Japaneasy 3 ; Roller.

So now we're rolling.  47 bullneck knuckle frame, offset forks, 19" front and 16" rear with new Firestone Z pattern tyres.  The rear may change to an 18" or we might go 16" on the rear and 18" on the front - we'll see.

 

 

 

Cut back knuckle rear fender, knuckle oil tank, sparto rear lamp, original hub caps (not sure about those yet).  The colour definitely won't be black.

 

 

Flanders 'O' bars cut down and shortened. Flanders 3 1/2" risers and spun fork spring cups.

 

 

Japaneasy 2 ; knuckles.

Our next two builds will be knuckles.  Don't know which motor will go in which bike yet.  The 39 (top) came out of the Love bike; Rich and I had it apart last year so it's ready to go and will probably be the first choice.

 

 

 

This 48 motor came out of the original Tacoma; we replaced it with a rebuilt pan (see earlier blogs).  Its a nicer 'dirtier' looking motor that might suit the dirty Japanese style we're looking for but it needs going through first.

 

 

Either way, we're going knuckle.

Japaneasy 1 ; fork me.

These forks came on a 49 panhead we bought in from New Mexico last year (I think).  Offset forks for a knuckle. 

 

Springer forks lower end check and repair.  We bought the kit but needed very little of it ... but it's always worth checking.

 

 

 

 

What's on in the New Year.

Well its been a busy time over the last 12 months and we've had plenty to do.  There is still a lot in the pipeline so I thought I'd give you a bit of an update.

Our next ground up build will be a knuckle in a knuckle frame, offset forks, very much in the cut down 'dirty Japanese' mold.  Functional, tough, good for hard miles riding and made of old parts.  A couple of exceptions might be the ignition set up and a better front brake!!  After the crash earlier in the year and the stay in hospital that might be a good idea!

Build number two will be another knuckle; a special bobber with a 'sat up' look, maybe in a pan frame with inline forks, fat bob tanks, big seat, again made of old parts. The kind of understated bobber you might have seen in the fifities, without all the doo-dads that sometimes clutter a cool bike.

We also have two customers who want bobbed panheads but we're still looking for decent donor bikes and we still have the Duo Glide to finish and sell.  That will be a more standard looking bike.

We'll post pictures of all the builds and keep you updated but we've still got time for any repairs or engine work you need doing so get in touch.

HOPE YOU HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR - WE WILL.

Latest shop advert

Here's the latest shop advert; it appeared in Greasy Kulture.

Guy doesn't like the name and he's been on to us to change it from SkullChopa. One things for sure, we won't be calling it SlimChopa.

Greasy Kulture feature

Did you see the feature on the shop in issue 30 of GKM, well worth a read.

Can Greasy Kulture really have been going for 30 issues? That's about five or six years I think. But it's still the best out there at what it does. Obviously that's down to opinion but there really are some rank mags out there.  Guy just seems to get it (most of the time!)

Guy's been good to us and one day I'm gonna sell my full set of GKM mags on eBay and make a fortune. 

Or maybe I'll still be flicking through them on my death-bed ha.

Cheers Guy.

 

Why we haven't been blogging.

We've not been blogging much of late.  No reason really apart from the work that we've been doing hasn't been all that interesting from a 'viewers' point of view .. but still interesting to us.

We finished putting the Buell together, completed the shovel build, finished the 50E, did Guys gearbox, and loads of other stuff but not so interesting to blog about (and Rich lost the camera)!

1950E for sale

SO she's ready to go now.  We've been right through her; a full service and MOT'd even though bikes registered before 1960 no longer require an MOT.

 

As you can see from previous blogs we ended up going through the motor to double check clearances and we found out that she had recently been rebuilt and with high quality parts.

 

She's a 1950 with matching belly numbers but not all parts are from that year; she's had many of the updates and repairs/ replacements that come with most 60+ year old bikes (we're not concours riders here so you'll have to count the rivets yourselves to make sure)!!!  Certainly she has been updated with a foot gear shift which didn't come in until 1952 ish so that alone has its effect on the later gas tanks, the mouse trap clutch, foot change etc.

 

She's up for sale at £11,250 or she'll be on ebay next year.  Give us a call if you're interested.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gordo's engine is now finished. These are great looking motors and this one looks brand new from the outside and is virtually brand new on the inside.......I think Gordo has plans to build something very cool around it.