Flash Back Friday- Old Video for you to watch.


Happy Friday Every body, hope that your end of the work week is going well, nothing quite like a Friday and I am sure that some of you at least, will be riding your Motorcycle to some event, or simply just to get about and see a few buddies now that the Weekend is almost here.

Flash back Friday is the Day and I thought I would just add an 8 minute Video of my Old shop back in the City of Orange, had some fun times there and some shit times too, being your own Boss brings a whole lot more Headache than you will ever understand if you are not a Business owner.

It was a super Windy Sunday when I walked around the shop, you could hear the metal doors banging about, but, I hope that you find it interesting, many CB750 Builds I had taken on there and got them ALL completed in the end.

Have a Great weekend you lot and many thanks for following me, its great to hear input from Customers and readers etc and anything else you may want to see, just drop me an email at. carpy@carpyscaferacers.com and I shall be more than happy to reply to you.

Ride Safe and keep your Lights on.

Peace and Grease

Carpy

Life behind Bars

Well, 17 years seems to have flown by and here I am, still playing with two wheeled contraptions.

As a kid , I was fascinated with Motorbikes and at any opportunity I would drop everything to watch , hear or just read about these mechanical machines.

I have lived all over the world and seen some fantastic motorcycles and knew that one day I would be lucky enough to reside in the United States of America .

So, in 2000 I entered California and the first Motorcycle I created was a 1976 CB750 of which I gave the Cafe Racer styling.

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The livery was in the style of the 1970’s Formula 1 John Player Special Team of Gold and Black.

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This motorcycle caused a huge stir in the American Motorcycle community and put me on the map as as Motorcycle designer and builder.

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17 years later and my 50th creation is almost completed , I wanted to build another CB750 and this time use some crazy Candy flake colors of which covered most of the Hondas of SOHC guise.

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This time I chose a 1975 CB750F model Super Sport and went with a Black Wrinkle Finish Engine, Dressed out with Stainless Steel Allen Head Bolts throughout.

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I also designed a Brand New 4 into 1 Exhaust System that made the Header pipes swing out to the right hand side and then tightly under the chassis and a unique short turn out tail pipe.

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I took the stock gas tank and cut out the filler neck and welded it flat, then welded a Harley Gas Cap bung in its place to give this tank a cool smooth appearance .

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Next up I took some 18 Gauge steel and hand bent the seat base to the style I was looking for, then I cut another piece of steel into a half circle and hand pounded it on a sand bad and then used my Air Plenisher and shaped it into a cowl, then tig welded to seat base, once that was done I then cut a teardrop shape out of the rear of that cowl, to allow for a unique Tailight for the bike.

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I upholstered this seat base with Brown Naugahyde and did tuck n roll design.

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I rebuilt the front forks and machined the  lowers to have finned grooves in them, rebuilt the front and rear wheels with polished Hubs and stainless Steel spokes and shoved New Rubber on them.

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With 14.5 inch New Shocks makes sure the rear end keeps smooth and some Italian Rear sets clamp tightly to the frame. But still More to do and wanted to show you some progress photos, Hope you like what I am doing here, a little out there but, that makes it more fun. Stay tuned to my Blogs on more as I will ALWAYS be messing around with 2 wheeled Machines.

carpyz1

 


 

Just a little Nostalgia today

Friday already- where does time go? it is crazy how quick the minutes tick by and before you know it you are almost in your grave.

So today as i have a lot to do, I thought I would add a little video i took with my Phone one day at my old shop 5 years ago almost, sure had plenty of CB750 honda’s to work on.

Hope you enjoy this, and have a great Friday Y’All.

Next is about 6 or 7 Years ago so not good quilty as it was my phone but at least you can get an idea of what I did and still do, Motorcycles are MY Passion.

Peace and Grease

carpy wall

Carpy

59 Club Meet Up is always fun!

Well, it was that time once again for us to sling our legs over our machines and head on out to Roscoes deli and Bar in Downtown Fullerton for our Monthly meet up, seeing as it stays light in the evening now, this was our first meet up here since last year, and what a cool turn out it was too.

Not only did many of our members turn up, the Brand New 2016 Triumph Thruxton R that I test rode earlier in the day from Southern California Triumph in Brea ,who kindly offered me the opportunity to have a blast on the 100 HP Beast, thundered into the parking lot, to the amazement of many.

The weather was perfect for our meet up and the bar was busy too, with superb Sandwiches to scoff on and beer in massive Glass Trophy style Goblets to partake in liquid refreshment.

It was a great evening and 18 Motorcycles showed up and enjoyed the camaraderie amongst everyone at this cool venue in Fullerton.

That’s my girlfriend “Jennifer’s” mean machine and her mum made the cover for her T100, looks wicked eh?

 

Plenty of people came out and had a look and, as the evenings are lighter now, we shall continue to have a meet up here at Roscoes.

