HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

Posted on January 2, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

02 Jan

Here we are 2018 and on the road to a New 12 months of adventures, I thank you for all your support, I have been into Old bikes, Hot Rods and the like since I was a kid, I love what I do as well as what similar like minded people do, this has become a way of life for me and have made so many friends from all over the globe in what I do.

Been building machines for over 30 years and will never stop, too much passion for the 2 wheeled machines.

I have no idea where the Motorcycle industry is going but the ride can be a curvy one, I have been here a long time and ridden the rough with the smooth, opportunities in my life pop up all of the time and I look forward to great things, I shall still be building Motorcycles, making more parts, offering great add on parts and of course another apparel range too.

So I am looking forward to the next episode in my life and hope that you too can join along with me on this journey too.

So-send me High quality photos of your Build and I shall feature it on here. carpy@carpyscaferacers.com I really love seeing other peoples machines, what parts they used and where they are from, it makes this world a whole lot smaller and, I believe makes for a close knit mechanical Family. So send in some cool pics of finished bikes with great Backgrounds like a Railway Track, bridge, River, Church, old Building, Brick wall, you know the deal as people love seeing photos of rides and I look forward to featuring them as a Blog.

Enjoy this Year and we may even cross paths, that would be cool too.

Coming soon will be New Handle Bars, new headlights, new seats etc and trying to push the fun of creating your own machine to the limit.

The main thing is to have fun with what you do and I am here to help, email, call or text I am here to help you out.

Keep watching website for New blogs and also parts etc.

A Very happy and fun new Year to you and your family from Carpy’s Cafe Racers.

Now get building your Motorcycle.

A different take on the Old inline Four Boxing Day Blog

Posted on December 26, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

26 Dec

Well, Christmas has gone and today for me is known as Boxing Day, a tradition that goes back further than the invention of the inline Four Honda, and today as I sit at home and reflect on the last 12 months, I thought that I would type up a blog on the good old CB750 Honda, as some of you may know, I have built so many of these since coming to California that I should have shares in the Japanese Iconic Company.

The Custom scene has come on so strong here in the USA and of course Globally, it wasn’t that long ago people would literally stop and stare then eventually get the courage to ask what style of Motorcycle it was that I was riding. it is amazing how far we have come in such a small amount of time.

OK, I understand, we haven’t made a significant impact on the world Like Space X or when Super Glue was first invented, but now I feel we have a Mechanical Camaraderie, where there was just a distance nod from other creators in the same country.

Today I wanted to blog about this inline Four that a company over in Nampa, Idaho named Rawhide, the owner Branden Wurtz. And as you can see they have created a CB750 thats a K5 era and gone a slightly different route and something I think needs to be shared. I enjoy looking at other builds too and it means we all have a simular interest and we show the same bike in different guises, how cool is that to see?

Branden had a bike listed called the golden Goose but, it had already been purchased, but offered the customer a slightly similar build if he was still interested, the Customer was 700 miles south of him in my part of the country in California.. His Name was Tom and knew what he wanted, Branden listened and came up with a pretty good compromise, offering something custom but could of existed back in 1975 if Honda had enough run with the design team in Tokyo. This takes a little time and a lot of effort but the crew at Rawhide were up for the challenge and the gauntlet was thrown down.

The Motor seemed a little tired and like you always should do, it was torn apart and Hopped up. “We used a Wiseco 836cc kit, with the most aggressive street profile WebCam Racing recommends with their billet camshafts,” says Brandon. The Honda now has new valves, seats and valve guides, new primary chains and tensioner, and a new cam chain, tensioner and guide. Rawhide cleaned and inspected every single part, rebuilding the transmission along the way too. A strong motor is imperative in these long, fast highways of life and as the speeds of Modern day traffic increase, we need to do the same with these old 500 pounders, and its nice to know that if there is trouble coming up behind you, a quick twist of the proverbial wrist, will make sure you are way out of that issue.

