Like a Virgin - Why you should invest in low-mileage classics

Mileage is one of the most important factors when buying a classic car – for most, it’s a case of the lower, the better. But can mileage ever be too low? In light of some recent big-money sales of ‘delivery-mileage’ classics, we asked the experts whether such cars should be embraced, or avoided…

Why pay a premium for a low-mileage car?

Those ‘in-the-know’ are often quick to write off an ultra-low-mileage car as a poisoned chalice; they (correctly) believe the lack of use over a prolonged period can result in various mechanical troubles – not something for which you’d want to pay a premium. But considering some recent high-profile auction results (and the numerous ‘factory fresh’ classics currently for sale in the Classic Driver Market), we thought further investigation was warranted.

Earlier this year, Silverstone Auctions sold a 1999 Ferrari 456 M with only 400 miles on the odometer for (an above-estimate) £118,125. In 2014, both RM and Bonhams achieved similar feats: $242,000 for a 95-mile Ferrari Testarossa, and £247,900 for a 221-mile Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato, respectively. Later this week, a 24-mile DeLorean – now that’s time travel for you – will go up for auction with a high estimate of £39,000, while a 116-mile Countach was sold privately last year for what we’re told was ‘a significant sum’. So, if they’re so troublesome, why are people still paying a premium for such cars?

Adding a less-travelled stallion to the stable

Bonhams’ James Knight, the auctioneer who presided over the sale of the V8 Zagato (and several other delivery-mileage cars during his career), agrees that classics should ideally be well exercised. “Cars are a bit like human beings: if you’re sitting in your armchair for too long, your limbs tighten up and you start to get aches and pains. With a motor car, it’s good to put the mechanicals through their paces once in a while.”

However, that’s not to say cars with minimal mileage shouldn’t command a premium. Much like original paintwork – a sought-after attribute in today’s market – there’s no reversing any changes, so the dwindling pool of cars with such qualities will always be in demand by certain sectors of the market. “If one was looking for their first collector-grade car, a car with such low mileage might inhibit them from using and enjoying the car on a regular basis,” says Knight. “However, for a connoisseur collector who has a stable of five, ten or even 20 cars, this would be the sort of car that would make for a worthwhile addition to the collection because of its low mileage, and the associated time-warp condition.”

Preservation for future generations

Lucas Hutchings of Image Automotive echoes Knight’s sentiments, as he regularly deals with ultra-low-mileage machines – and has even owned one himself. “I love the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, and I bought one with 1,800 miles on the clock. I loved the romance of opening the door and smelling brand-new leather; the paintwork was original and untouched. But at the same time, I didn’t feel it was ‘fair’ to the car for me to put several thousand miles on it – it needed to go into a collection to be preserved for future generations. In an ideal world, I’d have had one very low-mileage example, with a sister car on which I could put as many miles as I liked in order to enjoy the delights of driving it.”

Time-warp treasure

Perhaps the naysayers are right; if you’re planning to enjoy the car for its original purpose, you’re probably better off buying a cared-for and routinely-serviced example with commensurate mileage for its age – and saving yourself some cash in the process. But if you’d prefer to treat a car as an historical artifact, acting as a custodian for an increasingly rare specimen, a less-travelled classic might prove to pay dividends. Numbers of such cars can only fall, and interest in the phenomenon will only grow.

The sweet spot

For those that want the best of both worlds, you’ll have the difficult task of finding a car in that undefined ‘sweet spot’. One of the Jaguar E-types at Bonhams’ forthcoming Festival of Speed sale might represent just that: a Series 1 coupé with around 7,500 miles on the clock, regularly serviced, appropriately stored, and completely original – right down to the old Castrol GTX stickers.

Photos: David Bush, Artcurial, Bonhams, Historics at Brooklands, RM Sotheby's

‘72 Honda CL350 – Christian Laws

The custom bike scene, like any other art form, often finds itself bending to the will of fashion. But there’s no shame in that – music, painting, dance and almost any other genre you care to name have to endure the same challenge. And while in the heat of the moment a certain trend can seem to the viewer to be very ‘cool’ or ‘exciting’, it’s often only a matter of time before the truth becomes apparent. That’s when cool becomes lame, exciting becomes humorous and your wardrobe full of flared trousers becomes an embarrassment. But what happens when time doesn’t weary? When something improves with age? Well, that’s when timeless happens. Classic happens. This happens.

