Destination Eustis 2016 Motorcycle Show

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Motopsycho

Friday at the Destination Eustis 2016 Motorcycle Show

There wasn’t really a lot going on yet when I rolled into the Destination Eustis 2016 Motorcycle Show early on Friday March 4th. So I went ahead and set up my base camp for the weekend. To stretch my budget this year, instead of staying in a hotel I decided to sleep on an air mattress in the back of the enclosed trailer. This actually made a decent camping arrangement as a simple tent heater kept it nice and cozy on the cool early spring nights.

Afterwards I went digging around the swap meet just to see what was there. I didn’t take as many pictures this year because I had an actual shopping list of parts that are needed for two very different bikes, one a 45 cubic inch Flathead Harley and the other a Honda CT70 Mini Trail. Didn’t find much for the mini but there were a couple of vendors that had some good deals on parts for the Flattie.

One of the absolute coolest things there was this little Model T replica for sale. The seller drove it around all over the place, and I hope some happy person took it home.

Other than a little shopping I just hung around the main exhibition hall and offered my meager assistance to the really hard working folks in the VJMC who were getting everything ready for the show on Saturday. Once darkness had fallen and supper was over it was time to retire to my little campsite and knock back a brew before turning in.

Saturday at the Destination Eustis 2016 Motorcycle Show

Fresh perked coffee early in the morning, sitting in a chair outside while cooking breakfast over a camp stove. The only way it could have gotten any better would be if my lovely partner had been there with me, but alas she had to work.

After making myself reasonably presentable it was time to head over to the main hall again and watch as the neat old bikes filed in to register for the show. Rather than trying to post them individually I put a few of them in a slideshow for you.

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There were of course a few extra special bikes that really stood out and demonstrated that even though this may be one of the smaller “Bike Week” events it attracts some really high caliber machinery.

First up is an ultra rare Flying Merkel, who doesn’t enjoy seeing an old timer like this in good running order?

There have been a lot of custom cafe racer or muscle-bike style custom Goldwings showing up on the internet and it was great to see this wild ‘Wing show up to take home 1st place in the custom class.

No vintage motorcycle show is complete without at least one classic American racer, and the stunning Indian flat tracker fits the bill perfectly.

The Best Of Show award went to my friend Mike, who brought this absolutely immaculate 1975 Kawasaki Z1B. He restored this bike himself from a rusty derelict. Look for more pictures of this one in the next week or two.

One of the best things about going to a VJMC organized show is the fact that the judging is done by audience voting. This makes results almost completely unpredictable, and does away the bullshit & hurt feelings that result from selection by a panel of judges. I’d also like to acknowledge the hard work of the Vintage Motorcycle Alliance, they run the swap meet and set up the vendor areas and without them and the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club, this event would not be what it is.

Click here to learn more about the Vintage Motorcycle Alliance

Click here to learn more about the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club

Until next time, Peace Y’all

Scooter Mania & Other Afflictions

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Motopsycho

First there was an old 70cc Passport.

It all started out innocently enough, a guy I know just happened to post a picture of a dilapidated 1982 Honda Passport for sale on Facebook, and I thought that would make a great pit bike to putt around on at giant events like the Barber Vintage Motorsports Festival. So we worked out a trade and I dragged it home one night and with the help of my beautiful assistant got it running. Little did I know that it was just the first step to developing Scooter Mania.

We got it going and got all the paperwork straight and made it safe for the road so it could be thoroughly checked out. With my 230 pound self in the saddle it topped out at 41 mph, just a little above moped territory. Once it was determined that it was in great condition for the long haul, this little Honda C70 became a full blown restoration project. Here’s a shot of how it looks right now as I type this.

Next step to Scooter Mania came as a Honda Helix 250…

A short time later, the second more serious stage of Scooter Mania snuck up on me without warning. It started out innocently enough, with me listing my Suzuki TS185 for sale on Craigslist. Almost immediately, I got a message from someone offering to trade me a 2001 Honda Helix 250 for it. My initial reply was let me think about it a few days. Another scooter was not what I had in mind, in fact cash was the objective, partially to finance the restoration of the Passport but mainly so that I could purchase this cool 1/8 scale Redcat Racing RC dune buggy and mount my video camera to it for a future project that I have in mind.

After 3 or 4 day of irritating low ball offers and what seemed like a thousand scammers posing as U.S. military personnel, I sent the Helix owner a message & told him that I’d trade & we agreed to meet at a public location between his place & mine. The plan was never to keep the Helix, but to try and flip it on Ebay, but I made two mistakes. Mistake number one was that I rode it. Mistake number two was taking Mrs. Psyco out for a nice long ride on it. When we got back home she said that it is far more comfortable than any of my motorcycles. So I replied, “I guess we should make this one a long term adoption,” to which she replied yes. Now it’s sitting in the shop on brand new tires, and I’m waiting for the Ram mounts for the camera & GPS to get here. In the past it had crossed my mine that a maxi-scooter would make a fine touring rig, but a 650 Burgman or a Silverwing was what I was thinking of, not a Helix. Scooter Mania strikes again!

