Tag Archives: custom

Finally had the website cleaned out, too many software issues.

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
09 Dec

 

Wow, what a crazy time I have just had the last 4 days, the website needed a lot of maintenance and my guy had quite the task of getting it back up to speed, Shipping manager was causing problems so forgive me if you had a tough time ordering the last few days but, we are now back up to speed.

So, with Christmas Season in full bore, I have had many orders to fill and get off in the post, I have managed to keep up as my Webmaster who built the site has really jumped in the deep end for me to get the bugs squashed and I’m back up to speed, but a few more updates to do and can get things going faster in the New year.

Just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you for all the phone calls, emails and texts about parts and how I can help with your Motorcycle etc., I love what I do and thank you all for supporting me, you can email me anytime at carpy@carpyscaferacers.com or Text me on 714-598-8392 and I will always reply.

 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
24 Nov

Well, its that time of the year already, I will not be working at all in the Barn, its nice to celebrate Turkey day and I will make sure I shall to its fullest. Burp!

Hope you are celebrating too if you are in America that is, and so tomorrow, work will be flat out as the festive season will then be upon us.

Just wanted to take this time to wish you all a Very Happy Thanksgiving and than you all for your orders, I love my job and what I do, this Thanksgiving I sit, eat and feel thankful for all that this wonderful country lets me be a part of.

 

Rebuilding Old Set of CB750K forks 1974 HONDA

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
22 Nov

For many years I have rebuilt my own forks, and the transformation is so abundant, I wanted to share what I do in the Barn with you lot and maybe you can have a go at resurrecting your own set?

These tired front forks came off a 1974 CB750 K and Customer wanted Rebuilt and Polished suspension, so this is what I did to these old girls you see here.

The Lowers needed to be stripped apart and then sanded and cleaned then I will polish them to a Chrome finish for that Custom look, lucky Honda cast these quite thick so plenty of meat to polish by hand.

The upper tubes are toast, this is a common issue with the forks as originally Honda fitted fork covers and the  condensation in different heat simply left water droplets sit here and slowly rust the chrome away and into the tubing, you would not notice at all until you took the fork ears off the bike.

I have taken these apart and bought replacement Chrome tubes, then I sanded and buffed the lowers to a mirror finish, I covered in cling wrap to keep clean whilst I assemble these so as to not scratch the surface.

I slid the dampner into the fork tube and then inserted the upper tube into the lower stanchion, this is secure by a Bolt with a Copper washer right under the fork leg, secured with allen wrench and began the rest of the rebuild of these forks.

I have fitted so many of these Fork seals over the years and people always ask me, which way up do you fit these, I tell everybody that when you fit Honda seals, the ID Numbers should be facing you when you look at the seal seated in the fork lower.

Also, many people ask me how I fit my seals into forks, I have seen people use scary tools or hit with a screw driver, usually ending up tearing or making a hole in the seal, so what I have always used is a piece of PVC that I bought 20 years ago from Home Depot, this is the perfect size to insert oil seals .

I simply slide the PVC tubing down the fork leg until it sits on the seal, it fits perfectly and will not bind up as this makes sure that it is level when you tap the seal into the fork leg.

Personally, I use a Rubber Mallet and tap the tubing until I feel the seal bottom out on the inner shelf the fork has and then I know she is all the way home as you will feel the resistance right away and you can see the recess in the fork where the snap ring goes.

Some Honda’s have these snap rings, or as we call them in England ( Circlip ). But some early models had a spring clamp, but this is a snap ring that sits in the bottom of the cup of lower fork and secures the seal into the stanchion.

I use a set of Circlip Pliers but long nose pliers will do as you need to squeeze these together to slip into fork lower then release to lock seal in place.

I then slide the New Dust cap that I sell many off from the website, over the tube and down to the lower, it simply pushes on and sits tightly over the end of the fork and dresses it well.

 

There you go, nice and snug over the lower fork and easy to fit to be honest, and this job can be done pretty much by anyone with minimal tools.

I used New Stainless Lock Washers and Stainless Flange nuts for the bottom cups to finish them off nicely and its ready for Fork oil which is 5 ounces, I use Automatic Transmission fluid, always have and I throw in a couple of stainless washers on top of the spring to set the preload that I like.

And there you go, ready for the customer to fit back onto his Motorcycle and have fun on the tarmac, just thought I would do a little blog on what I do from time to time as many ask me for tips etc, thanks for watching.

