Back Street Heroes August 2016 preview

ISSUE 388 AUG 2016 £3.99

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TO GET TH EDITIO E DIGITAL NS APP SEA , SIM STREERCH FOR ‘BAPLY T H E APPLE ROES’ CK AP IN OR ON P STORE FOR THE GOOGL IPAD EP FOR AN CHECK DROID LAY OUT TH E B SH (BACK STREE FACEBOOK AND TH T HE R E OES) PAGE AT BACBSH FACEB OO K THE O STREET HERK GROUP FFICIA L GRO OES – UP

words & photos: GARRY STUART

DUSK ‘TIL DAW

THE GATHERING OF CHOPPER AND HOT ROD-LOVING FRIENDS THAT IS DUSK ‘TIL DAWN CAME ABOUT WHEN ONE OF THE GUYS IN THE CUSTOM/OLD SCHOOL COMMUNITY WAS GOING THROUGH A DIFFICULT TIME.

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ithout going into detail, his friends thought that organising an impromptu party of like-minded individuals would show support and boost his mood positively. The idea was to be a simple no-nonsense basic gettogether around a giant bonfire with beer, barbecue and (talking old) bollocks. Organised by Robin and Jim Simkins, and Andy and Anna Porter (the Trip Out People) on the Simkins’ family farm in Bedfordshire the get-together was

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promoted through their network of Facebook friends. The venue was only made known to those who expressed a wish to attend. The invitation by Andy Porter sums it up perfectly. He wrote “Dusk ‘Til Dawn Let The Good Times Roll Party.

Roll up with ya choppers, bobbers, diggers, vans, hot rods, custom trucks and come party with us in the old-fashioned way. Let me know if ya wanna come and we can leave the bullshit at home for a few hours.” The venue, the Simkins family farm, is ideal and even boasts a fishing pond. There’s a 12th century monastic building on the site which has an intricate

was accomplished by using waterless anti-freeze with a boiling temperature of 180 degrees. Much polishing was then undertaken, and the wheels and yokes were dipped to give them a carbon look. Another mate, Aidy, helped us with prepping the frame and engine which Duncan sprayed – a lot of people didn’t like my colour choices, but I think it’s worked out as I wanted it to in that the whole bike has, in my view, a somewhat understated appearance.

Riding the finished bike for the first time was the biggest surprise of all. With the new open exhaust and bell-mouth filters it was always going to sound quite rorty (which it certainly is), but even I was shocked at how good it sounds – nothing like a CX whatsoever. The handling too is amazing – even though it’s still on the stock, and by today’s standards, very skinny wheels, it goes round bends much more capably than any CX I’ve ever ridden; something helped, no doubt, by the fact

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SPEC:

that there’s not much weight to the bike now that we’ve cut so much of it off and replaced the traditionally heavy parts with much more modern lighter items. Duncan, another friend Lee and myself reckon it weighs in the region of between 130-160kgs (stock is 217!), although we have yet (yet!) to weigh it. As you can probably imagine though, it turns on a sixpence, steers neatly and precisely, and grunts out of corners in a way no ordinary CX ever will. And despite the high ‘pegs and the relatively thin seat it’s even quite comfortable too.

So am I pleased with it? Very! It’s been an interesting, fun and rewarding experience and, quite importantly (to me anyway), it shows that if you want to build a custom bike out of a CX500, you don’t have to just do a cafe racer…

ENGINE: 1980 Honda CX500, painted & detailed, rejetted carbs, bell-mouth filters, one-off exhausts, aftermarket oil breather, one-off radiator guard FRAME: 1980 Honda CX500, new one-off subframe, new shock mounts, one-off rear-sets FRONT END:

Stock Comstar wheel, Honda CB900F disc, Laverda 650 4-pot Brembo caliper/WP USD forks/yokes, braided stainless brake lines, aftermarket ‘bars/mastercylinders/switchgear/ electronic speedo, Bates grips

REAR END:

Modified swingarm/ drive shaft, one-off shock mounts, KTM RC8 WP shock, stock Comstar wheel/ brake, hydraulic brake

conversion, Aprilia RS 125 master-cylinder, modified stock torque arm

BODYWORK:

Modified Yamaha R1 front mudguard, modified stock petrol tank, one-off seat/ tail piece/side-mount ‘plate

