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.
For Kawasaki Motorcycle & Engine Company, the dream of achieving success in the ever-competitive arena of motorcycles started with wings and not wheels. Prior to 1962, Kawasaki was more known for making aircraft than making motorcycles but after requiring struggling company Meguro Motorcycle Company in 1963, Kawasaki was well on its way to producing some iconic motorcycles. Well, sort of.
We recently did a little bike run through Indiana out to a rural property with a group of fun loving riders from all different states and Matthew Nebel came down from Cleveland with a great group to get away for a bit. We noticed right away he wasnt riding your average XS650 and after a few pits stops and close inspection we realized that he had something pretty unique that needed some light shed on it so more people could come to dig this ever evolving patina proud Yamaha chopper. We shot some photos and talked with him a bit about why he chose this for his daily rider.
Michael prides himself on his budget builds. One of the ways he’s able to keep costs down is by capitalizing on his talent for utilizing found items in his his builds. For example, that’s a mini Heineken keg under the seat that houses the battery and electronics.
