Tag Archives: custom

Wishing you all a Very merry Christmas from Southern California

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
23 Dec

Well, here we are, almost the big day, this year flew past and to be honest, I am looking forward to a fresh start in 2020, had a tough year with life in general, as my Girls mom passed away, things have been quite stressful in life generally and even though I have been busy, it is always good to start a New Year off and with a Bang.

I am super happy with All my Customers, thank you all for supporting me and using my parts to get your machine back together, especially all the Custom builders, as I have seen a real turn in the Motorcycle industry, and the reason for that is because of you lot.

It is you that have taken many months to design and create your unique ride, our “Sub Culture”  has been recognized by the big guns in the motorcycle industry and even Ducati and Harley have a Cafe Racer, as well as Kawasaki, who would of thought that?  I am super stoked to see peoples machines hitting the tarmac for the first time, I am hoping to maybe feature some of your builds if you can send me a detailed build list, where you are from and some great back ground shots of your masterpiece sitting in the middle of the photo.

It is an exciting time for us all in the Custom world and many more people have taken notice and you see lots more cool machines on the road thanks to you lot and i want to take this oppertunity to wish each and everyone of you a very Merry Christmas, this next year will be a fun one, I can feel it in my bones.

Thank you so much for thinking of me when you come to need parts or apparel and look forward to seeing some of your Motorcycles in 2020.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL.

 

 

Weekend is pretty much here

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
06 Dec

Time does fly when you are having fun, especially if you are at home, or in the Garage, slinging wrenches about and seeing what you can create from a pile of old parts and see if you can turn it into the machine that you have thought about for a longtime.

The weather is supposed to be a bit crap this weekend but the weather doesn’t really effect me in the garage and I can continue to bang and grind to my hearts content if I so desire, and, the same goes for you lot I am sure.

The bit about building a bike or a part for your machine or Hot Rod for that matter, is , the fact that you did it your self in your own time line and how you wanted it, there is something so rewarding as having something that you have designed in your head, come to life and for me, that will always be a buzz when I fire something up for the first time and hear it come to life.

 

The Grin is always a mile long and I am sure that yours is too? If I can help with parts for you, a buddy or even a gift for that gear head in your family, I am always here to advise etc, you can always email me carpy@carpyscaferacers.com and even text me on 714-598-8392 and set your mind at rest that I will answer and help you on the way to what you need and know, it will fit and function.

This is my Passion and my Life, so- after 19 years here doing this, I strive to do even more in the following years to produce many more cool parts for the two wheeled fraternity.

My Girlfriend Jennifer loves to ride with me when ever she can and she has changed my life for the better, what a perfect harmony that I have with my girl on her Triumph as we belt around this great country, taking in all the sights and sounds.

If you want a Custom seat me by yours truly, to getting enough parts to make a start on a snotty old project that has been sitting for years, just let me know, I am here to help.

 

 

Have a great weekend everyone and hope you either get some time in the saddle or have fun building something Above and below is the same bike, see what can be done to these machines?

A whole lot of fun, thats for certain.

 

Thanks again and I hope that you enjoyed todays little blog.

Always fun doing things with Motorcycles and Hot Rods

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
03 Dec

I have always been interested in Motorcycles and Hot Rods, I had a 3 window Coupe in the UK back in the 1980’s and loved anything that was related to Post WW2 ie Planes, Wooden Chris Craft Boats or Fighter planes of the day etc.

So Motorcycles and Hot Rods go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches or Tea and Biscuits, but I have been so blessed to have been invited to many shows and events and have been a part of quite a few TV Commercials and interviews etc.  It is a fun time for me and I enjoy it all.

Thank you all for supporting me over these 19 years. its always a wild ride and who knows were it will take me next, I shall always be myself no matter what.

 

Playing about in the garage with an old snotty frame

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
01 Dec

Well, I need to clean some of my old storage out and thought I would have a bit of a play about today, being its Sunday , and see if I can at least come up with some sort of rolling frame.

 

So a few bits and bobs were put together to see where this may go, not sure what style or Caff or Brat style but just having a dig around out of my old parts to see where we end up.

I had about 3 hours to spare today and wanted to try and at least collate some parts that have been getting in the way in storage and this would be a fun project to start on today in the garage.

