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.

More South Bay Originals

Joe Hurst sent these photos which were circulating amongst the old South Bay group on Facebook. I later learned that they belong to Angel Marc.

Here's Nasty Nez with his original Loco Motion knucklehead chopper. He later gave the tank and name to Dick Allen. If you go back and look up the post of Dick's Vincent chopper you'll see the same tank. The post of Joe Hurst's White Bear before paint jamming down the 405 also shows this tank.

Here's an early photo of Dick Allen with his Chrome Frame Chopper when it had a knuckle in it. I believe this is after the Choppers Magazine article when it featured a Shovelhead. The Chrome Frame Chopper has possibly been changed and rebuilt more than any other bike out there. Party on Girl!

This Month's Header-The South Bay and Trikes

Sorry about the new all time low. Two months headers back to back without any other postings! A few things have conspired against me.  1. Blog burn out. 2. My ancient computer's browser is not supported. 3. I hate the new posting process. 4. More important issues to address. 

I hope to do better and plan to partially dedicate the next month (or two), to trike stuff and more South Bay Chopper history.

Just when you thought you'd seen every Dick Allen photo. Dick at his Artesia blvd. shop aboard the Cobra trike running mock up. Courtesy of Joe Hurst.

This Month's Header/Love Cycles...

... not the shop, but a card I made for Valentines 1991

The art was updated to show the bikes as they are today.

Denvers Choppers Shop Towel

Another cool item from Steve Sharp's garage. The real deal from Berdoo. Quite possibly the coolest shop rag around.

White Bear & Loco Motion

Photo courtesy of Joe Hurst.

 Taken at Dick Allen's house upon their return from a cross country run. Arguably two of the best examples of the South Bay Chopper.

Trailblazer

A cool photo from Steve Sharp's garage

A friend's father tears up a trail in El Segundo, CA aboard his VL Bob Job.

Big Wheels?

Pan Happy

Joe told me I need to update the blog now that his Pan's rebuild is finished.

A fresh engine. Not a bad way to start the new year.

Now he needs to get the bike done by Born-Free 5

January's Header

Happy F'ing New Year!

Old art (from 2 years ago), for a new year. Sometimes I just don't have the time to do a new header plus some are worth a second look.

Sorry about the slower pace of postings of late. I have a bunch of good stuff waiting in the wings, but it's going to be a few weeks before I'm up to speed, so hang in there.

Keeping The South Bay Torch Burning

A little over a week ago Joe Hurst called and said he was stopping by Steve Sharp's to drop off some stuff for his Panhead's rebuild. Steve is a long time Southbay Chopper builder who happens to live just up and around the corner from me and is putting together Joe's Pan. Joe needed the top end done as the bottom was already assembled. It seems a recent conversation about needing a sissy bar built turned to engine work. It's now very likely that Steve will help Joe with many aspects of the whole chrome frame bike.

The mighty harley V-twin. It's always an impressive sight when out and up on a stand. 

Steve was in the process of installing a right side electric starter on this clean Panhead which he helped a local rider build last summer.

I just found out that Steve builds Dick Allen style springers based on his old friend Fats' versions. Fats used a bolt pinned lower tree and used rectangular stock for the lower spring perch, where as Dick welded his trees and used round stock for the perch. Steve has perfected them over the years and follows Dick's theory that the bike's center of gravity is the most important factor in building a long bike that handles well. This one has off set trees as suggested by Mike Torres and per the owners request. Fats' and Dick's springers were always inline. Sugar Bear's are off set.

Here's a shot of most of the bike.

I've seen Steve blasting up the street on this same bike for the last 25 years. I had never met him in all those years, so one day about 2 years ago, I dropped by and introduced myself. One of these days, I hope to do a feature of his bike. He's also a master mechanic and drag boat builder/racer and has won many races with his home built boats.

It's great to see a couple of South Bay Chopper Veterans pair up and still doing what they've always done. Build Choppers!

Big Roy & Little Bob

More photos courtesy of Kerry Crist.

Little Big Men. Little Bob cruising with Big Roy.

Big Roy built this trike after losing his leg. Check out the unusual 'sprung' dual beer keg seats. It wasn't too uncommon for beer kegs to show up as seats or tanks on all kinds of custom vehicles in those days, but two with springs set these apart from others.

Rarin' to Go?

I don't know about Rarin' to Go, but I'm back from a very long absence. As a matter of fact the last 10 posts plus last month's header were actually done on the fly. I'll try to update the blog more often now that I'm back. There's still one big problemo. My ancient computer's operating system and browser is now way out of date, so until I rectify that, I'm stuck with using my wife's lap top for the blog. 

                          

Hustler Nights

Joe Hurst and the Hustler circa 1969.

The photo was taken around the time it won 1st Place in the Street Bike Class at the L.A. show. More on that another time. Note the high pipes. It's kind of interesting that he crouched behind it as he did for the Choppers Magazine feature 

South Bay Bike

Shawn sent in this old photo of his late father inlaw Roger Cooke's South Bay Chopper.

