Go Hard or Go Home
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 […]
Read more1979 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 […]
Read more1979 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, […]
Read more1979 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 […]
Read more1979 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 […]
Read more1979 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 […]
Read more1979 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 […]
Read more1979 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 […]
Read moreElsie 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 […]
Read more1979 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 […]
Read more1979 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 […]
Read moreBurt Munro 2018 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 – […]
Read moreCanscoot 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 […]
Read moreWinter 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. […]
Read moreMotoretta 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 […]
Read more1966 Vespa SS180 project The Super Sport, or S.S., was the successor to the G.S. 160 and was built from 1964 to 1968. With the exception of the increase in cc’s, the motor and suspension design are very similar on the two scooters. On the other hand, the styling […]
Read moreBurt Munro Challenge 2016 Recently we attended the 11th annual Burt Munro Challenge with scooter friends from around the country. This years event coincided with the opening of the new Classic Motorcycle Mecca here in Tay St. The Bill Richardson Transport World and Motorcycle Mecca are both world class collections […]
Read moreCanscoot Show Weekend Ride 2016 This years ride started out well with fine weather and no wind being a real bonus for any scooter trip. I met up with some of the Canscoot guys at Smash Palace the night before for a plot and scheme session. The route had originally […]
Read moreRecently we were lucky enough to travel to Rarotonga for a friends wedding and a holiday. What an awesome place for a holiday and a beachfront wedding. Mrs JC and I travelled with another couple of scooterists and had a great old time exploring the island, snorkelling, fishing, swimming and […]
Read moreVespa Engine Stand I have been thinking about building a stand for vespa engines for a while now and have seen a few designs on different sites and forums and used a type that you clamp into your vice. The assembled engines can fall off your bench if you aren’t […]
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