Tag Archives: metalflake

The REVOLVER CB750 HONDA Custom Cafe Motorcycle I created and now resides in Australia

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
02 Feb

Every Motorcycle that I have built from the ground up is always tough to let it go, but- that’s what I do, create and build motorcycles as well as parts etc, this was fun creation that I put together for a Girl out in Australia, she wanted it gold flake and I did my very best to give her a Creation that had all the bells and whistles too.


It took me a while to get this machine to how I wanted it and I really enjoyed completing this project for the customer, using an old rusted out drag bike that I had sitting in the yard for years, it was so nice to recreate something and for the owner to be super stoked about it to.

I put my heart and soul into this build and I still supply these parts to my Customers today, a very cool head turning machine that not only looks great, it has a built motor and of course my Performance 4 into 1 exhaust system on it too.

So much Metalflake was used and Gallons of clear to give it that depth, braided cables throughout and am super proud of this build.

I hope that you like the way the bike sits and of course looks, more tricks than a Magicians coat to be honest and it was a blast to put together for Jess.

Custom Gauges, Display lights and a Ton of other Modifications throughout this bike made this one of my favorite rides of all time it sure was a piece of art.

I have sold hundreds of these 4 into 1 exhaust systems of mine, they sound and perform so well and have that 1970’s superbike reverb when you get on it.

Just thought I would share a fun memory that was so enjoyable to create and it resides on the other side of the Globe.

Here it is in Australia with the Owner, a one off machine that came out the way that she wanted it to look , thanks for having a look today.

 

The Old Koppa Kafe was a fun Custom to create in my Garage.

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
20 Jun

No idea where the time has gone to be honest, but I always loved creating this machine, just because it has so many great Original parts on it that really did make people turn heads.

So I started off with a bunch of parts and already had the idea of how I wanted this, as the KOPPA KART was a famous Barris Kustom Truck that I had loved as a teenager and wanted to have some Copper Influence on this Motorcycle, but I had to do a ton of preparation to the Honda Duplex cradle frame to make sure all looks good when painted.

 

There was a lot of hand sanding and grinding of old Factory welds to try and make this Chassis as smooth as I possibly could, but also, I cut the neck and added a couple more degree’s to the rake, not too noticeable but I didn’t want it too aggressive, and I think this came out perfect for what I was looking for.

Also made up a Hoop and welded that to the frame, nobody was doing this back then and wanted it to finish of the seat that I was going to fit to it, and welded a bracket at the rear so I could attach the seat cowl and make it sturdy. But the most work that really needed some attentions was how was I going to extend the stock gas tank 5 inches, as I wanted a much longer fuel tank and thought that I may as well use some of my old spare gas tanks to cut up and make the change.

This is no easy task but, I was fortunate to have a bunch of K series Petrol tanks laying about in my garage rafters and thought the best way was to keep the front end and extend the tank backwards using sections from a couple of old gas tanks.

You can see the section cut and of course had the gas tank media blasted to get all the paint off so at least there was clean metal to work with, this will also have hammered knee inserts to give it that touch of Nostalgia of TT racing days and I was glad that I did go this route in the end.

You may not notice the stretch but its way past the original mounting bracket on the frame, you may also notice that I cut the rear exhaust and passenger peg supports down, this was to clean the lines up and allow for the lower part to become a bracket that my Italian rear Sets could attach too, I also braces gusseted the frame under where the gas tank sits just to give the frame a little more rigidity.

Here is the cross bracing that I did and used the pieces I cut off the bike, so it all got re used into this creation and I had not seen anyone do this before too so another added attraction I guess?

 

Putting this machine together in the garage was pure fun, I really did love the way the old girl was being revamped and as you can see, I did a lot of detail as at the end of the day, I was building bikes for a living now and this would be a great business card bike. many cool Parts and I used a pair of 18 inch Aluminum rims that were for a CB750 Automatic, of course I used to rear rims and then polished them to a chrome finish to give it a little more Bling.

So many hours were put into this and it became quite a challenge at times, but kept pushing on, I had to retap most of the thread holes as metalflake gets everywhere when you paint it and not use a booth, but I kept being persistent and it paid off, I used stainless Allen head Bolts through out the bike too, not cheap at almost a dollar per piece but makes the bike for sure.

