FIREFLY

Jan 06, 2016

日本のみなさん　この英文のあとに日本語があります

Meet The Firefly - the Residence of Impermanence's first and latest build by Deus Japan's Director of Motorcycle Operations, Matthew Roberts - a venerable 1961 Honda Super Cub that pushes the engineering and styling envelope like none before. . A modern interpretation of the raw functional beauty of small capacity GP and TT steeds of the 1950's and '60's Its long, low lines, run uninterrupted from headlight to tail but for the riders perch - a spartan tuck-roll offering in Oxblood red, stitched by local moto upholstery master Miauchi-san - and the original C105 speedometer, a nod to the machine's heritage Its execution so harmonious as to have historians running to the archives in search of reference to a long lost racing prototype. A modified frame and epoxy composite monocoque body of Roberts' own design and construction, afford the Firefly its striking silhouette while saving precious kilograms.

The inspiration drawn from the Cubs unique front suspension. The exceptionally slim top bridge and frame allowed the creation of a body. 105mm at its widest point, while entry in local pre 1964 race series provided the performance motivation As a neat twist, racing mandatories quick release to reveal the machine's road going necessities - headlight and discrete illumination elsewhere - meaning the Firefly can compete on the track at the foothills of Mount Fuji on a Sunday and hit the streets of Tokyo on a Monday.

Removing the body reveals fuel cell, battery, coil and electrics laid out with surgical precision along a slender modified back bone. Polished and trued original C105 hubs now sport made in Japan DID alloy rims, custom spokes and 2.75 x 17 rubber shoe-horned to fit inside the narrow forks and rear fender. Bespoke and hand-made accoutrements pepper the Firefly's form, such as alloy top bridge, stop light, rear set foot controls, fully adjustable alloy race shocks and externally mounted front fork rebound unit. "With Japan the birth place of the Super Cub, stepping up to customize one here means delivering a design that punches well above its weight in every aspect" admits Roberts, referring to his striking yet reverent re-imagining. "A concept that stops people in their tracks is one thing, but its the deep connection and respect to the original machine's DNA that gives the Firefly endearing timeless character."

The Honda Cub may be the best selling vehicle in internal combustion history, 60 million plus worldwide, but performance components are scarce for the first series overhead valve single. Every nut, bolt, bearing and bush, from engine components to front suspension internals, have been re engineered, redesigned or improved from decades old factory blue prints. "Mill and lathe have kissed enough of this lithe steed to leave a HRC factory team envious" smiles Roberts.

Half century old engines require as much art as science to coax reliable power increases, so friend and local engine guru Ted's Special, who's work graces Honda's own race collection hall, handled over-sizing and tuning the petite donk to race series regulation maximum 20% capacity increase. Open carb mouth gleefully gulped in cool mountain air for the run-in and secret shakedown session. Test pilot Yamamoto-san confirmed planted, confidence inspiring handling that holds a line unlike any Cub he's ever ridden and ergonomics that beg for speed and welcome cornering velocity . Gearing set and Jetting sorted, the Firefly Went on to Break cover and début at the Battle of Bottom Link RACE Series. We doubt Soichiro Honda's original team would have ever imagined their humble first series Super Cub transformed into a pole-position-ready racer over half a century later ... though we do know they would be proud. Special Thanks to: Engine blue-Printing and Fettling by Maejima-san Paint Application by Nakata-san Riders Perch pad by Miauchi-san Fearless test pilots Yamamoto-san and Seino-san Find the special art here created by Carby Tuckwell

