Tag Archives: cafe racer

Count down to Turkey day!

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
23 Nov

Thanksgiving will soon be upon us, but its a celebration that I enjoy food wise and of course, me originally being a Redcoat, people think it may bother me, but- if it wasn’t for that day- Oct 19th 1981, well I wouldn’t be here if my original country and planted the flag. So I celebrate Turkey day with open arms, I love the American flag, be it : The Stars and Stripes Old Glory The Star-Spangled Banner The Red, White and Blue I have it tattooed on my left elbow and the union Jack on the right, I guess you can call me an Anglo-American.

But, as it is almost upon us to share and eat the food that  Thanksgiving is based on, a harvest feast shared by the Wampanoag people and the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth in 1621. This event is known as the “First Thanksgiving”, though the term was not used at the time. It’s the most wonderful time of the year in the US – a time for food, family, friends, and being thankful for everything really.

As a kid I always wanted to be American, My Dad hated it and as I was into Rockabilly music, he used to say I looked like a Yank, I thanked him, much to his annoyance. I have a few special Turkey day sales on right now to say thank you to all my customers over the last 12 months and will be enjoying the Thursday gorging on all the lovely grub that my Girl will be cooking.

I am still trying to come to terms with the New website format, so forgive a few mistakes and placement of photos but just wanted to say that I hope that you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving and Thank you for choosing me for all your parts for your Motorcycle, it means so much.

Back online after some glitches but all good

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
05 Nov

Well, what a frustrating few days that I have encountered, modern technology is great, until it takes a spiralling fall into the abyss. I have been pretty good on my computer over the years, with no training as such, I just worked my way through any problems and if I was stuck, my web guru Christian Riggs, would help me out.

But, I had no idea that Google changed servers and the site went down, so no way of knowing how to get the site back online, my mate was such a brilliant help and its up but as its new software, the whole blog and typing format is nothing like I am used to, so forgive any mistakes as I am learning as I hen peck at this keyboard.

Things are busy here at the shop and I am trying to get a few more parts available over these next few weeks as it will not be long until the Festive season begins and I am as Busy as Santa trying to get all the presents out the door.

So, thanks for bearing with me over the last week as it was quite the trip getting everything back on line, but persistence paid off and we are all rolling along now, yeah, the rear brake may be binding a bit but I will smooth things out on the format here.

If you need any help with anything on my website or a problem with your Motorcycle etc, just drop me a line carpy@carpyscaferacers.com I am here to help, and have been for almost 25 years now.

Its Sunday but always something to work on

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
06 Oct

Here we are into the first week of October already, but the weather here in Southern California is not letting us experience Fall yet, it’s almost 100 today and that restricts the amount I can do outside or even in the barn, as its like an oven in there.

So, I thought whilst I take a cold drink and have the ceiling fan revving into the Red Zone, I would blog something here for you lot to read, as I get many emails informing me that they like the blogs etc.  So here goes.

Honda’s Brand new CGX150 is an air-cooled back-to-basics retro, based on the trusty CG125 machine.

I saw this in MCN and thought I would show it on my website as Id of loved this was I was a Teenager .

Words by By Ben Purvis

In an era that’s seen technology advancing at breakneck pace and even the cheapest of new bikes getting flat screen displays and phone connectivity, there’s something refreshing about a back-to-basics air-cooled single with no bells or whistles.

That’s exactly what’s expected from a new range of Honda CGX150 machines that’s due to be launched in China.

 

It is powered by an 11.8bhp air-cooled, two valve, 149cc single cylinder motor that is a direct descendant of the Original CG125 engine.

Revealed ahead of its official launch in a series of type-approval documents filed with Chinese authorities, the CGX150 will be offered in three distinct flavours: a café racer, a retro tourer and a basic roadster, all harking back to simpler times.

And while the 149cc capacity means the initial models are ill-suited to European markets with 125cc learner cut-offs, the engine is derived from the CG125 that helped whole generations of riders onto two wheels between 1975 and 2008.

A smaller 125cc version of the engine remains in production today, so building a Euro-suited 125cc version wouldn’t be a huge challenge if HONDA decided there was demand.

The new CGX150 will be made in a Wuyang-Honda partnership and is essentially a rose-tinted vision of what the CG125 might have become, retaining the old bike’s rugged simplicity but with a more modern chassis design, disc brakes and ABS.