Hand polished all the Aluminum and it took me forever to find an intake Plenum, I had one but it just would not fit, found out it was a Suzuki one, so thought to my self, ” Where the hell am I going to locate one of these Plenums for a SOHC?”  Then I got an email from a guy in Sweden who had a Suzuki and was Supercharging his but, his Plenum didnt fit and he thought his may be for a Honda.  So we traded and sure enough, when I tried to fit the Swedish one, it fitted like a glove. What were the chances of finding another eh?

What a piece of art it is too, so happy to be able to fit this to the machine and another tick off the list of things that needed to be accomplished to get the bike to the standard that I was after.

Just look how cool this Copper Metalflake looks, we used 3 pounds of the stuff to get the required depth that i was thinking of and a ton of clear coat was used to smooth it all out, but that Polished Aluminum offsets the Copper really well , what do you think?

I really was happy at the way the bike sat and looked and bit by bit I would get things accomplished, then I would push it onto the driveway to see how it looked in natural light.

I had Machined the front Lower forks and rebuilt them with New uppers, springs and this was a neat and unusual look as I had never seen anyone machine lower forks on a 750 before.

When I had these on the bike at Shows, people would ask about the forks and send me theirs to rebuild and give it that Custom look, it sure added some Custom touches as I painted the grooves Copper to go with the rest of the bike.

Finding someone to drill the correct hole on the stator cover, turned out to be a pain in the arse, I had one so called shop in another state have a go and messed it all up, so I did it my self and under cut the hole then used a drum sander to keep adjusting until the oil seal fitted tightly, and there you go, job done.

I had an Old Drouin Supercharger that was once going to go in an old chopper/drag bike and after I got all the parts I knew what bike I was going to build.  Now, the Motor I had was a fully Blue Printed motor, costing 7000 Dollars many years ago and this was perfect for the bike and thats how this came about.

I had a local company water Jet a bracket out of 7075 Aluminum and gave them a paper template, this worked out and treat and bolted right up to the SOHC motor with exact clearances, I simply Polished the bracket once everything was test fitted and you can see the Crank Pulley at the bottom fitted perfectly too.

All fitted and this Mechanical Washing machine looked Bloody awesome all hanging out of the engine on the Left hand side, it is Belt driven too so pretty quiet to be honest with a neat Polished Aluminum Belt cover for added coolness.

Yeah, it was an intricate bit of Kit to begin with but loved looking at this Motorcycle I looked at it as a piece of art and used as many pieces from a 1969-1978 Honda as possible.

I hand Hammered the knee Inserts using a Tear Drop Hammer from Eastwood Supply and this came out so nice with the Copper paint and boy did it shine when the Sun hit it too.

There is a lot of work here and those who have tried to Polish their Hubs will know what I am talking about, I also added a Double Chain and Sprocket set up as there was a lot of Torque here in that engine, I couldn’t locate one for the longest, but Azusa Chain helped me as this was for an Old Lathe and converted it to the bike and worked really well, ran a slightly wider sprocket carrier for the offset to be right.

I also fitted an Old Lockart Oil Cooler to the bike as it will run 15% cooler with that fitted and as the Oil Filter Housing has some broken fins, I cut them off and polished the body and it looked pretty good to be honest. I ran Braided Aircraft lines to the cooler too some Dash 12’s.

That’s an Original Lockhart Cooling Radiator too, I made a thick Aluminum Bracket to mount it to the Horn bracket and then polished it to look like chrome, it worked really well too.

That tank turned out so well, I used Por15 to seal it before painting and then pressure tested it at a Radiator shop, C.F.R was for Cafe Racer but in the style of the old H.R.D Motorcycles of years gone by.

This was My first attempt at making a Fiberglass front fender, since then I have sold over 500 of these to Customers all over the world, its 22 inches and has a bead all the way around it.

Cant get enough at looking at that, even today, it was a tough Motorcycle with loads of interesting parts and so Glad that I jumped in and had a go at creating this machine, there wasn’t many Café bikes at all about, so many people used to comment on what sort of bike it was and I think i was lucky enough to inspire a few people to have a go their selves and create their own unique ride.

 

My First attempt at a Custom Gauge, using an original one, I wanted to put BOOM at 140 MPH, got many comments on that and it was a great discussion point at shows etc.

I fitted an Original Series One Yoshimura exhaust of which was the pattern for all the systems I make today, I used a CB750 Connecting Rod for the license Plate holder, I later swapped the plate to the other side as the exhaust gases would tarnish the chrome lol. They are New Old Stock FOX shocks too and they really did give the ride height that I wanted on 18 Inch rims.

