Black Kat Motorwerks

Old Dogs & Vintage Sidecars

Quinxy von Besiex — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 03:52:32 +0000

Quinxy is finishing up his custom-made dog cage for his Chang Jiang (a Chinese Army copy of the 1939 BMW R71) sidecar rig. Among its many features, it weighs less than four pounds and can be installed and removed in less than 2 minutes. It is also compatible with all manner of beasts, from dogs to cats to chickens to rabbits; testing to date has been limited to two dogs.

Here are some of the photos and video of the project.

Read about Quinxy’s motorcycle and art projects on his blog.

^Quinxy

Eric’s 1967 BMW R60/2

Quinxy von Besiex — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 03:15:58 +0000

Eric, a newcomer to the shop, is rebuilding a newly acquired 1967 BMW R60/2 with Rick’s help. You can follow his labor of love on his new blog Idle Pursuit.

French Police Siren Conversion

Quinxy von Besiex — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:12:14 +0000

This beautiful bike had a rare 1960s siren originally used on French police bikes. The trouble was the bike was 12 v and the horn was meant for a 6v bike! The owner had been using it on rare occasions anyway, but for reasons of safety (safety of the horn / reduced fire hazard) and more accurate sound reproduction we upgraded the system by building and installing a voltage divider. Bob who consults on some of our more complicated electrical jobs built this heavy duty voltage divider and we went about installing it and the relay controlling it. The relay went under the tank with the factory relays and the voltage divider we placed under the pillion seat for reasons of heat dissipation, protection from the elements, and because it was the most unobtrusive place to put it. Make sure you play the video to hear this beautiful siren wail!

^Quinxy

Vintage Mechanics Lesson: Basic Routine Maintenance, Adjustments, and Repairs

Quinxy von Besiex — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:44:02 +0000

Rick Monahan, owner of Black Kat Motorwerks, as part of a series by the League of Gentlemen Riders, will present a lesson covering most of the routine maintenance items all vintage bikes need. Along the way he’ll cover common repairs you might need to make in the field and in your garage, as well as the tools you should keep with you always.

Join us for free, August 21st at 2:00 PM.

As time allows we’ll cover:
- Engine Oil Change
- Gearbox Oil Change
- Spark Plug Cleaning/Gap Adjustment
- Valve Checking/Adjustment
- Points Checking/Adjustment
- and much more…

This event is expected to last about two to three hours.

We’re trying something new, broadening our group from just rides to the other aspects of bike ownership. If it goes well we may repeat and expand on the bike mechanics lessons to share the knowledge and help people help themselves.

The lessons will be heavily biased towards vintage bikes, in particular BMWs. Demonstrations will be done on pre-1975 BMWs. If you sign up and have a modern bike I reserve the right to ask you to give up your place for a vintage bike owner if we start to fill up; the vintage people probably need the help and would find the lessons more directly applicable than you. Rick’s expertise is BMW, so if you have a non-BMW don’t expect him to know everything about your bike! He’ll have general information and advice but without a manual may not know any specifics.

The location for the lesson is at Quinxy’s house in Venice. Contact me or go to the League of Gentlemen Riders, will site to RSVP.

Look forward to seeing you!

^Quinxy

The BlackKatMotorwerks T-Shirt

Quinxy von Besiex — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:26:30 +0000

We’re planning some t-shirt designs for our loyal customers. Stay tuned, we should have them in a few months. Free if you’ve had major, major work done on your vintage bike! And quite affordable if you haven’t!

Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally 2010

Quinxy von Besiex — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:10:08 +0000

Rick, Quinxy, Matt, and new member of the shop Bob represented Black Kat Motorwerks at the Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally this past Sunday. It was a great turn out and we were able to connect with lots of new and old vintage BMW owners.

Quinxy may have also gotten a few new riders for his South American Sidecar Tour.

Black Kat Motorwerks at the Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally

Quinxy von Besiex — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:00:55 +0000

Rick Monahan and Quinxy von Besiex and a few of their bikes will have a booth in the Builder’s Garage at the Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally Sunday July 11th, so stop by and get your vintage BMW questions answered!

Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally Schedule

9:00 AM – Coffee & Donuts & Socializing

10:00 AM – Morning group ride – Up the PCH to Solstice Canyon and Back

11:00 AM – Doors open! AHRMA Race Exhibit • Builder’s Garage • Photo Booth • Raffles • Art & Photography Exhibit.

2:30 PM – Vintage Bike Judging

5:00 PM – Miss Venice Vintage Pin-Up Contest

6:00 PM – After party begins!

Labor Rates

Quinxy von Besiex — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:09:12 +0000

We here at Black Kat Motorwerks have been forced to bump up our labor rates. We can no longer single-handedly fight off the mighty powers of inflation and the rising cost of living.

Starting today, July 1st, the rate for new customers has gone up to $85/hr. Old customers will get a reduced transitional rate on work accepted before September 1st, so they can adjust with minimal discomfort.

You’ll find our rate is very competitive with other motorcycle shop labor rates. Rest assured we only bill for time actually put in, and we do only what you ask for, and what must be done.

Photos from the Shop

Quinxy von Besiex — Sun, 23 May 2010 19:51:14 +0000

Just some photos from the shop…

The Return of Royal Enfield

Quinxy von Besiex — Tue, 04 May 2010 03:49:21 +0000

We’re certainly partial to our true vintage BMWs, but we’re also pleased to see a vintage revival in any form. And our friends at NoHo Scooter are going to be the authorized Los Angeles dealers for the new Royal Enfield G5. We look forward to seeing these on the road soon!