Tom being 6’3 needed a long seat and wanted a shorter looking tank, so an old CB200 gas tank was Located, then the sides were scalloped to allow for the 2 outer carbs to be able to slide freely and not hit the tank, the tunnel was cut out and refabbed to allow it to sit on the Duplex Cradle frame and made sure it sat level and looked like a factory fitting.

They then epoxied the Petrol tank using GTL Advantage to make sure there was no delamination or horrible leaks, as this was going to get an expensive paint job and had to be right on the money. Branden used the Factory side covers but trimmed them back to give a cleaner and tighter look and pulled that job off very well.

Meanwhile the front end needed some work, so with Deep Dish and high shoulder Borrani Rims, these were laced with spokes from Buchanan, who are not far from me in California, the hubs were cleaned, degreased and bearing removed and then powder coated Black and assembled once more with polished embellishments.

They chose to go with a smaller but neater set up for the headlight and upper fork stanchions but re-fabbing an old Honda CL77 headlight shroud (1967) as that model had a recessed speedometer and cleaned the top of the triple tree up for sure.

The front fender got a thorough trim, taking off a good chunk of the original but a shorter fender does make the front tire look bigger, they also lowered the fender, rebuilt the caliper and polished the Body, New gators and polished Lowers on the forks complimented the bike.

A set of 12.5 inch Sprung shocks at the rear from Hagon were applied but chromed covers fitted to give it that old style CB750 look, of which I have done too and love that styling .

The bars are low-rise CB400F units, kitted with controls from a 1965 Superhawk. Complementing those are Halcyon bar-end mirrors, a Kustomtech master cylinder, and scalloped clutch and brake levers. A neat and custom look that many Builders leave stock, so always refreshing to see the extra yard made on builds such as this.

A reconfigured wire harness was made from scratch but using the stock Honda wiring colors to make things more understandable for later on in life if things need to be changed or updated etc, it makes sense I tell you.

Upgrades include a Charlie’s Place electronic ignition, Dynatek coils, a regulator/rectifier from Rick’s, and an Antigravity Lithium-ion battery. A Posh Japan taillight and turn signals round out the lighting. Giving the bike a more Traditional look and it flows vert well to cover the square end of that seat assembly off, the Devil is in the detail remember.

Finishing things off is a customized four-into-four stainless steel exhaust system, with each header terminating in a custom-made end tip. Rawhide designed the slip-in tips with baffles, and then had them machined and coated in a high-temp semi-gloss black finish.

The bike’s been shot in a House of Kolor ‘Oriental Blue Kandy’ with a green micro flake, and adorned with original Honda badges. The bike turned out well and Tom is a Happy Chappy, he likes the low end torque of this old 500 pounder and with all the little hop ups, it does not hang about and you may often see the tire spin as it gallops down the tarmac with the bark of the hand formed exhausts. There is way more here than meets the eye and all the nuts and bolts were either zinc plated or chromed, and that does indeed show on a much closer inspection.

A cool and different approach and something I like to see, well done mate and I hope to maybe see this at a show down our way at sometime. And what a superb location to take a photo of this Japananese machine, what an epic barn and an epic Honda that I believe no matter what guise it takes on, will always turn heads.

Let me take this opportunity to Wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas and hope you enjoy this festive time with Family and friends, many thanks for supporting me, small businesses need support and I am Blessed to have such loyal customers. Enjoy.

Peace & Grease to you ALL!

Spirit Racer – Hedonic Triumph Thruxton R

Posted on December 18, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

18 Dec

The Custom Motorcycle creations that are turning out today is so far advanced than back in the day as we have so many good machines from Water jet cutters to 10 axis CNC machines that can design , print and shape pretty much anything that you can pull out of your mind and install in Machine coding to its control box.

Still, you of course will still need the skill set to be able to achieve just some of these processes, and when you look at today’s builds, not only is the engineering so smooth, the tolerances for detail are even finer.

