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

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.

The Rebuild of the Vesco Honda Brat Bike Now Begins

Time does seem to fly- especially when you do not want it to, but not much that I can do about that, the same as the weather.  California usually has great weather most of the year round, but last month we were plagued with the most rain ever recorded in the history of weather measurements, this severely held me back in the tear down of the bike as I needed to move stuff out onto the driveway to give me access to grinders, welder and tube bender etc.

And I am sure that you have experienced the same as me when it comes to a deadline?  So, I put together the Vesco Honda with bits and pieces I had in and around the garage, just to see if it would even run, low and behold it did and you know the deal, you add this and that and before you know it the bike is on the tarmac and you are ripping through the gears.

 

I was going to simply enjoy this bike for a while and get as many miles on the thing as I could as I tell ya, it’s a hoot to ride, plenty of linear Power and turned heads all over the place, but then I get an email from Jay LaRossa to be invited as a Custom Builder for their up and coming show on the 23rd of March, so as I had almost 2 months I took the challenge, then the California weather took a huge dump for a month and has had me side railed for ever.

I managed to strip the bike down to the frame as you lot may know as I have blogged all of it on here, but so many hurdles still to overcome and now I have 9 days to completely rebuild this bike, I still do not have the frame back from the paint shop as its been to cool and damp to spray clear coat on the old metal-flake, so here I sit and have been doing little jobs like designing and making a New Stainless Steel exhaust system, and then set about stripping old parts and re-chroming them etc.

The Rims now have the old tires off and a quick repaint, cant go crazy as time constraints have kicked me in the plums, so just Black and will fit Road tires this time as Diamond tread tires I wanted are on the East Coast and will not get here in time for the show.  So I am giving it a go to get as many small things done as i can to try and see if I have a shot at getting this together in time, but I cant build anything until I get the frame back from the paint shop, then i can add the forks and swing arm and wheel and then fit engine and rewire etc, a daunting task thats for sure.

But, if I cannot get it completed in time, well- I tried and tried hard and do not want to show a bike half finished, that would be awful, so with a few days still left, I am hoping to have the frame back tonight and if its dry enough, i can start bolting parts back on the bike- I love that part as you see a completely different looking machine starting to come together, it is so satisfying to sit back and look at the completed machine and think to your self- jeez, I created that, its an awesome feeling that I know many of you get too.

CB550 HONDA BROWN BOMBER BRAT BIKE

Sometimes I forget to take photos when I am working on something, then a little later on down the line, I end up kicking myself as somebody usually comes into my place or calls or even emails me and asks if I have built a Honda CB500 or CB550 Brat Bike.

4

I did take a few photos of this ride but not enough and to be honest it was a Bike I picked up locally not three miles from the house, a guy had had it for many years as he used to use it to go to college as a cheap means of transport.

2

10 years after he completed College, life in general took over and had no time for the little inline Four Honda and it sat at the way side of the house under a tarp and then a few years later it was put in the corner of the garage.

1

I bought it and even though the bike was a sad state of affairs, it would be a fun little project that I could have a little bit of artistic sculpturing on and see where it ends up.

5

I used one of my Special Stainless Steel 4 into 1 systems and boy did this thing Bark like a scolded dog, this really did turn heads and in a good way, such a perfect breathing motor.

25

The seat was made from 20 Gauge steel and then we welded about 5 inches of old rear fender to the seat base and I thought it would look cool if it were all upholstered.

13

Removed the forks, took apart and then machines some cool fins in the lower legs, then magnafluxed to make sure all was safe and it sure was, New upper tubes fitted and rebuilt.

12

The bike sat so well, and when you jumped on this bike, it would go as hard as you wanted it to go with out any question, it really breathed so well you would be so surprised when you opened the throttle, the little CB550 felt like a 750.

14

The wheels were all new and used stainless steel spokes and polished the hubs, then shod both of them with Coker Diamond treaded tires that fills the bike out very well indeed.

15

Should of kept this little Ripper as it would suprse any motorcycle at the traffic lights yet it was great on gas, the Carbs were set up on a Mercury stick and loved the gas I used.

18

Hand made 7/8 Brat/Tracker Bars of mine that I chromed, help steer this Bar Hopper in the right direction. used Metalflake grips and 2 inch Bar Risers.

19

 

One piece of steel and a rear fender shortened and welded to it, then covered in Foam and upholstered over, came out so well and stoked that I wet this route on the bike.

