About Me
Hello, I'm Mark Trotta - welcome to my classic motorcycle site.
I've been riding and wrenching for 30+ years, and in that time, I've brought home numerous motorcycle projects. Because of this, two things have happened; I have become quite familiar with old iron, and I have pushed the limit of my patience far beyond what I thought it was.
I didn't always have the skills and tools and equipment needed to build motorcycles - they were picked up along the way as I got deeper into projects.
What I Ride
My first motorcycle was a 1972 Harley-Davidson Sportster, which I bought wrecked in 1981. There was no internet then, all I had for guidance was a few motorhead buddies and the factory shop manual. But six months later, I was riding.
After several riding seasons, I decided to convert the Sportster into a custom hardtail, so I needed to find another daily rider.
From 1983 to 1988, a Yamaha Seca Turbo was my commuter bike.
The Seca Turbo was a fun (and fast) bike. And as you can see from the picture above, it got me through all kinds of weather.
During this time in my life, I chose not to own a car, and the two bikes were my sole transportation. I thought nothing of alternatively riding right-side shift and left-side shift bikes!
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Triumph Trident
I bought this 1974 Triumph Trident as a basket case, non-running and parts missing. With three cylinders, three carburetors, three sets of mechanical points, and something called a zener diode, this bike was a challenge!
Before and After Triumph Trident Restoration.
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Road King FLHRI
From 2005 to 2010, I rode a Harley-Davidson Road King. At the time, I was working at a Harley-Davidson dealer in the county below mine. It was a 70-mile commute, and the King was a good ride.
After five years, I decided cruisers weren't for me and sold it.
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In 2012, I bought a basket-case 1976 Sportster.
Before and After 1976 Sportster Project.
Vintage Trike Restoration
I found this Harley trike project on ebay in 2014. Purchase price included a frame, a disassembled motor, and boxes and boxes of parts.
Before and After Harley Servi-Car.
Read: Harley Servi-car Restoration
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BMW Oilhead
My daily rider from 2017 through 2022 was a BMW R1100R. It was surprisingly fast for a big bike, although I was never comfortable power-shifting through gears on a shaft-drive machine (but I did anyway).
In addition to replacing front and rear tires, routine oil changes and tune-up, other repairs included replacing the in-tank fuel filter, replacing the battery, replacing the starter, and replacing leaking fork seals.
I also had to replace the ignition switch due to a stuck key.
All this seemed like a lot of upkeep for the 2,000 miles a year that I rode it. I'm on a limited budget - putting time and money into something that I'll never get back didn't make sense. The Beemer was sold in 2022 and the search was on for a replacement bike.
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2023
After 40 years of riding, I found myself looking for a smaller, lighter bike - and one in reasonable condition that has bottomed out value-wise. After considering various vintage makes and models, I purchased a non-running Norton Commando.
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Thank you for visiting my site!
You can contact me at: Mark @ Classic-Motorcycle-Build.com
Ride Safe.