Corey’s Custom Bonny is at the top of the parking lot and Very Hot Roddy along with pinstriped Skid lid.

Even a New Speed twin attended of which I shall be making Megaphones for and should give it a more aggressive growl.

Plenty of eye candy to take in at this great Bar and grill and if you can make it out one of these evenings, you will enjoy it for sure.

 

Nice to have this cool group with no attitude, just a passion for Motorcycles and its lifestyle with the 59 Club O.C.

We had a Plethora of style, Cafe, Scrambler and Bonny all on parade.

James O’Donnell Rides his Thruxton all over the place and got the Trophy for best attendance a few weeks back with the club.

This guy is a True Iconic Fellon, but thats just his last name. No not iconic.

Above, a good mate Steve Martinez and his stunning Black and Silver  Thruxton of which he rides regularly.

Plenty of things to look at at Roscoes itself but tonight it was the parking lot that grabbed the attention.

My Girlfriend Jennifer rode up on her T100, she loves this machine and is a New rider and gets more and more miles under her belt when she can.

Above, Steve Fellon with the “Slave Master “club hat, enjoys our buddies 175 Honda and brings back good memories.

Above, Amanda talks to Jennifer on how she likes to Wheelie where ever she can on her way to work each morning. LOL!

A great amount of British iron here tonight and we all had an awesome time, try and make it along to a meet up of ours sometime.

Fellon having relapses of jumping off curbs and running across farmers property back in the day.

The lads from Southern California Triumph Motorcycles came along and bought the New Thruxton R to show it off to all. But they had to have a few Beers first to settle their nerves.

Barry- AKA- “Bare” found a short cut to our meeting, great fella and his Guzzi Racer was sat all proud.

Above, Michael David Smith arrived on his trumpy, works many hours but always makes time for the club meet, thats dedication for you.

Some of the Lads chewing the fat, whilst I was chewing on a Sandwich!

Julie jumps on the New Thruxton R and that 1200 cc feels appealing from her 175 Honda thats for certain and she fits the bike very well indeed.

Corey and his lovely wife Julie admire the New Thruxton and Corey contemplates his Mrs blowing the doors off his Bonny if she bought it.

Fits this Thruxton R like a glove, its a fun bike as I rode it this morning and has bags of Torque.

Every digs the roar of the Stainless Steel megaphones as Julie hits the loud button and her old man comes to investigate.

So many bikes and a warm evening made this meet up very memorable and nothing to do with Kobe’s last game on the tv either.

I always enjoy our 59 Club events and people all seem to have fun, swap stories and genuinely  enjoy the evening with everyone.

 

There is Julie again on that Thruxton, its a wicked machine and Id love to have that in my own stable.

I can see the figures running through her mid if this is a plausible deal for her, this is truly a 100 Horse Torque Monster.

The Girl of my Dreams Jennifer, rides me me as much as she can, and enjoys organizing 59 club events.

More Trump here than Donald!

My 2013 Thruxton sits patiently, I truly love riding my cafe, its all dialed in and I enjoy the Canyons when I can.

Big J sits on the New Thruxton R and is surprised he can touch the floor- Barley!! LOL

This sure would get him to work a little faster, but he has a Thruxton 900 and thats so much fun anyway.

Maybe if the Lotto numbers come up he can grab this and keep both machines and teach his Girlfriend Carole how to ride?

Our mate Eric Dye has a Trumpy that you can never lose in a parking lot, this tangerine dream is a sweet ride.

Oh Oh- Is Corey working out what the Payments would be on that Thruxton R?

Seat comes off with a flick of the key on the New Thruxton R.

The Triumph Seat now a concealed compartment for all things you need with you, Registration, Glock, etc.

Our members all having a great time as we enjoy the now lighter nights and some fun rides coming up on the calendar.

 

Love all the old signs and memorabilia at Roscoes, it really is a great place to meet up with friends in Fullerton.

The Night is drawing in but the fun continues as we all eat, drink and enjoy a fun evening of laughter.

Carlos pulled up on his Thruxton with his New fairing attached.

With More Fog Lights than a East Anglian British Sea Side Light house, this bike gets noticed.

Carlos will be painting this Black with checkers, s stay tuned for more.

Off goes Carlos  with more wattage than a nuclear power plant.

This 2016 Thruxton is all machine as I rode it and took it into the Canyon, it is responsive, Torquey and boy does it Growl!

 

Looks great as the Sun was going down, if you can get a chance to take this for a test ride, do so as they are a fun machine but- watch the power in the first 2 gears and she will lift up like a Cutter through an Ice pack!

Getting ready to go and another fun evening was had by all, thanks for coming.

Ode and Michael David Smith get suited and Booted and get ready to jump on their steeds and head home.

Amanda gives us the secret Cringe as she struggles to pull her Scottish wallet from her Jacket, whilst Jennifer smiles.

 

 

The Rice Boiler CB750 SOHC

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 !!!