 

Allen bolts all through out the build and I did my drilling style on the sprocket cover just the break up some of the glow of the polishing, I have made many of these covers and sold to customers too over the years.

Rear Hub gets the same treatment and that’s an Original Dresda Boxed Swing arm that I chromed and boy does it look sharp on the bike, it really does accent that rear end.

I used Cow Hyde to upholster the Custom seat and used Gel foam for a comfortable ride and its a nice riding position with that 5 inch stretched gas tank.

Everything I feel on this Motorcycle Flows well, its such a warm color too, I hope that you liked just some of it as I know that you understand how much effort goes into creating a machine such as this.

Time has moved on and this bike now resides somewhere in Australia and hope the owner is having fun with that Custom built CB750 HONDA.

I took this bike to many shows all over the USA and had many great conversations with like minded people.

I think this was Seattle show but ALL the shows were super fun and made so many friends and acquittances etc. it’s a healthy industry now and I am still making many parts for these super fun inline four motorcycles.

I used a headlight from an Old DeSoto Automobile as I think it fitted in between the fork ears really well, I hand drilled the front Rotor using my drill press, I even made the bike stand.

One of the last photos before the bike made her way to the other side of the world but am proud to say I created that Monolith of a Café Racer.

As you can see, on the Right side of the bike, I fitted an old 1974 ARD Magneto, that too is Belt driven and gave the bike its Status Quo, she sure does sit well on the Tarmac too.

I used a Pontiac Taillight for the rear on My Custom Rocket Four seat assembly and I still sell them to this day and send all over the Globe.

Thank you for reading my Blog today, I just wanted to show you a bike that I really did have fun creating and love seeing what you lot are putting together. Below is a before and after shot.

Have fun with what ever you are creating and if I can help, you can call, email or even text me, I am always here to advise Thanks again and keep on building and Riding.

.

The Vesco Honda SOHC 1974 CB750K Custom Built Brat Bike

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
09 Mar

Well, this was a super fun build that I did and it is not often that I purchase an old snotter and then, after building it, sell it back to the owner I purchased it from, but this was how it was, I saw that there was a SOHC 750 in a garage in the City of orange for sale and made arrangements to drive down and take a look at it.  once I got there and the garage door was lifted, I could see this sorry arsed looking inline four that was parked up, leaking a little oil and looking worse for wear.

I mean, it had everything there to make it look cool, but- it had not run for many many years and the young lad who owned it said he tried a few ties to get the bike to run but he lost interest and its been sat in the garage just collecting dust, so- we stood and kicked the tires for a while and eventually came up with a figure, shook hands and it took the three of us to push the old girl into the back of my van, but at last I had this old 750 in the Transit and had already worked out what I wanted to do with this 500 pounder machine.

The old girl is in my van and getting ready to drive home, I looked at the title and noticed his last name was Vesco- Your not related the the famous Don Vesco are you? I inquired.

Yes, he was my Grandfather, That is so cool as Don Vesco held many Land Speed records and had tons of 750 Honda’s back in the day, so I was super stoked to be able to own something with Vesco’s name to it, so, I drove home with a smile and half an hour later I pulled the old girl out and took a look at what I have to play with..

The Old girl was tired but, this is not my first 750 and as I have been creating Custom Motorcycles out of these here in the USA for over 20 years, I was quite eager to see what I had to work with but knew I had my work cut out if I was going to make a Custom creation out of this 1974 Honda.

Motor needs some love and had no idea if it would even turn over but I love these inline four engines and was going to see what it took to at least get to run and see where I can do with a full build on this 500 pounder.

The carburetors had seen rain, wind and snow by the look of it and the slides were stuck solid and as I have have rebuilt many of these rack of four set ups, I wasn’t too worried and thought I would strip the bike to where I need it to be and see where I am at.

 

I wanted to try and get this running, so I pilled carbs off and cleaned them up, fitted new jets etc and fitted new intake manifolds , as well as putting an old set of handlebars on as the clips on’s didnt fit right, I also hooped the frame as it was cut already and thought I would add my own style seat and see if I can at least fire it up, I had a 4 into 1 exhaust that I make that was in the rafters, so pulled the old rusty Kerker off and fitted mine, added an oil Pressure gauge so I can see where we are at if the old girl fires up.

