Suzuki T500 restoration update
Here are a few quick shots of the bodywork stuck on the bike that I took with my phone so we could get a feel for what it will look like. As you can see, the side fairings have a lot of bulges and contours that made it very hard to get the stripes to look straight. In fact, they aren’t even close to straight since you need to change the angles quite a bit to adjust for the curves in the panel but they look straight from the side. Still a lot... [Read More...]
Audi buys Ducati- Press Release
AUDI AG acquires sports motorcycle manufacturer Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. - Chairman Rupert Stadler: “As a sporty, global premium brand, Ducati is an excellent fit for Audi.” - Third pillar for AUDI AG in Italy - Ducati a leading player in engine technology and lightweight construction Ingolstadt/Bologna, April 18, 2012 – AUDI AG is acquiring from Investindustrial Group the tradition-steeped Italian sports motorcycle manufacturer... [Read More...]
Huge Ducati Collection to be Auctioned
1972 Ducati 750 200 Miglia Imola Corsa Replica From Hemmings Blog: One of the largest private collections of Ducatis ever assembled will cross the block next month at RM’s auction at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Scheduled to cross the auction block on the first day of the event, the Carlo Saltarelli Collection features more than 100 rare and unique Ducatis, many of which have known racing history. Racing replicas and classic Ducati road bikes from... [Read More...]
Suzuki T500 update
I’ve been working hard on the body panels for this T500 and we are slowly getting there. One common problem with old, old stuff like this is that there are usually lots of coats of old enamel paint on them. All you can do is try to get as much of it off as possible but there is always residue left that will crack or crinkle when you put any modern automotive paint on it. This is the problem I had even after priming with an epoxy primer to seal... [Read More...]
New Project- 1971 Suzuki T500 race bike
The guy who I painted the Yamaha RZ500 in the slideshow for brought me another project to work on- a 1971 Suzuki T500 race bike that we are going to do as a replica of the Daytona bike. These pictures are as it sits now and the drawing is what we are aiming for- or something very similar. Since all of these bikes were essentially 1 off race bikes, there is no “official” scheme to model it after. But we do have some pictures from that era... [Read More...]
Painting a CBR600RR Pearl Fire Orange
painted mid panel on original tank 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 money on ColorRite’s paint. The results are pretty good. The shade and brightness of the orange is very good, but the size and clarity... [Read More...]
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 of photos… Schwantz's Norton #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top:... [Read More...]
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 swap meet will probably have it. Barber always puts on an excellent event and the weather is going to be outstanding, so don’t miss it! Vintage... [Read More...]
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 headlight- blue Read More →
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 day rendition of their old race bikes and it is very well done with great colors and detail. I love the black on red frame… Press... [Read More...]
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 bike, street bike and race tires for motorcycles. Very cool place for a motorcycle guy (or girl)! I’ll post a few pictures that I took with my phone over... [Read More...]
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 Arrow factory exhaust and from riding it, I sure it has been remapped too. Getting rid of the factory undertail exhaust probably saves at least 20 lbs. I had to replace a... [Read More...]
BMW adds antilock brakes to entire line-up
Press release from BMW- After pioneering the concept of antilock brakes (ABS) on motorcycles 23 years ago, BMW Motorrad USA announced today that it will be the first motorcycle manufacturer to offer ABS as standard equipment on its entire range of 2012 model year motorcycles. “Plain and simple, being able to stop a motorcycle faster and more predictably helps prevent a rider from becoming a statistic,” said Pieter de Waal, Vice President, BMW... [Read More...]
V65 Magna Poject- Part 8
Well, here is the finished product… the owner installed the body work and obviously did a lot of other things while the bike was apart- like recover the seat, paint the fork legs, etc. The dark “shades of gray” looks good on this bike. He also has some black GIVI hard bags that will be installed but we wanted a nice before/after comparison. V65 Magna before/after V65 Magna with flames Read More →
V65 Magna Project- Part 7
Well, the clear coat is on and it looks great. The dark gray/orange contrast really comes out with the clear and the metallic in the gray jumps out as well. It will probably be a few days until the parts are back on the bike, but as soon as they are, I’ll get some pictures posted up… tank- cleared front fender tank and tail Read More →