So, a fun afternoon just playing with an old neglected frame that had been butchered up many many years ago and to save it from the junk yard, I took it off a friends hands and thought that I could at least do something with it and save another inline four from the scrap pile.

Well its all about there, not sure if I like it or not, the Alloy 5 Gallon hand Made gas tank is fun but not sure on the seat and I do not like the handlebars at all, but thats all I had kicking around the garage, either needs Clip on’s or a set of Ace Bars.

Not sure on the smaller LED headlight right now but I had these old parts laying about here in my garage, so its a mock up and I am sure this bike will go through a few guises until I am happy with the look and the style that I want to try and create.

Up in my Rafters, I had a coupe of old Dresda swing arms, this one is a NOS CB750 version, so I thought I may as well use the thenig and am happy that I have, of course I shall run a wider rim later too as I want to fill that void up.

I had some old Tarrozzi rear sets brackets so if I go the Caff route, then the ends of the brackets of the frame will get nipped off and sealed up with weld for a clean look.

The whole point of me mocking the bike up , is to see if there is any parts that I really like and may help the bikes lines flow nicely, I am not sure on this old CR750 seat, its ok but I am just not feeling it to be honest, so I may put this one back in the storage and think again.

 

The 5 Gallon Manx tank is cool but I am not feeling it on this frame at all right now, mainly because I am not a fan of the handlebars I fitted, but as its a Sunday and I am using parts from the garage, it will do for a while but am sure this will change its look as time goes on here.

But I have it all mocked up and I may go with my Custom gauges, just for that Classic look and will refurbish the left speedo to match the Skull and cross bones tachometer.

Just want to show that I do use old knackered parts and I can change the look and style right here in the garage, as this build goes along you will see some progress shots but I need to have a rolling frame that I am happy with, before I tear it all apart and start to the tiresome hours of welding, grinding, sanding and refurbishing, until i am happy with the way it is looking.

it looks ok but just not turning my crank, so i think I will try another petrol tank as some times that alone can change the lines and flow of a bike, so i have an old k3 gas tank I can plop on and see what that looks like compared to this Manx Alloy version.

Well, I do like the Original tanks of the K series, but not sure I like the seat at all now, thats all part of the mock up, just keep going unto you are happy with the look that you are after, this may take some time, but its all worth it in the end, you just cant rush this stuff.

Well, the Handlebars are now doing my head in and as the light is starting to go I may pull the plug for this afternoon and re-charge myself once more and see where we go on this old girl.

The main objective today was just to piece together a bunch of old parts that have been collecting dust in my storage and around the garage, so at least I have made some progress to some extent.

I am glad that I used the Dresda swing arm and hope to be banging out my own version of these again, but stay tuned to how this old K model is going as i hope to make a cool, head turning machine that will belt along the highways and byways of Southern California, stay tuned……………………………..

 

Carburetor Restoration Services

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
25 Nov

Well, for many years I have been rebuilding carbs on the SOHC 750 Honda, as well as the smaller 500 and 550 models, and I am still getting these sent to me to get the old crap and grime off of them and totally get then revamped to a Clean and smooth running set.

Many people have a go at sorting their rack of 4 out and get it to run, albeit out of sync etc but the people that do have a go, really know what is entailed in taking these carbs apart.

You need a lot of patience and plastic sandwich bags, to take these all apart and inspect where the blockages may be, as the journals are quite small , and even though you have cleaned the main jet and idle jet, you might of forgotten about the internal journals in the bodies.

Most of the ones I receive still stink of old gas and when you take them apart, the gooey remains of old fuel give that lovely aroma of bad petrol and that sticks to you for days, no matter what you use as hand soap to get it off of yourself.

The trick to these, if you want to call it a trick, is to strip apart, and then vapor blast these so everything is super clean, then air line it, then once that is done, ultrasonic clean them and slowly put back together, but, I like to have the parts zinc plates and the aluminum bodies powder coated, then the bowls and tops highly polished.

Above is a set of CB550 carbs that have seen better days and they run but very badly, these need to be taken apart and put back together only once they are cleaned and polished and these will look so different when they come back to you.

As you can see, its a huge change and of course for the better, the other thing is that these have all new jets and needles as well as gaskets etc, just take your time and have a look at what you get for your money, a lot of work and time spent on these.

