Whats happening lately at HHB?

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Well folks, it’s nearing the end of the year, and we figured we’d give you an idea of whats been happening in the shop lately.

We’ve been kicking out a TON of our Rephased XS650 Engines.  I think we’ve fired up and test run about 7 engines in the last 2 months or so…   I know you guys like videos – so here is a few of the latest engines we’ve fired up.

 

I’ve been working overtime getting these engines built – not that I’m complaining… Long hours and long days have been getting these out the door faster than ever…

Tevan has been making some great progress on his Resto-Mod Cafe’ 72 XS2 Project – it’s gonna be a sweet machine!  He’s really worked hard building his first bike, and he’s only 19 – this one should be completed and on the streets very soon!

I have been slowly bringing my Black and White Bike back up to snuff.  I had a little bit of a meltdown from all the abuse I’ve given the thing, so it’s got a newly rebuilt and even better engine just waiting for the chassis to get freshened up..

Yep, fried a piston – given the abuse and neglect I’ve shown this engine, I’m not uspet in the least…

The old Black and White bike has basically been the test mule for almost all of our HHB products and services.  As much as it is an Iconic XS650, I also beat the living daylights outta that thing in order to ensure that I only bring the best XS650 Parts and Services to you folks…  Built to ride!

New 750cc Engine just waiting for some more abuse!  (I have a bad habit of building an engine for myself, and then selling it…  Not letting this one go – for once….)

Speaking of engine work, we’ve been reworking a few things around the shop so I can offer Clutch Exchanges in the future.  We’ve been getting lots of requests to machine our 8 Pack Clutches – and we’ve finally figured out a good way to machine them and build them in a timely manner…  Look for that service to be announced in January sometime…  (* At this time, we are NOT doing 8 pack clutch mods – thanks folks!)

8 Pack Clutch into an OEM 7 Pack Basket

 
And for those of you with an OEM 6 Pack Clutch Basket, we’ve also found a way to upgrade you to 7 Disks – and it’s gonna be a very cost effective upgrade!
We always get questions “How do you get your engines/parts/stuff so clean???” Well, we used to do a TON of beadblasting to get our components as clean and fresh as possible.  Bead blasting required a TON of effort, and even more time cleaning and ensuring all of the glass bead was thoroughly  removed from any engine components.
Then we discovered Aqua Blasting!
This will give you an idea of the amount of work we’ve been doing lately, and without someone doing the Aqua Blasting for us, we’d be stuck at the blast cabinet all day…

And when parts are this clean, I can find/fix any damages much easier…  I’ve had several sets of cases come in with this area of the engine damaged.  A little bit of AC power and we are back in business…

Ok, but back to bikes right?  I had been helping a friend build this “Brat” bike for a LONG time, it was actually the 2nd bike I ever started to customize.  Well, several years later, and it sitting in the corner of the shop neglected, a deal was struck with the owner and now I have been beating on this bike as bad or worse than the Black and White bike ever had it…

I’ve made a few changes from the previous owners doing – mostly cosmetic.  I’ve been taking it over to the skate park and hitting the ramps with it…  Sooo dumb…  But, this thing with it’s super narrow bars and gnarly tires just wants to be in the air – I can’t help it…

It’ll get some upgrades this winter, a 750cc Rephased, cammed, ported and carbed engine should do nicely….  And maybe I’ll quit breaking it – that box jump at the skate park is hell on a frame I tell ya – haha….  Nothing some new tubing and beefier shock mounts can’t handle…

So we hopefully will have our Resto-Mod Cafe’ Project, the Black and White Bike, My funky Brat Lansplitter Dirtbike Thing, My Digger Project (long been on hold…) and a Street Tracker done this spring to bring to shows, events, etc…

Street Tracker you say???  Oh yeah, I’ve started on the head for that project too!  I’m thinking 270 Degree Rephase, 750 CC, and all the trimmings…

 

So we’ve got a LONG busy winter ahead of us…  I think we have our hands full, and we still plan to bring 3-4 new products to market in the next few months – so stay tuned!

PS – find us on Facebook – we tend to put alot of random updates on Facebook, and sometimes you can get a jump on the sale of random parts too…  So go “Like” us, if you don’t already

And since 2013 is practically upon us, go get your XS650.com calendar!  We made the cover!!!

Buy your 2013 Calendar here – http://www.morandesignco.com/shop.html – and no, we aren’t making any money off of this, we just thought it was cool…

As always, thanks so much for your continued support of Hugh’s HandBuilt – when you support a small business like HHB, you can see exactly where your money goes.  We have 2 fulltime employees, and I have a wife and 4 month old child who all appreciate your business.  Thanks again folks for allowing us to be a small part of the American Dream

Hugh