Offroad and Dirtbike Stuff
After getting all the bodywork finished, the next step is to put the base coats on. In this case, we are using an antique gold and dark teal. We put the gold on first so that it can be masked off easily to put the teal on. Taping off the Read more…
This was a fun small job that I did for the guy who bought my Triumph Street Triple R (which I now regret selling!). He is doing a cafe style semi-restoration on the 360 and so we needed to paint the bodywork. We picked a good classic/retro color scheme of Read more…
Well, the paint is all finished on the cafe style bodywork. It really looks great. I’m looking forward to seeing them on the bike. We still have a set of full race fairings to paint that will be used with the same tank and tail. So, they will also be Read more…
Here are a few pictures of the progress- the red is on and the graphics are on. The Hejira decals that Tapeworks.com made for me are far better than the original that we had to scan and work off of. It is going to look great. The red/white/gold is a Read more…
A few pictures as I get ready to put the red on… here are the parts with the panels taped up- so, what is under the tape is the polar white we sprayed on a few days ago. Laying out and striping panels is pretty time consuming. Lots of hours Read more…
We’ve made some good progress- after some final sanding and finishing, the epoxy primer was applied and then we went back and touched up some areas with spot filler and block sanded everything. One of the biggest decisions to make on a 50 year old bike that has a hand Read more…
The upper and all the fiberglass is media blasted and as you can see in pretty tough shape. The upper has been patched together in a previous life and all the edges, corners and gel coat are very nicked, chipped, etc. I’ve laid new glass in certain areas to reinforce Read more…
Here are a few more photos from the Barber Vintage Festival… There were some awesome bikes there- This SL350 is just like the bike that my friend Jerry and I restored a few years back.
The 8th annual vintage festival concluded today and by all appearances, it was a great success. The weather was great all weekend and the crowds were huge. My only big complaint was that after paying for admission, you had to pay again to get into the Ace area- so we Read more…
Don’t’ miss this years Vintage Festival at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL if you are anywhere close enough to come. This is an awesome yearly event with shows, exhibits, racing and great cool fall weather. The swap meet alone is worth the trip and can suck up hours of Read more…
This happened during a closed course rally in W. Virginia. The dude was pretty tough to get right back on the bike and continue the race. Deer are a huge problem for motorcyclists who ride on rural roads. I’ve almost hit a couple here in Georgia and I’ll admit, the Read more…
I’ve never promoted it but we do have a FB page, so if you have a second, head over and “LIKE” us!
This article over at MSNBC spotlights a big problem for US motorcyclists. With recreational and commuter use on the rise, motorcycle deaths and injuries are a big problem for everyone involved- the gov’t, manufacturers and of course the families of those killed. I fix a lot of wrecked bikes here Read more…
BMW has been on a roll recently- lots of new models and their sales show it. 0.04.2012 11:36 Best first quarter of all time for BMW Motorrad. Husqvarna Motorcycles 36.2 percent up compared to last year. During the first three months of 2012, BMW Motorrad had its best 1st Read more…
I was over in the Huntsville, Alabama area last week and decided to stop in and see my good friend Danny Roberts who heads up the Dunlop Proving Grounds. We raced together back in the 80’s and have been friends for almost 30 years. This is the facility where they Read more…
It is hard to comprehend the physics of this but that makes it that much more amazing… Mark Monea, the Australian motocross/X games rider lands a 360 front flip.
From BMW’s press release… I guess everyone is getting in on the Harley 48 look. Honestly, I don’t think the 1200 GS lends itself to this scheme all that well. But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Coming Soon… 2011 BMW R 1200 GS Triple Black Woodcliff Lake, Read more…
With the clear coat on, we let everything sit and cure for a couple of days before wet sanding and buffing. Some of the parts like the front fender were fine as is but the tank and tail needed to be buffed for that ultra smooth dipped in glass look. Read more…
Today we install the graphics and clear coat everything. These are big decals and hard to get on straight but if you take your time and use the wet application method, you can get them on straight with no bubbles. It is always fun to see what the parts look Read more…
The next step in the Can Am project was spraying on the white base coat. We spent a fair amount of time getting the shade of white exactly how we wanted it. The white on these old bikes is really more of a cream. You really can’t tell unless you Read more…
After lots of hand sanding and cleaning, we are ready to prime the parts. I always use an epoxy primer to seal the surface. This works equally well on metal (like the aluminum tank) and fiberglass/plastic. If needed, you can do some light sanding or scuffing with a scotch-brite pad Read more…
Next we need to do a little body work and filling. The front nose cone fairing used to have a removable number plate panel that could come off to uncover the headlight if it was installed. Since the bike will never be on the street, we decided to use a Read more…
This bike was never used as a dirt bike- it was converted into a cafe racer from day one. So the bodywork reflects that. It is also old and had what seemed like dozens of layers of paint on it that had to be sanded off. Sanding stuff like this Read more…
Just a quick post so you can see the custom made aluminum gas tank. A few days ago, I posted the picture of the old fiberglass tank that was really beyond repair. This new tank is a beautiful reproduction and matches the shape of the old tank nicely. We found Read more…
Well, the guy I painted the Yamaha RZ500 for was happy enough that he brought me his Vintage 70’s Can Am 250 to work on. He has owned it since new and it has seen many race tracks in its day. Now, we are going to restore it so he Read more…
