Here we are with another Build of mine, this time we are shipping it to Seoul in Korea.

This machine has taken some time to get right and she fought me every which way but loose, but I prevailed and became the victor in the end, but- this was a long battle and many a night I have been sat there, scratching my noggin, trying to figure out what happened etc., although, if you build a machine yourself, you will understand that at times, the build will sometimes, give you a right royal swift kick in the knackers, just to get you back.

This was just a roller that needed some love, so what I did was take the bike down to the chassis, removed the wiring and anything else that what bolted onto this 530 pounds of rusting Hulk!

I cleaned the gas tank out and then took all the paint off, after that, I put the tank on my special frame and then hammered the knee inserts as I do on the majority of the rides that I create.

This bike kept giving me the worst grief of my life, like it was trying to tell me to stop what I was doing and leave her alone, even so as much as to burst into flames one night when an Argentinian rectifier decided to let go and fill the shop with more smoke than a Hippies BBQ at Stonehenge.

The engine was stripped down and gone through and has a new 900cc Engine, and I thought whilst I was at it I would paint this a Wrinkle Black and then polish some stainless Allen headed bolts to offset the black, and to be honest, I really love the way this bike looks.

The original seat was toast, so I used one of my aftermarket seat bases and re-foamed and upholstered the pan to the Guilerri that was popular back home in the UK in the 1970’s and 80’s.

So the seat works perfectly and has the original hinges and seat lock mechanism, and I am happy with the outcome of this task.

 

So much work, its hard to remember everything, but- the frame was taken down to the barest of metal and powder coated, but as I said earlier, the bike caught fire as I was 98% completed and had to completely strip the bike down the frame and bead blast to bare metal and start all over again, it was such a downer, but these things happen and I made a positive out of a negative.

 

The guy that commissioned me to create this beast is a famous Jazz singer in Korea and I wanted to give the bike a name to bring it to life and give it some character.  So I aptly named it Seoul Motion, and I am shipping it to Seoul this week.

I have New side covers and they are a deep Gloss black with my pin lines to show off a little detail, even New Rubber Grommets were used so the covers fit nice and snug.

Yes- this time I wanted to try a 17 inch rear wheel and used a Firestone set up on the tire and also polished the hubs with Stainless spokes, then I drilled and polished the rear brake cover and fitted new brake shoes and actuator, this bike is like brand new I tell ya.

I bobbed the rear fender and fitted the Beeza tail light, with a Brand new set of Alloy Turn signals to make sure people see him out there in Korea.

 

 

I chromed the swing arm and fitted new bushes etc., and then fitted one of my custom made finned stabilizer arms to set the lower end of the bike off, complete with new brake rod, spring and adjuster.

I had to shorten the right height on this machine as the chap is shorter than me, so used some piggy backs on the rear and I got Franks Forks to make me some 2 inch under fork tubes and rebuilt them with a polished set of lowers, new seals and new gators, as well as new clamps and bushings etc.

I fitted one of my ceramic coated 4 into 1 exhaust systems, as this will sound awesome when he gets on the loud throttle and lets people know he is in town, then tuned and synchronized the carbs to make sure all was well.

 

I used a Brand new set of Tarrozi rear sets, but I stripped the anodizing off and polished to a chrome finish and these really do set the tone of the Motorcycle off.

Up front, you will notice that I have fitted a brand new Chrome headlight and inside that is a new harness, as well as brand new Alloy turn signals, this is a cool machine. I also stripped the old gauges apart and rebuilt them, giving them a Custom feel and look, as well as chroming the lower buckets to add a little more bling.

Another great touch to this bike is that it has a bobbed front fender of mine that matches the paint, right down to the checkers as that means you’re a winner, but also, this has a number of cool things done to it.

If you look closely, you will see I drilled and polished the front brake Rotor, and then had a custom bracket machined for the forks, why is that I hear you ask.

Well simply, the old brakes are well, OLD- so we thought we would try a brand new set up on this machine by making a Wilwood Four pot caliper sit on the fork and see if this helps stopping.

Stopping is increased about 500%, it almost pops your eyes out when you grab a handful of brake lever all of a sudden.

