1975 Norton Commando 850

February 21, 2012

1975 Norton Commando 850There’s a new gunfighter in town: This 1975 Norton Commando 850, in the John Player Special color scheme. Best of all: 978 original miles. Big Eds will be doing the carbs on this bad boy. The MK3 Commando was first Norton fitted with an electric starter — which was a mixed blessing since it had a tendency to quickly drain the battery.

1975 Norton Commando 850

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Vespa 50 Special Small Frame

December 28, 2011

This bike was owned by the same family for 25 years, and was going to be given to the son for graduating college. We updated the bike and gave it a nice repaint. We also upgraded it with a sweet leg-shield mounted spare tire.

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I’m dreaming of a white Vespa

December 20, 2011

Look what Santa brought to Big Ed’s stable of scoots: a low-mileage Vespa P200 with sidecar — both in great condition!

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Meet the Hop Rod

December 19, 2011

Here at Big Ed’s, we recently came across a fun little toy called the Hot Rod. Those of a certain age will remember it as the gas-powered pogo stick that was manufactured right here in Wichita during the Sixties. According to what we could find on the Web, this is one of maybe three Hop Rods still in existence. As you can see, it’s in pretty good condition.
 


The stick was really just a very simple gas motor. Each bounce fired a spark plug, which ignited the gas and added a bit more altitude than you could get from a spring alone. It was made by Chance Manufacturing. It’s not made any more, of course, to the vast disappointment of liability lawyers everywhere. The problem was that if you came down at the wrong angle, there was no telling where you’d end up. There’s a story of a TV personality demonstrating one on the air; the Hop Rod launched him into his desk, breaking at least two bones.
 
Here’s a couple of commercials showing the Hop Rod in action. Hey, fun while it lasted. (That appears to be Wichita’s Century II building in the background):

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1914 Henderson with a history

December 19, 2011

I have a neighbor, lets call him JR, who loves British cars and old motorcycles. He recently acquired an interesting find, that he had chased for 15 years. He’s a history buff, and always has his ear to the ground. He heard a rumor about this bike on a farmer’s property in southwest Kansas. The [...]

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Small-frame photo shoot

December 19, 2011

After completing a small-frame restoration for a client, we decided to do a photo shoot to show off our work, and the charms of our friend Saovany. The shoot was done by Dan Moore, of Photography Dan Moore, and Junebug Clark, who is well known in photo circles as the son of Joe Clark, the [...]

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Norton Commando 850

June 11, 2011

This is a beautiful Norton Commando 850. The bike was running badly, and we diagnosed it with worn carburetors, which is typical with Amals at the number of miles that this bike has. Early carbs were made with soft aluminum, and the slides and throttle bodies tend to wear, causing poor idle and acceleration. We [...]

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Lambretta LD 125 Scooter Girl Photos

June 9, 2011

Here’s Kassi on our Lambretta LD 125. These shots soon available on scooter girl buttons!  

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Vespa Super 150 Motor Scooter

June 9, 2011

Here’s a recent acquisition we found in a barn. The Vespa Super 150 was a segue from the Vespa VBB which was rounder with more classic lines to the P Series of the 80′s with flattened side panels and front fender. Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

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1978 Vespa Bravo Moped

February 12, 2011

Very clean Vespa Bravo Moped

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