A visit from Canuckistan

Had some folks make the drive down to Asheville NC from Canada this past weekend...  We had spoken several times on the phone and after several back and forth emails, these folks decided to make the drive to deliver their XS650 Engine for a rebuild/big bore/rephase...

They somehow managed to find the shop, it's not very well labeled (as of now, I have a friend from Shop 102 in Georgia making a sweet new sign for us).   I scrambled over from the Christmas Parade with my wife and some other friends to meet them.   They sent us these photos, and I thought I would share them with ya'll.

We do have our collective "The Hive" sign up, but that is all that lets you know what may or may not be behind that door...

The engine to be built, stacked next to a recently finished engine... 

We hung out, chatted, and had a great time.   These folks win the "Longest Drive to Hugh's HandBuilt" to date!

 

The coolest part about this whole thing, is not that I get to build another engine, or anything to do with me at all really.  This is going to a Father and Son build.  They both drove down together, spending time with each other, and enjoying the trip.  We all headed over to Barley's Tap and Pizza, enjoyed a great lunch, shared stories, had a few local brews and then they were off.  There was a whisper of Smoky Mountain Knifeworks, Cigars and Beer in Ohio, and a few other stops on their way home.  I was slightly jealous.

It was a pleasure to meet them both, and I'm excited to be a small part of their build...  Sometimes it is more about the experience and the journey than the final outcome.  These folks reminded me of that, and it has made my week all the better...

Another RePhased XS650 Engine

So I needed to test run a new engine for a customer..  My old stand was clunky, heavy and fairly hard to use.  So we scrapped it...

This new stand is fairly simple, just a furniture dolly, a regular XS650 engine stand, and a set of "handlebars" to hold all the miscellaneous wiring...  I set it up with 2 Coils (required for testing rephased engines) a PMA regulator, and a Sparx capacitor.  Along with a "On/Off" switch, I can now test fire an engine, and test the PMA system before shipping it out to customers.

 

And just a quick video for this particular customer..  You'll not that this engine is NOT even bolted to the stand, it just has a few lengths of metal rod holding it to the stand, hence the rattles and looseness...  These carbs are only to fire up the engine and test it, and do not belong to this engine either...  I just needed a set to fire up the bike, so I stole them from my Street Tracker Project...  The pipes are stock headpipes that were laying in my pile...  

This particular engine was just fired up about 2-3 minutes before taking this video.  I will be breaking it in over the next few days, re-adjusting the valves and camchain, changing the oil and then sending it to it's new owner.  

 

Well folks, engine building season is upon us - I have 6-7 engines lined up for new builds, so stay tuned, and get yours here FAST if you want on the list - Hugh

Taking a break!

Taking a break to spend time with my family in Missouri until next Tuesday. We have an annual hunting trip up there every year.

We are hoping to give Roxxy (The Infamous Shop Dog) a few more "Chew Toys" this season!  But until then, please be patient with us as I will not be answering emails/phone calls until next Tuesday at earliest... 

Thanks as always - Hugh

T-Shirts! Get your T-Shirts Folks!! Step Right Up!

I finally had some T-Shirts printed up for all those who have been begging for them. I had a very talented fellow down in Georgia create the design for these, and if you look closely, you'll recognize the images (Bike/Helmet/etc...) to be inspired by Hugh's HandBuilt's First Build.  

Available in Black or Charcoal, and currently available in M, L, XL only (sorry folks, email me if you really want some in other sizes, and I'll try to get some made up).


Front (*Note - This is the Charcoal color)

Charcoal (Image is on back)

Black (Image is on Back)

Limited Quantity of Womens Teal Tanks available as well (*SOLD OUT )

As with ALL purchases from Hugh's HandBuilt - Free Shipping in the USA!  (Email me at HughsHandBuilt@gmail.com for other shipping inquiries)

Sizes

Medium *Free Shipping! $18.50 USD Large *Free Shipping! $18.50 USD Xtra Large *Free Shipping! $18.50 USD

Colors

Charcoal Black

Cafe' Swing Arm - Getting into the swing of things....

Doing a little bit of work on Tevan's Resto-Mod Cafe Project in the last few days in between customer work...

I've been showing Tevan how to bend and notch tubing, but it was finally time to let him try it out for himself...  Armed with some 7/8" OD tubing, an angle finder and the bender, he managed to get the upper truss/brace bent up in one shot... 

The notching took a while to make it all fit properly, but his patience has paid off...  I think he may have practiced on about 4 feet of tubing before he was finally comfortable with his notches...

Careful consideration was given to proper chain clearance and shock clearance.  We had to double/triple/quadruple check the frame clearances as we went...

The factory had some fairly gnarly looking welds, so we cleaned up what we could...  Welding 40 year old material is always a challenge.

All in all, this should be a nice compliment to the rest of the bike, stay tuned as we design and build the seat and the tail section mounting...