Mecum Auctions in Las Vegas, the prices were Crazy for Motorcycles this year.
29
Jan
Tag Archives: cb450
Sunday and plenty to do in the Garage
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.
David Silver spares Museum
01
Mar
I have known of this chap for over 40 Years, 4 bloody decades, man that time has flown by, David Silver used to work in a little garage and has built that up to a great business and now, has a superb museum that show cases all the Honda’s.
Not too far from the old Nuclear power station in Sizewell if I remember? In a little place called Leiston, some things dont change and thats great.
We lived about 40 miles from here as we were in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. And I am so glad he has opened a Museum and one of these days I shall visit it as well as see some of my School days pals and catch up.
He now has a superb set up and if you are on the East side on the wet lands, then you must go and take a look at the museum, tell him I said hello.
RUSS COLLINS, A legend with CB750’s PASSES AWAY!
So sad to hear the news of my hero Russ Collins passing away, I was gobsmacked when I heard ten minutes ago, this guy was an icon of mine and many around the world, he may be gone but NEVER forgotten. RIP Russ!
If you are into CB750 Honda’s, then you would of heard of Russ Collins.
Russ Collins
Russ Collins was one of the leading motorcycle drag racers and drag bike builders of the 1960s and ‘70s.
He was a hero of mine and got to see that bike run over in the UK, and now there is a documentary about him and of course the Sorcerer triple engined CB750 SOHC Drag bike, that is now going to be restored.
Born in New Jersey 1939, he was into anything mechanical and his interest in cars lead him to be an accomplished car mechanic and a body man, he later get into trucking business and drove around the country. He fell in love with California and moved there.
He became a shop manager and a mechanic in motorcycle dealerships. While there, Honda unveiled the revolutionary CB750 Four and he got one to play with.
Collins built a four-into-one exhaust system that a lot of Honda owners wanted, so in 1970 he quit his job at the motorcycle dealership and opened RC Engineering, which later became a leading maker of racing fuel-injection systems for Japanese-made sports cars.
What I like about him most is that he was radical in the drag racing scene; he was racing the new Japanese machines while everyone was on the normal British or American-made drag bike of the time. Collins also showed up in sporting colorful red, white and blue leathers when everyone was in all black leather suits.
He built “Assassin”, a fuel injected, supercharged 400hp CB750 and kicked ass in smaller class. so decided to compete in Top Fuel and had some success. But the biggest problem he faced in Top Fuel was a huge displacement disadvantage compared to the big Harley-Davidsons and Triumphs.
He decided to put 3 CB750 engines together. The machine, he named “Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe “– named in honor of the famous railroad line of the late 1800s. The three-engine Honda was featured in bunch of motorcycle and drag racing publications and was probably the most famous drag bike of the 1970s. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe set numerous records and Collins rode it to the first seven-second quarter-mile turned on a motorcycle in Ontario, California, in 1973. It even became the first motorcycle to win NHRA’s coveted “Best Engineered Car” award at the Springnationals in 1973
Check out this awesome page below.
![[ho40.jpg]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TaWn3qQlT3w/S2q3FKUG2XI/AAAAAAAAAx0/22ENTUawMU4/s1600/ho40.jpg)
The bike was so powerful and heavy that it proved to be very hard to control and in 1976 the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe was destroyed in a horrendous accident in Akron, Ohio. The crash nearly killed Collins and put him in the hospital. He must have realized how ridiculous the bike was, so petitioned for banning 3 engine drag racers. But as a true grease monkey, while recuperating, he dreamed up V8 engine out of four cylinder Honda motors.
![[ho46.jpg]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TaWn3qQlT3w/S2q2wcmvbgI/AAAAAAAAAxk/KoxNPbGFHac/s1600/ho46.jpg)
The bike he named “the Sorcerer” featured dual Honda 1,000cc engines. This bike won a second “Best Engineered” award for RC Engineering and proved to be the fastest motorcycle ever built by the company. Collins ran a record-setting 7.30 second/199.55 mph run on the Sorcerer. That record stood for an astonishing 11 years. Collin still lives in LA area and runs the RC engineering and was inducted in AMA Motorcycle of Hall of fame in 1999.
