It's Fall in Iowa
Morty "the official shop cat" chowed a bird this morning and wanted everyone to know it was pretty damn tasty. I just made the observation that Mort can run down a sidewalk covered with leaves and not step on a single leaf. It's gettin' colder and the 50wt oil ain't flowin real good now. It takes about 10 kicks to get the K- Model started . . .
Street Chopper Magazine - 40 years
I stood at the local grocery store last night and read the entire 40th Anniversary Issue of Street Chopper Magazine. It has a lot of the same information that's from "The History of the Chopper" with Jesse James. You know the documentary . . . the one with Irish Rich at the beginning firing up his chop. ( bought a bag of chips - and opened them and read the whole issue and paid for an empty bag of chips) It has a good history of Ness inside the issue. I think I'll go back and actually buy one today. (Temp: 40 degrees F. and sunny in Iowa)
Can ya dig it . . ?
I've had the top page torn from a Street Chopper magazine since I was about 13 yrs. old. I thought the chic was totally hot - and the sporty (built by BACC - Bay Area Custom Choppers) was the most kick as bike I'd ever seen. I wanted both someday. The bottom custom was built from a kit by Perewitz and painted by Horst. I've got another fiberglass rear fender with lucas tail light - I just need the short, narrow springer - anyone have one they might sell me???????
We live in a great country . . .
A couple weeks ago I went out to Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware to see some sights. It wasn't what I expected. The East Coast is great. It's where it all started. The people that made us who we are . . . the greatest country on the face of the earth. I'm much prouder to be an American after seeing the sacrifices that were made before us. In Delaware, the beaches are nice - not crowded. The crab cakes delicious. Thank you to my tour guide(my brother a special agent). I'll be back.
Leaves are falling . . .
I was being a rebel on Sunday. Riding from one friend's house to the next. Having a beer at each stop - exercising all the bikes me and Big Noot have . . . and generally raising hell in our little town. It was fun. The temp was about 50 degrees and nobody was on a motorcycle. Some rain was spitting sometimes. A perfect day in Iowa. My new Czech Army coat worked very well. My Coors Light tall can flew out of my pocket - whoops - that's alcohol abuse.
Jay Springsteen
Jay and his brother both started racing together. Jay had a 125 or 250, Ken had a 360cc. Jay had to learn to ride harder to keep up. We see it paid off. Jay won his first #1 Plate when he was just 19 years old, beating out Roberts and Scott to take the title. Here he's 65X (before he got national number 25)
Old Magazine Collection
My dad's buddy "Killer" Carter gave me these huge boxes of magazines a while back. I went through them last night and I've got to tell you - I have quite a collection here. He had subscriptions to Choppers Magazine, Street Chopper, Easyriders, Hot Bike, Custom Bike, The Enthusiast and a few other oddballs. A time span from 1972-1982 covers it.Crazy. The Easyriders has iron-on transfers - and all the David Mann centerfolds. Way cool. There are some old newspapers from the Black Hills Rally too. Thanks Carter !
1000cc Winter Project
Here's our winter project. This is all we have done for now. This motorcycle was a mess. Totally cobbled together. The bottom end has been gone through now. Cylinders bored, pistons ready. We've got a nice set of heads to run. I''ve got an old frisco-style peanut tank and original Z-Bars. 16" rear - 19" front. Powdercoat the rims - black spokes. It would look real sweet in a rigid - but, stock frame and some struts is ok too. The neatest thing that came with this roach was the original, perfect patina Bates Seat (it's the mini one) . . . oh yes.
The Panhead
Big Noot has a '65 panhead. It once was a CHP bike from LA. It's been "modernized" a bit with CV Carb(with Dyna Jet Kit), Spike Distributor, Primo Belt and some other goodies. Mileage is over 100,000 - fairly documented. I rode it last weekend and it didn't start - so I had to kick it. Got it going, but seemed flat for awhile. Got home - charged the battery - and it took forever. Guess what? Very low on water. Hmmmmm - don't overlook the obvious. Check your equipment . . . it runs like it should now.
What's wrong with this photo?
This guy calls me up and says his all original 1976 FLH with only 6,000 original miles was crusin' just fine down the highway and all of a sudden - the tranny exploded. It blew out the ratchet top, and the case and left a crack all the way around the thing - Whoa. The cause I believe is the smaller shifter clutch gear broke - and all hell started after that. For some reason they don't work very good with big chunks of metal flying around in there? It bent the shift fork shaft so bad I had to die grind it into 3 pieces to get it apart. It also ate the mainshaft and chewed up a couple gears.Got Wood ?
This month's Horse Magazine has my name in it - Hey, I'm fuckin' big time. All that work - and they give ya a piece of wood. All the bikes kinda looked the same this year. Your basic, no rake, rigid, spool front, knuckle/pan chops. Yawn. I brought a digger. Thanks Eric for gettin' me my wood. Next year I'll bring somethin' different. Get wood again. No photos - WTF? Shit. Damn. Fuck. I need more coffee.
T.L.B.
It's like, if I have to explain it - you really wouldn't understand. I cruise go over to Todd Miller's and watch him work on the '57. His car wasn't a '55, but, it was all primer with lexan and fiberglass panels, tunnel ram, huge meats, lots of gauges. Badass. He even had hair like "The Driver" James Taylor. Then later that night, I'd go home and watch it again on the VHS I recorded off the CBS late movie. Laurie Bird (she is forever an icon) Dennis Wilson (a legend) and GTO? Wouldn't have been the same without him. Two Lane Blacktop: Not at a theatre near you.
The Catholic Boy
One of my favorite albums is from Jim Carroll - and I heard he passed away today at the age of 60. When I attended UNI, my room-mate Doug Wright had all these record albums - and this one totally punk rocked. I had to buy the CD version last year (since my home recorded Maxell UDXLII cassette was shot) I guess Jim was quite a writer, poet and musician - just ask Keith Richards. RIP Jim - you made my life a happier place.
A man and his machine . . .
This guy was having too much fun - too bad his machine never did run right . . . in the end, it didn't really matter.The XLR
Harley-Davidson built the XLR to be competitive at tracks like Peoria, Ascot and Houston. Unfortunately, the XLR in the hands of the very capable Resweber, never really won all the races it was supposed to win. The motor was 883cc with hot cams, big compression, roller bearings, aluminum rims, struts, motor mounts and factory ported heads. These suckers run hard. But, being a little heavy didn't help matters. This bike was at Springfield, and the proud owner was more than happy to talk about it. Good stuff.45s, Ks & KRs . . . .
Davenport went so fast this year it sucked. Before you knew it - it was Saturday and it's pretty much over. The Harley K and 45 is such a versatile motorcycle. For a side valve - they make can be made to run on the street or the track. On the dirt, the KR didn't always make the most horsepower - but, they stay hooked up. And you can't move forward on dirt if you're spinning your wheel. KRs are big bucks now - if you can afford a "pusher" like the guy above - you can buy a KR !
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Bart Markel's short rod iron XR was at Springfield. The barrels look like regular iron cylinders with the bases cut off for the shorter rods. A very rare race bike indeed.
Weeery Traveler . . . .
This guy from New York stopped by to ask directions from my "Sturgis Landlord" and . . . man was his bike loaded ! Obviously, he had a bed mattress, canteen, tools, all sorts of packs and bags - lots o' stuff. His motorcycle never shut off for the 20 minutes they talked. It's motor running - tick tick tick tick tick tick like a sewing machine. Oil spewing from most of it's gaskets. Steam rolling off. All the way from New York. He gets my respect.
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