The rims were too rusty, and was lucky to have an Original set of Lester wheels in storage that I could use on this bike, so fitted them and added some new Bridgestone tires and fitted one of my drilled brake rotors to the front end too. This bike went together really quickly and in the space of a week I was ready to fire this puppy up and see if it would even be able to move under its own power, I had spare parts in my garage or in my storage so it was a zero cost other than the tires to put this Honda together.

With rebuilt carbs and my 4 into 1 system cut down to a more aggressive loo, I was eager to see if this will fire up, it had compression and spark so I kicked her in the guts and she fired up right away with a nice brak from my exhaust system, I knew this would be a fun bike.

I made the handlebars and the seat too and this was probably the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden, I was so suprised how much fun this bike was and it had linear power too.

Well, I was happy at the way this bike was looking but the gas tank looked horrible just black and wanted a cool Custom 70’s flake look set of tins on this bike now.

 

So, I thought I would use the original tank that was on the bike, but wanted to get rid of the factory gas tank fuel cap and make a custom set up, just to be different.

I cut the old neck off and then ground it all down to make sure this was flat to the tank, I made sure there was no gas left in this tank before but it had been empty for about 7 years lol.

I make a gas cap kit now and this is how I did the conversion on this tank, as you can see, I fit the weld in Gas Cap Bung into the opening on the top of the petrol tank.

It sits in the original location really well, I simply ground all around the gas tank to make sure I have a good ground and then simply tig weld the bung in place, for a neat smooth Custom look.

All welded and to be honest, I do not need to grind the welds as I shall be doing a little body work on this to smooth everything out, so this will be covered up anyway.

I used a Harley screw in Gas cap and this really gave it a custom but Classic look, I was really happy at the end result of this and glad that I went this route on the bike.

Now that looks a lot better with the Custom 70’s style paint and am happy I went this route in the end, the 750 looks pretty tough like this.

This bike turned out great and even though I wasn’t finished with it, I wanted to get a few miles on this bike before I finally completed the other bits that I wanted to do. As you can see, the Vesco bike is on the Dry Lake at El Mirage where Don Vesco himself races bikes and broke records and the day this was fired up, Team Vesco did over 400 mph at Bonneville, so I thought this was fitting that i was at a SCTA meet in El Mirage with my Girlfriend Jennifer.

This has a great stance and is so comfortable to ride, the drive train works smoothly and my aggressive 4 into 1 barks like a scolded dog, I fitted an Led headlight that is 5-3/4 inches with internel led turn signals to make it all legal for the road. She sure looks swell out there in the Desert.

I like the meaty Bridgestone tires that were shoe horned onto the Lester Rims, those rims came of a CR750 Race bike and I had them in storage for almost 20 years.

I love it out here at El Mirage dry lake, if you can get a chance to get here for the SCTA racing, you should, I loved taking the Honda out here and I think it felt at home to be honest.

So there she is, the Vesco Honda Four, a brute of a bike and it looks pretty tough out there in the So Cal desert, I am so glad I went ahead and built this machine.

Now it was time to take the bike back home to Las Mirada but what a great time we had out on the dry lake, watching the Hot Rods and Motorcycles race on the Lake bed.

My Girl Jennifer takes the reins as I help a broken down Motorcyclist on the race track at El Mirage SCTA event.

So, I now get ready to put the Vesco bike in my Van and take it back home to my garage and figure out what I am going to do with this Motorcycle.

So, I sit the bike on the drive way and I am think of what else I might do to it, and I have to write a few emails to customers etc, it was when I got on the computer I see I got a message that I had been invited to the OG Bike Build show in LA and its in about 4 weeks, heck! I could maybe strip this bike and redo it to how I want to and show the bike, of which is a tall order but heck, why not eh?

So, even though it is a tall order, I had to come to the decision to take this bike and strip it to the bare frame and begin a cool build for the OG show, I shall still keep the Gas tank and side covers the same and the Handle bars etc but the rest will get some rework.

The strip down begins, I want this to be a trick frame when I am done and now is the time to take the bull by the horns and remove everything from this 500 pounder and make this a head turner.

I am taping the frame where I will be cutting and making quick release Custom Pieces that make engine removal and cylinder head removal way easier as the stock frame is so difficult to remove the motor when in the cradle.

Top frame removed and I shall be fitting my New  Steel tubing Frame kit that I now offer on my website for the 69-78 CB750 Chassis.

Heave ho and away we go, I have removed so many engines on my own over the years, there are many ways people do it, some lay the frame down etc, but I like the old school brute strength of removing the 230 pound behemoth, I always go this way and then put the motor on a milk crate as its about the same height as the lower frame rails, I am always knackered afterwards though.

