Tag Archives: 750f

Sunday and plenty to do in the Garage

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
09 Aug

Hey you lot, hope things are OK with everyone?  And you are trying to get on with your Motorcycle Project in this Pandemic. I am still flat out playing catch up and thats a good thing to be busy.

With the weekend crashing by so fast, its hard to sometimes catch up on a daily Blog, but I try as I know many people read what I am up to etc and like to hear from readers of the things they are doing to their 2 wheeled machines in this strange times that we are in right now.

I have a multitude of things I have to try and get sorted, over 50 more exhausts to build, more Tee shirts to design and I have a 550 Honda to Rebuild Carbs, a Triumph Scrambler that needs a service and a bunch of Customer orders I need to pack and get ready to ship for tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be my 58th Birthday, hard to believe that I am approaching that bloody Golden age in 2 years, but I feel like I am in my 30’s and thats because I have a great girlfriend that helps me in what I do and achieve, and having a strong support system is paramount when it comes to a business.  And with Jennifer at my side, we can accomplish much more than if i was trying to do it all on my own. She rides her Own Motorcycle and I am so fortunate that she has the same passions and interest as I do, we make a great team.

 

Well, I am going to get a few things done but I was thinking of things I may like to do some day and I thought about Hill Climbing on two wheels, its a fantastic sport for spectators too, maybe one day I will have a go, id prefer a Vintage bike but hey if the opportunity arises, I’d give these bikes a shot. Have a great Sunday everyone.

 

Working in this Pandemic time of life

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
16 Apr

Well, as many of you are in the exact same boat as we are, this Pandemic is a terrible thing to happen to anybody, but, we are abiding by the safe distancing and I continue to try and make parts from home and in a timely manner, but, as so many people are now stuck at home, it is the perfect time for you all to be working on your projects etc.

I have had many orders already and wanted to let you know that I am working as hard as I possibly can and in the amount of hours available, to get your orders completed and off into the mail to you, I have customers all over the world and EVERY one of you is important to me.

Please could you have a little patience with me on special orders, ie Exhausts, as I have to get all the tubing, and bends, weld and sand and then send to the ceramic coater, this does take time even in normal circumstances, but I have so many Exhausts on order, I am trying to get everything completed as fast as I can.

 

I will be bringing new parts out soon too, and will post them on my website as soon as they are completed, so keep checking back from time to time.

I also appreciate all the orders and giving me the opportunity to make parts for you and keep my family going in these difficult times, being self employed has huge risks in times such as this and I cannot thank you all for the orders, no matter what the size of them are, they all add up.

Let me know if I can help you with any parts for your ride, as I have been doing this for over 20 years in Southern California and have so many repeat Customers, you are all like Family to me to be honest. Stay safe everyone and thank you for purchasing from me, love you all.

 

Little bit more drilling, but this time, the Front Sprocket Cover.

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
08 Apr

Another day and some more Therapeutic drilling to do, this time I thought I would show you how I drill the Front Sprocket cover, just to give it that Custom look from the standard plain version.

It is totally up to you, how far and wild you want to go with your sprocket cover, but I love doing this as it is calming and I enjoy making pieces like this, not one pattern the same.

I always secure my covers onto an old piece of ply wood, using a drywall screw and some washers, this holds it fine, then simply get the drill out and an assortment of drill bits. make sure you wear gloves and goggles as you will get plenty of shavings everywhere, so keep a Vacuum handy too.

Yeah I know, Swiss Cheese, but I really like the look of this and having the Lightning holes is a reminder of yesteryear of the old racers etc.

This takes about an hour, but all depends on how intricate the pattern you are going for, I simply fire the drill up and just go for it, no plan really, just see where it leads me.

Looks a lot different when its all polished up eh? and I always smile once I have completed one of these pieces and boy does the Sun catch the Aluminum.

I have made about 50 of these over the years and they are always a different pattern, its fun to do and once you start, you will be happy that you did this.

Another one I did, these are like Jewels when polished up and really do change the look of your Custom Ride, so if you are bored at home, dang it- have a go at this.

 

Fitted on my CB750 and changed the look of that area right away, I get many comments on the drilling, so it must grab people attention.

Let me know if I can help you with yours , as I drill many of these and really do enjoy the task of changing them from boring solid plates, to Custom pieces.

Thanks for reading my little Blog and maybe I have inspired you to have a go at home whilst you are in lock Down.

 

Weekend is pretty much here

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
06 Dec

Time does fly when you are having fun, especially if you are at home, or in the Garage, slinging wrenches about and seeing what you can create from a pile of old parts and see if you can turn it into the machine that you have thought about for a longtime.

