Freeway Flyer Fats

Joe Hurst sent me this photo last Feb. It's a cool pic, but it was really badly distressed. So every now and then I'd do some retouching to it and today I finaly finished it for publishing.

 

Goose It

Arte sent me these awhile ago. It's his buddy Chucko. I believe the Gooseneck was done by Skip Fisk. It looks like the neck is lower than on some others.

The bike features some South Bay standard items. Dick Allen Springer, collector exhaust, Sportster headlight, and sissy bar swoop support.

Dick Jammin

Another never before published photo of Dick Allen headed down the Hwy.

Photo courtesy of Joe Hurst.

Dick at Bonneville

Dick Allen and company (coming or going?), at Bonneville. Just another cool photo by and from Joe Hurst. Not to mention it goes with the header.

4th of July

...and the rockets red glare...

Art Imitates Life

That's how one reader saw it.

About a year ago I received a purchase notification for one of my Old School Panhead prints. Soon after, the purchaser (a South bay resident), sent me a couple of images of his brother' bike from days past with the following message: "Now you know why I had to have the print".

 It's pretty cool that my art stired some fond memories.

Leonard, Thanks for your support and for sending the pics.

More White Bear at Tridents Show

Two more cool cool photos (this time Polaroids), of Joe's White Bear at the Trident's show from about'72.

Pre-belt drive open primary featured a chrome chain for show. Barrels were aluminum sprayed.

As good as they get. White Bear was the epitome of the South Bay Style.

Captain un-America Your 15 Minutes Are Up

I just read on the Vintagent that Cliff Vaughs recently passed. I mean no disrespect by the title as Cliff himself mentioned his fifteen minutes of fame in a comment he left on that blog. I also used the term un-America. Because being black and an activist, likely lead to him being a mostly unknown co-creator of two of the most famous motorcycles there's ever been. Sort of a underground unsung anti hero.

In truth, in the scheme of things Cliff really only got about fifteen seconds of fame compared to all the hoopla the film created. Photo from the Vintagent blog.

Larry Marcus is credited for building the B-Bikes made for the stunts/wrecks at the end of the film.

In recognition of Black History Month, In Feb. 2012  I tried to give some due credit by depicting Cliff and Brother Ben Hardy building the Captain America chopper.

Prior to that I posted this of Ben from Roth's Choppers Magazine. Click on it and read the text.

For more about Cliff, go to the link below. It has several links to previous articles 
cliff-vaughs-rest-easy

White Bear at Tridents Show

Six years ago this month I do my first post on Joe Hurst and his bike White Bear talking about how I first saw the bike at the Tridents car show (LA Sports Arena '71-'72?), and how it made an impression on me. So after these six years of getting to know Joe, talking with him, and posting a bunch of his photos, a little earlier this year he sends me some more pics from the show. WTF!? Here's the link to the first post

This really takes me back to the memory of walking up and first seeing it at the end of the aisle. A couple of other other interesting things. 1. Check out the pin striped mufflers on the yellow bike. 2. Check out the people. We used to dress nice to go to a custom car and motorcycle show. Not like the bums we are today.

Even More South Bay Originals

Angel Marc sent more photos awhile ago and I thought it's about time I shared them.

Lindsey(up front) and Alki Al trailing. I'd say it's near the Hermosa /Manhattan Beach border.

Angel Marc and Lindsey in front of the Club House.

Marc's photos are truly among the best historic chopper photos around. If you'e never seen them click on the label/link Angel Marc, or South Bay Originals just below this post. Even if you've seen them they are worth a second look.

Loco-Motion #1

In the chopper world, mention Loco-Motion and people will usually think Dick Allen. But Loco-Motion was first a knucklehead chopper owned by Nez. He gave Dick the tank and let him use the name. Most people think it comes from a train but Joe told me the name actually comes from the 1962 song The Loco-Motion sung by Little Eva. It was co-wrote by Gerry Goffin and Carol King, yes that Carol King.

Photo of Nez on the original Loco-Motion in front of Joe Hurst's house in 1969. That kid was probably never quite the same.  photo courtesy of Joe Hurst.

Here's where it gets interesting. From what I've found, the above photo is not the record's first release cover art, but likely from a later release. It has Loco-Motion in a jumbled type similar to the way it's written on the tank, so I suppose the Nez got the idea from this cover. It does also have a train on it. An internet search will show several other versions of the cover with trains on them too, so in a round about way there is a train connection.

These are the best photos I can find of both versions of the tanks. Nez's original paint on the left (on the Vincent experiment), and Dick's on the right.

Dick Allen's Time Machine/ The Chrome Frame Chronicles

I've been sitting on this photo for some time and it might just be the oldest known photo of Dick on the chrome frame. But I kind of hesitated to post it.

In Sept. 2014 Dick Allen's daughter Darcy came to visit the South Bay and brought along a scrapbook. Inside was this photo, only it wasn't exactly a photo. The original was disintegrating and too fragile to transport so Darcy brought a color photocopy. I was pretty bad with bits missing, cracks and lines everywhere, plus purple colored ribbons running through out. She let me borrow the copy to scan and later I spent many hours (off and on), restoring it the best I could.

