The Machine
I built this some time ago and called the machine, the Golden Arrow and it sure was a fun build with cool features that you didn’t see out here.
I will add pics on my bikes page later on, thought you might like it?
Monthly Archives: July 2012
POWER OUTAGE IS OVER – NOW BACK ON AND RUNNING.
Hey Gang !
Finally back up to speed, the transformer in our business area blew its guts out on Saturday morning at 7am, no phone, no internet and no power.
It was 7am on a Saturday morning, I had just completed dropping the kids off at the pool and was all set to get into the workshop and turn a few wrenches, as I have many things to catch up on.
Then, like God dropping a bible, the floor shook and there was a huge flash, like the paparazzi had found me and then, BOOM! A huge explosion that was louder than an Orange sweater.
The transformer not 50 yards from the shop just blew the hell up, it spewed smoke and electrical parts over the road and all the power shot off, this took a 1/2 mile block out and I didn’t get the power on until Sunday, but I didn’t get the Phones and internet on until this afternoon and boy did I have to work fast to get all these Customers orders out, as my Secratary is off to Cancun for a week, starting tomorrow.
So, about 5 minutes ago, we finally get everything back up and running, so if you were wondering why the phone line was just ringing and ringing, well it was because of this issue and now all is sorted out and am back up and running at full speed.
I even had to take a dump using my I-phone for light, now that was a task in itself, so no more of that now I am happy to say.
So, I am back online and taking orders and of course can now print the shipping labels to send your parts off too.
Peace and Grease
CARPY
714-744-4597
Ferrari’s New Cafe Racer, called ….” The Creature”
This is one cool machine and if you dig ferrari’s, this may be right up your garden path or ally way.
Ferrari Launches Bike!
289 Hp at the Back wheel…….
This is a Ferrari Enzo’s V12 engine,chopped down to four cylinders and modified to fit the motorcycle designed by Israeli designer Amir Glinik.
This reminds me of…………………………….
CB400-4 HONDA CAFE SERVICE
Here at Nostalgia Speed & Cycle we take on all sorts of motorcycles and in fact here we have a Cafe Racer that another shop built, but unfortunately is has a few oil issues and things that has to be addressed.
This is a CB400-4 Cafe and pretty cool at that, but I see there is an oil leak under the bike and I believe this could be a number of things , from a loose bolt, to a crush washer failing, so I need to remove the exhaust to get to the said issue,.
So, always cool to have bikes in the shop for servicing etc and I am always happy to see other bikes etc.
I have to remove the seat base, as the battery is underneath, but- it has a modern alarm system on this and that’s draining the battery, I also have to fix the front end, as there is no 8mm Bolt in the Caliper bracket and its trying to fall off when you use the brake.
On closer inspection, I could see the bolt had sheered off inside the fork leg, so I had to remove the front end and be careful not to scratch the paint work or the polished lower leg.
I managed to drill the bolt out but had to fit a thread cert and then assemble back onto the machine.
The front tire is an over sized model and it is binding on the side of the black wall on the inner side of the front fender, and that can be a big worry.
So a few little service jobs to rectify, but we shall get this all completed and back to the customer.
I managed to remove the front fender and had to grind the bracket down and also I enlongated the fixture holes to raise the front mudguard about 3 mm.
This then fixed the issue and no more tire rubbing, so I am happy with that outcome.
Now she is all set to go back on the tarmac and this now looks and goes well.
Battery fully charged and all problems now resolved, this now sits well.
The owner is really stoked to get his bike back and he rode it home with his Girl following, a really cool couple too.
1956 T-BIRD IN THE SHOP
In the shop right now is a 1956 Thunderbird, of which the steering is as bumpy as a braided pony tail, so its in our shop to get sorted right out.
Have to replace steering Ram and Actuator, messy, stinky and annoying, but- it has gotta be done and then we should be right to drive it.
This is a Y- Block motor with the cool finned valve covers,.