The transformation is so cool to see, I often stop and look at what I have accomplished and you will do the same thing for sure.

So have a go at your ones, you may surprise yourself and save some money at the end of the day too.

Any info you may need about anything bike related, email me on carpy@carpyscaferacers.com or text me on 714-598-8392 I am here to help.

 

 

Thanksgiving Special on Exhausts, $100 OFF

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
21 Nov

Well, to celebrate Thanksgiving I thought that I would help you all out by reducing the Exhaust Price by $100. how cool is that?

Thank you all for supporting me, I value each and every one of you, these exhausts Perform and sound bloody awesome, making these over 20 years now and ship all around the globe.

 

Working on Projects in the Barn

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
14 Nov

Time does not stand still and I now have all sorts of work to do but glad that I still get many emails, Phone Calls and of course texts, asking about builds, parts, service or idea’s etc, I love what I do and even though I really have had not had the time to build cabinets and work benches , I have enough to get by and get a few projects sorted out.

A lot to do and still get some what organized in the Barn, I will move my Model A Roadster out and start to get myself in work mode as quite a few things I have to do in here and its sure nice after 22 years doing this, I am still popular with the Public all across the globe.

You may remember The Red Devil I created about 2006, it got in a wreck when we were out riding about 13 years ago, and now it is time to fully rebuild this Old Caff Machine that has done many miles over the years and to resurrect this to a Tarmac eating two wheeled Monster will be a challenge but I am up for it.

This will be a frame off build and will be taking the old girl completely apart and will remove the paint from the frame and powder coat a Gloss Black, but keep the rims RED as its a great offset for this bike and nobody was really doing it when I did this back in the day.  I’m keep the tank but need to repair it as it has some damage from the crash, there must of been 100 Yards of Oil on the road when she slid on her left side when a Pick Up truck slammed into it on a off ramp from the freeway right in front of me.  Poor lad had a bad leg for a long time but now, years later, he is looking forward to a revamped Red Devil Motorcycle.

But I am looking forward to turning a few wrenches and creating some unique rides, the RED Devil will take some time But I have the Super Sport to finish next and then once I am happy with that, I shall offer it up for sale.

The Milwaukie Special will get a Full RED and White Paint job and will be quite the head turner, with great 4 into 2 exhausts and a fully rebuilt motor, this will scoot along quite happily, anywhere around the USA, as its had tons of work done, from the painted frame to the hand drilled rotors, this is quite a work of art that I really enjoyed creating.

All sorts of motorcycles in the shop now and of course the Mint 550 Supersport is always a lovely sight for sore eyes, as well as the 883 Sportster I am building too that will eventually buzz around here on the twisting roads that we are lucky to have we we live.

A Lot of 750 Bikes too in the stable with more to come, I hope to be creating a few cool rides and then offer them up for sale, I love building Motorcycles and am quite happy when I get to use my creative juices and try and build something interesting.

It will be a busy year here at the workshop and looking forward to building these and making some interesting inline four Custom bikes for people to really have fun with.

This old Girl is an old Drag bike that was built in the mid 1970’s, but may be transplanting it into the RED Devil if the Mill is OK as have no idea if she will run, but this is no ordinary engine, this is a RC COBRA Engine, with extended Cam towers and an RC Engineering Exhaust, along with an ARD Magneto and a set of smooth Bore Mikunis.  So before I get too crazy in stripping this old bike, I will need to get her going, this is a long term build but I hope I can get her to run again.

 

The WILDCAT CB750 HONDA FOUR

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
08 Nov

You would seem it strange to have forgotten about a Motorcycle I had built for a Customer, but as I have created so many machines over the years, I guess I do get a bit of a Brain Block sometimes, it was not until I was flicking through some photos that I noticed this CB750K Model Honda Four  Motorcycle that I did my surgery on and turned it into what he wanted, a real Wildcat.

It was a Shiny Chopper-ish style machine that my Client had owned for a long time, but wanted a change and Loved the Cafe Style Bikes that were hitting the tarmac around where he lived, so my job was to transform this cruiser into something more Racer Looking.

The Rims were stock but I wanted to add a Fatter rear end with some nice Rubber on the Rims and also give it some color to stand out right away, you cannot miss the Gumball Red, it is so striking.