 

Well she is out at long last, time for a cuppa and an Ibuprofen lol- But seriously, the Motor is out and now the hard work begins, you too will notice how dirty and grimy a frame becomes after being used for 40 years and this thing has more oil on it than the Tin mans Elbows.

I Have welded the New removable top Rails in the chassis, now time to cut the right Lower side of the frame, so I can make a removable side for the 750 Four.

As ypu can see, the top rails and side rails are now in place, looks bloody awesome and not seen this EVER done before, I wanted to really push the boat out in the short amount of build time that i have on the Vesco Honda, I bet people wont even notice it when I am done.

Make sure all the weld area’s are clean and my Kit that I sell will work great for all of your machines from 1969-1978 and glad I have made these kits to be honest.

See, all nice and shiny, and soon to be ready to media blast all the paint on, prep and paint for a Custom Color and this time I think I shall go with a metalflake Silver, to keep with the Custom 70’s paint style.

All media blasted, she is now ready for the start of paint, this will take some time as i want the thick flakes but this will look great in the Sun against the Gold of the tank etc.

The race is on, and as you can see, I have the Silver Flake paint on the Chassis and I went ahead and chromed the rear swing arm, just for that added Custom look.

I have to rebuild some front forks, I went ahead and machined the fins in the lowers and polished them, then I needed to add new seals to the old girl for new life.

I use a piece of Plastic tubing and gently tap the tubing onto the seal and this easily presses the fork seal into the stanchion with no damage at all, so easy to do like this.

Custom look and even have chrome topper caps on the Original black covers, just to give it some nice bling and look a little different from the rest out there.

New tubes, springs and I set the pre-load using 4 stainless washers, as I dont like using that Plastic shit that many fork places offer, washers is the old school way and I also use Automatic Transmission Fluid instead of gear oil, another old school way.

Time to work on a custom rear brake Hub Assembly and I shall strip these, clean it drill the holes for aeration and cooling the hub and then polish it and fit new brake shoes and actuator arm to it.

All done and am happy at the look I was after, a nice custom touch that I do and offer this service to many people and is available on the website.

Front brake rotor gets the same treatment, I do all this at home and use my old drill press to make all the holes and then countersink both sides, for me, its therapeutic to be honest and boy does it look good when finished.

Now I just need to clean it up, paint the center and I shall be ready to mount on the Original 1977 Lester mag wheel, now for the cool pics below.

You can see the Custom paint nicely, all seems to flow really nicely and am super stoked I got the job done in time and it runs like a top, this sure is a stunning Custom bike and am proud to have completed such a creation, I just went for it and there you go, I have never built a bike twice but it was well worth all the hard graft.

Rebuilt and polished Caliper, Rotor is polished and painted and braided brake lines too, I did all I could think of on this machine, it really is a head turner.

Vintage style metalflake Candy paint with fish fad aways, captures the spirit of the build and hope that you like the direction I took on this SOHC bike.

Custom master cylinder, new switches, hand made and triple chromed handlebars really do set this build apart from many but- I hope I have inspired you to have a go at your machine now?

I wanted something a little different on the exhaust set up and thats why I thought I would go with a stainless steel 4 into 2 into 1 performance set up and boy does it sound sweet.

I did so many tricks to this bike, I machines some upper fork covers to match the lowers and this time I went with a Custom headlight that is so different than the others that you see, it is pleasing to the eye and I just cannot stop looking at this bike.

You can see the detail and the quick release chassis rail too, hope you like what I achieved in such a short amount of time?

Custom drilled levers, hand made front fender and a machined bucket out of 6061 Alloy to house the GPS speedometer, all flows together on this 74 CB750 Honda.

The Devil is in the detail they say, I did as much as I could in the short amount of weeks I had, but so stoked the way she turned out in the end, well worth the hard work.

Riders view, thats a GPS speedometer and I had to hand make the housing , this really is so cool to look at from any angle, so many tricks on this ride.

Re-charged shocks with Custom machines finned covers and 2 inch allot risers,make this Brat bike sit to the height I needed to sit my fat ass on top of.

Oh yeah- I even painted a Vintage Skid lid to match the paint scheme of the bike and think it worked out pretty good.

The stainless exhaust systems has a deep bellow that gets your attention, and this breathes so well it gives you Linear power all the way through the band.