Christian Laws, today’s owner and builder, got into riding a little over a year ago when he bought himself a nice ‘74 Honda CB550. The original plan was to make a few custom improvements to the bike but, like some kind of divine intervention from above, everyone kept telling the poor guy that he should keep it stock. The reason? “It was in absolute mint condition,’ says Christian. “I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

The answer was simple – buy another bike (isn’t that always the answer?) “So I purchased the bike you see here, a CL350, as a project bike. It was rusty and cheap, but I could instantly see the potential.”

What drew Christian to the CL350 was its timeless style and its raw simplicity. As anyone who’s ever ridden one will tell you, the bike has only what it needs to run and nothing more. Naturally, this lends itself well to café racer-style tweaks “It also makes it a good choice for a first time build.”

Of course, the stand-out feature of Honda’s original bike was those big, beautiful exhausts. “I think the vintage pipes make the bike what it is and they really inspired the tone of my project. I always thought it was a crying shame that the mufflers on the other CL builds I liked had been replaced with louder but less interesting mufflers. The original pipes add so much character, it’s a real shame to lose them.”

After the pipes, Christian lists the headlamp as his next biggest source of pride. “I really love the 1960s CEV headlamp with the built-in speedometer and vintage Italian glass. It created all sorts of grief during installation, but I think it was well worth it. I also like the longer look it gives to the bike.”

Naturally, the build wasn’t without its challenges. One of the biggest issues uncovered was that the bike’s frame and forks were bent. And in multiple places, to boot. But the guys at Sydney’s Surfside Garage straightened the issue out, literally.

“Because this is such a small machine, my vision for the build was to give it a larger appearance with a strong focus on beautiful lines and a clean, classic look which I like to think I have achieved. The intention was to enhance and improve the original features and let form guide the build rather than performance.”

“It’s a fun motorcycle to ride because it’s just so light and it always seems eager to go faster. I also seem to feel a lot more connected to the road with a small bike like this as there is not much machine between me and the ground. Basically, I just love riding it.”

Beautiful stuff, no? It’s also interesting to note that when we cast our mind back to some of our all-time favourite posts, many of them have been CLs. Most notable, the work of Jonathan Wood. If you like what you see here and you’re hungry for a little more, you can take a look here and here. Enjoy.

via PIPEBURN

Spring awakening on the streets of London

Spring, it seems, has officially arrived. With the streets of London now buzzing with classics, what better way to celebrate the start of the season than with these stunning classic supercar photographs by talented street-snapper, Luke Gilbertson...

 

We discovered Luke while searching for our favourite automotive Instagram photographers. If you're not following his @yournotmyfather account, may we suggest you do so. Based in the UK, Luke is clearly a talented photographer with a keen eye for London's hidden automotive gems.

attente ...

SHAKA GARAGE SILVER CRUISE

When the opening salvo of an email is thus: “Hello beautiful people, we are the children of Shaka Garage Bari – Italy” it makes you question if the New Wave movement is taking a deeper turn into the depths of the hippy-dippy ’60s. The beards, open mindedness and community feeling are already present, and there’s definitely value in not taking what we’re doing too seriously.

But whether this is another dawning of the age of Aquarius or just a beautiful mindset, there’s lessons to be learned. Perhaps we’ll give the prancing atop a hill dressed in tie-dye robes a miss for the time being though.

A key difference of course lies in the method of transportation. Rather than sandling away at a set of pedals, our two wheel travel companion is preferable with a planet-ruining IC engine. It’s just better, really. But with CB750 donors getting pricier by the minute, Shaka Garage took on an altogether more difficult transformation when a fully faired 1982 CBX750 was rolled into the workshop by a friend for a commissioned build.

It’s one of those bikes that’s easy to miss how much work has gone into it at first glance, but transforming the fully faired CBX into a stripped down Brat took quite some doing. Initially daunted, the bike was completely disassembled in order to understand the form of the main frame and stance of the bike. With the style broadly decided upon, an initial design was sketched up and the guys began the rebuild.

Key to the change in identity was swapping out the swoopy ’80s tank for  a more suitably ’70s reservoir. Not a particularly simple swap, the CBX was different enough to require some serious modification to the tank tunnel and completely new mounting points. Left raw and ready, pinstripes were airbrushed by hand to add simple definition to the shape. New side panels were cut and bent from sheet metal, detailed with mesh and the same raw/lacquer finish the tank received.

With the acres of rear plastic removed, the subframe needed smartening up. Shortened and detabbed, a rear hoop was bent up by hand before being welded and blended into the original Honda tubing. Topped with a mildly humped seat clad in fluted leather with contrast stitching the effect is simple and honest.

