THE SPEEDMASTER I BUILT NOW LIVES IN AUSTRALIA

 

 OK, here we go with a Cafe bike that I created a little while ago here in Anaheim California, this CB750 HONDA was just a Rusty Hulk of a bike and needed some love, I was not sure what to do on this build but thought what would be cool is think of a name that I remember from back home in the UK when i was a Teenager and Cafe racers as well as many other Motorcycles were doing on the tracks and on the roads etc.

Now Speedmaster was a Tire brand that was synonymous with col bikes back in the day, be it Cafe racers or trials Bikes, so I thought that I would base this machine on them said tires and build the bike around that title, so, here is the build up of this bike that now resides in Australia and is on the tarmac there right now bombing about the curves of Melbourne, Victoria.

 

 

 I took the old rusty machine apart to see what I had, and what I did have was a bunch of corroded and rusty parts, so it was time to strip this right down to the skeleton.

 This bike took some time to dial it in, as I was always trying different set ups, this set up here was pretty much how I wanted it but I thought that I could use the Original Dunstall exhausts on another machine.

 

 The Motor was gone through and she seemed pretty good, the build up didn’t really take that long but I kept trying different parts to see how she would ride.

 

 I did a double drilled disc set up on this bike, using a few parts that I had in the garage and it seemed to work out good, but took some time to get the rotor just right.

 I went ahead and had a drilled Dresda style swing arm of mine fully chromed, as i think it would set the motor off well and I wanted to have a drilled swing arm to match the front Rotors.

 Obviously the Ace bars were a must and I think that I got the height of this machine to a good stance and was happy with it.

 

 

 Took some time to get good calipers and then strip all the old Black anodizing off them and then put the kit all together as the trick on these set ups is to get the off set bang on, else they would drag all the time.

 

 

 Original Dunstall headers here that I had in the original packaging, as i wanted to know how these fit and sound and boy did they look great.

 Looking at the rear tire you will notice that it is of course a Speedmaster which is from back home and Avon was a huge name in tires and racing when I was a teenager.

 The Chrome swing arm has Bronze bushes and I had a set of early Race shocks that I wanted to try on this puppy and i think I got the look I was searching for.

 I used a Harley rear wheel and laced it to a CB750K hub with new bearings and stainless spokes etc, I also make sure in New chains and sprockets too.

 You may notice that my signature sprocket cover gets the drilling and polishing look.

 

 

 I had a set of 29mm smooth bores that i wanted to try on this 836 engine and it ran pretty well, but can be a bare to set up sometimes.

 OK, here is the money-shot- as I love the way the rear end looks on this bike, should of made a poster of it.

 Of course, I went to town on the rear brake drum with new shoes and fittings this bike was like a new machine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Original finned speed parts I used as I had stored that stuff for some time for this bike and glad I managed to use it all on the bike.

 Original Beeston grips I have had for donkeys years ftted well and I wanted to start to detail the top end out, so I polished the master cylinder to a chrome finish.

 Nothing is better than polished aluminum or chrome, its just a fresh and clean look I believe.

 

 Oh yes, did I mention I polished the whole engine, not many people were doing this the and this took a long time.

 

 Plenty of lines to look at and I still was not sure if I was 100% into the overall look.

 

 Polished stainless steel Allen head bolts through out the bike, gave it some more detail and this sure was beginning to look sharp.

 I hand hammered and smooth the tank and then took the tank to a Radiator shop just to make sure it is all sealed and then had a coating laid inside and then pressure tested.

 A New Gas cap as well as a New Locking mechanism was needed for the freshly painted gas tank and sets it off nicely.

 I have lost count to how many of these I have polished in my back garden over the years but they sure look great when they are all buffed up.

 The switches had faded from the stock black to a dreary grey, so I had to polish these to look the best that they can, as originals are not cheap.

 The more I look at these photos, the more I sit back and say to myself, why did I sell this.