Proof that not all of them had Dick Allen springers. But a Sissy Bar with a South Bay Swoop and a set of collector pipes were  practicaly standard features.

The Goose Neck King

Here's some more cool photos from Mr. Hurst. These are of Skip Fisk's bike. If you were in the South Bay and wanted a Goosed frame, Skip was the man. Check any old magazine with a Goosed Chopper and Skip's name will likely be mentioned in the builder's specs.

Skip is on the left. For a Goose, it's a fairly compact chop and is the only Goose I've seen that didn't run a long springer. 

The neck itself doesn't appear to be as kicked out as seen on other Geese. It's more like the intent was to lower it than stretch it. The molding is nicely done and a bit different than most others as well.

Sac CHP

Kerry Crist sent this photo from Big Roy's collection. It's a CHP officer on his new ride (VL), at the Scaramento Bridge. I'm going to guess it's around 1934-35.

There are several interesting things about this photo. The bike has several chrome items that one wouldn't normally expect on a police bike. Most notable is the completely chromed out front wheel, hub and brake assembly with the center of the rim painted. In addition to the handle bars and crash bar, it's very surprising that the fuel line and clutch pedal and linkage recieved a dip in the chrome tank. Were these factory options, or done after the fact? The officer's uniform is pretty dapper too. Check out the winged wheel on the hat. Riding around on a slick ride all decked out and getting paid for it (especially during the Depression), sounds like a good job. Of course there is one draw back, you still have to be a cop.

Hey Doc. Sprocket. Surely you have something to add.

Another South Bay Original-Bob Red Beard

Joe Hurst does it again! Joe sent another outstanding photo from the origins of the South Bay Chopper scene.

 

Everything about this photo is bitchin! I believe it's from December 1967. Bob was one of the original chopper guys running around the South Bay in the 60's. Check out those forks. At this angle the trees almost make it look like a Vard but more likely off a British bike. If I remember correctly, Joe bought this panhead soon after in Jan.'68. It was Joe's first Harley, the one he painted purple and is doing that wheelie in that now famous photo.

This Month's Header

It's November so Autumn is in high gear.
Get out and Ride!... before the low gear of Winter kicks in.

Pie's Goose

A few years back I did a search for Goose Neck Choppers and came across this photo on some Harley site. It was submitted by Jim Boatman (of himself), circa 1972.

I figured this had to be a Goose Neck from the South Bay.

About a year or so later, Joe Hurst sent me the following photos of an old friend's bike. Joe remembered him as Pie.

If you wait long enough, it all shows up on the internet.

Hector's Knuck

Kerry Crist sent this photo from the 70's of his old friend Hector's chop.This bike looks like it came right off the pages of Big Bike Magazine and D&D Cycles (later known as Jammer).

1965 Panhead De-Rusteration

My friend Larry Settle purchased a reallly rough condition 1965 Harley Police bike something like 12 or 15 years ago with the plan to restore it one day. Larry has a shop in Harbor City, Ca and since customer's bikes come first (plus some other personal bikes), he didn't get to the Pan until maybe 4 years ago. While he had  finished it a little more than a year ago, and I had witnessed it's progress, I never saw it completely finished until recently.

I didn't get any before pictures before the tear down, but the following pictures pretty much illustrate how rough it was. It was possibly one of the worst condition 1965 Electra-Glides out there.

As rough as the outside was, Larry said the internal parts look as though they had little use.
 

Larry tried to salvage as many of the original parts as possible, but all of the sheet metal had to be replaced. If I remember correctly, the bike spent many years outside under a tree slowly leaning and sinking more and more into the earth.

Larry chose to restore it to a civialian mode. The bike's speedometer was marked BHPD.  Beverly Hills Police Dept.?

Strangely, the original tanks were 3.5 gallon which you never see on a '65. Larry found some 5 gallon tanks which were a first for '65.

Another one saved from the ravages of time.

Chuck's Knuck

A while back, Bruce Parrish sent these shots of a Knucklehead that was willed to a to a friend. It's a South Bay chopper that now resides in Utah.

After talking with Joe Hurst and taking a second look, it was determined that's not a Dick Allen springer. Dick's were too narrow for probably even these small disc brakes. Plus, this has offset trees, so it's likely a Sugar Bear springer. It's hard to tell if the frame is a highly modified Harley or aftermarket. I'm going to say the collector exhaust is from Alphabet's Custom Cycles.

One of the most interesting features of the bike is the top motor mount. It's exactly like the one on Dick's Loco Motion in that it bolts directly to the rocker shaft ends and like on Loco Motion, it has open rockers. 

Having a friend pass is hard to take, but what a inheritance/memorial.

South Bay Originals Countinued

Here's another photo of Dish Pan Dave courtesy of Joe Hurst.

This is probably the same bike that was shown in front of the Hermosa Pier in the earlier post, but now sporting extended forks as was the hip thing to do in '68.

This Month's Header

This art was inspired by the tank art on Doc Holidays Witch done by Randy Smith. Go back to last October's header to see what I mean.

She was suppose to be more malevolent but, because of my haste, it didn't turn out that way.