The weather is supposed to be a bit crap this weekend but the weather doesn’t really effect me in the garage and I can continue to bang and grind to my hearts content if I so desire, and, the same goes for you lot I am sure.

The bit about building a bike or a part for your machine or Hot Rod for that matter, is , the fact that you did it your self in your own time line and how you wanted it, there is something so rewarding as having something that you have designed in your head, come to life and for me, that will always be a buzz when I fire something up for the first time and hear it come to life.

 

The Grin is always a mile long and I am sure that yours is too? If I can help with parts for you, a buddy or even a gift for that gear head in your family, I am always here to advise etc, you can always email me carpy@carpyscaferacers.com and even text me on 714-598-8392 and set your mind at rest that I will answer and help you on the way to what you need and know, it will fit and function.

This is my Passion and my Life, so- after 19 years here doing this, I strive to do even more in the following years to produce many more cool parts for the two wheeled fraternity.

My Girlfriend Jennifer loves to ride with me when ever she can and she has changed my life for the better, what a perfect harmony that I have with my girl on her Triumph as we belt around this great country, taking in all the sights and sounds.

If you want a Custom seat me by yours truly, to getting enough parts to make a start on a snotty old project that has been sitting for years, just let me know, I am here to help.

 

 

Have a great weekend everyone and hope you either get some time in the saddle or have fun building something Above and below is the same bike, see what can be done to these machines?

A whole lot of fun, thats for certain.

 

Thanks again and I hope that you enjoyed todays little blog.

Exhaust systems for CB750 CB550 and CB500 Models

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
14 Nov

Need a great sounding 4 into 1 exhaust system for your inline four? Something not only affordable, but made right here in California, not in some sweat shop in China.

Back in 2000 I began with the first to offer 4 into 1 Performance 4 into 1 systems, nobody was offering them and I wanted to have that sound of yesteryear when people Street Raced and Drag raced, to show who’s inline four was the best sounding and fastest. That crackle of the system was synonymous with all the 70’s Japanese Motorcycles that had landed over here and people wanted to hop these engines up. Here is my First one that I offered almost 2 decades ago and I am still going strong today.

Since then I have sold well over 1000 units of just the 750 alone and close to 900 on the 550 and 500 systems, a goal that I am very proud of reaching and of course surpassing too.

Made right here, these 4 into 1 systems are made from steel and have the option of a Raw material for that old Race Track style, or you can choose a few different color options and get your system Cerakoted with Ceramic paint and stand out from the rest.

So if you want Raw steel or Coated, I am the man for your inline Fours requirements, as this is not Just a job, its a lifestyle for me, above is a Bronze color ceramic Coating 4 into 1 that a Customer ordered and boy does it look great.

Let me know your requirements and I will see if I can help you get that machine back out on the tarmac and have fun hitting the corners on weekends etc.

I love to help you get your machine running and of course sounding great and this is a super way to go and easy to bolt on and go.

We ship all the time and to all over the globe with customers in Finland, Russia, France, Spain, and even have sent systems to Cuba!  Your one stop shop, with more parts coming all the time.

Give me a shout if you need something for your ride, be it a 750, a 550 or a 500, I love to help and that what it is all about.

These make great gifts too and you know they will be stoked when they unwrap their new Performance system for their Honda four Motorcycle.

Thanks for reading my Blog today and hope that you can have fun with your motorcycle this weekend. If I can help, you can call or even text me.

Vesco Honda build so far.

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
04 Nov

Well, I was lucky enough to get a call from a film Producer, they are doing a TV Commercial this weekend and needed a couple of bikes to use, so I let them take my Sportster Cafe and this Vesco Brat, as its not finished yet but pretty much altogether now.

But wanted to share a few photos of how she is right now as its getting closer to be able to ride, that will be quite exiting as it had not run since the 1980’s, I have fired her up a few times now and happy with the idle and the oil pressure, so this week I shall be able to fire her up and take the bike for a quick run around the block and see what happens.

This gas tank needs painting and I have side covers for it now, just need painting etc, thats why you can see all the electrical and the oil tank, but once it is painted and side covers fitted, the bike will look a lot better.

What then? Well not sure, depends on how the bike runs and handles to be honest, but this coming weekend, Jennifer and I will load the bike up and go to EL MIRAGE, to watch the races, meet some friends and to ride this about a bit.  Sure it will get covered in dirt and dust but, if I am to strip and rebuild this into a show bike, thats not going to matter as dirt wipes off right?

The gas tank and side covers later will be painted a Yellow color, just wanted something really different, so we shall see how that goes.

I changed the front headlight from a 7 inch to a more compact 5.75 version, and to be honest, i really like the look of this on the bike, so will be keeping that on there.