So, take for instance, the factory Triumph Thruxton R motorcycle, I mean, it is the quintessential Cafe style motorbike that Triumph them selves have re-invented and added everything you need for modern comfort and of course ride ability. When the Thruxton R first came out here in the states, I was one of the earliest test riders of this model here and I was amazed at the way it handled, looked, felt and of course, reacted when I gave its neck a bit of a squeeze.

The Perfect bike, nothing needed I thought to myself, but when you then give one of these thoroughbred motorcycles to a French Motorcycle company named Hedonic of which means.

Definition of hedonic

1: of, relating to, or characterized by pleasure

2: of, relating to, or characterized by hedonism

The Creator of this head turning machine is French Man Serge Heitz and he has made a number of head turning master pieces over time and this time he wanted to make sure you looked more than once when you see this Triumph Thruxton R heading towards you.

About 90 minutes from Bordeaux , the workshop is equipped with everything you require to fabricate steel to alloy and they sure know how to handle that.

Any Motorcycle created by Hedonic will get so much attention to detail, you will be gobsmacked for at least half an hour when you see a finished product come rolling out of their doors.

The bikes curvy Fairing, swooping lines of the Belly Pan and side covers and also the curvature of the Bobbed front Mudguard, are all hand made from Aluminum, with well over 150 hours of kneeling, banging, smoothing and hand massaging these components to the bike that you would think Rolls Royce engineers were creating this.

The Aluminum parts were all hand rubbed for that brushed look to show the quality of the material and see no cheating had occurred, this is simply a work of art and so pleasing to the eye.

The front end is ample enough for the roads of anywhere to be honest but Serg was not happy keeping it stock and wanted to put a twist to the front end of the bike by fitting a Yamaha YZF R6 front end, no easy task, no plans and some careful measurements and patience paid off.

The Rims were changed in favor of 16 inch items and a set of Firestone square edged champion style tires were fitted, not everybody likes these but I personally do, albeit they handle like crap but look so thick and fill the bike out.

Custom Clip ons were made with some very cool touches such as integrated brake master cylinder and clutch cable and wear inverted levers. To slim down the bike’s proportions the factory indicators have been replaced by tiny LED units mounted to the fairing and rear wheel hugger.

Under that Fairing is a custom triple tree along with some Moto gadget instruments, the whole top end is cleaned up and just shows the quality of the french man and his team can do.

The Engine is just under 100 horses and ample enough for anyone to get into trouble with but a cool set of exhausts were made with Turbine rear caps to finish this Futuristic look off to a tea.

The Brown Leather seat unit is a nice touch and I look forward to seeing a few write ups in magazine on this European Machine as it has so many cool angles that just flow, it would be nice to see more about it.

Just wanted to share this with you today and hope you liked it half as much as I did, what a fun machine, something I would love to take out for a blap.

AJS 7R – THE BOY RACER the Classic 350cc Road Racer

Posted on December 16, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

16 Dec

The AJS 7R was introduced in 1948, and was almost immediately nicknamed the “Boy Racer”. It would go on to be become one of the most successful over-the-counter racing motorcycles for sale in England at the time, and even today almost 70 years later the AJS 7R is a dominant force in the world of vintage motorcycle racing.

AJS was the name used for cars and motorcycles made by the Wolverhampton, England, company A. J. Stevens & Co. Ltd, from 1909 to 1931, by then holding 117 motorcycle world records. After the firm was sold, the name continued to be used by Matchless, Associated Motorcycles and Norton-Villiers on four-stroke motorcycles till 1969, and since the name’s resale in 1974, on lightweight, two-stroke scramblers and today on small-capacity roadsters and cruisers.

THE STORY OF THE AJS 7R

Phil Walker designed the 7R with a single cylinder, single overhead camshaft engine – based on the lessons learned with the pre-WWII “cammy” engines. The chain driven overhead camshaft gives the 7Rs engine a distinctive look on the timing side, with an oftentimes gold-painted timing and cam cover sitting below the AJS fuel tank with its large knee indents on either side.

