MOTORCYCLE MODIFICATION

Thank you to John Holliday, Jr. of Gulfport, MS.

Mike sends in these beautiful restoration shots of his well traveled Z1.
He Writes:


Hi,
Thought I’d send pics of my old baby for your blog …

Brought the bike over with me from the UK. Finally decided to do a complete restore thinking it’d cost about $3k … $10k+ later … couldn’t ride it because she was so very pretty.
Sold it after 500 miles but will forever cherish the personal challenge. Screws were self cleaned and re-plated or re-chromed like stock. All parts powder coated. Engine black coat was baked on in my kitchen oven (yes, I was single!). Basically went through what we all go through when it comes to our toys.
Cheers
Michael



Fantastic Work!  Don't know how you could let a beauty like that go.  Thanks Much!

Thanks To Ted Guthrie for the pics!

He Write:
Two incredibly perfectly restored early-60's Japanese twins. Note the blue seat on the Honda. Rather than a formal display, these bikes, along with most of those shown in these pictures were just scattered about the swap meet.

Haven't heard from Ted in a while so I thought he might be up to something... and sure enough... here's his beautiful restoration on a Moto Beta 125 Premier Enduro that he finished just in time for the Mid Ohio Vintage Days event. I have GOT to get up there one of these years dammit.


After:

Randy Martin sends in some pics of this very cool Hodaka Restoration.

He Writes:


A good friend of mine ( Boyd Thomure ) introduced me to your website and I think it is great. I have already spent too much time on it and want to see more.
I have spent the last year restoring a 1972 Hodaka Wombat as a replica of the original Prototype Red Wombat. When Hodaka built the Wombat and had it ready for a show they only had Red Paint in stock at the time, so the first bike was done in "Hodaka Red" Paint. All other Wombats after that were finished in Black.
When I was 14 years old my very first bike in 1973 was a Hodaka so this has lots of memories for me and my parents. 

Excellent! Thanks!

Awesome resurrection of 1973 Moto Guzzi. El Dorado.  For the full story see this thread over on ADV Rider.

After

 Mike Stratton Sends in this beauty of a restoration. I especially appreciate the "before and after" style of the pics. Very nice resto. When I was a younger (and lighter) lad I seriously lusted after one of these.

Mike writes:
Hey I stumbled across your site and really liked it! Thanks for your work on it! Here is my 1978 DT175E That I restored. Hopefully you will like it enough to put the pics on your site! (Bragging rights for me to my friends!) Anyway Thanks again.

My pleasure Mike. Brag away!

Two more bikes from reader Mochammed Ballazam from Jakarta, Indonesia

Didn't get the owners name but he sent in the following info:

In answer to your request, here is some input of a bike I'm proud of. Once a basket case on a porch in CA, it was built into a show machine by Denny Berg. After 20 years of shows and setting in my office, it is now ready for its first track day 4/25. There will be an antique riding the antique. Fitted with a new front brake, good tires, improved steering, and with some goodies from Syd's in the engine, shes ready to go. I hope to add a fiberglass "jellymold" tank to her shortly.

Thanks!  And I'd love to see some pice from her race debut.  Should be a great day!

Just a fantastic save of a really cool Montessa up in Massachusetts

Steve C. Writes:

I found this Montesa on Craigslist in the Summer of 2006 – it’s a Scorpion 250, probably sold in 1968 or 1969.  Looked pretty rough in the pic the seller sent to me – see below – so my original thought was that I'd part it out on eBay.  I knew the front wheel alone was worth a few hundred bucks (more than I paid for the bike).  It's a sought-after twin-leading shoe drum with air scoop that was also used on the Montesa Impala (street bike) and LaCross (real motocrosser).  But once I saw that the bike was nearly complete, I figured I'd see what it took to get running.  So  cleaned it up, painted the frame, straightened the front fender (yes, that’s it on the seat in the “before” pic), fabbed a seat strap, added a new chain, OEM rear brake pedal and shift lever, kickstart spring, rear brake light switch, taillight bracket, handlebars, points, condensor and plug.  That's about it.  The rest was original -- paint on tank, fender and headlight, grips, levers for the clutch, front brake and choke, even the footpeg rubbers, tires and that funky red leather thumb guard on the throttle. 

Steve C. N.Andove Ma 


Thanks VERY much for the pics Steve!  Rally great bike!

Here's how she started out!

And here's a video of her.  Really Nice Work!

And it's FOR SALE!