Glad we have the car lift as it makes things so much easier to handle.
My First Cafe Racer I built here
Yes, this was my FIRST full on Cafe I created here in the United States as my daily ride.
It didn’t always look like this as I bought this bike out of the Recycler newspaper for the sum of $800 and almost all stock condition.
This was a 1975 HONDA K5 CB750K inline Four of which I love to ride.
I wanted a pretty much stock one and it took only a few days to locate such a machine, as back in the early part of the milenium when I moved here NOBODY was building cafe’s and especially out of CB750 Honda’s, so I had a great choice of bikes to go and pick from. So, after a little bit of haggling, I rode this bike home from Anaheim hills, the only thing that was not stock from the factory on this machine, was the aftermarket exhaust system the guy fitted in the 1980’s.
This is how I ran around on the bike for a while, I had an Original Paul Dunstall gas tank and made a seat base from an old H2 Kawasaki racing seat and was fortunate to have an original series One ” Yoshimura” 4 into 1 system, and soon as I fired it up with that exhaust on, it bought back many many memories of the 1970’s when I used to walk up to the local Motorcycle shop in my Lunch time from school and I would hear these amazing exhaust scream past me.
I painted her all Black first as this was my Only means of transport and was trying to get a feel of what I waned to do and the color scheme was almost there but missing something, so I rode her around like this with a checker stripe on it for about 5 months.
I had many miles of smiles on this machine and finally after a lot of thinking I came up with my color scheme for my Cafe Racer and wanted to do as much as I can from home, but first, I kept getting so many people ask me, ” What is that bike”? or “what do you call that style of bike?”
So, I had Bob Iverson Gold leaf the word ” CAFE” on my Gas tank, as if people would ask me and I would simply point to the tank.
I rode the balls out of it and went to many places and checked out some great roads in Southern California, I was a happy guy for many thousands of miles, until I had an issue with the carbs and the clutch.
I fixed the clutch and carbs and whilst I was starting my website on webtv, a guy in North Carolina liked my bike so much, that he offered me $5000 for the bike there and then, well, I was in need of some loot, as I had some room mates move out and was stuck with the bills on my own.
I sold it and off the bike went to Raliegh N.C.
I was sad to see her go and missed the hell out of it, and whilst the bike had gone to a new owner, I kept busy restoring bikes and selling them in the paper and on my website, well, things did pick up for me and my name got around, so, out of the blue about a year later, the owner of my now infamous #59 bike, called me to see if i was interested in my machine back.
So a deal was done and in a couple of months, I had her back with me in Southern California, I was more stoked than a steam trains boiler, and thought to myself that I think that I will revamp the whole bike and make a killer Cafe like I wanted to.
One cold and wet day towards Christmas time I decided that I would rip the old girl apart and just build her how I wanted to, but, I was also building a 1928 Roadster in the garage and had no room to do anything in there, so, I parked the bike on my porchway and became to wrench on her, having a cup of tea in between to keep me pinkies warm.
Here is the transformation as I build this bike on my porch way, outside the front door of my house.
Now I am into it, there is no turning back on this bike and I needed it back up and running as quick as I can.
Really starting to look like something now and the Aztec Gold look great and just the look I was actually after.
I chromed the rear swing arm, used a New Harley Rim and laced to CB750 Hub and used CB1100F shocks.
Now I am into this, I thought that I may as well go all the way, so rebuilt engine and I even refaced and drilled my own Brake Rotor.
The Aluminum rim belonged to Don Vesco, I bought it at an auction, so had to have that on my bike as he is a legend.
Everything wanted to go together really well, I was really happy at the way my Cafe was looking.
With all the parts together, including new wire harness etc, she really looked a jewel.
So, My old 1975 Cafe was all done and all dialled in, I was happy as hell with her, then a promoter for a Hot Rod and Custom show invited me to the Grand national Roadster show in Pomona, this was synonymous with cool cars and bikes.