To get the riding position as per the client’s wishes Shaka fabricated some new aluminium clipons. mounted above the top yoke, the rider sits with a little forward bias but without too much weight on the wrists. Fairing removed, new instrumentation had to be sourced and the guys were keen to keep the Honda DNA.

Thus rather than ordering the usual Chinese parts from ebay, they dug through their parts stash and found a period Honda speedo fit for the job. It’s an ideal that was carried throughout the bike: if it couldn’t be made then a part was sourced from another of Soichiro’s finest.

With much of the original appendages stripped from the bike, it was already reaping the benefits of lost weight. Refurbed suspension with new oil and springs suited for the client keep the Comstars on the tarmac. Some new grippy pads and braided hoses make the most the original brake setup. Mr Honds’s R&D was well spent and does the job more than adequately for the style of riding requested.

A clean, honest build, it’s a significant transformation that takes the bike’s appearance back a decade or so while reaping the benefits of technological advancement. As Shaka put it “a fine blend of harmonious forms and basic functionality”. 

Be sure to keep an eye of their Website and Facebook page for the latest builds from the Children of Shaka!

via The Bike Shed

GUY MARTIN - Go BIG or Go HOME! Isle of Man TT 2015 - On Bike - 200MPH!

Photoshoot with Old Delhi Motorcycles

just another day on set with Bobbee Singh, his machines and a very happy customer.

Lifestyle - Tamarit Spanish Motorcycles

Lifestyle - Tamarit Spanish Motorcycles from Tamarit Motorcycles on Vimeo.

Road to Le Mans : Corvette Racing

Aux 24 Heures du Mans 2015, Michelin est partenaire de 20 teams que nous présentons jusqu’au début de la semaine mancelle. Corvette n’a toujours pas franchi le pas du championnat FIA WEC, mais a fait des 24 Heures du Mans une étape annuelle obligatoire.

Avec 82 victoires (54 doublés), 10 titres Constructeurs/Teams et 9 Pilotes en American Le Mans Series, Corvette Racing est sans doute l’un des teams d’Endurance les plus titrés aux Etats-Unis.

Pourtant, l’écurie Corvette Racing (née de l’association Chevrolet et Pratt&Miller) n’a été fondée qu’en 1999 et a disputé sa première course d’Endurance aux 24 Heures de Daytona cette même année.

En réalité, les Chevrolet Corvette écument les circuits du monde entier depuis 59 ans et la première victoire de catégorie aux 12 Heures de Sebring 1956 a lancé une véritable success story.

La première apparition de véhicules Corvette au Mans remonte à 1960 et l’engagement de trois Corvette C1 par Briggs Cunnigham (victoire de catégorie GT avec Fitch/Grossman). Avec leur cylindrée importante, les Corvette avaient souvent les plus petits numéros de course. Des Corvette C2, C3, C4 ont été régulièrement alignées au Mans par différents teams privés.

Corvette Racing s’est officiellement engagée aux 24 Heures du Mans en 2000 et la Corvette C5.R est montée sur le podium de la catégorie GTS. Depuis, Corvette Racing revient chaque année dans la Sarthe pour défier les plus prestigieuses marques automobiles. Les Chevrolet Corvette ont remporté 7 fois leur catégorie et signé trois doublés en 15 participations.

Mais Corvette Racing n’a plus gagné au Mans depuis 2011 et la C7.R, qui a remporté les deux premières courses d’Endurance américaines 2015, aimerait accrocher les 24 Heures du Mans à son palmarès. Le team américain compte deux équipages homogènes et très expérimentés avec un total de 49 départs manceaux pour les 6 pilotes.

We’ll be counting down the days to the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours by presenting each of Michelin’s 20 partner teams at this year’s race. Although Corvette has yet to take up the FIA WEC gauntlet, Le Mans is an annual must for the American make.

 a record of 82 wins (including 54 one-two finishes), 10 Manufacturers/Teams’ titles and nine Drivers’ crowns in the American Le Mans Series, Corvette is clearly one of the most successful US makes in endurance racing.

Yet Corvette Racing was only formally founded in 1999 following a merger between Chevrolet and Pratt&Miller. Its first endurance race was that year’s 24 Hours of Daytona.

Different generations of the Chevrolet Corvette have been raced over a period of 59 years and victory at the 1956 12 Hours of Sebring was the first in its long success story.

