Survivor?

I shot this dresser in 1996 at the show that Los Angeles Harley-Davidson puts on every August. This dresser was not in the show, but parked out front. Because most of the bikes in the show are new and for the most part not very interesting to me, I believe it's the last time I went.

From a few clues, I'd say it's a '68. The tank decals are from a '72 and were designed to fit the then new straight bar badges. Similar style decals were used in '71 and were made to conformed to this style of badge. The original buddy seat was reshaped into a wild King and Queen style that looks like a tight fit for two, but helmets hung from the both ends of the bars mean it's being put to use.

I was already appreciating old surviving dressers and thought it was a cool relic back then. I wonder what happened to this one, could it still be around?

Sad News...

We all knew was coming

After putting up a good fight, Dennis Hopper passed this morning around 9:00 a.m. at his home in Venice Ca.

If you ever heard Dennis talk about the amount of alcohol and drugs he used to consume in a day, it's amazing he lived this long.

R.I.P. Billy

We're gonna miss ya man!

Highlights From 2 Long Beaches

Shots from April and May's Swap Meets

1968 Aeromacchi/H-D Rapido 125


Big Scott ready to roll


Brown Sugar. Might taste a tad sweeter with a smaller tank.


This old UL has shown up many times. I liked it better when it was in brown primer. I never noticed that it has one aluminum and one iron head.


'69 XLCH in a XR frame for the street.


I've seen this Panhead somewhere before?


Sort of Harley's first Soft-Tail. The small 2-stroke H-D's got nick named Hummers. This one's a 175cc Pacer. I'm saying it's a '63-65 even though the owner said '62. That style of tank badge came out in '63 and the same goes for the Tele-Glide suspension.


They call it Patina. I remember when only those in the "arts" used that term. The '63 to 65's usually have a two-tone tank which helps identify the year.


It's Hummer Time!


This neat old (Tracy's), Fiberglass Works body will even make a Honda look good.


One of the larger sellers. This guy has been bring stuff out for quite some time now. I'm surprised those crates still have a lot left in them. His parts stretch all the way to the dark green truck. Lots of small NOS stuff at the other end.


This Mini Cooper Woody was in the lot. License plate frame reads, 6,000 rpm 105 mph on a 1o" rim.

Got Ticket?

Got mine. I'm not the type to say I'll win, but see it as a way to support the effort and cost these guys are putting out with the added benefit of a chance.

A Creative Artist

I've been out of town for more than a week with no TV or Internet, so I hadn't heard the sad news of Frank Frazetta's passing until today.

Frank's fame and influence went far beyond just fans of Comics, Fantasy, or Sci-Fi books. His art was featured on covers of heavy metal music, movie posters, and was often copied and painted on the hoods of cars, the side of Vans, and of course, MotorCycle gas tanks.


One of us. Frank relaxes on his '48 Panhead. Little did he know, one day his art would adorn many a chopper.


The "no swipes or photographs" statements makes his art that much more impressive. Early in my art training I remember being very disappointed to find out that most professional artist took photos or swiped images and traced their references.


Frank was a master of the human form. Based on his statement above, we'll cut him some slack on the bike.

Frank's passing marks another end of an era. He'll be missed by many.

Better Late than Never?

Funny How the Brain Works

About a year ago Big Scott of the Cycle Zombies sent me the following email:

"Hey Chris,
I just picked up a 1965 XLCH... the guy I bought it from said he was the 2nd owner, the original owner was a actor and used the bike in a lot of 'B' Biker Flicks? I think he went by the name of Snake, or Spider? probably Snake since that was the theme of the bike. Anyway you might recognize it or maybe know some history about it. Also on the motor it is stamped Sy Gray maybe his real name? Check out the pics on our blog and let me know your thoughts. Thanks, Scott"

One of the pics from the Cycle Zombies Blog April 2009. Hard to see in this shot, but it has snake scales painted on it's molded frame.


I didn't recognize the bike and told him the only guy called Spider (who rode a Sportster), I knew of was this Stunt Man from the late sixties.

One thought I had was, Since the bike and dude was in several movies, could the original owner have been a pal of Gary Littlejohn?

Then this and another photo of the bike were recently posted on the ZZ Chop blog saying it's now gone to Japan.

The weird part is, seeing it again, triggered the memory of where I had seen it. It was in the June 1996 25th Anniversary issue of Easyriders as one of the Staff Rides. Easyriders did have staff members called Snake and Spider, but since they made up lots of pen names to make the staff seem larger, there might not be a connection to the original owner/builder

This article was a typical Easyriders fanciful uninformative bull-shitty history of the bike. Big Scott's photos show the tags on the license plate as being last registered in 1986 and this photo was in the June 1996 issue. So the dude in the photo, Clay Dog (if that's his real name), might not be much of a rider or truly one of the bike's owners. It could be just a posed shot for that issue, since they were featuring the staff and their bikes.

One other funny/strange thing. When I first saw this photo in ER, I thought it would be cool to see more and better shots of the bike.

Happy Mama's Day

Mamas, treat 'em right, or else!

Historic Interest

I was never a fan of Mr. Presley but, these photos are historically interesting of the MotorCycle kind.

Elvis Lover Keeping company aboard a '58.


Elvis Copper Why he's on a 60-64 police Duo-Glide is beyond me?


Elvis Chopper Too bad it's fuzzy. This one is confusing. At first glance, it looks like a '81 Wide Glide with a "Frisco Style" Sportster tank, but he died in '77. Because of the camera shake, it's hard to tell if that's a drum or disc brake or a wide or narrow glide. Anyone know about this bike?


