...But my Pipe is Whack!

Whether this setback will be fixable or if this split will only widen and cave in at time of attempted repair you will hear of the outcome. If any master craftsmen out there have any ideas I would greatly appreciate your insight. Everdur rod??? Who knows but John at Banzai Machine will take a whack at it. If still a no go, I'll send it over to Jay Kennedy at the Bomb Factory for some finessing. (Those original ripple sections, or at least the ones I have, are a little thicker than tin foil. In all seriousness though they are pretty darn thin. Don't pay attention to the brass glob as that needs to be smoothed out; you're focusing on the seam split!) Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the pipes haven't been chromed, just preped, so that is one positive in the whole mix.

The "Nickle" is Back!

American Brightworks did a great job on all the nickle plating, including the 1950 triumph oil bag. Decal is an old Dean Jeffries waterslide but didn't slide on as well as I would have liked it to.

The Taco Bell kid is on one side...


...and the Jeffries Cycle Maniac is on the other side which will be mostly obscured from sight.


Springs, brackets, and other miscellaneous parts nickled to perfection!

Hardcore Chopper Issue # 39 - John Edwards Cover (Harpoon Article Too)

I haven't personally seen this issue as I just found out about it from Mike Davis' Born Loser MC blogspot yesterday. From what little I know there is a spread on both J. Edwards (obviously) as well as John "the Harpoon." I'm trying to procure a copy for myself but you may want to check Ebay, the Kinokuniya Bookstore, or possibly Bossley Cycle for yours. I'm sure Davis could fast track you to the mag should you wish to narrow your search. Feel free to contact him at https://www.bornlosermc.blogspot.com/ with any questions or Grant & Harpoon at http://choppedout.blogspot.com/ !

The magazine is available at the following link from Yahoo Japan but they may sell to Japan only as I'm not sure: http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/B002FPHSKI/ref=dp_change_lang?ie=UTF8&language=en%5FJP (DON'T CLICK ON THE LANGUAGE PACK AS I HAD MOST OF THE CRITICAL INFO CONVERTED TO ENGLISH BEFORE LINKING THIS ONE)

1987 Santa Cruz "Wheels of Fire" Opening Sequence

This is my favorite skateboard video (though I've only seen a handful) and the opening sequence is amazing with Hosoi, Grosso, Kendall, Salba, Meeks, Natas, and Roskopp shreading to "What's So Strange About Me", a song from Claus Grabke's 80s band called Eight Dayz. The song is amazing but is pretty hard to find on vinyl. I think the album is called "Everyday is Like a New Beginning" or something close to that. Pure skate nostalgia at its finest! (If anyone's interesting in downloading the song you can do so at the link below for FREE: http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=4524860&song=What%26%23039%3Bs+So+Strange+About+Me though you don't get the fire crackles and swoosh sounds like in the video)

California Swingarm!

Here's a nice So Cal style pre-unit done up in the mid 60s from a similar era Man's Magazine. (If I've posted this one before my mistake but I didn't see it in a quick search but it does seem familiar.)

Daytona on the Beach!

Nice shot of Ed. Kretz's Injun racer!


Triumph GP Racer! (pictures come from a 1960s MC Magazine but I forget which one)

1960s Taco Bell Taco Boy Decal

This might make for a ruling oil bag decal but I'll have to see when my batch of plated parts comes back. If not Taco Boy, the it'll be the Jeffries "Living Color" bird.

Late 60s Bates Sheepcurl Jacket Liner

This liner is nothing special just a means of creating warmth underneath the jacket during colder weather. This example would be perfect for the girlfriend to wear under her jacket (notice the small size). Zipper is a Sevall! Catalog reference is from 1968.

Soap Box Derby!

Here's a cool picture I found a couple weeks back at the swapmeet!

