The California Motorcycle show at Santa Anita

Well, Cinco De Mayo is upon us, where many people are still sleeping, we were up finishing packing the Van up with 2 Motorcycles and our Vendor Booth, we then headed out to Santa Anita Race track, where we set about unloading the van, Jennifer sorted the vendor booth out whilst I puffed and panted , walking the Motorcycles into the park, as you well know, Horses are not happy with Thundering loud megaphones and Million Dollar horses at that, so we had to walk everything into the Race Track area.

I Registered my Harlequin Honda and maneuvered that beast into the infield, where upon I parked it and spent the next hour, sweating my gonads off, trying to clean the dust off that had accumulated from our garage since the last show we were at. Not an easy task as the needle on the Thermometer was at 97 degree’s, I was melting.

But, once all set up, I went and sat in our Vendor Booth with Jennifer and tried to stay out of the heat, and the Eazy Up helped big time on this Kentucky Derby day event and was happy that we had some sort of cover over us.

Many people arrived all dressed up to the Nines in their Horsey attire, a big deal here and everybody seemed to enjoy the Motorcycles that was on Display at the event.

I spoke to many Customers of mine as they made sure to come and at least say hello, we sold our Moto Caps and Vintage Grips, whilst Jenn was selling her Moto Scented Wax melts, that seem really popular.

Plenty of cool Motorcycles on Display at the event and it was nice to see so many different styles of machines turn up on this Hot Day in May. Loved the Tracker.

Jay La Rossa had his Triumph Tracker there, and it looked pretty tough I tell ya.I hung out with him for a while, always great to chew the fat with like minded bike builders.I loved the Step side with the Two Trumpys in the back, these were top class built Custom Motorcycle, with the paint flowing from the trucks roof to one of the bikes was a neat touch.

Just have a look at some of the detail on these bikes, I loved them both and hope to see more of these on the road, I never see them ridden though these days.

BSA was well represented and would of taken any of these Classic steeds, from the Tracker at the front and the DB at the back, all bloody awesome to see.

The traditional 750 Commando is such a timeless taste of Real Ton up machines from back in the day. Always great to stop for a second and take it all in at these events.

I loved these Trench diggers, rode a few as a teenager and they scared the hell out of me, in a good way, love the twin shocker Dirt bikes, my era to be honest.

The good old CB750 SOHC unit has been put into everything you can imaging, this is a buddies of mine and a lot of work gone into creating the 750 Scrambler.

I dont think many people will appreciate the time and effort to get this old 530 Pound machine to look like it can handle the whoops and Burms of California’s MX tracks.

 

The good old 400 4 Super Sport Honda, its been Cafed and Raced for so many years, that people really forget how fast and fun they are to ride.  A great Powerhouse !

I would sure love to sling my leg over this AHRMA machine, reminds me of the old JPS Bikes of the day when British tracks had these and (Forgive the pun) were the Dominator.

A great Racing bike that is built so well and I am certain would holds it own and more on the race track, love the stainless exhaust headers and short reverse cone megaphones.

New meets old, a colorful array of machines and background to be honest, other than the heat, this was a really great looking part of the Race Track as its part of the infield.

I would really love to own this Honda Flat tracker, I bet its fun getting in the corners on the track and would have a blast on it and its nice to see its still being used.

Like I said, there was plenty to see for everyone, many different era’s of Motorcycles were on Display on the infield and around the race track, making it an eye candy store of the 2 wheeled variety and I was admiring them all.

This Honda Scrambler was cleaner than any cats arse, it was a super machine, nothing I didnt like about it, just gaze your peepers on this Classic machine from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Baking was not the word, it was so bloody hot I was hoping a bunch of Horses would belt by to cause a little air flow and cool us down, Summer came early here for sure.

Love seeing the old Honda’s as these were more available back home in the UK in the 1970’s when we were kids and for about 25 Quid you could pick one of these up, pull the mudguards off and headlight and go and blast along the Forrest fire roads, such fun back then and great to see them still around today.

The worldwide distributor of Hodakas was PABATCO, for Pacific Basin Trading Company. Its headquarters were in the rural town of Athena Oregon.  PABATCO designed and engineered a majority of the motorcycles, and Hodaka in Japan was responsible for the engine and manufacture and assembly. Pabatco was owned by Shell Oil Company from 1965 to 1978. The name Hodaka comes from a mountain near the factory and means “To grow taller”.

I have owned 6 of these over the years, anybody could learn to ride on the 175, and it was a superb platform for many styles of bike, loved seeing this example and being used too.

Different combination, the sohc cb750 and a Panel wagon, both very cool. Not sure who owned either buy glad it was there to be seen.

This won best of show, it was nice but still missing parts but each to their own and a nice motorcycle none the less.