The Firefly

の登場かつてないエンジニアリングとスタイリングを追求した1961年型ホンダスーパーカブをベースにDeus原宿のモーターサイクルオペレーションのディレクター、マシュー・ロバーツ(＊通称マット)が手掛けた最新作、Firefly。そのファーストサウンドはDeus原宿の別名、レジデンス・オブ・インパーマネンスから響き渡った。ヘッドライトからテール部分にかけて、細身でフラットなFireflyのフォルムは、1950年代から60年代に人気のあった小排気量のGPマシンやTTレーサーの持つ機能美をモデルに現代風に表現したものだ。 Fireflyの特徴の一つともいえるシートは、レザーシートの達人、宮内氏の匠の技が遺憾なく発揮されている。そしてまた、スーパーカブオリジナルのC105型スピードメーターも搭載。マット自身がデザイン、制作を手がけたエポキシ樹脂を用いたフレームは、軽量化と印象的なシルエットを最大限に表現している。マットによるとユニークなデザインへのインスピレーションは、スーパーカブ特有のボトムリンク式のフロントサスペンションがその源だという。細いトップブリッジを使用する事で、車体の最大幅が105mmに収められているが、1964年以前のレーシングマシン並に過酷なレースに対応可能なパフォーマンス性と強度を維持している。エポキシ性のボディーを取り外すと、燃調タンク、バッテリー、コイルなどの電装品が緻密にレイアウトされていることが一目で解る。遊び心に満たされたFirefly の大きな特徴は、B.O.B.L.(カブを主体としたレース)のレース基準を満たしたレーサーでありながら、ヘッドライトなど搭載する事で、公道での使用が可能ということだ。オリジナルな状態にレストアされたC105型の本体には、DID合金リムカスタムスポークが装着され、2.75 X 17インチのナロータイヤとフォークとの相性も抜群。ピッタリとフェンダー内に収められている。トップブリッジ、ストップライト、バックステップ、アジャスタブルなレーシングショック、外付けされたフォークリバウンドユニット等、ハンドメイドのパーツ類がFireflyのフォルムにアクセントを加えている。ロバーツはFireflyの制作を振り返りこう語っている「スーパーカブ誕生の国、日本を舞台に斬新なカスタマイズを行うことは、全ての面で既成概念を打ち破るデザインを提供する事だ」そしてこう続けた「人々に感動を与えるコンセプトも必要だが、僕はマシンのDNAへのリスペクとその繋がりが、Fireflyに時空を超えた愛らしいキャラクターを与えているんだ、と感じている」人間工学に基づきデザインされたFireflyは、更なるストレートスピードとコーナリング速度を得るために、ファイナル調整（スプロケットの調整）とメインジェットの交換が行われた。これらの試みが成功、Fireflyはその本領を発揮すべく、ヴェールを脱ぎBattle of Bottom Linkレースへの挑戦を始めたのだった。

ENGLISH TEXT BELOW

Sabtu pagi, 17 Juni 2023, menjadi hari yang ditunggu-tunggu oleh 250 peserta reli sepeda motor dan 80 kontestan flat track race di Bali. Itu merupakan acara Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure keempat yang diselenggarakan oleh komunitas pecinta motor trail vintage yang lebih dari sekadar menggemari motor dual purpose era 80-90-an. Dikenal sebagai Trail Asik Adventurer, AKA… Tasik Adventure yang telah menunggu setahun untuk merencanakan dan mengerjakan nya demi tidak mengecewakan siapapun yang ikut berpartisipasi.

Coba kamu bayangkan , ada dua sisi koin berbeda pada event kali ini. Yang pertama adalah Reli. Mereka memberi nama Challenge "Tantangan", menjadikan setiap peserta sebagai "Penantang" Challenger. Jadi, di tempat parkir Sangeh Monkey Forest, sambil menikmati keteduhan pohon jati raksasa yang awet muda, 250 Penantang parkir untuk menerima kode QR untuk etape pertama rute reli. Seluruh perjalanan adalah 3 etape dengan 3 titik pemberhentian. 4 jika Anda menghitung tujuan.

Ada beberapa motor keren di sana, Honda XR, Yamaha DT, Suzuki TS, Suzuki DR, dan beberapa custom modern, motocross dan scrambler. Sekitar sepuluh atau lebih, mereka berbaris di titik start dan memulai rally dari sana. Misi setiap orang adalah menyelesaikan setiap tahap dan berhenti di 3 titik pemberhentian untuk mendapatkan kode QR untuk bagian berikutnya. Keindahan Bali selalu menjadi pendamping, saat kami terbang di sepanjang kombinasi jalan aspal, jalan pedesaan, dan jalan tanah di daerah Tabanan. Kami perlahan-lahan terbang tinggi dan semakin tinggi ke perbukitan dan pemandangan sawah dan hutan akhirnya habis, sebenarnya lebih seperti perlahan menjadi satu ketika kami sampai di tujuan. Bali Outbound Farmstay (BOF) yang juga menjadi tempat berkemah semalam. Jika Anda mengumpulkan semua kode QR Anda, Anda mendapat medali Rally sebagai bentuk penghargaan.