1960s Bates Two Tone Leather Cafe Jacket

Here's the latest Bates jacket which arrived today from Ebay. Its kind of interesting as I haven't seen a cafe jacket from the '60s with lower pockets. I can't say I necessarily like them but its a different look. White and teal leather with Easyrider type stripes. The size isn't perfectly optimal on this one but its close enough. I'm still looking for the solid white cafe jacket or racing shirt in a 40L, 40LL, 42L, or 42LL!

J. Cruz 60s Van T-shirt!

Thanks to J. Cruz for sending this complimentary "Van" t-shirt from his line of work. Your kindness is much appreciated. Rat Nao, this one's for you! (I will post the website link soon as I need to dig it out of my email)

Cool Desert Racer!

I can't tell from the angle but I'm guessing this is a HD 45 set-up (actually a JD or VL thanks to Dr. Sprocket's ID) for offroad riding. Flanders risers, fishtail tips, with Bates type p-pad and you can just see the top portion of the tank shifter! Nice! (photo from the 1968 Petersen Motorcycle Repair Manual)

Carb Action!

This bike is throwing me for a loop as it appears to be a flathead 80 or knuckle (its a knuckle; thanks Dr. Sprocket!) with some insanely long intakes!


Ah, twin Amal GP's on a pre-unit bonneville head. Sounds like the Kepaloa set-up to me though I think this is a different bike! (photos come from the 1968 Petersen Motorcycle Repair Manual)

Harley & Vincent Rarities

I never knew a shaft drive H-D was ever produced until I saw the above photo and caption!



The Vincent with a bathtub-esque covering. I like this shielding very much as it reminds me of one of the Tron lightcycles! (photos and captions come from the 1968 Motorcycle Sport Book!)

Rad - BMX Madness From 1986

I had to throw this one up after Thrashin' as Rad is the BMX equivalent to the skateboard movie and I wish I could find my VHS tape as its about time to watch this movie again! Picture comes from moviegoods.com.


Here's my favorite scene from the movie set to Real Life's "Send Me an Angel." Classic 80s RADness!

Thrashin' - Circa 1986

Thrashin's got to be one of my favorite movies of the '80s and for some reason I just had it on the mind today. Great movie poster photo comes from moviegoods.com.


Some nice footage of the downhill chase scene set to the Circle Jerk's "Wild" tune!

Fantastic Bates Solo Seat!

Hon of Canada sent pictures of this rad supercustom Bates seat with yellow and black sticker. This seat is especially cool as I've only seen a couple of alternating color p-pads on ebay but not a solo seat that I can remember. By the way, this seat is not for sale so please don't bug him about it but do check out his blog at: http://www.throttlefmc.com

Panheads & Pet Monkeys - All the Craze in 1967!

Buying these Men's magazines is always a crap shoot as they rarely have good bike photos but this wonderful Wild Angels shot makes this issue a worth purchase!


This little guy reminds me of the monkey in Raiders of the Lost Ark that suffers from a bad date. What a deal though, a live mail order squirrel monkey for $18.95. The good old days I guess! (All photos come from MEN Magazine, May 1967)

Various Biker Poster Snapshots in HD!

JD Racer!

Here's a nice and clean Harley JD race bike with nice lines and very cool pipes from the Rolling Thunder HD book!

T-Birds X 3

The caption reads, "to soften the film's image, some publicity material showed Marlon Brando riding with the company of women!. Here he has even forsaken his leather jacket for clothing that could have been borrowed from his companions." Well said! Check out the following post where Brando is inline with the girls who are on Panheads instead of Triumphs!: http://nostalgiaonwheels.blogspot.com/2009/05/original-wild-one-1953-movie-photos.html (photo comes from the Rolling Thunder H-D book)

Nursury Rhyme or Nightmare?

Molded tanks don't get much wilder and though this one may be a bit over-the-top it nicely displays the gauges!


That's one mighty busy sissybar! The pipes remind me of frog's feet.


The 16" rear rim appears to be one of those swiss cheesed jobs and the Packard tail light looks more like a shark fin than a light! (Article and photos from a 1968 Cycle Guide)