30 Apr 2015

GR650 - battery and electrics box

Last weekend:

Martin had some troubles with a leaking roof so we only worked on Saturday.
He finished the mudguard and worked on the exhaust and I worked on the battery and electrics box. 
The shape of the box is inspired by an old oil tank. With the paper mock up from the week before I first made a carton version and after some tweaking I used that to make a metal version. Next time
I'm going to weld the thing, looking forward to that! :)

But first it's time for our Rusty Gold Swap Meet!
Don't forget! Rusty Gold this sunday at the Cruise-Inn in Amsterdam. 
We are praying for good weather and we hope to see you all there!











GR650 two weeks ago

Two weekends ago:

Martin and I decided the rear of the GR needed some extra attention. So we chopped of the rear mudguard and tried to straighten the sub frame a little by grinding the frame on the right side, pushing it down a mm or two and welding it together again. It's hard to see in the pictures but it's a little better now. :)

Than we tried to attache the rear mudguard in a straight line on the frame. Wow, what a pain in the ass, it took us ages to get it right!!!  To be honest it still isn't perfect but it will do, ha!

Than Martin tried to make a nice flowing line from the rear mudguard to the frame and meanwhile I to worked on a paper and tape sketch for the battery box.












24 Apr 2015

Rusty Gold Swap Meet

Don't forget!
Next Sunday is the 4th edition of the Rusty Gold Swap Meet!!!
Bobbers, cafe racers, classic superbikes, street fighters, choppers, hill climbers, desert sleds, scramblers, drag racers, vmx bikes, all customs are more than welcome! And you can swap your rusty gold of course.
It's free, we have live music, nice food, hundreds of custom and classic bikes visit us each year and we have the feeling this year again will be amazing. You don't want to miss it, and we hope to see you there :)

This year we are looking for some extra help during the day to help the riders find a good parking spot. We have a free Barn Fresh x Sideburn T-shirt for the "traffic controllers" that could help us for a couple of hours, and we'll buy you a beer of course :) Please contact rustygoldswapmeet@gmail.com if you would like to help.

You can follow us on facebook

Cheers, 
Lenny and Zoran. 

17 Apr 2015

Raw Candy - CB500

My good friend Berend-Christiaan van Heuvelen, better know as BC to the rest of the world, built this beautiful CB500. It too him ages to send me these pictures, but it was worth the wait. :)

When I call BC he always answers the phone with: "Wat is er kapot aan je motor?" 
BC always helps me out on the phone when I have problems with one of my bikes, everything I know about fixing bikes I learned from him, thanks dude! 

Check out the rest of his work on his Raw Candy blog
About the bike:

"Hi lenny,
Last year, I 'built' or rebuilt this bike. It was supposed to be a café styled bike for myself, but then I got a call from Joost C. asking me if I had a bike for sale or could build him one.
I told him I'd like to build one. But I only make things I would like to ride myself.

He had a couple of requirements as well. First thing; Big tires. Second: a seat that would accommodate a passenger. And it had to have a lean look. Low when possible.

I liked the idea, but told him I would not use Firestone deluxe tires , pipe wrap or a thin flat seat. To me they are the custom bike equivalent of an Opel Vectra.

That was OK.;"As long as the tires are chunky, dude. They have to be big" was the reply.

The tank used is a cb 360 item with a nice patina. It was hanging from a beam in my shed and had been waiting to be used.

The headlight is an old car spotlight I had had for years as well. In a previous life it was chromed, but the chrome hadn't aged wel so I sanded it partiately through the copper underlayer to make it look nice with the tank.
Front forks are cb500 inner fork tubes mated to cb550 outer tubes. The cb550 ones are slightly taller, and make the forks look lower.
Wheels are the original hubs with powdercoated rims.
The front tire is 4.00/19. Rear tire is 4.50 / 18. (sufficient)
The engine is a cb550 unit. The back end of the frame is slightly altered. The shocks are slightly canted forwards to make the frame dimensions look better.
Rear mudguard is a vintage nos British item, which can be seperated in two pieces. Originally nessesary to remove the rearwheel out of a rigid or plunger frame. 
Now the end piece can be detached of for a more severe look.
The taillight is a repop lucas light. I made the seat from flat 1mm steel sheet and after foaming it, I sewed a diamond stitch cover for it .
After 'making the battery disappear' on a few bikes, I decided it was time for a simple visible battery box. On the way back from the photoshoot to the delivery I still had to pick up a few essential parts. So, no, that is not a very high-tech, invisible way of mounting something, the stuff is just missing there...If you don't see it , never mind.

Photo's Daphne van de Velde
 

Cheers, 
BC"