The Rebuild of the Vesco Honda Brat Bike Now Begins

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.

Love what I do, best job in the world.

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

Happy Hump-day Everyone.

The VESCO HONDA CB750 Brat Bike

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peace and Grease to you all.

 

Carpy

 

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

 

Vesco Honda CB750, finally running and enjoying some miles.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

Vesco Honda build so far.

Well, I was lucky enough to get a call from a film Producer, they are doing a TV Commercial this weekend and needed a couple of bikes to use, so I let them take my Sportster Cafe and this Vesco Brat, as its not finished yet but pretty much altogether now.

But wanted to share a few photos of how she is right now as its getting closer to be able to ride, that will be quite exiting as it had not run since the 1980’s, I have fired her up a few times now and happy with the idle and the oil pressure, so this week I shall be able to fire her up and take the bike for a quick run around the block and see what happens.

This gas tank needs painting and I have side covers for it now, just need painting etc, thats why you can see all the electrical and the oil tank, but once it is painted and side covers fitted, the bike will look a lot better.

What then? Well not sure, depends on how the bike runs and handles to be honest, but this coming weekend, Jennifer and I will load the bike up and go to EL MIRAGE, to watch the races, meet some friends and to ride this about a bit.  Sure it will get covered in dirt and dust but, if I am to strip and rebuild this into a show bike, thats not going to matter as dirt wipes off right?

The gas tank and side covers later will be painted a Yellow color, just wanted something really different, so we shall see how that goes.

I changed the front headlight from a 7 inch to a more compact 5.75 version, and to be honest, i really like the look of this on the bike, so will be keeping that on there.

I fitted New foot pegs too, as the old ones were so bent out of shape, this will make for a fun ride, the Brat seat has soft Leather and memory foam, so another bonus there to ride on the dry lake.

I also used my Own brand of handle bars, these are the Euro-Tracker Bars I have had hand formed, then triple chromed and I do love the way they lay on the bike and give the whole machine a different look and feel for that matter.

Yes, its not a finished bike, but- you have to get a bike going to see what the issues are before pulling it all apart and throwing all your time, money and hard effort into a project.

I also pulled the old rusty rims off and had a set of Original Lester wheels that came off a CR750 Honda, the front wheel is dated 1978 and the rear is 1977, the front is a 19 inch and rear is an 18 inch set up, these are getting harder to locate these  days and wanted to use them.

I did change out the swing arm as the old one had been chromed back in the day and the elements had gotten to it and it was as rusty as the Titanic’s Crapper, but I am thinking of remaking some Boxed swing arms again and will offer them on my website when available.

I had noticed that the Kick stand on the bike was an old 70’s Chopper one and it did not sit well, you had to push the side stand all the way forward for it to stay, I looked closer and noticed that some of the frame bracket has broken off many years ago and that is why the side stand would not stand upright.

My trusty Miller Mig welder helped me out and I built up a platform again and used one of my own kickstands, and now it sits right, and am happy with the look of it now.

The shocks were pretty knackered on the bike, so i chose some aftermarket SRC piggy backs, they work fine and are Liquid Nitrogen filled and sets the stance where I want it to be honest.

My 4 into 1 I had fitted great but, this time I wanted to cut the tail pipe right back and fit the baffle just before the turn out, for a more aggressive look and I really do like the look of this system and it sounds pretty tough to say the least.

Later on when I strip the bike down, I will clean up the Lester Rims and re-paint them and add some Knobby Tires, but I am in two minds whether to change the front end for a CBR or, stick with the traditional fork set up and just rebuild the fork lowers and add New Upper tubes that will be 2 inches shorter. The front brake works and thats surprising for how many years it has been sat, its functioning but will of course totally rebuild that or fit newer brakes as I am a dealer for Beringer and may fit their set up, but all depends on funds etc.

It is all to easy to let a Custom build get away with you, financially, I have created some awesome machines for customers but, if you start to add a modified engine, you will be into $5000 in a flash just in the engine itself, these bikes are fun and fast enough, you really do not need a big cam and heavy duty head studs but if you want response, just port and polish the head and go no bigger than a 3/4 street cam.

I love the stock ignition system as they are dependable, I am not a fan of electronic ignition systems and points take very little maintenance, if you keep it simple, you disperse any issues with modified stuff, most of the time its a waste of money as many that have bigger displacements have over heating issues  or head gaskets blow and for what? 10 MPH? Just have fun with your bike, a good pipe and jetting is more than enough for many roads here, of course if you are on a race track, thats a different game all together , but just watch your budget on these machines, as it can easily get away from you and you then tally all your receipts up and have a small heart attack when you add it all up at the end of the build.

So for right now, I will run this old bugger around with a painted gas tank and covers but the rest as she is, as I want to put a few miles on her to see how the motor responds to daily life, then- when I am ready I shall pull back off the road and strip the bike and create a cool Brat bike thats fun to ride and easy on the eye.