This has been a fun adventure, not sure I could warrant another build so fast but this was a fun challenge and the cool thing is that the original owner that I puchased it from loved it so much, he bought it back off me.

So many cool little Custom touches I did on this bike, I would have to take a long hard look to remember what I actually did.

Sitting in the parking lot in Downtown LA, I got many cool remarks about the Vesco Honda and so glad that I made it in time to show people what this bike is about.

Hard to top this build but, I love creating them and hope I can continue having fun with this old 750 Honda bikes of the Nineteen Seventies.

Just goes to show that with a little imagination, there is a lot that you can accomplish on something, I was certain I would get this completed for the show too.

Plenty of eye candy and color, hope that you like what I have managed to create.? The good old SOHC Honda Four.

Took me some time to figure out the finned aesthetics etc  but the long process worked out really well and all seems to flow very well on this Custom Build.

This bike does look really well in the sunshine too, all the nuts and bolts are stainless steel too so no rust ever.

The Vesco Honda sits pretty level and you will be surprised how comfortable this Motorcycle is, I sure miss it already. LOL.

A tough bike, super strong Motor and sits well, this will last many many miles and hope to see it again one day.

Thanks for taking your time to read about this Vesco Honda build, I hope you have enjoyed what I have created?

Sat in my driveway before I took it to the Original owner in the City Of Orange.

Well I guess its onto another build, hard to top this one though.

At the OG show in LA where the Vesco Honda made its Debut and many people gave me the thumbs up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love what I do

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
09 Oct

I have always been an outgoing sorta fella and enjoy doing different things, below is just a snippet of some things that I have done for a TV Company and boy had a blast for 2 years, meeting all sorts of great bands, people and looking into the interesting lifestyles, be it Rockabilly, Hot Rodding or art work etc.
it took me all over the United States and I have more to do, but thanks for all your support, its you lot that makes me enjoy what I do in life.

19 years here and having so much fun with what I do with Bikes, Hot Rods, Artwork and checking out all the cool Americana that I come across in this Great country.

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

Posted on 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 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 OG Moto Show was a Blast this weekend.

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
25 Mar

Well, finally I managed to get the old girl put together in time for the OG Moto show in LA this weekend and only by the skin of my teeth, but it was all worth it in the end.

The Bike came out really well and I received so many congratulations from people that saw the bike, it was fun showing it and many people taking photos etc and made for a fun weekend thats for sure.

Plenty of cool machines there this year and the weather could not of been better, although for three weeks before this, it rained all the bloody time, no idea how I managed to bang this out in less than a month but I pushed hard and got there in the end.

There were so many details on my machine, I am sure not many people even took note, but one thing they loved was the color set up and the way it all flowed and of course sparkled, due to all that metalflake paint.

I am super Stoked at the way the bike turned out and happy to of got the bike to the show, as a lot of people wanted to come and check it out and it sure has a lot going for it.

She sits well on the Lester Rims and I made my own Handle bars and chromed them and they are so comfortable, nothing like your own Custom Handlebars.

The Bike looks great in the Sun and I am glad that I came up with this Classic 70’s styled Flake, it just needed to be like this and it is pleasing to me to look at.

Still ant to do a little more to the bike but it turned out as I imagined it would and it will be a lot of fun to ride around Orange County, this is a strong Motor and will run great.

The 40 year Old Rims look good with New brakes and tires etc and, these are Genuine Lesters off a CR750 that I purchased a few decades ago now and I knew that eventually I would get to use them on a build, very strong rims and gives that 70’s era the right look on this machine.

I went ahead and did the quick realse system on the frame rails on the side and the top, that way, if I need to work on the top end I can keep the motor in the frame, Or if I need to remove the whole engine, getting to it is a whole lot easier with the side rail off.

The Exhaust is Stainless and the bends are right on the money for the exit, a crisp look that you dont often see these days and am pleased at how this turned out.

Well, you cannot get much wilder than the paint and I wanted it to scream Flared pants and wide Collar shirt and it sure does, I cut the old gas cap and neck off and welded a harley version for a more crisp look to the petrol tank and am happy that I went this route in the end.

The Matching helmet i thought would be a good effect and many people commented on the skid lid which is a British 1950’s style Davida piss pot.

Of course, I really wanted to make a statement on the bike here and went the whole hog by creating some machined forks and uppers for the Vesco bike and machined a piece of 6061 Billet to make the finned bucket to house the GPS speedometer, the finned headlight came out pretty cool too.