The air-cooled engine sits in a duplex frame, and suspension is handled with telescopic shock absorbers at the rear and Teledraulic forks up front. A small headlight fairing with a Perspex shield offers the rider a little cover when crouched down behind the dials on the straight.

The original AJS 7R had a relatively svelte kerb weight of 285 lbs (129 kgs), which meant its 32 bhp could be put to good use. Over the course of its production run the model was progressively modified in an effort to keep up with the advanced multi-cylinder race bikes coming out of Italy. The bore/stroke was squared a little from 74 x 81 mm to 75.5 x 78 mm to allow a higher red line, and the valves angles were narrowed.

In 1951 an experimental derivative called the AJS 7R3 was built with a 3-valve head, and in 1954 the 7R was further improved – the engine was lowered in the frame to lower the centre of gravity, and further engine tweaks improved power to 40 bhp (at 7800 rpm). This newly improved 7R won the first two rounds of the World Championship and took a win at the Isle of Man TT – not a bad effort for a bike first introduced 7 years earlier – especially when you consider the pace of engineering advancement at the time.

Wins for the AJS 7R would continue right into the 1960s, with victories at the Junior Manx Grand Prix races in 1961, ’62, ’63, and a 2nd place finish in 1966. Interestingly the 7R also won the inaugural F.I.M. 500cc Motocross World Championship in 1957 – Bill Nilsson of Sweden modified a 7R road racer into a motocross machine and nailed a convincing victory. Not something Phil Walker ever likely envisaged for the model.

Engine‎: ‎348cc single SOHC four stroke

Also called‎: ‎’Boy Racer’

Power‎: ‎37 bhp (28 kW) at 7500 rpm

Production‎: ‎1948 to 1954 (factory) up to 1963 …

THE AJS 7R SHOWN HERE

The AJS 7R you see here is an original 1956 model, meaning it benefited from the performance modifications introduced in 1954, it’s also fitted with the high-performance works camshaft, and a light weight magnesium gearbox and carburettor.

How cool would it be to own a stable of these Boy Racers, a very cool collection and would be fun to race the 350cc for sure.

Sadly nothing is known about its racing history, but for those who’ve been looking to get into vintage motorcycle racing there are very few bikes better suited. Bonhams estimate it’s worth between £22,000 and £28,000, and it’s likely the bidding will be brisk when it rolls onto the auction block at the Spring Stafford Sale on the 23rd of April.

As a kid I would hitch hike to Snetterton Race track to watch the Clubman races, I loved the pits and the mechanics etc but the distinct sound of a Single also had that resonating tone I will always remember.

Unforgettable sound for me.

Have a Great weekend.

CB500-4 Created by French Builders

Posted on December 12, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

12 Dec

Well if you think of France, usually what comes to minds is Wine, frog legs, snails, striped Tee shirts, Black berets and people riding push bikes with bunches of Onions and Garlic hanging off it.

Thats very true, but, they bang out a few cool motorcycle too and this 1974 Honda CB500 Four is the result of these Garlic eaters and a great job too.

Pure motorcycle company has been around since this Honda originally came out, so when a Customer approached them to create a unique Brat style machine, it was a no big deal slam dunk for them and they got right into the stock bike. the seat was shortened 4 inches too and then reupholstered to give that Classic look.

A clean look, Pure Motorcycles then hand bent some 7/8 Handlebars up and powder coated Black, then for minimal look, they made a small switch mechanism up which Incorporated the starter button and the headlight, of which works great, to add to the Brat look, this has a small 2.5 Speedometer that has all the led’s at the lower half to show neutral, Oil Light and turn signals. New stainless hardware will not get rusty in the damp European winters as well as using a set of old metal-flake GT grips from a Schwinn, dressed the bars up some what.

The front forks were lowered by 2 inches and rebuilt, adding twin Rotors and then polished the lowers and calipers to a chrome finish, the Obligatory Fat Blackwall tires were fitted and although not the best Handling tires, they give the bike some Vintage styling.

