One of my Old favourite Movies

One of my all time best movies for Motorcycles was of course Mad max but, in the same time and using many of the same bikes this movie came out, I loved it in 1974 and still do today.  New Kawasaki’s were a sight to be seen in this movie.

Never as far as I know, has there been a better start to a Motorcycle Movie than Stone, I loved it and was hooked as a teenager as soon as I saw the start, what a superb scene to begin a movie involving Motorcycles.

 

Stone is a 1974 Australian outlaw biker film written, directed and produced by Sandy Harbutt. It is a low budget film by company Hedon Productions.

Police officer Stone goes undercover with the Gravediggers outlaw motorcycle gang, to find out who is murdering their members, one by one.

The film stars Ken Shorter and features Rebecca GillingBill Hunter and Helen Morse. The film’s soundtrack was composed by Billy Green and featured some members of his group Sanctuary. Motorcycles featured include the legendary Kawasaki Z1(900). Stone initially rides a Norton.

The promotional trailer video features narration by radio and media personality John Laws. The film was featured in the documentary, Not Quite Hollywood, in which Quentin Tarantino enthuses about his admiration for the film.

Australian stuntman Peter Armstrong set a then-world record for riding a motorcycle off an 80-foot cliff to fall headfirst into the sea.

 

When several members of the GraveDiggers outlaw motorcycle club are murdered, Sydney detective Stone (Ken Shorter) is sent to investigate. Led by the Undertaker (Sandy Harbutt), a Vietnam war veteran, the GraveDiggers allow Stone to pose as a gang member. Leaving behind society girlfriend Amanda (Helen Morse), Stone begins to identify with the Undertaker and his comrades Hooks (Roger Ward), Toad (Hugh Keays-Byrne), Dr Death (Vincent Gil), Captain Midnight (Bindi Williams), Septic (Dewey Hungerford) and Vanessa (Rebecca Gilling), the Undertaker’s girlfriend. Amid violent confrontations with the Black Hawks, a rival gang the GraveDiggers hold responsible, Stone uncovers a political conspiracy behind the killings. When the truth is revealed, Stone must choose between his job and his loyalty to the GraveDiggers.

Sandy Harbutt got the idea in 1970 when he wrote a script for an episode of the TV police series The Long Arm in which he was appearing.[1]

Filmink magazine said “The biker movie was the modern day Western of choice in the 1960s” but argued this was one of the few Australian films to “embrace it as a story option.”[2]

The Australian Film Development Corporation invested $154,000 in the film. The remainder of the budget and most of the technical facilities were provided by Ross Wood Productions in Sydney. The movie was shot in late 1973.[1]

The Hells Angels club (Sydney) provided assistance during production.

 

Also I lived where they filmed it for a few years and used to ride the highway every day where the Funeral procession was filmed and always used to chuckle when I got to that bit of road, what a sight that must of been, and loved the Coffin on the side car and you can sense Mad Max was in the background too.

Maybe you can take some time to watch it, super bad acting and Music but a real classic none the less.

 

So, here it is, the Whole Movie.

The Dispatch Cafe Machine 1975 CB750 F Super Sport S.O.H.C.

Been a while since I have tinkered in the Barn, I am starting to do a bit of creating on a machine I have had as a stock bike and sat in storage for many moons, and I thought to myself, why not create something that I personally rode back in the day and in the style of what was the latest Motorcycle hitting the TON back in London.

I have loved bikes as a kid and my bedroom was literally covered from walls to ceiling in motorcycle posters, of course I loved the Cafe Racer scene and had many Dunstall style bikes on my wall, but wanted to have something similar when I was old enough to ride.  I actually put Clubman bars on my first ever little moped as a crazy 16 year old, I had a Bikini Fairing on the front and a little expansion on that ride, I loved it.

I was a Dispatch rider in London and Birmingham, delivering stuff all over the UK but many trips around the City of London to iconic places like Buckingham Palace , The House of Lords, Newspaper and Magazine Companies, to dodgy Porn Video tape sellers in SOHO, but I loved it.  In London especially, you needed to be able to carry as much as you could for the better wage, but you also needed to be a streamlines as possible to speed through the busy roads of London.

The Creation I am putting together reflect my life, so not a quick build, this is something I will take my time on and weather you like it or not, it will be something that is really a part of me and my life on two wheels. It will take some sorting out to fit the Original Avon fairing that was indeed on a Dispatch bike in London, I have had it years its beaten up and half missing but that’s perfect as we never had any money for lavish New parts, we bought stuff out of a paper called the “Exchange & Mart” then fitted it and never really had time or cash to fully paint it, so this will be great for the ride and I hope I can fit this to the machine to work just like it did when I was a lot younger. LOL!

 

I used to spend many an hour looking through that rag as it was only 15p and I am sure people back home in Blighty reading this will also remember doing the same, no internet then ha ha.

I am happy that I can do this and reflect on the years that have seemed to have flown by, no idea where the 140 pound Skinny Fella went to but I can always reminisce with this build, the bike was super heavy but strong as an Ox, I hope to get the bike completed sometime this year and will show it as a feature on the website.