Elvis Dresser Here on a rarely seen '71 Sparkling America (white with red and blue accents), Electra-Glide. Sadly, his young lady friend died in a car accident one year later.


Elvis Wheeler Very seventies on a Stires Trike (Roth rip-off). Wheeler was the slang for trikes.


UPDATE! Hiro_67 sent a link in the comments to this photo on Flicker. It's a 66-69 shovel with a wide glide fork (maybe slightly narrowed?), with a Sportster drum brake laced to a 21". The tank is also from a Sportster, but the real surprise is that since the struts are straight, the rear fender and struts look to be from a Sportster as well. You don't or didn't see that very often. Pretty Cool, Thanks Hiro!

This Month's Header

Only one more month until...

While I'm not an official sponsor of this years show, the art for This Month's Header is my way of showing support.

Here's the official flyer/poster for the show. For the latest info go to: http://bornfreeshow.blogspot.com/

Could there still be anyone unaware of this show?

Be there, or be square!

Cops and Choppers

Cops interacting with choppers, a never ending struggle. Bill Ray LIFE photos from 1965.


This shot brings up a couple of things. 1. It's 1965 and that's a brand new first year Electra-Glide, so the biker could be getting one of his first up close and personal looks at Milwaukee's latest. 2. Some cops really dug their rides and took pride in their machines. The non standard chrome kicker lever, brake lever, and regulator cover means someone has customized this ride. Now I doubt the department would spring for such options (many P.D.s went for blacked out standard models), so what it may suggest is, the cop owns this bike and leases it to the city. This was once a fairly common practice with many Police Departments.

Doctor's Orders?

I was out of town and also got sick so I haven't been very active with the blog.

A strict medicinal regiment for wellness.

So where does the image of a medicine man/witch doctor with Top Hat originate? The latest Disney animated film "The Princess and the Frog", (set in New Orleans), features such a character as the villain.

The flip side is even cooler.

Mo better now.

Today's Cost of Bobbing

I found this H-D product announcement a few weeks ago and thought it was kind of amusing. Is it just me?

Combine Chopped Rear Fender and Solo Spring Saddle for Classic Style

MILWAUKEE (March 26, 2010) – Owners of most 2006-later Harley-Davidson Dyna® models can achieve the hot bobber look with the installation of three new items from Harley-Davidson Genuine Motor Accessories that are easy to install with no cutting, welding, or fabrication necessary (and no fun!), my words.


The new Chopped Rear Fender Kit – Dyna® Models (P/N 59860-10BEO Primed, $349.95; P/N 59860-10DH Vivid Black, $449.95) is a complete “bolt-on” chopped fender kit. The chopped fender eliminates the traditional tail lamp and center-mount license plate, replaces the original equipment rear turn signals with the included stop-turn-tail lights for a clean, stripped-down appearance. Installation requires the separate purchase of the new Side Mount License Plate Kit (P/N 60938-10, $194.95), finished in brilliant chrome, with a durable steel mounting bracket that incorporates license plate illumination.



Complete the bobber transformation with the new Solo Spring Saddle – Black Leather (P/N 54373-10, $269.95), a 10.5-inch-wide solo seat with the minimalistic “just enough to ride” look. The torsion-style springs are designed for the optimal balance between spring suspension and support. The smooth metal seat pan and the simple frame cover leave a clean, finished appearance. The seat can be removed and replaced with a touring seat for a two-up riding. Installation requires separate purchase of Spring Seat Mounting Hardware Kit (P/N 54075-10, $229.95), sold separately.

Add it up and it only costs $1045.00 (plus $100 for black only), to bob your Dyna's fender , change seat and to relocate the license plate. Not counting tax or paying the dealer to install the kit. (we wouldn't want you to break a nail).

You too can have a unique customized bike... just like everybody else's.

Remember the days when Bobbing was done with a hacksaw, a file, surplus parts, some imagination, and little or no money?... me neither.

Factory Bolt ons? - Not a Bobber!

Cops, Then and Now

Then
LIFE March 1949, Los Angeles Coliseum. Photographer: Loomis Dean

Note the bottom left, you can see another photographer's hand holding his camera. Also notice the bottom right (LIFE logo),where the photo has been torn. Life Caption: "Los Angeles has world's biggest motorcycle police force, here lining up for review". Looks like 9 rows of 24. That would be 216 if thats all of them?

Maybe one of you can try counting them. I wonder how many of them have survived or how many were later bobbed and chopped? While they were getting their picture taken, it would have been a good day to be out on the streets raising hell.

"Los Angeles motorcycle police force during full scale inspection of cycle corps".

1949. That would mean a mixture of Knuckleheads (possibly some Flatheads), 48 Pans with springers, and '49 Hydra-Glides. Where's the Meter Maids and Servi-Cars?

Now
Exact date and location not known.

A modern day line up of Twinkies just doesn't get me as excited. Yeah, I know, I stacked the deck in favor of the oldies.

It may be a regional bias but, a proper Police Special is painted Black and White, or as H-D liked, Silver.

Custom Chopper July '71 East of Eden

The style of this feature fits right in with this month's header. As in the header, the young lady is wearing hot pants, tall boots, a knitted sweater, and round sun glasses

One of the best Custom Chopper covers and a good issue overall. Note, it's the same issue that featured the Christian Chopper.


I should of saved this shot for my '"What sort of woman reads MC art?" series.


I'll let the article do most of the talking.


Not many guys run a single carb on the left side. In this case, an S.U.


One happy dude. How many 19 year olds have/had a bike this nice?