A few weeks ago I got an email from Jeff Skinner of Best West Fasteners: he was responding to one of the Daily Digest emails that get sent out when there’s new content here on Bike-urious – you can sign up it yourself here.
His response was simple, and the kind of thing I love to hear:
“Hi Abhi, you should come by my shop and check out my collection.”
Now that I can do…and I can share it with you!
Proof that I rode there:
Things immediately started off promising with an interesting custom – a Wes Cooley tribute based on a Suzuki 850:
Then it got even cooler when he took me to a display in the back full of interesting bikes. Marketed as a British bike, the Tyran was actually built by Mitsubishi with designs from Ted Wassell, a name that may ring a bell if you were a MX nut in the 70s.
Unfortunately, Ted passed away before the bike made its way to market, and the resulting probate litigation postponed the release date by 2 years. By that point, the Tyran 125 was outdated compared to what the big 4 Japanese manufacturers had created. In essence, the Tyran was slower, less reliable, and 40% more expensive than the Japanese competition, so it didn’t last very long and it’s quite rare to see nowadays. For more specifications, check out this list on Off-Road.com.
A trio of cool little bikes, including a Honda Z50 “Christmas Special”:
Honda Mini Trail.
Iconic is about to sell one of these on our auction site, though it has been repainted:
Introduced in 1974, the Honda Elsinore MR50 only lasted through the following year. It was designed as an gateway drug into Honda’s world of Elsinore dirtbikes, and parents could cap how fast the bike could go by screwing in 1 of 4 throttle stops. The 49cc two-stroke motor was paired with a 3-speed transmission. First year bikes were adorned in all red, the ’75 model (pictured) has a silver/red livery that more closely resembles the bigger Elsinores.
A lovely Honda CB400 Four – we actually have a ~800 mile example over on Iconic if you’re looking for one to collect…
Yamaha Trial 80 – this looks like a first-year example of the baby sibling in Yamaha’s trials lineup. It was specifically designed for kids, and in a period ad Yamaha said: Kenny Roberts said “When my boy starts to ride, I’m going to start him on a TY80.” Because, like any father, Kenny wants his son to have all the advantages he never had. And he’d probably also like to keep that Championship in the family. Funny how that worked out…
I got a kick out of this “rapture” themed license plate frame.
A little group shot:
There was also plenty of old school gear and parts laying around.
Jeff’s got a great sense of humor:
His shop has been around since 1978 so he’s doing something right! You can check them out here if you need some fasteners for yourself.
I saw this but I couldn’t figure out what it was…so I used it as a Guess That Bike post and RoHorn identified it as a Fox Dynamark!
Let’s end things with the man himself – Jeff Skinner!
Later that day, I’d go on to do a scouting run with the Tesi for a future ride to the Quail Motorcycle Gathering (which I’ve since attended – it’s been a while since I visited Jeff). Most of Hwy 33 (which Hagerty recently called their road of the year) is fantastic, though there were several one-way points with stop lights that require anywhere from 2-15 minute pauses. At the northern edge of the road there’s some moisture and if you take Lockwood Valley Road…well, let’s just say it was closed for a reason with some “water crossings” and a chunk of road taken out. Thankfully it was all easily doable on the Tesi, though this is the dirtiest my bike has ever been…
