1979 Honda XL500S – 12 Volt lighting The wiring for this project has always been a bit of a concern and mainly because it’s not something I have done much of, on a motorcycle. Vespa scooter wiring, while fiddly, is pretty basic and you either have a battery or you don’t depending on what model […]
Read more >Bajaj scooter – Moto 2019 Things have been a bit slow on the scooter front over the last year with one thing and another. The MotoTT 2019 is fast approaching and the Bajaj is getting some much needed love for the event. The last time out, on this event in 2017, the scooter started spitting […]
Read more >1979 Honda XL500S – Tank 2 The petrol tank is one of the things I have spent the most time on over this entire project. After trying 3 tanks I decided on one that came off a 70’s Honda bike. I’m not exactly sure which model it is off but it looks good on the […]
Read more >1979 Honda XL500S – Brakes 2 All of the brake caliper rebuild kits and new brake pads finally turned up and I have installed them and touched up the paint on the calipers. The brake pads were all in pretty bad condition and the new ones look good and should work 100% better. I […]
Read more >1979 Honda XL500S – Brakes 1 The CBR600 donor bike had been sitting for a long time and the front disc brakes were seized solid, so I will have to get some caliper kits and new brake pads all round. The brake lines have all been replaced with new braided ones because the original ones didn’t fit […]
Read more >1979 Honda XL500S – Fabrication Other than building the seat base, the exhaust system and fittings there hasn’t been too much “fabrication” to do on this bike so far. There are a couple of things that do need sorted out, other than the electrical system, wheels, brakes, etc, etc; Handlebars, switches and cables Headlight and […]
Read more >1979 Honda XL500S – Custom Exhaust The exhaust has been one of the hardest things to figure out for this first time fabricator. The original XL500s bike I had many years ago had a huge lump of a steel muffler that ran through the frame to the right of the rear wheel. The original muffler […]
Read more >1979 Honda XL500S – Seat The engine now runs and the CB tank is mounted at the front but not the rear. The look I’m trying to achieve is having the bottom of the tank continue on into the bottom of the seat, however with this frame, it won’t be as simple as say a […]
Read more >1979 Honda XL500S – Frame 2 While sorting out the tank the seat has now become the next main focus because of where the rear of the tank will mount. There are plenty of cafe racer style seats available online, at reasonable cost but they might not necessarily fit. Some have the seat dimensions and […]
Read more >1979 Honda XL500S – Cafe racer tank So progress has been a bit slow but things are coming along and after another trade me purchase, the frame may now have a new petrol tank. The original XL tank that came with the bike had no fuel cap, was dented quite badly, was missing the tap […]
Read more >1979 Honda XL500S – original engine While doing the work to get a rolling frame done, I had been online looking at petrol tanks, seats and various electrical things that I would eventually need. Its been hard not to buy a whole lot of stuff but from reading online, that’s not necessarily the best way […]
Read more >Elsie the Lambretta’s new shed So finding parts for a 67 year old scooter still hasn’t got any easier. Some engine parts and what not have appeared on ebay but freight costs have proved to be prohibitive. Even with a functioning engine the LC still would be a tough restoration as it needs a lot […]
Read more >1979 Honda XL500S – Suspension upgrade I had read on one of the thumper forums that replacing the XL swingarm with the FT one was possible with not too much hassle. The FT is wider at the mounting point and longer with the bottom shock mounts a little further back than the XL one. After […]
Read more >1979 Honda XL500S While scooters are what I generally like to work on and ride, I have had a number of different bikes over the years. One of my favorites was a 1979 Honda XL500s. It was one of those dual purpose bikes that you used on the road but could also take to a […]
Read more >2018 Burt Munro Challenge Rally Wow, what an awesome weekend! This is the first time the drags have been run as an event in the Burt Munro challenge rally and it was very well received. You don’t have to like motorcycles to appreciate the drags as the concept is very simple – take off when […]
Read more >Burt Munro Challenge Rally 9am, Thursday 8th February – 12pm, Sunday 11th February 2018 MUNRO FAMILY TROPHY The Munro family has generously donated a spectacular trophy which is given to the “Competitor of the Year” at each annual Challenge. The Munro family presents the trophy in honour of Burt to the winner each year. […]
Read more >Canscoot Show Weekend Ride 2017 The annual ride with the Canscoot ones from Christchurch was another interesting journey into Central Otago with great weather and awesome riding conditions. We had organised to ride up to Cromwell and then on to Bannockburn to meet up with the rest of the group on the Friday night and […]
Read more >Winter is here and we recently had a -6 frost, just nippy enough really. Not much to report on the scooter front as the new workshop is still under construction. The Bajaj was left outside in the interim and has expressed its disgust by leaking oil in the new carport. Looks like the Canscoot ones […]
Read more >Motoretta Tourist Trophy 2017 Another fantastic scooter event has finished and finally was located in the South Island. Sadly for some teams from the North Island, this years event was always going to be logistically challenging, however some would say the event was better with the fewer teams that came down to the mainland. The roads […]
Read more >Motoretta Tourist Trophy Friday the 21st April to Tuesday the 25th April. If you can only go on one scooter ride a year, make it this one. A 4 day, 1000 mile team ride for classic geared scooters. An epic test of man and machine, taking in the best roads and scenery in the top of the South […]
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