NACHOS SAYS HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

IT BEGINS AGAIN.

Ahmed's Whizzer Rebuild

Ahmed had wrecked the shit out of his 60cc whizzer. I replaced the front end, rebuilt the front hub with a solid axle instead of quick release (!),  re-attached the clutch cam housing and added a lever with the correct amount of cable pull so the clutch would work, rebuilt the axles, tuned the carb, fixed the kill switch, replaced the broken throttle with an old Suzuki control, rebuilt the back hub so the brakes would work and the chain ring wouldn't rub on the brake arm, added a front brake (!),  trued the wheels and generally tightened everything to spec w/loctite. My final verdict after the test: whizzers are fun but totally dangerous. I gave Ahmed an extra helmet and told him he wasn't allowed to crash anymore.

Cute!

 

BRAT STYLE

I really wish there was another name for this kind of bike....every time I say it I hear "Gangnam style" in my head.
Still a cool bike though...

ONE OF MY FAVORITE PANHEAD'S

Found this cool sketch of one of my favorite all time bikes. Chopper Dave knows  how to do it.

AND THE WINNER IS...

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SWEET SIMPLICITY

There are so many wires inside a late model fairing that it's hard to believe chopped bikes can run on 15 wires and less. Sometimes technology doesn't simplify things.

MAKING A LIVING

...Top End

Charlie's Place - where old Hondas go to LIVE!

A line-up of old bikes, a bit of signage - it can only be a classic bike specialist

The classic bike world is full of specialists - it's just that sometimes it's hard to find one in your backyard. Read the British classic bike magazines and weep at the range of specialists that any old bike enthusiast has to choose from. But buyer demand is creating new businesses here in Australia and in major markets like the USA. In the States, the supply of classic British and Japanese bikes seems never-ending (although the day must come when the container-loads of old bikes shipped to Australia, the UK and even back to Japan must slow to a trickle). We've blogged before about the classic, custom and cafe racer bike scene in the US - it's big enough to encourage Aussie-founded Deus ex Machina to set up in Los Angeles and to spawn new stores such as Iron & Resin (see previous blog).
There are also US-based specialist shops that are ahead of the curve, with an established reputation that pre-dates the swing away from mega-buck custom showbikes to budget builds and beautifully-engineered cafe racers. These shops use classic Brit and Japanese bikes as the basis for some great builds. Some of them have built a reputation for restoring classic bikes and reproducing parts - or supplying new parts that bring modern standards of performance and reliability to older bikes.

There's no lettered sign outside - but Charlie's Place is unmistakeable.

One such specialist is Charlie's Place, a focused repair, restoration and build shop in San Francisco's colorful Mission district. Established by Charlie O'Hanlon in 1993, Charlie's Place is unapologetic in its specialisation. The signs outside say it all:
We do not sell motorcycles - Service, Repair and Part Sales Only
We repair old Honda motorcycles only! We do not fix mopeds, bikes or scooters
And a favorite for any workshop:
We do not lend tools!
On a recent visit, Charlie was good enough to spend a few minutes talking about the shop, customers, and some of the special parts the team has developed. (And don't under-estimate how valuable that bit of time is to Charlie and guys like him - they're there to work. Talk with genuine customers is part of the job. Social chit-chat with casual visitors and tyre-kickers doesn't get the job done or the bills paid.)

Read the signs...

As the sign says, Charlie's Place specialises in the repair and restoration of older-model Honda motorcycles. That's it - no YamaKawaZukis. No Beezas, no Trumpies, no Dukes, no Guzzis, no Hardly Ablesons (a blessed relief...). Lined up outside on busy 17th Street there are Hondas from the Sixties, Seventies, Eighties and even the Nineties. There are neat, original CB160s, CB400F Super Sports, the occasional cruiser-style aberration from the Eighties... Inside the workshop it's more of the same - classic Hondas in every state of repair, restoration or servicing. And hanging from every available space are complete bikes and a range of tanks and other parts that would be the envy of any Honda restorer-builder-collector.
Charlie has developed a range of specialist parts in addition to the usual bits that need replacing in any rebuild or restoration. One of his newest items is a range of electronic ignition systems for most 12-volt Honda street bikes. Apparently this system is magic on early 450 twins, but there's a model that's equally effective for Honda's other early twin-cylinder bikes and on the SOHC fours.