So off I went to Pomona, only to find I am the first ever Cafe Racer to go in this show and against top Chopper builders in the Custom class.
I had a ball there, meeting many cool builders and enthusiasts, I was opposite the infamous Chica Custom Cycles and we got on like a house on fire.
What I didn’t know was that I won FIRST place, I was totally gobsmacked and to this day I still grin as this was one of my proudest moments in my life.
Chica and me became great friends and many times I have met him and actually took three of my Cafe Racers to Sturgis with him.
The photo’s above were taking via Cycle World, as they saw my bike at the show and wanted to do a feature on that Motorcycle and it was indeed featured as a double page spread and I won the American flyers nomination, and they took some cool shots, as you see above me.
The photo’s you see above were taken for a magazine in Japan and I was super stoked to be featured in there.
I have all sorts of companies take photo’s and have had it on tv a few times, too.
Chica liked the bike as well and went to his shop up in Stanton, to see if he wants to take it for a spin, he had fun that day.
CR750 ALLOY ROAD RACER
Well, this time a little CR750 Flavor was sprinkled into this AHRMA project, this started off as n old Custom 750 and made quite a transformation.
I took the bike apart in my old drive way and built this little tarmac chaser.
I cut the frame and welded brackets for the Alloy seat and the tank, then powder coated the frame a high Gloss Black and started to assemble the mean machine.
Starting to assemble the frame and get this puppy ready for the Customer in Canada, and this will be a ripper.
I had Original early Lester rims, 19 inch front and a 19 inch rear, so cleaned them up, painted them a race Gold and added dual Rotors of which I drilled.
Now all the parts are starting to take shape, I am going to miss this bike as it just screams Road Racing.
This will be ridden in Canada, so it has to have Gauges and turn signals to be Road legal.
The GOLDEN ORB 1973 HONDA 750K
1973 GOLDEN ORB –
The GOLDEN ORB 1973 CAFE RACER
SOLD to a cool guy in CANADA.
Of course I WILL ship worldwide.
OK, here we go again, as if I have not got enough to do, I got a call from a breakers, asking me if I was interested in an old 1973 CB750.
Seeing I was less than 5 miles away and in my Snot mobile, I thought why not have a goosie Gander and see what they have.
Sure enough, it was just as I expected, it was a Snotter but with a little bit of color to it.
I thought that this time, I would powder coat the rims an Aztec Gold color and match the paint on the tanks and side covers.
I also cut the neck of the old original tank and weld in an Aircraft pop up gas cap in it’s place.
The Gold and Black color scheme seems to go hand in hand, this was a lucky idea I had as I was watching a tv show on ancient Egypt and the Color came to me in a flash.
I drilled the hub and the sprocket cover out by hand and no real pattern, I just go with it and see what happens, and for me, it turned out well, this is has an original R.C. Engineering exhaust set up too.
Plenty to look at, and I even took this bike to Sturgis, where it received some great comments, of which I was so surprised, being a Metric machine there.
Great Color combo.
I really enjoyed building this machine,.
CB750 BLACK MAMBA
More Aggressive than a Pit Bull with sore balls.
Well, sometimes there comes a time when ya gotta let go of the cool stuff ya own.
As you lot know, I design and build Cafe Racers out of these baby elephants, and have a heap of fun with them.
This by far is my favorite to date.
And here she is, all ready to have a burn up on the freeway with the modern crotch rockets.
But this will always look cool, no matter what speed you achieve.
The Black Mamba was built by me and has the whole build up on this website.
Now, There are some rare parts on here so I want you to know that these things are now becoming harder to locate than someone without road rage.
This 750 is all set to have miles of smiles and show the rest of the crowd how cool these inline fours are as a Cafe.
I built this 1974 Black mamba as a rideable bike and a fun one, that re-creates the old 60’s look of the Ace cafe back in London.