ELECTRICS:

Modified stock loom, 5” aftermarket headlight, twin 50mm aftermarket tail-lights, aftermarket indicators PAINT: Bronze/ titanium by Duncan Mason

POLISHING: Owner

ENGINEERING:

Frame, yokes, front & rear brakes, swingarm, tank mounts, speedo mount, foot-rests & assemblies, front mudguard mounts, rear hugger mounts, wiring tray by Duncan & Ricky Mason & owner

THANKS TO:

“Duncan; Ricky; Aidy; Lee; & Phil...”

e British th f o s d n u ro e So the first thre pionships have m a h C g in d il u Custom Bike B d fifteen bikes have been , an part of the been and gone t x e n e th to rd rwa picked to go fo ss! selection proce the magazine in re tu a fe a They will go into e voted on by you, the b where they will , one in each e v fi t s ju e iv g readers, to Custom to o g l il w e v fi e os category, and th NEC in November.

Xtreme at the : rounds will be g in in a m re o The tw -14th Aug:

k& 21-24th July: Roc w Blues Custom Sho at the Coneygrey h, ic Showground, Pentr Derbyshire.

THE S D N A ORIE EG CAT LL BE: WI

11 HAMC’s Bulldog are Bash at Shakespe County Raceway, , n Stratford-upon-Avo Warwickshire.

ST PAINT NEW SCHOOL BE ST BE R PE OP CH BEST BEST CUSTOM (CAFE R OM ST RACER, STREET C.) STREETFIGHTE BEST CU ET SCRAMBLER,

sites at g to their web please go alon sh.co.uk and follow ke bi ur yo r te en ldogba If you want to and www.bul ndblues.com reen. ka sc oc er on .th ns w io w ct w t the destru ce so you don’ can only win on Of u u. yo t yo t bu es e, ar lik the one ne ows if you st sh ju – th ) bo se r ve ur te gi co en You can want to, of the other to th (unless you t n always go to need to go to bo n’t win at the first one, you ca sting events apply – check ou ho do e u th yo of if course, all the rules ils. r chance. And ebsites for deta yourself anothe their various w

Good luck!

ACK S REET HEROES AUGUST 2016

Outside Yamaha UK – just 420 miles on the clock

NEVER, THIS IS EST WE RAN A F CRACKER WITH NOT THE BEST-L

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fa en, ctive.

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nightmares so, in and not making a plan is to leave the pack well alone and ju on the bike’s cosmetics. the project bikes we’re do want them to all be bikes t there could built at home wit no CNC-machines or program cutters and the like, as long as bit of knowledge and a bit of cr From the first day we were tol getting an XSR to play with, I start you do, looking around for inspiration.

After a bit of random internet searchin

PART ONE

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WITH THE SEAT BASE MADE AND THE FRA W ’ BEEN CHATTIN T LS AB

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In this cas Taping the origin promising (Fig.1), stuck out and obs it stuck up higher t had unnecessary ho promising is a bit of the extent of the sti mudguard in maski the frame again an lines for the frame elt-tip pen (Fig.2). verything I cut the mu ir of tin-snips, but a cu uld’ve do . a in; I had o mo cycle to allo me t nsion and c k a osi n t

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words & pics: MR BRIDGES

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PART THREE

R KE, YOUR LADY, YOUBO BI R U YO OF CS PI D N SE IS ISN’T FACE OK) TO TH , ER N N DI R U YO OT BLOKE (BUT N EROES.COM NIK@ BACKSTREETH Andy Bass (on the left) and Paul Holmes back in 1980. They’re still best mates and still riding together... with less hair now obviously.

(Wendy Bass)

Rick sent this pic of two Harleys at Harley Street.

BELOW: Bill Talmage’s VW trike, brought back to life last winter with an almost complete rebuild apart from the engine (1.2 1971 lump). You don’t see many like that these days, do you?

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Mark Collet, no stranger to this magazine, built this mad-as-a-mad-thing XS1100. You wouldn’t want to slide backwards off that seat, would you?

NEXT MONTH:

HONEST INJUN MONSTER-MOTORED FENLAND BOBBER

BIKE SHED|WHEELS & WAVES|KILKENNY BIKE FESTIVAL|AND MORE!

2016 BIKERS

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