Socal Norton Club‎ 36th Annual Hansen Dam Ride and Show SUNDAY!

Posted on October 29, 2015January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

29 Oct

Ok, this Sunday is coming around super fast and I shall be heading down to Hansen Dam for the Norton Owners Club 36th Meeting that is annually and boy what a treat this is.

Last year was my First attendance at the Hansen Dam ride and boy did I have fun there, a few hundred bikes turned up and the ride through the canyons was brilliant fun, no need to race but you could give it an ear full if you so required, but I sure did have fun on My Thruxton.

I will be going again with my crew from the Orange County 59 Club and take in the atmosphere of this well represented Norton club.

What time:

at 7:00am – 3:00pm

3 days from now · 85°F / 60°F Clear

Where:

Hansen Dam Recreation Park

11770 Foothill Blvd, Sylmar, California 91342

Schedule of events:

8-9:45 Coffee, Donuts and Show Bike Info
9:45 Riders Meeting and Announcements
10:00 Ride leaves via Osbourne/Foothill/Little Tujunga
1:30-2 Return to Dam for ride pins and Best Bikes Show and lunch
2:30-3 Show Bike Awards in six catagories
Catagories are:
Best Norton
Best Triumph
Best BSA
Best British Custom
Best British Other
Best of Show
Bikes in show must participate in ride.
This is the best motorcycle show by a dam site.
Directions: 210 to Osborne St. exit #8 Foothill Blvd. west, left on Osborne St., left on Dronfield Ave., right then left to lower parking lot.

This is a great event and for all classic Motorcycles, if you want a fun day out on your two wheeled machine on Sunday, then this is the place to be at.

You will see a few faces you may know there, I saw Barry Weis there and he is such a fun guy to chat too.

Also you will see Many unique machines from Norton, to Greeves, it will all be there and a great hang out before the ride into the twisties.

If you see us, please come and say hello as this is one of the friendliest meets I have never been too, other than the VJMC as their events are super cool too.

So get ya arse down here if you can as it is a memorable ride and so many cool classic machines to look at.

I hope to see you, give us a wave if you are on the run as this sure is a fun day to ride your motorcycle.

If you would like to ride with us , then get up early as we shall be at Alea’s Cafe on the corner of Miraloma Ave and Miller at 7am remember you have to change your clocks on Sunday morning at 2am.

Alea Cafe

3371 E Miraloma Ave, Anaheim, CA

The Rice Boiler CB750 SOHC

Posted on October 13, 2015December 11, 2021 by Steve Carpenter

13 Oct

Well, here was a bike that came together just because of my Grumpy Old man when I was a Teenager, and thought that I would share this creation with you all.

My Dad is an Old School sort and, if it wasn’t British, then it wasn’t good enough, and as a kid I had never been able to afford new bikes, my first bought bike was a 1955 Francis Barnet which I turned into a dirt bike, but all I ever heard from my old man if he saw a Japanese Motorcycle was. ” That bloody thing is a “Rice Boiler” And it stuck in my head for all this time.

I don’t really get on with my old man, too strict and a terrible aggressive temper to boot, it was his way or the highway and a boot up the arse for good measure. I had plenty of parts about and I wanted to really make this creation something that would indeed get plenty of attention and what better title than “The Rice Boiler”

If this was going to get built, then I am going to go all out and both guns frigging blazing, I wanted this 1974 CB750K to really turn some heads where ever it stood and I think I pulled it off?

I had these Alloy Star rims for over 20 years that were simply stuck in the hangers of the garage loft and thought that these would fit the bill, they needed cleaning up, new bearings and then paint and polish, but they are period rims and this was the perfect Motorcycle to fit these too, I also shod them with my favorite Bridgestone Spitfire Tires and like many of my machines, I drill the brake rotors and polish all the Aluminum that I can.

I totally stripped the front and rear Brake calipers, removed the paint and stripped to bare aluminum, vapor honed them and then polished to a chrome finish, machines stainless Pistons and rebuilt the calipers like they were new, and then made sure to add Aircraft grade Braided Brake lines too.

