Generations Look At Relative Value

This On Slipped Away...

Thanks to Harley Não Aceita Desaforo

http://bittenco.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-08-24T06%3A11%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=15

I would like to thank the people behind Harley Não Aceita Desaforo for linking to Cling On For Dear Life.

It is always a great honor and a certificate of quality when somebody think that you are worthy of a link on their webpage.

Thank you very much guys...

31mm Keihin Race Carps Has Arrived

Old And Busted vs. New Hotness

The Honda Hawk - Worlds Fastest CB750

This is a story of maybe the fastest CB750 ever, and hardly anyone has ever heard about it...

This is the story of one of the most eccentric challenges Honda has ever undertaken – the pursuit of the world land speed record. The was a skunk works project like mission that distracted a small but dedicated group of American Honda Employees for the better part of two years during the early 1970s.

Honda pursuit of the world land speed record was the brainchild of general manager of American Honda Masa Suzuki. Suzuki dedicated that it would be tremendous boost for Honda’s public relations effort if the company set a new absolute land-speed record for two-wheeled vehicles at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Dubbed the Honda Hawk the machine was a conventional streamliner motivated by tandem turbocharger CB750 engines. The Hawk chassis was actually build by a Wisconsin-based company called Reaction Dynamics which had previously done development work on the record-holding, rocked powered Blue Flame streamliner. The Company spared absolutely no expense in creating the Hawk – a gorgeous machine, fitted with a sophisticated data-acquisition system that charted a dozen inputs, and high-tension drive chains that were packed in grease that cost $55 a quart. Despite this no-holds-barred attitude, the Hawk effort was never to achieve its goals.

According to Bob Jameson, one of the participants in the Hawk project, the effort was fatally flawed from the beginning. “First of, it was a PR project, not an engineering project”, Jameson says. “The project was pretty much governed by Honda’s advertising company – they prepared the contracts, established the sates of the runs – everything. And what they knew about running a land-speed record team, who knows?!"

But what was more troubling, Jameson says, was the attitude of the Honda bosses driving the project. Suzuki was a real ego guy, a fame and glory guy, a beat-your-chest guy. Jameson remembers. “He wanted to have the spotlight all to Honda, so we were alone on the salt”. This lack of experience, Jameson says, was the biggest stumbling block. With the exception of the limited help from Reaction Dynamics, the Hawk was entirely an internal project. And with the exception of Jameson, no one on the team had ever been to Bonneville before. The driver, an experienced road racer named John Mckibbon, had hardly exceeded 150 miles per hour, much less 300 miles per hour, and had never even sat in a streamliner. If you want to go fast, you find people who know how to go fast. Honda apparently paid no mind to this important rule?

The Honda land-speed effort got off to a bad start things quickly got worse. Honda made its first land speed record attempt in the fall on 1971, immediately following the Bonneville Speed week. Conditions were less than cooperative: Weather during the first runs was everything you don’t want for a record attempt - including rain and strong crosswinds. There were also mechanical problems, including a non-functioning rev limiter that led to and epidemic of bend valve stems. Worse McKibbon was having a terrible time keeping the Hawk upright.

To create the Hawk, Reaction Dynamics had basically borrowed the front design from its earlier and more successful Blue flame. The only problem was that the Blue Flame was a tricycle chassis geometry did not appear to be compatible with the motorcycle chassis at speed. The result was that McKibbon and the Hawk fell down a lot – nearly every run. By the end of the first day, the once gorgeous Hawk was salt scarred on both sides and held together with duct tape. McKibbon did eventually cross the 300 mil per hour barrier, breaking the traps one time at 305 miles per hour. Unfortunately the streamliner was travelling on its side at the time, and McKibbon broke his hand in the process.

After a few fruitless days on the salt the Honda team swallowed its pride and placed a phone call to Don Vesco, the former Honda road racer and land-speed legend whose assistance they had earlier refused. Dix Erickson, another member of the team, raced down to Tesco’s shop in California to borrow the front end from Tesco’s own record-holding streamliner, in a last-ditch attempt to find some stability. Once Vesco’s front clip was put on, the Honda team made some promising runs, but none that they could turn around quickly enough. Timing rules require that any record runs be backed up with another. Finally, time and weather ran out, and Team Honda was forced to retreat back to California without the title of the World’s Fastest Motorcycle, much to the chagrin of the ad department, which was so confident in the inevitability of Honda’s accomplishment that it had already finished an entire ad campaign built around the nonexistent record. The Honda team rushed to rebuild the front end of the Hawk, and brought it back to Bonneville once more in late October – but winter had arrived on the salt by then, and the wet surface prevented record speeds from being attained. In the end, Honda never did achieve a land-speed record with the twin-engined Hawk.

During the off-season, the team constructed an entirely new Hawk, with a totally different body and chassis concept, but this second-generation machine never even made it to the salt. Funding was cut and the mission was aborted before the Hawk II could even be rolled out of the shop. Ironically, all the landspeed glory in the 1970s went to former Honda racer Don Vesco and his Yamaha and Kawasaki powered streamliners.

This Weeks Cling On Girls...

...Will Send You To Jail!!!

I Loving Memory Of The CB750

It's Better In The Wind (The Movie)

After the book I am really looking forward to the movie this summer....

http://www.itsbetterinthewind.com/

It's Better In The Wind - Short Film Announcement from Scott Toepfer on Vimeo.

It's Better In The Wind - 2011 Trailer 2 from Scott Toepfer on Vimeo.

