Well, I got the old Cold Lurgy, messed me right up last week to be honest, very similar to Covid, but tested and said negative, but im a weak right now and hoping to get my strength back as I have loads to do, I am more than willing to get some hard graft some but with no energy in your body, its like trying to ride long distance on a Motorcycle but you are already on reserve.
I have no clue where the days go these days to be honest, I get so involved with what I do and achieve in a short amount of time, it seems that life is shooting by at over 100 Miles Per Hour for me, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Coming up towards 25 years in the Motorcycle industry here in Southern California is quite daunting to some extent, a quarter of a century already is almost upon me, but I have many more ideas and parts that I want to make and offer to everybody and a few more tricks up my sleeve, although that sleeve is turning into the size of Gandalf’s one lol.
But stay tuned to the website as I will always have a feature on anything new for you all to see, I have started to sell more things Like Handlebar grips, lights and electrical parts with more stuff continuing to increase as the year goes on. Something to pretty up your CB750 thats for sure.
I have a few builds that I need to sort out and build and will have a few blogs on what I am up too soon, I love all the correspondence that I receive and I thank you for that, if there is Anything I can help you with, feel free to email me at carpy@carpyscaferacers.com and I will do my utter best to help you go in the right direction.
Peace & Grease Everyone and, get out and Ride.
I recently came across some old CD’s that I had tucked away in a drawer, glad I took some pics of some of the motorcycles that I have created, they say if you put them on the internet, it’s there forever, but that’s incorrect as I had quite a few bikes on there and cannot find them anywhere, so I was stoked to at least find a couple I had created and thought that I would share with you.
The bike started out as a stock 1978 machine that had seen better days and been neglected for a few decades, this was a good platform to use as I knew the Motor would at least kick over but not fire, so, with that in mind I set about pulling the bike apart and going a little out there with the color, the reasoning for this? Well I loved the old Yellow on the 400 -4 Super Sports ad thought I would go with that color ad it would stand out in the California Sun.
The Bike belonged to a Customer and he wanted me to go way out there and make this a head turning machine, if I remember correctly he was a Rocket Scientist, so I had to come up with something that would Blast Off!!!
Everything apart and now its time to see what to do, I started with the frame first, as that needed to be cleaned up then stripped before I could get it ready for any sort of paint.
Happy with this now, I have to media blast the frame to remove old paint and of course any rust etc, file any bad welds and spot weld back to good again, then it will be time to take to Powder coater and get some Sunrise Yellow on this to make a big statement in chassis color.
As you can see, this really is a bold statement- I really wanted this to turn a few heads for my Client and he has let me go ahead with what I ever i feel this machine may need to give it a wow factor, remember, this was about 2006.
Motor stripped and rebuilt with New cam Chains, belt slider and clutch etc, this will be like a New Machine when all back together, but- A long way to go as yet.
So, the Motor is now all painted and polished and awaits me to lift this 230 pounds of aluminum and throw it into the Duplex Cradle frame of the SOHC, but I still have to get that frame rolling, what I need to do is finish the chassis so its a roller, then I can get this lump back in the place it originally was placed in 1978.
I rebuilt the rear shocks with all new stainless steel hardware as I don’t want this to rust like it had done previously, and will take my time getting this together on my own.
I went another route this time as the 1978 Forks were in really bad shape, so I used a 1976 CB750F front fork set up, polished the lowers and fitted new tubes and completely revamped these with Progressive springs etc, this is a nice set up and very clean compared to what was on there.
Frame is back together, using an old 1976 front wheel to make it a roller as I shall be building new wheels for this bike, I also put pipe insulation on the frame so I don’t scratch the paint when I am fitting the motor.
She is now a rolling chassis, with this I got the bike off the bench and onto the floor then into the driveway, I used a 1976 rear wheel to fit in the back until I have made new rims up, but now is the time to see if I can fit this engine and that’s the last of the heavy lifting.
The Motor is now in, with the help from my trusty cat, I also fitted vintage speed equipment parts on the bike for that added bling, as well as new switches on the Ace bars and GT grips for that Nostalgic look and feel.
Fuel tank was a different matter, this time I wanted to fit an earlier K series fuel tank, so used 2 gas tank and sectioned them as I wanted a 5″ stretch for a long road race style petrol tank of back in the day, took a long time but sure looked great when completed.