I wanted a Stainless 4 into 2 into 1 system this time, let the Old Girl breathe and a unique look that you really dont see these days, its a nice free flowing stepped set up that will work very well all the way through the curve of power and will sound pretty unique too.

Having the right stance was important to me and she sits really well on the tarmac, I have a 110X19 on the front and a 140 by 18 on the rear nd they fill the rim out nicely .

Available soon: My Bobbed front fender all made right here, I wanted something that would really hug the tire and this sure does and does not rub at all.

The Polished rear Hub was drilled by me, I don’t make the pattern up on a template, I just go with the flow and they always turn out really cool, they get rid of heat and any brake dust too.

This Vesco Honda started off as a non running bike and I knew that I would get this thing back on the Tarmac, its a great feeling to get to that stage as many of you have and will understand the Euphoria that goes through you when you hit first gear and let that clutch lever out.

This really sits well and I am glad that I had a go at a full Custom machine for this show, it is a fun motorcycle that really does turn a lot of heads.

I fitted slightly over-sized tires to this bike as I wanted the Custom Brat to have some thickness all over and it really does give that effect, plus for me, more Rubber on the Tarmac, better the grip right?

The weather was great for a Motorcycle show too and LA is a really great place to put on such an event, so glad that I got invited to this again.

Thanks for following this build, it was a tough one as I had a month to do this but we got there, even with 3 weeks of rain, it was a task I really didn’t think that I would finis in time for the show but, persistence paid off this time and cannot thank you all enough for the encouraging words you gave me to keep going forward and not give up.

The 4 into 2 into 1 Stainless Steel Exhaust system came out just how I wanted it and a nice aggressive kick out with a Chromed Baffle, the Chrome Swing arm sets it all off too.

I have had built a lot of these bikes over the 19 years here but this one was a challenge and sure hope that you like what i have done to the bike and it is a different look but I like some things that are Unique and believe that this was the style it should end up as, fresh look with a lively Metalflake Uniform, makes this stand out for sure.

So, what next? hard to say to be honest, next year is my 20th Anniversary of creating these machines, I have no idea what to do yet, so my mind is racing away, LOL!

This has so many cool touches to it and where ever you look I have tried to change things up, surprise myself sometimes and this makes me smile every-time I look at it.

If you need parts, service or a complete build, I am here to help you, feel free to call or even Text me on 714-598-8392 and I shall do my best to help you out.

Thank you for everyone that spoke to me or emailed me, letting me know they like what I have done, Motorcycle building should be fun, this is a great industry and everyone’s bike is different in some way- The bike you ride is an extension of your Character and I look forward to seeing progress photos of your machines as you go along this build.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally I am ready to take the Vesco Honda to the OG show in LA

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
22 Mar

Been hard work getting this bike to the stage it s now in, but- All that hard work is well worth it as I am really happy with the look of the machine right now.

A lot of hard work and time has gone into this machine and I wasnt sure if I would makew the deadline of four weeks as we had 3 weeks of rain, but somehow I managed and I got it on solid ground for the first time last night, so stoked about it.

I will leave this at the OG show until Saturday evening but its a great show and look forward to seeing some of you there in LA.

Thanks for all the cool support and emails encouraging me to get it done, couldn’t of done it without your motivational words.

What a crazy month, but some how I managed to pull a few tricks out of the hat and get this ready for the OG show.

The Rebuild of the Vesco Honda Brat Bike Now Begins

Posted on 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.

The Vesco Honda frame gets a New Coat of Metalflake Silver Paint

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
01 Mar

Well, as we head into the end of the week, I am pushing to try and get as many things completed as I can for the Vesco bike, any Custom machine takes time and what with all this crazy wet weather here in Southern California, it has proven to be quite an arduous task to get some of the goals achieved, and more wet weather coming, its going to be an uphill struggle but I shall do all I can to get this together.

Its the wettest its been since Recorded history in the OC and I have to now work smart and do as much as I can with the doors closed, but I have many pokers in the fire and I am certain that this will get done but there seems to be obstacles all the way.

Right, after all that Modifying on the frame, I bead blasted it to bare metal, now it was time to get some paint on the chassis and this time I wanted Silver Metalflake, its a great color concept and very 1970’s too.

So, I thought that i would share on this Blog how that is now starting to develop, its almost there and can then put it on the table and begin to assemble into a unique Custom Bike.

Older posts