J.Ukrop submitted a new blog post: Snapshots from Scotts Valley Continue reading the Original Blog Post
There's getting to be a lot of good racing museums. I try to hit them when traveling. Thanks for the pictures.
Thank you for sharing this with us, Joey. I love that place. My wife and I were in Santa Cruz at the beginning of Monterey Car Week in 2017 and went to Canepa's open house. They had the shop and museum open for us to walk through. Quite the place!
I volunteer at the Revs Museum in Naples Fl. Whenever we visit No. California, we love to go to Costa Mesa always stopping at Canepa's building. Always something cool to see. Bruce still drives many of Mr. Collier's car when racing out on the coast. Love the area up in the mountains. If you are in that area don't miss stopping. The shop is a must see from up above. The public is welcome.
@J.Ukrop Hello, That place and the quality of the cars there is outstanding. The history and background has been well noted in all sorts of magazines and articles. The cars and motorcycles are top quality and the prices reflect those pristine builds or original condition of the vehicles. But, for the most, priced well beyond our means. I remember those long drives on Highway 17 during the early college days and the property searching/photography road trips through the valley all the way to our favorite little town, Soquel, on the coast. My wife and I were that close to buying a hill top property and moving permanently up North. Now, that would have to have taken some doing as we were/are lifetime So Cal residents. We were weeks away from that final decision. But, elected to stay along the warmer beach locations along the So Cal coastline setting up our future endeavors. There was no hilltop property with a view so close to the ocean near us. We settled into our tiny apartment and decided to make a go of living in So Cal. Most of our friends were now in So Cal despite moving away after high school. but, as much as we liked the surroundings, we were no longer in Northern California, except for long road trips. The colorful Prudhomme FED is one for the books. But in looking at that Triumph, well there is a world of difference between our 250cc cl*** desert racing Greeves bike and that Triumph. The Triumph is a lot heavier, but the power it gave was tremendous for the desert. Instant surges and on the open sand washes and flat areas, it just dug in and took off in a spray of flying dirt behind me. Our neighbor for several of the Hare and Hound races in the So Cal deserts allowed me to ride his Triumph after a race, while we were all relaxing from the end of the grueling 45 mile first course and the 50 mile second course. We needed a definite relaxing time as it was a long drive home. I definitely needed a nap, but the excitement of being offer the chance to ride a big Triumph was something not to be p***ed on at the time. We were talking about our 250 cc bike set up for desert racing, compared to buying another more powerful 250cc model or a larger 500 to 650 Triumph. Modifications to our 250cc bike included custom twin spark plug head, with a switch to move the power from one plug to the other during the races, an extended rear suspension to stabilize the sand wash travels and dirt hills, plus, an extra padded custom seat for those “bumpy” ride moments… The neighbor added his two cents to the conversation about more power and stability in desert racing that was different than the flat track TT races. So, he offered me the chance to ride his bike around the nearby desert courses to get the feel of the next step up for our adventures. It was the most comfortable, stable, powerful race bike, ever. I flew over the deep sand washes and short uphill climbs were instant power to the top. Jnaki That test ride was so much more fun than our lightweight 250 cc bikes that I felt like stopping at the local Triumph dealer and get one to set up. Plus, it fit right in the back of our 65 El Camino easily. Air shocks and all... YRMV YOWZA!
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