I fitted New foot pegs too, as the old ones were so bent out of shape, this will make for a fun ride, the Brat seat has soft Leather and memory foam, so another bonus there to ride on the dry lake.

I also used my Own brand of handle bars, these are the Euro-Tracker Bars I have had hand formed, then triple chromed and I do love the way they lay on the bike and give the whole machine a different look and feel for that matter.

Yes, its not a finished bike, but- you have to get a bike going to see what the issues are before pulling it all apart and throwing all your time, money and hard effort into a project.

I also pulled the old rusty rims off and had a set of Original Lester wheels that came off a CR750 Honda, the front wheel is dated 1978 and the rear is 1977, the front is a 19 inch and rear is an 18 inch set up, these are getting harder to locate these  days and wanted to use them.

I did change out the swing arm as the old one had been chromed back in the day and the elements had gotten to it and it was as rusty as the Titanic’s Crapper, but I am thinking of remaking some Boxed swing arms again and will offer them on my website when available.

I had noticed that the Kick stand on the bike was an old 70’s Chopper one and it did not sit well, you had to push the side stand all the way forward for it to stay, I looked closer and noticed that some of the frame bracket has broken off many years ago and that is why the side stand would not stand upright.

My trusty Miller Mig welder helped me out and I built up a platform again and used one of my own kickstands, and now it sits right, and am happy with the look of it now.

The shocks were pretty knackered on the bike, so i chose some aftermarket SRC piggy backs, they work fine and are Liquid Nitrogen filled and sets the stance where I want it to be honest.

My 4 into 1 I had fitted great but, this time I wanted to cut the tail pipe right back and fit the baffle just before the turn out, for a more aggressive look and I really do like the look of this system and it sounds pretty tough to say the least.

Later on when I strip the bike down, I will clean up the Lester Rims and re-paint them and add some Knobby Tires, but I am in two minds whether to change the front end for a CBR or, stick with the traditional fork set up and just rebuild the fork lowers and add New Upper tubes that will be 2 inches shorter. The front brake works and thats surprising for how many years it has been sat, its functioning but will of course totally rebuild that or fit newer brakes as I am a dealer for Beringer and may fit their set up, but all depends on funds etc.

It is all to easy to let a Custom build get away with you, financially, I have created some awesome machines for customers but, if you start to add a modified engine, you will be into $5000 in a flash just in the engine itself, these bikes are fun and fast enough, you really do not need a big cam and heavy duty head studs but if you want response, just port and polish the head and go no bigger than a 3/4 street cam.

I love the stock ignition system as they are dependable, I am not a fan of electronic ignition systems and points take very little maintenance, if you keep it simple, you disperse any issues with modified stuff, most of the time its a waste of money as many that have bigger displacements have over heating issues  or head gaskets blow and for what? 10 MPH? Just have fun with your bike, a good pipe and jetting is more than enough for many roads here, of course if you are on a race track, thats a different game all together , but just watch your budget on these machines, as it can easily get away from you and you then tally all your receipts up and have a small heart attack when you add it all up at the end of the build.

So for right now, I will run this old bugger around with a painted gas tank and covers but the rest as she is, as I want to put a few miles on her to see how the motor responds to daily life, then- when I am ready I shall pull back off the road and strip the bike and create a cool Brat bike thats fun to ride and easy on the eye.

Of course I offer these for sale, as thats what I am in business to do, its hard to let them go but I have a New Scrambler I use for riding about and it makes it a whole lot easier to let another creation go off into the sunset and then, the fun begins with another creation.

So, its a Sunday and I have taken a couple of photos and blogged on here today, she is looking pretty fun now and YES of course if someone wanted to Purchase this machine from me as is I would probably sell it, as I love create machines from junkers that have not run for years, but I shall still add more bits and pieces to this machine until I am ready to tear it all apart once more.

This Vesco Brat has a really cool ride stance and I am glad I took a chance and grabbed this inline four, its a fun ride and more to come too.

Hope you enjoyed my Blog today and of course I put the build up on my face book too. steve richard carpenter or carpys cafe racers or carpys garage you can look at any of them pages too.

Thanks for reading and have fun with your project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

El Frijolito The little Bean Cafe Racer

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
23 Aug

                                                                           EL FRIJOLITO CAFE RACER 1975 CB750 F SUPER SPORT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was fortunate to get this motorcycle from the Original owner, its a good and bad thing as the poor guy did a lot of work to the machine back in the day, but unfortunatly, the drink got the better of him and some 30 years later he is still battling a drinking problem.

 

I named the bike ” The Little Bean ” as it was in a Deep part of Santa Ana of which is a predominately Latin area of California.