I used Polished stainless spokes and Polished both hubs, as well as hand drilled the rear brake hub to give it that Road Race styling, it gets rid of the heat from braking, Dust from the shoes and cools the brakes when running along the tarmac etc.

New adjusters, Brake Rod and actuator arm, make this machine brake like a New bike and it sure looks clean now, a lot of attention to detail that I am known for.

New Rear sprocket and chain finished off the rear end but I think I want the rear end to sit a little higher, so them shocks will have to go for longer versions.

Longer Chrome rear shocks made all the difference in the ride height and the response when cornering, I am glad that I went this way, I also machined some 6061 and milled a Finned Stabilizer Bar to give that more Custom look, rather than the Flat Bar Honda uses.

I made a nice Bump Stop leather Racing seat unit for this bike, that still allows the seat lock and hinges to be used, that way you can get to your tool box and documents easily, the Motor got a once over and then I removed the stator cover, sprocket cover, Trams cover off and polished to a chrome finish.

The Customer worked at the Zoo with the Tigers etc, hence the title of the bike Wild Cat and that’s what he dug, so we applied that in a Gray color to the Petrol Tank.

I took the Gas tank off and hammered the sides to make my Classic Knee inserts, reminiscent of the old racers back in the day, making it easier to tuck your knees in and get more tighter on the bike and be a bit more aerodynamic as it were. Smoothed out and painted a Gloss Black, also applied my Checker Decal Kit then pinstriped the edges and ran a line around the knee inserts to finish them off, ready for Clear coat now.

New Gas cap and Lock to finish the tank off nicely, I do prefer the stock gas tanks, so this mod I do really makes this look like a factory item.

The Customer didn’t want rear sets, I would of preferred them but its personal choice and I have long legs – so need to have rear sets on my builds, but this looks pretty darn cool now its all back together and can run under its own power once more.

She is sporting my 4 into 1 Yoshimura style Performance Exhaust system and the inline Four Motor now breathes so much easier and sounds awesome with a Velvet Tone out of the tailpipe.

I cut the old fender down as it had some dings in it, rebuilt the front brake and added New Hose lines to it as I wanted this to stop on a Dime, well- maybe a Dollar Bill.

Sitting in all her Glory- The Wildcat runs hard and strong and boy is it fun in the twisties, as you can see I added my Signature Clubman handlebars, for that low stance.

I always enjoy creating these Motorcycles and the owners are always super stoked when they take them out for a spin for the first time, there is a lot of detail here and I offer the parts on my website if you want to build your own version.

A fun Machines that will give you many miles of smiles this bike sat right and really handled well when you gave it some beans in the corners, super proud of this one.

This has rebuilt front forks, New side covers, custom Turn Signals, New bars, new controls, new throttle cables and levers with new cables, plus New GT grips, rebuilt Carbs and Custom Bellmouth Velocity stacks.

Look at how well the bike sits has a New TriBar headlight, new fork gators and New ignition too, The seat I upholstered and used High density foam so you have a comfortable ride.

Thanks for reading this and hope that you like what I have dome to this old inline Four CB750 Honda, these are brilliant bikes and phenomenal engines.

I hope to post more creations that I have completed and share with you lot on here, love hearing all the positive feedback, thanks very much indeed and let me know if I can help you with your build.

Old CB750 Chop I discovered driving by a Garage near to home. “PORK CHOP”

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
12 Oct

Sometimes it does indeed pay to be nosey, I am always nosey when I see open garages, Sheds or barns etc and tis was the exact thing I am talking about.  I think it was about a year or so I first clocked the Chromed Girder front end of this CB750 Chopper, it was sat in a garage that had heaps of old parts like lawn mower bits, boxes and general house hold junk we tend to want to keep, ie plastic buckets or old tarps etc.

I did drop by and ask if it was for sale, the old boy said the same old story, the paint cost him $2000 and he had never ridden it but wanted an arm and three legs for it, so I bid him a fond farewell and left him scratching his head, as he thought I would bite and purchase the bike from him.

Life continued as full on as possible and of course Covid etc but always thought about that old Honda in that garage and was it still there, so I thought to myself, its Saturday tomorrow, I shall take a spin down there and see if the fella still has the bike.

Poor thing was just sat in this old garage, there was Dirt and rocks underneath it and it was jammed in with all sorts of house hold garbage and to add to that the front tire was as flat as a pancake. the exhaust were starting to rust and had more cobwebs than the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.

