Rooting for the Underdog

When I was young and first getting into choppers, I thought, for economic reasons, a 45 would be a good way to go. Flipping through the magazines of the day, besides trikes, you almost never saw any. This only added to their mystery making me like them even more.

One of the few good 45 choppers featured in a magazine. Roth's (Choppers Magazine).

I came to find out they were considered under powered, but being the underdog, they continued to charm me. Plus aesthetically, I really dig the little flathead. It probably doesn't hurt that my earliest (distinct), memory of a chopper was a 45.

Cacti Pan

Another clean build by Arte. 

Compare it with his '39 and the Electra-knuckKnuck. See what I mean about the way he details them?

Sano Trike Origins II, Wild Child's Customs

Back in March 2010 I did a post called Sano Trike Origins which featured the Himsl bodies, Roth's Candy Wagon, Ed Newton, and the David Mann art shown below. I was wondering who was the first to come up with this style of trike and was leaning towards giving Dave the credit, but as many know, Dave had a habit of using real bikes for his art's inspiration.     

Detail from Dave Mann Painting, Ride Hard Die Fast.

I've been meaning to update this story for some time as I had found several photos of another trike that I believe to be the grand daddy of this style.

Three trikes from Jim Greene's of Wild Child's Custom Shop. The one in the foreground is the most famous and known as Wild Child, but check out the one in the back left! The body work is pretty similar to Dave's painting. I believe it predates Roth's Candy Wagon plus we know that Roth knew Jim and featured the Wild Child (foreground), trike in Choppers Magazine. Not to mention there is a photo of Roth with that trike that had circulated the blogs.

Here's a good photo showing some details. The body work is pretty similar to the one in Dave's painting, but features two pipes on each side. The pipes are easier to see in the photo below.

I rediscovered this old Street Chopper photo while looking up another article. If it has a single down tube make it a double. If it has a double make it a single. That's the custom way.

Artistic Knuck

8 posts down I featured my friend Arte's last build (Electra-Knuck). Here's a 1939 Knucklehead Semi-Bob Job he built. He has a way of detailing bikes that is his signature style. You'll see what I mean when I get around to posting more.

2 Out of 3...

... of these Goodies makes makes for a proper South Bay Chopper.

All 3 is even better! Love this Shovelhead.