My Old man is an original Rocker and I grew up in that era and have always had Cafe styled Motorcycles.
Being British kinda shows in the Cafe’s I build, and, I think, with the almagamation of British looks, Japanese technology and parts and some American tools, these bikes really do look timeless.
I really like the lines of the bike and I have a rare 5 gallon Aluminum knee recessed gas tank that was RACED at Brands hatch in England in the 70’s.
The beginning of the Black Mamba.
A very Cool Cafe, with Classic lines, following the Vintage curves of my Icon of a Cafe, The Vincent.
Have a look at the pic’s and remember, you can email me for more information, at caferacer@socal.rr.comand I will help all I can.This is a great bike, but, I aint giving it away.It has too many cool parts.The whole build up is on the website under “bikes I have built’ title, so check that out for complete build up story.The frame is powder coated and not painted, as I have found it to out last any paint and very tough against gas and any other liquids that may get spilt on it.
Has Triumph front Rim with stainless spokes and polished hub, with, New bearings and tire.
16 inch Harley rim, laced to a CB750 Hub and drilled rear brake hub.
The front wheel was a Triumph Akront and came from the infamous DON VESCO’S shop a few years ago now, I cut the old spokes out and re-laced to a polished CB750 hub.All hubs have new bearings, no expense on things like that.New tires and new chains etc means a great ride for a lot of miles.
Hear that wild 4 into 1, it barks like a Crazed Dog.
This pulls like a train.
2 powerhouses stood still in time.
Now ready for the new owner.
CB750 BLACK BANDIT
WE ARE SNOT AMUSED !!!
OK, I have to try and take this ole snot box apart and CREATE a snarling 750 CAFE RACER in a few weeks.
But this will be as tough as the others and more, as the Motor is about as much use as a hairbrush in Kojak’s Bathroom.
There is a mixture of snot, sand, dirt and good old Rat crap over the bike and the motor is as seized as the Titanic’s toilet door.
But with determination, money, sweat and a lot of swearing, this Rat crap wearing Snotter, will rise above the stench of dispondency and roar down the road in it’s new guise as a 500 pound Cafe Racer.
Well, Here we go then.
Another build, another story and yet more knuckle scrapping weeks ahead.
But hey, I choose to do this and will stop complaining.
***************************************************
OK, this is as I always say on builds with a totally stock snot box,
“A real
Snotter”.The bike is in dire need of help, I have had a few snot boxes in my time but,
this one doesn’t just take the biscuit, it snatches the whole damn box.There is all the usual snot and grime I am used to seeing, but on closer
inspection I could see rat shit on the Motor, talk about having shit in your
Carb, I believe this really does….
Just like that long haired bloke on 2 nailed sticks, this can be resurrected
from the dead and go on to give more happiness than a guy with a trailer
load of perky breasts.
I started to take the bike apart and this thing was just snot, all the way.
The carb’s were stuck and would not move at all.
The Motor was a seized up as a pacemaker in water.
I knew this would be a challenge and it sure is, I could not believe how
much crap kept falling out of this bike.
Everywhere I looked there was crap, the wire harness was torn up and hockey
repairs made .
I think the Rats had been chanking away ( like that word) on the batter
area and shit on the Motor from afar.
The Gas tank STILL had gas in it, it stank like a 2 week old diaper and I
had to dump that stuff out quick, i am sure half the ozone has gone with
this stuff evaporating into the ether.
Anyway, Once I took all the stuff Off, I could at least get some sort of
idea what is going to be needed.I looked at the exhausts and they were only held together by the old ruty
chrome that wrapped around it.
The spigots were almost welded to them and 2 of them would not come out,
they stayed on the exhaust, I will use some spare ones rather than spend
half the day heating them up to pry them off.
The bike really had an adore that a deodorant manufacture would even loose a
challenge at.All them years of sitting out in the desert had taken its toll for sure.
The Brakes were all seized up and about as useless as a brain dead
accountant.
