GrandPaul - Laredo, TX

I posted an intro back in '06 and never got around to uploading bike pix.

I just uploaded most of my collection to my profile album, will try to create a second album for racing pix...

Member Albums

I've been riding for over 40 years, wrenching on bikes for about as long.

I opened my restoration shop called "Born Again Bikes" (link in my signature) in 2005. I mainly do British bikes, but I've done a fair share of Japanese bikes and the odd Euro stuff.

Born and raised in Laredo, and have been riding the Texas hill country for at least 25 years; I've also ridden in 13 other states.

I am a member of CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Assn), ride with the Brit Iron Rebels Worldwide, and am a regular at the BMOA New Ulm rallye and Texas Mile at Beeville.

My wyfe, Sally, also rides, as do my older sons. We're about to adopt a new boy, that'll make 5 kids, and about to have a new grandson, that'll make 6 grandkids.

I'm whittling down my collection in anticipation of moving up to the Austin area; I recently gave my older boys 3 bikes each, so I'm down to 35 bikes now (if you count projects in-work).

I've race vintage bikes with the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Assn. (AHRMA). I scratch-built a '69 Triumph Bonneville 650 to Historic Production Heavyweight specs (finished 5th out of 20 riders in the class in 2008 as a rookie), and have also raced my 72 Rickman Montesa 250 in VMX Sprortsman 250 class, a borrowed Kawasaki 500 triple in Formula 500 (3rd place in the championship in 2008), and ridden "monkey" in an LCR Suzuki GSXR1000 in Formula 1 sidecar (2010 class champions).

Great collection!

Thanx. I'm slowly deleting from the botom of the list, to fix 'em up from the top of the list! I reckon I'll hit equilibrium in about 20 years at about a dozen bikes.

Those are some pretty bikes. I especially like that blue Norton in the top row.

RedPill said:

I especially like that blue Norton in the top row.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the original Kenny Dreer 952 prototype bodywork, monoshock rear end and tight-tuck exhaust, as originally shown at the New York IMS when he first announced the New Norton program. He sold me that, and a bunch of his other 880 stuff as he was clearing everything out after selling the New Norton operation to Stuart Gardner. It's the most trick bike I own, and will not be sold as long as I'm still sucking wind.

Checked out your blog, well done...

From someone down the road in Freer.

Hey Paul long time no see hope you have been well

DORK! I just read the "Post Title" sticky thread.

Here's me, in some bike /related pix...

In the shop (although posed)-



It's a mess, but at least I know where everything is. I've e-bay'ed off about 4 truckloads (literally) of spare parts in the last 6 months, so it's much cleaner and more spacious lately.

The oldest photo of me on a bike that I've got- probably 1985, aboard my first monoshock bike, a Yamahaha XT250-



That was a VERY fun bike with sheer torque and power that was perfectly matched to my capabilities and 125 pound wet weight.

One of my favorite racing-related photos, a re-creating of my class record setting run on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2008 on my scratch-built '69 Triumph Bonneville 650 / AHRMA Historic Production Heavyweight vintage roadracer-



A fellow "Brit Iron Rebels" member, Phil "Hawkenz" is the official U.S. photographer for Norton. His company name is "I Shoot From the Hip"; He and I rode off beyond the pits and he just started snapping away from his bike. He sent me nearly 100 photos, all shot free-hand, mostly from his bike, raw and un-cut, NOT A SINGLE ONE was out of frame, or out of focus!

If you've never been to Bonneville, you NEED to go during bike weeks on the salt, at least once in your life.

I've wanted to go to Bonneville for forever. My buddy's father-in-law plans on going in August, and I said I was going to stow away in his luggage!

My first trip to Daytona, and I'M ON THE TRACK!



My wyfe and I drove all over the U.S.A. with our 2 year-old daughter in 2008 chasing the AHRMA season; I finished 5th out of 20 riders in my class, as a rookie; barely got beat out for 4th by a former class champion!

Some of the highlights of my rookie year:

-Roebling Road race track in Bloomington, GA
-Daytona International ("old International infield" layout, bypassing Nascar 1 & 2, and using the "short" back chicane)
-Disney World
-Road America @ Elkhart Lake, WI - over 4 miles per lap!
-Deep dish pizza in Chicago
-Grattan Raceway near Belding, MI, where I hooked up with a new friend that loaned me his Formula 500 Kawasaki triple; Podium finish (3rd) my first time out on it!
-A trip up to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis
-Sights & sounds of Branson, MO
-Set a class record on the Bonneville Salt Flats on my first run!
-Miller Motorsports Park, near Salt Lake City, UT (2) 2nd place finishes in Formula 500
-Canyonlands, Mesa Verde and Arches national parks (I forget in what order, but it was on the way to Albuquerque, NM)
-Sandia Classic roadrace & VMX (Albuquerque, NM) - (2) 2nd place in Formula 500, 2nd in VMX 250 Sportsman 50+ (Dave Aldana beat me in that one)
-Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL - truly world-class facility in EVERY aspect
-Alabama Air & Space Museum
-Nashville @ Opryland Hotel

It'll be mighty hard to top THAT year, unless I win the lottery...

I just finished updating a new thread on my latest build, it's a "TriTon" (Triumph engine in a Norton Featherbed frame).

TriTon build thread on TWT

It will look something like this (different exhaust, and it will have lights):