7) Zambia, 8) Malawi, 9) Tanzania and Zanzibar, 10) Kenya, 11) Uganda, 12) Ethiopia, 13) Sudan, 14) Egypt, 15) Cyprus, 16) Greece, 17) Italy, 18) France, then back home to Hebden bridge, Yorkshire.

That was & year then I shipped my bike to Australia to Melbourne and then I road my bike round the coast of Australia, I road down to Alice Springs and road about 9 weeks round the centre of Australia and then Tasmania. From Australia I shipped my bike to New Zealand and road round the North and the South  Island. From there in 2003, I shipped my bike to Argentina and road the most southernness point Ushuaia. From there I road around : 1) Argentina, 2° Chile, 3) Uruguay, 4) Brazil, 5) Paraguay, 6) Bolivia, 7) Peru, 8) Ecuador, 9) Colombia, 10) Venezuela, 11) Trinidad and Tobago. From Trinidad and Tobago I put my bike on a tall sailing ship, 150 feet long and 450 tons, she was on her maiden voyage from Grimsby, England to New Zealand and she was at anchor at Trinidad with no engineer. I said I would be the engineer free if they take me and my bike through the Panama Canal, I would leave the ship at Panama Citry, but when we got through the Panama Canal, they asked me to stay on the ship as engineer to New Zealand, so I did, visiting these islands : 1) Dutch Antilles, 2) Galapagos, 3) Tahiti, 4) Bora Bora, 5) Hive Hot, 6) Tonga, 7) Most of the French Polynesian Islands, 8) Fiji, I can not remember them all. When we got to New Zealand, I shipped my bike back to Panama were I was going to leave the ship when I got on it in Trinidad. From there I road round to : 1) Panama, 2) Costa Rica, 3) Honduras, 4) El Salvador, 5) Guatemala, 6) Belize, 7) Mexico, 8) USA, 9) Canada and Vancouver Island, 10) Alaska. Got to Dead Horse at Prudo Bay, Alaska in 2009, only taken 6 years to ride from Ushuaia, from there I went to Vladivostok 11) Russia, 12) Ukraine, 13) Moldavia, 14) Romania, 15) Bulgaria, 16) Turkey, 17) Greece, 18) Albania, 19) Montenegro, 2à) Macedonia, 21) Kosovo, 22) Serbia, 23) Bosnia, 24) Croatia, 25) Hungary, 26) Slovenia, 27) Slovakia, 28) Czech republic and Poland, 29) Austria, 30) Italy, 31) Spain, 32) Portugal, 33) France, 34) Switzerland, 35) Germany, 36) Luxemburg, 37) Holland, 38) Belgium and back home to England.

There is more countries but I have forgotten them, I need a map to remember all of them. I travel alone with no GPS in ll kind of weather. I was 70 in June 2013, now been riding round the world for 14 years and 400.000 km. I still enjoy every day just as much as I did 14 years ago when I set off for a ride.

North West Honda Super Centre is part of North West Motorcycles, one of the biggest motor dealer groups in the North West. They are a family run business with over 20 years’ experience providing quality new and used Honda motorcycles. Their used motorcycle department includes an impressive range of popular motorcycle makes and models

Honda XRV 650 Africa Twin Marathon Replica 1989

A magnificent evocation 1989 Honda XRV 650 by Temps 2 Chauffe 

In 1989 Honda lauched a “Marathon” series of 50 bikes and win the Dakar in 1989 (Marathon category of course). It will give way in 1990 to a new model: the XRV 750 Africa Twin which will mark the spirits even more and which will be equipped with a new engine (the original twin having reached its limits in terms of displacement with the XRV 650) and will erase some of the faults of the 650 by benefiting for example from a second brake disc at the front. Temps 2 Chauffe  is a specialized workshop in the sale of vintage motorcycles & youngtimers based in Northern France. They offer quality machines, restored or in an exceptional original condition.

1982 Honda XL500R Cyril Neveu Replica

The Honda XL500R was an enduro, off-road motorcycle of about 500 cc that could also be used as a street bike. The major drawback to using the bike on the road was the enduro-style seat height, at about 35 inches. It was built in 1981 and 1982 only.

The XL500R had 497 cubic centimeters or 30.33 cubic inches of engine displacement. The engine had a single cylinder, with four valves, and was four-stroke. It was air-cooled and had a Keihin carburetor. The fuel was controlled by an overhead cam system that drove the valves directly from the camshaft without using push-rods.

The XL500R engine produced 27 horsepower at 5,500 revolutions per minute.

Following his two previous victories on the Dakar, Cyril Neveu was recruited by Honda in 1981. To give itself the best chance of success, Honda recruited a team of experienced riders and the motorcycles were prepared in France by the competition department.

Honda XL 600 L Paris-Dakar

 

 The Hondas that took part in the 1985 Paris-Dakar were coming from the new XL 600 L Electric Start. However In the racing version, the kick starter has been retained for weight reasons.

