It's been many years since I've just gone out & got lost. Man is it fun.
THROWBACKS Season Opener
We had a great turn out for the first get together of the season. The total count was between 60 & 70 bikes. This is a bike event like no other. It's a family friendly event & you will not find a more diverse gathering of bikes & their riders anywhere. We get everything from rare & immaculate vintage rides to late model crotch rockets & quite literally everything in between. All this with no attitudes. It's a good vibe for sure. I almost forgot to mention, good food & live music. It really doesn't get much better than this. For the love of motorcycles. Dig it.
marine grade
I had the extreme pleasure of viewing this engine a couple of days ago when I met it's owner. He informed me that GM produced just a few of these small block 350's in the late 60's for marine use. This particular engine is obviously slightly modified. The intake is an opposing dual carb set up using Carter side draft carbs from the early corvettes. He also adapted the cam driven distributor from a '48 Ford flat head. It will soon find it's home in a 1940 Chevy pick up rat rod which also has many impressive modifications. Super cool for sure.
Glenn Hammond Curtiss
Recognize this guy? Well you should.
How about now? If you're in to the history of motorcycles, then no doubt you've seen this image.
Among many things, Glenn Hammond Curtiss helped write motorcycle history & according to wikipedia, is credited with creating the so called "soup can" or "tomato can" carburetor. My research has not been too in depth, but so far, I have not found evidence to back this up. The image above is of Mr. Curtiss aboard the worlds first V-8 motorcycle on which he set an unofficial land speed record of 136.36 in 1907 & became known as the fastest man on earth.
But back to the carburetor. Weather or not Mr. Curtiss was or was not in fact the creator of the "soup can carburetor" is not my point here. My point is simply this: With a little imagination, there are no limits to what you can create from literally almost nothing. Many would be builders these days (thanks to the media) seem to be under the impression that building a motorbike is impossible without the use of million dollar machinery. Well, a quick look back in history shoots that theory all to hell. Imagine what tools Mr. Curtiss had at his disposal back in 1907 & this man built entire motorcycles, including their engines. Not only that, he built them well enough to set records with them. Fact is, a hack saw, a couple of hand files, hammers & a small torch will take you a long way. Throw in an inexpensive welder & hell, you could go to the moon.
Get your hands dirty. No excuses.
How about now? If you're in to the history of motorcycles, then no doubt you've seen this image.
Among many things, Glenn Hammond Curtiss helped write motorcycle history & according to wikipedia, is credited with creating the so called "soup can" or "tomato can" carburetor. My research has not been too in depth, but so far, I have not found evidence to back this up. The image above is of Mr. Curtiss aboard the worlds first V-8 motorcycle on which he set an unofficial land speed record of 136.36 in 1907 & became known as the fastest man on earth.
But back to the carburetor. Weather or not Mr. Curtiss was or was not in fact the creator of the "soup can carburetor" is not my point here. My point is simply this: With a little imagination, there are no limits to what you can create from literally almost nothing. Many would be builders these days (thanks to the media) seem to be under the impression that building a motorbike is impossible without the use of million dollar machinery. Well, a quick look back in history shoots that theory all to hell. Imagine what tools Mr. Curtiss had at his disposal back in 1907 & this man built entire motorcycles, including their engines. Not only that, he built them well enough to set records with them. Fact is, a hack saw, a couple of hand files, hammers & a small torch will take you a long way. Throw in an inexpensive welder & hell, you could go to the moon.
Get your hands dirty. No excuses.
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