It Seems Strange,

almost months went past without a motorcycle post,

 and then all of a sudden a couple of notable motorcycles a week appear,

 like this one, built by the motorcycle building genius that is LA’s Max Hazan, 

 the motorcycle itself is based on a speedway racer of the 1930s,

 and using a 1938 JAP 500 single cylinder engine he made this beauty, as an aside JA Prestwich (JAP), was a prodigious producer of engines supplying them to over 70 different manufactures that did not or could not produce their own engines,

 the original racers ran on methanol and used castor oil as a lubricant, I can still remember when I used to go racing at Brands Hatch, the smell of R wafting across the motorcycle park as we parked up, by the way good as it is, Never mix normal oil with R,

 note the neat simplistic handlebars, no clutch, no front brake, just the twist grip,

and at the rear, also no brake! so where is it? “The transmission is a BSA A10 unit that I rotated 90 degrees, sealed and machined a carrier for a disc brake to be mounted on the countershaft behind the clutch. I tucked a Wildwood hydraulic caliper in there and the controls are hand shift, left-foot clutch, right-foot rear brake and an internal right-hand throttle.” Hazan explains, 

the centrepiece is of course the 497cc single cylinder JA Prestwich Industries engine, a mechanical masterpiece that Max displays in all its glory, wanting to be able to keep the weight down and the lines clean, the fuel tank is just 1 gallon, this meant running it on alcohol was out of the question and as Max remarks, he wanted to be able to “fill it up at the pump.” both the fuel tank and fender are made from a mix of 6061/5052 Aluminum, their stunning lines and deep colour a combination of a nod to the classic British machines of old, you can follow Max on Facebook or Instagram, photography by Shaik Ridzwan, would I like it? Yes please!