Shinya bought along his CB750 with much Custom Body work that was all hand formed, Loved the front end and I believe a grimeca front brake too.

Another great Custom build that took many hours of massaging of alloy to get it the way it is, the more you look, the more detail you will notice from front forks to exhaust.

So much work going into this, removing One cylinder isn’t easy and this is one awesome Custom and love the whole concept.

Seems that Honda were really out in force on Saturday and I loved it all, one of the girls was riding this, great job.

 

Killer build, I dont usually like Green but this bike popped and a really nice BSA to be shown at Santa Anita, just looks so right.

A plethora of bikes and styles, and was glad to be a part of it on the weekend, it seemed to attract many people and raise a few eyebrows too, all great Motorcycles.

OMG thats all I can say with this Stable of Beeza’s, just awesome Historic value, real Ton Up machines.

Dustin Kott builds some bad ass machines, it was nice of him to purchase one of our Moto caps we sell and Jennifer designed.

Biltwell were there and Bill had his Harley Desert racer on show, fresh from doing thousands of miles in some pretty rough parts of the desert and, it survived.

My mates from Moto Chop were there, we are all like a big family when it comes to Motorcycles and custom created things, cool people.

British Customs were there too, showing what they do and manufacture, it had many cool vendors and we were all glad we had Eazy Ups as the weather was so hot all day long.

Thanks for coming by and saying hello, we had a fun time and hope to see you again at another show, I strive to help you in your quest for parts, service or advice, this is my Passion and my life, thanks for supporting me, it means a lot.

 

 

Antique Nationals 45th Meeting on June 28th FONTANA

At the end of June I am going to be riding with the 59 Club up to Fontana to watch all the great Vintage Hot rods and motorcycles take a run up on the Quarter mile and this show is one of the best of the year, especially for a spectator as you get close to everything. But here you can even enter your machine if it fits into their requirements.

This show has been going for years and i have not missed one, it is fun packed and always something new to see, a great time to also meet up with friends and chin wag about whats been going on etc.

I know you will like watching Hot Rods line up and race, as well as gassers and some Vintage Model A’s with 4 Bangers, it sure is a treat.

They may be slow by todays standards but great to watch and more hopped up than stock.

 

 

The sound of the Flatheads, the smell of Race gas and the Camaraderie is second to none in this type of event.

You never know what will be there ad for us to turn up in numbers will be a fun day for sure as there is plenty of places to park etc and is sure to be a brilliant day to watch the racing and to talk to like minded people.

 

 

It is not to be missed just for the Nostalgia alone and I am looking forward to walking around the pitts and checking everything out there.

Watching crazy built Altereds is amazing to see and hear as their Motors scream the 1/4 and smell the Nitro as they perge at the line.

Marky from the Shifter ran his Purple people Eater and that was super to watch it launch off the line.

I have known Marky 15 years and watched him create this when i was with them and at Anthony Castaneda’s shop back in the day and so great to watch this Altered Roar down the tarmac, spitting fume and fury all over the place, a fantastic show just for this ride alone.

He flew off the line a couple of years ago and had everyone a gasp, but last year he had a solid run and it sounded like Thunder.

Even watching fun old Whizzer style Push Bikes try for a 28 second pass is hilarious and I am sure you will agree?

 

 

So if you like to watch Vintage racing at its very best, head on out to Fontana for the Antique nationals on the 28Th of June or ride out with us from Anaheim, you will thank us later after you have seen all that goes on there.

You never know what you may see there, its different every event.

 

So – Don’t miss the 45th running of the Antique Nationals – the original nostalgia drag race.

The Antique Nationals is the original nostalgia drag race. Racing is open to any 1954 or earlier type vehicle (Ford Trucks OK thru 1956). Race cars must pass tech inspection which requires seat belts and helmets in all cars. Open cars running 13.99 or quicker must have an NHRA approved roll bar/arm restraints.

Auto Club Dragway
9300 Cherry Avenue
Fontana, CA 92335
Phone: 909-429-5060
Email: dragway@autoclubspeedway.com
You can meet up with us at Aleas’ cafe in Anaheim and ride with us to the event, be great to see and meet you, my contact is 714-598-8392 or email me at carpy@carpyscaferacers.com and you can check it out on www.meetup.com and look for.

Carpy’s Cafe Racer Meetups – 59 Club OC

We will be at Alea cafe in the Morning for the ride out, the 59 Club O.C. welcomes you all to ride with us.

