Unknown Choppers Magazine T-Shirt/Decal Art

Once while doing a search I stumbled upon this unknown (at least to me), Choppers Magazine T-shirt art.

I can tell by the art's style it was done by Robert Williams. I don't think Roth ever made it available. Possibly because the ornate lettering on top of the art is so busy making it hard to read. Still it's a cool drawing.

The Adoration of Potential

There is a phenomenon that has come to past in the last 20 years or so. It's a phenomenon I call 'The Adoration of Potential'. This is the phenomenon of the potential being appreciated for it's own sake thus becoming the end instead of the means. For example. At one time it was only considered cool to have a full blown completely polished and custom painted chopper or hot rod. Then as works in progress and rats started turning up more and more at events, slowly but surely, rough cars and bikes (primer, bare metal customs, and survivors), became admired for what they could become. Or to put it another way, seeing the 'Beauty in the Beast'.

Mix in the emotions of nostalgia that creep in as one gets older and you develop an 'adoration' for the things you once admired solely as potential. Now a days, all kinds of old beaters fall into this kind of adoration. 

For me, this occurred in the form of a growing appreciating of old Harleys and since many a custom was born from them, especially old police Harleys. Factor in, when I was young, sometimes the only Harley you might see on any given day would be a police bike.  Then in 1975 I myself went to the CHP to bid on some cop bikes with the intention of building a chopper.

From Choppers Magazine. Roth's 'Oink' likely came from this adventure. Big Bike magazine also did it's own feature on buying police bikes.

Who among us doesn't dig this old dog?

So now I have a thing for old cop bikes (especially the basic blacked out versions as shown), and have collected the parts to one day put my FL Panhead back to it's believed police origins.

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.

The Brothers Noriega

Last March I posted a photo of Fats on his chopper and explained how he was another important figure in the South Bay Chopper scene. Click Here to see it. I also mentioned that I had a magazine that featured his and his brothers bikes. Here's the complete article from Choppers Magazine December 1972. 

Though similar to Dick Allen's, the lower spring perch is the give-away that these are Fats built springers.

Joe Hurst says Ramon's Sportster was a fast one. I believe it's the only bike he ever lost a street race to.

This last image was found awhile back on the Jockey Journal. I believe it's from Street Chopper.  It's been enhanced and reformatted for this blog.

Oink! Oink!

Keith Silcox scanned and kindly sent me the entire contents of Ed Roth's California Choppers! Up to now, I'd never seen the contents of this magazine. Being a fan of Roth's Oink, I was especially pleased to see these two early photos.

This is the first swinging fender/sissy bar combo I can think of.

An Ankh for Oink. This sissy bar was later replaced by a shorter iron cross topped one. The bike was a ridden work in progress. At this point it still featured fat bob tanks plus retained the stock handlebars, forks, headlight nacelle, and front fender. All of which are barely visible.

Roth's California Cruiser The Article

Here's the article from the December 1969 issue of Choppers Magazine featuring the finished project. Click on each image to enlarge and read.

 This is the prototype and grand daddy of all the Roth/Allen V8 Trikes. It used a small aluminum Olds V8 instead of the Ford 289 used in Dick Allen's and the kits.

In a lot of ways it is also the grand daddy of all V8 trikes, as builders to this day still build frames eeriely close to the original. For the Kits, Dick supplied the frames (and engine mounts), while Roth supplied the fiberglass bodies.



Roth's California Cruiser

Ed Roth's V8 powered California Cruiser was the prototype for the Ed Roth/Dick Allen joint venture Cobra Trike kits. I'll be posting the article from this issue soon.

An All Time Favorite

This month's header creates a good reason to post the last of the White Bear photos.

If you've been reading the blog for awhile, then you know that Joe Hurst's White Bear is one of my all time favorite bikes and also a perfect example of the South Bay Style.

Dick Allen thought so too. He loved Joe's bike and his own bike (Loco-Motion), pretty much matched it feature for feature. The only big differences are the paint, the use of a knucklehead, and a traditional spoked front wheel instead of a 12 spoke American mag.

Doc Holiday's Witch Street Chopper May 1970

Back in November of 2010 I posted The Witch as featured in Roth's Choppers Magazine (click Here to view it), and also used it for this last October's Header. Therefore, I figured some of you might like to see the Street Chopper feature since it has better details and shows how the bike changed some. I reformatted the article so that it would fit the blog and make it easier to read the captions.

Once again it was also the cover bike. Instead of the original metal flake, the bike was repainted a candy orange. I like the former better.


Check the custom touches like the peanut tank's chromed side panels, the hex down tubes and pin striping as you view the photos. Very much like the stuff you'd see on a Von Dutch custom.




Custom Cycle Engineering Finned Dish Pans were now installed.


Randy of Gardena as in Smith repainted the witch again but I like his first witch better. Go back to my October 2011 header post to compare.


Note the very high position of the brake pedal. Back in the 60's, a lot of guys liked the radical (but not very practical), look it gave. The small photo shows a high clutch pedal as well.


The sissy bar now sports what I call the South Bay Swoop. Again, the paint and the metal work looks Von Dutch inspired.