Of course I offer these for sale, as thats what I am in business to do, its hard to let them go but I have a New Scrambler I use for riding about and it makes it a whole lot easier to let another creation go off into the sunset and then, the fun begins with another creation.

So, its a Sunday and I have taken a couple of photos and blogged on here today, she is looking pretty fun now and YES of course if someone wanted to Purchase this machine from me as is I would probably sell it, as I love create machines from junkers that have not run for years, but I shall still add more bits and pieces to this machine until I am ready to tear it all apart once more.

This Vesco Brat has a really cool ride stance and I am glad I took a chance and grabbed this inline four, its a fun ride and more to come too.

Hope you enjoyed my Blog today and of course I put the build up on my face book too. steve richard carpenter or carpys cafe racers or carpys garage you can look at any of them pages too.

Thanks for reading and have fun with your project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working on an old snotter that came from the Vesco Family

I pick bikes up from time to time that some owners just cannot get going, other shops have had a go and no joy, and I picked this old bike up a long time ago from the Vesco Family, Grandson of Don Vesco, I left it in storage for a while and wasn’t too bothered as this has not run since the early 1980’s.

Don Vesco was an American businessperson, motorcycle racer, and multiple motorcycle land-speed record and wheel-driven land speed record holder. He set 18 motorcycle and 6 automobile speed records during his life.

This bike is a real mess, no idea if it will run but am determined to get this inline four running again, need to know how the motor is before I begin to rebuild it into a cool ride once more.

It has had a hard life and has been from pillar to post and no luck getting this old 500 pound SOHC machine to run again, but I know I can get it sorted, just takes time and patience.

There seems to be leaks all over the Motor, the kick stand has seen better days and there is oil and dirt all over the bike, would love to know what life it has led.

Has a weird set of clip ons that wont stay clamped on it and the wiring harness is old and brittle as well as the usual repair using different colored wire etc, this is going to be a pain.

The tach cable looks like it ended its life a few years ago and the end cap drive unit is still stuck in the valve cover, thats a good thing else the oil would come out of there when it ran.

Some funky wiring going on with horrible plastic sleeve covering, thats all gotta come off right now, so strange what some people will do to their bikes in the shed.

Top triples had seen better days and someone had ground the handlebar clamps off so they can use some later clip ons, but they are about a millimeter to wide and wont clamp down hard, I shall go back to a standard triple tree and fit some scrambler bars I think, just to get this bike as a runner for a while and see how she fares, then- I can decide a little later to strip and build into a Custom Machine.

Everything seems to be covered in oil or grime and crappy clamps etc, its had a hard life, but my main objective is to first remove the shitty wiring and connectors etc and then fit a new harness, battery, coils etc and see if I can get this old girl to fire up again.

The coils had decided to crap them selves and the wire harness was as solid as a rock, the California Sun had dried it all out and this has to all be removed right now.

As you can see, there are different gauge wires that have been added to this harness, the Fuse box is knackered and temporary connectors all over the place, just really bad work.

The carbs will need tearing apart but for now I shall pull the bottom end out and fit New main jets and Idle jets and see where we go with a new battery and plugs etc.

So now its time to do what I like doing and will see if I can figure out all the bad things that have happened to this inline four over the years, hopefully I can resurrect this 70’s iconic machine.

And we begin, it does take a lot of patients but its worth it in the end, I have to see whats up with the Motor first as that at least gives me an idea at the cost involved to turn this into a great looking Custom Motorcycle and it sure warrants that, seeing it was in the Vesco family.

12 interesting facts about land speed racer Don Vesco

Don Vesco doesn’t fit neatly into a specific category of motorcycling, but the one thread that runs through his career is the quest for speed. He became famous for his land speed records in the 1970s and continued racing through the 1990s.

Here are a dozen facts you may not know about Vesco, who was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.

1. Vesco was born in 1939 in Loma Linda, Calif. During his lifetime, he was a dirt tracker, factory road racer, drag racer, motorcycle dealer, race-team owner and land speed record-holder.

2. He was mechanically inclined from a young age, tearing apart model airplane engines and making them faster by the time he was in third grade.

3. As a teenager, Vesco parlayed his mechanical skills into cold hard cash. He would buy old Cushman scooters for $20, fix them up and sell them for $25.

4. In his teens, Vesco fixed up a Triumph twin and entered his first official race, a local drag racing event. Then he took that same Triumph and started racing scrambles, TTs, and eventually road races on an old military airport outside of town.

5. One of Vesco’s riding buddies, and his archrival on the track, was future AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Cal Rayborn.

6. Vesco won a lot of local road races in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He caught the attention of Honda, which was just coming into the U.S. market. Honda hired him to race its rare and very expensive RC161, a 250cc, four-cylinder racer, to promote the brand.