With a fresh rebuilt Motor and the Carbs synchronized, the engine is like New, the Gas tank got a cool retro look and this time they wanted to keep the original side covers to keep the Classic original lines and leave the stock battery and electrics where they were from the factory.

Bobbed rear fender, Bates style short LED tail light and a brand New Marving 4 into 1 exhausts gets this bike looking cool, Yamaha headlight, Polished cases and New X-Ring chain finishes this Brat style Honda off.

 Bien Joue my French freinds.

Christmas season is here, grab some great parts and deals this month.

Posted on December 7, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

07 Dec

Christmas is almost here, you still have time to shop and find some goodies you may need, I can ship and also wrap in Chrismtmas paper if you so wish, drop us a line at carpy@carpyscaferacers.com or drop a dime or text at 714-598-8392

I shall be adding a few sales coming up too, so keep checking back for great deals on parts, Art, Apparel and Mechanical lamps, a great gift for Christmas time.

CAFE RACER 1970 CB1000 RUSS COLLINS SPECIAL

Posted on November 30, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

30 Nov

This is the Old Russ Collins Bike I created from parts.

Below is a Video but hard to hear as the old Powder coating shop behind us is loud as hell, but it was a tight motor and loved to ride it, hard to hear but this is the only video I have of it.

This machine was just a frame sat in the garage at home and boxes of old parts, and I wasn’t sure how i was going to go about this build but, as I had a russ collins Magneto I thought, what the heck I will be a traditional Cafe bike for fun.

This bike has so much work but for me it is fun and I enjoy every bike I create, sure, people say why not restore but heck, its not a sand-cast and plenty of these later K models around, I had a bucket load of parts and wanted to put something together and here it is at long last.

I started with a stock 1970 KO frame that had been sitting for many years in the back yard with 15 other CB750 Honda’s that I had acquired from an old guy out in the desert some years ago.

Then I started to get a few parts together and the light bulb came on and that was it, lets build a great looking Caff bike with a 1000cc Russ Collins Motor, what a Hot Rod that would be.

Motor was really good and came out of a running bike, compression was 185 all the way through so no point on a full rebuild, just a freshen up on gaskets and get her running.

New Chrome rims and used stainless spokes to Polished hubs I did, along with the frame being powder coated, the swing arm was too, New bridgestone Spitfires give the bike a more traditional look and really hold the road well.

Original 1970’s finned speed equip covers adorn this motorcycle and gives it the unique richness that shines from afar, I chromed the cases this time andwent throught the Whole bike with Allen headed stainless bolts.

I machined a Custom Finned Engine Bracket up to flow with the rest of the finned speed equipment that is on this bike..

This has an Original never used and out of the BOX, Paul Dunstall header set up from 1974 and this is the genuine article too. I have the trick Tri-Bar set up at the front to show you which way you are heading. Brand New OEM Fender, and I polished the fork lowers, fitted new uppers and resealed, also added the old school OEM Ribbed Gators too.

CI made my own seat, of which I made a mold from an old steel seat and then fitted the steel plates to allow for the stock Hinges to be used, then refoamed and Diamond stitched the seat for the old cafe racer look with the proverbial hump on the back, but also I made a Bobbed rear fender and fitted a old style Lucas Tail light, all of which I sell on my website www.carpyscaferacers.com and have sold many too.

I hammered and painted the tank- New side covers and new paint and has the 1000 logo on the side covers to show them what she really is. I loved the whole concept and with New petcock and Gas cap, this really looks factory to many, until they see the numbers on the side cover.

I used a set of TEC rear piggy back shocks that are 14 inches eye to eye and the rear tire is a Bridgestone Spitfire 130/90 to give it that beefy look and handles so well.

Oh yes, it has a Brand New Guilerri style diamond stitched seat base and that is a new base and foam too and I believe enhances the look of this machine.

