We were lucky enough to spend some time with Kacey Elkins of Krossover Customs on our "Motorcycle Sherpa" trip he had won via one of our promotional trip giveaways. The trip covered an extreme 2 weeks of riding in the most versatile and amazing landscapes stretching across the Himalayan mountain regions of Nepal. During this trip we got to know Kacey and his skills as a rider and builder much better and he then went on after the trip to use those skills to make the ultimate adventure bike out of one of our favorite vintage Japanese build platforms, the Yamaha XS650. Only he set out to achieve making this like no other XS650 anyone had ever seen and we couldn't have been more excited to see it finally presented at our Old Bike Barn Crossroads bike show at the AMA vintage motorcycle days event. We had some time then to get a few shots of the build and talk with him a little more about why he chose this as his adventure build of choice.
There's no better way to spend a weekend than taking in the sights, smells, and sounds of vintage motorcycles racing. From a outside perspective, we've watched the vintage road race scene gain more and more traction with organizations like WERA, and AHRMA These organizations have done the best they can to recreate the golden years of vintage road racing and we tip our hats to them. Walk through the pits of one of their vintage events and you'll feel like you hopped in a time machine and went back to the 60's-70s. With these events you tend to see a trend of motorcycles that participate like the Honda CB160, CB350, Triumph daytona, Ducati Desmo, but one bike you don't see often is a Honda CBX. We caught word of a local racer in the suburbs of Columbus, OH. who was the son of MRCBX, If you're into CBX's then chances are you know who we are talking about. Through a local vintage motorcycle facebook group we connected with Robby Ringnalda to get the story on how road racing a CBX came to light.
The local Indianapolis "Ton Up" club decided that vintage bikes needed somewhere to go to bring more people together. They began hosting a Vintage Bike Night there every first Thursday of the month. That tradition has carried on for years now and brought out some of the most incredible restorations and custom builds that would have otherwise just been sitting in a well preserved collection in the far corners of the state.
Back in 1969, Honda unleashed the CB750, and the motorcycle world would never be the same. This wasn’t just another bike – it was a revolution on two wheels. Before the CB750 rolled in, motorcycles were seen as finicky, underpowered machines, mostly for die-hard enthusiasts. Honda shattered that image and made motorcycles cool, powerful, and accessible to everyone.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was a war that was brewing right here on our shores. It wasn't geopolitical, no. It was a war for horsepower and the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers of the day were duking it out for ultimate power supremacy.