This model follows the XL500R from which it inherits only the aesthetics. The XL600R was presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 1982, was approved in March 1983 and then began to be distributed first in France and then in the rest of the world. It is equipped with a single-cylinder four-stroke RFVC type engine. The Paris-Dakar model differs from the "normal" model by an aesthetic similar to that of the official motorcycles entered in the rally and above all a 20L tank (including 4 liters of reserve). The LM and RM models, with electric starters, were unveiled in Paris in 1984 and marketed in 1985. The LM is easily recognizable thanks to its large tank and its dual front headlights. The RM is distinguished by two vents on the tank, allowing the flow of air to be channeled over the engine. Displacement will increase to 591cc (97×80mm). The dry weight increases by 6 kg. Pictures via : parisdakar.it 

A nice 1985 Honda XL600 LMF Paris-Dakar via  bike-urious.com

 

1992 Honda XRV750 Africa Twin

 

The motorcycles stamped with the HRC logo, the Honda competition service, exert a real fascination, by their quality of manufacture and their performance. Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) is a branch of the Honda Group. This structure, founded in 1982, is responsible for the design and development of high performance and competition machines for the Japanese motorcycle brand.

The original NXR carried 57 liters of gasoline: 32 liters on the front and 25 liters on the rear, for a weight of 235 kg. Its consumption oscillated between 7 l/100 km and 10.5 l/100 km in the sand. The inspiration for the Rothman’s design came straight from the 1989 Paris-Dakar winning NXR of French rider Gilles Lalay, the 9-time ISDE champion and one of the fathers of extreme enduro, who would perish in a Dakar accident in 1992. In 1990, the Honda XRV750 (RD04) appeared, featuring a slightly larger 742cc liquid-cooled 52° V-twin with 62 horsepower and a dry weight of 457 pounds.

Lawrence Hacking

 

Lawrence Hacking has been a motorcycle racer since 1971, he has raced the 21-day long 2001 Paris Dakar Rally and was the first ever Canadian to complete the toughest off-road race on earth and what would be the last rally on the iconic route from Paris to Dakar. Since then, Lawrence has written a book “To Dakar and Back” and manages Overland Adventure Rally held each year in Ontario, Canada.
The bike is a heavily modified 2001 Honda XR650R. In order to make it through the race Lawrence upgraded the tank to a 40 litre aluminum unit with a separate 15 gallon reserve tank. Swapped the stock suspension out for Ohlins units with heavier springs. He replaced the rear subframe with a chrome-moly which is stronger than the original aluminum one and added a huge skid plate and necessary navigation mounts to hold his gps and roadbook. Another noticeable upgrade is the HID headlight from Baja Designs for better lighting when racing through the desert in the dark. If you're interested in learning more about Lawrence's bike check out his book "To Dakar and Back" where he covers all his preparation and thought in putting this bike together as well as of course his amazing adventure.

Racing Experience/Career Highlights:

1971 -Started racing motocross, scrambles on Hodaka Super Rat 100cc. Raced at least once every season since

1980-81 Raced 2 seasons international motocross in Europe

1983 Started Enduro competition

1986-87 Raced 2 seasons regional road racing Ontario

1989 Gotland Grand National Sweden enduro

1985-86, 1990-91-92, 2002 International Six Days Enduro- 6 times (finished all with either silver or bronze medals) 2 times Canadian Trophy team, rode in Spain, Italy, Sweden, Australia, Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic.

1991-92 Competed in Enduro Championship of Lorraine, France Honda XR 250 and CR250

2001 Paris to Dakar Rally completed (first Canadian) on XR650R as privateer

2005-2007-2014 Rally Mongolia won 250 class Honda CRF 250X

2004-05-06 Targa Newfoundland Rally 3 times in Mitsubishi and Subaru won Grand Touring division once as co-driver

2008 Baja 1000, Honda CRF 450 – team placed 7th in plus 40 class

2008 Tour de Blue Island Shikoku Japan, BMW HP 2

2007-2008 Baja 1000, Baja 500, Vegas to Reno, Parker 425 desert in Pro Truck as co-driver

2010 Black Bear Rally Performance won overall as co-driver, Ford Cosworth

2010 Buenos Ares Argentina, Dakar Rally entered own race truck DNF

2012-2013 Mexican 1000 – co-driver Chevy Blazer & Ford Pre-Runner

2015 Baja Rally 2015 Honda CRF 450X 21st place

 

Africa Twin "Marathon" Paris-Dakar

At the end of the 1980s, it was possible to run the Paris-Dakar in the "Marathon" category with motorcycles coming from the series but adapted to racing. This AFrica Twinn "Menuiserie Lapeyre" is Gilles Francru's ex bike, a French motocross rider who did 9 Paris Dakars. This Marathon ran the 12th Dakar but did not arrive since Gilles fell heavily on the 5th stage: Tumu Dirkou (Niger) and had to abandon. Gilles ran with the Lapeyre Carpentry as main sponsor, which provided him with a substantial budget which notably enabled him to have a dedicated mechanic traveling by plane.

3 of Gilles Francru's old bikes, the KTM is from Dakar 81, the DR 600 from Dakar 89

This motorcycle is the very first marathon produced, therefore from the 1st series in 1988. It was purchased new and put into circulation in December 1989, i.e. one year after the 50 others.

On Monday, December 25, 1989, some five hundred crews left, in the early morning, the forecourt of La Défense, near Paris, to rally Marseille, the first stage of the twelfth Paris-Tripoli-Dakar rally. The rally was won that year by Gilles Lalay on a Honda

Gilles Lalay

Thanks to Yves68 from africatwin.forumactif.com