Turnout for Vintage Motorcycle Days 2007 was huge. Though the weather on the way was less than ideal, once I arrived, the skies cleared up somewhat and the crowds rolled in, in fact, traffic was lined up for well over a mile to enter the Mid Ohio track and parking seemed to be filled but, as usual, the bikes were out in force.
Norm Wilding of Mid Missouri Motorcycles was there with his Kawabusa II, the Hayabusa powered Kawasaki ZRX, and the bike looks great up close. It’s hard to tell the factory isn’t producing these cross breeds, the finish work is superb. It’s one of those bikes a lot of people walk right by unless they’re paying attention and then they look twice and smile. It’s very cool.
As mentioned in a previous post about his first Kawabusa, Norm comes from England where the idea of swapping engines has a long history with Tritons, Norvins, Tribsas and many other examples, why not get the ball rolling with Japanese motorcycles? I still don’t understand why we don’t see more of this.
More bikes and photos below:
This was a nice example of a CB750 cafe racer. There’s been a lot of discussion about cafe racer conversions on The Kneeslider and I thought this one just looked nice. I have no other information about it but it looked well done.
Harley Davidson Sportsters were the marque of the year and there was a special display showing many different models, even a Bronson bike from the old “Then Came Bronson” TV series. This bike in this photo is a “Classified” Sportster. The Classified was a parts kit put together by Dan Wilson of Carmel Valley, California with the intention of turning Sportsters into a kind of Vincent look alike. He produced 25 kits back in 1993, consisting of an aluminum tank, seat, exhaust, fenders, wheels, luggage rack, headlight and handlebars. The finished product had a pretty neat look to it. This is the first one I have ever seen. I haven’t heard of these kits since and I imagine the initial 25 kits were all he ever produced. If you know otherwise, let us know.
There’s so much to see at this event, you never get around to it all unless you spend the entire weekend. Some go for the vintage races, some check out the bikes or the auction, some dig through the swap meet, there’s a little something for everyone. If you didn’t make it this year, think about it next year. It’s a good time.
Bryce says
That CB750 Cafe is too gorgeous for words. It’s clean, simple, and smooth, but it doesn’t look at all overdone. Nor does it look like it’s been stripped down beyond being usable on the street.
If Honda’s CB750 revival bike every comes to fruition, it could be their answer to the contemporary Bonneville. If they came out with something like this cafe racer, it could be the Honda answer to the Thruxton.
Earl says
The Kawabusa’s pretty damn cool. As you point out, it’s built by an Englishman, so the engine swap is a natural idea, and it’d be good to see more of it. Tho I figure there’s be a lot more fabrication involved in swapping engines on modern bikes, where the engine is often a stressed member and mounting points are very different, than a Triton. Great idea tho, and I’m glad someone’s done it.
jeff in ohio says
did you see the Maico triple? some dude in the swap meet had 3 Maico 490 motors bolted into a straight triple configuration across the frame. That sucker was WIDE. I took some camera phone pics since stupid me left the real deal at home…
Xavier Molina Marí says
Hello,
I would like to contact Mr. Dan Wilson of Carmel Valley. I am an admirer of his motorcycle for many years. I would appreciate a website, or e-mail, or address for mail.
Thanks,
Xavi
Michael Pandzik says
I’m the builder and owner of the “Classified” Harley-Davidson Sportster shown at the 2007 Vintage M/C Days at Mid-Ohio. The donor bike is a 1993 1200 cc Sportster, which I bought with 300 miles on it — and promptly disassembled to install the kit!
Once I had the kit installed along with a large number of other replacement pieces (such as Performance Machine brakes, stainless hoses and cables, GoldTech cartridge emulators in the forks, etc.), the only Sportster parts remaining were the engine, frame, wiring loom and forks! I still love this bike after 15 years, and will never sell it.
Before I ordered the kit from Dan Wilson, I visited his shop in Carmel Valley, Calif. He’s a precision machinist by trade, and his welding skills show up in the parcel rack he provided with the kit.
The kit sold for $2,995, and included spoked/hubbed/tired wheels, hand-built aluminum gas tank, Vincent seat, 2-into-1 exhaust, fenders & stays, parcel rack, larger diameter headlight, drag (handle) bars, and taillight assembly. This winter I’m going to replace the stock turn signals with smaller/sleeker versions.
Dan’s original plan was to make & sell 25 kits, use the profits to make & sell 25 more, etc. As far as I know he only made the first 25 kits — mine is #22. I’m sure there are others out there (I imagine a few are still in the original wooden crate!), but mine is the only one I’ve ever seen in person.
Glad you liked my bike! MLP