In its simplest form the kerb weight, including fluids, is a meagre 125kg and even with only 11.8bhp it’s certified for a top speed of 61mph.

The café racer and Tourer versions both offer the same power and maximum speed, according to their type-approval documents, but differ in weight. The café racer seen in red, white and blue, with a retro humped seat cowl, red-painted frame and springs, bar-end mirrors gains 1kg for an all-in mass of just 126kg. All three versions use the same non-adjustable suspension and geometry, with a 1308mm wheelbase that gives them a slightly more grown-up shape than the original CG125, which had just 1200mm between the spindles.

It’s the Weekend here at the Barn

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
14 Sep

I have no clue where the days go these days to be honest, I get so involved with what I do and achieve in a short amount of time, it seems that life is shooting by at over 100 Miles Per Hour for me, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.  Coming up towards 25 years in the Motorcycle industry here in Southern California is quite daunting to some extent, a quarter of a century already is almost upon me, but I have many more ideas and parts that I want to make and offer to everybody and a few more tricks up my sleeve, although that sleeve is turning into the size of Gandalf’s one lol.

But stay tuned to the website as I will always have a feature on anything new for you all to see, I have started to sell more things Like Handlebar grips, lights and electrical parts with more stuff continuing to increase as the year goes on. Something to pretty up your CB750 thats for sure.

I have a few builds that I need to sort out and build and will have a few blogs on what I am up too soon, I love all the correspondence that I receive and I thank you for that, if there is Anything I can help you with, feel free to email me at carpy@carpyscaferacers.com and I will do my utter best to help you go in the right direction.

Peace & Grease Everyone and, get out and Ride.

 

Hot this weekend that’s for sure in Southern California

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
07 Sep

Hot weather is still here and will continue for a couple of weeks I think, but 112 and 114 is a little too hot to be in the shed this weekend, plus I have stuff to do in our Garden with my Girl. so I have been out doing that, but tomorrow I have to fit some throttle cables to that K6 and tidy a few things up before I offer it for sale, its a great bike for the money with so many New parts.

I have many projects to get into later on, another 16 bikes to sort out but its fun doing it and doing it at home in my own time and do what ever I want to do, I love that feeling and always have a smile when I go in the Barn.  I love all machines and have a few different bikes to build but the platform I have loved is the inline four, always cool to see people on them.

Hope that some of you get time to get out on your machines this Summer, before it gets colder further North, lucky for me, we can ride most of the year round, I ride every single day and never tire of it to be honest.

I’m still busy with my parts and builds and more to come later but just wanted to say howdy and do a quick Blog as its been a while, but always check my daily emails and texts.

Have a great weekend and thank you for all your orders, I am here to help, next year is 25 years in business and its going to be exciting as ever.

 

 

Honda CB750 Super Sport Classic Cafe

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
29 Jun

I recently came across some old CD’s that I had tucked away in a drawer, glad I took some pics of some of the motorcycles that I have created, they say if you put them on the internet, it’s there forever, but that’s incorrect as I had quite a few bikes on there and cannot find them anywhere, so I was stoked to at least find a couple I had created and thought that I would share with you.

The bike started out as a stock 1978 machine that had seen better days and been neglected for a few decades, this was a good platform to use as I knew the Motor would at least kick over but not fire, so, with that in mind I set about pulling the bike apart and going a little out there with the color, the reasoning for this? Well I loved the old Yellow on the 400 -4 Super Sports ad thought I would go with that color ad it would stand out in the California Sun.

Taking apart in my old garage, where space was not infinite.

The Bike belonged to a Customer and he wanted me to go way out there and make this a head turning machine, if I remember correctly he was a Rocket Scientist, so I had to come up with something that would Blast Off!!!

Everything apart and now its time to see what to do, I started with the frame first, as that needed to be cleaned up then stripped before I could get it ready for any sort of paint.

Happy with this now, I have to media blast the frame to remove old paint and of course any rust etc, file any bad welds and spot weld back to good again, then it will be time to take to Powder coater and get some Sunrise Yellow on this to make a big statement in chassis color.

As you can see, this really is a bold statement- I really wanted this to turn a few heads for my Client and he has let me go ahead with what I ever i feel this machine may need to give it a wow factor, remember, this was about 2006.

Motor stripped and rebuilt with New cam Chains, belt slider and clutch etc, this will be like a New Machine when all back together, but- A long way to go as yet.

Like a Jewel now and ready to go back in the frame when I have completed it to a rolling chassis.