7. Vesco’s relationship with Honda lasted until 1963, when he took an offer from Yamaha, which was also just getting started in America, to race at the United States Grand Prix (a non-points-paying international race) at Daytona International Speedway. He rode a works Yamaha RD56 250cc GP bike and won the 500cc class. Also loved his Norton Motorcycles too.

8. By the late 1960s Vesco had already been a factory rider for Honda, Yamaha and BSA. He was even a factory rider for the little-known Japanese maker Bridgestone in the 250 GP class for a short time.

9. In September of 1970, Vesco set the motorcycle land speed record of 251.66 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in a streamliner powered by twin Yamaha engines.

10. In 1975, Vesco broke the 300 mph barrier in the Silver Bird Yamaha (powered by twin Yamaha TZ750 motors). Then in 1978 he broke his own record, turning 318.598 mph in a twin Kawasaki turbo rig. That record stood for 12 years.

11. Vesco lost an eye after being hit by a rock while watching a sprint-car race in 1996.

 

12. He died on Dec. 16, 2002, after a long battle with cancer.

New Ceramic Coating Colors for the exhausts now available

Wow- hard to believe that I have been selling these systems for over 18 years now and still going strong, so this time I thought that I would offer a new Ceramic Coating Color, as many people ask me about these things.

So what I now offer is the New Titanium Coating and it looks really cool, its a Gray but a metallic gray and really covers well.

Here’s how they work—Ceramic Coatings and Exhaust Wraps help contain the gaseous heat within your exhaust pipes. This causes the gasses to heat up and expand. Since the exhaust gas is trapped within the system, it expands the only direction it can—out of the tailpipe. As a result, exhaust flow is boosted, allowing a rush of fresh air to enter the engine’s cylinders, increasing horsepower. Both ceramic coated headers and  Exhaust Wraps improve horsepower, so let’s go over their pros and cons and see which one is best for you.

Ceramic Coated Exhaust Parts

This is a spray-on finish that’s infused with heat-insulating ceramics. It is not a DIY solution, these exhaust parts are coated at the factory, or sent to a facility with the proper equipment.

Pros

The New Titanium which is what you see here.

This is a great look and changes the look of your machine instantly than just the Black you see. But I also offer these colors too.

Black- Silver- Burnt Bronze, with more options coming soon.

Wanted to show the New Titanium as this is a old school look and I really like the way these came out to be honest.

Just go on the exhaust page and on the drop down box, simply choose the color that you would prefer for your system, its as easy as that.

If I can help you with any of these options you can simply email me at carpy@carpyscaferacers.com or drop a Dime in the slot at 714-598-8392 and if you need answers fast, then Text them to 714-598-8392 and I will get right back to you.

New ceramic Bronze Exhaust systems now available

Well, I have now added this great Custom Burnt Bronze metallic ceramic Coating color to the 4 into 1 Exhaust systems we make, this is a superb Custom application that really enhances the look of your two wheeled machine and wanted to show you how great this looks.

Its almost a Metallic look and I love the way it looks and this is a New look for Exhaust systems and wanted to offer this color on the systems we manufacture here in California.

We ship Globally and this is a 2 piece set up so easier to fit and cheaper to ship as well.

I am glad to offer this Color to you and you simply go to the exhaust page and chose the Ceramic Color you would like, be it Burnt Bronze, Black or Silver, as well as Raw Steel or a show version of Stainless Steel.

These also come with a Chromed removable Baffle and what is good about my systems is that if you wanted to, you could cut the tail pipe down to the length you lie and the baffle will still fit.

So if you are looking for a Custom Exhaust for your inline four from 1969-1978 SOHC Honda or even the DOHC version, we make them here and offer them to you in different finishes.

Our systems flow and Perform, over 1500 systems sold around the globe and over 18 years in business, love doing this and we get great feedback and many repeat customers too.

Thanks for looking, I love this Color and look forward to seeing it on other Customers machines, let me know if I can help.

 

1978 Honda CB750F Super Sport Snotter- Revamped

Well, here we go with a Customers bike that has been sat outside by a river for about 8 years, the Customers asked if I could help him out and well, you know me, I said OK.

The say that a Picture paints a thousand words, well, this aint no oil painting and there is not enough words in the the English Language that came to mind when they dropped the bike off at my place.

There it was, 500 pounds of old cold, rusty and Muddy Honda, looking to have a new lease of life, some how I think I have scrapped the bottom of the Barrel, then another rolls in, but I am a man of my word and help out I shall indeed.

This was a complete mess, I mean it had been rained on from every corner of the bike, then wind blew the tarp off and rotted everything that was rubber or plastic, then to rub salt in the proverbial wound, it got wet again and covered in mud.

The bike has had a tough hard life, there was Oil everywhere, of which probably saved a lot of the bike from rusting to be honest, but everywhere I looked, this Motorcycle needed help, it was a sad state to see and I knew that I could some how get this running again, the only issue was the poor chap was on a limited budget, and I know how that feels, been there many times.