Once that was all sorted I had to do the body work right here at home still as I worked in my garage all the time, lucky my neighbors are out all day so can bang, grind and sand with no interruptions at all.
Final fit of the gas tank and i like the stretch, not too much but just enough and an extra 2 gallons capacity is always good right?
I do not like 1977-1978 carbs and wanted to fit earlier versions, I only had old snotty ones in boxes that I had picked up at swap meets and yard sales, so a full rebuild was needed to get these to how I wanted them.
All cleaned up and synchronized and looking forward to fitting these to the motor and way easier and faster to tune than the flat tops.
I polished the original wheel hubs and used stainless spokes and attached them to CB750 Automatic rims as they are aluminum, bunged on some classic tread rubber and these look like they were from the factory.
The bike is sitting well on those Automatic rims and glad that I made the choice to change to that as I have never like the 4 spoke set up that came on the 77 and 78 models, the Comstars as they were called were tin looking and I think, very weak.
Making parts fit that were not available for this bike always takes time and of course many failures, but I persisted and got the bike to where I wanted it so everything flowed.
I had an original Dunstall front fender that used to be hanging on the wall, I wanted to use it as it was from back home and very fitting it looks to.
I used the old Honda Super Sport gas tank decals from an old 400-4 as thats the color I chose for it and very cool it looks too, the bike was a hoot to ride with tons of low end torque.
It was a learning curve and I enjoyed the challenge on this bike, this was many years ago and I would change a few things now but this was a fun creation that was fun to ride.
You cannot lose sight of this in a parking lot, the color is loud and proud and the Customer loved it, a great stance to the bike too with that big long tank too its just smooth.
It may not be your style but I was super stoked to have a go at changing the sad tired original bike and give it a brand new life as well as a brand new look too.
I just wanted to share a few pics of this bike as I had lost them many moons ago and glad that I could load them up on my website for you to have a look at.
Thanks for taking your time to read my Blog on this Super Sport, of course I still make and sell parts and build Motorcycles, I always will as its a passion still for me.
It’s Saturday and the weekend always seems to fly by and then by Monday you then remember what you wanted to do and forgot to do it, Right? It’s always the case for me, I try and do my own stuff on the weekends and I really enjoy it, plus the weather is getting better and the days longer and that’s a blessing for all us Bike enthusiasts.
I have a bunch of bikes in the Brn, many I picked up locally and slowly I have to try and resurrect them to at least, a running condition, but sometime the order is taller than a Yard of ale and I do have my work cut out and huge challenges become a major headache, broken bolts, seized motors, electrical is falling apart and getting more shorts than a Robot made in China.
And then there are the ones that you grab as nobody wants to even look at having a go to clean all the bird shit off and see if the faithful old inline four will come back to life, you would be amazed at how many do, that’s testament to the Japanese engineering and the sturdiness of these 500 pound classic machines.
Just get out there and enjoy life, these are such a great Platform to create your own style of motorbike and still plenty of the models out there around the globe mostly sitting in some dark corner, waiting to be discovered and you will be amazed when you kick the motor in the guts and she fires up, once that happens its all systems go to try and get her back on the tarmac, then go and get plenty of miles of smiles.
Be it stock to a full custom, I know that you will enjoy creating your very own Motorcycle and there is nothing like slinging your leg over and taking on the curves and straight aways that literally await you.
Have a fun weekend with your Big 4 Machine and if I can help, shoot me a line at carpy@carpyscaferacers.com or drop a dime to me at 714-598-8392 and I will do my best to get you back on the road so you can wheelie away with a smile on your face.
Well, next year will be my 25th Anniversary of creating machines over on this side of the pond, many people have asked would I replicate the infamous K5 with Cafe on the tank to celebrate a quarter of a Century building Motorcycles, and I thought, I may go along the similar lines to that very Bike that kind of put me on the map so to speak.
But what should I do? On reflection I think it is indeed a cool idea to do something like that very machine but, with some extra cool parts and exhaust system etc but I do have a NOS Paul Dunstall 5 Gallon Manx Tank in my Barn and will probably use that, so, I have a few old parts laying about and have been to and throw in coming up with that popular concept bike I created all them years back.
