If you still don’t know him, you didn’t live the biker lifestyle long enough. For over 32 years, Charlie Brechtel has been playing his music in all major biker events. If the biker lifestyle would be music, it would be the great guitar licks of Charlie. A native of New Orleans, he is not just [...]
Harley-Davidson dazzled Wall Street by announcing record third-quarter sales and profits, a result most analysts attributed to a more powerful new engine the company installed into several of its models. (Yes, torque & power is a big deal for us). In July Harley introduced 4 new 2007 bike models: 2 new VRSC models, the FXSTC [...]
In this business we all work very long hours. What about 2 pretty ladies on your bed, always waiting for your return from the shop or the office. But, please, pay attention. These 2 kissing girls in their undies are on your bed, not in. They are printed on a soft comforter that you can [...]
Warning: shameless plug ahead. There are only 2 frames in existence with this configuration and a twisted curved downtube (look closer to see it). And you can only get this one because I keep the other one to build a custom bike for a (repeat) client. I know what to do with mine. A lot of different [...]
Last night I had a nightmare. After riding the 225 miles between my hometown & Daytona Beach (to participate to Biketoberfest), I was at the International Speedway exit filling up gas. Next to me were parked 2 nice Bobbers worth a closer look. Shock: both had a small GPS attached to the left side of [...]
Email a great picture and talk to my primal instinct, and I will immediately read your email and follow the link leading to your website. I went to the PRIMAL website. Here what they tell me: “Its time to break the mold and live out loud. The time has come and the possibilities are endless”. [...]
It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s more unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that’s all. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do. The common law of [...]
New to the 2006 Fall Cycle Scene activities (translate Biketoberfest) at Daytona International Speedway will be the International Master Bike Builders Row. Four legendary builders from the International Master Bike Builders Association will have custom choppers on display along Lake Lloyd in the specialty vehicle area for viewing by motorcycle enthusiasts. The legendary Master Bike [...]
Following my post of last week about the come back of Crocker Motorcycles, a lot of you seem to be interested and requested that I show a picture. Here it is. This is what is called the small tank version. Engine: 61” side valve. Bore & Stroke: 3 ¼” x 3 ½”. Horsepower: 55 HP at [...]
Rare to find a site where you can buy in one place tee-shirts, patches, books, stickers of a selection of the best names of the American Kustom Kulture. Ok, the interface of the site Poster Pop is quite poor (Hey, I am a designer and don’r expect me to not mention this) but forget about the look [...]
During Biketoberfest, demo rides for Harley-Davidson, Victory, Boss Hoss and Bourget Bike Works.will be located in the Fan Walk area outside of Turn 4. Riders must hold a valid motorcycle driver license and DOT approved helmet in order to participate in the demo rides. No exception. Demo rides run Thursday, Oct. 19 through Oct. 21, 9 [...]
In Cologne, Germany, Harley-Davidson just unveiled a new prototype inspired by the flat track scene that Harley dominates since so many years. Dressed in racing orange this XR1200 is powered by the European version of the 1200 V-Twin motor pounding out 90 bhp. This prototype is the result of a close collaboration between Harley factory [...]
I am not much in bolt-on seats for any custom bike, but I must admit that there are a few available that I could use on my bobbers to both look great and save a lot of money. Not necessary to wait for the boat coming from China with its new load of flakes vinyl seats. Flyrite Choppers has one of the [...]
With the return of the Bobber, retro front ends are everywhere (including on my bikes). Every week my fax machine is spitting pictures of new Springers, new Girders & new Spring Leaf type front ends. Made in America or, unfortunately, more and more manufactured in China. Most are “me-too” products without any plus, technically [...]
“Tales of the Rat Fink” or the life of Ed Roth premiered September 16, 2006 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Made by filmmaker Ron Mann, with the voice of John Goodman as Roth. Goodman narrates the film looking down from heaven. Roth died at age 69 of a heart attack in 2001. I just [...]
It’s 9 PM. Still at the shop listing the parts missing to finish on time a Bobber for Daytona Biketoberfest. Phone rings. A girl named Debra is on the phone asking me if I can identify any bike in less than 5 minutes. Huh, huh. Ask me to look right away at my email. I [...]
When the first Crocker road machines blasted onto the scene in 1936, it astonished the motorcycling community and single-handedly caused Harley-Davidson and Indian more grief than any event up to the British motorcycle invasion of the 1950′s. Founder Al Crocker invented machines that were well ahead of their time in design and function. The innovative [...]
I always have been a big fan of pinstriping. Pinstriping is the signature art of Kustom Kulture. Pinstripe Planet, authored by Herb Martinez, one of the art’s most respected practitioners, is a photographic and textual celebration of this unique decorative art form, a genuine instance of motor-Americana now making its mark around the globe. An historical [...]
I am sad to learn that fellow custom builder Russ Tom passed away October 8th, 2006 while piloting a small helicopter. Russ Tom is best known for taking over his father motorcycle business Downtown Harley-Davidson in Seattle Washington in the late 1990’s. Russ Tom was a lover of motorcycles as well as other motor sports, especially [...]
For 2007, Harley-Davidson offers Patriot Special Edition paint jobs for a dozen models. Under my criteria, it’s not a true custom ride, but it’s got just enough military detailing to let folks know who is roaring by. A red and blue accent pinstriping, an American flag on the fender and your service seal on the [...]
Every week, land on my desk a lot of weird, funny, sometime useful samples or objects (to all manufacturers, please stop sending me the best chrome polisher in the world). About this one, I don’t know. It’s called Vibe Free by a company called Ride Vibe Free. The promise is to cut handlebar vibrations [...]
It was during Las Vegas Bike Fest where 25 of the best builders exhibit their new creations inside the Cashman Center, then vote between themselves to elect the winner of “Artistry In Iron”. Greg Westbury amazed his fellow builders with his new creation called “Lucky” (yes, the headline could have been “Greg Westbury gets Lucky [...]
I read a lot of posts and heard a lot of comments about Choppers Inc. Billy Lane’s tragic story. I didn’t intend to publish anything about it, but a lot of people have been asking what I think of Billy. So here is my first and last public comment about him. At some point in [...]
Relatively new on the Choppers scene, Joe McGlynn is a custom motorcycles enthusiast. with a passion for retro lines but designing his parts with the best AutoCAD software (most of his concepts are drawn on Alibre Design Software). McGlynn’s parts are inspired by hot rod 50s lines, but integrate graceful high tech curves that can [...]
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