Yes indeed, the Devil is in the Detail and this was no exception, the Sprocket carrier I stripped and polished and Chromed the safety plate, then to really make sure this is a sturdy ride and accepts a wider rear tire, I made a Boxed swing arm, drilled holes in them and inserted steel tubing and welded smooth, so they swing arm looks drilled but its stronger than when it wasn’t by the tubing inside. I also made the Chain Guard and Chromed that and set the look off with a Nickel “O” Ring 530 Chain.

I have always drilled my brake hubs, for aeration and to get rid of brake dust too, just looks like the old race bikes back in the day when they did the same thing.

Every Bike that I do create, always has an Alcohol filled oil Pressure Gauge, as it gives true Motor pressure reading and looks pretty darn cool hanging out of the side of the Motorcycle.

I had a collection of Original Racecrafter finned speed equipment for a CB750 and thought that it was time they came out of the cupboard draw, got polished and could fit them to the motor, this clutch cover was great and loved eventually using it after being locked away for over 20 years.

This was the old after market Racecrafters finned Points cover with 750 cast in the center, never really see these much, so wanted to fit this to the bike for more eye candy.

Of course, the Stator cover was missing some of that Bling and wanted the finned styling to flow and this original one I had got cleaned up and polished and looks great sat in place on the motor that it was intended for.

Unfortunately nobody made a finned engine mount, so I thought ” feck It” I will design and make my own, and that’s what happened using some 7075 T6 Billet and it came out super cool.

I really wanted to make a statement with this build, so I drilled the front sprocket cover and then polished to a chrome finish to dress that part of the motor up, as many leave that area as its so oily inside.

The Carbs were totally rebuilt and tuned and added a Custom made Dragon Airbox to match the Old Chopper aftermarket versions of the day, we called them bread Boxes and it breathes really well.

Rebuilt engine with Polished Valve cover and even an aftermarket 1974 Finned starter Cover, this Motorcycle looks amazing at any angle that you take a peek at, so many New parts, including stainless Allen head bolts throughout.

I thought to myself, I may as well push the boat out of design etc and made out of solid billet, a Oil Tank Dipstick Finned cap and It came out so nice, glad I went ahead and did that.

The exhaust had to be cool and what better way to get the spent gases out of the cylinder head than by a set of slightly wider Stainless Steel headers and Yoshimura style tail pipe.

For some added Custom touches I cut down a Connecting Rod and use the Big end around the tail pipe as a hanger, then shortened it and triple chromed, it came out great.

Another Custom Touch was I stripped both of the old tired Gauges and gave them a New Lease of Life with my own New faces, these looked sharp as a tach. LOL

The Gas tank was a 1975 CB750F Super Sport Model, I cut the old gas Cap flap out of the top and welded it smooth and then fitted one of my Alloy Monza styled cap, Hammered by hand the knee inserts and smoothed all the body work before getting a buddy to paint it for me with the Rising Sun in the insert. Many coats of Candy Brandy Root Beer was mixed and applied.

I love using Italian rear sets and these look very cool once I removed the anodizing and polished to a chrome finish, they work so smoothly too, the pegs are folding as well.

This is my hand made seat and I used this cool Custom LED light to keep me safe at night, the License plate frame is an original 1974 After Market one that is the epitome of Café Racers of the day.

I wanted to try something way out of the box, so what I did was used some old used CB750 Connecting rods and chromed them to make wickedly cool wing mirrors and boy, did they turn out swell, many people loved the idea.

I just wanted to really push the proverbial boat out with the Rice Boiler, and I think I did accomplish such a task, it took some time but was worth all the effort to bring something a little different out to the shows.

A serious piece of kit and I had such a Ball creating this bike, all from a pencil drawing inside my skull as a kid and to bring it to fruition was such a fun achievement for me.

I was determined to bring something out of the stable that was all me, all my years of motorcycles and put so many tricks into this that it would be looked at for some time where ever it went.