I may go with a different seat of mine, I have already tried 5 different seats and still not happy, but thats half the fun of designing something and when I get it right, I shall feel a whole lot happier.

You used to see so many of this style when I was riding around Oxford or regent Street, on a busy Tuesday morning, having a fairing and side Panniers gave me so much more loading space, some days I would even fit a back rack and a top box, but that did get a little over laden at times.

I think I have a screen for it but can get one from a company here or in the UK, so no worries on that, but a long way to go as I have to allow for the steering to move smoothly and not catch anything mid turn.

Of course I shall have a headlight in the fairing, an old style one too and the obligatory Fog lights as well, fun times ahead and thought that i would share.

 

 

 

 

A CB500 Honda with a Tough Attitude

I sometimes have to kick myself to remind me that I have created all these Custom Motorcycles sometimes, its amazing that I still have a fluid creativity when it comes to two wheeled powered machines and the next bike i want to show you is a great stealthy bike that I sometimes wish I had kept.

I dont have the best pics of this machine as I had a shitty camera, but at least I got some pics that you can make out what I did to this old 1972 CB500 Machine. It needed a lot of work and was a non runner and missing a lot of parts but I was sure I could build something fun and affordable with what I had as spare bits and bobs scattered around the garage.

The old girl needed some help and I used what I could with parts I had around my garage, this was many years ago now and I had a few 750 parts in the rafters, so thought I may as well use some of them and see how this goes, but nothing ventured, nothing gained is my saying and it was fun to piece this little 4 banger back together, of course in bigger clothes than it had stock, but thats what I liked about this challenge.

The Motor kicked over, so I cleaned up the carbs and she ran quite well, so I thought that I may as well have some fun on a budget and see what I can create in a short amount of time. The engine was really responsive to be honest and as I had a 48 Tooth CB750 sprocket on the back, I knew she would boogie along as soon as the flag dropped.

I had an old beaten up 1982 CB750F Gas tank that had seen better days, so I cut out the flap and gas tank lock and welded it closed, drilled a 2 inch hole and fitted a Monza Style Aluminum Gas cap and then set about and hand hammered the tank for that old Manx look, I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome of this big old tank.

I Polished the forks and rebuilt the internals, then laced some 750 rims up and drilled the front brake rotor as well as rebuilding and polishing the front brake caliper too.

Braided hoses on the brake made sure this puppy would stop when you grabbed a handful of Anchor, I pressed out the Curved license plate as I wanted the old school British look.

Like I said, a mish mash of parts but cost nothing to put together to be honest and this was almost 20 years ago now too, time sure does fly when you are having some fun with Motorcycle parts.

I used a Harley 16 New rim for the rear and Shod both rims with Bridgestone tires as I like the handling of those boots. The rear seat tail piece is off an old Kawazaki Z1 race bike.

I used the stock shocks and swing arm to save some money and had an old Mac system that I never used and was sat up in the rafters, so I threw that on and it sounded ok with a shortened baffle and rejetted Carbs.

The clubman handle bars and the long tank, gave for a fun lay down cafe feel to it and was a blast to ride, it had a taller rear sprocket, so it got out of the gate real quick.

Even all them years ago, I was using Oil pressure gauges as its a quick way to make sure your heart beat is pumping in the motor, had to make an extension pipe to be able to connect under finned cover.

She sits nice and high for a 500 and boy was it snappy off the line, the first three gears and you were almost at 80 mph, what a fun machine to blap about town on.

Hazy pic but glad I still had some images left of this old 500 Honda and hope you like it too?

I sold it to a guy in Pasadena who then phones me to say a car ran over it and dragged down the road for a few blocks, it no longer exists, big shame as it was a great little Bar hopper Cafe Machine.

 

 

Corona Diaries- The year of the Mask

Well, here we are, the weekend is almost upon us, things are still bad when it comes to Covid-19, this is a crazy time for us all, but- We have to live life and try and work the best that we can with what we have these days, and I hear from many Customers of their way to get through some of the lockdown and boredom, by working on their own projects in their Garage, barn, Shed or back yard.

I must admit, working with a mask on is hard, but lucky for me, I dont have people coming to my workshop to ask about parts, most will call, text or email about the issues they have with their ride.

I sure hope we find an antidote for this as I do miss riding with people and having a chinwag in person about pretty much anything two wheel related these days, but I shall continue to write a few blogs as I go along in life and share what I get up to in the garage.

I receive many orders in the day time and night, I think people sometimes believe that I work 24-7, and if I could, then I would, but I need my rest too, but, I do try my best at getting your parts to you as fast as I can but- due to this Virus, many places that I use are either closed or part time, so that holds me up in ceramic coating or steel supply etc.

So, if you can bare with me until this gets a little more manageable, I will en-devour to get your parts out of the door in a somewhat timely manner.

Be safe out there and hopefully we can get this Virus beat and all go riding like we love to, so- stay safe, stay positive and stay in the garage Wrenching.

Thank you so much for supporting me in this tough times we are experiencing in life.

Peace and Grease

Carpy