It's pretty cool to see this early stage in this bikes development. It still retains the Sportster fork boots, alloy wheel and brake. After working on this photo so long, I wonder how many times it will be copied and re-posted all over the internet without anybody realizing what a pain it was to restore? I guess I gotta share.

A Time Machine you ask? Well, I've seen the photocopy on another site stating that it was taken in 1959. Well if it was 1959 then Dick must of had invented a Time Machine since the gas tank is from a '66 Harley Sprint. It's much more likely that the photo is, at the earliest, from 1966.

Here's a 1966 H-D Sprint for reference. 1966 also happens to be the first year for this style of bar and shield logo which is faintly visible on Dick's bike. 

Around the same time, I also scanned an original print of this now famous photo. My archives have it marked as 1967 which may be correct. I never really thought about the paint's design origins, but clearly Dick liked the basic design from the 1966 tank.

The high res scan reveals some details that are interesting to see up close.

It also revealed this message on Dick's button.

A Reader's Tale

Chris, I've been following the blog several years now. I'm now 70 and haven't ridden for decades. Had to decide between photography and bikes in the '70's, but I still have road rash from the '60's on my arms. Got popped by cars twice, but that's another story. I rode a 53 "Tin Can" we used to call them in CT from 67-69, and then rode some more in LA in the early '70's.  First I fat bobbed it, leaving the tanks and dashboard, then after the first car hit. molded the frame, peanut tank, upsweeps, etc. This 1970 in Griffith Park with my buddy Charlie on his Turnip. 

I'm now a retired professional photographer who likes to go to shows and shoot beautiful cars and bikes. -Andy Adler

The Grass is Always Greener...

...with a chopper on it.

It's been awhile since I've posted anything and even longer since it's been something from Joe Hurst.

Joe's Green Bike. I'd say this is sometime in the mid seventies. Nobody liked it cause it was green. Joe didn't care.

This is the only other photo I've seen of it. It was posted back in July 2011. Now you don't have to look it up.

More from Angel Marc

Here's some more images courtesy of Angel Marc.

Marc's Panhead build circa late '60s. It featured molding and paint by Nez along with one of the first sets of Randy Smith's Finned Dishpans.

Marc first built his '46 Knucklehead in 1973. Here's how it looked in the late '80s. Marc says it still looks pretty much the same today.

Be sure to click here to see all of Marc's great South Bay Originals stuff!

Juxtaposition Is Everything

More from Angel Mark

Marc says: Larry and I were roommates at one time. We did a lot of riding together and to make it easy when we parked, we would use one chain through both rear tires to lock the bikes. Well with my Jewish star and his Nazi gas tank, we got a lot of looks.

Little Brother Larry (AKA Kansas City Larry), and his Nazi Helmet gas tank. 

Angel Marc pushing his Pan.

The photos are cut because they were once part of a collage under the glass of Marc's coffee table.

Roy's Beer Keg Trike

Somehow this photo was left out when I posted Big Roy's trike a few years back. It's been in a few post. Click here for another look or search the 'Trikes' label for more.

Photo courtesy of Kerry Crist

A Wild One Favorite

One of the best scenes from The Wild One.

One of the coolest bikes in the film too.

More South Bay Coolness From Marc

Angel Mark sent these follow up photos of the South Bay Originals.

Filthy Frank wheelies while Marc (to the left), and others watch.

Marc says Big Chuck was not holding the bike up, just worried as the bike was firmly planted. That said, it does look a bit precarious.

It's A Small World After All

From The Better Late Than Never Archives

Kerry & Arte
A Short Tale of The Brotherhood Between Builders

5/27/2014
Hello Chris, how is everything?  Still liking your MC art blog. Always interesting and informative. Anyway I was really liking your story and pics about your friend Arte. I remember meeting this guy at the swap meet too, I think he bought some stuff from me. He had this red and black panhead in Supercycle that I really liked. Found out we had a mutual friend so I got together with him and went out to his place.  Back then he was the only guy that had a disc on his VL front end. So he let me measure everything up so I could do it to my bike. Very cool of him to do that. Had a great day with him checking out some of his work. Back then I thought he built some of the nicest bikes around. Saw some of his other builds in Supercycle. I agree with you that he has a certain style and that he is still building killer bikes! Does he still have that sweet pan in the pics? Man he should ride that out to born free and let some of these youngsters check out that. Do you know if he might be going? Like to say hi again. Glad to see he is still out there doing it.

Arte still has this Panhead and it looks as new as in these photos. The collector is a Dick Allen unit but Arte built the header pipes. A Cal Mag brings up the rear.

Kerry's Panhead. Other than more chrome it's pretty much the same formula from the bars to the brake. Both bikes also feature Fat Bob tanks with emblems, rear disc brakes, dual button seats, tool box and bullet (guide type), running lights.

Kerry continues:

I liked his style and simple paint jobs so much I used some of his ideas on a couple projects I did up here in Placerville. Candy red and black shovel I put together for someone and a paintjob for another guy. Sorta looks like a Arte bike.  Thought you might get a kick out of these pictures.