Great weekend weather to work on your 2 wheeled machine here in Southern California

Posted on April 14, 2019January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

14 Apr

With temps in the 80’s it nice to be able to work on the bikes in warm weather, I spent so many years shivering my arse off back in the UK, that I look back and wonder how I managed to do anything when there was ice on the inside of the garage door, so here we are in So Cal and enjoying every minute of the climate that we are blessed to receive here.

I wanted to Pull the Vesco Honda out and go through a few things, I do not like the Tappet covers, they squash the O-Rings out of shape and I have a small Oil leak, so I am going to change them out with some Custom Black Aluminum versions and New genuine Honda O-Rings, that should sort it. But, If I still get some oil on the head, i shall remove the valve cover a fit a new gasket too and this is the perfect weather for it.

Have fun with your machine this weekend.

The Vesco Honda Custom Machine fires into Life

Posted on April 4, 2019January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

04 Apr

For many years this bike was left dormant and looking in a sorry state, I completely stripped this old 74 Honda and Custom worked on the frame to give it the opportunity to remove parts of the chassis if you need to get to the motor.

This bike is kind of a 1970’s Street Muscle Machine for the want of a better description and I am so happy I went the way of a Metalflake Silver frame and a Candy Pearl bodywork design, this screams mid 70’s and the ole 750 sounds tough as old boots.

I have custom welded the gas tank and now it uses a screw in Harley cap and is smoothed over and the seat is one of the most comfortable I have made, using memory foam and expensive Quality Leather, I hand bent the handlebars and triple chromed them and the stance is bang on and really nice to ride around on , and Love this bike and am so happy at the end result.

Obviously, originally belonging to the infamous Vesco Family and now they have a 428 MPG record with their Streamliner, they have shown interest in the machine once more and love the way it has turned out.

The 4 into 2 into 1 Stainless Exhaust system Growls nicely and suits the bike as the headers hug the inline four motor, it now has that old school Gold tint to the headers now she has been fired and it is a tough looking Motorcycle which ever way you look at it.

From every angle you can see detail and I am happy that I put a lot of hard work in detailing this inline Four, these sure are good solid bikes to use as a Platform for any guise of style.

The Original Lester Spoked Rims I removed from a CR750 Race bike that was being parted out and glad I got to use them, as I have had these in storage for about 15 years and nice to re-use parts from back in the day.

Here are just a couple of lists of some of the things I have done to this motorcycle.

The Rebuild of the Vesco Honda Brat Bike Now Begins

Posted on March 16, 2019January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

16 Mar

Time does seem to fly- especially when you do not want it to, but not much that I can do about that, the same as the weather. California usually has great weather most of the year round, but last month we were plagued with the most rain ever recorded in the history of weather measurements, this severely held me back in the tear down of the bike as I needed to move stuff out onto the driveway to give me access to grinders, welder and tube bender etc.

And I am sure that you have experienced the same as me when it comes to a deadline? So, I put together the Vesco Honda with bits and pieces I had in and around the garage, just to see if it would even run, low and behold it did and you know the deal, you add this and that and before you know it the bike is on the tarmac and you are ripping through the gears.

I was going to simply enjoy this bike for a while and get as many miles on the thing as I could as I tell ya, it’s a hoot to ride, plenty of linear Power and turned heads all over the place, but then I get an email from Jay LaRossa to be invited as a Custom Builder for their up and coming show on the 23rd of March, so as I had almost 2 months I took the challenge, then the California weather took a huge dump for a month and has had me side railed for ever.

I managed to strip the bike down to the frame as you lot may know as I have blogged all of it on here, but so many hurdles still to overcome and now I have 9 days to completely rebuild this bike, I still do not have the frame back from the paint shop as its been to cool and damp to spray clear coat on the old metal-flake, so here I sit and have been doing little jobs like designing and making a New Stainless Steel exhaust system, and then set about stripping old parts and re-chroming them etc.

