Working on Projects in the Barn

Posted on November 14, 2022November 14, 2022 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.

World’s Fastest NITROUS Street Bike…and how it started as a 1980 Suzuki GS 1100!

Posted on September 11, 2022September 11, 2022 by Steve Carpenter

11 Sep

A must see for any Suzuki GS 1100 or Pro Street Motorcycle drag racing fan, we head to York, PA to get a good look at Brad Mummert’s restored 1980 Suzuki GS 1100 alongside the world’s fastest nitrous Pro Street motorcycle.

We do a deep dive into both motorcycles to see all the modifications from stock including the billet cylinder head and block, the custom throttle bodies and multi stage nitrous kit, hours of chassis fabrication, billet crankshaft installation, carbon fiber bodywork and a whole lot more.

Enjoy this inside look at one of the most impressive motorcycles in the world.

Hiro Koiso Knocks 259.951 at Bonneville Salt Flats

Posted on September 5, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

05 Sep

At the annual Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials AMA Land Speed Grand Championship, Hiro Koiso Racing returned to the Salt seeking more records and faster speeds.

Koiso had set the fastest open bike record on the salt at 227.236mph in 2017 at the BMST. JIMS / T-Man Performance 135 cubic inch Twin-Cam engine is coupled with C-1R ProCharger , modified 2006 Harley-Davidson FXD-I based motorcycle puts out over 400HP at rear wheel.

This year, aero dynamic aid was put into place entering the team into the partially streamlined class. A newly designed fairing was fitted and equipped to the bike. Following the shake down passes form the first day, on 8/27/2018 Koiso clocked a blistering 259.951mph on the measured mile.

This is the fastest speed recorded in history on a sit-on Harley-Davidson motorcycle. GPS recording shows in excess of over 260mph. However, during the timed mile, the front tire began to fail. Koiso was able to keep the bike upright, but extensive damages to the bike kept him from making a record return run.

“We could only make a few runs at the BMST this year. But we learned some priceless information from them. By knowing the cause of failure and what our equipment is capable of, we are going to go even faster next year.

Our next goal will be a tribute to the H-D factory Streamliner efforts from 1970, which set a record at 265.492mph. All things considered, we believe it is possible to hit the 270mph mark. We just need to work harder for it.” Koiso stated.

Despite the tire failure the team seized a 223.195mph FIM World record (pending ratification) in Category I, Group A1, Division B, Type II, Class 2500cc.Hiro Koiso Racing is powered by: JIMS, T-Man performance, ProCharger, Pine Valley, HRD Performance, Third Place, AIM Corp., WPC treatment, Fuji WPC, Frixion, MKS Engineering, Pingel Enterprise, Worldwide Bearings, Revolution Performance, Lyndall Brakes, Kraus Motor Co., Sundance Enterprises,Inc., HorsepowerInc.True-Track, Custom Cycle Engineering, Attract Customz, ATC Performance, Dynoman, Forest Wing, Kusunoki custom works, Strokers USA, SHOEI Helmets, 45 Degrees, Active, Pre-Stage Performance, Ram Pro Line, Full Gain, Red Rock Harley-Davidson, Borderless, Tuners Nation, Jaggers Construction, DJB Gas service Inc.

Below:

Hiro Koiso Racing – The Fastest Sit On Harley Davidson in History 2018 Watch from on the bike.

FLYRITE- Double Trouble Norton machine!

Posted on July 8, 2014January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

08 Jul

Flyrite Double Trouble Norton

I can never ever get enough of these cool double engined machines and wanted to share some with you this month so here is a very cool double Norton set up that I am sure you will dig as much as me.

Some motorcycles seem to be sacrosanct when it comes to customizing, while others are fair game. So you see quite a few Triumph Trophy customs, and not many Nortons. But Jason Kidd, owner of Flyrite Choppers, has no qualms: his extraordinary ‘Double Trouble’ custom has not one, but two 1960s Norton Atlas 750 twins nestling in the frame. (By my calculation, that means an output of 110bhp or more.) It could have been a monstrosity, but the result is clean, classy and attention grabbing. And given that it’s hard enough to get a single-engined bike looking good, this is quite an achievement. Flyrite’s down-to-earth philosophy no doubt plays a part—as befits an NHSTA-licensed manufacturer, their bikes are soundly engineered: on Double Trouble, there’s a place for everything, and everything is in its place. “At Flyrite Choppers we build bikes the way they used to be: basic, bare bones, wrench-on-it-yourself for the real motorcycle rider. We have basic principles that we adhere to when building a bike.” Despite taking top honors at last year’s Harvest Classic European and Vintage Motorcycle Rally in Luckenbach, there are surprisingly few images of Double Trouble around—so we have Texas-based photographer Bill Fraser to thank for sending these in. More shots after the tech sheet below.