It took some time to get the caliper off the wheel as it decided to lock up
on me.
————————————————————
But, After pulling and pushing and a lot of swearing, I got the whole 750 apart.
The forks were in pretty bad condition too and will need replacing on the uppers for sure.
********************************************
The seat, well that is another story, that thing had rotted from the inside, it just crumbled like a paper wall, it was only the cover that held it together.
…………………………………………………………..
Getting the Motor out was not too bad, usually they sit in there and refuse to budge and with half your arse grapes hanging out ya boxers, its not a good idea to keep lifting that Motor around, well, not on your own or, if you do, keep a cold spoon in the fridge to put your arse grapes back in.
I took the frame and rims and got them bead blasted, as that gets rid of any of that stinky Rat piss smell right off the bat.
then off to the powder coater, where I shot this all Gloss black and it came out great.
This really looked good and was glad to now get into this build and start to put this Cafe Racer together.
I was Happy at the result and powder coat was darker than a pint of Guiness.
I put the frame up on the bench and began to start work, I fitted the rear swing arm and got that to fit nice and smooth, then fittes a rear shock to get the ride height correct.
Then, it was onto the front end.
I had taken all the snot off the front forks and polished them, they are now as clean as a priests driving record.
It was then time to paint the fork ears and they came out pretty darn good.
The head stock and triple tree i powder coated Black and fitted new 1/4 inch bearings, packed it all in grease and slipped it all together.
The steering does not grind like a cheap pole dancer any more and is as smooth as honey.
I then inserted the polished forks and New Gators, and this went in really well.
The front end is looking Classic now.
Then I got the bloke around to check it out, he loved it but asked if we could do RED rims.
No problem, so I powder coated rims Red and then set about polishing the piss stained hubs.
They came out great, and, with New bearings fitted, this was a sweet set up.
OK, next job was to Lace the rims up and get them ready for New tubes and Rubber.
Whilst I had to wait for the New tires to be delivered, I set about working on the gas tank.
I made the inserts my old way and then bead blasted the tank to make sure no bog or mud was in there.
Gloss black set this off right and with my gold decals it was time to mask the tank up for pinstriping.
I masked her up and the lines were laid, a few coats of clear and Wham!!! A sweet looking tank.
This will have a new Chrome cap as well as a new petcock too.
The gas tank was sealed up and she looks great, i have a few quarts of high gloss Black on this, as well as heavy duty primer and with the clear coat ontop of all the tank, it gives it a deep finish.
I will be making a Cafe seat for this with a hump styled back and most probably with the ribbed cushioning in the middle.
I am happy the way this is coming out and I am sure the guy will be more than pleased with the outcome of the racer.
The tires are here and I shall be adding new tubes as well, want to be sure this has good quality stuff all the way through, not some half assed stuff a few other builders are doing right now.
Ok, here we go, bung on the tires and get ready for the hardware to I go onto the rims when they are ready for fitting to the bike.
Many of you email me questions about your builds and that’s why I show as many photo’s as I can, to try and show you how i build these and, the problems that occur.
I do know of a few builders of when they have sold the bike, they break down or leak or just a pile of shit cleaned up with cheap aftermarket rubbish, well, not me, they can all go and blow a monkey.
I have been into this for years and I know my stuff, others are jumping on the band wagon and I am glad to say the reports I get from customers of thier rides is a sad tale and they sell them and get me to build them one or help them repair the crap someone else knocked out fast.
I can build stuff fast but you want the quality don’t you, I can’t be arsed with a quick buck, just not me.
I am working class like all the rest of you and I understand what you want.
OK back to the ride, as this is all about the Black Bandit.
The rims look great with the new rubber on and I can now concentrate on other parts of the ride now this is completed.
I took the rear sprocket carrier hub and cleaned all the crap off it, I then polished this up to gleam, as it is made of alumium, and it came up prettyy good.
