Pip’s Honda CJ423

Pip Davidson is 42, and from Thatcham in Berkshire where he works as a Landscape Gardner, but we’re here to celebrate his skills as a shed-builder, having got his first bike project off the ground, and it looks spot-on. What we also love is that the running total on the bike and build so far is just £1,923. (…which is almost exactly US $3,000.)

“It all started in the middle of September when a 1978 Honda CJ250T was on auction on Ebay. No one ever wants this model as they all want the CB. It had been stood for 10 years and was a non starter, no MOT or Tax, and old log book and I won it for £311. She was totally standard 8k miles with a rear rack ! This was the start of my No Smoking bike.”

…So, we can thank Pip’s plans to give up smoking for the bike, as he needed a serious distraction and the bike project was perfect, taking up six weeks worth of evenings and weekends, shopping on Ebay and building.

Pip’s goals were simple; to build a “poor-man’s cafe racer” with a budget of just £1,500 all-in with as many parts sourced from Ebay as possible. After stripping and delugging the frame he had everything powdercoated, re-using the original seat hump to fabricate a new seat.

“I got some help from Allen Millyard with welding the brackets on to accommodate a set of slabside GSXR rear sets that I got for £34 on Ebay (I have one of his custom Kawasaki KH 5 cylinder bikes). On picking up the bike I fecking dropped her off the van and snapped the near side rear set, and guess what, the 1987 GSXR rear-sets are a bit rare to find, and made of magnesium, so no chance of welding ! But manage to source another one from the US.”

Pip did have to buy a few new parts, though, including a set of new rear shocks from Hagon, and a pair of RamAir filters which he fitted to a pair of Mikuni VM30 carbs. Some parts were Chinese cheapies, including the rear LED light, the levers and switches, and the 3D decals came from Thailand for a tenner. Pip tried a set of clip-ons but preferred normal bars, turning the bike from the traditional cafe stance he had started with into more of a modern-retro hybrid, added to further by fitting a set of chunky Avon Distanzia tyres.

Pip’s smartest move was to upgrade the engine from a 250cc bore to 423cc using VFR pistons in a bored-out a set of CB360 cylinders – with more help from Allen. As we all know, there is no substitute for cubes.

“I would describe her as a semi-off-road cafe racer. I still need to do the seat properly and maybe add a different exhasut can. The bike rides really easy and loves the corners. I took her for an MOT last week and she flew through, and taxed, so all legal. Boy she has turned into a monster, sounds like a performance engine after an increase in cc by 70%.  …makes you grin from ear to ear!”

It’s a great looking budget build and we’re very impressed with Pip’s efforts. Thanks for sharing with all of us at The Bike Shed, and please show us what you build next.

from the bike shed

JD Classics: Jaguars are only the start...

JD Classics’ beginnings were a little more humble than its huge, purpose-built premises might suggest…

"Only around 40% of our work now involves Jaguar" - owner Derek Hood

“I remember being taken to the local Jaguar showroom in my pram as a baby,” recalls JD Classics founder-owner Derek Hood, “and I was soon able to identify each car by its model name.” His fascination with cars was soon joined by an interest in teeth – and persuaded by his father that the latter would offer more realistic career opportunities, he studied and then began practising in dentistry.

However, after a while, the gravitational pull towards cars became too strong. Initially, he spent his spare time detailing cars on his driveway (and on more than one occasion sold them on to a passer-by for double what he paid), until he decided to steer his career onto a different trajectory. What began in a small industrial unit almost 30 years ago has now matured into a business which occupies an entire purpose-built premises, with close to 50 employees.

Reputation for restoration

Along the way, JD has established an unrivalled reputation for its expertise concerning Jaguars but, in recent years, the company’s all-encompassing restoration facilities have increasingly attracted cars from other marques, as Derek explains: “Only around 40% of our work now involves Jaguar; the remainder is made up of Ferraris, Aston Martins and various others.” Being worked on during our visit were not only numerous road and racing Jags from each era, but also a rare Toyota 2000GT, several David Brown-era Astons, and a bright pink VW camper van nearing the final stages of a complete restoration.

Unusually, all restoration work (bar re-chroming) takes place on site. “This allows us to retain quality control over each aspect,” explains Derek. “When sourcing a car to sell, we’ll rarely buy one restored elsewhere – we prefer instead to buy original cars with rarity and pedigree, and restore them to the expected standard ourselves.”

Blue-chip bonanza

The cars split between the six on-site showrooms are equally impressive, with highlights on the Jaguar side including a Broadspeed XJ12, a Group C XJR-9 in iconic Silk Cut livery, and the stunning 1953 ‘Jabbeke’ Land Speed Record XK120 (173mph average, if you were wondering). Elsewhere, an ex-Works Porsche 550 Spyder eyes a 250 California Spider across the showroom, while a Gooda Special Bentley R-Type shares floorspace with a ‘Twini’ Mini. Although some of the 180-odd cars on site are being retained as long-term investments, the majority are for sale at prices ranging from £40,000 up to £7m.

Whether temporary or permanent residents in the JD collection, many of the racing cars are given the opportunity to stretch their legs at historic events – including the real blue-chip machines, such as the ex-Fangio C-type. The company even runs the activities of the official Jaguar Heritage Racing team and, as an endorsement of trust, you don’t get much better than that.

Photos: Joe Breeze

JD Classics' stocklist can be found in the Classic Driver Market.

80's Yamaha mono

My bike started life as an early 80's Yamaha mono shock dirt bike frame that I found on Craigslist for free, it also came with an unknown bultaco gas tank. I then began my search for an engine and came across a running 82 Yamaha xt200 for $300. I rode the bike up and down the street twice, then promptly pulled the motor. I had to hack, weld and shoehorn the xt motor into the 2 stroke frame. I modified the rear swing arm and frame to accept an R6 shock that I paid $20 for years ago. I cut about a foot off the front forks and springs. Not having a lathe to re thread the tube, I drilled and tapped the caps for pipe plugs and then welded the caps to the fork tubes. I added mountain bike shocks as helper springs to stiffen the front end, which gave my bike it's iconic face. The light is a piaa fog light that came off a previous bike I had owned. The handle bars are mini apes I had stripped from a project cb550, and then flipped them. The seat foam came from a Kawasaki 440ltd that I had in high school. My mother in law did the appolstry. I made the tail from a stainless steel bowl from Walmart. The ignition module and regulator are housed inside. The paint is spray paint, not quite as nice as I would have liked but just ran out if time! I did it all in my garage for under $600. Hauled it 1000 miles in my 93 ranger and had a blast through the whole process!!

plumage