New Chrome 7’8 Clubman bars are fitted, along with brand new Honda Cables and polished levers, this is also expensive but a needs must with such a build like this.

New tire, new brakes, and new everything, adorn this Black and Silver Café Racer and I know the owner will just dig this like a shovel does dirt.

The finned stabilizer bar is one of my own designs that just says it all.

Hand diamond stitched seat base adds some more coolness to this tarmac eating machine and am sure will turn many heads in Korea.

I purchased brand new handlebar controls for this build and used Original 1974 GT waffle grips to add some Nostalgia to the bike.

Of course, this needed a New master cylinder and New throttle and cables, so everything was changed to New and this will benefit the owner immensely.

Here you can see that I have made Custom gauge faces to show the world what this bike is and also I fitted one of my special display set ups that has a Large WW2 Neutral light and then a high beam and Oil light, these are all stainless steel and function very well indeed.

New paint, gas tank sealed, New petcock as well as New Gas cap and locking latch just enhances this machine.

Yes, I even cleaned up the kickstand and chromed it to give it a nice offset against the stealthy Black everywhere.

I chromed the ignition switch bracket and used a New ignition switch too, along with a brand New genuine Honda set of coils and caps.

New fork ears were painted Black and badges added where the old reflectors used to be back in the day, as well as new Chrome clips and new gators.

The Four pot Caliper works so well, this would stop a woman’s period.

I had to come up with a name for the bike, as I always name the machines I have created and I am happy that I conjured up this and think the owner digs it too.

I had an original airbox that Henry Abe sold in the 1970’s, so stripped it and then re-chromed it and now it looks bloody awesome.

This bike sits well, and you will notice that I drilled and polished the gearshift cover, this also has brand new 530 chain and sprockets to make it go down the road ok.

I even chromed the old safety carrier on the rear sprocket to offset the black as I powder coated the rear sprocket Black.

 

 

I hope that you like this machine that I created and this can now fly to Korea and another build completed from Carpys Café Racers.

 

I will show you how I did the tank.

I, first of all, washed the tank out with simple green and solvent to make sure that there was no gas residue in the tank, then I turned the gas tank upside down and cut the old trim tabs off, as I do not need these.

 

Then with my homemade frame, I slowly start to hammer the tank to get the depth of inserts I require, trying to massage the steel to form in the shape I want, this does take time and makes your arms pump like Popeye afterward.

 

Also, to get the paint off is a real pain if you do not bead blast it, I used to do this with the good old Jasco, but man is it a mess to use and clean up afterward.

 

After this is all done I bead blast the gas tank so it is all clean metal and can see if there is any issues, and also for my own insurance and a cost of $100, I take the tank to a radiator shop and they seal the inside and pressure test it, that way I know that all is well inside the gas tank and no leaks.

 

 

 

Next, I do all the body work and get it ready for the paint shop, as I no longer spray paint but will do the graphics, whether it is a decal or hand lettering as I like to use my sable pinstripe brush that’s a triple O size or a number 1 line brush.

If I am using the checkered tape, I simply rub the gas tank down with 600 and then wet the tank and apply the checkered tape to where I need it.

 

 

The soapy water helps the tape to float to where you need to position it, once you are happy with the location, I use a credit card and a microfiber cloth and squeeze all the air bubbles out, once this is done to all the decals, I clean it with prep wash and she is ready for pin-striping and then once that is all completed, leave for 2 hours as I use House of Kolor these days and it dries super fast, and then its ready for clear coating and buffing.

 

This is when the tank and fenders etc really start to pop after clear-coating.

 

 

 

 

Many other things people really do not get to see is when I have to take the gauges apart, sometimes these can end in tears if the needle breaks and is stuck in the drive unit, but this time all was well and i wanted to use some of my own designs again on this machine and am glad at the way that they turned out.

 

I painted the needles with good old One-Shot enamel and then put my decals on the original faces, and slowly put these back together.

Now, these really do look way better than the Originals and with the New display set up in the middle of the bars, this completes the top end.

 

These kind of finish the top end of the bike off very well and the owner is pretty stoked about them as well.  All I had to do now was simply shorten all the wiring as with club-man bars, these sit lower and I don’t want loads of wires all bunched up and rammed inside the headlight.