Tech Sheet

Engine: Two Norton Atlas 750s
Builder: Ken Armann Restoration in Santa Clara, CA.
Exhaust: Equal length headers by Matt Quinn at Pipeworx
Primary: Chains and Sprockets
Transmission: 5 Speed Kick

Frame: Flyrite Choppers one-off
Front End: Betor Forks
Triple Trees: One-off Flyrite Choppers

Wheels
Rear: Re-pop HD16″
Front: Flyrite spool 21″
Tires: Avon Front and Rear
Brakes: Re-pop HD

Paint
Painter: Jason Kidd
Color: Black
Pinstriping and Gold Leaf: Von Franco

Accessories
Bars: Short Drags
Risers: Flyrite Choppers one-off
Gas Tank: Hodaka—Chopped and sctioned with an oil tank down the center
Rear Fender: Ford spare tire ring
Seat: One-off seat by Dave Martinez
Foot Controls: One-off mid-controls by Flyrite Choppers
Headlight: Bates with Flyrite Choppers side mount brackets
Taillight: Cateye with Flyrite Choppers Tag Mount

Classic pin lines on a cool tank sets this bike off into the realms of Ed Roth and Von Dutch.

I really love the look of these Siamese motors.

DUBBLE TRUBBLE TRIUMPH DRAGSTER | BRITISH HYBRID HELL ON WHEELS

Posted on July 7, 2014January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

07 Jul

There has always been a fascination with double engined motorcycles for me since I was a nipper, as i remember seeing Russ Collins Sorcerer, and thought how cool would that be to ride.

Below is an infamous motorcycle that was simply amazing to see in the 50’s and even today. And getting 142 MPH back then was a feat on its own, so sit back and scroll down and enjoy this unique machine, I sure did.

http://theselvedgeyard.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/1052457798_e1ce63ef3d_b.jpg

The legendary Dubble Trubble Triumph motorcycle

The Dubble Trubble, built in 1953 by legendary racer Bud Hare, was a beastly Triumph twin-engined motorcycle that dominated the drag strips during the 1950s with a top speed of 142.38 mph. The dual 40 cu. in. displacement engines were fed through a Harley-Davidson hand-shift gearbox with foot clutch. Only two gears are used– second and high. Totally sick. Kids– don’t try this at home.

None other than Von Dutch himself painted the lettering on the legendary Triumph’s tank– which explains the 2 dots above the U’s which weren’t asked for. But then again– Von Dutch was known to kind of do his own thing.

The legendary twin-engined Dubble Trubble Triumph motorcycle

Pat Presetti with the twin engine bike “Double Trouble”. The legendary & eccentric pinstriper, Von Dutch, painted the lettering seen here on the tank. This bike turned 140 in the 1/4 mile and 157 mph at Bonneville Salt Flats. *

The legendary twin-engined Dubble Trubble Triumph motorcycle

Bud Hare’s legendary Dubble Trubble Triumph motorcycle

1956 Cycle Magazine article on the Triumph Dubble Trubble motorcycle

Totally gratuitous 1950′s drag strip photos

1950s motorcycle drag racing*

Bloody awesome and dig the pick ups door art, how cool is that?

Honda Super Hawk NOW SOLD !!!!

Posted on May 2, 2014January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

02 May

Here we are with my 1909 HONDA SUPER HAWK VT1000R Only $1300

This was a bike we were going to build to race around a track- but even though this is almost there, I have way to many projects to get on with, all this needs is tail pipes, it runs rides and is fast as hell.

These Motors are so strong and known as the poor mans Ducati, this will jerk your neck when you grab a lot of the loud grip.

We have a Hyabusa front and rear end on this , Dakota made the Chain Guard and the half fairing and we fitted our Cafe seat to it as we wanted a cooler look that the bulky stock guise.

I do not know how many miles is on this machine as it has No gauges, we were going to run a GPS speedometer on it, but it runs great and I know that someone can either put it back on the road, or have a fun track bike or even a Drag bike, this is a very fast and powerful machine. the gears and clutch work fine as do the lights etc, this will be a super ride for someone out there and you will turn heads once you have some exhausts and a seat cover etc.

I would love to finish it but- My workload has overfilled and I must move a few things, so my loss your gain.

We ship all over the globe and I use Eagle One to ship in the lower 48 and you can call him for a shipping quote door to door on 209-495-3729 or email him on beachlerlarry@gmail.com his name is Larry and we have used his services for many years now, the best in the business and drops door to door.

This is originally from Idaho and here is the title with it that is all good and matches.

A fun machine that’s for certain and runs right now.

Handmade rear chain Guard give this a tough look.

Our Razorback seat base is what we used for the bike and this is a cool looking set up.

Mini fairing from one of our cafe fits the bill well.

We also have a lithium dry cell battery that is super strong and fits in the Custom Battery box under the seat.

Hyabusa front and rear end get the bike round the corners well and stops real fast!!!!

A tough bike which ever way you look at it and a strong Motor.

Have a look and see what you think.

Thanks for looking and hope it goes to a good home.