I have an empty Motor that I will use as a mock up for the time being. Then build something that will have a bit of oomph, but we shall see how things go, but the amount of messages I get about the old Cafe Bike I created all them years ago, still causes a stir and I think it will be fitting to do something in that style, maybe different color etc and wheels too.
So I will use old snotty spare parts to mock it up, as well as some New stuff to see if it will fit and as you see, I think I may go with my Infamous Sidewinder Exhaust system as it hugs the frame and, you can still use a main stand. I am putting my Vortex Baffle in for that crisp response and crackle when you open and shut the throttle.
Simply slide the baffle in all the way and the endcap finishes the system off just like the old days and I like ceramic Black end to give a good contrast to the system.
Please remember, this is all a Mock up, I will strip the frame and then either paint or Chrome it, not decided what yet but will add info as and when I do more to the bike, I am just getting a feel right now but love the way it will sit and of course will use shorter fork tubes in the steering.
See how close the Sidewinder is to the frame, but, not touching it, and- If you look, you can see that if you wanted, you can still use the Main stand, even if you were changing a rear tire or fitting a new chain, it makes it easier to slip the main stand on and not have to remove the exhaust system.
Still so Much to do and see where I am going, but I do like my Sidewinder Exhaust system as on the 75K I created a quarter a century ago I went with a different 4 into 1 system, plus this system allows for super easy access to the Oil filter Housing too.
I love the look of the tromboning headers and they flow so well, a crisp note that will get you noticed every time you twist the throttle, the bike will get a complete strip down and then I shall bead blast the paint down to bare metal, grind any welds off that are ugly and add some brackets for New tank and seat combo etc, this will take time but don’t want to rush either.
This is my own design and I like to Ceramic coat these , this time I chose the Brushed Aluminum look and I think it will set the bike off great once everything is tied together and have that Cohesiveness that will draw a crowd.
Of course stopping power is paramount on these machines and with a little extra Horsepower, these inline fours need some good surface area to be able for the brake pads to grab onto and bring you to a safe stop, so I chose to go with Beringer and have the floating Rotor and Custom Caliper set up to give me that punchy braking that many lack on their builds.
Of course, you need a good strong Master Cylinder to push all that brake fluid down to the Caliper as quick as possible and I thought I may as well go for the trifecta and get a Bringer Master Cylinder set up and very cool it looks too.
As you can see, this is a rough mock up, no painting will be going on until I have completed the whole build up and then once I am happy I shall do the tear down, rebuild a Motor and then slowly assemble the machine, but right now I am trying all sorts of concepts, I had an old set of 1977 Lester Rims that came off an old Chopper bike that was parted out many moons ago. It is a 19″ front and a 16′ rear, the shock absorbers that I have fitted are not tall enough for what I want, these are about 13 inches from center to center, I want at least 14 inch centers to raise the rear end for a more level stance.
I have had this old frame for years and its weather beaten, but that makes it for an interesting build as I love resurrecting 50 years old Motorcycles from parts, I believe this will be a fun bike to ride, I shall incorporate rear sets and maybe a Custom swing arm with adjustable shock mounts for changing rear Geometry etc.
So, although the frame is Rusty and some corrosion, I have always started with frames like this, I am media blasting it anyway so it will be all fresh metal again when I start the build up after I am happy with the overall look when I am done fitting parts.
I have other things to do like all my orders today, so I had better get the exhaust orders done and ready for the UPS driver as exhausts always sell well and weather will be warming up all over the globe soon and that means- Riding weather.
So, with that I had better get these orders packed and labeled for exhausts and get them done as light will be fading soon, but thanks for follwing me on the 25th Anniversary build and of course, I shall keep you all posted via here.
Wishing everybody a very Merry Christmas and thank you so much for all your orders.
Wanted to have a long blog with a few videos at the bottom of here to show you how skilled this fella is, I am sure you will enjoy the video’s over the Christmas period?
When rocket scientist and motorcycle madman Allen Millyard went to the motorcycle races at Castle Combe, he met none other than Guy Martin. Martin brought Millyard back to his pit area and showed him his replica Honda RC174. This was the bike that Mike Hailwood dominated the 350 cc class of the 1967 Grand Prix season on with its tiny inline-six engine. Millyard loved it, and Martin suggested that he should build his own RC174 replica, so he did.