Where did the headlight come from I hear you ask? Well I wanted to try something different and located an old DeSoto fender light and this turned out to be a winner for me and really suited the bike.

A fine thoroughbred machine that loves to have its legs stretched, and is pure fun to run around anywhere that you choose to take it, so many things to look at too.

I put a lot of Pride and Joy into this, its my creation and love to look at it, it may not be your cup of Tea but hope you can see the work that went into this build.

I used real leather on the seat, soft as hell too and did Diamond Stitching with snaps on the side for quick removal. I actually hand made the side covers too.

Thanks for reading my build page and hope that you found some of the photos I took, interesting. Its my passion and my life to be honest and continue to create Motorcycles and Custom parts.

I am sure my Old Man would still scoff at it but that’s his opinion, I love it and glad that I took on this challenge and saw it through to the very end.

Until next time I guess, have to see what else that I can come up with as I carry one with these fun inline four Honda Motorcycles. Ton Up Everybody !!!

Distinguished Gentleman’s ride 2015

Posted on September 29, 2015January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

29 Sep

Well, what a super event, the day was begun by the 59 Club O.C. meeting up near my shop at 6 am so we could cruise down to Del Amo Motorsports in Long Beach- where we would be catered for breakfast etc and then ride to Pasadena town hall.

We met at Del Amo Motorsports on time, but they were asleep I think, poor turn out there but we were cheered up later.

Some of the lads leaving ealy to help mark in Pasadena.

But we decided it was time for us to make our move to Pasadena as that was still 30 miles away and although we rode through thick fog to get here, the Sun was starting to come through and we needed to make tracks.

We were all ready to make the trip to the City hall in Pasadena and the 59 Club made a great entrance for the DGR.

Below, time for a selfie as we pulled into Pasadena, didn’t see the little old lady but tons of Distinguished gentlemen that’s for sure.

The Sun was baking already so needed to get a few photos but couldn’t keep the Dapper Tweed on for too long as the temps were getting high.

Above- the 59 Club O.C. representing and all Dapper up for this great Charity Ride, such a fun bunch of mates I always enjoy their company.

Plenty of motorcycles here and more turning up, it was an amazing sight, there were tons of Triumphs at the event and was stoked to see that.

Everybody was friendly and wanted to take a photo of your machine, or just asked where you were from, loved this event.

Gerard, Zach and me do a selfie to remember this Hot September day.

The lads Mingled about as we got ready for Stage 2 of our ride, and that’s a long winding one to the Ace in LA.

The Lads all parked up as we get ready to embark on this nostalgic day and boy was it getting hot dressed in Tweed.

We all kept together and people knew who we were by our Club decals we displayed on the front of our jackets.

Mark, Zach, Perla and Ditrick chin wag about the festivities, Perla saves the day by taking our jackets so we could ride a little better in the heat.

We all had to stand by our bikes for some photos then the big chat on road safety and how we will ride in a mass formation.

City Hall was busy and a great area to have this meet up, a lot of organizing went into the worldwide event and it paid off.

Below: My Rig and love this Motorcycle, such a blast to ride and it enjoys the twisties for sure.

Motorcycles and people all over the place soon congregated for the big ride out to Los Angeles and over 600 machines there too.

Below, as we sit and cook as we get ready to fire our steeds up and take this winding route to the Ace Hotel in L.A.

So many cool Motorcycles and Crash helmets on display here, I enjoyed seeing all sorts of attire and machines in Pasadena.

Dapper was the order of the day but with the sun getting hottoer by the minute, you needed some H2o but hard to do on a ride, thats why we cooked.

I upholstered my Davida for the ride as this was for Cancer,wanted to ride for my Mum and my step dad who both passed away to the big C.

My Ton Up machine as it sits majestically in the Sun, awaiting for me to straddle the machine and get going to Los Angeles.

So many Triumphs at this event, it was such an eye catching view and when we all fired up, the roar was awesome.

Different styled and colored skid lids were a plenty and the turn out was pretty impressive.

All awaiting for the get go as we wait for a few photos to be taken and then the riding instructions from the police.