The first appearance of a Corvette at Le Mans was in 1960 when three C1s were entered by Briggs Cunnigham (GT class win with Fitch/Grossman), while a variety of Corvette C2s, C3s and C4s were subsequently entered by privateer teams.

Corvette Racing’s first attempt at the Le Mans 24 Hours under that name came in 2000 with the Corvette C5.R which secured a GTS podium finish. Since then, the team hasn’t missed an opportunity to take on the industry’s most prestigious makes in La Sarthe. The result is a record of seven class wins for the famous Chevrolet model and three one-twos from 15 participations.

That said, Corvette Racing hasn’t been successful at Le Mans since 2011 and would dearly love to add the French race to the record of the C7.R which has already won the first two rounds of its home endurance series this year.

The American squad boasts two evenly-matched and highly experienced driver line-ups with 49 previous starts to the names of the six men.

Voitures engagées aux 24 Heures du Mans 2015

Chevrolet Corvette C7.R N°63 – LM GTE Pro : Jan Magnussen / Antonio Garcia / Ryan Briscoe

Chevrolet Corvette C7.R N°64 – LM GTE Pro : Oliver Gavin / Tommy Milner / Jordan Taylor

Palmarès aux 24 Heures du Mans

2000 : 3^e et 4^e GTS Corvette C5.R (Freon/Pilgrim/Collins) et (Kneifel/Fellows/Bell)

2001 : 1^er GTS Corvette C5.R (Fellows/Pruett/O’Connell)

2002 : 1^er & 2^e GTS Corvette C5.R (Fellows/O’Connell/Gavin) et (Pilgrim/Freon/Collins)

2003 : 2^e et 3^e GTS Corvette C5.R (Gavin/Collins/Pilgrim) et (Fellows/O’Connell/Freon)

2004 : 1^er et 2^e GTS Corvette C5/R (Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen) et (Fellows/Papis/O’Connell)

2005 : 1^er et 2^e GT1 Corvette C6.R (Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen) et (Fellows/Papis/O’Connell)

2006 : 1^er GT1 Corvette C6.R (Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen)

2007 : 2^e GT1 Corvette C6.R (O’Connell/Magnussen/Fellows)

2008 : 2^e et 3^e GT1 Corvette C6.R (O’Connell/Magnussen/Fellows) et (Gavin/Beretta/Papis)

2009 : 1^er GT1 Corvette C6.R (O’Connell/Magnussen/Garcia)

2011 : 1^er LM GTE Pro Corvette C6.R (Beretta/Milner/Garcia)

2014 : 2^e LM GTE Pro Corvette C7.R (Magnussen/Garcia/Taylor)

L'historique du WorldSBK au Portugal / Portugal in WorldSBK history

Retour sur les débuts du WorldSBK à Portimao.

Le WorldSBK disputera ses 19e et 20e courses au Portugal ce week-end après avoir eu quatre épreuves à Estoril, en 1988 puis en 1993, et avoir pris la direction de l'Algarve pour la première fois en 2008, date depuis laquelle Portimao est un rendez-vous fixe du calendrier.

Bien que le Portugal ait déjà accueilli un total de 18 courses, aucun pilote n'a réussi à s'y imposer plus de deux fois. Les doubles vainqueurs sont Troy Bayliss (2008), Max Biaggi (2010), Marco Melandri (2011/Course 2, 2013/Course 1), Eugene Laverty (2012/Course 2, 2013/Course 2) et Tom Sykes (2012/1, 2014/1), qui pourrait passer à trois victoires ce week-end, à moins que son coéquipier Jonathan Rea n'y parvienne en signant un doublé.

22 pilotes portugais ont participé à au moins une séance d'essais de la catégorie WorldSBK et 14 d'entre eux ont participé à une course. Alex Vieira est celui qui a eu le plus de succès et s'était imposé à l'Osterreichring en 1989 (Course 1), avant de partir de la pole à Hockenheim en 1988.

Les faits marquants du WorldSBK à Portimao :

2008 - La première venue du WorldSBK à Portimao fut marquée par la démonstration de Troy Bayliss : l'Australien s'apprêtait à prendre sa retraite et avait démoli ses concurrents en décrochant la pole position avec près de deux secondes et demie d'avance sur Cal Crutchlow puis en survolant ensuite les deux courses. Un jeune Jonathan Rea, qui courait à l'époque en Supersport, faisait ses débuts en WorldSBK et décrochait la troisième position sur la grille ainsi qu'une quatrième place dans la première course.

