Author: Clay

  • Sur-Ron Slayer: Build an Excellent Electric Dirtibke for Under $3k

    Sur-Ron Slayer: Build an Excellent Electric Dirtibke for Under $3k

    You (yes probably you!) can build an electric dirtbike that outperforms the Sur-Ron Lightbee for about 3 grand in parts. If you want to rip backyard trails in the city or just need to shred quietly for whatever reason, but you don’t want to waste a bunch of time and effort building the thing, just…

  • So You Want To Get A Motorcycle

    So You Want To Get A Motorcycle

    This is meant to be an introduction to motorcycles for total beginners. Please share with all the noobs in your life who might want to get a motorcycle. And of course if you have any questions, corrections or ideas for inclusion, please post in the comment section or email clay@streetspiritcycles.com. “What are you, out of…

  • Being a Biker Dad – A bike for sale, life insurance, and an open letter to my kids

    Being a Biker Dad – A bike for sale, life insurance, and an open letter to my kids

    Well, it’s been a crazy couple of years. I used to see those motorcycle ads on Craigslist all the time.  You know the ones.  “Must sell, just had a baby. Best offer”  And I would think to myself “What a fucking loser!  I will never do that…” And yet here we are.  This will be the 4th bike I’ve…

  • 83 Honda VF750 Sabre – “Fashionably Late.”

    83 Honda VF750 Sabre – “Fashionably Late.”

    The story of this bike is all about frustration. Busted knuckles, missing parts, expensive shit that didn’t fit, and buyers that didn’t come through. The buyer part is maybe the simplest to explain – JT put down a deposit, chose the donor bike, and set us running on the build, but the week before it…

  • So it’s officially winter, but it’s not too late to properly winterize your bike.

    So it’s officially winter, but it’s not too late to properly winterize your bike.

    So if you’re anything like me, you probably try to push the riding season about as long as your gear and pain tolerance will allow before the cold makes it too miserable to be out on the road on two wheels. In the past, “winterizing my bike” has looked like this: after a series of…

  • Check Out Svelte Indian Arrow Cafe Racer Motorcycle: “Slowrider”

    Check Out Svelte Indian Arrow Cafe Racer Motorcycle: “Slowrider”

    This little bike was recently featured on Pipeburn, so to see the full writeup, head over here and take a look. This post is just to highlight a few cool details of the Indian Arrow 149. This was really a “minimally invasive” build, mostly stripping away what was heavy, ugly, or unnecessary and letting the…

  • What kind of motorbike do I want?

    What kind of motorbike do I want?

    Maybe I’m just a sucker for a good Venn diagram, but when stumbled across this (kind of ugly, not created by me) infographic, I simply had to share.  There is so much confusion and misinformation in the market about what particular bikes are good for, it’s important to get back to basics. With that said,…

  • The Beginning of a Build – 1989 Honda VTR250 Interceptor

    The Beginning of a Build – 1989 Honda VTR250 Interceptor

    I’m normally hesitant to release early stage pics of “work in progress” project bikes, but after this weekend’s awesome testing trip to Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia I just had to share: Rolling into the pit at the Shenandoah Circuit for the Motorcycle Xcitement track day and unloading this old girl, I drew more…

  • 1977 Honda CB550F SuperSport City Scrambler – “Day Late and a Dollar Short”

    1977 Honda CB550F SuperSport City Scrambler – “Day Late and a Dollar Short”

    You’re looking at my latest creation, a 1977 Honda CB 550 F Super Sport that was rescued from its fate as some kind half-assed touring bike when I purchased it two years ago.  What was supposed to be a quick and dirty restoration turned into something else as I got into the bike and discovered…