The Rims now have the old tires off and a quick repaint, cant go crazy as time constraints have kicked me in the plums, so just Black and will fit Road tires this time as Diamond tread tires I wanted are on the East Coast and will not get here in time for the show. So I am giving it a go to get as many small things done as i can to try and see if I have a shot at getting this together in time, but I cant build anything until I get the frame back from the paint shop, then i can add the forks and swing arm and wheel and then fit engine and rewire etc, a daunting task thats for sure.

But, if I cannot get it completed in time, well- I tried and tried hard and do not want to show a bike half finished, that would be awful, so with a few days still left, I am hoping to have the frame back tonight and if its dry enough, i can start bolting parts back on the bike- I love that part as you see a completely different looking machine starting to come together, it is so satisfying to sit back and look at the completed machine and think to your self- jeez, I created that, its an awesome feeling that I know many of you get too.

Re-Creating My Vesco HONDA CB750 Brat bike for the OG show in March

Posted on January 31, 2019January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

31 Jan

I am not and never have been a fan of dead lines, but right now I do have one in hand, March 23rd, thats when the OG show Custom Show is on and somehow I have to strip the Brat bike I built and hopefully finish it in time for the show. No easy task when you consider that I have other jobs to do and of course, I have to tear the bike down to the bare frame and then make a start all over again.

So, the bike is ready to begin the strip, the bike will have a few tricks to the frame as I shall first remove the upper rails and then add my Custom Removable adapter kit to the top, this makes removing the engine so simple or just the cylinder head if you want to work on the bike with the motor still in between the chassis rails.

As you can see, I have used painters tape to mark where I want to make a cut in the frame to remove the rails, I use a sawzall for this job and will be using my steel inserts to replace what I am taking out of this 500 pound Honda CB750K machine.

As you can see I am making the first cut, when the kit is back in place, the integrity of the chassis will not be compromised, it will be rigid as hell, done many like this and of course YOSHIMURA did this to many race bikes and sold a Kit back in the day.

Once this is out, I shall clean the frame up using an air grinder with a Fiber wheel, this will clean the area up and then I can start to make the replacement frame.

As you can see, the inline Four Motor is ready to come out, and at 230 pounds, I want to lift this as quick as I can and not have to go too high, I have always used a storage moving Dolly to rest the motor on or put it on a milk crate as they are the same size, but Milk crates are getting hard to find these days, so a Dolly it is.

So, I straddle the bike and then with one quick lift, the motor pops up and I rest it on the frame, then walk to the right and plop it on the dolly and its out as easy as that.

So, the inline four mill is now out of the bike and I can push the engine into the garage where I shall work on that later, we have storms and rain forecast tomorrow for 4-5 days, so need to get this done and the frame to be stripped bare by the end of the day.

Right, now I can see what I have to work with as I plan and making the top kit first and thought I would share this as many people have purchased my kit and are happy how it works out for them and, saves them so much time when they need to remove the cylinder head or complete Motor.

Below is a little Video I took with my phone, you may have to hit the x on the lower right to hear what I am saying but explains what I am about to do to the bike.

Hopefully you could hear me mumbling about what I was doing and hit the enlarge button too if you want, look blow and you will see I have fitted the top rail kit and will weld it in tomorrow.

Below- I have now taped the area off here I need to make my next too cuts, as on this Custom build a I really want to be able to fit the engine easier without scratching the Metalflake paint that will be on the frame, this will be a very cool set up and the chassis will be strong as ever.

You can see the tape edges and that indicates where I will cut the side rail, this is something I have wanted to attempt for the longest of time and now is the time to do it.

Well, it is done now and there you go, I shall weld in the bungs tomorrow but have to make sure all fits will and make any adjustments before I completely strip the frame.

If you look closely you will see what I have done, once its welded and then the frame painted it sire will look pretty trick and make refitting the Motor so much more easier.

