Spirit Racer – Hedonic Triumph Thruxton R

Posted on December 18, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

18 Dec

The Custom Motorcycle creations that are turning out today is so far advanced than back in the day as we have so many good machines from Water jet cutters to 10 axis CNC machines that can design , print and shape pretty much anything that you can pull out of your mind and install in Machine coding to its control box.

Still, you of course will still need the skill set to be able to achieve just some of these processes, and when you look at today’s builds, not only is the engineering so smooth, the tolerances for detail are even finer.

So, take for instance, the factory Triumph Thruxton R motorcycle, I mean, it is the quintessential Cafe style motorbike that Triumph them selves have re-invented and added everything you need for modern comfort and of course ride ability. When the Thruxton R first came out here in the states, I was one of the earliest test riders of this model here and I was amazed at the way it handled, looked, felt and of course, reacted when I gave its neck a bit of a squeeze.

The Perfect bike, nothing needed I thought to myself, but when you then give one of these thoroughbred motorcycles to a French Motorcycle company named Hedonic of which means.

Definition of hedonic

1: of, relating to, or characterized by pleasure

2: of, relating to, or characterized by hedonism

The Creator of this head turning machine is French Man Serge Heitz and he has made a number of head turning master pieces over time and this time he wanted to make sure you looked more than once when you see this Triumph Thruxton R heading towards you.

About 90 minutes from Bordeaux , the workshop is equipped with everything you require to fabricate steel to alloy and they sure know how to handle that.

Any Motorcycle created by Hedonic will get so much attention to detail, you will be gobsmacked for at least half an hour when you see a finished product come rolling out of their doors.

The bikes curvy Fairing, swooping lines of the Belly Pan and side covers and also the curvature of the Bobbed front Mudguard, are all hand made from Aluminum, with well over 150 hours of kneeling, banging, smoothing and hand massaging these components to the bike that you would think Rolls Royce engineers were creating this.

The Aluminum parts were all hand rubbed for that brushed look to show the quality of the material and see no cheating had occurred, this is simply a work of art and so pleasing to the eye.

The front end is ample enough for the roads of anywhere to be honest but Serg was not happy keeping it stock and wanted to put a twist to the front end of the bike by fitting a Yamaha YZF R6 front end, no easy task, no plans and some careful measurements and patience paid off.

The Rims were changed in favor of 16 inch items and a set of Firestone square edged champion style tires were fitted, not everybody likes these but I personally do, albeit they handle like crap but look so thick and fill the bike out.

Custom Clip ons were made with some very cool touches such as integrated brake master cylinder and clutch cable and wear inverted levers. To slim down the bike’s proportions the factory indicators have been replaced by tiny LED units mounted to the fairing and rear wheel hugger.

Under that Fairing is a custom triple tree along with some Moto gadget instruments, the whole top end is cleaned up and just shows the quality of the french man and his team can do.

The Engine is just under 100 horses and ample enough for anyone to get into trouble with but a cool set of exhausts were made with Turbine rear caps to finish this Futuristic look off to a tea.

The Brown Leather seat unit is a nice touch and I look forward to seeing a few write ups in magazine on this European Machine as it has so many cool angles that just flow, it would be nice to see more about it.

Just wanted to share this with you today and hope you liked it half as much as I did, what a fun machine, something I would love to take out for a blap.

AJS 7R – THE BOY RACER the Classic 350cc Road Racer

Posted on December 16, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

16 Dec

The AJS 7R was introduced in 1948, and was almost immediately nicknamed the “Boy Racer”. It would go on to be become one of the most successful over-the-counter racing motorcycles for sale in England at the time, and even today almost 70 years later the AJS 7R is a dominant force in the world of vintage motorcycle racing.

AJS was the name used for cars and motorcycles made by the Wolverhampton, England, company A. J. Stevens & Co. Ltd, from 1909 to 1931, by then holding 117 motorcycle world records. After the firm was sold, the name continued to be used by Matchless, Associated Motorcycles and Norton-Villiers on four-stroke motorcycles till 1969, and since the name’s resale in 1974, on lightweight, two-stroke scramblers and today on small-capacity roadsters and cruisers.

