Big Bend Triumphs, finishing the 1948 BSA WM-20, and the "Hater" bike.

My buddy Jake Hayhurst brought “Frank” (short for Frankenstein,) a 1971 Bonneville frame with a 1973 750cc engine. Frank and Goldie seen here in front of Jake’s tent, just hanging and dreaming about the desert.

Our group of eight minus one (I was behind the camera.) These guys were awesome to ride and hang with, and are now my brothers. Our group was made up of three Ducati Scramblers, two modern Triumph Bonnies, a lone Kawasaki 250, and two 1971 Triumphs. Big Bend is an almost surreal environ, with a stark beauty that is hard to forget.

Goldie’s exhaust bracket with a stress crack and the bush-fix that allowed me to keep riding after the pipe completely fell off while riding. Just prior to this we were running somewhere North of 80MPH. Certainly glad it didn’t happen then!

Jake’s brother, Daniel and Paul Risse up the side of a mountain, and our bikes seen as small dots on the roadside below. The Rio Grande river can be seen on the left, with Mexico on the other side.

On a particularly deep sand and gravel wash, where riding was akin to being on ice. That’s Jake on Frank, ready to ride.

Some changes on the 1999 Honda Z-50 “Hater” bike since the July post. A heavy-duty manual clutch and Takegawa hydraulic clutch actuator, a freshly repainted tank with the underside reformed to accommodate the Mikuni VM26 carb, and fresh graphics for the whole bike were some of the changes.

A larger 17 tooth counter sprocket, new Renthal Gold MX chain and chain roller, alloy footpegs, new folding shifter, and a larger air filter rounded out the rest of the changes.

The 1948 BSA WM-20 came back to the shop briefly to find a loose tail light wire. While it was here again, a custom snap-on air filter was made.

The filter was made from two different sizes of brass mesh and a brass strip making the bezel. An o-ring inside keeps it quite snug on the velocity stack.

Custom tail light and license plate bracket, rear grab bar, kickstand lever, sorted electrics, new carb, gas leaks fixed, and an engine revival, and she is ready for riding again.

Green bikes, rolling papers, Yamaha revival, drag truck, Z50’s, T-shirts and more.

An indicator light was added to the BSA to remind you when the battery is switched on. The red lens is from a WW2 era military aircraft, lit by a neon bulb.

A new Amal 276 pre-monobloc carb plus getting the points set correctly makes for easier starts.

This Linus motorized bicycle and the BSA M20 above are going to be heading home soon. It looks great sitting there and is a blast to ride, but I can use the space back in the shop.

My buddy Brian Memphis Hunt’s “Dirty Memphis” mini dirt monster. Built for the final MiniMoto Supercross in Las Vegas in 2013 to compete in the 88cc vintage class. It has a KLX 110 set of forks, billet alloy triple trees, Pro Taper XR50 bars, ASV folding levers, alloy swingarm, Snow Hog tires, custom tall seat, and 330mm Yoshimits shocks. This one is a ton of fun in the dirt, and set up for an adult rider.

A Honda Trail Bikes ported race head and cam, 20mm carb and intake, 4-speed transmission, manual clutch, lightened flywheel, Pro Circuit pipe, extended brake pedal, heavy duty footpeg mount, and a Fast 50’s skidplate went on a brand new OEM frame. There are few hours on this bike, and it is FOR SALE! Contact me if interested.

The 1973 Yamaha CT3 is back in business. A used right engine center case, tranny output shaft and a couple of gears replaced the broken ones. Still waiting on a new petcock to be done with this one. It will be for sale when done.

A new Wiseco piston went into the CT3 freshen-up.

Got the 100% cotton Davmomoto shirts from local screen printer Norman Roscoe. Available in limited quantities.

My nephew Blaine Mills was in town to drag race his square-body Chevy truck this past week-end, and his pitbike got a quick make-over while he was here. The before shot with bent bars. It ended up with an 88cc bore kit, race head, high volume oil pump, heavy duty clutch, new wire harness and keyswitch. Bars were straightened, electrical system and exhaust were restored, the brakes were made functional again, and a few more details done, and she is a ripper!

The bars are straightened in this pic and a new throttle slide, cable and grips have it all working like new. The wire harness arrived all taken apart, key switch missing, exhaust spacers and seals were missing, tank mounting rubber was missing, and the brakes were non functional, but everything was set back in order and delivered back to Blaine in less than 48 hours. A new set of tires and wheels are on the way, and will be put on the next time we get together.

Sunset at North Star Dragway. Blaine took first in his class! Chicken dinner time.

1957 Triumph Thunderbird, 1993 Harley-Davidson FXR, and Yamaha CT-3 updates.

A good start, but miles to go…The tank appears to be a 60’s-70’s 500cc model that was modified to accept a custom tank-top rack and knee pads. The fork is 1967-70 legs with a modified 1957 lower triple, and top clamp from a 1962.

Lysette-style seat springs. Pretty comfy even without a cover. The brass container is an oil catch can from a hit-and-miss engine that has a spigot to oil the chain.

Working on the 1993 H-D FXR.. Without the battery and oil tank, the bike looks a little lighter. The battery box will need to be modified a little to allow for a swingarm mounted rear fender. A rear monoshock conversion is being contemplated.

The Harley Wide-Glide fork innards. The spacers fit on the fork cartridge plungers and drop the front end by a couple inches.

The rear shocks look like they could be a little longer to get the stance right. Factory mid pegs and controls replace the forwards the bike came with. A set of low tracker style handlebars are coming from Biltwell.

Some of the carnage inside the 1973 Yamaha CT-3. Apparently the bike was wrecked during an errant wheelie. My guess is that the kickstart was jammed on while the engine was revved, shearing off the gear and end of the output shaft. The sheared tranny shaft gear normally lies between the primary shaft of the tranny and the kickstart gear. A coming parts engine will hopefully have intact replacements.

A new Wiseco piston kit is on the way to replaced this scored one.

Some of the right engine case destruction. Blow-out of the kickstart spring notch, a deep gouge where the gear went wobbly, and an oil galley wall (that sprays the primary gear) that got ground through. Pretty trashed, but it can all be fixed.