Also- Lots of polished Aluminum, like the valve cover and caps, the clutch cover and stator and gear shift cover too. With Braided oil hoses as well. I even chromed the kick stand, but look at the front Rotor, I drilled that, rebuilt the Caliper and polished that to a Chrome look and the front rim is new with stainless spokes and a bigger front tire to fill that fender out nicely.

Brand New Non maintenance battery, Solid state rectifier, makes sure this fires up and of course with the original RC Magneto, this has so much spark, I fitted iridium spark plugs too. You will also notice that I made New oil Lines from Braided steel hose and Drilled and chromed Kick starter for a Custom look.

You want detail? Well she has loads of it, just check out the kick starter I drilled and re-chromed and the clutch cover set up. As well as the Italian Tarrozi rear sets added for a real comfortable ride as these set your feet back about 7 inches from the stock position and perfect for the Clubman handlebars up front.

New cables help this puppy along and I rebuilt the Carbs, bench synchronized them and then once running synchronized with a Mercury stick and it purrs now.

I have hours and hours and hours into this machine, I even chromed the kick stand as it looked to dull before.

Oh yeah- Do you like my Oil tank Dip stick? I machined this from a solid piece of 6061 T6 Aluminum to dress the cap up as thats always missed on builds so wanted to cover all the bases.

This is a really cool head turning machine, as where ever you loom there is cool stuff. like polished rear brake hub, with new brake shoes and actuator. Yes new brake shoes as well.

Yes, these New tires, on the back there is what I use most of the time, the Bridgestone 130x90x16 and at the front I use a 110x90x19. Custom RED X-Ring Chain, flows with the red on the gas tank and side covers etc and this bike sits so well, them Original Dunstall exhausts are a real piece of History as they were still in the original box when I had them as they were sat in my loft for many years.

Such a period looking Caff from back home and I remember as a kid, and I am glad that I went this route, its truly a fun machine and with 1000cc it does not hang about and is really Torquey.

I love the way the bike sits, it is a good, tough looking machine and with Brand new wire harness and handlebar switches, this is reliable as hell, I am very proud of this machine and it styling.

It has a New rear brake rod, spring and adjuster to make sure this thing stops at the rear, and a New 530 Chain and new sprockets 48 rear,17 tooth front.

The RC Special is a one off and I loved doing the build, I also made up stainless braided Brake hoses for the front brake and added a 14mm Master cylinder too.

The front brake caliper is rebuilt and polished to a chrome finish and I fitted a Brand New $400 genuine HONDA front fender.

To help this bad boy stop at the front end, I fitted a New BREMBO master cylinder to the Clubman bars.

Other col parts that you will notice, unlike many others out there is that I have used genuine NOS handlebar controls, over $220 each side.

The carbs are all rebuilt with new throttle cables and custom air filters.

The New headlight has a New bucket and insides too. And a 65 watt halogen Bulb to make sure you are seen on the road at night.

This has a cool display set up with the ignition relocated at the top of the tree, I wanted to move the ignition switch away from the motor as these get hot.

Also I polished the top triple tree to look like chrome, the steering has all new bearings and brand new chrome Honda steering Nut and washer.

All the bolts are Stainless Allen heads and this has had so many hours of work done to it. A new Clutch cable and Custom Adjuster.

This is clean and under the seat will be a brand new battery, the frame is powder coated and you can see how great she looks from these photo’s.

This has a new solid State rectifier and a battery tender too.

Also the shocks are brand new TEC models and I made custom lowers to lift the rear end a little higher by 50mm.

The bike just is cool to look at and with a RC1000 Motor it really does turn heads FAST!

This has Original New Old stock Superior Waffle GT grips from 1974 and were still in Original packaging on the shelf for years and years.

I may put some more little touches to her before someone buys her but I do hope it does get a great home.