Hond Helix with a C70 Passport Scooter Mania

I hope this is not the start of another collection.

Of course the only downside is that scooter riders get no respect around here even though the Helix is larger and longer than most motorcycles, the first words out of every idiots mouth is moped. They don’t have a clue that there’s a whole lot more to the world of scooters than 50cc Chinese whiskey cycles. What’s really fun is when you are passing someone on a four lane highway and see the look on their faces as they realize that you are on a scooter. The really great thing about being the age I am now is that I no longer give a shit what anyone else thinks of what I ride, but am still young enough to enjoy it.

The Helix is bigger than a CB650

This doe not mean that Motopsyco’s Asylum will become a scooter blog, fine vintage motorcycles will always be my first love, late model stuff and ATVs will continue to be covered as well, just think of the scooters as one more cool thing we can have fun with! Just watch out, Scooter Mania can be very contagious.

Moto Guzzi V9 – The Universal Custom

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Motopsycho

This looks like an interesting offering from Moto Guzzi this year. I think 2016 will be the year for a great renaissance of classically styled motorcycles

Moto Guzzi introduces the all-new V9; fun, light, painstakingly crafted medium engine capacity custom, heir to more than forty years of custom heritage. Moto Guzzi V9 opens up a new product and engine

Source: Moto Guzzi V9 – The Universal Custom

Honda CM400 Custom Project wAmmo Finished

Posted on December 13, 2015 by Motopsycho

The day I originally brought this Honda CM400 home it was sold and the new owner almost immediately asked me to rebuild it as a tribute to his days as an ordnance technician during the first gulf war. He wanted a rat bike simple and rough edged with his rank and an Ammo Corp logo on it. Olive drab paint was necessary, wrapped exhaust & low bars were part of his specification. He also did not want a side mount tail light, a rather unusual request on this type of bike. The rest was up to me

The hand painted logo is not necessarily authentic to his unit but is based on a generic amalgamation of such insignia as I found online.

The long exhaust pipes were made from small chain link fence posts bent & brazed to the stubs of the original head pipes. The exhaust wrap makes everything look cool and it has a mean sound, just listen to this video.

The rear fender started life as a brand new aftermarket front fender for a Harley Electraglide, that I cut down & installed backwards to make a fantastic custom rear fender. The voltage regulator was bolted to the side and a good old fashioned Sparto tail light was mounted on top.

A little while back I did a post on twin leading shoe brakes and here they are installed and working just fine on the front of this little Honda CM400

The factory carbs got a serious overhaul and were re-jetted to work with the 54 mm velocity stacks & open exhaust with a Six Sigma jet kit. The fine people at Six Sigma really know their stuff and can usually set you up with a jet kit custom matched to your application. The key switch is your basis auto parts store universal hot rod part but the alloy bracket and the ABS plastic battery box & side covers are my work.

The solo seat was a swap meet find that was reworked to fit and the covered in olive drab Cordura fabric.

Here’s a shot of my buddy trying to look all serious and tough when he really wants to smile

The bar end mirrors actually work very well on this bike.

That’s enough words from me, here’s a little 1 3/4 minute video showing various excerpts from the build and the proud owner taking it for his first spin around the parking lot, and a couple big pictures further down on this page.

Peace Y’all!

The 2015 Bull City Rumble

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Motopsycho

The 2015 Bull City Rumble

Every year for the last 11 years during the Labor Day weekend holiday the club Ton Up North Carolina has been hosting a great multiday event for vintage motorcycle enthusiasts in Durham North Carolina. The main focus is on vintage café racer styled customs, restorations, competition bikes, and vintage scooters. Ever since I discovered this event three years ago the Saturday bike show has been permanently added to my calendar.

One of the great things I love about this event is the fact that every year at least one really oddball custom will show up. The top motor freak at this year’s show was a diamond plate covered Goldwing that had everyone scratching their heads.

This being a café racer club there was plenty of fine British & European iron on display including an original unrestored 1983 Triumph TSS with electric start.

<1983 Triumph TSS>

Numerous Moto Guzzi motorcycles were on hand such as this T3 and this old Ambassador

I can’t tell you exactly which one of the two it was but one of these immaculate AJS machines that won best of show, both look so pristine I don’t think it matters

Fellow VJMC member Mike McSween was showing his terrific pair of restored vintage Kawasaki road racers with his 1971 H1R 500, number 56 in the picture taking home first place. The other green jewel in the picture is his 1972 H2 750 triple.