Make sure that you leave enough room for a strong bead of weld to secure the bungs and keep the frame rigid, but also make sure that you allow for any shrinkage.

Also, make sure that you Vee Groove a nice valley for a stronger weld, I also drill a hold halfway though in a couple of places, just for extra spot weld strength.

Here is the frame now that the adapters have been test fitted and I am happy about the way they look, not many would even notice until they see the inserts.

So Tomorrow and the next will be welding day, this old Honda frame has holes all over the place, so a good time to address them issues and make sure all is good.

I fitted some Tapered Races in the neck for smoother steering and looking forward to stripping all the old paint off this old girl and get into some fresh color that will turn heads.

Thanks for following what I am doing, I have a long way to go and hope that I can make such a short deadline, but appreciate all the emails of encouragement from you, it is going to be a great looking Custom when completed thats for certain, and already has quite a following.

New Year already here but lots to do and enjoy what I do for a living

Posted on January 9, 2019January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

09 Jan

Well, it is 2019 and that sure came up fast, it is amazing how fast time flies by when you are having fun, I have been having fun at what I do for coming up for 19 years and still going strong today, having a strong work ethic is something that is instilled in my blood, all my family have worked hard all their lives and back in the UK you have to work as hard as you can as there is always someone there to fill your shoes.

So, as we now turn into 2019 I have a few ideas for bikes builds parts and other things that kind of turn my dial, I have always been into Motorcycles my whole life but also many other cool things like Hot Rods and Classic cars etc, many of you share the same interests too, be it WW2 fighter Aircraft, Pin up art, pinstripe work or then very cool 1940’s Chris Craft wooden built Speed Boats etc.

I want to thank YOU all for visiting my website over all these years, its great to have such a strong following, and I enjoy answering your emails and enquirers about the parts you need for your machines, or the troubles that you are actually having with them, a problem shared is a problem halved, and its so gratifying to receive an email from a Customer who was a little stuck with their project and my advise and parts got them back into the direction they were originally aiming for.

It’s hard wearing so many hats at times as I am sure you lot do to, I answer emails, phone calls, and people pop in from time to time with their machines for me to look at, I send out quotes, I pack and fill orders and send them to the post office too, as well as trying to keep up with the times with how our building scene is going.

It’s super strong now and growing stronger all the time, I am amazed at the transformation of how Motorcycles have emerged and the Custom scene I believe now is the strongest it has ever been. Right now I have been thinking of tearing my Vesco Brat bike apart and painting the frame and motor etc as its a great bike but not finished, I just put it together to see if it would run, it then turns out to run pretty good, so I may strip down to the frame a custom paint it, and all of a sudden I get a letter in the mail, Whamo! I am invited for the 2019 OG Moto Custom Motorcycle show as a builder, so now the Honda will get taken apart and made to look pretty darn cool.

I was really stoked to be asked by Jay La Rossa to be another Custom Builder, LA’s Premier Custom Motorcycle show for sure.

So the Old Vesco Bike will get a fresh coat of paint on the frame rims and a few other bits and pieces, as many people wanted to come and have a look at this simple but brutus looking Brat bike and I am looking forward to showing it in March on the 23rd in LA, Sure hope some of you can make it?

I have been doing this many years, to be honest, over 40 years now and still learning, I am amazed and shocked sometimes at what people have turned out and at best, just from their shed or garage, which goes to prove, you do not need to have a big factory type building to produced a unique and eye popping Motorcycle project that shows class, design, aspiration and of course ingenuity.

Many times I have stopped at shows and looked at a Motorcycle that just amazes me, I love seeing other designs and it is always a great pleasure to strike up a conversation with like minded folk and find out what makes them tick too, we are a funny bunch but we all stick together in a way.

Also, I am a strong believer in bringing on the younger builders, their creative flair is just overflowing and you can literally see their excitement and creativity flow in the project that they have up on their table.

