Winter in LA Update

So it's a balmy 73 or so here in LA. Despite that, there are a lot of winter projects going on. I just acquired two of them myself (see post below.) I thought I would take a sec to run down the list of some of the bikes being built right now. Some of them look to be pretty cool, but I'll let you judge for yourself.

First off is the leader of L.A.'s own Latebirds moped gang, Charlie. Like me, he's building a cobra, but only recently did I realize that he's building it for the Polini Cup. Had I known, I would have included him in the polini cup rundown that I did a few posts ago, but anyway, here goes: Charlie's cobra is undoubtedly going to be fast. That's a given. I believe it's going to get a Metra 80cc kit on it, but I'm not sure I remember correctly. The really cool, unique thing about this bike though is that it's going to have a Tomos revival front end. This is going to allow for disc breaks, heavier duty shocks, and what sounds to be a really cool headset arrangement. Since the triple tree extends up, he is going to put clip ons on them, allowing for ultra-low riding. Other than the electrical, I'm told it's all ready to go. According to Charlie, he's going to be 'the big guy on a little bike.'

Speaking of the Polini Cup, I was recently told an interesting bit of info. Though not related to LA, I thought I would share it with you. I was told by Charlie that all of the 1977 team riders, as part of their sponsorship deal with Polini, will have to run Polini powered bikes. There are five of them being built currently, though none of them are finished. If I had to guess I would say the riders will be Dan, Elliott, Paz, Lee, and G. That is just a guess though.

Second Winter build that I know of right now is by my buddy, and founder of the Woolly Bullies, Chris. Chris is building a freespirit, whose chasis he picked up from Tommy. It's going to be bright orange and have his rebuilt e50 on it... (once he rebuilds that engine at least.) For now it's painted up and looking clean though. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Though he's been a skilled mechanic for a long time now, he's yet to have built a bike from scratch.

I guess I should include my winter project(s) while I'm at it. I have a rigid freespirit that I WAS focusing on. I bought it complete on ebay for $150 buy it now(!) and disassembled it at my parents house in Chicago. That's where it sat until this last December, when I shipped the frame out to myself here in California. I then proceeded to get it chopped down, so the seat can sit lower. After which I bought two cobras on impulse. (haha... the madness). So, now I'm sort of focusing on them, though I have an 80cc metra kit that the (in)famous Shaw ported for me. I can't wait to see how that thing runs, whatever bike I put it on.