So, the Motor is now all painted and polished and awaits me to lift this 230 pounds of aluminum and throw it into the Duplex Cradle frame of the SOHC, but I still have to get that frame rolling, what I need to do is finish the chassis so its a roller, then I can get this lump back in the place it originally was placed in 1978.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I rebuilt the rear shocks with all new stainless steel hardware as I don’t want this to rust like it had done previously, and will take my time getting this together on my own.

I went another route this time as the 1978 Forks were in really bad shape, so I used a 1976 CB750F front fork set up, polished the lowers and fitted new tubes and completely revamped these with Progressive springs etc, this is a nice set up and very clean compared to what was on there.

Frame is back together, using an old 1976 front wheel to make it a roller as I shall be building new wheels for this bike, I also put pipe insulation on the frame so I don’t scratch the paint when I am fitting the motor.

She is now a rolling chassis, with this I got the bike off the bench and onto the floor then into the driveway, I used a 1976 rear wheel to fit in the back until I have made new rims up, but now is the time to see if I can fit this engine and that’s the last of the heavy lifting.

The Motor is now in, with the help from my trusty cat, I also fitted vintage speed equipment parts on the bike for that added bling, as well as new switches on the Ace bars and GT grips for that Nostalgic look and feel.

Fuel tank was a different matter, this time I wanted to fit an earlier K series fuel tank, so used 2 gas tank and sectioned them as I wanted a 5″ stretch for a long road race style petrol tank of back in the day, took a long time but sure looked great when completed.

It took quite a few weeks to get it right and I had another supersport frame I could use for a mock up so I didnt scratch the paint on the chassis.

Once that was all sorted I had to do the body work right here at home still as I worked in my garage all the time, lucky my neighbors are out all day so can bang, grind and sand with no interruptions at all.

Final fit of the gas tank and i like the stretch, not too much but just enough and an extra 2 gallons capacity is always good right?

 

I do not like 1977-1978 carbs and wanted to fit earlier versions, I only had old snotty ones in boxes that I had picked up at swap meets and yard sales, so a full rebuild was needed to get these to how I wanted them.

All cleaned up and synchronized and looking forward to fitting these to the motor and way easier and faster to tune than the flat tops.

I polished the original wheel hubs and used stainless spokes and attached them to CB750 Automatic rims as they are aluminum, bunged on some classic tread rubber and these look like they were from the factory.

This time I went with my CR style seat base and added a rear fender, fitted a Yoshimura exhaust of mine to give this machine more bark.

The bike is sitting well on those Automatic rims and glad that I made the choice to change to that as I have never like the 4 spoke set up that came on the 77 and 78 models, the Comstars as they were called were tin looking and I think, very weak.

Making parts fit that were not available for this bike always takes time and of course many failures, but I persisted and got the bike to where I wanted it so everything flowed.

I had an original Dunstall front fender that used to be hanging on the wall, I wanted to use it as it was from back home and very fitting it looks to.

I used the old Honda Super Sport gas tank decals from an old 400-4 as thats the color I chose for it and very cool it looks too, the bike was a hoot to ride with tons of low end torque.

It was a learning curve and I enjoyed the challenge on this bike, this was many years ago and I would change a few things now but this was a fun creation that was fun to ride.

You cannot lose sight of this in a parking lot, the color is loud and proud and the Customer loved it, a great stance to the bike too with that big long tank too its just smooth.

It may not be your style but I was super stoked to have a go at changing the sad tired original bike and give it a brand new life as well as a brand new look too.

I just wanted to share a few pics of this bike as I had lost them many moons ago and glad that I could load them up on my website for you to have a look at.

Thanks for taking your time to read my Blog on this Super Sport, of course I still make and sell parts and build Motorcycles, I always will as its a passion still for me.

CB750 Silver Cafe Bike The Silver Manx

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
28 Jun

I have built so many Motorcycles over the years and its hard to keep track as to what I have turned out over these 24 years here in Southern California, but every now and again I will be reminded of a unique machine that I created and today is no different.

I created this machines from a bunch of parts that I had in my garage and I purchased about 15 bikes up in the desert 20 years ago and sored them in my garage, back garden and next doors garden, as the deal came up and I had to jump on it, so always had a few platform frames to use for future creations and this is just one of them that I came across on an old CD that I had discovered in the drawer of an old cupboard.