 Fun set of carbs once they were dialed in but a bear to get one of the throttle cables right but I sorted it out in the end.

 

 One of my New machined finned engine mounts set the right side of the motor off.

 

 The megaphones were a must and this did look reminiscent of the days gone by in London when speed to do the Ton was a must.

 I hand cut an alloy plate and drilled holes etc and made this rear engine mount, this was the first one I had made until I then got orders for them.

 

 I know, I know- Swiss Cheese, but I do get carried away but enjoy just making any pattern up and drilling by hand, takes some time and boy does it make a mess.

 

 Rebuilt front forks and the good old TRI-BAR headlight makes this stand out at the front end of the bike, as well as Alloy turn signals which are a must in California.

 New fork boots too that I bought from HONDA as I like gators, they kind of add Nostalgia.

 

 

 

 New cables of course are a must with any build as you want a smooth throttle when you take your bike out for the first time.

 I fitted a New horn and brackets to make sure that people know you are coming if for some reason you got to get on the loud button.

 

Original Cycle west Finned Points cover sets the scene for this Cafe Racer.

 

 Sat on the table at the shop for electrical and little bits and bobs.

 This time I went ahead and took the old megaphones off and fitted one of my performance 4 into 1 systems on and ceramic coated it Black.

 

 I changed the carbs as it was running a little rich for the 4 into 1 and it ran great, I added some old 1974 Velocity stacks that I had for years and like the look.

 

 

 Just chilling as now I have just sold this to a bloke in Australia and he too is English, so nice to have someone have this machine and enjoy it.

This was the last shot of the bike in the shop before we shipped it to Melbourne in Australia.

 

 

Well, here are some shots of the Speedmaster on the other side of the world in Australia and the Owner loves it, as he should. 

This is a great looking motorcycle that has gone through some guises but the bike looks tough and sounds even more.

Hope you enjoyed the pages about this Cafe Racer and it is still hard to comprehend that this is now on the otherside of the globe.

I am sure he will be bombing about the place and hitting them corners as hard as anyone here would be thats for certain.

Maybe one day when I get back out there, I will get the chance to sling my leg back over the machine and go for a burn up?

 

 

So, the Speedmaster has a New life in a new Country and I am glad its being used.

Another build, The WILD CAT !

 

 

 

Here we are with a small build for a chap that is out there in Arizona, he is the CEO of the Phoenix Zoo and dropped this old chopper down to see if I could try and make a Cafe Racer for him.

I wanted to try and come up with a name for the bike and he actually came up with Wild cat and I thinks thats going to be a fare representation of this little caged animal and will soon be tearing up the tarmac in that part of AZ.

Sure, as I know this could be turned into something fun yet classic and in not too much of a time, although, there is more than meets the eye here, as he bought this bike like it is and it has not run in god knows how many moons, but- we enjoy a challenge here and a challenge we shall have.

The bike looks great from 20 feet away but the closer you get you will see that all the chrome has pitted and the wiring is rotting away, the bike has no seat and has Shorty rear shocks with 10 inch over front forks, a poor mans chopper back in the day but Bert wants this as a Cafe Racer, so here goes…..

 

The bike is pretty much all there, just wrong proportions and some need of cleaning or replacing parts that have seen better days, and being that this is from a hot part of the country, there will be plenty dried out that’s for certain.

So the transformation begins and we are on our way to making somebody happy with their new machine very shortly.

I am now taking this apart to see what we have to deal with and then I can start to change the look of this bike and share it with you lot on here, as many of you ask about what we do here and you can see how this turns out.

The rear wheel is coming out and am going to have original Borranis and powder coat them Red, then polish the hubs and re-lace and then new tires, but also I am fitting new chain and sprockets.

The front forks are 10 inch longer than stock, more than enough to give you a nose bleed at that altitude, so they got to come off and I shall fit some stock forks but lower the front end an inch into the triple tree’s.

The Red is striking when you have a darker color against it, and this really will be a head turner that’s for sure.

