Tag Archives: suzuki

The 20 Foot Restoration Part Two

Posted on by motopsyco

When I posted this morning this was the picture of my stopping point last night.

The engine was still sitting on the bench looking like this.

<nasty filthy engine>

and most of the small parts hadn’t been touched yet & most of them had a thick coating of baked on red clay mud. But with the aid of my beautiful assistant I was able to get it back together this far.

<my fantastic old lady>

<ts185 frame & engine>

It’s been a long time since I have pulled a hard weekend thrash on any vehicle like this, the fact that I didn’t have to push so hard was part of the challenge for me. When I was younger I spent may a weekend or late night wrenching non stop just to be able to get back to work on Monday, and it’s really nice not to be in that situation any more. It’s also nice to know that I can still pull it off if I have to.

<ts185 20 foot restoration>

So far so good, now of to order the rest of the parts that I didn’t anticipate needing! Appearance wise this might be a 20 foot restoration but all of the mechanical bits will be in 100% working order!

The 20 Foot Restoration

Posted on by motopsyco

Finally started the repairs & upgrades to the old TS185. It was in dire need of new steering head bearings and brakes. A set of matching dual sport tires wouldn’t hurt either, along with a thousand other little things. So the day before yesterday I pulled it all the way down to a bare frame.

<81 ts185 before>

This is not going to be a show quality restoration by any stretch of the imagination. You may have noticed that the title of this post is The 20 Foot Restoration. If you’ve never heard that term before it describes a vehicle that looks really good from a distance of 20 feet or more, but when you get up close you can still see the dings & other imperfections.

If the skid plate had been removable I probably would have left the engine in the frame for all of this as it runs excellent. But the skid plate is an integral part of the frame, and the area between it and the engine was packed with a mixture of red clay mud & two stroke oil. Plus there was some damage to repair.

<ts185 skid plate damage>

After getting it cleaned up reasonably well, I took some body hammers to it, straightened it up some,  and the welded all of the broken bits back together. Then I hit it with the wire brush & sandblaster before shooting a coat of rattle can primer.

<motorcycle frame on clothes line>

All of the frame bits & pieces are painted with some some cheap spray on truck bed liner, while parts such as the shock bodies etc. are being done in brake caliper paint. I disassembled the shocks & dropped the springs into a bucket of metal rescue to soak overnight. they’re not perfect but they look a lot better.

<oem ts185 shocks repainted>

After 2 days of hard work this was my stopping point last night, this morning I am going out to detail the engine as much as I can without actually taking it apart. and will continue the reassembly of this poor old thing.

<fresh painted TS185 frame>

<The VJMC>

2015 Carolina Classic Motorcycle Show

Posted on by motopsyco
<Carolina Classic Motorcycle Show>

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.

<1929 Indian Scout>

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

<29 Indian Scout engine>

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.

<1st Gen Suzuki Katana>

<81 82 83 Suzuki Katana>

No motorcycle show is complete without a couple of nice Harleys

<old shovelhead Harley>

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

<Evel Kneivel replica sportster>

Is that cool or what?

Some really nice British iron was there also.

<triumph tr6>

<Norton Commando 750>

<77 Triumph Bonneville sidecar>

 

Some off road racers were being shown as well.

<CR Honda & YZ Yamaha>

<restored Suzuki TS185>

The cafe racer crowd was well represented.

<classic cafe racers>

<80 CB650 Cafe Racer>

A very tasty looking Yamaha RZ350 Kenny Roberts signature edition.

<RZ350 Kenny Roberts>

<2 stroke Yamaha>

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

<rat yamaha chopper>

Great looking patina on this old Norton

<Norton Rat>

<Norton Rat>

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

<Honda VFR1000 Interceptor>

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

<historic transportation>

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

<Yamaha Seca Turbo>

Yamaha Seca Turbo

<Sears Puch 250 Twingle>

Sears Puch 250 Twingle

<1966 Honda Super 90>

1966 Honda Super 90

<the Gold Wings>

To see more visit the Triad Classic Motorcycle Club Facebook page

Peace Y’all

 

 

Destination Eustis Vintage Motorcycle Show

Posted on by motopsyco

<Destination Eustis Flyer>

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.

 

StoriesofBike Website of The Month December 2014

Posted on by motopsyco

<Stories_Of_Bike_Brat_Honda>

 

I have a confession to make. I love to watch hipster motorcycle videos. In fact they have to be downright stupid for me not to like them. Hell I’m even thinking about making one of my own, after all even though I am old as dirt I’m still so hip I have trouble seeing over my pelvis.

