Meeting some new old mates

Hoosier Daddy

Hoosier Daddy

Earache my eye...
I got a call from a friend today while on the way home from work. (yes, I pulled over) and it went something like this...
"I talked to Bob today and he was telling me about his old motorcycle, you remember Bob, right?" said the voice on the phone.
"Yea, Mikey's Dad, what's up?" says I ... (His kid looks like Mikey from OCC!)
"Well I mentioned to him your old Hondas and he want's you to call him, I guess him and a couple other guys our age have some sort of club"
"Like Old Hogs?" I asked laughingly
"No, they get together and work on old bikes at a warehouse downtown. Just call him would ya!"

So I call Bob at work (he's a Banker don't ya know)
Bob say's Yea, true story 5 guys get together every Thursday night and work on old Hondas, he has a CL Scrambler and wants to see my CB350F, I said it's not much to look at yet, just got it but I am cafe'ing a Goldwing.
... silence...
Says he gets off at 5:00 and would like to see this.
Sure enough, 5:10 he is in my garage with another from the group and he is another guy I know who is a "Back-Quack", you know a Chiropractor. Now both these guys have fine upstanding jobs but 25-30 years ago we were all partiers!
They freaked over my GL and drooled all over my CB, next thing you know they want me to come see their builds, some done, some just started.
Seems 5 guys work on 17 bikes in the basement of an old Paint Store in town, mostly cafe'ed old Hondas but a '69 BSA is there too. OK now I am hooked. Tell me to come to the back door and beat on the shipping ramp till someone answers be there about 7:00, you'll love it..
Taking my camera and will follow up here tomorrow night.
Can't believe I have known these guys for years and did not know this about either of them, they said the same about me and can't understand why I haven't seen any other cafe'ed bikes in our little town. :)
 
Re: Meeting some new old mates tomorrow

That's totaly rad man, I can't wait for pix!
 
Re: Meeting some new old mates tomorrow

awesome story! and funny that motorcycles never came up in your conversations :p

can't wait to see pics!
 
Well I got there right at 7:00 as Bob was pulling into the lot. These guys all have a key to the back entrance and can come and go as they please but Thursday is the official meeting night. You walk down a set of stairs into a huge work area then pass into another large room where the bikes are being stored for the winter. There is a shipping ramp for bringing parts / bikes in and out.
Here's the 1st impression – with Bob uncovering, and Jerry narrating.


Here is the CL360 that started it all. Was a wrecked basket case they restored.


Then came the same model in the following year


And it’s twin. Not the same bike… a second one.


Next came along a friend with this Dream.


Then they bought a parts bike to finish the first CL, but they couldn’t leave it alone.


Next comes the not-so stock projects, here is Bob’s CB350



Jerry’s Café…


And a CB400F under construction



Here’s Tweety in the shop area under construction!




Didn’t take a pic of the paint room… but here are two frames in the furnace room, once they are painted, they are taken to this small, hot room where the buildings furnace is to cure. These guys swear by “Direct to metal” brand paint.


Did you notice that the café’ seats all look alike? Here is why, these guys are molding their own!


For some reason, I got home without a good picture of the work area, a large room where each of the 5 guys has a workbench and a “station” for their current build. Various benches around the outside walls with grinders, buffers, saws, welder… you name it. Here is Bob’s current CB750 project in the workshop.


One of many walls of parts…


Also got home without pics of the other CB4’s, or the parts of the ’67 BSA Thunderbolt that were there… guess I gota go back next Thursday!
 
very, very cool

more pics! i imagine you'll be going back soon, then?
 
Wow! That is awesome! I keep telling my wife and Twisted that I want to buy some warehouse space somewhere close (15 miles) and start putting together a work area. That is perfect dude! It's like a treehouse for grown people! Those guys are awesome and you need to get them to join here! They've got a lot going on and I'd love to know more about all of it. It's like you just joined the mafia!
 
Wow that place makes our weekly bike night down at a buddies house look like 5 guys hanging out in a single car garage full of tools and 4-5 bikes drinking more beer than getting shit done! Wait, that's exactly what it is. ;) :D
 
go! said:
very, very cool

more pics! i imagine you'll be going back soon, then?
Click to expand...

Oh yea, they want me back next week and I definately want to glass up a seat of my own with their mold, I'll get more pics of the actual shop area and equipment available. The worst part about it is these guys are 9-5 'ers and don't meet until 7:00. I would miss out on 2 hours of wrench time vs doing it at home... maybe just take a piece or two at a time.

mothgils said:
Looks like they have a sweet setup! What town are you guys in again?
Click to expand...

Kendallville, IN, About 30 miles north of Ft. Wayne... 'bout 4 hours north of you in Indy
They have been written in articles from VJMC.orc magazine and they have them mounted on boards, but the website didn't have them in it archieves.
 
totally awsome, and very good looking bikes, surprised i didnt see more 750's...freakin awsome tho fosho
 
Tomorrows Thursday, night to meet up again. BUT... I am going to Daughter #1's 25th B-Day party. I need to call Bob and thell him I am still interested but gotta be a no-show this week, and get phone #'s of a couple of the other guys to find out when else they are there. Shit, only one night a week would take FOREVER!
 
Haven't touched this thread in a while and last Thursaday we did something worth posting.
I have been going over on Thursday nights probably twice a month. I usually take something small of my own to work on so I accomplish something instead of just to "Hang". Stick to small projects that require little or no tools that I can take in a box and finish in one night. Rebuilt my rear Master cylinder there, using their buffing wheel for my valve covers, timing belt covers, intake runners and most recently my carb tops.
Most of the guys have pulled out at least one of their bikes for the summer riding season but there is still a lot going on. Bob's CB750 engine is coming along well, I even donated some Vale spring and retainers I had from my GL spares, same part #'s.
When I got there this Thursday there was only one guy there (?!?) he was glad to see me because he wanted to set his CB550 engine in the frame. I polished my carb tops while He had to get the pieces around and before too long others had shown up.
kinda wierd that at 47 I am the young guy so I was up on the bench guiding the frame over the engine while the others were on each corner. Soon it was bolted in and up-right, next thing you know parts were set on it to check the look... He bougfht a DarkWing Tracker seat and it looks pretty good, for a Tracker that is ;)





With Bob and Jerry already being pictured at the begining, here is the rest of the gang.
Bikes owner is on the right. Our long time wrench / Prof is on the left, owns "Tweety" from the first post... he provides "Tech Support" from years (Decades) of experiance. The guy in the middle has an awesome little CB cafe' that I still need to get pics of. He is like me and doing bits in the shop instead of the whole build but his Blue and silver Cafe is now done and was at Mid-Ohio for it's first show. His contribution is "gauges" rebuilds / restores them, He is selling new faces on e-bay either stock or custom and getting quite the selection of patterns. http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/catiawheels/


 
Are you sure Jerry's not on here?

I remember him getting some of my brackets and contacting me through here. I though he was something like "DR-Jer" or something like that.
 
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