08 CBR600RR Pearl Fire Orange

Here is a final picture with the HONDA logos on the lowers. These are in flat black like the rear number plates and look great.

CBR600RR Pearl Fire Orange finished

Well, as you can see, the CBR is all back together and today I did the final buffing and applied the logos and rear number plates. The color match is just about spot on and is easily as good as factory panels. The bike looks great and the flat black on the orange is perfect. [...]

Painting a CBR600RR Pearl Fire Orange

I just finished painting all of the panels- except the tank cover- on an 08 CBR600RR Pearl Fire Orange. This is an almost impossible color to match since it is a tri-coat with a base, mid and clear. Since I had no idea where to start, we decided to go ahead and spend the big [...]

New JD Powers Motorcycle Owner Satisfaction Survey is out…

Among the factors, satisfaction with the sales experience has improved most, increasing to 856 (on a 1,000-point scale) in 2011 from 838 in 2010. Satisfaction with the product and cost of ownership also improves significantly, compared with 2010. The study also finds that motorcycle build quality improves to 122 problems per 100 motorcycles (PP100) from [...]

New Agusta 675 Brutale

All I can say is, wow. That is beautiful. I’m currently riding a Triumph 675 Street Triple R and I love it. The comparisons have already begun and the new Brutale isn’t even available yet but it should be a good fight. The Triumph is a great bike but a few years old now.  If [...]

Some Pictures from the Barber Vintage Festival

It was a great weekend for vintage and custom motorcycle fanatics… Even the races were fun with big old time names like Schwantz, Springsteen and Ahern all racing. Some of the custom stuff was amazing and NCR Ducati had a bunch of exotic stuff there along with lots of vintage Ducs. Check out the gallery [...]

Barber Vintage Festival starts today!

The yearly Vintage festival at Barber Motorsports Park starts today and runs through Sunday. I go every year and never tire of looking at the thousands of amazing bikes that show up. if you don’t already have plans for the weekend, you can’t go wrong here. If you need parts for an older bike, the [...]

07 SV650 naked… ready for a new home

Well, the SV is done and it looks awesome. Really nice low mile (4600) bike with all the tasteful upgrades- Carbon exhaust, billet mirrors, matte black upper triple clamp and handlebars, paint matched headlight, and the wide wheel conversion that allows you to use a 180 tire. SV’s are still at the top of my [...]

07 SV650- continued

Here is a quick update on the SV. The headlight is reassembled and mounted. I painted the brackets matte black and used some mini turn signals to finish up. A new brake lever is on the work bench waiting to be installed.

SV650 Progress report

The 07 SV650 restoration project is coming along- slowly. But, the painting is done and it is a slightly darker shade with a touch of purple or magenta in it. Here a few pictures- the headlight bucket and rim look awesome when they are painted on an SV. It really gives the bike a custom [...]

BMW developing Laser Headlights

This press release is from their auto division, but I’m sure you can see the possibilities for motorcycles- Munich. As a globally successful carmaker within the premium segment, the BMW Group attaches the utmost importance to advanced technology in all sectors of automotive manufacturing. Exclusive innovations and technological leaps secure BMW’s lead amongst the competition. [...]

2007 Suzuki SV650 paint and restoration

I picked this bike up at the auction a couple of months ago and I’m finally getting around to working on it. Mechanically, it was fine but it needed some cosmetics. I’m taking off the ill-fitting clip-ons and replacing them with the stock risers and some generic superbike bars. One cool addition is the CBR600 [...]

New Moto Guzzi V7 Racer Now Available

Moto Guzzi has announced a very cool new model in a press release today. This genre of motorcycle is quickly gaining market share because the average age of riders continues to increase. But, even some younger riders are into the retro stuff or at least the naked bike/Streetfighter scene. This new Guzzi is a modern [...]

A Quick Look Inside the Dunlop Proving Grounds

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 test all of the dirt [...]

2010 Triumph Street Triple R

I picked this up at the auction last month. It was a Triumph factory demo bike that got dropped and needed a few parts. They totaled it for some unexplainable reason but that is really my gain since I bought it pretty cheap. As you can see from the pictures, it came with the Full [...]