 

I changed her around a little bit by polishing the upper triple tree and making anew gauge face, as this bike was just something I could not take all apart, it ran well and boy is a cool ride, so I removed the stock tank and fitted my Glass S.S. Race tank, then removed the old tatty stock seat and fitted my Razor back model.

 

 

 

I replaced the old worn out headlight with one of my Tri-bar set ups and chromed the old gauge cups.

 

 

 

The New gas tank and I wanted to have some old style GOLD Racing strips on this machine and they needed to follow the tank and seat for that 70’s race look.

 

 

In the end I ended up changing a lot on this bike as I had Hershey Chocolate call me and the owner wanted it for his son, so I changed a few things and used some cool rims that I powder coated black gloss, then polished the hubs and used stainless spokes, fitted with the good Old Bridgestone tires and then I drilled the rear rotor with 140 holes and that was on the drill press.

Whilst I was there I removed the old caliper and took the black corroded paint off it and polished it to a chrome like finish and rebuilt the inside. And now stops on a dime.

 

Fitted new fender and polished the speedometer drive and fitted Stainless Allen head bolts through out this machine, as well as polishing the forks and adding my own polished fork brace to stiffen the front end up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alloy gas cap is a Monza style and new turn signals fitted to make sure people can see where you are going is a must around these parts.

 

 Polished the engine covers and then I drilled the sprocket carrier and polished for that Race track look, then fitted a new 530 Gold chain.

 

Drilled the front caliper and took the Original YOSHIMURA pipe off and ceramic coated it and put back on.

 

 Upholstered the razorback seat with Tuck n Roll and snaps round the side give this a timeless era.

 That Yoshi barks like a angry hound and hard to find series 2 versions these days. This is going to a good home as well as I doubt I will find another Original Yoshimura like this again and I wanted it to stay on the bike as its been on it for over 30 years.

 New rear shock and a full service and this is now ready to head to Hershey Pennsylvania and take the twisty lanes on the east side.

 

 

 

 

 I should of took more photos but to be honest, this was just going to be a small clean up but I got a little carried away, personally I like to take the motorcycle right down to the frame and begin again fresh- and then go through everything, but El Frijolito turned out pretty darned good and I hope that have fun up there in Chocolate County with her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Hand-Made Velocity Stacks for CB750 – $300 a set, all polished!

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
01 Apr

Check out my NEW All aluminum machined finned Velocity stacks, these are my newest part that I have come up with and available for you, these will look great on any CB750 HONDA.

Just have a look as this picture will tell you all you need to know, I shall add more photos as I go along.

This is for the 1969-1976 CB750 SOHC model 39 mm stock carbs and if you want to embellish your 500 pounder easily, this is your Best bet.

 

 

These are the best on the market, I mean, just look at the quality and the finish, these really will set your bike apart from the others with a set of these stacks on your Carbs.

Below you can see the Velocity stacks in a smooth polished  finish and they look super trick.

  

I have tried these on early sand cast carbs and right up to 1976 CB750F round top carbs and they fit nicely.

  

I love both styles but the finned ones really turn my crank and I am sure they do for you and your inline Four?

Checker Tape – HOW TO APPLY AT HOME

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
08 Feb

Well, I thought that it would help if I did a blog, and then later I would add this to the tips page, of how to apply the checker tape etc.

I was the first to start all this many years ago, actually 13 years ago next week and here is how apply my Checker kits.

This is quite easy to be honest, all you need is a clean area, soapy water, in one of the spray bottles, a credit card and a micro fiber cloth.

What I do is clean the area that is going to have the checker tape, and how I do that is use soapy water in a spray bottle that you can buy anywhere.

Now just fine mist that all over the area you are going to apply too, this will get rid of all the dust and static to be honest, then, I simply puff the back of the tape with the water too and then I apply the tape.

Now, you really do need a straight eye for this, so make sure you have a center point, else you could get as crooked as a warped walking stick if you are not careful.

I lay the checker tape in place and then, by using a credit card, I wrap the card in a microfiber cloth or even a tee shirt will do, I then apply even pressure on the tape and draw or pull down quite firmly.

This eliminates all the water and of course, any water bubbles, and smooths everything out.

Now, if you are not happy, you can simply move the checker whilst it is wet, as the soap will help that slide, or you can peel it off, water again and apply and then smooth out, once you are happy, just smooth until the water is out and check the edges for any bumps and hidden water droplets that are hiding.

Now, this is the same process for any thing that you are going to apply to, above was a Rocket 6 seat base that I was getting ready, and now I am going to start on one of my gas tanks.

This has been painted and scuffed, so my decal can adhere to the paint and then after the tape is on and dried, I pin line the outside of the checker to finish the look off.

Did anyone catch the wardrobe change???

Also, if you are still a little stuck, then check my video out below, as this may help?