But there is a point where I must stop and say No, but the Leo in me tells me to have a go and help this bloke out, so, with a shaky handshake and sweat coming off my brow from pushing the thing up the driveway, I sat there and took in the whole sorry life that this inline four must of endured to get into the condition it is now in.

1a

Even the handlebar grips were so thrashed from the elements that half of the grip glues itself to my hand, not even lacquer thinner would remove that tar like substance from my fingers and was marked for life I think, but this is just the start of something that I really should of said, no thanks mate I cannot help you. Story of my life with things I guess but I have always pushed the envelope and this needed a Caterpillar truck to move it. The rear chain was rustier than the Titanic’s Crapper door, I shall be changing this Big 630 chain and sprocket system to a 530 set up.

5

 

The tires were torn up, and would hold air for about 2 hours then go as flat as a pancake, my Compressor got plenty of overtime keeping these things up for sure, but the amount of dirt, grime and Spiders nests was just unbelievable. I really have my work cut out here and as everything is knackered, I have to clean stuff before I start replacing parts etc.

2

I was never a fan of the Comstar rims to be honest but this bike has some sentimental value to him and I will do the best that I can, to bring this old bird back up to speed once more.

4

Not only was the seat all torn up, the foam had hardened and was starting to fall apart as soon as I moved anything, and as the Customer wants a Hoop welded to frame and a flat seat set up, this thing can get 86’d into the bin.

7

As you may know, the 77 and 78 Models had these Keyhole carbs, and when they have been left for such a long time, these buggers are so hard to get back to running nicely again, they have an accelerator pump that plays up all the time, the choke is on a cable and up on top of the triple tree and the sun dried the knob, of which it breaks as soon as you touch it, lastly, this bloody things are a royal pain to work on.  Just to change the jest, you have to remove the rack from the bike, as the float bowls do not have clips on like the earlier SOHC models.  So what I do is if these carbs are goosed, I inform the customer they would be way better off if I fitted earlier carbs, as you can change the jest with the carbs still on the bike and, it has a choke lever on the left sode of the carb body and way easy to use.

8

The sprocket cover tells a tale right there, covered in oil and road grime, as well as spiders webs, this is going to be scary when I remove the 2 Phillips screws in a minute, so stand back!!!!!!!!!!!!

22

Holy Moly, just look at this, the bloody sprocket doesn’t even have a securing Bolt and washer on it, there is nothing to keep this sprocket from literally, falling of the drive shaft, now the 77 and 78 sprocket set ups are different, the earlier versions have a little clip with two holes for bolts that sit in the recess in the drive shaft. Where am I going to find a CB750F Bolt and washer ????

23

 

I looked in my parts drawers in the garage and bugger me, will you look at that, still in the sealed packet and, I had even written in sharpie CB750F Sprocket, what were the chances?

25

Think its a fair assumption that this chain is Royaly Fecked, so I shall be glad to cut this 630 version off, but there is so much Oil and grime all over this bike, things are going to be messy for a while.

12

 

There seems to be oil all over this bike, and I mean everywhere, I need to see whats occurring here as thats an insane amount of Oil deposit and the guy said the bike used to run before he parked it, I checked the tach hole in the Valve cover but thats OK, the Valve cover seems OK as well as the  Cylinder head, which I think could be one of the oil lines, but what a mess this is going to make, just to take that apart.

26

That looks like the issue, Oh yeah- I will just put electrical tape around the leaking oil line, that will fix it-Not! So I now have to make a new oil line, but at least I have found out where the majority of excess oil must of been leaking from to get all over the bike like that.

29

All fixed and I cleaned the other hose up and oil tank and I feel a lot better about putting this back on the Super Sport once more and hopefully no more issues in that department.

19

Well, its at this point you think to yourself. “Why am I doing this”?  But its a challenge, the customer is on a low budget and this motorcycle is of sentimental value, so a no brainer but there are so many things wrong and not working on this bike, this will take me some time to get dialed in.

20

Time to remove the carbs and boots and clean the frame up, I shall then fit New intake manifolds from a 1975 CB750K model, rebuild some early Carbs and fit new cables too.

36

I cleaned and painted up the motor with High Temp Wrinkle from PPG I get made up in cans, and that helped big time. I then fitted the earlier intake manifolds and, using a flat edge, made sure that the intakes were all even and flat, this makes fitting carbs back on the bike so much easier than trying to force a rack on when the intakes are off slightly.

37

I have always used New Stainless Steel, Rolled edged Hose clamps, as these will not dig in and cut your hoses with traditional clamps and of course, being stainless, they will not rust or corrode.

41

Well, I pulled an old set of inline four 1975 CB750K Round tops out of my pile and these need to be gone through but when they are completed, and then synchronized, these run like a top.

104

All clean and ready to go straight on the bike and, these will fire right up no worries at all, these are cleaner than a cats arse and will make a huge change in this motorcycles life.

