2025 Yamaha XT500 is now back

Time and tide wait for no man, woman or anything to be honest and as a Teenager in the 70’s I always wanted the good old Thumper Motorcycle, but didn’t have the money, but have always loved the infamous “Dinosaur” These 500 machines were almost grenade proof and ran hard on the road and dirt.  The Yamaha XT500 is a twin-valve single-cylinder enduro-adventure motorcycle made by Yamaha from 1975 until 1989.

But now in 2025 we have been blessed to bring out a revamped version of the XT500 and I am eager to have a look and maybe sling my leg over one of these machine to see how they compare to the grandad of dual sports. Back home the XT500 was the big boy of Enduro motorcycles and so glad to hear that Yamaha are creating something with a feel of yesteryear but all modern.

 

This is how I remember them:

Lets hope the New 2025 version is every bit as exciting as the Thumper was when it first came out in 1975.

XT500

Summer time at the workshop

Well, the Californian Summer hung off for a while, but now it is in full swing and boy is it getting hard to work in stifling heat and humidity is up the ying yang right now, feels like I am in Florida to be honest, but the show must go on, I have so much to do but right now I am waiting on some help with my Barn doors to be hung, they are big heavy wooden sliding doors.  But once they are up I can start to organise a little bit more, it is lucky we have a large property as I can store old projects all over the place but need to get it all under one roof soon and be more happier when that does come to fruition.

Like many of you, we are always wrenching on things, for me I have New parts to make or to become a dealer for and of course, I have Motorcycles to build and projects to finish, but as the saying goes, ‘Rome was not built in a day”.

It seems I have spent so many years on my knees but to be honest, I feel comfortable that way, even if the bikes on a lift, I guess it goes back to grass roots or what you grew up with, we had nothing as a kid and made the most of what we had, if we were given something we would cherish it and improve on it, but I still have so much passion in creativity with parts and creations and hope that I never lose that flame for design and ingenuity etc.

I love all sorts of Vintage and classic stuff, from obviously Motorcycles, music, fashion and of course cars or trucks, my recently purchased F250 has been fun but I have to also wrench on that and have changed stuff so far to improve the ride and running, with more to do as this is my parts hauler.

I was at the ceramic Coaters and decided to take the back roads to my place as the traffic was busy and it was 100 degree’s, the old F250 has been great so far as it has not got hot, but the 390 seems to be having carb issues, it has the stock Autolite 2 barrel and to be honest even though jets changed, power valve changed, float level set and cleaned many times, it just will not start after a few minutes, so things will be changing next week to sort that issue out.  But had to pull over and take a pic of this cool vintage sign I saw on the side of the road.

I love Southern California for old shops and signs and seem to see something different every time I go out to be honest and thought that i would share with you as I love Vintage signs too.

My Birthday coming up Thursday and I will not be working that day and enjoy time with my girl Jennifer, we do so much together and the good thing is she likes pretty much the same stuff I do, so we really get each other, she rides to and that makes a huge difference and she understands the trials and tribulations of running a Motorcycle and Automotive business.

Just wanted to say howdy to you all out there and thanks for supporting me in what I make and sell, I love you all.

 

Keep your eye on the website for more parts and bikes soon, just got back from the Post office, sent exhausts to Hawaii, Puerto Rico , New Zealand and Brazil today.

Bought Home a 1977 Yamaha YZ250 MotoCross Bike

Well, ya just never know what you mind find around here in Southern California and I came across a 1977 Yellow YZ250 Yamaha at an Auction and ended up bringing her home, this old girl has sat out since the 1980’s and left to just sit and soak up the sun, well- I could not resist and the reason why is:

When me and my brother were teenagers back in the UK, we used to ride old pieces of crap just to get out in the countryside and ride, we lived near the American Airbases and often spoke to many servicemen about the USA and how cool it would be to live there etc.  We knew some American lads not far from us and one of them gave me a Dirt bike magazine, this was about 1975/6 and when we clapped our eyes on all the MotoX stuff, we were hooked.

I remember Bob Hurricane Hannah Grabbing the 250 championship on the Very same model and year as I have right now.  In 1977, Hannah hopped aboard a stock production Yamaha 250 and won the Florida Winter-AMA Series and the AMA Supercross Championship in impressive fashion, taking six of the 10 rounds. By the end of the AMA Nationals season, he was in contention for the 125cc, 250cc and Open Class titles — becoming the first rider to win races in all three classes in just one season.

Hannah would go on to win the AMA Supercross title for three straight years. Known for his tireless training regimen and fierce demeanor on race day, his tell-it-like-it-is, never-say-die attitude toward racing endeared him to hundreds of thousands of fans, and he became the first genuine superstar of Supercross racing.