Charlie's Place built this neat CB350
for local bike journo Gabe Ets-Hokin

We heard about Charlie's Place on a previous visit to San Francisco when we ran into motorcycling journo Gabe Ets-Hokin. Charlie built up a neat Honda CB350 cafe racer that Gabe rides at every opportunity, and it seemed everyone in the San Francisco Bay area whom we talked to about early Hondas had either been to, or was about to take their bike to Charlie's Place.
So if you own a classic Honda and you're in San Francisco, you're in luck. Charlie's Place will fix it, fettle it, or turn it into a stylish street custom.
If you're like the rest of us, and a long way from the mean streets of the Mission district, check out Charlie's online store - we certainly will.
http://www.charlies-place.com/PAGES/Store%20Home.html

When he has time away from fixing classic Hondas and building custom bikes, Charlie likes to create unique mechanical sculptures
such as this custom sign, Charlie's Winged Dream. Check out Motozilla on his website!

A workshop exclusively for old Hondas

Wall-art

 

Classic Honda CB160 awaits Charlie's attention

 

 

Leon's Peugeot 103 SP Rebuild

Treats sent Leon my way to fix his trusty ol' pug 103 SP....can you say basket case? We later found out it had been knocked over in a line of motorcycles and wrecked twice. This explained why the end of the crankshaft had broken off in the flywheel and the axle mount on the front fork was busted off. We replaced the front end of the bike. There were several vacuum leaks from worn seals and a Malossi intake that was not very well cast and had to be milled flat. Oh yeah, the bearings were shot, too. The bike had all the symptoms of coil failure, a very common pug problem (or any moped with original internal ignition coil). However, we had to get the flywheel off to replace the coil, which involved drilling out the bent & broken crankshaft after blowtorch & pullers did nothing except rip the threads off the flywheel (and my puller). Therefore, we had to replace the crank & flywheel....ie, total rebuild of the bottom end of the motor. No problem, except the first crank we got was out of spec. The threads on the variator side were .1 mil off and had to be re-tapped. When we tried to fire it up, it quickly became apparent that something was not right, and turns out the lobes were off by about a mil from being the right width for the case. Although it was properly shimmed & centered when assembled, it quickly wandered under the stress of running. It was replaced with a Gilardoni crank, which worked flawlessly. As the only available internal ignition coil was too small, CDI was the only option for electrics. This CDI was installed. No problem with the CDI, but the flywheel was junk: the glue holding the magnet to the housing didn't, and the timing mark flew off....Treats replaced the defective flywheel with this one and once installed, the bike ran like a champ. 

Yikes.

DIY woodruff key (no stock key, remember?)

Chinese

VS.

Gilardoni

Re-assembly!

FENDERS

CHROME

Chrome won't get you home, and black is cooler anyways.

CAMS ARE COOL

POTENTIAL.

WHY I DO IT...

Yesterday was my families thanksgiving supper, all the usual suspects were there. It is a good mix of friends and relatives, and always a good time.
A close family friend asked me why I do what I do.
Obviously I'm not wealthy from it, and I'm definitely not doing this to watch myself on T.V.
So why?
I do this because there is nothing as satisfying as building a machine, or even parts of a machine, and knowing that you accomplished it completely on your own. Modifying someone else's work is interesting, but not quite the same.
Even the smallest most simple parts can last a lifetime if they are built well.
Honestly, I don't know why anyone wouldn't do this?

S

HIBERNATION IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!

Took this picture Yesterday afternoon. This means winter is almost here...I know it's not great news.
On the upside, winter is a perfect time for you to drop your bike off and have us do that service or custom work you have been waiting for!
Still have bookings available, but it is closing fast!
Drop us a line by email or phone anytime, and we would be glad talk about it.