Ian King The GULF DRAG BIKE HAULS BALLS!

Posted on April 29, 2014January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

29 Apr

It’s Tuesday Cup O Cafe time and this time something to get your taste buds going.

If you love the sound of the drags, how can you not like this that I am sharing today, I grew up watching Road racing and drags and this is such an awesome machine to watch British Top Fuel Drag Bike racer is a natural king of the track, check out just a sample of this 1500 HP monster and take a ride with him and you see just a little insight into my Countryman’s wild gulf drag Bike.

This is so much harder than it looks and I am hoping that our Grease monkey ” Dakota Kai Sun” gets to be up with these guys at some point.

Enough of me blabbing on, just hit the Volume, out ya feet up and enjoy the video’s.

Anything that runs on nitromethane is exceptionally cool and that’s a fact which cannot be denied. The fuel is the most intense “power adder” in the known universe and whatever engine it is being put through sounds meaner than hell and is a literal bomb waiting to explode while running. Top fuel motorcycles combine all the elements of over the top danger and speed and then the machines go the extra mile but putting the rider directly on top of a supercharged and nitro swilling engine. This video is a complete lap from fire up to shutdown on a top fuel motorcycle. NOTE: This is not a nitro harley. A top fuel bike is a very different animal.

The rider whose head we’re glued to is Englishman Ian King who shipped his bike over for a recent event at South Georgia Motorsports Park. The run we’ll watch below was the final round where King needed to close the deal and make sure the rest of his hard work from the weekend was not wasted. As you watch the video, pay attention to what King is doing and also what he is not doing, mainly we’re talking about the fact that he’s heaving his body around on the bike to “steer it” as opposed to using the handle bars to actually direct the bike. Handle bars don’t help when the front tire is way off the ground.

Take all of those elements we just mentioned and then add the fact that the bike is painted in classic Gulf colors? Yeah we know….too cool!

Read all bout the Brit and his amazing 1500 HP Drag bike here.
http://www.kingracing.com/

DAKOTA IS AT IRWINDALE DRAGS TODAY

Posted on July 14, 2013January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

14 Jul

Hey Gang

Today, Dakota is at Irwindale drags, he will be racing his 2013 Kawasaki ZRX1400 on the 1/8th mile all day.

We are about to head out there and give him some moral support, if you can make it there, it would be great to see you all as the track is superb for spectators as you can get so close to all the action.

I shall take photos today and post them later when I get back, so stay tuned and lets see if Dakota has a good meet.

OK, lets see, the weather was Bloody hot and muggy, it felt like I was in Florida and was sweating like a Turkey the day before thanks giving.

Dakota has a New tire, but this time a Slick, something he has not run yet and a New bike to boot, so this will prove to be a trying time right now to dial a bike in at a meet.

Out on the track, the temperature was starting to soar and if you were sat in the staging lanes, you certainly felt the air thinning out.

Once out on the track, Kota gave it all the beans he could, but the clutch adjustment wasn’t how they wanted it for the bike as the Slick made the gearing change, due to being 2 inches taller.

So it was back into the pits, tear the clutch case off and pull the clutch plates out and set it at a different percentage ratio and hopefully this will help the bike, anything New will and always will take time to dial in .

Aaron Pine- Dakota’s dad- then sprung into action, removing the clutch casing and all the crew helped out where they could to rectify this issue.

Back out to the staging lanes and into the hot Sun, and boy was it warming up there.

Now Aaron takes his Suzuki out on the 1/8th mile to stretch its legs. This was a shake down pass and he shook its wobblies off.

Next round. Everyone in the team helps out as there is always something to do.

Back in the staging lanes and Kota gets his first round out of the way, runs a 5.8 but not happy with the clutch again, so its back to the pits and try and get the adjustment somewhere that’s workable.

This all takes time and can be very frustrating, but- that’s drag racing and will always happen, especially if you have a Brand new machine.

Plenty of action at the track today and thought I would take a few snaps of other racers there so you can see what we do.

Kota was up again to see how he would fare, but the adjustments were still not bang on.

On the line and warming the rear tire up as he gets ready to launch. But the clutch starts to play up again and a frustrating day in terms of performance for his machine.

Dakota even gets in on the action and helps out putting his ride back together again.

The clutch was only Just holding up and may have to make a few more adjustments and change the plates- but you never have enough parts, how ever prepaired you are.

Kota pours his race fuel in so he can try and get through the next round.

Aaron up again and that bike is pretty dialed in over the years and dials his time right in.

All the lads have a pow wow to see who is gonna buy lunch today.

Aaron just checking a few things before he gets on the track and hoping for a low ET.

Brockman the Egyptian Profit, blesses the track for everybody today.

Dakota on the right lane and his Grandpop’s makes sure he is straight as an arrow.

I thought I would some more photos to show you what sort of day it was, but I really enjoyed all the racing that goes on here at Irwindale as bikes ,cars and trucks all run the 1/8th.