Russ Collins built the ‘Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe’ drag bike with 3 nitromethane-powered CB750 engines in 1973. It nearly killed him three years later.
I have never met Russ Collins but seeing as he is not too far from me, I am going to phone him and ask if I can at least say hello.
My Front Brake Is Stuck On, what do I do?
My front brake is stuck on and I cant move the bike.
OK, this happens a lot, the longer the bike has been left unattended in storage, the more the chance that the brake fluid has gone all goopy and gelled up.
Now to free the thing temporarily, you whack the caliper body with a Rubber mallet, this will shock the piston back a bit.
Bleed the brake until fluid comes out of the bleed nipple, you know, on, off, on, off etc.
Once clear is coming out, try the brake, if it still stick, then I usually take the back of the caliper off and then with the nipple locked tight, I simply press the brake lever until the pad and piston pops out.
Keep checking fluid levels in the master cylinder though.
There is 2 ton of pressure there and this will push the piston out, make sure you have some rags over it as it can POP under pressure and get brake fluid all over the joint, and paint does not like brake fluid at all.
I then take the caliper off, remove the piston and “O” ring and I then clean it all out with lacquer thinner.
I use a Dremel Rubber wheel and hone the bore of the caliper out to get any tiny corrosion marks out and then I clean the recess out for the “O”ring.
If the piston is pitted I usually make new ones on the lathe from stainless, that way it will never rust or corrode in the body again, its the rust pitts that catch the wall or the seal and stop it from sliding back into the caliper body.
Then – I simply fit a new ring and clean the piston up and put her all back together, re-bled and there you go, a functioning brake once again. Taa Daaaar! –
We sell a Brand New Piston though that is machined out of Stainless steel and this will fix the issue that you are having from your old piston.
Grab a spare, just in case your old one does take a bit of a crap and the pads are sticking.
Always plenty to do at the shop.
Wow! Almost Thanksgiving already- where does the time go I ask ya?
But I now have a New Helper- “Bailey Onassis Carpenter ” is now on the payroll, she is my security system and next year will be up to about 50 pounds of charm!
Just wanted to show all you out there that I have a great new addition to the family and boy am I happy.
She loves to sleep right now but I feel like this shop has a home feeling now and everyone digs Bailey when they see her.
Things here at the shop are as busy as ever, and we are going to be bringing out a few more other things, like more parts and more apparel too.
I have plenty to do and it is always great when I come up with another part or design.
We will be having all sorts of tee shirts, so keep checking back on designs, as you may well know, I am a mad Hot Rodder too and I drew the shirt above.
Below is one of our many lamps we are making at the shop and makes a great present.
I want to add more tee shirts and more things like exhausts etc for all models, like cb350,cb400 and I have a 4 into 2 set coming out for the SOHC next month .
So keep staying tuned to this website and we promise to offer more and more to you out there.
The exhausts are going well and getting great reviews with the owners, available in Raw steel, Black or stainless steel now.
MECHANICAL LAMP FOR SALE $249.00
Well here at C.C.R. we try and do all sorts of things and this time I wanted to show you a cool lamp we just made.
This is perfect for the Gear head in your family and am sure that they would like it in their garage, workshop or office.
I used my CB750 parts and a couple of Hot Rod parts to make this cool set up. and over 18 inches high this is a really cool look and is functional as well.
Good luck knocking it over as it weighs in at a nice and solid 30 pounds.
All made here at the shop I wanted to have that steam punk look and show that we are into mechanical things, the parts you will see are from the good Old CB750 HONDA and have used the Brake Rotor, The Clutch and basket,the gear tumbler, the gearbox and the front wheel spool, to turn this into a head turning Table lamp.
This has 2 lamps and a cord with a switch, so all you have to do is find somewhere to sit the thing, plug it in and there you go, a great shop lamp.
Have a look and see what you think, as this is a great set up and I know you will like it, plus its hand made and everything is what is in the shop.
Of course we can ship anywhere around the globe too. Thanks for looking.
PRICE $249.00 714-996-4597