Michael LaFountain from Raccia Motorcycles has
been obsessed with motorcycles ever since he built his first bike when he was 17
years old. Little did he know that building that motorcycle would shape the
course of his life for the next 16 years. "I’ve been buying and recreating bikes
ever since" says Michael. "I’ve built British and Italian motorbikes in the past
but I have found the Japanese bikes to be more of a challenge due to the fact
that the a large majority of the British and Italian bikes were beautiful to
begin with, unlike a lot of Japanese bikes."
After spending a few years in Europe and spending
way too much time plastering his apartment walls with sketches of new ideas,
Michael knew that when he returned home he had to take this bike building thing
more seriously. "I formed Raccia Motorcycles in 2006 with the main objective to
create vintage Japanese race-inspired motorcycles using primarily Japanese parts
along with some hand built parts" he says. The main shop is in Southern
California but 4 months ago Michael opened another satellite shop in the Bay
Area of northern California.
"In my opinion the Japanese engineering surpassed it’s European predecessors in
the 60s and 70s but was still far inferior in the aesthetics department. I’ve
always believed that the Japanese motorcycle could rival the beauty of let's say
a Norton or Ducati, but it just takes a little more work." This is exactly what
Michael has achieved with this stunning 1971 Honda cb350. "I’ve always loved the
styling of the 60s British and Italian production racers so a lot of that
inspiration went into this build." Here are a few of the alterations he made:
Battery relocation, handmade seat, alternate tank and clip-ons to start.
Michael handmade the rear-sets and spent a good
amount of time reshaping the cases to give it the 'Raccia touch'. With a large
amount of weight removed, larger pistons and a steeper cam this beautiful little
two cylinder really moves. "As an art major in college one of the most valuable
things I learned was the importance of proportion and lines" he says. "I’ve
always tried to build bikes from an artistic perspective and utilize those ideas
obtained in college. I focused a lot on the lines of this bike and I’m pretty
satisfied with the result."