THE STORY OF THE AJS 7R

Phil Walker designed the 7R with a single cylinder, single overhead camshaft engine – based on the lessons learned with the pre-WWII “cammy” engines. The chain driven overhead camshaft gives the 7Rs engine a distinctive look on the timing side, with an oftentimes gold-painted timing and cam cover sitting below the AJS fuel tank with its large knee indents on either side.

The air-cooled engine sits in a duplex frame, and suspension is handled with telescopic shock absorbers at the rear and Teledraulic forks up front. A small headlight fairing with a Perspex shield offers the rider a little cover when crouched down behind the dials on the straight.

The original AJS 7R had a relatively svelte kerb weight of 285 lbs (129 kgs), which meant its 32 bhp could be put to good use. Over the course of its production run the model was progressively modified in an effort to keep up with the advanced multi-cylinder race bikes coming out of Italy. The bore/stroke was squared a little from 74 x 81 mm to 75.5 x 78 mm to allow a higher red line, and the valves angles were narrowed.

In 1951 an experimental derivative called the AJS 7R3 was built with a 3-valve head, and in 1954 the 7R was further improved – the engine was lowered in the frame to lower the centre of gravity, and further engine tweaks improved power to 40 bhp (at 7800 rpm). This newly improved 7R won the first two rounds of the World Championship and took a win at the Isle of Man TT – not a bad effort for a bike first introduced 7 years earlier – especially when you consider the pace of engineering advancement at the time.

Wins for the AJS 7R would continue right into the 1960s, with victories at the Junior Manx Grand Prix races in 1961, ’62, ’63, and a 2nd place finish in 1966. Interestingly the 7R also won the inaugural F.I.M. 500cc Motocross World Championship in 1957 – Bill Nilsson of Sweden modified a 7R road racer into a motocross machine and nailed a convincing victory. Not something Phil Walker ever likely envisaged for the model.

Engine‎: ‎348cc single SOHC four stroke

Also called‎: ‎’Boy Racer’

Power‎: ‎37 bhp (28 kW) at 7500 rpm

Production‎: ‎1948 to 1954 (factory) up to 1963 …

THE AJS 7R SHOWN HERE

The AJS 7R you see here is an original 1956 model, meaning it benefited from the performance modifications introduced in 1954, it’s also fitted with the high-performance works camshaft, and a light weight magnesium gearbox and carburettor.

How cool would it be to own a stable of these Boy Racers, a very cool collection and would be fun to race the 350cc for sure.

Sadly nothing is known about its racing history, but for those who’ve been looking to get into vintage motorcycle racing there are very few bikes better suited. Bonhams estimate it’s worth between £22,000 and £28,000, and it’s likely the bidding will be brisk when it rolls onto the auction block at the Spring Stafford Sale on the 23rd of April.

As a kid I would hitch hike to Snetterton Race track to watch the Clubman races, I loved the pits and the mechanics etc but the distinct sound of a Single also had that resonating tone I will always remember.

Unforgettable sound for me.

Have a Great weekend.

Italian Thoroughbred Thruxton R is pure Class.

Posted on December 15, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

15 Dec

Caff bikes terminology has not changed, back in the day, these words seemed to be only understandable to the sub- Culture that lived and breathed these British Factory bikes that were stripped down, parts either sold off or re-fabricated to enhance the Motorcycles speed, Handling and of course performance, but as well as looks, your machine needed to stand out, to really stamp an exclamation mark of Ton Upmanship. This has been my lifes interest and when I saw this machine, well, I just had to Blog about it.

But, now in 2017, we have come a long way, a few years ago it was still a sub culture in the Caff World but, with people creating unique looking machines, the media on the two wheeled industry could not but notice this newer trend of creating your very own Rocket and the proof of that pudding is when Meridian turned out the Triumph Thruxton in 2004, it sure turned heads and the sub culture took a back step and now it has gone mainstream.

Nothing wrong with that, just look at the Brand New Triumph Thruxton R, I mean look at them, they have an old look, but- They have a strong, reliable engine that produces so much power to the ground its breath taking, the lines are so smooth and flowing that even Alberto Vargas could not equal that in any of his renderings.

New modern technology with front forks, full floating brakes and sturdy swing-arm, gives this bike a Classic look with futuristic handling.