But first I need to get the rims built and fitted right, and I drilled the rear brake hub with my Signature racing look and she came out great.

The front wheel gets a good treatment of new stainless spokes and polished hubs with the Spitfire tires to have the classic tread pattern for this machine.

The forks have now been lowered and this is bang on at the front, but- the rear shocks are too short, so will fit longer ones as I get a long with this Cafe Racer Machine. Also the front Rotor was removed and cleaned up then polished just to make everything look more uniform.

The bike came here with no seat at all, and lucky for me, I had an original old seat base , so I took the old foam off it, powder coated the seat base to a high gloss black, then new foam and re-upholstered with Diamond stitching and it looks great now and functions very well indeed.

 The tank was up next and I would give it the good old knee insert treatment and then figure I would have Black and Red checkers to match the rims on this machine.

 Wildcat was hand lettered with an air brush and this looks pretty cool now that it has the clear coating on the body work as all the detail stands out.

The rest of the body work got the same treatment and then it was the careful task of fitting this stuff to the machine and not damaging the paint.

This has turned out pretty darn cool, I got Dakota to Bob the front fender to give it a more aggressive look and then after some rewiring f the old harness, everything seems to function well.

 

Just some buffing and polishing and this will be as much as needs doing to the bike, but had to do a lot of electrical it was a nightmare.

 

 

 

 

 

This then had New chrome Diamond turn signals wired and tested and also we bobbed the rear fender and fitted out Beeza light and all works well.

OK, I thought as its a Saturday Morning I would take a few more photos of the WILD CAT and then you can have an overall look at this beast for your own eyes to savor and hopefully you will like the way the bike has turned out?

The tank turned out well and I like the look of the whole bike as this is my signature styled machine and it sits very well.

The bike has all new tires and the rims were Aluminum Borrani’s but thought I would powder coat them red and they are a good combination and offsets the bike well.

The bike has new rear shocks and are 14.5 center to center, that way it gives the rear end that higher stance, bit like a sprinter on the starting blocks.

The gas tank has been hammered and painted and the inside sealed, it also has brand new Genuine HONDA Chrome gas cap and lock, and a brand New genuine HONDA Petcock too.

This bike has many new parts on it and I am sure the owner will be over the moon as he opens up the computer and see’s his bike on the blog.

I thought I would put a few more photos on here as many of you email me to ask how certain parts look, and this is the best way of showing them to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This has been a fun creation and I look forward to photo of it when the owner takes it back to Arizona and has them great background area’s to show the state he is in.

CAFE RACER EXHAUST FOR 1979-1983 D.O.H.C. HONDA

Well, people ask me about the exhausts and I am awaiting photo’s from customers as they build their creations.

 

Here is a cool ride that Steve Burrell built and is on the road, tearing it up, and having fun with his machine.

Steve lives up near Boulder Colorado and has purchased many many parts from us for his machine and he is bloody happy to be able to get cool stuff like this and now enjoys getting out on the twisties and having fun.

As you will notice above, you can actually use the main stand on your bike with this particular Exhaust system.

This is a great sounding system and easy to fit, as you will see in the photo, the system hugs the frame really well.

I sell these in RAW steel, but as you can see, this one is ceramic coated, but that is quite expensive down here of which I CAN get coated for you but $180 extra, so sometimes its cheaper to go to your local coating company.

 

 

 

 

Many people have bought these and we ship all around the world.

You can coat these, chrome them, powder coat them or wrap them, they look cool which ever way.

 

I do not weld a bracket on these as they sit pretty tight, but, you can mount to your old rear foot peg bracket and thats easy to do as the system is raw steel and easy to weld, most people will add a small bracket here.

Just have a look and see what you think, a really cool set up and, affordable too.

This does come with a Removable BAFFLE that is retained with a set Allen head bolt underneath the exhaust at the rear.

 

I am sure you will enjoy this set up and the sound just rocks.