machine wall photos 3...

ready to chrome...

....much happier with the shape of this stay now....its got the duckbill turnup i was originally looking for...

engineering....

...dont know if its the architect in me, trying to prove the engineer wrong, but i'm always trying to make it thinner and lighter....(except for the walls of our house)....and here is the classic example of too thin...the rear fender stay on the 50 pan ended up with a stress fracture and so im redoing it...better than it was before. better. stronger. faster.

jake's bars...

are all done...7/8 inch grips....

jesus make up my dying bed...

no words...just love.

you need one of these.....

...if your serious about well engineered, aesthetically beautiful and well proportioned elements on your cycle. go to BCM and see whats in store for you....nice one kim.

present from my neighbour R

he knows how much i love tom.....wait til you get a load of this...hell broke luce!

i have teeny weeny balls....

like, ball bearing sized......compared to the basket ball sized ones shown here....

machine bars.....

when i finally decided i wanted different bars on my 48 i set about trying to find some that fitted just right but couldn't find any that i was happy with....none seemed to have the right curve or pull back...i went through buying about 8 sets.....

finally, my old mate bob, ex-kansas city (now aussie) vietnam veteran hooked me up with a set of bars that he bought in the early 70's. i cut them and narrowed them about an inch and they fitted perfect. exactly right. exactly what i had in my mind's eye.

i gave them to my mate mark in sydney who had a mandrel bender and presto.... 10 sets in stainless.

with my original bars i cut the ends and fitted 7/8" ends so that i could fit my usual throttle and lever arrangements...ive got small girls hands....soft too...

if your thinking you might want a set email me at machineshed@bigpond.com and let me know...in the shots below...the set unwrapped is our first prototype....hence the different pullback angle...with the wrapped sets we got it exactly right....

here are those original bars fitted to my 48....im in the process of fitting a stainless set to this bike so stay tuned for a shot....

one day....

i will return to japan....

just drove 8 hours today ....

and listened to the black-man's burdon twice...standout track bare back ride....jesus they were good....photo of the man for you cindy!

fuel magazine posters...

i just ordered a couple for the shed.....better go and get yours here...

1974 Ducati Sport

lots of minor things to do on the sport over the next couple of months....gearing is driving me crazy....no good for the country roads round here...would be great in the city though....feels good to be back on a ducati......gonna get my 48 out today though im missing it...

nuts. 100,000 views

....in 6 days, thanks to everyone that has supported and reposted, reblogged, and whatever elsed the vid we did....thanks to all my friends that called, messaged, emailed with good wishes...

the last few days...

have been quite special, to say the least. I couldn't say any words the other night...but then you all know i prefer not to talk in those situations, so here are my thoughts for you.

Holy Shitbags...The response to the MACHINE video all around the world has been totally overwhelming for not only me, my wife and the dog, but also for the whole team involved in the making of the thing.

What started as a single idea about some nice riding shots caught on film turned into something way more....and i'm very happy it did.

First thankyou must go to Mat Harrington. A new found mate who I already consider a close friend, whose idea it was to start this ball rolling. You, my dear friend are a jewel in the night sky, ready to shine bright over the world. Thank you for your dedication to this project and for your constant ability to see the funny side in anything that we do. Im sure that we will be working together for some time in the future...or at least i hope we will....I find you totally inspiring to be around and i think we make a formidable team.

Dave Rusanow and Paul Mason, you two men were integral to this thing getting the momentum it needed to fly. Your presence here at the shed over those three days was a delight. Perfect photography, with those special angles that make the difference in the final product.....you guys were all over that. Total professionals. The audience can see that clear as the night sky over the tablelands. Cheers blokes.

Ceinwen Berry, what a dynamo you are. No-one can question that beautiful editing. I know from what Mat has told me that your unwavering ability to crisply and decisively sort the good from the bad, the necessary from the not needed, have shown through in the strength of the final product. I thank you.

Surya Bajracharya, you bro are one of those individuals that people cant help but love. Your soft and gentle reasonable way holds a lesson for us all. Your artistic expression is an inspiration to those around you and for your music included in the film i thank you from the bottom of my heart. Karuna, your the first bloke i met in this town. I thought "this guy doesn't make a bad coffee!"... Not as good as me... but not bad. Thanks for all your help on this one and for supporting your brother while he got this music down.

Damien Drew, you instigated this,,.....one of my oldest friends 20 years in i thank you for putting Matt and I in contact, and for being here even though I know I'm a pain in the arse half the time.

To the rest of the crew, my thanks for your dedication and love of your work which helped us put this video together. Looking back there is not one single thing I would change.

Peace.

last night was this...

it was such a fantastic night,...all the locals and the team that put it all together....keep an eye out for the 3 and a half minute clip directed by my good friend matt harrington from sydney.

thanks to everyone that came to help me get the worst hangover i've had in ten years.

was that chivas regal?....jesus.

For Rob......

MACHINE Yamaha XS650 from matt machine on Vimeo.

these men.....

did an amazing thing for me...they came to machine and spent three days eating, drinking, and filming bikes and machines and i enjoyed every minute...

i hope to see them again this weekend...

stay tuned for a little 3 and a half minutes at machine this weekend....

1974 Ducati Sport....

in the shed.....

i have this aussie mate named steve who knows more about restoring ducatis (and lots of other marques as well) than just about anyone i know. when one of my oldest friends damien asked me to go in on a bike buying deal with him i couldnt say no...id wanted to get another ducati since i sold my last one...a 1981 MHR about 9 years ago.

there was no question who was going to do the resto for me...i have too many bikes on the go and not enough time as it is, so steve took it on and here it is sitting in my shed. what a beautiful bike it is....thanks steve there is no doubt you is the man.

stay tuned for more photos when it stops fucking raining here.

ducati 1974 750 ss race bike....

has been in the shed for the last few months...its always surprising to me how fast these bikes are...and rock solid on the road...this one spins up better than most though and was a very successful race bike in it day....stay tuned as my sport of the same year should be here this week....