Thanks for looking at this machine, it has now gone to a New owner and sure hope they ride the hell out of it,

I doubt I will locate another Russ Collins Built Motor any more and so glad I happened across the engine over 10 years ago,

2 of my Classic machines that I have built from just old bits and pieces that were literally in the garage and all in boxes or on shelves, love what I do and hope you do too, thanks so much for looking. If you want a bike built, serviced or just parts, drop me a line carpy@carpyscaferacers.com or you can call or even text me on 714-598-8392 as I am always happy to help, been building over 17 years here in California.

Norton 650 Scrambler

Posted on November 17, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

17 Nov

I was reading my MCN today and at Last Norton are contemplating creating a 650 Scrambler and I think this will be a great opportunity for Back home and worldwide.

I’d love to hve a Norton Dual Sport, a very fun and ergonomic machine that would be something to see for sure, so keep your eyes peeled at the Motorcycle expos and Show circuits for this to pop up, I think it will be a real winner.

MCN report below:

By Richard Newland

Deputy Editor

Norton will reveal their intention to build a new family of 650cc parallel-twins at this weekend’s Motorcycle Live, showing renderings of a new scrambler model to canvass input from potential owners.

The desire is to launch two scrambler-styled bikes, one more road focussed, the other a more serious dual-purpose option for riders who want to get their kicks in the dirt – and ride home afterwards.

“It started off life as half of the V4,” says Norton head of design Simon Skinner. “We always knew we wanted to do a 650 parallel-twin to create a new range of bikes with a retro engine platform, and a high-performance platform, and a high-volume platform. And that would cover everything we want to do for the foreseeable future as a brand.

“The first bike that the 650 will appear in is a Scrambler type bike. The engine has been designed to have three power levels, with the top-end high-spec 175bhp supercharged version, then a normally aspirated high-performance version at 100bhp, the a low-powered one with just under 70bhp. It’s the same core 650cc parallel-twin engine with a 270-degree crank, which give it nice drive characteristic, a nice sound and a nice vibe – and matches the firing order of the Commando engine.

“It’s a very lightweight, modern parallel-twin, so it’s not like a BMW or Kawasaki mid-capacity parallel-twin. This is literally half the V4, and by losing the rear bank of cylinders we can make the bike very short, very compact. It shares a lot of architecture with the V4 engine, the cylinderhead and valvetrain are all common. The engine is very versatile with what we can do with it, and has been designed to work across a range of applications and both steel and aluminium chassis.

“The first bike will be the Scrambler version, and that will use a steel trellis frame some aluminium bolt-on sections to give it more rigidity and stiffness. It still needs to be a lightweight bike, and a Norton, but I looked back at what Norton used to with P11s and other models back in the day, and the performance was always a step up from the competition, and that’s our goal. It need to be a proper Scrambler, not something that just looks the part. It needs to be capable, and it should be a proper giggle. This is about rideability, not trying to make an adventure tourer.

“It’s not going to be a cheap bike, but you’ve got to be able to ride it through mud, bash it about, drop it, and pick it up and carry on. It’s got to be a pure and honest bike that can do what it looks like it’s capable of doing.

“One of the stipulations for the design,” says Garner, “is that if I’m out greenlining or in a gravel pit mucking about and I drop it, I want to be easily able to pick it back up on my own and carry on with my ride. It has to be durable. It’ll all be honest, with items like the bash guard being able to do the job, rather than just being there for show. The bike should last a long time, because it’ll be made with proper components.”

“The chassis and geometry is all our own,” says Skinner. “The more off-road focussed version will get a longer swingarm for more capability off-road. We’re certainly intended to offer both versions from birth, a street scrambler version, then a more off-road capable desert racer. The rears will be 17in on both models, and the more road biased bike will get an 18 in front, while the more off-road bias one will get a 19in.

“The tricky part is getting the styling right. I’ve looked back through the old Norton models, and penned some designs with a lot of those traditional styling cues, and they just don’t look right on this. The hard part is paying homage to the heritage, without being old-fashioned, or retro – it’s got to be an authentic Norton, but it’s got to be modern.