The rear 48 tooth was powder coated as well as the safety shield and a nice contrast with polished stainless nuts.
I then slung this all together and it looks great, the other side was the brake hub and now that is all completed and together, it is time to mount this wheel for the first time, into it’s new home.
It makes the ride I think, Classic lines all the way.
The Wheel slipped in, easier than a burgler through an unlocked door.
I also had some more hardware ready to fit to this ride when the Back wheel was fitted.
The Chain adjusters were powder coated and stainless bolts added to make the contrast.
Seeing the weather will get to the rear of the bike more than anywhere it made sense to have stainless bolts etc.
I also took the brake stabilizer bar and stripped the old Black paint off it and chromed it.
Looks the parts now and sets off the rear end too.
I hooked the brake rod up and we were pretty much done with the rear section now.
Now it is onto the front end and get that rim in the forks.
But first I had to build the caliper as the old one was nasty.
The rear wheel is in and everything is all hooked up and looking great, I wanted to show a few pics for the customer, just so he can see what’s going together.
And I am sure he will be stoked with how this is looking..
Well, This has been a task as the ole Bandit was a real mess.
I have come a long way with the old girl and also I am building another guyz Cafe too, so, plenty to do.
Although I do not cut corners, unless they are made of steel.
This is looking great, every cafe I build, i try to make personal and different, I do not build anything exactly the same, as I will change some patterns or add different pin lines to change the seat and light style.
This Black Bandit will be a great eye catcher and I am certain Martin will be laughing all the way to the bank.
(Maybe he won’t, when I give him the Bill)
But seriously, this ride was hard as the Motor was seized solid, the Cam shaft had spun with no oil for quite some time.
The oil pump had taken a dump and then all the metal from the scorched bearing shells, just went through the motor, and at some point it must of got hotter than a Trile X rated Porn movie.
This motor has completely been gone through, the camchain was chewed up like a new bone for a Pit bull.
I am so glad to have got this motor back in the original frame.
This 750 will breathe again.
Although parts are now becoming harder to locate and in good condition.
But I have found a place to order NEW switches, as these ones were all broken inside and the wires were about as much use as a knitted diaper.
The parts will take some time to arrive, but worth the wait as they are New, and what a blessing new stuff is, no snot, no rat piss and no broken wires with them bloody pade connectors on.
The Exhaust is now ready and on the bike and I made the tail end in my tradtional style, short, loud and looking aggressive.
Still a little way to go with this build, but am almost there.
OK, I am almost there now.
I have spent some time getting the Cafe to where I wanted it.
This month has been busy.
And I am now trying to push hard to build all these rides for customers.
So, the Bandit is all but completed, just one kick start oil seal needs to be changed.
I need to tighten a few brackets.
Then add some fuel lines and fill this baby with new oil etc and she will be ready to run.
The gas tank and seat Combo go together well and i am sure Martin will be stoked with this Classic looking Cafe bike.
I am totally pleased at the outcome and now another cool ride has come out of my stable and will soon be able to stretch it’s legs for the first time this week.
Remember, this was a pile of snot with Rat shit on top of the engine.
This motor will purr and will also have some grunt in it.
I am happy with the bobbed fender I made and I am looking forward to giving Michael the keys to this wonder ride.
I still need to get some Models on this bike, so I can show the lines off and also you lot can perv at the birds arses.
I took the old master cylinder apart and then polished it all up on the buffer, it now shines like chrome and has new internals.
I made braided hoses for the brakes and the caliper is totally rebuilt.
Took me 10 minutes to bleed and now we have a new front brake, this thing will stop a runny nose.
New clutch cable and i polished the lever and fitted a NOS bolt to make this really look fresh.
Brand new chain and sprockets should hook this Monster up good and proper.
This should eat the bends up with the new rubber on the rims too.
This will soon be ready for its first road test and I am looking forward to having a go this week.
I love the Red and Black combination.
Here she is in all her Beauty .