 

Alea cafe is located at:

3371 E Miraloma Ave
Anaheim, California
(714) 993-5198

 

 

A Day out with The Ton Up Boys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

carpy59 club

 

 

Below is a great little write up  : By Rahoul Ghose | Photos: Manuel Madrid Rivera

They have a super website named. http://lamotorcyclist.com/ and here is our friend and co-creator of such websites take on the day we invited him and his Thruxton for a ride out with the 59 Club O.C. section.  make sure you save their website as its a lethora of information on rides, events, functions, tips and anything Motorcycle related, for top news and future attractions, be sure to stop by their site as its very informative and the good thing is- its right up to the minute too.

 

Cruising down an empty 105 at near ton up speeds towards Anaheim and a meet up with the newly incorporated 59 Club of OC, the pain of a 7am Sunday rise seems a distant memory.

Morning fog off the Pacific Ocean makes my helmet and dark tinted visor choice seem a little crazy at the outset — visibility issues aside — but now with the sun peeking through all I can think of is how smooth the ride is on Thruxton999 … rear Ohlins, fork brace, steering damper … all welcome upgrades which handle the grooved concrete nicely at high speed. A predicted hour-long excursion East is quickly looking more like 40 minutes.

The smell of the engine as it warms up — gas and oil mixed with a hint of leather – as well as the roar from my 2 into 1 Arrow, inspire me to crouch over the tank and pull a further twist on the throttle as I pass Crenshaw Blvd. The ton is done long before I have to bank onto the 605. The throaty roar of fourth gear at 7,000 RPM is ingrained in my psyche.

Since my very first bike -– a stripped-down, caféd-out Yamaha Seca 400 -– I have always preferred the racer stance clip-ons offer, and the naked look of a traditional café racer. So a day out with the Ton Up boys just seems natural … surrounded by Triumphs, Moto Guzzis and the requisite custom Honda CB750, with riders sporting their newly badged, black Fifty-Nine Club jackets.

 

The meet, organized by café icon and builder Steve “Carpy” Carpenter — the newly confirmed OC 59 Club prez, attracts three highly modified Thruxtons, two Thunderbirds 900s, a T100, a Moto Guzzi V7 Racer and a CB750 café racer to the Aléa Cafe, a few warehouses away from Carpy’s own Anaheim-based garage shop, and a mere hop away from the 91.

The ride –- a trip to Venice’s Deus ex Machina back in my own neighborhood, via Long Beach, San Pedro, and the beautiful coastal highway skirting the Palos Verdes peninsula -– promises some nice twists and even a few open stretches, a taste of the Long Beach Grand Prix course, and the luxury of crossing the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

There’s something very comforting, and almost primal, when you hear the dull roar of a group of café racers firing up. But it’s also the camaraderie of walking around bikes and talking upgrades, modifications, the very philosophy of café racers, stripping your bike down to the basics for better handling and performance.

For Carpy, the 59 Club is about nostalgia, but more importantly about that camaraderie, where members want to ride, help others and simply enjoy the moto lifestyle.

“If you ride a traditional old-style Classic, then that’s a big bonus … that’s what we are all about,” Carpy says, referring to the 59 Club membership requirements. “Nostalgia is a key component of the club, but not a big necessity, as long as you are into the Classic-style machines that the original 59 Club had in the day, or in the spirit of, like we are with the Bonneville, Thruxtons, and Guzzis.”

 

 

                          

 


If you like motorcycles, people and promoting the club in a positive way, then joining the 59 club is as simple as attending regular events over a six-month probationary period and then going through the traditional, now 55-year-old, initiation … passing a current or past president at the Magic Ton.

Today’s excursion boasts some 90 F spring LA weather, and at least a few ‘Sunday’ drivers … no you don’t need to turn your wheel right before making a left-hand turn my mind mentally screams more than a few times as I go into avoidance mode around some four-wheelers. But then there’s the beauty of riding in small groups where people look out for one another … where traffic stops inspire off-the-cuff conversations … and passing other groups prompts a steady hail of acknowledging hand gestures.


Along Palos Verdes Drive we ride up quickly on a couple dozen Harley tour bikes in bomber-like formation, but slow down to enjoy the breath-taking coastal view. We are all heading the same way, after all. Even the stop and start routine through Redondo Beach doesn’t quash any enthusiasm.

 

As the ride wends to a close, we snake through beachside traffic along Vista Del Mar before the final Lincoln Blvd lane-splitting track to Deus in Venice.

Much needed coffee, more bike viewing and talk, a Roland Sands sighting … Westside moto enthusiasts greet their OC counterparts. Riders come into the Deus parking lot … groups head out, greeted by moto officers ticketing those without DOT-approved headgear. But smiles prevail. Just another Sunday in beautiful Los Angeles, the heart and soul of US motorcycling … and all before noon.
– See more at: http://lamotorcyclist.com/single-news9.html#sthash.Vxf0pbyf.dpuf