Nothing much really

So, My neighbor and I went for a scoot yesterday.   I was invited to Speedcult for Marcel's birthday extravaganza but I wasn't feeling very social and I wussed out.  We stopped at Cafe Racer for a coffee then I went home and continued cleaning the shop.   All and all it was a ok day.

Ready for the zombies

 

Last night up at Cafe Racer I saw this BMW with steel luggage and a chainsaw mounted to it, awesome!    And on the bottom is my softy in the sun.  moments after this picture I discovered that the paint on the right side of the tank is peeling.  Peeling like someone wiped some paint remover on it.  Everyone says it is from fuel getting on the tank but this is not my first rodeo, Ive spilled lots of gas on my paint in recent days and not had any problems.  I used premium base clear urethane paint not unlike the factory finish.    I can't help but think that this is a malicious attack on something beautiful.  Seems hard to believe someone would do that but the chances of it being from fuel or brake fluid are slim and the location of the reaction on the tank does not make it look like a natural occurrence.  I fucking hate hateful people and I will never understand vandals.

Exhaust Bracket

I made this exhaust hanger for Brock's ZX6R racer the other day as well. Brock is getting pretty serious about his racing and has been looking for sponsors so he can continue to do so,  a little fabrication work here and there is my contribution.

Lots Of Stuff At Cafe Racer Last Night

This cool CB750 , 1 ass load of the weird Honda mini Gold Wing, almost a scooter, plastic coated road recliners on the right in the picture above. Big turn out though, it was difficult to find a spot to park and Marcel and I ended up on the sidewalk. On a different note, I took the Turbo Honda on the freeway yesterday and nothing blew up, in fact it ran pretty well. Hovers around 2psi of boost when your at 70mph so when you crack the throttle from there, it is quite responsive. Saw Lance get about 4" of air off of some shit ass road construction, I bottomed out my rear suspension and scraped my rear tire up a bit on the same bump. That sucked a little.

Allot of killer bikes at Cafe Racer Ypsi last night

Lots of creativity on the 2 shown on the right. Travis just tied up the one on the far right, he hand laid a carbon tank, tail and built a killer set of pipes for it. The second to right Honda had the coolest patina to it, almost looked like gun blued metal that had just the right amount of wear to make it look well used. Both had some unique bits to them and allot of soul. Travis, Keep up the hard work , Its nice to see someone else in the D that's not afraid to fuckin do it.

Some Frame Work

John at Cafe Racer Ypsi dropped this off a while back , just a frame and engine as shown.

I'm not sure what else I need to do to it but flattening and looping the frame is done for now. Made some modifications to my tube Bender that worked out pretty sweet and this loop came out nice because of it.

The TON-UP , Lots of action this weekend

Mini is totally ready for ton-up. He has been battling the system to get it legal but all is well and he should have a plate by Friday. The Cafe Racer TV crew is coming along for the reveal of the sprint cafe project . I know Thunderdrome is on the same day so you might want to get to Ypsi early then break off for the drome and make a late stop by the downriver cruise just so you can do them all.

Cafe racer seat pan construction 101

Well first you have to find one you like or have an idea of what you want .   Then you make it out of poster board or cardboard keeping in mind any shrinking, stretching  or hammer forming you might want to do.  Then you flatten out your pattern and cut it out of metal bend any sides or back sections that you may have setup.  I use a small mechanical press brake but you can use a couple flat pieces of plate or angle clamped in a vice to get you through.  I still do this allot to get tough to reach parts.  Next find a flat surface and remember to try to keep it from twisting up as you weld and beat your seams together.  I prefer to tack it together on the outside and weld it on the inside.   The fillet weld on the inside allows you to grind a radius on any outside corners and helps to keep your lines straight.

I have a bit more shaping to do on the one above before I weld and metal finish it .    It looks like its got some junk in the trunk. 

Holiday happenings

From the top, I added the blackness to CB750 turbo. It doesn't contrast as well as I thought it would, I guess I will have to figure that out . This frame color is difficult to say the least.

Got the seat pan and sissy bar done for the Norton. Will make a good 2up pan but I'm pretty happy with it otherwise.

A shot of my lonely bikes in wait for some nice weather.

Messing around with a tank idea I had , Just some leftover tank sides from a tank chop.

Norton Commando Seat Pan

The pic on the bottom is his inspiration seat pan.

He wants to keep the weird sissy bar thing and its causing design issues.

Personally I would like to shorten the rear frame loop ( taking that sissy bar with it ) and the seat pan to match.
Norton guys are kinda funny about modding the bike but the way I see it is - the sissy bar welded on the sides of the frame isn't original either.

If you have some better design ideas , let me know. I'm open to all ideas.

Cafe Racer Ypsi Last Night

Suzuki 550 Cafe Racer Fire Drill

What started as a seat pan job has turned into a steel seat pan, one of my molded fiberglass tanks and a paint job on those parts. Only have about 2 weeks to get it done.
Ive been a bit busy in the shop , you would think that there would be more stuff posted on here due to that but that's not how it works. Busy = less time to take pictures and post on the blog.
So , sorry for the shop junk posts but its going to have to do for a bit.
Thanks
-Ry

Another Cafe Racer Seat Pan , Honda CB550

This one is all steel for a change.

Super sweet Rickman 750 Honda

Was up at Cafe Racer last night . Awesome restored to its original glory.

Bikini Bike Wash Was A Hit Last Night

At Cafe Racer Ypsi yesterday . It was a beautiful day to ride and Cafe Racer was packed with friends (some easier on the eyes than others).

The Famous Marcel Collection

Found this the other day

Its cool but it bums me out that I don't have any plug on it other than " most parts were hand made " I only made the gas tank, the triple clamp, the clip-ons, the seat pan, the headlamp mount and the rear sets. Oh , and the paint job and a couple of hours of the assembly.
I'm not mad just bummed . Sometimes this is a thankless job. I hope the show gives me a little of the cred.

Marcel's Latest XS650 Cafe racer

The Taint Splitter and this thing couldn't be more different, its hard to believe they were the same machine to start with. Marcel always does a fine job on his machines.

Not So Secret Anymore, Malissa's Famous CB360 Cafe Racer

Keep an eye out for Cafe Racer TV on Discovery HD Theater for the Cafe Racer Ypsi and RAS Moto build. Malissa looks super hot with her new steed in place. The reveal was awesome and she was totally surprised.

The Seat

Gibb Striped the 5 on there and Randy stitched up the seat.