This year I hope to visit a few shows and see how people are, what their twist is on the Custom Motorcycle building fraternity is and where is it going, I mean, the wheel was invented so long ago but it is still being manipulated with and transformed every single day somewhere in the world. March will be fun at thew OG show and love chatting to you all.

I have no idea where the bike building styling is going to go, I know that soon we shall see many new Alternative machines making a big impact, like ” Alternative Power ” I see that Harley Davidson has already started to get into the Electric Motor industry, something I am not a fan of but understand from an environmental situation, as long as the motorcycle doesn’t loose its generic shape and sound, I mean, a quiet motor, where is the fun in that?

Who knows where it is going and many more bring out great designs and some way out there, like in the far rejoins of Russia etc.

But what ever you are trying to build, just have fun, so many people get all fired up that someone is building this and someone is making that, just embrace it, we are all bike builders and there really is no need for the crazy shit that I have seen happen at some places, my passion is motorcycles and always will be, there are tons of brilliant builders out there and I enjoy meeting all of them.

I wish you ALL a very Happy New Year and if you need anything, I am always here, by phone 714-598-8392 by Email carpy@carpyscaferacers.com or you can even Text me if you need help. 714-598-8392

Love what I do, best job in the world.

Posted on December 12, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

12 Dec

I have always enjoyed being my own boss, Yes there is never any wages, yes everyday can be a Monday, yes you can burn the candle at both ends, the the rewards of creating something with your own hands, far out weighs the negative sides to being self employed.

Happy Hump-day Everyone.

The VESCO HONDA CB750 Brat Bike

Posted on November 29, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

29 Nov

Well, many of you have followed the Blog on this machine, right now I am just enjoying the build as its running pretty darn good, so will keep it as a runaround until such time as if it either sells, or I get some time and I can strip bare and make a full custom project from this Motorcycle. But it sure was a great find, I purchased the bike though a contact and headed just a few miles down the road to the city of Orange here in Southern California to check this 1974 CB750K Honda out that had been in storage for many Many years and had not even run since the mid 1980’s.

I have purchased so many CB750’s in the past but, its always great when you have the unknown ahead of you, most of the times they are so badly damaged or neglected, that you need to take a foot pump with you and a Mallet, as the tires are usually flat and the front brake will always stick due to some corrosion inside the caliper and the Rubber mallet will release the piston so you can push the bike into your van or trailer.

Found out that the family’s last name was Vesco, I inquired not related to Don are you? “Yup sure am” he tells me about it and this bike is actually his lads and he ran out of time, money, patience and enthusiasm on this machine and has been sat a long while. And now it was time to make some room in the garage, so it has to go, I made an offer and after a little bit of haggling a price was agreed upon and there it was, this old snotter that had a hard life but for the last 30 odd years had sat used and abused in all sorts of places, and now it was coing home to my shop to see what I could do to at least resurrect this vintage piece of tin.

It sure was hard work loading it ion the van as everything was corroded or semi seized up, but managed to get her up and into my van and then we were on the way to its new abode- my place.

Back home in 20 minutes and took the bike out and placed on a wheel chock so I could have a look at what we got, it had good potential but many people go in head strong and then kind of lose their drive in completing their dream and I purchase many machine in this guise and much worse too.

Brakes were seized and it took sometime to be able to get the bike onto the driveway on my own, the kick stand would not function as it was too long and kept getting in the way, I knew I had my work cut out but needed to know if I could get this old girl to run, as I didn’t want to strip this right away, always best to see how the motor is first before you dive in. You can see the plug caps have electrical tape over them, a warning sign that this had issues back in the day right away.

The carburetors had seen better days, not only were the bodies of this rack of four corroded, the slides had stuck inside, so another issue to sort out, but it did have compression when I kicked it over and thats a great thing to know.

Old Mac exhaust wouldn’t of ran well as the underneath of the header was squashed flat, must of hit a speed bump years ago and no way would it run that well with a restricted collector.