46

These are now all in place and have fitted New Genuine Honda Boot covers over the linkages to keep crap out, many do not do this, but I want these to stand out as they look and function so well, plus you can change main jets is minutes with the carbs still on the motor.

30

I try and use as much of the original parts as I can, but these coils were losing voltage and not repairable, unfortunately these are not cheap to replace, I had no choice but to use Brand New ones but, so glad that I did, these new ones I will be fitting will last many years.

31

All bolted in, this bike will have a new life for sure, but it just goes to show by leaving a bike for 6 years with no cover and let mother nature belt the hell out of it, is not a very good idea at all.

39

The old cables were all torn up anyway, but, on the earlier carbs you must use the earlier cables, but thats a good thing as you know everything is new and will function real nice.

40

New cables going in, now we are starting to make some very good progress, make sure that you use WD40 and lube these cables as they will keep these operating smoothly.

49

The aluminum hangers were oily and needed a bit of a revamp, so I removed these and began to clean them up, think I shall polish these to make a difference on the bike.

50

Now that is way better and I feel a lot better putting something clean back on, this motorcycle will sure look different and for the better.

52

New cables through out, the clutch cable was actually seized up, so a new one was purchased, I always use New adjusters too .

57

The points cover looked like it had been in a bad way for a long time , but- it wasnt too banged up to be honest, so, using my special Formula High grade restoration Polish, I jumped into action as I love polishing old stuff, it took me about 90 minutes but it was well worth it and looks as good as new now.

58

Now that is a lot better and used New stainless Allen head bolts to give this Points cover a New lease of life, it sure looks great on the motor now.

59

The Clutch cover was in the same shape as the Points cover, so, back to the polisher, some more secret sauce and a polishing mop and then I will refit to the engine.

60

Now this looks a whole lot better once polished to a super high luster I used Allen head bolts which are all New, as is the clutch cable too, so a smooth clutch at long last.

44

Look how bad the muffler is, its had bad gas welding, then an old screw held this together, sort of, I will keep the stock header and will make a new up-swept tail pipe for this bike.

47

Getting to it with a piece of 2.5 tubing, as I want this to look cool and sound pretty strong too, this will be a fun part of the process on the Super Sport Bike.

63

There is the tail pipe, complete with a Removable baffle, this is way better than what was on there, the old muffler even had a mouse nest in it, so glad to change this set up.

64

Next up, the Customer wants a flat frame with a hoop, so what I am going to do is cut the rear frame horns off about the middle of where the old cross brace is.

66

I have cut the frame rails off to where the customer wanted, this will then have my frame inserts put in and I will cut one of my special frame hoops to fit to the bike and give it a new look.

67

 

 

 

Now- I use a de-burrer to remove any inner tubing, I want to make sure that the inside is hollow and smooth so the inserts will slide in tightly, that way there will be no issues.

68

The inserts are in and they are really snug, I go in about an inch and half both sides, it is double walled on this part of the frame, so the hogging out does take a while and may annoy your neighbors if you have to use an air compressor and a die grinder to open this up.

69

As you can see, I have laid the hoop on top of the frame, this way I can figure out how much I want the hoop to be placed at, I then mark the hoop by the end of the chassis, as this is where it will butt up against so you can then weld it.

70

 

Once you make the cut, you simply cut the other side, take any burrs off the inside and then you are ready to attach this to your bikes frame and this will change the look of you machine right away.

72

As you can see, I fit the hoop into the inserts and then I simply just tap the end of the hoop with a Rubber mallet, until the ends are almost touching the frame, as I want just a tiny gap to allow for good penetration of the Mig welder to secure this to the frame.

So the little Video above shows you how I first attach the hoop to the frame, I then mig weld the ends all around and you can drill into the frame and insert and spot weld there too if you want a more secure weld too.

78

I have Mig welded this in place and am happy with the end result, next up is I have to make a seat base for this, you do see some on the market already made but many times you want to make the length of your frame to your dimension, so- I always make mine for each frame and its pretty easy.

83

Use what you have around you to make a template, I had a packing box handy, so traced the outline of the frame and cut it out, a little trim and I am ready to now make a seat base.

84

I may have gone a little over the top on thickness as this is 18 gauge but I had a sheet in the garage and may as well use it, its strong as Hercules but obviously the down fall is its harder to cut and shape, but this will work fine and be a great sturdy base for the seat I am going to make.

85

There you go, its done, now to check on the frame, grind any adjustments that need doing and drill some holes for the bolts to be able to fix to the frame, as I shall upholster over the bolts so the studs are the only thing sticking out underneath.

86

There you go, I am happy with that now, simply need to use high density memory foam and choose the material and stitching and that will be upholstered and look so different.

96

Still a long way to go on this Super Sport but- It is finally taking shape and looking way better than it did when it was dragged into my place looking very sorry for itself.

