T500 Sea to Sky

The T500 was our first commissioned job. I’d been messing around with bikes for many years, its one of the sideways benefits of owning a Ducati…and I can confirm there’s some truth to the old saying, the one about “making great mechanics out of riders since 1926.” We all have our passions, interests and hobbies, but when a customer asks you to put your skills to the test, it can be a bit nerve wracking to say the least.

I decided from the outset that I would not be content with an average looking machine. It had to incorporate every skill I’d learnt over the years and some I hadn’t—yet. The customer had an outline in mind; the motorcycle had to include the tank he provided and be a café racer. Apart from that it was up to me. Ready, steady, go!

I decided from the outset that I would not be content with an average looking machine.

We kicked off with a full teardown to the nuts and bolts. Chopped off the unsightly parts of the frame and gave the bike a candy metallic-blue paint job. While this was happening, we had the engine re-bored and gave it new pistons, rings, conrods and crank bearings. We gave the cases a silver blue paint job and re-jetted the carbs. New exhausts from Titan Performance were ordered and when the frame arrived, we mated the whole lot together.

Being an oil-injected two-stroke, we felt that the stock, side-mounted oil tanks just didn’t fit the bill.  Searching for inspiration, I visited the craft brewery conveniently located next door. Fortunately, it hit me the moment I sat down, saving me the temptation of a second pint. I looked through the tap house window into the brewing area and spied the glass hatch of the Mash Tun kettle. It looked like a ship’s porthole. If the tank had glass ends, it would solve the age-old problem of not knowing how much oil is in the tank. And, it’s now one of the most eye-catching parts of the bike.

With new rims on the original rear hub and a retrofitted four-pad front hub off a GT750, the T500 was now becoming a whole new bike. We added an electronic ignition and a new harness and the bike was now alive. There are too many bespoke upgrades to mention but rest assured we set about custom machining new components to replace anything that looked even mildly stock. As a final touch we fitted a hand-formed aluminium dome tail with a CNC machined light cover. I’m happy to say the customer loved it and promptly delivered a new project, a 1994 GSXR 750 SP for us to restore…that’s when we decided “there could be something in this.”