The bullet taillights are cool, but note the broken license plate frame.

This bike may relate to more posts than any other to date. As evidence, check the Labels/links below.

Ridondo Beach

That's Joe's Hustler. It says any extension to 15", but many of them (including on Loco-Motion), were longer. I'm guessing it was a higher price point from 15" up. From the Dec.69 Choppers Magazine.

Ed Roth's Hustler Photos Uncut and Uncensored

Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit... nothing was censored, but these photos have never really been seen before.

Awhile back, In the midst of an unrelated email subject, Joe Hurst surprised me with Ed Roth's original photos for the Hustler feature in Choppers Magazine. As it turned out, Ed gave Joe the photos after it was in the magazine. The first two photos (below), were not published. I did a post on the Hustler feature last Dec. and although the last three made the magazine, I'm posting them again since they are much bigger, much better (than the bad print quality of the magazine), and uncropped.

Here's a cool one. It's an alternate to the shot Roth used to open the article. Yes the angle of the one used is better, but it has that big finger print on it. Like Roth said in the feature, "those forks really shine!"


Another photo that didn't make it.


The sissy bar in all it's glory. This one and the two below were featured, but the top of the sissy bar and the groovy trash can got cropped out.


Besides the details of the Phil Ross stitched seat, Jim Andrews bike "Grapes of Wrath" (upper left), is easier to spot in this large print.


The money shot, large and uncut. Joe later had the big SU carb polished to match the other shinny stuff. As mentioned in the first post, the engine came out of Dick Allen's Wheeler Dealer.

I think it's pretty cool to see these behind the scene shots all these year later.
Thanks Joe!

The Hustler

.... and a little more Joe Hurst history.

This time from Choppers Magazine May 1969.

Roth liked nicknames and the bikes named for the features. Roth asked Joe if he had any nicknames, Joe said no.... then Ed asked, if he liked playing pool.... Joe said said yup.

The Hustler is pretty much the prototype of what would become the South Bay Style.

If I got it straight, this was Joe's second Harley and the Shovelhead was out of Dick Allen's chrome frame bike (Wheeler Dealer Chop. Mag. Oct.'68). Joe always laments, the funds from selling his complete Panhead only got him an engine and trans.


Joe's the Godfather of the swooping double braced sissy bar and Dick Allen springers. This fork was the first one Dick Allen made. Actually second, the very first was for a Triumph, but Joe jokes, that doesn't count! The first few Dick made had Harley spring perches and top trees, later versions were completely fabricated from scratch.

From the shadow of the sissy bar, I was able detect the bike next to Joe's was his friend Jim Andrew's Grapes of Wrath. It was featured in another issue.


The tank featured a stylized "13" as on his former Panhead. The seat maker's credit is an error, Phil Ross stitched it up. As Irish Rich pointed out, this front view of the forks was used for the ads in this issue and others.


Here's the cover of the issue it was in. Not Joe's bike, but I know you guys enjoy the Choppers Magazine stuff.

Prior to this feature, the Hustler had tall stacks and had won First Place in the Street Bike Class at the Trident's custom car and bike show. More on that later.

Doc Holiday's Witch... Too Late for Halloween

I wanted to post this for Halloween but got hung up on some other stuff.
Randy Smith painted the Witch on the tank. The text mentions that Randy is now making his finned valve covers.

Typical Choppers Magazine layout. The print quality wasn't the best and not one good overall shot of the bike, but you got to love it. Roth mistakenly says that the chrome front tubes of the frame were twisted. They were instead made from hex stock. In addition to the tubes and tank, the fender tip also features a dip of the shinny stuff.

Randy Smith is another famous South Bay builder. Here he is on his Hawg Wild panhead. The nearly identical stance of Doc's Witch is probably no coincidence. The similar length of springers and sissy bars, handlebars, bates style seats, 19" front wheels, tells me that Randy was a major influence. The Witch also had Randy's "Finned Dishpans" installed about a year later when the bike was redone. Since they were all South Bay bikers, Joe Hurst knew both Randy and Doc.


Roth shot some interesting angles. Robert Williams wife Susan, is said to be responsible for that lovely masthead.
Back around 1969-'70, I was lucky enough to see the Witch in the parking lot of what is now called the South Bay Galleria.

Hardly David 3

Also from Choppers Magazine Nov. '69 issue. These cartoons are always signed Luke? As mentioned before, they look like they could be Ed Newtons work.

This Month's Header, Freaky Forks

I try to relate each header's image with something to do with the month. This time it's the cover from Roth's Choppers Magazine Nov. '69 and the drawing I did of it sometime in 1972.


For all you Choppers Magazine fans, here's the actual cover. I recently posted a few Goose-Necks, so why not a Freaky Fork?


Regardless what you think of the strange fork, it's a cool image, and it inspired me. India ink and a black color pencil on illustration board. 1972.


Here's a better look of the featured bike.


Too bad the forks got cropped in the magazine's gutter. I'm not sure his chic was dressed for a putt.

Then as now, guys have always been look'in to be different but, there's a point when it gets ridiculous. Thankfully freaky forks never really caught on.

Random Radness

More good stuff from July 71 Choppers Magazine