Kott Motorcycles - Orange CB750

This bike was built with the idea in mind to potentially emulate what Honda might do with a throwback style bike. In order to achieve this the paint was an almost identical match to the early 70’s candy flake orange. The tank was also given the deep knee cutaways for rider comfort. The gusset style rearset plates were c.n.c cut and fit into the frame at the existing passenger peg frame rail. The oil tank was also a new design that incorporates the 1 and 3/4 cooling hole directly through the middle of the tank. It was shaped in a way to match not only the radius of the rear tire but also to replicate the shape of the rearsets. This is a prime example of the full CB750 cafe package that has no spared expense.

http://www.kottmotorcycles.com

Dustin Kott On Café Racer Philosophy

The short film "Cafe Cowboy" is about Dustin Kott from Kott Motorcycles in California. The film gives an insight in to Dustin's world and philosophy on Cafe Racers he builds from 70's Japanese motorcycles - especially Hondas. This film is beautifully shot and featuring plenty of imagery of his hand built Cafe Racers...

Cafe cowboy from benedict campbell on Vimeo.

This Weeks Cling On Girl...

Is The Beautiful Una Skott 

http://www.telerouge.dk/

World's Fastest Electric Superbike - Mojave Mile!

What a cracy sound !!!! I Want one!!!

Mr. Paint Is Anxious!!!

Mr. Paint himself (Aka. Paulo Aka. Joe King : http://www.joeking.com.br/) send me this comment to the feed “Paint On Seat And Tank“

I am flattered to hear that my build get’s this kind of attention from all over the world. So thank you all for the comment, feedback and support.

I appreciate it…

Mmmmm..... Heaven!!!

Garage Company for Born Free 3 from Michael Schmidt on Vimeo.

1971 CR750 Replica on Ebay

This cool CR750 replica was finished in early 2010, and has been on display at the Vintage Days at Barber Motorsports Park.

The engine has been modified with CR type profile camshaft, Performance Cycle connecting rods, lightened crank, and lighten engine case… And of cause there has been fitted a set of 31 mm Keihin carbs.
The electrical system has also been updated with a dry lightweight charging system and Dyna ignitions.
The mean looking exhausted system was completed by Swarbrick Racing Competition Exhaust Systems in England.

The suspension has been upgraded with progressive shocks in the rear, and Race Tech fork springs in the front. The faring, seat and tank is from Air Tech, and the oil tank is custom made in aluminium.

NICE!!!

LINK: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300546644278&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3ASS%3AUS%3A1123#v4-38

A Thing Of Beauty...

Paint On Seat And Tank

The seat and tank was send to the painter yesterday...

Here is a sneak peak of how it will eventually look in 2-3 weeks from now. The color is still a secret folks, so you will just have to wait for the finished result.... But one thing is for sure, it will be as cool as a Danish winther...

The Honda CR 750 M3 Factory Racer

Hmm…. It seems like all the super cool CB/CR750 ends up in the Dubai desert these days…?

First the Wrench Monkees Gorilla Punch is bourght by some nightclub owner and put on display in a bar in Dubai, and now the celebrated Honda CR 750 M3 Factory Racer is living a new life close to the Dubai Autodrome.

The bike was constructed during the winter of 1996-1997 by Mark McGrew and the M3 crew, at the M3 Racing factory in Northern Minnesota. Mr Eric Charles recently bought the mind blowing CR750, and put it in his collection of historically relevant classic racers. Lucky guy…

This bike has start in such magazines as: Cycle World, Motorcyclist, Classic Bike UK, Cycle News, Classic Racer UK, AMA Magazine, and Mick Duckworths book "Honda CB750". So there is no doubt that this is a real star of the CR750s!

Thanks to the dab hand of French Legend Gilles Chauve the carbs has been given a thorough going over so the bike is now a 100% race ready again.

LINKS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WaDmh2GhoIc

http://www.m3racing.com/garagesale/factory_750.html

HONDA CR750 M3 RACING ENGINE:

Engine built by M3 Racing (92-93 HP @ 9800 RPM)
Nova Close Ratio gear box (newest updated version)
Lightened/balanced/micro polished crank with oil hole mods.
Carrillo conecting rods with Kelmet racing beariings.
Special M3 slipper type cam chain tensioner/Tsubaki racing chain.
Special M3 racing pistons/rings, set at zero deck height.
Special M3 racing grind camshaft by Web Cam.
Lightened/polished rocker arms with special M3 adjustimng lock nuts.
KPMI springs/Ti retainers and Black Diamond valves.
Cylinder head Ported/flowed by "Berreth Heads" to M3 specs.
Special primary drive hub with M3 modifications.
Dyna ingition with OEM advancer.
Special top cover with top engine mount by M3 Racing.
CR special 31mm carbs.
Heavy duty racing clutch.
Heavy duty primary chains.
OEM oil pump modified to M3 Racing specs.

SPECIAL PARTS:

22 liter RSC made factory fuel tank alloy with magnesium cap
Dick Mann seat/seat cover taken from Honda race team spares
Alloy factory RSC oil tank from Team Honda
RSC magnesium side cover for AC generator
Hand made megaphones by Rob North to factory "works" specs
Titanium front & rear axels, from Dick Mann spares
Titanium engine bolts & swingarm pivot from Dick Mann spares
RSC tachometer/oil pressure mounting plate
Factory RSC tachometer
Works Performance rear shocks built to M3 Racing specs.
Special alloy swingarm bearings and pivot system.

THE M3 CR750 AT DAYTONA:

Race Day No. 1

Race Day No. 2

Race Day No. 3