OOPS!

Don't forget your Safety Glasses!A little accident.

Drilling out a broken steering stop on a Bonneville frame.

I saved the pieces.

The upper left piece is the one I caught with my eye. My eye was closed, but it still got me.

My eyeball bled!

It's alot better now, and it never hurt or messed up my sight.
Lessons Learned:

1- safety glasses are your friend.

2- I have some damn good eye reflexes!

On a brighter note

For the 15 years I've been working on Triumphs, I've always

dreamed of having an aluminum rim.

Well here it is! Just laced it up onto the front wheel of

the '65 I'm still building. Here's something everyone needs.

Vintage lap timer!

It's just too cool. I installed it on the A-10RGS and imediatly

took it for a ride to go show everyone.
And it only took 7 minutes!

Crazy Eddie in Liberty City sent me this pic of one of his bikes.
Meet Funkdelicious!

Wes Scott Cycles Christmas Ride

Saturday December 11, 2010

Wes Scott had his Christmas ride. It started at his shop and made it's way down to the

King's Head Pub in Dania. I missed the start, but caught up to the pack on the Airport Perimeter Road. Sorry 'bout the pics, my trusty little camera was a little spooked in the dark .
Here's Clive Taylor's and Claire's rides.
Don't miss their Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show
Saturday, January 29th, 2011
www.daniabeachvintageshow.com
Last year's was great, and this year will be reorganized to be even better.
Come out to see the show and swap meet.
And, if you got some extra junk, come as a vender!

Wes's ride. Very nice BSA Rocket 3

Here's Jim Bougard's Triumph.

He's doing some great work for the kids.

Check him out www.rustsweatandgears.com

Curt gets best of ride in my book. His A-10 is very tricked out, and is an awesome ride!

You see, he let me take it for a spin.

(Don't let them fool you, judges are bribable!)

Wes and Jacqueline at the end of the night.

Speaking of tricked out A-10's....

Got to borrow Rich Silver's A-10RGS.

Now this is quite the piece!

Yet Again, My Summer Vacation

Yes, I know it's winter already. It's cold even down here in Florida.

But vacations for me are very few and far between.

So if I dwell on my summer vacation, I get to make it last a bit longer!

It was a long time since I was able to spend some time in New York, and there were

alot of friends to catch up with.

Eddie McGarry's a guy I hung out with, rode with, and even got to work.

He's now established at the Indian Larry shop out in Brooklyn.

When I left, he was still working on this bike in the back of Larry's shop. His ride was a pre-unit

bobber he picked up at 6th Street. It had the coolest 2 into 1 high pipe.

Here's a shot of his car.

Have to include a couple of the bikes Larry built.
R.I.P.

I forgot what it's like to have to park on the street. Even without a garage, I've always have been able to park a little more secure since I came to Florida.

And, of course, I had to visit my friend John Reardon and get a tattoo in his new shop

out in Brooklyn. He's the best. He also travels around, so check him out at

www.johnreardontattoos.com

The original reason for driving up was to transport a couple of bikes back for a friend.

That fell through, so I couldn't leave with an empty truck,

could I?

I figured you'd understand!

"Around the World in 80 M#@^%- F%*^# days"

Last week Paolo came riding into town.

He's the latest in world travelers. He's riding a new Ducati Multistrada around the world, planning to do it in a year!

Ducati is eating it up, as they should. Right now he's probably in Mexico, or close.

I couldn't do it.

About the time of the preparation buzz, I happened to come across some articles about another bike ride around the world. This one took 4 years, and was done on a Triumph!

You might have seen the book. Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon.

I read his book when it was re-released, shortly after I became a mechanic.

Awesome book.

As far as bike choice goes (for one of these trips), Ted summed it up

"I think I was really lucky that... the equipment was still in such a primitive state"

As far as modern machines go "...the motorcycle becomes such an enormous presence... it would be almost impossible to sneak into places the way I used to be able to..."

I was inspired! Definatly not to ride around the world, but to read Ted's book again!
This time my perspective will be on the motorcycle itself, now that I am far from the fledgeling mechanic I was 15 years ago.

-Ted Simon quotes taken from Classic Motorcycle March and April 1999, "Once More Round the World", interview by Bill Stermer.

-Title of this post taken from Whoopie Goldberg. Thanx Whoopie.

A Day in the Life

Friday at Mean MachinesThat's a Bultaco Metralla 250, about 1968.

A bike I've been working on for my friend Rich at Desmopro.

Cool little bike. Guy bought it new, turned it into a race bike and now has it back to original.

That's Brando's '71 TR6R getting a little love.

