I'm going to have to try to hire SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan as my publicist! A good guy, knowledgeable motorcyclist, and tireless supporter. He was at Willow Springs bright and early and stayed for the whole thing, brought over Jay LaRossa and Dustin Kott to say hello and look over the bike, and wanted to hear about things that I wanted to talk about. Thanks, Don. It was nice spending time with you.
The show at Willow was a good time, but it made me really think about what I was doing and what I want out of my bikes. I didn't build the Honda for shows, I built it because I always thought the CR750 was the most beautiful race bike, and that nothing would be cooler than to have one and actually ride it around on the street. The response of people here on the forum as well as local friends made me think about trying to put it in shows. It was certainly gratifying to see people looking at the bike, and it was fun to answer questions and point out details. What I should have done was remember the lesson of my one previous motorcycle show experience. I have a 1970 Triumph Bonneville that I redid from the ground up, and although it's mostly stock, I did make a few changes. All the nuts and bolts are polished stainless, I replaced the chrome rims with shouldered aluminum Akront rims and stainless spokes, had a leather seat made to match the stock vinyl seat, polished the rocker boxes, and substituted a different red for the stock Astral Red. Everyone loved the bike, and I decided to put it into a British bike show. Guess what the judges didn't like. The rims, the seat, the rocker boxes, and the paint. Those things had "ruined" the bike for them. I had a lot of emotional investment in the bike, and I felt really bad, so I thought "That's it, no more shows." I went back to just riding and enjoying the bike, and getting thumbs up and smiles from people on the road. Somehow I wasn't thinking about that when I decided to put the Honda in the show at Willow. The bike attracted attention from the minute I pulled up. People watched me unload it from my pickup, and followed me as I wheeled it over to the show area. At the sign-in table, the guy put it in the Competition class. I thought that was weird, since there were real race bikes there, in the form of a couple of Yoshimura Yamahas. I didn't object, because I didn't really know what class it belonged in. It's not actually a competition bike, but it's not a regular street bike either. During the day they apparently changed it to Cafe Race Street class. What the heck, their guess is as good as mine, and it's their show anyway. When they gave out the awards, it came in second to an Ariel Square Four bobber. In Cafe Race Street. A bobber. So now I'm thinking again "That's it, no more shows." I don't want to be a whiny baby, but I guess this stuff brings out the whiny baby in me. I showed up not even thinking about an award, but then I was disappointed to place second. After a bobber. In Cafe Race Street. Maybe if I were a bigger, better person? I've already signed all the forms and agreed to be in The Quail, but I'll remind myself not to think about anything except being there on the lawn with all the interesting bikes. I hope it works. And then I'll just enjoy riding the bike with a big smile on my face.
Vincent
First Place Cafe Racer
My "ruined" Triumph