2009 - Portimai accueillit l'une des dernières manches les plus passionanntes de l'histoire en 2009, lorsque Noriyuki Haga et Ben Spies jouaient le titre mondial et que le Japonais était arrivé au Portugal avec dix points d'avance sur l'Américain. Spies avait décroché la pole et s'échappa dès le départ de la première course tandis que Haga, dixième sur la grille, remonta jusqu'à la cinquième place mais finit sur une chute dans le septième tour. Dans la seconde course, Spies n'eut qu'à gérer et à finir cinquième tandis que Michel Fabrizio s'imposait devant Haga. Le Japonais avait compté jusqu'à 88 points d'avance en cours de saison et fut battu par Spies au dernier moment.

2010 - Portimao devint la seconde date du calendrier plutôt que la dernière pour accueillir le championnat au mois de mars. Max Biaggi remporta alors les deux courses en s'imposant devant Leon Haslam.

2011 - Carlos Checa, qui allait devenir Champion du Monde, s'imposa dans la première course, en battant Sylvain Guintoli à quatre tours de l'arrivée. Marco Melandri signa dans la deuxième course la dernière des 74 victoires de Yamaha en WorldSBK. Eugene Laverty contribua aux festivités qui accompagnaient le départ du constructeur japonais avec une seconde place.

2012 - Marco Melandri tomba dès le premier tour de la première course et dut être transféré à l'hôpital. Les victoires revinrent à Sykes et à Laverty. Sykes passa devant Melandri au classement général, à 30.5 points de Biaggi, qui allait remporter le titre mondial avec un demi-point d'avance le week-end suivant à Magny-Cours.

2013 - Melandri remporta la dixième victoire de BMW dans la première course et Eugene Laverty s'imposa dans la deuxième. Tombé dans le virage n°2 dès le tour de chauffe, Sykes, qualifié en pole, dut partir de la pit-lane.

2014 - Tom Sykes domina la première course avant que Sylvain Guintoli et Marco Melandri, à l'époque coéquipiers chez Aprilia, ne tombent sur piste mouillée alors qu'ils poursuivaient et rattrapaient le leader, Jonathan Rea. Ce dernier s'imposa tandis que Guiloni finit septième et que Melandri ne put repartir.

Some figures regarding the hosting country.

WorldSBK will run its 19th and 20th races in Portugal this season. In the early years of the World Championship, Estoril hosted four races, in 1988 and 1993, while the brand-new Algarve track took over in 2008 and has become a fixed venue since then.

Despite hosting 18 races so far, a rider has never won more than twice in Portugal. The two-time winners on the Algarve (which had hosted 14 races in total) are Troy Bayliss (2008), Max Biaggi (2010), Marco Melandri (2011/2, 2013/1), Eugene Laverty (2012/2, 2013/2) and Tom Sykes (2012/1, 2014/1). Sykes is thus in the best position to become the first three-times Algarve winner, but his team-mate Rea can also achieve that in case of a double.

22 Portuguese riders have entered at least a practice session in the World Superbike class and 14 of them were race starters. Among them, the most successful is Alex Vieira, the only Portuguese able to win a race, at the Osterreichring, 1989/1, and to start from pole - at Hockenheim in 1988.

Some notable moments at the Algarve track:

2008 The first weekend at the new track was a Troy Bayliss demonstration: the Australian was on his farewell weekend and shattered the opposition, taking pole by almost 2.5 seconds over Cal Crutchlow and dominating both races. On that weekend, a young Jonathan Rea switched from the World Supersport Championship to World Superbike, impressing the world with a third place on the grid and a fourth position finish in Race 1

2009 The Algarve hosted one of the most thrilling season finales in history as Noriyuki Haga and Ben Spies had the title on the line, with the Japanese leading the American by ten points. Spies took pole and rocketed away at the start of Race 1 while Haga, only tenth on the grid, had to climb through the field but eventually fell on the seventh lap while running fifth. In Race 2, Spies controlled his rivals to finish a comfortable fifth, while Michel Fabrizio won from Haga: the Japanese had squandered an 88-point advantage during the course of the season and lost the title to Spies

2010 The Algarve went from being the season finale to the second round, in March, and was a taste of things to come as Biaggi and Haslam fought closely in both races, with the Italian coming home with a double