So for me now to have a 1977 YZ250 is kind of surreal and I hope to be able to do it up, maybe get a top end, rebuild forks etc and maybe a D pipe etc and race the Biltwell 100 someday, maybe even find another YZ250 and get my brother to fly out here so we can race together, just another tick in the box of things we wanted to do in life.

To many, they wont get the sense of excitement over this pee yellow 250 dirt bike, but this is out teenage OMG dream of owning one and sure, I have had CR250 and XR and XL moden dirt bikes but this was the thing to look out for when you saw a race on the tv.

So I loaded the 250 up from the Auction and bought her home with a happy smile on my face, have the pink slip too which is quite rare to find these days, of course I have to see if the bike is even in one piece, I have no history of it but I do know it was parked up in the early 1980’s.

I would like to get this old girl going, I mean, she is now 46 years old, so many parts will not be available, so I shall be looking around for parts and maybe some of you reading this may even have parts in the shed for this bike as you may of owned one or Dad or Grandad did?

Today’s dirt bikes ride like cadillacs compared to the 70’s bikes but these still pulled hard and you knew you had to watch the power band when it came in, that’s the fun I think, check out the old spark plug holder and wrench on the frame.

Classic set up here, throttle Cable through the number plate, so old school its got to stay on this bike, hope I can find NOS parts for this machine.

Just thought I would share as some of you may dig this old dirt bike, I know that I do and so does my brother. Nothing quite like the smell of Castrol R oil or Spectra and will keep you posted on my new ride.

 

Fun times ahead at the workshop.

Well, a New year and New projects, I have a bunch of bikes that need to get running and then decide which way to go in the way of building and creating something cool from the shop but many different platforms are sat in the Barn, just awaiting some wrench time, but I do enjoy creating New rides.

I get many questions on how do I put in the Knee inserts on gas tanks, well, first off, I find a damaged tank, I don’t want to use a good solid undented gas tank, seem a shame to bash the crap out of it to be honest, so I usually have something about the shop or in storage that I can use and love to repurpose something that has been discarded, but I do use ear defenders as I have already got  Tinnitus from years of grinding metal, riding motorcycles with No ear plugs and going to many gigs and standing up front by the speakers.

I really enjoy making parts for the machines I build and of course offering it to customers too, its a noisy job but if it was easy, then everyone would do it right?

I have a few ideas for New parts this year, so keep checking back with me, also I hope to offer parts for different models and brands of Motorcycle, so I should be able to help you all, my Customer Service really is hard to beat compared to the many shops that have sprouted up recently, this is my career and my passion not just a business.

If its engine parts you need, drop me a Dime or Text on 714-598-8392 and I am more than happy to help you lot out with your project, this year should be a fun one and maybe I will meet some of you at an event?  I have built many Motorcycle over the almost 23 years I have lived here in Southern California and look forward to building many more.

 

The Hot Rod and Razor exhausts Now in stock, this is how they sounds too.

Weekend is here but its going to be damn Hot In Southern California

I know, I know- I should not complain about the weather, but- I left the shores of Blighty back in 1997, this weekend it will be in the 90’s and I am lucky that I now have the Barn to work in, albeit no A/C.  Its surprising how much you can get done when there is a big ball of fire trying to make you evaporate.

Today I shall be packing up quite a few New exhaust systems, with more on the way, busy time of the year for me as people are wrenching on their machines and of course, with warmer temperatures, then riding season is at its most fruitful, I too love riding early in the morning as the warmth of the Sun begins to make the tarmac steam and for me, there is nothing better to clear your head than a crisp morning.

But parts have to be re-stocked and I am trying to get the New Place in some sort of order, so I can pick and pack my parts a little easier and then ship right out to my Customers, I am lucky as the Main Post Office is just down the road, so that means I can take them directly to the Loading dock to scan and load the packages and boxes onto the truck that is going out to deliver.

I am coming up with a few different parts too and this all takes time, but I am enjoying what I do and when you work from your own Workshop with no landlord hassling you, a lot of stress simply disappears.

Happy Sunday everyone and hope you get a little bit of time to be able to do some wrenching on your machine, let me know if I can help by phone or text, 714-598-8392.  keep building and keep riding.

Weekend is pretty Much Here

Hey Everyone

I have been pretty busy as of late as the Barn is now built but still waiting on a few things to get it functional to be honest, and with the price of Building materials higher than a Coke addict, I shall just take my sweet ass time in getting it completed.