So, when you clap your eyes upon a Thruxton -R, you think to yourself, “This is as far as you could go with a Caff Racer” I mean, what else could you do to make this machine any more appealing.

Well. over in the town of Massa in Italy, you will find Alo and his Motorcycle company, they have been creating Caff Racers for about 10 years now and when they were approached by the high end watch manufacturer Meccaniche Veloci to design and build a stylish Cafe Style Motorcycle using a Triumph Thruxton -R, well they were on board right away and began the transformation of a really eye catching Motorcycle, into a precision work of art that runs as smooth as one of the Clients Time Pieces.

Just take a look at the craftsmanship of this machine, the exhaust are of course Italian, from Zars but with a few modifications, take a look at the tail pipes to see that the ends of the silencers features a unique 4 hole design that is reminiscent of the 4 faces of the companies Quattro Valvole watch. The headers flow so well and hug tight and high the the machine, being as one so to speak. Much fettling was applied to get this set up to look like it was from the factory and boy- Did these fellas pull that job off.

The Original Factory Plastics were removed, this machine needed to have some top quality Aluminum panels made, so to start, they decided they would hand form a front fairing but a full version reminiscent of the days back in the UK with a Phil Read style, that flowed like water from a tap. This was by no means an easy task, the lines are smooth but not straight, and to get them flowing curves, many hours of hand forming were spent in the workshop. Using just 3 pieces of Aluminum these were massaged into the work of art you see on this motorcycle, they also fabricated some side covers to keep everything in contrast with the front end.

The detail is so pleasing and reminiscent of the time pieces that Meccaniche Veloci manufacture, as even the leather material used for the Hand formed seat, used the same stitching as the time pieces have as the wrist strap, with the traditional racing stripe incorporated to show this is a fast machine. The Herringbone style stitching works very well and sets this apart from anything out there right now, all handcrafted at the workshop.

The finished example of Alo’s hard graft is so apparent, aptly named “the Bullet” This is on another level of machinery you may see of any Thruxton R right now and would love to see this at our 59 Club O.C. meet as it is such an eye catching Motorcycle and would love to hear them Zard pipes in action, as it would probably sound as deep and strong as Pavarotti himself.

So thats my Blog for today, a nice piece of Italian styling that will always attract attention, I hope you enjoyed Fridays Blog and I try to do as much as I possibly can to promote these machines and of course the lifestyle too.

Now I have to try and at least clean u my old 2013 900 and give it a go but man thats a nice machine Aldo has created.

Have fun with your machine today or over the weekend, looking at things like this always gets my creative juices flowing and I am now looking forward to wrenching on my own Thruxton.

If you are anywhere near Massa in Italy, pop in to see Aldo, they have a wicked workshop and you will enjoy their creations.

Have a super weekend and let me know if I can help with any parts for your machines.

My Thruxton with a New Look !

Posted on August 3, 2015January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

03 Aug

Here we are with a brand new look to my 2013 Thruxton, as I had drawn this up a long time ago and wanted the old style look with a new ride.

I was so fortunate to be honored as the President of the 59 Club for Orange County, California and that was back in March 2014 and sure am stoked to have that bestowed upon me and I do my utmost to promote this famous club to the best of my ability.

I have made numerous changes to my Thruxton and am still making improvements as and when time and money is available.

As you may notice, I have made my own front bikini fairing, similar to the Thruxton but extended two inches on the top – and of course I have the ears extended back to give it a slight Rickman styling, also I added my 7 inch LED headlight that really sets the front end off on my machine.

I am from the UK and as a teenager I grew up loving motorcycles and immersed myself in what ever I could, I loved all the classics and my first ever Caff racer was back in 1978 when we got our provisional License and had a 50cc Suzuki that I put Clubman bars on, cut down seat and fitted a fairing and from then on I was hooked into the scene.

I used to go to all the Rocker Reunions to watch the Gene Vincent styled bands play, from Joe Brown and His Brothers to The Rapiers, who still gig today.