Every thing gets taken apart, many do not and that will show up if everything else is spotless, but these are rebuilt and then bench synchronized and after that, they are run on a motor and synchronized with a mercury stick for smoother running.

Take a look at the photos I took, you can see what a difference this is, not just a can or carb cleaner and a quick wipe down, these are fully refurbished and ready to go on your inline four.

You can see the Detail here and notice New gaskets as well as hardware, the carb bodies look way better now they are coated and you have a choice of Silver stock or Black too.

Send me yours or I can sell you a set already built etc, the choice is yours to be honest, you can also have the piece of mind that these will run on your motorcycle, right out of the box and let you get on with other things, just remember to tell me what exhaust and air filter you are running to allow for jet adjustment for tuning.

You can choose a stock style, with polished bowls and top rings like the ones you see right here for the CB750K model Honda Four.

Or a wrinkle Black and polished set up thats a lovely combination for Custom builders, I like them all to be honest and I am sure that you will be stoked with these.

Send me your dirty snotty old carbs for a full tune up and a brand new lease of life, your Honda will thank you for it and no more of that choke throttle choke throttle hassle.

These will get all pulled apart and then be cleaner than a cats arse, I have rebuilt quite a few hundred of these in the 19 years and plan to continue to do this for another 20 years or so, thanks for looking and hope I can help you out.

You can call or text on 714-598-8392 for more information.

 

Love what I do

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
09 Oct

I have always been an outgoing sorta fella and enjoy doing different things, below is just a snippet of some things that I have done for a TV Company and boy had a blast for 2 years, meeting all sorts of great bands, people and looking into the interesting lifestyles, be it Rockabilly, Hot Rodding or art work etc.
it took me all over the United States and I have more to do, but thanks for all your support, its you lot that makes me enjoy what I do in life.

19 years here and having so much fun with what I do with Bikes, Hot Rods, Artwork and checking out all the cool Americana that I come across in this Great country.

Adding Bags to the Old 750 SS Honda in the Garage

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
26 Aug

Been a while, but I thought I would fir some Bags I have had for a long time, onto the 750 Super Sport, as to be quite frank, I never fecking see them and, I had these on many bikes as I was a Disatch Rider, Ie Courier, and the more that I could carry on my bike, the more money that I would earn, as i rode all over the UK and parts of Europe and having unboltable saddle bags were a blessing indeed.

So, I have had these for a while, I did for some to Jenn’s bike and she has had them at least 5 years and uses them all the time, these will take a while to get to fit right and this is my 3rd set of brackets, still not there but its all trial and error and eventually I will get to the stage where I am happy and can tear the brackets down one last time, cut and weld and paint then refit.

Its good to be able to simply bolt these on and go, sometimes you need to carry stuff and these will be just the ticket when I have them completed, I am a long way off as they need to come in about an inch and half tighter but, Rome was not built in a day and these will not be either.

The trick is to make them look factory fit, then also once they are completed how I want them, they will painted to the same color as the rest of the body work and the uniformity will probably make these bags almost disappear once I have the livery that I am happy with.

Right now I think this bike will be a Dark Navy Blue with white Racing stripes and some logo, but thats a while away and also I need to fab a lower bracket to support the bottom of the bag and give it some rigidity as well as allowing for the shocks to still function smoothly with no binding etc.

 

Shame there wasn’t some off the shelf brackets available like Triumph have but I think Once I am completed and happy at the way they fit and function, I may make a few sets and off for sale on this website.

So,for now I have got this far, some will like these on the bike, and others will not.  What I like about this particular set up is, well, you can simply unbolt these and leave the bike in its naked form, but, if you need to go to lets say the Chrome shop to pick some parts up, just bolt these bags to the rear shock mounts and you are ready to go, no need for a bulky back pack etc.  I may add some LED turn signals into the back of these and a brake light to make more functional and keep me from being bumped off in rush hour.

 

 

 

Love what I do here in my Garage

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
08 Jul

Been doing this for close to 20 years now here in Southern California, always fun and challenging to say the least- I have lost count of the thousands of orders I have managed to be lucky enough to generate, through you people, I am stoked that you enjoy my blogs and my parts, as well as builds and my reply to emails when you are stuck with your bike.