I went to see him again and a deal was struck, I noticed the old sissy bar was missing though, he said he sold that last week for $70, i was gutted as it was really cool looking and I will have to make my own now but would of been nice to use the old one as a template.

I got her home and after a few advil and a cuppa from the aches and pains of loading into and out of my Van with Jennifer, I sat there and took it all in, a great old Jap Chop from back in the day, of course it had not run since 2013 and thats just the tags on the license plate, it may not of run for many years before that for all I know.

But the old girl was now in the Barn at home, title says the Motor is a 1978, I do not see any ID numbers on the frame at all, not sure who the manufacturer is but am asking around as I am sure it may be from local to the old fella.

It need a wider rear fender for sure later and I will change out the rear tail light and seat, but first off all I have to see what the condition of the Motor is and the electrical as there are wires all over the place. But that Coffin Tank has got to go, was never a fan of them when they first come out, too big and bulky, I shall fit a Peanut one but only have a smaller version but, it will do until I find something later on,  there is no rush on this to be honest and it will be a fun project.

Well, I changed out the Gas tank for something a little more smoother, I like the lines but would like maybe a longer version, but this does look way better than the coffin tank that was on there. Many people do not like the Girder front end but its hand made and period, so I think I will keep it on here, probably change the handle bars and grips though and a different front light too. So stay tuned on the website about this old Chopper, I think I will name this “PORK CHOP”……………….

A Cycle One Chopper gets New Life Again at the Shop

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
10 Sep

Over the years I have had quite a Few Choppers in the shop, some mine, many customers, from Denver frames to Arlen Ness and no two are alike, they have their own design and character, that’s what I like about them.

I had an older Gentleman call me a few times about issues with his machine and if I could help out over the phone, we chatted for a bit and then a few times after that, he then asked if it was possible to send me his bike from Arizona, so I could get to grips with it and sort it out.

So about a week later it turns up at my door, an awesome Cycle One frame Chopper with a Paughco front end, this was a sweet ride that was built quite a few years ago and he needed a few things sorting out, the carbs were bad and had to be totally overhauled and then tuned for his altitude etc.

This is one fine old girl and it was fun bringing her back to life, the bike will be heading back to Arizona next week but wanted to share a few pics before she leaves my shop.

It sits really well and love the aggressive rake on the front end hand made exhaust sound quite mean and growl as soon as you open the throttle.

A Nice Custom Chopper with an 836 motor to help it get along the tarmac all day long and is a well balanced machine for its length as must be 9 feet long almost.

Forward controls are comfortable and I could ride this anywhere to be honest, big 5.5 gallon tank and a super comfortable seat makes for fun cruisin.

Thanks for checking these out, thought you would like to see something a little different from me and it was a fun bike to get my hands on that’s for sure, runs great now.

The Milwaukee Special CB750F HONDA SOHC

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
04 Sep

Well, here we go with another Model, this time a CB750F model, yes, the old Super Sport, I like the 750F models mainly because of their Disc rear brake, as the K model has a Drum rear, and this machine has some good lines to it, this was a basket case sometime ago and I plod along adding then taking away as I am not happy until the penny drops.

The Penny may not of dropped far but I think I am almost there with the design and the over look is quite sleek and streamlined, The Motor is rebuilt as well as the carburetors, but I have been to and from on the seat set up and after 6 or 7 different set ups, I came to the conclusion to keep it simple and will be fitting one of my Own Rocket Four seat assemblies to this bike and hopefully get it painted soon.

I think I am going to go with Smooth side covers, these were something I was experimenting with as one side had a hole in it, but I prefer at this time a smooth side cover and will paint a graphic or something on the side once I have come up with a good scheme.

Always something going on in the shop but need to get this completed and painted etc. then get some miles on it and then offer it up for sale for someone to enjoy, but a ways to go with this machine , am enjoying the way it is going at the moment. New rims, pretty much New everything, so this will be a fun and reliable Motorcycle when it is completed and on the tarmac, stay tuned……….

 

Building an Inline Four Project out of bits and parts laying about.

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
15 Aug

Well, I still have not made my mind up how I am going in the design part of this ride, I thought I would use my phone and record a few sessions as I continue creating a machine that I personally like and want to use and I am sure that it will go through a few guises before I get on the right track, although that’s half the fun of it.

So here are a few videos I have cobbled together and hopefully you will like what I am trying to achieve, remember, Rome was not built in 7 days.

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