1985 Indy Mile



When I saw this at the Barber Museum it brought back some good memories.and a few sad ones. In 1985, Brian Taylor and I rode to Indy to see the Indy mile. It would be the last ride before Brian left for the Navy.We arrived early, about 8 am, and we were the only ones sitting in the grandstands, when a security guard told us to get out of the stands and back to the pits. We didn't argue, we went to the pit area. Since I was riding a Honda we went to the team Honda tent, where they were setting up for Ricky Graham and Bubba Shobert, we started talking to the mechanics and asking some questions. They told us to grab a couple of chairs and we ended up spending the whole day there.

A few years later I was in the Air Force stationed in Monterey CA. During the USGP races they would ask for volunteers from the Air Force to help at the track. Brian was in the Navy stationed at Long Beach so he came up for the race and a couple of my friends from Indiana came out also.  We had a great day, we were allowed full access to the pits and just about everywhere else. We were hoping for a good finish for Bubba that day and had checked out his bike before the race. The race went pretty good, I don't remember where he finished but I do remember the crash on the cool down lap.
A few more years passed and I stayed in Monterey after leaving the Air Force, I was working on a project in Salinas and ate lunch at a little grocery store/deli on River Road . They had a picture of Ricky Graham on the wall and a guy working there told me Ricky stopped in from time to time and that he had gotten his career back on track. A few weeks later I stopped in and he told me about the fire.

Merry Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the shop, not a creature was stirring.........

Cafe Racer Under Construction.

Looks good from behind.

New gas cap. I have been wanting to do the flush cap on a cafe racer.

I have the basic design done,now I need to make the oil tank and the under seat pan for the battery, etc.

Mark is also working on one of his creations and I will post a few photos of it once it starts taking shape.

Cafe Racer Frame

I finished up the engine and now it's time to start on the frame. I will be making several custom parts on this build, so I started making some patterns and doing some measuring of parts today.

XS650 Finds A New Home

It needed a new home, so I took it back to the shop. As much as I like the Honda CB750s, I need to build something different. I think the XS650 is a great looking motor. I am looking forward to the next 3 months and working on some of my personal projects.

Fresh CB750 Engine

I usually build the engine last, but I wanted to get this one done right away.

Montesa On Again

I was discussing a couple of upcoming projects today, and decided to finish the Montesa before starting the XS650 project. As usual a CB750 cafe racer is being built as well.

Top tube is the original, bottom NOS.

Cafe Racers Going and Coming Soon

Today was a busy day for cafe racers. The red cafe racer was picked up and on its way to Arizona, and the next cafe racer engine is being reassembled.

This was my favorite one to date. Hated to let it go.

Blasted Parts

Just finished bead blasting some parts. Getting ready to buff and repaint.

I checked the cylinders and they are as good as they get. Then I checked the head, these cb750s are known for weeping a little bit of oil, even when they were new. It was a bit out of tolerance, so a little was taken off and now it is perfect. The valves pulled 100% and now all it needs is new valve seals.

The surface on this head is better than factory original, thanks to better machining equipment. I think I will put this finish on all future heads even if it is within tolerance.

Next Cafe Racer Engine

Pile O Parts ready for cleaning and inspection.

This engine has so few miles on it, splitting the cases would probably be a waste of time.

I will replace all of the gaskets and seals and some fresh paint and it should be just fine.

Honda RC-E

I know this is an electric bike, and the sound is as much as the visual part of a motorcycle, but since the first time I saw this, I thought it looked great. Besides I didn't have any good photos of my projects to share today.