In what seems like an act of sacrilege, Millyard started with a pair of Yamaha FZR250RR four-cylinder engines. The Yamaha engine was a better starting point than anything comparable from Honda because the Yamaha’s heads and blocks are symmetrical, making them much easier to add extra cylinders to than some of his previous efforts. He started with the heads, cutting the two outer cylinders off of one and cutting the other in half at the center. Already he could see he would have to rework the oil and coolant routing inside the engine. He’d end up using three separate coolant galleries inside the final engine to keep everything adequately cool.
Millyard repeated the process with the cam covers, creating one to cover all six cylinders. The tricky bit was that these cam covers are magnesium, which is extremely flammable and difficult to extinguish, as he demonstrates (stopping for a cupcake on the way, of course). He cut strips of magnesium out of leftover parts to use as a filler wire, ensuring that the filler would be exactly the same material he was welding on the extended cam cover.
All of the pistons were good, so Millyard chose the six best to go into his engine. All 24 valves were in great shape. He only had five good cylinder liners, though, since one of the original engines had rusted inside. In true Millyard fashion, he simply fabricated his own. Speaking of fabrication, Millyard converted the Yamaha’s original wet clutch to a dry clutch, as on the Honda RC174. He created or heavily modified all the parts to do this, along with a new oil filler. Millyard even made a stainless steel toe cover to prevent him from getting sucked into the completely exposed clutch.
One video in the series shows Millyard extending the crankshaft and crankcase to match the heads and putting the whole engine together. As before, he does an excellent job explaining every detail of his design and build process in terms that a layman can understand, keeping no secrets about how he did it. He calls this the RC374 both as an homage to Honda’s original model name, as well as a more accurate description of its displacement.
I am completely blown away with any of Allens creations and the ease of how he actually creates a unique part, such a laid back fella with so many skills that it would take a year just to get a sample of what Allen has accomplished in his shed/garage back home.
This is Christmas and I am sure you lot are off of work and I am also pretty certain its bloody cold where you are right now?
So, what better way than to watch this at home on the big screen if you can? Only 15 minute videos but if you are into engineering and want to see a Pure Genius at work, you will be mesmerized at the skill set and the ease at how Allen accomplishes any task at hand. he would make a great Professor at a university to teach you engineering that’s for sure.
The sound of this screaming 6 cylinder Race bike is the same as the Original as I have heard it, I love everything Allen does with all his machines but these Videos are all of building this RC347 Honda Six. so take a hour or so Break away from your Turkey, Ham or tri Tip and sit and watch how this Mechanical Wizard creates this unbelievable machine.
Merry Christmas from Carpys Cafe Racers.
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.
I know, I know- I should not complain about the weather, but- I left the shores of Blighty back in 1997, this weekend it will be in the 90’s and I am lucky that I now have the Barn to work in, albeit no A/C. Its surprising how much you can get done when there is a big ball of fire trying to make you evaporate.
Today I shall be packing up quite a few New exhaust systems, with more on the way, busy time of the year for me as people are wrenching on their machines and of course, with warmer temperatures, then riding season is at its most fruitful, I too love riding early in the morning as the warmth of the Sun begins to make the tarmac steam and for me, there is nothing better to clear your head than a crisp morning.
But parts have to be re-stocked and I am trying to get the New Place in some sort of order, so I can pick and pack my parts a little easier and then ship right out to my Customers, I am lucky as the Main Post Office is just down the road, so that means I can take them directly to the Loading dock to scan and load the packages and boxes onto the truck that is going out to deliver.
I am coming up with a few different parts too and this all takes time, but I am enjoying what I do and when you work from your own Workshop with no landlord hassling you, a lot of stress simply disappears.
Happy Sunday everyone and hope you get a little bit of time to be able to do some wrenching on your machine, let me know if I can help by phone or text, 714-598-8392. keep building and keep riding.
Well, what a bloody tough year we have all had, for me it has been crazy, what with moving to another location as well as catching Covid and then on Christmas day catching an awful cold with the same symptoms of Covid but without the temperatures, its been a long battle throughout. From having some of my suppliers completely closing down due to the Virus to some retiring early, I have had to come up with some more ideas for parts and apparel to have for the coming year we await.