“This is an everyday Norton,” says Garner. “It’s honest and faithful, and the sort of bike I’d use as an all-year-round ride. You can imagine someone buying the V4, then having this as their everyday bike – with switchable ABS and traction control – and that’s what it’s for. In volume terms, we expect this to be our biggest seller, and we’re targeting a £10k target for the base model and around £12k for the higher-spec version. And if this bike is a success, it’ll enable us to build the 650 sportsbike – hopefully within a year of the scrambler going on sale.”

Norton 650 supersport in development

Even more exciting for those who yearn for a V4 RR, but are unlikely to ever raise the funds needed to buy one, Norton also confirmed that the Scrambler model will be followed into production by a sportsbike version using the same 650 parallel-twin. But don’t’ start thinking this is a budget clone of a Ninja 650, this is a proper TT lightweight destroyer.

Weighing in at a projected 140kg, and developing over 100bhp in standard trim – with the possibility of a supercharged version even further in the future that could see the output rise to 175bhp – it will redefine how we think about parallel-twin 650 sportsbikes forever – and should they choose to campaign it in the TT Lightweight, it’s nice to dream that we might see a Norton winner on the island at its debut.

But faired sportbike versions are still a long way off, so there’s no point putting one on this year’s Christmas list. Save it for 2018’s letter to Santa, for a 2019 delivery.

Norton thinking big

A little while back Norton struck a deal with Zongshen to licence their new 650cc engine platform, which also enabled Zongshen to distribute the bikes in China. As part of the deal Zongshen would be producing new bikes using the Norton engine, but nothing would be branded Norton. Now Norton have set their international sights even further by singing a joint venture agreement with Motoroyale, the motorcycle arm of Indian business group Kinetic.

Unlike the deal with Zongshen, the new joint venture will build the current range of Nortons and any future models in at Kinetic’s plant in Ahmednagar, India. These models will then be sold in India and all over Asia by 2018, although bikes destined for other markets will still be built in the UK. Kinetic have been producing motorcycles in India since 1972 and current import MV Agusta and SWM to the region.

SO- Lets wait and see what happens, I for one and very eager to sling my leg over this steed and see what it has to offer, be great to see the Noton again, I mean hey, they started in 1898 for Gods Sake.

The 1898 James Lansdowne Norton (known to all as ‘Pa’) founded Norton as a manufacturer of “fittings and parts for the two-wheel trade.” By 1902 the first Norton motorcycles were being produced using French and Swiss engines. … By the mid 1930sNorton was producing over 4,000 road bikes annually.

Ace Cafe and some explanation of Triumph Bonneville.

Posted on November 3, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

03 Nov

Well Friday Already,

I am stuck for a bit of time but thought I would add a post of my mate Mark Wilsmore on here at the ACE Cafe, talking about the Rockers and of course the Bonneville.

Have a safe weekend out there.

Flash Back Friday- Old Video for you to watch.

Posted on October 6, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

06 Oct

Happy Friday Every body, hope that your end of the work week is going well, nothing quite like a Friday and I am sure that some of you at least, will be riding your Motorcycle to some event, or simply just to get about and see a few buddies now that the Weekend is almost here.

Flash back Friday is the Day and I thought I would just add an 8 minute Video of my Old shop back in the City of Orange, had some fun times there and some shit times too, being your own Boss brings a whole lot more Headache than you will ever understand if you are not a Business owner.

It was a super Windy Sunday when I walked around the shop, you could hear the metal doors banging about, but, I hope that you find it interesting, many CB750 Builds I had taken on there and got them ALL completed in the end.

Have a Great weekend you lot and many thanks for following me, its great to hear input from Customers and readers etc and anything else you may want to see, just drop me an email at. carpy@carpyscaferacers.com and I shall be more than happy to reply to you.

Ride Safe and keep your Lights on.

Peace and Grease

Carpy

Definition of hedonic

THE STORY OF THE AJS 7R

THE AJS 7R SHOWN HERE

Norton 650 supersport in development

Norton thinking big

Login