I wanted to just have fun with this bike, as I said, not sure how I was going to go until I got her running, but to get to that stage there was a few things that I thought would be cool so I could at least ride it once I figured all the issues out on this honda, and as you have probably experienced, there were many issues, but, whilst I had her in my shop, i wanted to change the seat set up and make a fun Brat style machine just because, well I can.

OK, so I made a steel seat base and tried another gas tank too, as I needed to clean the inside of the other one as I always do when I get tanks that has sat for many years, I had to change out the wire harness and the handle bars and controls and glad that I did as the old ones were so badly corroded, they would of caused a fire for sure. And then with a New set of intake manifolds and rebuilt carburetors this machine w\was almost ready for a fire up.

Below is a little iphone video I did on Face book, not sure how the motor would go but I had compression and now spark, so, with gas, this should in theory fire up.

So, as you can see, I had the bike on my work table and I used an old lawn mower tank as an iv to feel the motor, I was pretty sure she would at least back fire but as I re-jetted it and cleaned bowls out, I was certain that with new coils, battery and plugs and of course New oil and filter, that this puppy would run, and was pretty stoked with the end result.

Carbs redone and all clean with new intakes and my stainless steel clamps too, fitted some spun aluminum Velocity stacks with gauze for that old style look and re-jetted once more.

To make sure all is well, I need to be physically able to take this bike for a little ride, as no idea how the clutch is, the gears etc and the general running of this bike, I fitted another headlight and then whilst I was there at my storage, I removed some Old Lester wheels I had, I had taken them off a Vintage CR750 AHRMA race bike and simply stored them, tires were a little hard but thought what the hell, lets bung them on as the wheels on this bike anyway were toast.

I also had to make some sort of tail light assembly up as riding up the road, I still want people to see that I am braking etc, so put this set up together and it works really well being LED.

As you can see, I fitted the Lester rims, 19 inch front and 18 back, I also upholstered the seat in a soft brown leather with Diamond stitching and its sure comfortable I was surprised, the gas tank needs some work but I shall address that no worries, I also cut my 4 into 1 down that I ceramic coated titanium color, as I wanted an aggressive look to it and think that this does come across quite well.

As the sun goes down I managed to fire this up and it felt good to hear the bike run and run quite strong, I fitted a 530 O-Ring red chain that I had and it looks pretty tough, as you can see, I made one of my side stands and now the bike sits up nicely, so many dont or need bits of wood under them.

I also fitted an oil pressure gauge kit to make sure that I had good pressure, and it did, it fired up to about 70 pounds, so am more than happy about that, exhaust looks really cool.

OK, now it is time to address that gas tank and it needs some love, i think I shall go all out 1970’s Candy Custom style on this one as it needs some color for sure, but I noticed it had pin holes, so- went back to the original tank that came with the bike and decided to cut off the neck and weld in a Harley Bung instead.

So, the best thing I do is use a sawzall and cut the neck as far down as I can first as this needs to be flush on the tank for the bung to weld in nice and smooth.

As you can see, it takes some time and of course, I made sure that there was no residual gases exiting from the tank, be careful and make sure you wash your tank out before emmiting any sparks near this thing. LOL

So, with the neck sanded smooth to the tank, I used a Harley gas tank bung, I sell this kit on my website, and wanted to use it for this build to be a little different as the original locks always break on the Honda and knew that this would like quite trick once finished.

This is perfect for the Honda Gas tank and there is enough room to be able to TIG weld the bung in place with no distortion to the surrounding areas of the filler neck.

Now all Tig welded and cooled down, this is ready to attach the screw in gas cap, I did this a long time ago on the Cobalt Special Honda I built, so was eager to see how this looked.

Well, that looks so much better than the stock configuration and once painted will really set off the gas tank from the others out there and a neat Custom touch to this machine.

With New rear shocks and a comfortable seat, this is taking shape as a cool little Muscle style Brat bike that will turn heads where ever it sits and the paint will make you need Sunglasses.