88

The Gauges were shot, one of the needle drives was not working and I wanted to clean this area up quite a bit, so came to the conclusion that this can look a lot better with all this clutter removed and different bars fitted too, as well as removing the upper triple tree and polishing it to a chrome like luster.

89

The stock fork ears have to go and the turn signal housing as they were rusted out and looked pretty ugly, customer wanted a Brat style bike and these tend to be removed, I shall also add one of my custom headlights that have internal LED turn signals inside the light, so there is nothing protruding.

91

Removed the handle bars and gauges, as well as the ignition switch as the plastic connector and dried and crumbled up, due to being sat out in the California Sun for 8 years.

92

Now, that is a lot better, as you can see, I removed the old paint from the triple tree and polished it, I also removed the stock fork ears and fitted some Custom alloy versions in Black.

93

New ignition switch also added as the stock one was worn out and now all new once more and of course, functioning too.

94

Had to make up a new pig tail for the lights as the old harness had dried out, but this will work great and, reduce the amount of wiring thats inside the headlight.

99

As ypu can see, what a transformation, my LED turn signal headlight set up is the way to go, Halogen bulb and the LED signals actually do light up Amber, a neat custom touch.

100

Starting to get some where, still have to foam and upholster seat, as well as pulling front wheel out and fitting new tire and sorting the brakes out and these are all seized up.

105

I removed the rear wheel, I need to clean all this up and thought that i would take a photo and, below I have done a quick video on my phone, to show you how I undo stubborn nuts or bolts when they have been on many years and have seized up and you cant for the life of you get them undone with just your wrench.

I try and show videos where I can, as many of you ask me on the phone everyday, so thats why I do things like this and hope that it helps some of you out that may be out in the sticks and nowhere to ask.

Hell yeah, this is slowly getting better everytime I work on the bike, the Customer came and visited and loves the way the machine is now looking, but I tell ya, it has even tested my patience on more than one occasion, just take a step back and do something else, but- as you can see, I have now upholstered the seat, and did it in the Nostalgic Diamond stitch and added silver trim to break the seat up.

I kicked the front a little to try and hide the arch in the stock gas tank, usually I weld up that area, but this customer is on a budget so this was a good way of over coming this issue, I used High Density memory foam and I tell ya, it is super comfortable.

The seat will be Bolted down so it sits nice and tight onto the frame, I still have to smooth the chassis and paint Gloss Black, but also as you will notice, I have fitted an LED strip at the back, this will function as a Running and Stop light in Bright RED.

The Turn Signals are Chrome and LED too, so this will be sure to get a drivers attention and inform them as to what they are doing ahead of them.

The New 2.5 Gauges that I sell on my website were just the thing needed to tidy the top of this machine up, I vapor blasted the master cylinder but its beyond repair, so shall be fitting a New version tomorrow.

The old 630 was totally rusted and, falling apart, so opted to change this set up for a 530 chain and sprockets, this was so messy, I was glad to change all this and have it look at least a little cleaner, thats why I prefer to usually strip the bike to the frame and do it right, but sometimes that is just not in the Customers budget, so do the best I can for them.

Looks so much better and I am glad I went this route, plus the Customer was over the moon with the look, so a double whammy there. Now onto the Exhaust system.

 

As you can see above, the exhaust is so so but underneath its a mess, the rear muffler was so badly welded, they needed to fit a screw into it to keep them together, so i thought that it was time to set up the good old Heat wrap, I like that Hot Rod look and so does the Customer.

There you go, all wrapped and ready to go back on the Motorcycle, remember to replace your Copper crush Gaskets too when you re-fit an exhaust system.

Looks so much neater now and I like the way that the Honda is slowly taking shape, I mean, a few weeks ago this was in a terrible state from all angles, so right now I am quite stoked.

Right, now onto the rear brake Caliper, as it is seized up beyond belief, what I normally do is remove the caliper and stick a towel in a bucket and simply put an airline into the caliper and leave the bleeder in, that usually pushes the piston out pretty fast, hence having a bucket as there is 150 PSI from the airline going into that small cavity.  But this time the Piston refused to exit, so that tells me there is a small rust ring around the piston.So what I do in this situation is go back to old school ways of getting things resolved.

So, now I have the piston out, using an old set of handlebars and a master cylinder to bleed it out, I can now get onto rebuilding the caliper, the O-Ring seal usually gets nasty and this one had too, but the Piston was rusted in and lucky for me I had a New Piston and rebuild kit at the ready. Below, Old and New, always replaces seals, especially in Brakes.

I use a pick to pull the Seal out, and then I was glad I had a New piston as the original one I removed from the Caliper Body was seized in and pitted up quite badly.

So, before I fit the Piston, I need to clean up the old caliper, as it has a lot of Oxidization in the body, as the carcass is a cast aluminum, so what I do is use a Rubber wheel to clean the body up, I sell these kits on the website, whats coo is that it does not hurt the caliper at all , although it will remove the oxidization pretty easily.