2011 World Champion-to-be Carlos Checa got the best of his rivals in Race 1, improving the pace when needed, and taking the lead from Sylvain Guintoli four laps from the end. In Race 2 Marco Melandri gave Yamaha the last of their 74 wins to date. Eugene Laverty completed the ideal farewell race for the Japanese manufacturer by finishing second

2012 Marco Melandri's championship hopes took a serious knock in Race 1 when he fell on the opening lap and had to be taken to hospital for checks. The wins went to Sykes and Laverty; Tom took over from Melandri for second spot in the championship, 30.5 points from Biaggi who would go on to win the title by only half a point on the following weekend at Magny-Cours

2013 Melandri gave BMW their tenth win in Race 1 and Eugene Laverty dominated proceedings in Race 2, but drama unfolded on the sighting lap as pole man Sykes fell at Turn 2, thus having to start from the pits

2014 Tom Sykes dominated Race 1 before, in a wet Race 2 the two Aprilias were hunting down Jonathan Rea, race leader from the opening lap; however, just as Melandri and Guintoli were in sight of the Honda rider, the two Aprilias made contact in the shadow of the VIP tower. Only Guintoli was able to climb back on his bike, to finish seventh, while Melandri was out

1977 Honda CB550 ‘Aldo’ by Lossa Engineering

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When it comes to Honda CB café racers there’s not a lot of people that have built as many as Jay Lossa and his team at Lossa Engineering in Long Beach California. Jay has lost count of the number of CB’s he has brought back to life since starting his shop back in 2007. He usually starts his builds with “rusty hunks of junk” that cost no more than $500. It doesn’t usually matter what condition they are in because he replaces every nut and bolt anyway. This time around he started with a decent donor CB550 that he picked up for $1300 – which makes it the most expensive donor he has ever bought.

When you own a motorbike shop you tend to have a lot of spare parts lying around the garage, so Jay decided to build a bike with some of these spares. The Firestones were a cancelled order from a customer who changed his mind, so Jay incorporated them into the project. “I built this as an old school looking show bike, not a cornering carving machine” he jokes. “So I feel the tires are ok for that job”. The CB550 frame, wheel’s and all the parts were already powder coated black and the motor was rebuilt and blacked out.

All the tabs were removed, frame hooped, battery relocated under the cowl, bike has been wired with a modern regulator/rectifier, dry cell battery, electronic ignition, Dyna mini coils and NGK wires. Jay also added an Acewell digital gauge and a Lossa mini key set up and starter button.  It also has a H4 headlight and a Lossa LED tail light.

Tom McWeeney from Kustoms Inc had been wanting to paint one of Lossa’s bikes for a while, so Jay thought he would be perfect for this 70’s styled show bike. Tom did all the paintwork with House of Kolor paint. He started with a Orion Silver base and then did a candy apple red over with lines graphics and lace work. He finished it off with some silver leafing and hand pinstriping.  Tom even striped the part under the seat where the upholstery would have covered it up. “So not wanting to hide any of his artwork, I decided to expose the center of the seat,” said Jay. “I did all the bodywork myself and decided not to do knee dents and keep the tank straight and smooth as glass to show off all the artwork.”

The motor received a big bore kit and is now a 608cc, cases were split, all new gaskets, seals, Barnett clutch and a valve job with all new valves were used. “The bike also has a Mega-cycle cam and huge Keihin CR racing carburetors so we can burn off those Firestone tire’s I love so much!” he says.  One of Lossa Engineering’s Yoshi style replica 4 into 1 exhausts were used with one of their reverse cone mufflers and the whole set up was ceramic coated.

A chrome set of Lossa clubman styled bars were used to give it that classic café look, along with Biltwell grips, Tarrozzi fork brace and rearsets. Joker tappet cover, stem nut, axle adjusters and brake stay were used to dress up the standard stock pieces.  The brake caliper has been “polished to perfection” and the stock rotor CNC drilled. Every nut and bolt on the CB has been re-plated with chrome or zinc plating.  Jay finished off the build with some reservoir shocks, gold o-ring chain and Magura master cylinder.

This 1977 CB550 has been given the name ‘Aldo’ and has been completely rebuilt and is now better than new. Jay has fallen in love with this bike but knows he needs to let it go and move on to the next project. “I have too much stuff and can’t possibly ride all of my bikes, so if someone wants to arm wrestle me into selling this bike to them, I will” he says. So if you want a CB550 café racer in show bike condition, contact Jay for that arm wrestle – you’ll win because he does have nerve damage in his arms.

[Photos by Buckhorn studio]

via PIPEBURN