20

Old carbs rebuilt, Dipped and re-jetted and then synchronized to make sure it ran even and smooth under load and boy did it handle well, fitted new cables too.

21

Rebuilt the forks but machined these fins and then polished to a super high Luster you would think they were chromed and these last a long time until you need to polish once more.

24

New Fork top Rubber fitted and New Rims were laced to the Polished Hubs, not a show bike but New parts in the right places.

22

New Brake shoes and Polished hub with New shocks, sorts the rear end out and it handled so well too.

23

Old speed Boat headlight I used with a Toggle switch ontop to illuminate it, I think it suited this machine very well indeed.

25

A great bike that was super fun to create and ride, the guy that bought it was a New marine and rode it to Pendleton with no worries all the time, great testament to a cool machine.

26

Kota taking the Brat for a little run and loved it, Dakota Made the seat and he loved this mean machine.

27

Hope I see this bike again one day as its one of them that you wished you had kept, thanks for reading about this little Honda, it was a Giant Killing machine.

 

 

 

CB750 Creation ” The BRATSTER”

Over the years I have built a number of inline Four machines as you may well know, I have always liked these Motorcycles because I used them as a Courier Bike back in the UK, they were Affordable and reliable and lastly they were an awesome Platform to be able to adapt to how you wanted the machine to look.

1

Beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder, but with this bike when I first picked it up, it was in a bad way and needed help, but, trying to change something on a shoe string budget is some times almost impossible, so when I pushed this bike onto the Concrete and saw the potential, well I had to at least give a go eh.?

2

This old Girl was a 1974 CB750 and many many Moons ago it was Created to be a Land Speed Racer, I have a little or know information on if it ran, where it ran or what speeds, it was very poorly made and to be honest, too Bloody dangerous for me to sling my leg over and have a go up on the dry lakes for any record.

6

It had no title and was leaking oil and looking very sorry for itself when I parked this 500 pounder up, but once I had made a Brew, sat back and thought for a bit, I knew I could at least resurrect this CB750K Model in to some sort of head turner.

9

So, with pen and paper in hand I jotted down a few ideas and came up with the idea of building a fun little Brat style Bike that would have a Chunky look and feel but real fun to ride.

7

After a day of Mulling around , I decided that I would get the Motor running first and if that runs I will then go from there as this may take some time as it was not a commission for a build but a cry of help as I bought a few bikes off a buddy who needed space in his Garage, so this would be an on going bike and Not at all a show bike, just a tough Motorcycle that would probably suprise a few motorcycles at the lights as it buggered off into the sun set whilst you are watching it disappear into the distance..

8

The bike had a terrible set of gas tanks made from old alloy Cylinders that were Bolted to some old Nuts that were welded to the frame, there were parts hanging off that shouldn’t even be on there, so I decided that this would be a Brat style and I am going to change oil and plugs, add some coils and Battery and rebuild a set Carbs to see what we have hear, as there are no carburetors on this bike at all. So off I went in search of some carbs, and took an old blocked up set I had as spares apart, cleaned, re-jeted and fitted to the old Dry lakes Bike.

 

Below I have fitted Carbs and a exhaust to see how she runs and it is now tuned and am happy about the sound and crisp response that my 4 into 1 systems make.

My ears were ringing and actually Blew the Sub-woofer out in the workshop because the bass not was so strong, but a minor price to pay to now know this motor runs hard and true.

20e

So, as the rear end of the bike was missing, I thought I would massage one of my rear Hoops I make onto this frame and create a Brat style bike that will be so much fun to ride around on.

20h

An easy job and looks great, so I can later make a Flat seat with New Foam and Diamond stitching to give it that Brat look that is so popular right now over here.

10

The old 16 inch rim had a massive sprocket, I think 170 or 200 teeth, erm, not for the street for sure , else it would wheelie everywhere ha ha, so removed the rims and rebuilt a new set but Polished the Hubs from this bike and laced with stainless spokes.

19

Now that looks a lot better and now ready for the Rubber to go onto the outside, this time I thought I would spare no expense on the tires as they are an important part to make sure these keep you on the tarmac, so opted for a Set Of Cokers Tires and I am going to make a Diamond stitched seat later so wanted tires to match in a way.

20d

I also removed the forks, rebuilt and fitted New upper tubes, as well as Rebuild brake caliper and refurbishing the old rusty brake rotor too.

20a

A lot cleaner that it was when it first limped into my hands and am real happy at the way this is coming along, as I said, no show bike so not removing the motor and painting a frame, this will be a fun bike with a few new parts or refurbished ones at the very least.