Here we are at El Mirage at a SCTA sanctioned meet, last races of the year – so wanted to attend and take a few photos of this Vesco Honda and I am so glad that I did.

There is still a lot more to do to this but right now it just needs to get a few miles under its belt, I always say the first 100 miles will tell you how the bike will perform, so a ways to go as I only have 14 miles on it so far but of course shall do many more on it.

Don’t want to take this apart yet anyway, i mean its fun right now, no show bike but easily could be if I took her down to the frame and started from scratch, but right now I want to have fun with it and what better place than El Mirage Dry lake.

She sits real well and is a blast to ride, she got plenty of looks as you cannot miss the paint job, no matter how fast you drive.

So I am happy with the way she is and looks to be honest and I love riding the bike around to be honest as it sits so well and not too low as many are these days.

Jennifer my Girlfriend loves it too, she has a triumph of her own and loves all Motorcycles, love seeing Girls with bikes too and we go out riding a lot together to be honest.

Final look at El Mirage before we head home, it is only 100 miles from our house so always fun to come out here and view world speed time trials record attempts

Gas Cap sets off the tank nicely and the paint job is so reminiscent of them Customs days of the 1970’s back home and around the world, I think its a nice balance in color.

Fish Gills and shadowing are becoming a lost art but this really came out well, using house Of Kolor Candy paints and Pearl bases with light flake added.

The bike sits well, I like the smaller headlight, they have L.E.D’s inside it for turn signals, so keeps everything neat and out of the way, the Lester Rims gives it that Old School period right away.

Added 2.5 inch mechanical Gauges to tidy top end out, of course my Hand Made and chromed Euro Bars really make this comfortable for your shoulders and Cole Foster grips soak up any Vibration that you may have.

I think the Man above digs it too, No thunderbolts when I stopped outside his place, Phew!

I really enjoy riding the bike around my Town, the roads are smooth and its a joy to blap about on and even though I want to do way more to it, I need to sit back and have fun riding it for a little while as it was and still is a super fun project.

Slowly clocking the miles up but amazing that this runs and hasnt since the mid 1980’s, and its a joy to jump on and take for a spin around town.

I used a Biltwell Mirror for legal reasons and it works pretty well to be honest, Id love to paint the frame later but not right now, The motor runs strong, the gear transition is really smooth.

Eventually the Motor will be painted and tricked out but as I am having so much fun on this, I will wait until later, unless someone buys it of course.

Thank you for following me and purchasing My parts for your projects, it means a lot, this is my Passion and life, so I really do appreciate all your business.

So, until next time I work on this, I will leave you with a list of things I changed, just in case you are curious as to what I did on this machine through the build up.

This was the Very First ride after it had not run since the mid 1980’s, so stoked to be able to experience great moments like this, unless you are a bike builder, you really wont understand the Euphoria that you feel when you click into first gear and ride off down the road.

Peace and Grease to you all.

Carpy

Lester Rims 19″ front 18″ Rear.
Drilled Front Rotor
Euro Bars I made 7/8
Cole Foster grips
New Handlebar Controls
New Throttle Cables
New Clutch Cable
New Speedo Cable
New Tach Cable
New Wire Harness
New Coils and Caps
New Iridium Spark Plugs
New Battery
New Red 530 Chain.
New Custom Side Stand.
Custom Gas Cap Kit.
New Side Covers.
New 2.5 Mini Gauges.
New 4 into 1 exhaust Shortened and Ceramic Coated Titanium
Rear Frame Hoop
Rear LED tail Light assembly
New Finned Piggyback Shocks.
Rebuilt Carbs.
New intake Manifolds
Stainless Hose Clamps
Braided overflow pipes.
Custom 5 3/4 headlight with internal LED signals.
New Horn.
New Flat seat in Leather with Diamond Design.
New Brake and clutch levers.
New Biltwell Mirror
New Chrome Fork Ears.
New Oil Pressure Gauge kit.
Chromed Rear Stabilizer bar.
New Foot pegs and Rubber.
New Custom Weld in Gas Cap Bung and Screw in Cap.
Custom Candy Flake Paint.