This is what I do t clean the body up, been doing this over 18 years here and always makes the brakes work really well and smoothly, I sell the kit on my website.

So, thats now clean, all blown out with an airline, a little brake fluid in the Caliper body to make sure all is smooth, Seal is in and Piston slides right inside nicely.

So, all rebuilt and ready to fit back onto the Super Sport, Bleed through and hopefully we shall have a brake now as before- this was seized solid from years of inactivity and parked outside for 8 years.

The rear brake is now a success and functions very well on the pedal, a lot of work but worth it in the end, as this brake caliper was seized up solid, am happy now.

I also didn’t like the strip light set up that I fitted to the frame, so removed that and fitted an LED stop – tail light and fitted the License plate to it and looks so much better I think.

I removed the Red LED turn signals as they were not functioning bright enough, so replaced them with some Classic Alloy 12 volt Bulb versions and tested, worked really well.

The front fender was a mess, but I wanted to still use as the front end needs bracing, so I though what I would do was cut it down and remove 11 inches off each end to make wheel look bigger.

 

I then elongated the mounting holes in the brace, that way the fender will hug the tire, not touch it , but give that appearance that it was.

The Customer will paint it Black when he gets the Gas tank and side covers painted, but this sits nice and tight and stiffens the front forks up and stops crap flying in your face.

Next up is to clean the rear frame up and paint it Black, tidy the wiring, fill the gas tank, add new fuel line and see how this bike runs.

OK, I have managed to do all that and can now take this for a shake down run around the Block, the petcock bloody leaks, so have ordered a new one and will change that when it arrives.

Did a good run around the block and wanted to make sure that all is well, I knew that the headers would smoke for a few rides until they have cured, so no worries there, but the top end of this old Super Sport is rattly as hell and all adjusted, these can stay like that for a long time and thats how it is going to stay for a while.

OK, so now the Customer changed his mind about a few things, so I have changed the rear tail light and made a License plate mount to sit off the bottom of the shock and used a Ford Model A LED rear Tail light.

The Bike now runs, all the gears work, Turn Signals function as does the rear Brake light and Running light, I have put a lot of time into getting this thing running again.

Virtually a different Motorcycle now, it runs well, albeit the top end rattles like some old nails in a can but they will go on like that for a long time and the customer can do that later, it pulls hard to be honest and the exhaust of mine is just Killer sounding.

I am not going to paint it, I sealed the gas tank but he can paint it as the Customer is on a budget, so when he takes it next week, he can get a painter to do their thing to her.

So there you go, pretty much done, this bike had not run in 8 years, all the brakes were seized and needed so much cleaning before I could even work on it, it is amazing it runs to be honest.

The Customer can add mirrors if he so wishes, thats just cosmetics, but at least I got this to run and drive, many would of given up and, I wouldnt of blamed them, but I continued and won through.

I am going to play with My Hot Rod thats in the back ground and look forward to this leaving my garage during the week, thanks for watching this build, hope you liked what I have done?

SONNY’S Oh So Sweet – Alloy SOHC Machine

Welcome to Readers Rides, I started to do these about 15 Years ago and think I should return to these, so people can get inspired from many peoples own creations, they can see their machine and what it consists of parts wise and many have my parts on their Motorcycle, so if you have time, drop me a line with as many cool photos with good angles and maybe some great back drops, ie- Bridges, River, castle, Pub, Water fall, Bricks etc and lets feature your Machine. Show the world that we have very similar tastes and look forward to opening the Global book of our readers Rides.

Below is the first cool bike that I hope to receive more pics but- a Good taster to get you lot going, how about Sonny Morrisons CB750K Model Cafe Racer, Sonny is from Rancho Cucamonga in California and about an hour from me.

OK, I am still awaiting some more information on this build but will feature it and add when I get more input from the owner, above is Sonny Morrison’s SOHC Honda and its a Cracker.

 

What a great looking Cafe Racer Machine, right up my alley, or as you look at this photo, right next to a Rock wall, this machine is tough and and enjoying the 19 inch front Lester Rim and either a 16 or 17 inch rear.

Sonny used one of My Custom 2.5 Speedometer gauge Brackets that I manufacture and it certainly looks at home on top of that Polished triple tree, love the dampener set up on-top too.

 

Hand Rolled Alloy Gas Tank and Seat really suits the bike, not sure where he found this set up but will let you know when I have a build or spec sheet from him but it sure looks nice.

Has my 4 into 1 Exhausts system and the Rear Sets I sell, this CB750 is built for getting around the twisties on any day of the week.

Loving the Manx Tank, I am guessing its from India, the front forks look to have been rebuilt and polished, that 5 Gallon Tank will get him a long way too and love the fact he used hos original rear Mudguard for that Classic look.  Clip one and minimal controls really does make this SOHC stand out.