112

Above, I repainted the Motor and detailed it with Stainless steel Allen bolts and I wanted wrinkle paint this time to help dissipate the heat when riding.

99

Getting there, Rebuilt Carbs, new boots and a cool Aluminum Airbox made this Motor breath and respond so well, its the devil in the detail or carboration that wins the race.

20ab

Now the job of fitting Headers and so many choices from the styles that I have created for these 500 pounder machines, but the bike is taking shape now and I really like the way it is going.

20aa

The Motor looks great, I also added a cool Oil tank with a Battery Box already inside it, so this will really look trick and can hide some of the electrical in it too and clean the frame up some more.

26

I wanted to use my Newest design exhaust system, the Side Winder, this breathes like a New Nose and wanted to also Hot Rod it out by wrapping the headers in Titanium Heat wrap, it sure came out well and this will look great perched in front of that inline four engine.

27

Now, that is a lot better and glad that I went this route, I have sold lots of this heat wrap and this is the first time that I have used it and as its Titanium it doesn’t fall apart like that cheap fiberglass stuff thats out there does.

28

On the Arse end of the header I wanted to fit my New Sidewinder tail pipe with the Yoshi style Baffle, and boy does it look great and super stoked that I did go in this direction.

24

Next up I need to make a seat pan to cover the Battery tray and oil tank up and will go simple with some 18 Gage steel and then will add foam and upholster in a Light Tan Naugahyde material with Diamond stitching.

25

Simplicity is the name of the game for this machine and I am now cutting the foam to fit the seat pan that I just made, this is almost there, maybe another half an inch of foam then upholster.

22

I am now happy with the thickness of the Foam and am looking forward to seeing this with a Light Tan seat ontop of the frame, I feel it will be a good contrast. so lets go and see.

53

Way better now, I also added a Blue frame to go with the old 1970’s painted gas tank i found and think its a good combination for this creation, it is a tough machine for sure.

49

The Brat sits well and with the Custom Oil tank that I now offer on the website, it runs well and uncluttered like man I see.

Added some NEW Handle Bar switches to make sure that all works well and stays like that, no faded grey crap like you see on so many on the internet these days.

37

My Custom made license plate frame with Hot Rod stop tail light assembly looks great and another thing I produce and sell on the website.

Tail light tells you when you need to stop too, neat eh?

81

This bike runs hard and strong and was so good to see it back up and running again, after years and years of neglect, if she had a face she would be smiling, that I am certain of.

52

The Bike also has my Own Handlebars that I designed and had mandrel bent and chromed, and gives that bike that Period look of the day, it sits well and rides so comfortably too.

59

A strong machine and this has already been sold to a customer and is now residing in Canada, my fruits of labor paid off and the new owner is super stoked to get this bike from me.

90

My Bulldog Bailey standing guard as I get some snaps, before it heads of to Maple Country.

82

Hope you liked this little resurrection? I sure had fun creating this Motorcycle and Glad somebody is enjoying it right now.

96

Added a Fog light for that European look and something the New owner is going to need up there in Canada, so just another cool touch to show this motorcycle Bratster off a little more.

DSC_0056

A tough little Machine with plenty of swag, and I am sure that it will get many looks in the warmer months.

110

Big transformation and I did more work than I thought I would do and sold it way too cheaply but hey, its all fun at the end of the day and I enjoyed creating this bike.

DSC_0005

If you want a Motorcycle created, or just parts etc, drop me a line carpy@carpyscaferacers.com I am always glad to help or just advise, and you can also call or text me with questions on 714-598-8392 and I will do my very best at helping you with your own creation.

DSC_0030

Thanks for reading my Blog on building this machine , and many others I have created and still continue to.

DSC_0040

 

I fitted 2.5 Analog gauges and also made a Neutral light that is fitted into the steering stem nut, plus New master cylinder, New levers cables and Grips.

DSC_0020

Another thing I did was add my headlight ears that I sell on here as well as the cool headlight with the internal LED Turn Signals, as that cleans the front end up, I fitted my Fork Brace too to stiffen the frnt end as I removed the fender, many dont do this and have floppy forks.

DSC_0049

The heat Wrap I now sell on the website too, in Black or Tan, both look great and clean up your old headers to revamp them, 50 feet is enough for your headers and I used two inch wrap.

DSC_0042

Thanks again and another Build leaves my place and I am now looking at another creation, appreciate all the cool comments whilst i was building this, have a great week.

DSC_0071