So, this was a conglomerate of parts ranginging from 1971 to 1976 and I just went ahead and built this as a fun homage to the Isle of man machines that I grew up watching and reading about as a teenager, this was something I wanted to be like my Black bike but a different color and exhaust etc, so with a head full of crazy ideas and a box full of old parts, I began my creation.

I had a New Old stock Paul Dunstall Fuel tank, in fact I did have 4 of them to be honest, I had already used one on my Black machine and I used one for the greenday bike and I wanted to use one on this creation to keep in that guise that had started to become popular a few years later.

I wanted to have this machine in a style very reminiscent of the Nortons of the day, hence me designing the Honda logo in a Norton font, but I was happy how this looked and so glad that I went with that idea, some 20 years later I am still selling that logo design, over 500 of them I have sold in numerous colors.

This bike had a lot of mixed up years parts and I knew this would be a fun machines to ride, it was big and bulky and fitted the Motor well as that inline four powerhouse always looked great hanging out of the frame, this was a Muscle style Motorcycle that would turn heads where ever it stood.

A fun bike to ride and plenty of zip, I did fit a lightened fly wheel to this so the motor would spin over faster and this would really pull hard through the gears as i used a set of old Kerker headers that had been sat in the rafters for a long time and I had picked up at a swap meet in Pomona many moons ago, I mated that to an old Action four megaphone muffler and kicked it up 20 degree’s for a more aggressive look and boy did it growl when you got on it.

This sat well on a set of 18 inch Vintage Borrani rims of which a I had 4 of and wanted to use them up, so re-laced to Honda Hubs and threw on some Bridgestone tires and these filled the chassis out nicely. I rebuilt and painted the Caliper and drilled the front rotor and painted middle and used stainless Hoses to make sure this machine would stop quickly when you needed to.

I also ditched the stock factory footpegs as I had Ace Bars on and wanted my feet further back, and chose some Tarozzi rear sets to give me the leg room that I needed for that leaning forward stance.

I used a Kawasaki H2 Race seat that I actually made a mold from my first one and that was then upholstered in Black Naugahyde and snaps fitted for that vintage look and, I could keep all my documents underneath that.

I also wanted to use some Vintage parts up I had and I had a few sets of Original Koni rear shocks, so cleaned them up and fitted them to the rear to give it that road race look of the day, and also polished and drilled the rear brake cover to dissipate heat and get rid of brake dust, you can see the rear brake stabilizer that I machined out of 6061 and suits the bike well.

A really fun bike that I enjoyed creating, I took some old original 1974 gauges apart and revamped them with new custom faces, painted the needles, re-chromed the lowers and tops.

This was a tall bike and even I was tippy toe and im 5’11 but I liked it that way as you got to respect the bike for what it was, it was not for the faint hearted that’s for sure and gave that late 60’s look even though its a 70’s bike.

Motor Cycle News from back home in the UK sent a journalist over to come and see the bike and test ride it and they did a smashing write up on what I do out here, to me that was so cool as I have read that Newspaper since 1973 and to have made it in there a few times was just a head spinning time for myself.

A professional stunt rider too, he did not hang about on that bike and was quite amazed at the powerband compared to most of the Modern machines he usually rides and was smiling all the time whilst perched high upon the pegs.

It was quite a responsive engine and soon got up to the magic ton with no problems at all and way more there but we kept running out of road lol, we both raced up and down Miraloma road where people like Robbie Gordon would thrash his Nascar rides or Baja trucks by my shop, so only fitting that we gave it some beans here too.

All in all I was super stoked at the way the bike turned out and glad to have found some old photos of it to show on the website.

I have no idea where it is now or who owns it but just another machine in my style that I really loved to create and enjoy, it may not be your cup of tea but you may appreciate the time and effort creating motorcycles just out of parts laying about?

Thanks for reading.

 

 

Have fun on your machine over the weekend.

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
27 Apr

It’s Saturday and the weekend always seems to fly by and then by Monday you then remember what you wanted to do and forgot to do it, Right?  It’s always the case for me, I try and do my own stuff on the weekends and I really enjoy it, plus the weather is getting better and the days longer and that’s a blessing for all us Bike enthusiasts.

I have a bunch of bikes in the Brn, many I picked up locally and slowly I have to try and resurrect them to at least, a running condition, but sometime the order is taller than a Yard of ale and I do have my work cut out and huge challenges become a major headache, broken bolts, seized motors, electrical is falling apart and getting more shorts than a Robot made in China.