I continue to push the proverbial envelope in this great and very competitive market that has now emerged in the two wheeled lifestyle, and its great to receive word from well known companies that let me know that I in some way have inspired them not to give up and keep trying.

I am trying to make more parts and stay tuned to my website as as soon as they are ready i shall do a quick Blog to show you have they fit and look etc and then put on the website to make available to you right away.

Thanks for all the great emails and texts etc, I am busy with a number of things, from Vapor Honing parts, to polishing and chroming, as well as making new parts, drilling hubs and working on my Vintage Hot rod too, never a dull life here in La Mirada thats for sure. Thank you again and as we enter into the 243rd year of this Great Country- I wish you all the very best and look forward to helping you any time.  Have a super week everyone.

 

Great weekend weather to work on your 2 wheeled machine here in Southern California

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
14 Apr

With temps in the 80’s it nice to be able to work on the bikes in warm weather, I spent so many years shivering my arse off back in the UK, that I look back and wonder how I managed to do anything when there was ice on the inside of the garage door, so here we are in So Cal and enjoying every minute of the climate that we are blessed to receive here.

I wanted to Pull the Vesco Honda out and go through a few things, I do not like the Tappet covers, they squash the O-Rings out of shape and I have a small Oil leak, so I am going to change them out with some Custom Black Aluminum versions and New genuine Honda O-Rings, that should sort it. But, If I still get some oil on the head, i shall remove the valve cover a fit a new gasket too and this is the perfect weather for it.

Have fun with your machine this weekend.

Weekend is here already, working on a New braided brake line set up, and a Custom Headlight Assembly.

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
13 Apr

Well, Saturday soon came around, I have been pretty busy as of late at the shop here in La Mirada, it is always a busy time of year as many people need pars for their bikes and I help all that I can to make sure they can complete their Motorcycle in time for some great riding.

Now, I am bringing out many more new products that will be available for you to use on your machines and I do all the prototype work to make sure it not only fits easier, but that it performs better than what you have right now.

The 2 parts I want to feature today are my Custom European headlight, which is a really Custom look and comes with a Stone guard and a Yellow Lens, to get you noticed.

So right now, today I have been working on a Project motorcycle, a CB750 F Super Sport and the stock brake line set up just wasn’t cutting it, so I removed that and used my brand new Braided hose stainless brake line that has Stainless Steel adapters and is so easy to fit to your machine too.

So, above you can see the Braided hose, this is Top Quality all the way, even the Formula One Race cars you see use this brand of hose, so you know these are a great deal.

 

These Braided hoses will fit the CB750K and the CB750f but- this is for removing your front brake switch, I dont like them and remove them from the triple tree and fit a single one piece brake hose, and this will give you 40% more braking and so easy to fit too, but- if you want to have your brake switch, I offer a 2 piece brake line kit on the website, so check that out at your leisure.

I use a straight fitting that simply screws into the caliper, then you use the crush washer I supply, then route the braided line down to the caliper, going behind the lower triple tree and then into the caliper, simply screw the adapter in place, undo the bleeder, fill the reservoir on your mater cylinder and bleed it into a bottle with a clear pipe so you can see the air bubbles exiting the bleeder.

These are such great quality and gives your brake more power but also a more Custom look as well.

You will find this so easy to bleed and the brake will feel way more positive when you grab the lever and thats a good thing.

This literally took me 5 minutes to fit and bleed and now functions so well and gives me more confidence in stopping when i am out on the tarmac next and now available to you lot.

 

The Brake hose is fitted and now I have fitted the Euro style headlight and made a special bracket to house it, this allows you to use the stock location of the lower triple tree bolts, i will chrome the bracket when completed and that too will be available on the website .

The Stone Guard will protect your lens from any stones or projectiles that are sometimes left on the highway or byways when you are riding to an event or a job etc.

Also, the strong Yellow lens, gives it a European style but will grab more attention from drivers but with out blinding them, look how cool this front end is now.

So, I am off to the garage to do a wee bit more but wanted to show you what i got up to today, have fun with your Motorcycle and thanks for checking my Blog and my parts out, I am here to help, call or text 714-598-8392 and I will do my best to get you sorted out.

I love my job and love to promote Custom parts too.

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