If you look on the tank I have painted Ton Up and ask any Rocker what that means, it means to go over 100 miles an hour and back in 1959 that was quite a feat to accomplish. This has nothing to do with the TON UP clubs that are all over the place, I had this logo many years ago as we were Ton Up Boys back then and this term was coined back home in the 1950’s by the 59 Club members. I wanted to use a Triumph Style font and love the look.

I made the tail cowl too and my seat has the compartment inside the cowl so that I can store all sorts of stuff for my ride. You will also notice the awesome polished finned Primary Cover that I received from Speed Merchant and boy does that look trick now.

I have Speed Merchant covers and love the look, fit and style of these castings etc, and get many good positive comments on the set up I have.

My stainless steel Monarch Megaphones bark like a scolded dog and actually improve performance, hope to get a dyno chart on them soon.

I also make the side covers too and have an air intake style grill that really helps the bike and as I now have pod filters, these breathes well.

Right now I am working on making brand new stainless steel headers for the Thruxton and the Bonneville, so stay tuned on my website for that.

I have the big wide 5.5 T.T. rear wheel set up with Wave rotors too on a stock swing arm and it handles very well but soon I will have new alloy rear swing arms that will be available for all to purchase for your rides.

I have TEC shocks right now with my covers I machined on them to give that racy look and am happy with that set up until I can afford some Works Performance piggy backs.

The bike sits well and I have Wave rotors front and rear, it corners so well and have such fun with this bike.

Just have a look at the gorgeous SM Finned Clutch Cover, it really is a piece of art and a happy I went this route as its kinda Hot Roddy!

From the right side you can see that I have my own oil pressure gauge set up on the bike and I love to know I have good oil pressure.

I changed the Front sprocket to a 19 and love the performance and fuel millage on it and now will be fitting a nickel DID chain to compliment it.

To break 100 MPH in Great Britain back in the day was a major effort and the 59 Club were the first Rockers organized motorcycle club and that where you started to hear TON UP, doing the Ton, Ton up Boys, Ton Up Pirate, Ton up kid. To break ‘the ton’ was a huge achievement back in the day and gave you some bragging rights.

Back in the day my dad would point if we were in the car going somewhere and would say look, “Ton Up Boys”

My first Ton Up experience was putting my brother on the back of an RD200 and tapping him on the shoulder so he could look at my speedometer needle bouncing at the 101 MPH, it was an awesome experience and a sense of accomplishment back then, albeit it highly illegal, as it still is today!

The real badges I have from back home.

The FIRST organized motorcycle club in Great Britain and when Britain was really great was the club I am now president of here (the Orange County, California chapter) some 55 years later.

I wanted to fit my fairing on the bike and give it a slightly nostalgic look that I grew up with, having a fairing back then was not just cool it made you more aerodynamic, which meant you could go faster, I also used to be able to tuck stuff in the fairing like tools, maps and spark plugs, etc., and on occasion, as my throttle would stick, keep the throttle wide open on cold mornings on the freeway and put my cold hands in the fairing to warm up a bit.

This is the rear of the bike with my own made cowl with old style metal-flake gold paint and of course the famous 59 Club insignia I am so proud of.

My peanut style tank looks great in the new livery as green was just too common and I have had many green bikes over the years but always loved black and gold. you can see my old style European Fog light and oil pressure gauge to the right of the bike.

My ram air system style side covers not only looks cool they are cool and function very well transporting cool air to my pod filters.

This has House of Kolor Aztec Gold flake and it sure looks good when the sun is out.

So, here she is outside my shop and has so many of my parts on her, the Oil Pan Bash Plate, the fog light, the fairing, the exhaust, the rear cowl and seat, the side covers and the front alloy fender, all designed by me and available to you, too.

I have so much fun with my Thruxton and we have many rides to great places, check out meetup.com under Carpy’s Cafe Racer Meet Ups and come on a ride with us all, you will love it.

I still have more to do to my bike as I will be making a 3/4 Dunstall style fairing for her to give that early 60’s styling and something I really like.

I thank you for looking at my Cafe and love to hear from you, carpy@carpyscaferacers.com if you want to drop me a line or two?

Look forward to seeing some of you on the road, as we have many rides and start to go to more places too.

Stay tuned for more stuff like parts and apparel, etc., as I love what I do and enjoy meeting like minded people.