Sisi lain dari koin yang disebutkan sebelumnya, atau event kedua, adalah balap jalur datar (flat track). Atau dalam hal ini jalur dengan landasan yang tidak rata karena tempat mereka membangun jalur itu berada di atas tempat yang dulunya terdapat dua sawah terasering. Jadi titik start finish lebih tinggi dari jalur lurus pertama dengan penurunan pada tikungan pertama dan sedikit menanjak pada tikungan kedua. Saat kami masuk ke BOF, kami sudah bisa mendengar suara motor flat track dan sorakan penonton yang berkumpul. Kami parkir dan membuat jalur jalur seperti lebah.

Keseruan seutuhnya pada acara, disaat tingkat kesulitan tambahan dimasukkan ke dalam jadwal sore hari menarik perhatian yang sangat luar biasa. Mereka berhasil menarik sekitar delapan puluh peserta, terbagi dalam 4 kelas: Kelas Mesin Horizontal, Kelas FFA 4T Max 250cc, Kelas FFA 2T Max 250cc Flat Track, dan Kelas FFA Big Bore.

Antusiasme untuk balapan flat track sangat terasa. Kegembiraan tumbuh saat kami melewati babak penyisihan dan membangun sesuatu yang luar biasa untuk final setiap kelas. Tidak ada kata menahan, mereka hadir untuk memenangkannya. Pembalap dari setiap komunitas bersaing sengit di setiap kelas. Nama-nama seperti Maulana Sandi, Dewa Dimas, Harris Manasi Ride, Nova Rider Sing Mebekel, Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel, Bontok Giga MX, dan lain-lain tak main-main, sebagian besar dari memamerkan skill mereka tanpa mengesampingkan sportifitas dan keselamatan.

Trek dengan permukaan tanah liat merah keras yang kering memberikan tantangan. Di awal, para pembalap disuguhkan dengan bagian menurun pada tikungan pertama, setelah itu mereka memeras gas di bagian trek lurus sebelum berputar ke kiri lagi tapi kali ini menjadi bagian menanjak pada tikungan kedua. Itu memaksa mereka untuk menggabungkan keterampilan balap trek datar mereka dengan banyak teknik motocross. Pada akhirnya, semua pembalap bersenang-senang dengan debu tanah liat merah yang menutupi segalanya dan semua orang.

Saat matahari terbenam ke arah cakrawala, saudara dan sahabat motoran kami meraih pecahan cahaya terakhir untuk mendirikan tenda mereka dan dalam persiapan untuk berkemah malam. Matahari menghilang di balik Gunung Batukaru memberi semua orang pemandangan yang menakjubkan, tetapi segera menyelimuti kami dengan udara yang jauh lebih sejuk dari dataran tinggi di Baturiti Tabanan ini.

Percakapan tentang rute reli dan balapan flat track mengalir dari pintu tenda semua orang yang berkemah, yang lain membaringkan tubuh mereka yang lelah untuk mengantisipasi perjalanan keesokan harinya, perjalanan yang relatif santai ke Pantai Pasut.

Dengan begitu, acara Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure 2023 pun berakhir. Sampai bertemu lagi tahun depan, salam untuk semua penantang, pengalaman yang luar biasa.

Berikut daftar pemenang Kelas Flat Track:

Flat Rack Horizontal Engine Class Winners:
1. Chiko GTT Bali
2. Panduk Pisaga Delodan
3. Andika Monkey Brothers

Flat Rack FFA 4T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Nova Rider Sing Mebekel
2. Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel
3. Bontok Giga MX

Flat Rack FFA 2T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Sandi Maulana
2. Dewa Dita
3. Eponk Road Country

Flat Rack FFA Big Bore Class Winners:
1. Dewa Dimas
2. Haris Manasi Ride
3. Sandi Maulana

Saturday morning, June 17, 2023, was a highly anticipated day for 250 motorcycle rally participants and 80 flat track race contestants in Bali. It was the Fourth Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure event organized by a community of vintage trail motorcycle enthusiasts who love more than fanging about on their dual-purpose motorcycles from the 80s and 90s. Known as the Trail Asik Adventure Community, AKA… Tasik Adventure people had waited a year for the follow up and none were disappointed.