The website that will be brought to your attention today goes quite a bit beyond the typical bike videos normally produced by guys in small shops with custom wares to hawk or questionable skills to show off, and gets deeper into the personalities of the people who ride and love these motorcycles.

<Stories_of_Bike_Cafe_Suzuki_Tu250>

We all dream of riding

Based in Australia, Cam Elkins is the creator of Stories of Bike, with the aid of his brother Jack who creates the music that accompanies the videos. Yes there is a video or two involving your typical tattooed 20 somethings with piercings, flannel shirts, and fuzzy beards working on some variation of custom bikes. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and if that were all there is to it, watching these clips would still be a great way to waste a few minutes of your time on a fairly regular basis because of the strong production values the StoriesofBike.com team bring to the table .

<StoriesOfBike_Forge>

But these videos blow right past that, talking to the riders and builders in depth about motorcycles, life, love and how they came to be the people they are today. Yes there is fine machinery in these videos, but there are also fine people in these videos too, from different places & backgrounds but all connected by a common love of riding motorcycles. When you watch one of these clips you end up feeling like you know the person or persons being filmed & interviewed, a very difficult feat to pull off in the short film format.

The video embedded below especially touched my heart, there is nothing better than love that lasts all the way to the end. This is my favorite video at StoriesofBike.com watch it all the to the end.

 

 

Love baby, it’s what makes life worth living, especially when you have motorcycles to go with it.

So is StoriesofBike Website of the Month material? I absolutely think so, let me know if you like it as much as I did

<Stories_of_Bike_Poster>

Peace Y’all,

Psyco

Attention Deficit Project Disorder!

Posted on by motopsyco

Well it was another rough week at that thankless job that I go to everyday of every week to keep the lights on around here until my web store catches fire & I can sell enough products to retire from everything but blogging. (go buy something, click on any ad here and help a brother break free!) My original plan for the evening was to go climb up in a tree  & try to shoot Bambi’s father, but it was starting to rain kinda hard when I got home so instead I decided to grab a beer, & carry the forks that the mail carrier just dropped off from the house out to the shop and maybe work on fitting them to the CM400 bobber that I’ve been tinkering with for the last few months, but decided that the shop really needed cleaning up a little before proceeding so I pushed some of the junk bikes out into the rain for more room.

<honda bobber frame & seat>

What’s under your desk?

Then I moved the two portable work benches back to the sides of the shop to clear up floor space. Then I decided to go ahead & start soaking my new to me,old pile of junk Suzuki with penetrating oil so that it would come apart easier when I go to replace the rear inner tube and the 40 or 50 other parts it probably needs to be trail worthy. Of course it’s a lot easier for an old fart to work on a motorcycle if he doesn’t have to bend over so I grab the old furniture truck ramp from the yard and dig through my lumber pile for a couple of timbers to set it up on since my motorcycle lift table is loaded down with my CB360T restoration project. For some reason as I was digging through my scrap lumber pile, a misshapen piece of wood that was left over from some long forgotten construction project jumped into my hand and said, “hey look at me, wouldn’t I make the perfect Plains Indian gunstock war club?” But by this time I had enough of a buzz going that there was no way you could ever get me near the bandsaw so I threw it back on  the pile, got the timbers and headed back inside to prop up the dirtbike. Hopefully I can find it again when I am sober & have some time on my hands as it would go so well with my Hawken,  powder horn etc. In fact it would look really sweet hanging up next to my black powder shotgun if I ever finish building it….

Can you see the pattern here? It’s a serious disease that afflicts middle age men. ADPD Attention Deficit Project Disorder It’s incredibly dangerous, because the problem just gets bigger & bigger. You become an addict scanning Ebay & Craigslist for just the right item at the right bargain basement price. The problem is that you don’t need it, there are a dozen projects, plus your honey-do list ahead of it, and just as sure as hell your boss will start demanding extra overtime on top of what you already work, so your discretionary income is temporarily enlarged while your time to enjoy it is diminished, this leads to more shopping & less doing until your place starts to look like a salvage yard, and your neighbors start calling you Fred G. Of course this is also the time when everything in your house will break down too, so you have to take care of those things first. Sure you could pay someone to fix the plumbing or the light fixture but for two things 1; the guy you call can’t do it any better than you can & maybe not even as good. 2; You just scored the deal of the century on another old piece of shit motorcycle, gun, car, jeep, boat, plane or what ever your addiction is & spent the money already.