But, the positive side to this awful dilemma we are all facing right now is, we have some time in our garages. sheds or back yards, to turn a wrench, help a mate or give a whole new project a go and take any frustrations out of what’s going on in the world and turn it into a working machine that is yours and yours alone.
I love making parts or building new rides, its a therapy and an escape from life’s woes to be honest, and also there are many many failure before I find something that fits and works as it should, so for those who are trying it on your own, or building your own machine, Failure is a learning curve, we all do it and not only once. I have almost given up on a particular piece I was trying to make, I left if for a day or two and when I head a fresh brain, it all clicked and worked.
Do not be afraid to fail, I have sat and pondered and even been seen to shout at the parts calling it all sorts of names but in the end we managed to come up with a result that we are happy with, the fun is in the creating at most of course, taking your ride out and stretching its legs for the first time is such a thrill and the Euphoria is un measurable, but what I am trying to say is
“Dont Give up” There are many friends on the internet that can I advise, heck, I even put my phone and text number on my website so people can text me, rather than waiting all weekend for an answer from a company phone, i want to help the best way I can, its not all about sales for me, its Service and the camaraderie of the fellow builder.
I am hoping that this coming 2021, we can all have fun in what we do and maybe even meet at an event or on the tarmac, or at the very least, on the end of the phone of email, there is something self gratifying when you complete something on your own machine and I receive many emails and photos from customers who have really enjoyed creating a unique Motorcycle that they want to personalize for themselves.
Hoping that you can get some time and turn a wrench and have fun with that two wheeled machine of yours and maybe I can help with parts or advice?
Wishing you ALL a very Happy New year that’s almost upon us and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your orders from around the globe, you all Rock!!!!
Here is a little video I saw on you tube of a guy with minimal tools rebuilding his little Honda Cub.
Over 21 years I have been here and now I look back and think how far the Motorcycle scene and Community has come along in regards to self builds or designs.
It is so refreshing to see creative minds out there who have thought about creating their own machine from something that probably wasn’t even running a few months back, and now they are tearing down the tarmac with a huge smile on their faces.
I love seeing other people Motorcycles and this is a Big family in the 2 wheeled world and we all have something in common when we see a machine and look closer and what the Motorcycle comprises off to make it such a stand out bike.
Sometimes, just a little Brat-Cafe style Machine catches your eye, and this little Buzz bomb is an eye catcher for sure, and of course, you do not see too many GB250’s over here, in Europe there were many more available as I should know, when you were 17 years old, you could ride up to a 250cc Motorcycle on a Provisional License. So, many 250 contraptions were made by many big names and its always fun to see old Iron that has been resurrected and now is a fun motorcycle to enjoy on the local tarmac.
How much fun is this? Mostly built by Honda in Japan, Europe did see quite a few of these, but alas I haven’t seen any in the USA, its a shame, as the Platform is ideal for a Brat-Cafe style Custom machine and this particular build was created by a Nonthaburi (Thailand) based “Sabbath Bob Custom” workshop. Its a head turning little Tarmac eating 250cc bike and I love the styling.
The Knobby Trail tires set this off from the bog standard road bike and by simply dropping the trees down and pulling the upper fork tubes up a few inches, well, it throws that from end down- Giving it a more aggressive stance, also removing the stock gauges leaves the top end uncluttered. As well as taking off the higher factory handlebars and going for a set of Clip on’s that are fitted below the upper tree, will give you that cool back aching ride that reminisces the days of old school racers.
Using a 4inch headlight with a Foglamp lens, really makes the 250 look like a 400 cc Motorcycle and everything becomes tucked in and tight, which works very well on many machines in this style.
This is a fun bike, not show Quality and what I like about that is they are not bothered where they ride it, on smooth tarmac or in the woods and tire choice is key on any machine, sometimes you have to forgo comfort for styling and this works very well on this GB250 bike and love the choice that the Thailand based company went with.
So with a little amount of money and plenty of ingenuity, you can create something cool out of almost anything, I love this Bar Hopper and wanted to share it with you. There may be something similar in your garage. Just doing them few things, changing out the gas tank from a larger bike, does completely change the look of the bike from its stock guise and with a bigger tank, you can get further too.
Keep your eyes out as I have seen a few 250’s made into cool Custom rides. Enjoy your Weekend everybody and send in any pics of your rides to: carpy@carpyscaferacers.com
