Davenport in 16 Hours

a Harley KR pilot takes some instructions . . .

"Church" doing his thing . . .

Close racing on the black gumbo . . .

With a whole lots of cash, nerves of steel and a 4 Valve Triumph
you can have a flag too !

Still racing into the night - Iowa flat track is best.

The Friday Nite races in Davenport saw heavy winds and rain - all events were cancelled. But, with some last minute prep . . . Bake, Noble, Oz, Noot & Eric hit the road for the Saturday program. Bake blew a gasket a few laps into practice - sucked big time. Noble ran the Honda backup to a respectable finish. Oz kicked ass too. Jeff Wright and Billy T road tripped from DM (we'll hook up later) I guess even though a little bad luck was had . . .nobody went to the hospital and everyone had a little fun. Thanks to Bake for takin' us along - Go #17 !

(see churchofchoppers.com for more excellent photos)

Morty's pissed off . . .

We think Morty got shot with a BB Gun - and he ain't happy. The BB is gone and he's healing up - but, me and "The Mort" are gonna kick some ass with a couple shithead neighbor kids. Remember what Walt said in an earlier post?
I think they messed with the wrong cats . . .What goes around comes around.

Drag Racing History - Boris Murray

Boris Murray set a shitload of records in a career that spanned over 40 years. On any given day - he was a thorn in the side of many a Harley drag racer with his nitro Triumph. He defeated every big name drag racer that ever was at least once. In the 1/4 mile or at Bonneville - this guy flew. I'll bet that H2 Kawasaki X 3 was a handful . . . it takes balls to launch somethin' like that and let it scream.

1964 FLH with sidecar

Years ago my dad had a shop and we serviced a customer's panhead sidecar - similar to the one above. We'd have to open the big double door to get it in the shop. The customer would tell us, "Go ride it - test ride it, try it out . . ." but, we never did. Until one day my son Eric, about 9 years old, was at the shop and I got it going, he jumped in the side car and we rode around town. It was a blast. At a traffic light, this old truck pulled alongside - it was the owner coming to get it ! This was an excellent example of one done up right.

Fit for a king !

Pork cutlet with homemade onion rings - large coke. Voted best in Minneapolis. It was pretty tasty.

Ring a ding ding ding ding

Two Stroke smoke is the oxygen of the gods . . . The 1969 Kaw was one of a gang of dingers that showed at Porky's for the ride in bike deal. That Avenger 350 was too cool. It had dual high pipes and a neat twisted exhaust. The high revin' Yamaha RD shot down the street - with a big smoke trail. Mosquitos weren't a problem.

Swap Meet Goodies

Linkert DC-10 Carburetor $20 (ebay price $100-$200)
Cast iron seat tee $35 (ebay price $75-$120)
WLA army ignition switch $25 (ebay price $75-$299)
Carlisle 400.19 tire $15 (ebay price $50-$150)
Moral of the story: swap meets are still your best bet for good deals on parts, and it helps support the sport. It's more fun to find that item you're lookin' for too - and you meet the nicest people.

Made in Spain - Bultaco !

almost old enough . . .

Buco

Buco made all kinds of motorcycle related items . . like helmets, shields, jackets, gloves, saddlebags - all cool stuff.
Their advertisements were the best too !

Farmington

I still call it Farmington. The antique meet and show that takes place in Minnesota every year in June. It was great ! The caliber of motorcycles that were at the event were better than Davenport (or at least equal to) the "big one." Those boys from the Viking Chapter of the AMCA did a really great job. Hats off. I counted 5 or 6 Vincents at the event . . . "Competition motorcycles" were featured - and they had a great turnout. We met some cool people like: Phil (his Indian pictured), Bromie, the Benassi bros., Billy Hofmeister, Kav, the dude from Iowa City, the ol' guy that lent us his radio with fresh batteries, Kevin and his beemer - just to name a few. AND kind of a dickweed, "Dutch" - ah hell - it takes all kinds to make it fun. The ride to Porky's Drive In Friday night was awesome. Like turning back the clock to 1962. Next stop - Davenport, Labor Day weekend. (PS. Question of the day: How do you carry beer on your motorcycle when you forgot your bungee?)

Marty Dickerson

I'm going to see Marty Dickerson this weekend at the Antique Motorcycle Club of America Viking Chapter Meet in St. Paul, MN. Marty is a west coast racer who set many records in the 1950s aboard his trusty Vincent. He's making an appearance - and it's good to go meet the legends of the sport. The theme for this year's event is "classic racers" and that can mean only one thing - plenty of old KRs, XRs, XLRs, CRs . . . they'll all be there with a classic ride to Porky's Drive-In on Friday night. Can't wait ! (PS. Remember - Marty was portrayed in World's Fastest Indian . . .)

Cool Lid

Walt

"You ever notice how every once in awhile you come across somebody you probably shouldn't have fucked with? . . . . . . . . . . . That's me !

The first XL

Whoever restored this Sportster to "original custom" condition did a hell of a nice job. I would lose the fishtail, but the rest of the bike - I can dig it man - cool !

Noot's CH

Noot's '65 with Sprint tank and Bates seat with white leather. XLR exhaust pipes (before they had aftermarket) and you had to send them in to get chromed. The "Header Photo" shows Bob Heft's WILD THING with XLR pipes and cylinder heads. I guess it ran pretty hard - but, he couldn't really tune the thing. So he was fast depending on the weather and humidity. Those were the days . . . (I would climb all over the apple tree - and it's just a runt shown here)

I.L.

Cool Triumphs

a '57 . . . and a '67

I like the way this guy thinks . . . a 1957 XL Sportster. No rail on the seat? Pretty darn correct restoration. The 18" rims, long rear fender, tins . . I wonder if it still has the original "small valve" heads? Shifter is a little high and the paint - orange/red, maybe an option? The '67 Malibu . . . in case it rains.
(Photo stolen from the XL Forum)

Aluminum XR

1929

A guy from work named Rich is usually pretty quiet. He don't talk too much. Just a hello, or a "hey there." Today he drove his Ford Model A. Owned it for years and years. Never knew he had it. 4 door sedan - all original. Way cool.
Now we got something to talk about !

Don Castro

Former Yamaha factory rider Don Castro raced this custom Triumph motorcycle (only one time I believe) at the 1972 running of the San Jose Mile. The bodywork was to help streamline the bike and cut the wind - for faster mph. I guess the AMA didn't like it - so, they outlawed bodywork of any kind for good. Hey, it's dirt track, not road racing.
This racer was equipped with a lap counter so Castro could help keep track what lap he was on . . .

Gal on the blue 61"

Cafe Racer

Law Enforcement

The other night I was racin' around in our little town - bored as shit. I ran it hard through the gears on all my smooth backroads on the edge of the city. The place was dead. No cruising scene - no motorcycles - no action. Then out of the blue, about a 1/2 mile ahead, I see a motorcycle tail-light. I crank on the throttle to catch up. Run a couple red lights, roll through a few stop signs. XLR pipes were cack'lin. I catch the guy (maybe someone I know?) and guess what? It's a cop on a Harley ! Whoops. Luckily, it was the one I know best. Actually before he was an officer, we were both drunk once, and put my Chevelle in the river with a car load of girls. So I cruised with the cop on patrol for awhile. "Hey fella, just where do you think you're goin'? . . . "Anywhere but here man !"

Japan

Early ironheads abound in the land of the rising sun . . .

What's Wrong?

Can anyone tell me the obvious thing that's wrong with this picture? (PS. I'm going to see Fonzie's leather jacket this fall in the Smithsonian Institute)