<1980 Suzuki TS185>

At any rate I got the TS185 up on the ramp so I can work on it, but since the weather is supposed to be nearly perfect for riding tomorrow, it was time to give the old CB650 a good going over & adjust the chain so I stopped to do that instead. Hey you got to look after your main squeeze if you want her to look after you! Well it’s been fun blogging with a little buzz going on, but right now I need to find a carb kit & battery for the 1969 CJ5 under the carport & figure out when I’m going to get time to fix my tractor so I can keep the wood lot clean & get the garden ready for next year. Then maybe I can relax, watch a little television while checking out the crack-list on my tablet.

Peace Y’all
//

Oops I Did It Again. A Junkyard Dog Double Feature. (updated w/ video)

Posted on by motopsyco

I went prospecting for rusty gold again. Brought home a couple of early 80’s Suzukis.

image

One is an RM 80 condition unknown, some parts missing,  in fact I am not even sure what year it is. This one is truly a junkyard dog and it is for sale right now as is where is, to the first person willing to give me $50

image

The second one is a 1980 Suzuki TS185. It’s rough but will start and idle.

image

I really like the headlight assembly.

image

There are plenty of interesting crusty bits on this one.

image

image

Overall this old cycle is not the worst I I have ever tried to restore.  At this point my plan is for a basic restomod as a woods bike, but if too many of the parts needed for that are not available, it may become a “brat style” custom scrambler.

image

Peace Y’all

Ton Up NC Blog The July 2014 Website of the Month

Posted on by motopsyco

I first heard of the Ton Up Club during a visit to the International Motorcycle Show in 2013, they had a cool display setup with a bunch of neat vintage motorcycles and flyers for their upcoming shows. Last September I visited the Bull City Rumble and saw just what a great show (and party) these fine people over in NC can throw & I’ve been keeping up with them ever since.

About a month ago they published a really cool post, “After the Flood, The BSA That Refused to Die.” After reading it I immediately hit them up for permission to link to it. No I’m not going to give you the details, click on the link and go read the post for yourself.

<bsa motorcycle survivor>

In the last few weeks that annoying as hell real life that pays the bills got in the way & I am just now getting around to sharing this post and decided just to make

Ton Up NC the website of the month, so go check them out and let them know that the old ‘Psyco sent you.

Of course if you are not in the great South-land but are really into vintage style Cafe Racer customs you might want to check out the site of Ton Up North America to see what is going on near you, the home page itself seems out of date but there are links to the local chapters, that can probably get you up to speed an what they are doing.

Peace Y’all

Thoughts on a Good Weekend.

Posted on by motopsyco

Here is a little video I shot of the show in Florida on March 8th 2014 enjoy. For my thoughts about the weekend keep reading below the vid.

Last weekend I did a few live blog posts while I was at the VMAs swap meet in Eustis Florida. Today after I’ve had a week to sitback and reflect upon ago I thought I would share of you things I learned from the experience did take a few used items for sale along with the display of Rock oil products and the battery or two, but my main goal really were to help publicize this blog, and just get out and have a good time and made some people. I am a member of the vintage Japanese motorcycle club so I went for the show and to help support the group. It turned out to be really great show using my favorite judging system which is 100 percent people’s choice the winning bikes decided by audience vote and not by a judging panel. This did lead to a couple of interesting surprises, such as in the all custom motorcycle class a heavily modified Tomos moped took first place while a Harley Davidson V-rod took second. It’s just totally crazy and restores my faith in humanity when things like that happen.

<bsa b50 mx>

T’was great fun and very educational for us meeting some of the other vendors and talking to them. I have a confession to make, I have made a point of deliberately avoiding large motorcycle rallies due to the snobbery of certain groups and types of posers riders and I had forgotten just how much fun it was truly hang out with a bunch of great old fashioned bikers who didn’t really care what you rode as long as you rode. I love old motorcycles of all kinds, hell I love most new motorcycles too, there are just certain styles of machine that I prefer and certain companies whose way of doing business leaves me cold. Motorcycling is about freedom, individualism & personal style not conformity to someone else’s expectations. 

<military bsa motorcycle>

<surplus BSA military motorcycle>

Mrs. ‘Psyco and I would like to thank the other vendors who were so helpful to us, especially the wonderful lady from Crazy Bob’s Biker Apparel who really helped us out with setting up our canopy.