Triumphs old and New were here in abundance and was great to walk about a bit and take it all in to be honest.

There is a Ducati that’s more money than I will ever see but nice to see they made the trip to this event in Pasadena.

I almost wore my Brit Crash helmet but there seemed to be many of them here, so glad in a way I didn’t.

My mate Dave’s GT came up from San Diego area, he rides the Little GT everywhere.

Dapper Dudes chin waggin on what the day will bring upon us but, such a great atmosphere here in Pasadena.

Yes, even a side car made it for the ride of which would of been quite fun sat in the chair, but would need an umbrella in the sun.

Listening to the Police giving road safety instructions, before we make this epic ride into the LA area/

hard to hear at first until the Bull Horn was used and we were all ready for the off by now.

Plenty of people came out for this Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride and I wasn’t expecting it to be this bloody hot though.

Marvelous turn out, atmosphere and camaraderie as we all are about to ride our Motorcycles.

A Mate of mine Tom Haigh gets ready to ride hos Trumpy along with us.

Getting on our machines to make this journey through the City streets in Pasadena, all the way to LA and this would be a Hot and Bumpy Ride.

Happy faces as we get the Green light to fire up our motorcycles and get moving out of this heat.

The Roar of all these engines was something you could only explain if you were here, 600 Motors all revving up.

So like a bunch of well dressed Bank managers we were finally ready for the off.

Now people are stoked to be able to click into first gear and work their way out of the city hall and into the Streets of Pasadena.

Blue skies as we head through Hollywood and people cheering, waving and taking photos of us as we speed past.

In Downtown LA now and boy was the Sun getting hotter, but with a Police escort we kept moving but it was touch and go with some of the riders.

The Ace Hotel parking lot soon filled up and we was ready for a cold drink after an hour of riding in the back streets of LA.

Plenty going on, food, music, drink, photos, video and just great people at this event.

Many different styles and brands of machines turned up, quite a few Honda’s flew the flag too. 1975 CB750 below.

I am having a chin wag with some geezer about the event and, thats how it went all afternoon, 59 Club member Mark Baker was with me.

Plenty to look at if you can stand the heat as this Summer seems to be going on for ever.

Triumphs, Ducatis. Harley, Honda, there were many machines here and it was a super turn out.

Triumphs sitting in the sun after a winding ride through the back streets of Los Angeles.

So many good Motorcycles were here, it was nice to walk around if you could find some shade .

Bow tie and mustache adorned this R67 Beamer.

From the roof top of the Ace, the skyline was great to see and this was the pinnacle of the day for me.

Bikes on the tarmac, taking in the U/V’s as we sat up on the Roof of the Ace Hotel, where the Bar is.

Great view of Los Angeles.

The front door that welcomes you to this old Hotel.

Bands played in this sweltering heat and a good job they did too,.

I just had a photos taken and in the back ground my mate mark Baker on his Trumpy gets ready for his shot.

Vendors and Music seemed to be the order of the day at the Ace.

Below is a photo I took with my phone as there was a bit of shade and I managed to find some stairs to get a better view.

People on the far side of the parking lot who got in first got the shady parts to sit, lucky buggers.

An eventful day that is for sure and hopefully next year it will be bigger but not so bloody hot.

And finally the Major Speaker Christopher Medak – photographer of the stars gets all Las Vegas in the Pool.

I managed to raise over $5500 for the research for a cure for Prostate Cancer, Our team combined raised just over $45,000 and combined all around the world, so far- we have all raised 2.2 Million Dollars, that’s a tremendous achievement and the charity is going on through October if you still like to donate.

Thanks to all my crew for the help and the the fundraising, you are all my hero’s- and thank you to everyone around the globe that got this total to what it is.

Until next year, ride safe and hope to see you at one of the rides that we attend as the 59 Club O.C.

http://www.gentlamens ride.com/rider/carpy

PHOTO Credits, to Ron Nicholson of Santa Clarita Thanks Ron.

Alea Cafe

Login