From Ducati- Follow the action on their blog page. Ducati returns to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for an encore performance on June 27. The weapons of choice – a pair of all-new 2010 Multistrada 1200s! Partnering with Spider Grips, Ducati is fielding a two bike team, piloted by Read more…
Harley-Davidson announced that the XR1200X Sportster, introduced in 2010 for export markets only, will be available through Harley-Davidson dealers in the United States as a 2011 model. The XR1200X is equipped with fully-adjustable Showa front and rear suspension components and can be dialed in to match rider weight, riding style Read more…
Just some light weekend reading for you… Here is a press release from JD Powers on motorcycle helmet owner satisfaction. I personally have both an Arai and a Shoei and while they are both great helmets, I prefer the Shoei for fit and comfort. But I have friends that swear Read more…
The SL 350 is progressing along nicely and the wheels and tank are on the bike now. Next up is firing it up. Jerry is sending me updates from NC so I’ll keep this refreshed as soon as he makes any more progress. He told me yesterday that getting it Read more…
In today’s installment, we are spraying on the silver base coat that gives the metallic look to the translucent candy red top coat. When you are using a tri coat system like this, the base coats need to have hardener added so that when you spray the red top coat Read more…
The SL has a mix of materials used for it’s bodywork- steel for the tank, aluminum for the fenders and plastic for the side covers. In a case like this, the best primer to use is an epoxy primer like PPG’s DPLF. It sticks to anything and anything sticks to Read more…
My friend Jerry is currently in the midst of restoring his 71 SL 350 and since I did the paint work for him, I thought it would be cool to post the progress for everyone to see. The bike was not a total wreck, it was just showing its age Read more…
This is a glimmer of hope in an otherwise very bleak powersports industry. The fact that BMW is adding dealers may just be wishful thinking, but I suspect that they are planning on converting some owners of other brands. BMW has a great lineup now with the addition of the Read more…
Press release from BMW- HUSQVARNA NAMED MARQUE OF THE YEAR FOR 2010 AMA VINTAGE DAYS Woodcliff Lake, NJ – February 2, 2010…Husqvarna, BMW’s off-road motorcycle marque, will celebrate both its heritage and its future as the Marque of the Year at the 19th Annual AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, July 9-11 Read more…
It really seems like a simple and obvious thing to do- call a customer after the sale and make sure they are happy. But apparently it doesn’t happen very often. That’s because sales people are pressured to sell and once a bike is sold, they move on to the next Read more…
If you have been coming to motobikeblog for the past 3 years, you are probably wondering what is going on! Well, we are merging 2 sites into one for more (and better) content. NationalSuperbike is the other site where I post pictures and galleries of bikes I have converted and/or Read more…
To get a really nice 2500.00 bike, you either need to be lucky or be willing to settle for a small bike like a 250 Ninja or a Suzuki GS500- or maybe an old cruiser. Today’s bike is in the� “lucky” category. Most older big bore bikes are usually in Read more…
Helmet cams have been around for a while now and the prices have fallen to where they are affordable to pretty much anyone who wants one. But with everything going HD (including Youtube), it was just a matter of time until high quality HD helmet cams hit the market. Well, Read more…
I saw this over at Autoblog and wanted to pass it along. Apparently, this will not be a production bike. So, If I can get some dimensions on the graphics, I might just have to paint one as a special project and use the “Gulf ” logo on it as Read more…
Well, in this category you have a plethora of options depending on what year and size bike you want. The bike I see listed in this price range that I consider a particularly good deal are 05-06 CBR600RR’s and an occasional 07 like the one in the picture. Here is Read more…
Danny Roberts is a long time friend going all the way back to the mid 80’s when we raced together and ran Palm Beach Suzuki. After years of racing, Danny went to work for Dunlop as a test rider- riding everything from ATV’s to dirt bikes and sportbikes. A very Read more…
Today, I am starting a new series on the best bikes for the money- ie. bang for the buck bikes. Obviously, the Buell 1125 deals I reported on over the past couple of days are right at the top of the list. At 5500.00, an 1125R or CR is just Read more…
One of my friends went down to Harley Davidson of Atlanta and bought a new 09 Buell 1125CR for 5500.00 plus taxes. These bikes were 11,999.00 MSRP a week a go! Wow, that is a smokin deal. They had 4 left yesterday when I was there and by this afternoon, Read more…
Ever since Harley announced the demise of Buell last week, there have been reports on various forums (like SVrider.com) that Buells can be had for ridiculously low prices. One guy said that he bought his 1125R for 6000.00 plus fees and taxes. That is an insane deal for a bike Read more…
I saw this over at Autoblog and thought it worthy of posting- especially in light of the Harley Davidson/Buell divorce/death. It has been a crazy day for the motorcycle industry, for sure. As recently as last year, Piëch – himself a Ducati rider even at age 72 – commented that Read more…
This FZ1 and SV650 were in my shop for the past couple of months so I got to ride them both side by side. It is kind of a strange comparison, but I saw a guy on the FZ6 forum asking about which bike would better for him and so Read more…
Saturday was a dismal looking day with a low overcast sky and occasional light rain. Th clouds were so low and thick that the Aero Shell Aerobatics team only did 2 low passes because of terrible visibility. But in some ways, it was a blessing in disguise because the temp Read more…
Thursday nights are bike night at the world famous Vortex in Atlanta. There are always some cool and not so cool bikes that show up. But the atmosphere is always good. Guys hanging out and talking bikes. I didn’t get a picture of it, but one guy showed up on Read more…
Two of the best ever at what they do… and it is pure fun to see this kind of skill. Enjoy.