<fine vintage japanese motorcycles>

everything I wanted growing up!

The show was actually very large but the swap meet area was not quite as big as I was hoping it would have be but it was still nice and there was a large variety of different motorcycles. Next time I go to a swap meet, especially if I’m selling I do want to camp out at the meet between the gas and the fact that I wanted to stay in a hotel this week’s profit was not existent but I had mainly went just to enjoy myself and have a good time. My beautiful financial manager said next time we should definitely camp out and she would have done it this time as she is the one who is hardcore where as I’m the old guy with the soft chewy center. In all honesty as far as taking used parts to a swap meet unless they are things that are really older and valuable from a strict point of dollars and sense you’re better off to sell them online, but you would miss the camaraderie the chance to stumble across the good deals or to find unique objects. Even so I have learned a few lessons and next time I won’t take any disassembled mid 80’s motorcycles project bikes and parts. Unless it is something that would be a really great deal to sell as a complete motorcycle those should be left at home, just pack & sell the things that are truly nostalgic. Almost all of my early seventy’s on the stuff was gone the first day I sold a few dirt bike parts, couple a spark plugs, & some points but that was pretty much it.

I should have bought this and installed an early GSXR1100 motor in it!

I should have bought this and installed an early GSXR1100 motor in it!

There were quite a few good deals to be had and next year I might have to leave room in the van so that I can do a little shopping myself. Since I returned home my day job has kept me wide freaking open so I have not even had the chance to fully unpack yet. At least I found a new owner for the Kawasaki that no one would even look at in Eustis, so it can be unpacked at its new home this week. Look for us at a few more events around the southeast this year.

<sweet cb650 cafe racer>

<euro trash>

euro trash makes for fun restorations

<honda st90>

It was great time and I hope to see you all on the road out there, somewhere, someday

Peace y’all

<early Sunday at Lake Eustis>

early Sunday at Lake Eustis

I should probably go back one day just to go fishing…

Why We Ride Film Motopsyco’s October Website of the Month!

Posted on by motopsyco
<Whyweridefilm.com ValleyOfFire>

It’s worth going to the website just for the great pictures like this.

Whyweridefilm.com

Let me be up front with you, when International Motorcycle Shows first posted the trailer for this movie on Facebook I almost didn’t click on it. So often these “documentaries” about motorcycling are so one dimensional that they seem to be written for a narrow group of riders and/or racers. While I have yet to see the movie itself I have watched the trailer about 10 times already! There are interviews with kids, moms, street riders, Harley aficionados, crotch rocket jockeys, & racers from a variety of two wheeled motorsports all talking about how much they love to ride motorcycles & trying to explain the feeling to the rest of the world. Those of us who already ride understand the passion that just overflows out with the words they speak. Hopefully some of the normal people that get dragged to this film by friends and family will feel it too, and if they don’t at least want to try it will at least get an understanding of what draws us to these machines that so many people mistakenly see as deathtraps.

<whyweridefilm.com Sturgis>

another fantastic pic from whyweridefilm.com

I ride a motorcycle & I love it. When I was a skinny little nerdy kid it was my favorite escape. No matter how bad my days at school were, when I slid that two stroke Kawasaki around a curve in the woods behind the cow pasture & then jumped one of the hills at the side of the canal ditch I was the ultimate 6th grade badass and all was right with the world! Today most of my riding is commuting back & forth to work on my ancient Honda, but it is still my escape and when everything is just right, I still roll on the throttle exiting that last turn before a long straight and pin it to the stop, while the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson whispers in my ear, “screw it on you big pussy” as the speedometer hurtles toward that magic number that all the Ton Up Boys lived & died for. It has been approximately 37 years since I got my first motorcycle and even though age and injuries have made me more cautious it still thrills me. Just like the first time! Every time. Even when just putting around at slow cruising speeds like the old fart that I am becoming. Bottom line is, I’ll quit riding when I die.

Even if you don’t visit the website at least click on this line and go watch the trailer!   Then come back here & tell me & the rest of the world why YOU ride in the comments section. I am going to close this out by quoting from the synopsis on the movie website.

“Your senses will heighten as the world rushes in, your heart will beat to the pulse of the engine, your mind will race and set you free. Once you let a motorcycle into your life, it will change you forever.”

Sums it up for me,

Peace Y’all