Just some history below back in 64.

1964 Rockers from Hong Kong Rockers on Vimeo.

1964 Rockers footage
Edit by H.K.R.C. (Hong Kong Rockers Club)

Here is me on my Thruxton a few months ago taking Big Bear Area in, I loved how the bike handled with the new rims on.

MY OLD SEELEY HONDA

Posted on April 25, 2014January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

25 Apr

Well, back in 2007 I was lucky enough to have not One , but Two Seeley Honda’s and this one I am featuring was a really sweet ride and one of the last ever made by Colin Himself.

I saw Colin at Snetterton race track back in 1977 as this was the year before I left school, I hitched a ride on the back of a old Gt suzuki and jumped the hedge to get to see the trans- Atlantic races, Colin was there with a Honda britain and boy did that bike stand out, Colin was far superieor to anyone with frame design back then and this Duplex cradle from for the DOHC and round swing arm was a first and boy did it perform, little would I know that later on in life on the other sode of the world, I would own 2 of his examples.

This was complete with Lester rims and had never been touched since 1978 when it was assembled and sent to the USA.

This still had the Original Number plate on the bike of which i rode about for a while with this on, reminded me of home.

A fantastic machine, the Duplex cradle frame handled the road like a Ducati, this was a 836cc motor and it purred through the Dunstall exhausts.

This even had the original Avon tires on the bike and road it with them on, I was so stoked to get the machine running as it had ZERO miles on the whole bike.

The rear Lester rim was unusual as Seeley had used a stock CB750 Hub and machined it to fit the rest of the rim.

The Paul Dunstall rear sets really were a superb set up and so smooth.

This was the last bike made and left the shores of back home in 1978 which for me was cool as that was the year I left School.

No stickers here, Colin used the same sign-writer for years, so these were all hand lettered.

You do not see many of these around these days but the ones you do are used and some are even raced on a track and I love seeing that.

Early front forks with a Double disc set up was the trend of the day and worked very well once it was all bled etc.

The Tommesselli clip ons were amazing and set just right, the bike handled so well.

I had original Koni shocks on here too.

Paul Dunstall rear sets were so nice and smooth in the gear transition it was a super ride.

Round adjustable rear swing arm was a really good engineered design and function so well.

Original cb750K hub had been machined and pressed into the rear of the Lester rim which was a disc brake version.

836cc old Bellmouth Velocity stack and untouched since 1978.

The Paul Dunstall megaphones sounded really sweet and had a nice deep tone as you shifted gears.

Alloy rear seat was comfortable and had the original tuck n Roll cover and had the Colin Seeley initials hand painted on the sides.

I doubt I shall be lucky enough to have another of these but so glad I had the chance to own 2 of them and ride this, the bike now resides in Brisbane- Australia.

A superb time piece and something I believe will always turn a few heads when it blaps down the road.

The bike was such a lovely design, and a dream to ride, the bike hugged the corners like a Ducati and the motor was a strong 836cc that put the power to the tarmac with a Linear feel and as this also had a Jerry Branch head, the bike pulled hard when you got over 5000 revs.

The fairing has a few scuffs and a lot of it all cleaned off, but the brakes were seized but only took a couple of hours to get everything dialed in.

But as this was the last bike to be made, the sign writer must of been in a hurry , as he painted the logo the wrong way around, making this an even more unique machine.

This bike had ZERO miles, I did about 11 miles on it and loved every mile of this ride.

So- if you see a Seeley, take a good look at the cool work that went into that bike as the frame is a piece of art.

Hope you like the photos? I was lucky enough to get in a few magazines with this machine.

Time waits for no man and now a geezer in Australia is bombing about on this machine with a mile wide smile.

On the road and this bike was just pure fun to ride and like stepping back in time to 1978 as nothing had changed on the bike at all.

Sure wished I had videoed it as the sound of the exhaust tone was really cool and unusual to hear these days.

If you see a Seeley for sale- grab it, a cool piece of history and Colin is still around and meeting people at bike shows and race events.

So until I find another one, I will bid you all a fond farewell and hope you enjoyed the photos?

Definition of hedonic

THE STORY OF THE AJS 7R

THE AJS 7R SHOWN HERE

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