Anytime I get within a mile of a Vincent I have to take its picture. Even though I am normally a Japanese bike fanatic, Vincents like this 1952 model really are my ultimate dream machine. Perhaps one day…

The award for the best Japanese motorcycle went to this highly detailed & wonderfully conceived CX500 Honda.

No matter what angle it is viewed from the artistry & talent of the builder is just amazing.

Until 2014 there was no class for American motorcycles and while this was still the smallest class it did attract some high quality equipment including a 1950’s vintage Indian and this fine looking Harley Davidson J model.

I must confess that when the American class was first introduced that I and a couple of others had mixed feelings about it. We feared that an influx of the so called American bikers would destroy the character of this event and make it into yet another chrome, mullet, & tattoo show for us (and our fat wallets) to stay away from. Fortunately this has not happened so far. I was there for nine hours this year and only heard one person make a disparaging remark about the motorcycles with superior engineering, handling & reliability. Since she was blonde I’ll forgive her for not having the intellectual acumen to understand that some of us view our motorcycles as something more than just a two wheeled “Members Only” jacket.

It was great having Rommel Harley Davidson there as a sponsor and I really enjoyed checking out the new Street 750 demo trailer that they had set up. Check it out on the video below at the bottom of the page.
Other motorcycles at the show that I really liked included this very tasteful black Suzuki café racer. These late 70’s & early ‘80s Suzuki cycles don’t get nearly the love from restorers or customizers that they should, even though they were probably the best all-around motorcycles of that time period.

If you love vintage turbo bikes there were a Yamaha Seca & a Honda CX parked side by side on the street.

Everywhere you looked there was a good selection of vintage & retro machines, fine people, good eats, and plenty of excitement, and I am already planning to return next year. Check out the Ton Up NC website at http://tonup-nc.blogspot.com/ for more information.

I took so many pictures at the 2015 Bull City Rumble that I decided to put the best of the rest into a slide show.

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Here’s the youtube video that I made of the event. Watching this is probably the best way to get an idea of the scope of this event.

The 2015 National Bikers Roundup

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Motopsycho

Last weekend one of our local county council members & I took in a visit to the Darlington Dragway, our goal was to get an overview of the 2015 National Bikers Roundup and show all of the locals who were unnecessarily anxious about the presence of a large group of African-American bikers in our community. Folks, even at the Memorial Day Bikefest, the bikers are not the problem. The National Bikers Roundup organization, rented the venue, got all of the necessary permits, coordinated with local law enforcement, and had more than adequate event staff on hand to keep everything rolling smoothly. We had a blast check out the video & the pictures below!

I’m not going to write a lot in this post as I’d just be repeating a lot of what I’ve already said in the video.

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Peace Y’all

The 2015 VJMC National Rally Day 2

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Motopsycho

It is the end of the second day of the 2015 VJMC National Rally, and a little rain is falling from a passing thunderstorm this evening but for most of the day the weather was beautiful and the group rides went off without a hitch.

We all had a great time on a various rides to various different places in the mountains. My wife and I actually followed the tiddler group up to the Sugarland visitors center, after a brief visit to the museum we proceeded to the Metcalfe Bottoms picnic area where we had a nice lunch.
In the meantime the convention center continues fill up with an ever increasing assortment of nice bikes as people rolled in.

It turns out I’m not the only one who brought a 185 Suzuki.

Above is an entire row of classic Kawasakis.

Here’s a nice original XS500

After a great BBQ supper we listened to a presentation from Pete Boody the owner of Pistol Pete’s services who is restoring the prototype Goldwing serial number 2. Pete gave us a good run down of the early history of the development of the Goldwing and the difference between the prototypes, the pre-production units and the final production units.

It has been a terrific day and I do have some video footage from the ride that is up on YouTube.

Peace Y’all

2015 VJMC National Rally Day 1

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Motopsycho

Today was the first day of the 2015 VJMC National Rally

Here are a few more pictures from the first day’s action .

I actually feel bad about loading the Suburban Assault Scrambler onto to a trailer for this short little trip, but I wanted to take both bikes.

This blue and white Suzuki water buffalo is terrific looking.

Another blue and white Suzuki.

A Honda Grom and a CB 1100 parked outside of the Convention Center.

A raffle bike from the Cincinnati group.

It just wouldn’t be a vintage motorcycle rally without a Honda ST90.

A beautiful Yamaha but check out the odometer below.

Before I sign off for the day, I just have to include a picture of my Suzuki TS185 sitting inside the convention center with all the pretty show bikes.