 

Anyway, the weekend is here, I hope to have a little ride over these next couple of days as we have some great winding roads where I live, tree lines corners and big off cambered corners with drop off, make for an exhilarating ride to be sure.

 

Hope you can get some time in the saddle like this fella on His 650 BEEZA!

Happy New Year Everyone

Here we are 2022 at last, man – What a crappy 2020 and glad to see the back of it and start a fresh and hope that we all have some good health and enjoy life as much as we can.

I somehow caught the Flu over Christmas and it Royaly buggered me up, Only about 80% right now but at least I am up on my feet, and I wanted to make sure that I did a bit of work at the house and get a few things ready for when My Barn arrives for assembly on Wednesday.

I have a few Projects I would like to finish this season and I hope my health gets a lot stronger as I took quite a whooping last year with Covid and the Flu, so lets all keep our pinkies crossed that we are all fine and can go and wrench on our machines to our hearts content.

There are many things that I hope to make and offer on my website for all the avid Motorcycle builders out there, I receive so many emails and texts about what you lot are up to, it drives me to help get your machine completed, and sure hope that you can complete yours this year to get on the tarmac for the new season when it eventually arrives where ever you are located.

Just wanted to wish you all a Very Happy New year and thank you for all of your orders, emails, phone calls and texts, I love chatting to you all and look forward to continuing great communication with you in this New year we have all started.

Look Forward to seeing what you are all creating and maybe see you on the road one of these days?

 

Here is something to have a laugh at at days gone by back home 1965.

A New Year is almost upon us, what does it bring to the people in the two wheeled world?

Sitting in my office, looking at the fog bank rolling in across the front of the window, reminds me of years gone by when I was back in England, I had an old garage that was built in the 1960’s, the doors were missing and I shared the area with 9 other garages, closed in by a wall and agate, the Fog would roll in just like today and I continued to work on one of my projects, be it a 2 or 4 wheeled model and just shrug the weather off.  Today the Fog is surrounding me but I have been fortunate to have an office now and as I type this, the New Concrete slab that has just been poured for my new workshop, is hardening and hopefully in a months time, the steel Barn can be constructed and give me a new chapter in my life of Building and manufacturing parts for Motorcycles and Hot Rods.

This Covid Virus has really turned the globe on its head and many times I have heard news of friends and family catching this awful strain, I too submitted to it, even with 2 shots, but, the world is now evolving and in a way, getting used to life with a mask and Social distancing.  I mean, Life has to go on, we have to live, survive and of course put bread on the table.

I see a few companies starting back up, albeit on a smaller scale, but we have to carry on and get back on track, and not look back at the sad and painful year or so that has gone by.  I am getting enquiries on commissioned builds but am not ready to commit to contracts on these until I know where I am with my New Workshop etc. and want to take my time to equip the barn with the tools I need to do what I do.

But, 2022 is just around the next apex and I can see it approaching a bit faster now, I see a way better year ahead for all thank god and look forward to attending some shows and exhibitions etc. to show people New parts, builds and also just Human Communication, something I do miss of course, without communication, I have no input into what people like, want or are hoping to see in our two wheeled family and with the new Year offering hope with Vaccinations and the like, I believe that we can slowly get back into gear and enjoy the hobby that we all love.

 

I love all Motorcycles and really enjoy chatting to other builders, some of who simply knock my socks off with their own creations that leave my proverbial jaw continually slammed on the ground in amazement of their skills and creativity.

I think that as a builder and manufacturer, we all feed off input and the importunateness of shows and meetings etc. is Vital in the industry that we are in, and looking forward to attending a few shows next year, even if its just to stretch my creativity legs so to speak.  I really do enjoy talking with Customers about their needs and what makes their crank turn and even though I still receive many phone calls and emails, its always great to see the Client in person.

So, here’s to a way better year and look forward to seeing some of you on the tarmac, always great to hear from you all and get an idea of what you are creating at home.

Some Videos for your Sunday enjoyment

Its a Sunday and I have a million things to do this weekend, what with Motorcycles to build, parts to make and orders to pack, its a busy weekend for me and thought that I would add some videos for you to watch of other bike shows and cool things to maybe get some of you to get in your garage and have a go at something.

Little snippets of great stuff to watch whilst you design and start your own projects, its fun to be able to have a go at your own machine and nothing better than when you first fire your ride up and sling your leg over something that you are passionate about.

Ever wanted to go to deals Gap? here you can from the comfort of your seat at home and when you have created your machine, take it here to enjoy the twists and turns of these canyon roads.

And now for a trip overseas and to Portugal for henry Cole and his Motorbike show, enjoy.