1972 SOHC Vesco Honda for sale $5000

Posted on November 21, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

21 Nov

Well, I start this bike up every couple of days and smile, it sure is a fun bike that I out together from parts I had in storage, some rare, and of course, I purchased the bike of the famous Vesco family, grandson Larry – who is who I got it from and what a great Motorcycle family they are.

Anyway- this bike is available for anyone, its not a show bike but with some work and TLC it can easily be, if I strip it, paint frame, chrome and put back together, then thats $15K, so your choice, right now it is available at $5000.

Has a ton of cool parts and will add a little list again later. But the Lester Rims I reemoved from a CR750 Race bike, these are getting rare to locate and can spend big dollars for a set for your machine these days.

Has my Custom 4 into 1 Exhaust system with a cool aggressive kick out that is Baffled and barks like a hungry dog, this is a Hot Rod Muscle machine that has a lot of character.

It sits nicely and has Custom rear shocks to soak up the bumps via SRC and they sure do, sits on an old set of Bridgestone tires and is comfortable to ride to be honest.

The seat is made by me and has memory foam and then covered in soft leather and then Diamond stitched with twine and it really is a soft seat seat up compared to many who get it wrong.

This bike cackles nicely with my Custom 4 into 1 System, and I was glad that I made that choice, the pipe is ceramic coated in a titanium and I shortened the tail pipe to give it an aggressive stance, then added the Nickel plated Baffle in the end of it, it kicks out just right for this Custom Machine.

I start this bike when ever I go in the garage and love the cackle of this pipe and the overall rumble that the bike makes, its the perfect height for me to ride too as she has a 19 inch front and 18 inch rear.

I have a title and this is available as is for $5000 right now, but , if I do more work, then obviously the price goes up, Lights work, starter works, Horn even works too, brake lights too, all gears are super smooth and a fun ride.

I may add a front fender if I continue to work on this bike as it will look cool with a tight front bobbed fender I think and of course, stop any crap hitting you in the melon when riding.

What a Blast this is, not too many times I have jumped on a bike and smile every time, but this one is just a great alrounder and enjoy its smooth linear power delivery to be honest.

let me know if you are interested. 714-598-8392 and have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow as I know I shall.

Thank you for taking your time to have a look at my recent build, share it around with friends who may be interested as its a great deal for sure.

This is when I first fired it up last week, had not run since the mid 1980’s, a great feeling.

The Vesco Honda at El Mirage

Posted on November 13, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

13 Nov

On Saturday, Jennifer and I went out to watch the races at El Mirage dry lake in Southern California, this place has been having speed trials since before ww2 and continues today through the SCTA. (Southern California Timing Association.) So we took the van and the Honda and drove up to the lake bed and set up our ezy up and radio etc and food for the day.

Such a fun day watching cars and motorcycles race the clock, some reaching speeds well over 250 miles an hour, its awesome to spectate as you are so close to the action.

Took some snaps of the Vesco Honda and thought that I would share them today, above you can see the Shorty Turn out that I did for this particular build, the bike is all running now and am happy at the outcome of this machine that had not run since the 1980’s.

This is not a show bike but, it could easily be, as I was thinking of running for 100 miles, then stripping the bike down to the frame and painted the chassis silver and start a cool custom project, but also this is up for sale as she is right now as I do have other builds to continue with for my Customers.

The Bike runs well now and fires right up with either a Kick start or hitting the starter, it has nice low end torque all through the range of gears and is a fun machine to ride.

Sitting Pretty on this famous Dry lake where even Don Vesco himself has raced, the Honda does look at home sat here in the So-Cal Sunshine.

My Custom, Hand made and chromed handle bars – Make this bike so comfortable to ride, no back breaking leaning over the gas tank, a sit up and cruise feel that I enjoyed.