And then there are the ones that you grab as nobody wants to even look at having a go to clean all the bird shit off and see if the faithful old inline four will come back to life, you would be amazed at how many do, that’s testament to the Japanese engineering and the sturdiness of these 500 pound classic machines.

Just get out there and enjoy life, these are such a great Platform to create your own style of motorbike and still plenty of the models out there around the globe mostly sitting in some dark corner, waiting to be discovered and you will be amazed when you kick the motor in the guts and she fires up, once that happens its all systems go to try and get her back on the tarmac, then go and get plenty of miles of smiles.

Be it stock to a full custom, I know that you will enjoy creating your very own Motorcycle and there is nothing like slinging your leg over and taking on the curves and straight aways that literally await you.

Have a fun weekend with your Big 4 Machine and if I can help, shoot me a line at carpy@carpyscaferacers.com or drop a dime to me at 714-598-8392 and I will do my best to get you back on the road so you can wheelie away with a smile on your face.

 

Formula 1 Livery CB750 SS Honda Project

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
23 Apr

Well, I have been playing about with the F1 project and have decided to fit the good old Rocket 4 seat assembly and then upholster the seat with traditional style snaps, just to show the times of yesteryear and the old school seat set ups of the day.

I am happy with the way it looks and it feels super comfy.plus your legs do not foul the air induction side scoops of which I really like now and want to try and represent some of the Ferrari’s styling, I still need to get all the body work wrapped but locating a company that knows what I am on about is not easy, my guy I use has flaked so its off to find someone who wants my money.

I will be looking forward to firing this old girl up and taking her for a spin about where I live as it was made for Motorcycles as we have miles of winding roads with off cambered corners and chicanes etc, this will be a blast to ride.

I went with a 17 LED stop tail light to give people lots of warning that this machine is there and again, give an old look with modern internals and this really does suit the bike, I still have to fashion a license plate bracket under it but thats later on.

Starting to look like a Classic Motorbike again and got plenty of hand waves and beeps from people driving by over the weekend, so that’s something positive eh?

I’m getting closer each time I do something and I believe the only hang up will be down to the graphic company, if I can’t find one that can do the job them I will have to paint it and letter it by hand and thats a time consuming job but we shall see.

Just thought I would do a little blog to let you know what I have been doing lately and hope you are enjoying the build????

Scuderia Ferrari F1 styled CB750 Creation

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
08 Apr

I have been a fan of F1 Formula race cars since I was a teenager, regularly watching the races on our 3 channel television, I loved watching these guys in the JPS Renault Lotus and my First Motorcycle that adorned the Motorcycle world was based on Emerson Fittipaldi’s Black and Gold F1.

Now, over half a Century later, not only did I create a fun Cafe bike representing the JPS styling, I am now going to create another F1 livery Motorcycle for my Brother, but this time in the Ferrari F1 colors.  This will not be a replica of that machine but will have the accents of the Italian Stallion beast that runs the circuits today.

I still have a long way to go but as long as I get the look, I shall be more than happy, this has lots of work to be done still like seat set up and some accessories as well as the color scheme but this time I shall not be painting the bodywork as ferrari and all F1 race cars are wrapped, so this will get a new skin and hope I can pull that look off?

I am incorporating Airduct’s into the side covers and will make a custom seat and this time will have removable Pannier bags that hang onto the outside of the machine to give it a wider look from the rear.

The other thing is i like to mix old with New, so I shall have a Satellite GPS speedometer with a digital Tach built inside, set inside an old Vintage Race Car Alloy Cup that was attached to the steering column many years ago and had a Tach inside it.

I am making stuff up as I go along, some I shall keep and some I shall redesign most probably, but want this to be a cool ride that I will personally ride upo where I live as its a winding set of roads with many turns and off cambered switch backs.

This will have a new exhaust system as I hope to make in stainless and am using BSA silencers to give a little British feel and sound to the machine, that’s the cool thing with Custom machines, the sky is the limit and you can change to what ever you feel is to your personal liking.

As you can see, to keep with the Italian feel, I am using Tarozzi rear sets that came directly from Italy and will make this so much more comfortable to ride and change gear quickly.

Still a long way yo go right now but its taking shape and quite excited at the form that she is making right this minute and wanted to share with you guys and gals, I shall keep you updated on this creation and hopefully not too far away I shall be cranking gears in my area and grinning from ear to ear.  Stay tuned……………………..

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