Peace y’all.

2015 Carolina Classic Motorcycle Show

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Motopsycho

Carolina Classic Motorcycle Show registration tent

The Triad Vintage Motorcycle club hosted their 9th annual Carolina Classic Motorcycle Show on May 2nd 2015. Mrs. Finch & I saddled up the old Suburban Assault Scrambler and rolled out of our driveway headed toward the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer N.C. Rather than running up on the super boring slab I plotted a course to Spencer that involved rolling up to Chesterfield, S.C. and picking up Highway 742 and rolling into N.C. and picking up U.S. 52 for the rest of the way into the Show.

Let me get started by praising the venue, the Transportation Museum is a very nicely laid out train museum with great parking for visitors and a really nice grassy area with paved pathways for the show grounds. Although you will see glimpses of it in the pictures the best way to see how nice of a facility they have is to watch this little video clip I made riding into the museum. Some of the show bikes are also featured in the video as well.

I have decided to make this mostly a pictorial post with random comments. There was something for everyone here.

Lets go ahead and start out with this 1929 Indian Scout!

Of course while our baby boomer parents have driven the collectible motorcycle market so far, I predict that as those of us in Generation X take over you will see the motorcycles that we lusted over in our younger days such as this pristine Suzuki Katana experience a surge in value & collect-ability.

No motorcycle show is complete without a couple of nice Harleys

The old FLH was nice but I really loved this Evel Knievel replica Sportster.

Is that cool or what?

Some really nice British iron was there also.

Some off road racers were being shown as well.

The cafe racer crowd was well represented.

A very tasty looking Yamaha RZ350 Kenny Roberts signature edition.

For once mine was not the only rat bike in the show, check out this XS400 chopper.

Great looking patina on this old Norton

Another Gen X favorite we couldn’t afford when we were 19, the Honda Interceptor

The trains rolling in and out during the day greatly added to the atmosphere of the event.

It’s time for me to stop writing now & let the pictures do the rest of the talking…

Yamaha Seca Turbo

Sears Puch 250 Twingle

1966 Honda Super 90

To see more visit the Triad Classic Motorcycle Club Facebook page

Peace Y’all

Destination Eustis Vintage Motorcycle Show

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Motopsycho

It’s time once again for the one of the premier shows on the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club calendar; The Destination Eustis Vintage Motorcycle Show! I attended this show last year and although I am unable to attend for this year I was so impressed that motopsyco.com is one of many fine sponsors of the event this year. At this time I am definitely planning to return in 2016.

Please note that just because this is a VJMC show does not mean only Japanese bikes, Bring out any old iron you have be it American, British, or European there are classes for everything as long as it is vintage!

Just a reminder that this Vintage Motorcycle Show will take place inside the Lake County Fairgrounds EXPO Building. It is a secure facility with the ability to load and unload motorcycles inside the facility in the event that it rains. This is a premier VJMC show venue. There will be no Bike for Sale signs on any bike entered into the show. Also only bikes entered in the show will be displayed in the main expo building.

Here’s a little walk through of last years show to give you an idea of the quality of machines you can expect to see there.

The International Motorcycle Swap Meet and Vintage Motorcycle Show is taking place at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Eustis, Florida March 6-8, 2015. This year’s event continues a legacy of more than 20 years of vintage motorcycle events at this location. We would like to thank the City of Eustis for graciously supporting this event. Once again they will host in our honor a Downtown Block Party on Friday evening, March the 6th. On Saturday, March the 7th local business will provide entertainment and local restaurants will open their doors for all event attendees. So come join us as share our event with the City of Eustis and their local businesses.

For more information or to register for the show please click on this line.

Welcome to the Asylum

Crazy About Motorcycles!

Category Archives: 2 Wheeled Fun

Destination Eustis 2016 Motorcycle Show

Friday at the Destination Eustis 2016 Motorcycle Show

Saturday at the Destination Eustis 2016 Motorcycle Show

Scooter Mania & Other Afflictions

First there was an old 70cc Passport.

Next step to Scooter Mania came as a Honda Helix 250…

Moto Guzzi V9 – The Universal Custom

Honda CM400 Custom Project wAmmo Finished

The 2015 Bull City Rumble

The 2015 National Bikers Roundup

The 2015 VJMC National Rally Day 2

2015 VJMC National Rally Day 1

2015 Carolina Classic Motorcycle Show

Destination Eustis Vintage Motorcycle Show

Friday at the Destination Eustis 2016 Motorcycle Show

Saturday at the Destination Eustis 2016 Motorcycle Show

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First there was an old 70cc Passport.

Next step to Scooter Mania came as a Honda Helix 250…

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