Thought I would share today and hopefully will be receiving more photos and spec sheet soon. get out in the shed and start building your two wheeled Machine and hope to see some photos of your garage soon.

You can send photos and Spec sheet to: carpy@carpyscaferacers.com and i will feature on the website for all to see, spread the word, lets see your Rides.

 

Sonny Just sent me this, so thought I would add it on here.

 

Up here in the Great Northwest Territory of Idaho one has to be creative when building a motorcycle. Finding parts locally is like finding gold. This is my story on my 1973 Honda CB750 SOHC Café Racer build.

After finding Carpys Café Racers online and drooling over his incredible builds I decided to give it a go. I purchased my bike as an old 70’s chopper, I had to drive 140 miles round trip but once I got the bike home I started the stripping process, everything I couldn’t or didn’t want to use came off the bike,

First to come off was the rusty chopper forks and the 21inch brakeless front wheel, I then found a new fork assembly with the inner parts I needed to bring the bike back to where I wanted it,  the donor bike was half buried in the dirt and had been there for decades, the old guy wouldn’t sell it to me unless I took the whole thing, no rear wheel, gas tank, seat, controls or gauges, it was just the frame that was cut up, the forks and a crusty frozen motor.

I pulled the forks and carbs off then placed an ad on Craigslist advertising it for free, a guy came and hauled the sickly thing away! after polishing the fork tubes and triple tree upper I started the rebuild, new seals were installed as well as new fork boots, I bought some progressive lowering springs for the front and I then purchased a set of short shocks for the rear, this completed the lowered stance I was looking for.

I met a chap online who lived quite a distance from me but he not only had the front brake caliper and front fender I needed, but also a set of New Old Stock Lester wheels, So off I went to pick them up, when I got there he offered me a better price on everything seeing that I drove so far, he also threw in a rear fender and some misc parts for free, A really nice guy!

I ordered a new stainless shorter café front brake line from Carpy’s Café Racers which made the install a breeze, I had the front brakes stopping on a dime in no time!, I then moved onto the controls and speedo, since everything stock was missing I bought aftermarket clutch, brake and throttle mechanisms along with all new cables, I then ordered Carpy’s Café Racers lowering bracket for the Drag Specialties Speedometer.

I installed a set of clubman bars and bar end mirrors and the whole front end finally came together, from there I moved onto the engine, I installed new Dynatec electronic ignition along with new matching Dynatec coils and wires, it made a huge difference when starting the bike, just a slight push of the button and it starts immediately. Then I ordered a set of Carpy’s Café Racers Yoshimura style Ceramic coated 4 into one exhaust, although it came with a baffle, I decided not to use it, I like the raw open exhaust sound and wouldn’t change it for a thing.

By the way, it’s been a couple years now and the Ceramic coating has held up great, they still look new! I just love rolling on the throttle and listening to her ROAR ; )… I found a place in India selling the aluminum Manx style tank for the CB750 Sohc, HOWEVER… it did not fit and the fuel petcock mount was an odd thread and I could not find a pipe thread type to fit, I basically ground it down and made an aluminum block, I drilled and tapped it to fit an original factory Honda dual outlet petcock, then I had to cut off the tank mounts, reconfigure everything and have an aluminum welder fix me up, it added some coin to the price of a tank that was supposed to be bolt on and go!

{P.P.S.}  That Singh guy from India has made some good parts but many parts do not fit, just be aware.

Buyer beware of anything from India!.

I decided to get an aluminum café seat pan and seat, but this time from a maker in Florida, this to was an issue as I waited months to receive it, seems they lost my order! the quality and polish was excellent though once I received it. I then bobbed the rear fender and added a Triumph tail light. I ordered new aftermarket side covers, mounting rubbers and factory emblems then painted the side covers gloss black with a clear coat.

I ordered Carpy’s Café Racers Billet Aluminum Rear Sets for the CB750 and love the fit and finish, the bike shifts like a champ and is comfortable to ride even on extended journeys, one of the best purchase’s I made, well other than the Yoshimura exhaust!, I rebuilt the carbs and jetted them to what Carpy runs on all his bikes running the Yoshimura exhaust, I started with Pod filters but have now changed out to a custom made one piece billet aluminum air cleaner. I’m sure I am forgetting a lot of stuff I did during the build but it has been a couple of years now. Having multiple bikes means the Café Racer doesn’t get ridden as much as I would like but I have to share my time among them or the other bikes will get jealous…LOL.

One thing about using Carpy’s Café Racers web store is the parts are tested and always excellent quality, shipping is fast and if you have any questions, Carpy himself will answer them. It was a fun time building the Café Racer and it draws attention everywhere I go.  It’s fun to come out of a store and have 2 or 3 guys standing around the bike admiring it. All I can say is….I don’t have a witness and I can’t prove it, but this is my story and I’m stickin to it…..