Just so you can get it straight in your head, there’s two very different sides to this coin. The first one was the Rally. They hung it under the banner of “Challenge”, making each partaker a “Challenger”. So, in the carpark of Sangeh Monkey Forest, which enjoys the shade of giant ageless teak trees, 250 Challengers parked up to receive the QR code for the first leg of the rally route. The entire ride was 3 stages with 3 stop points. 4 if you count the destination.

There were some amazing bikes there, Honda XR’s, Yamaha DT’s, Suzuki TS’s, Suzuki DR’s, and some custom modern motocross and scrambler bikes. In lots of ten or so, they lined up at the starting point then let them out for the event. Everyone’s mission was to complete each stage and stop at the 3 stop points to get the QR code for the next bit. Bali’s beauty was the constant companion, as we flew along a combination of asphalt roads, rural roads and dirt tracks in the Tabanan area. We slowly winded up high and higher into the hills and the views of rice fields and forests finally ran out, actually, it was more like blurred into one when we reached our destination. Bali Outbound Farmstay (BOF), which was also to be the overnight camping spot. If you collected all your QR codes you got a Rally medal as a form of appreciation.

The other side of the aforementioned coin, or second event, was the flat track. Or in this case staggered track because where they had built the track it was over a spot that had once held two rice terraces. So the Start finish straight sat higher than the return straight with a drop on the first turn and an uphill bit on the second. As we were pulling into BOF we could already hear the flat track bikes and the assembled crowd cheering. We parked up and made a bee line track side.

What an absolute corker of an event, the added degree of difficulty jammed into the afternoons schedule made for the most marvelous distraction. They’d managed to attract around eighty participants, split over 4 classes: Horizontal Engine Class, FFA 4T Max 250cc Class, Flat Track FFA 2T Max 250cc Class, and FFA Big Bore Class.

The enthusiasm for the flat track races was palpable. The excitement growing as we whittled down through the heats and building to something of a crescendo for the finals of each class. There was no holding back, they were in it to win it. Racers from each community fiercely competed in each class. Names like Maulana Sandi, Dewa Dimas, Harris Manasi Ride, Nova Rider Sing Mebekel, Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel, Bontok Giga MX, and others were letting nothing slip, flaunting their skills without compromising sportsmanship and safety. Mostly.

The track, with its dry hard red clay surface, presented challenges. Off the start, the racers were presented with a downhill section on the first turn, they hit the gas on the bottom straight before spinning left again but this time into an uphill section on the second turn. It forced them to combine their flat track racing skills with a slew of motocross techniques. In the end, all the racers had fun with the red clay dust lay across everything and everyone.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, our compadres and accomplices grabbed the last shards of light to set up their tents in readiness for a night of camping. The sun disappeared behind Mount Batukaru affording everyone a magnificent view, but immediately enveloping us in the much cooler air of these high grounds here in Baturiti Tabanan.

Conversations about the rally route and the flat track race flowed out of the tent flaps of all those who camped others bedded their weary bodies down in anticipation for the next day's ride, a comparatively leisurely meander down to Pasut Beach.

With that, the Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure 2023 event came to an end. Until we meet again next year, greetings to all challengers, what an amazing time.

Here is the list of the days winners:

Flat Rack Horizontal Engine Class Winners:
1. Chiko GTT Bali
2. Panduk Pisaga Delodan
3. Andika Monkey Brothers

Flat Rack FFA 4T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Nova Rider Sing Mebekel
2. Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel
3. Bontok Giga MX

Flat Rack FFA 2T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Sandi Maulana
2. Dewa Dita
3. Eponk Road Country

Flat Rack FFA Big Bore Class Winners:
1. Dewa Dimas
2. Haris Manasi Ride
3. Sandi Maulana