The exhaust system of mine flows so well to help exit the gases from the engine and it has a velvet tone to it as she pulls through the curve.

Old style lights but really are modern LED, that way it looks old school but people will see you with these bright lights, plenty of travel in the suspension on the rear too.

See if you can visit the dry lakes when they have sanctioned races on, its an awesome event to go to and everyone is approachable.

These Lester rims are 19 inch front and 18 rear, I took these off a CR750 Road racer some years ago and have had them in storage for quite a few years and I am so glad that I got to use them, fitted my New side stand as original one had broken off, the bike sits well.

This is a comfortable bike to ride and has loads of potential to be a really cool Custom machine, it has some rare parts on and are only getting harder to locate these days.

It has New Handlebars, Bar Switches, Harness, Battery, Pipe, Shocks, Grips, Cables, Chain- as well as many other new parts, like totally Rebuilt Carbs and New intakes and Throttle Cables etc.

A fun weekend on the lake bed and Jennifer and I had a blast, chatting to Racers and meeting up with folk we haven’t seen in a while, the commeraderie is second to none.

Jennifer taking in some of the racing as she helps move the bike onto the Lake bed.

Time to get some miles on this puppy, but wanted to at least share some photos that I took whilst out at El Mirage, this bike will be up for sale soon, if interested call or text me on- 714-598-8392

Thanks for reading today.

Vesco Honda CB750, finally running and enjoying some miles.

Posted on November 12, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

12 Nov

Well, its been a fun journey just to get the bike into the guise that I wanted, its no show bike, but could be with more TLC, not sure where I am going with the bike yet but I gotta tell you, every time I fire a bike up that has not been started since 1983 and click it into gear, there is always that hesitant OMG what if, feeling, but I went through as much as I could and was sure this would be fine.

The mechanical Clunk you always get as you click first gear, I let the clutch out bravely but making sure my finger is covering the brake lever just in case something is not right, I pull out onto the tarmac for the bikes first ever ride in so many years. Well, 35 years to be exact!

She pulled off very smoothly, transitioning through the gears effortlessly, I was watching the Tach, the speedometer and of course the Oil pressure gauge I had fitted, just to make sure all was functioning OK, and she surely was.

2nd, 3rd, 4th and finally 5th and the power was smooth, no shuddering at all, the Exhaust had its velvet tone barking away as I increased the revs, up to 4000 and sped up to about 60 mph on a straight away, the bike felt great, my New Handlebars were perfect for this stance and the seat actually was comfortable for being flat.

Brakes were fine, just a little adjust to the rear but I think the brake shoes are more than likely shiny, but a few hard stops will sort that out, but I rode around the houses here in La Mirada at a nice constant speed, watching the Rev Counter to see if there was any bounce or fluttering, but all was good.

I do need to replace the fork seals and will do that if I strip the bike and build into a show bike, but- for now, I want to put some miles under her belt and make sure everything is ok for the next 100 miles, so only another 96 to go, but fun ones no doubt.

It was a mighty fine feeling, having this bike run and to run really well, all the hard work paid off and I was smiling all the way around the roads I took as I felt good today, I guise a sense of achievement.

Still, she needs cleaning up but, I can do that later on and of course, the more I do to this Motorcycle, the more I shall want for it, but this Vesco Muscle Bike is a great looking machine and turns heads even now.

Not sure if I need to add a front fender yet, will see, a Bobbed one may look cool and stop crap hitting you in the face at high speed, but this is a great Bar hopper, so may no need one.

Plenty I can do to clean the bikes lines and appearance up but the main thing was to see how she ran and of course handled, and I really do enjoy riding this machine.

Hope you too have enjoyed the build on this old machine, I was not sure how I was going to go with the look, but I think on this particular ride, I made the right choice.

Price? Well I guess if I was forced to let it go, $5000 would be the price right now as she is.

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