The shop looks a little bare, and clean, cause I've only been there 1 month.
Just give it some time!

A '56 BSA A-10 waiting to be brought home.
I like the A-10, the way the engine just rolls along is a nice ride.

The best part of the day.

My Hodaka has been sitting in my garage since I built it.

I finally dragged it out, and had a blast running back and forth to Rich's shop.

(Desmopro is conveniently around the corner)

See ya

Don't Miss It!

Wednesday November 24

Discovery Channel HD

6th Street Specials will be featured on the Cafe Racer TV show

I was lucky to have arrived in NY just in time to see Hugh drag out the BSA Super Rocket that he built for the TV show. That's it sitting in the middle. It's always good to get back to 6th Street

The bikes an awesome piece. Put together from parts, starting with a rusted out donor. The tank alone would make any bike.

Hugh knows how to build a bike.
Especially those he makes as Specials. I learned alot when I was working for him.

Here's his mechanic, Fumi, getting in on the fun.
(I hope I spelled your name right! Sorry 'bout that if I didn't)

Even I got put to work!
Just like the good old days.

Like always, someone is fiddling with there bike out on the street.

So, Don't Miss The Show!

Since we're on the subject of cafe racers, here are a couple that are here in South Florida.

Eddie's CB750 from Things Done Cycles

Richard Silvers Super Rocket (yep another one!)

I am lucky to have this one to work on occasionally

Mr. Miami

Just visited my good friend

Crazy Eddie

There's always somethin' bein' built down in Liberty City at the

Things Done Cycles complex.

Ed has quite the shop down there,with the

tools to do just about everything in house.

Alot of the old school stretched Kawi's screamin' around the
streets, thanks to Eddie. He finds 'em and builds 'em,
resuscitating many that seem to far gone.
You'll also see CB750's in all sorts of guises,
from choppers to full on dragsters.
Unfortunatly, I ran out of battery and light,
and the moon shine we had, didn't help the photog.
You'll be seeing more.
Check him out at www.thingsdonecycles.com

Mods vs. Rockers 10/24/10 Seminole Hardrock Casino

Best No-Go of Show

Yep, you heard it. I blew it! But not for lack of trying.

Sunday morning at 10, Pogo politely let me know I should give up.

I wish he would have told me the night before! Then I could have slept more than 2 hours.

The push for the bike show did get my bike much further along than it would have been otherwise, and since it was pouring rain, I told everyone I left the bike home so it wouldn't get wet.

Here is 1 of 2 of the Best Bitsa class. It is Metalflake Herb's pre-unit Triumph scrambler. He used to race it (probly before the paint job) against Clive Taylor. He has built a bunch of really cool motorcycles, and this one got 2nd place. Some Honda I did not see got 1st.
So I would have at least won 3rd.
The rain kept the turnout down, but it cleared up around noon. There were still alot of cool bikes, and alot of people showed up.

This is the line up of the bikes brought by Dime City Cycles. They were a sponsor and had a good display at their booth. They've got a shop on the west coast (of Florida of course) that specializing in the Cafe Racer scene. Check them out at www.dimecitycycles.com

Specialized Motors also brought a few of their stable. Dave and Ed have been knocking out restoration after restoration, throwing in a custom here and there. These bikes are beautifully done, and all will be runners. The work is all done at William Scherer's Museum. Check them out at www.specializedmotorsllc.com

Now, this is one of the best looking motorcycles ever made. The others look just like it.

It belong's to Vicki Smith, and maintained by Rich at Desmo Pro.

If it doesn't win everything it's entered, the judges should be shot!

www.ducati.net

Some of the British Bikes, and it wouldn't be right

if I didn't include the scooters!

My favorite of the show was not a single bike, but 2 that happened to be parked next to each other in the line up. A CB750 Street Fighter and a CB175 Cafe Racer.

Reminds me of the old cartoons with the Big Dog- Little Dog pair.

That CB750 better watch out!

It was an excellent show. Thanx to Chris and Louise for the excellent work.

The ride the day before might have been the biggest ride this town has seen.

(not counting the toy run)

Next Show is the Dania Beach show at the end of January.

See ya

Can He Do It?

24 Hours to go!

Not even.

Saturday morning, and this is where I am.

Will I get to the show on time?

Will I get any sleep ?

Only time will tell.

I've had to fix or fit everything on and in this motorcycle.

Welding's easier with some help.

At least the engine's almost ready!

Tomarrow at 9am I will be riding up to the Seminole Hardrock Casino

for the Mods v. Rockers bike show.

I may even come home with a trophy!