A couple days ago, a little bird told me.........

OK, it wasn't a little bird, it was Gary from Today's People. My article on rigifying an Evo Sporty, using the Led Sled's hardtail section is in the next issue (Aug. 2010) of IronWorks magazine.

I know there are a bunch of hardtail sections out on the market for Evos and Ironheads, but Led Sled Pat's hardtails are a pretty nice unit. There are so many 883 and 1200 Evo Sportys out there going for a song, if a guy wants to turn one into a "pay as you play" custom, the Led Sled section get you going in the right direction.

For a reasonable amount of money, you can hardtail your OEM frame, reassemble it with your stock components (save for a little narrower battery, and either a longer than stock belt, or a chain conversion), and ride it until you decide on your next steps.

You start off with this - it's kinda like the old "sawing a girl in half" trick, except you get to see inside the magic box....

.....mix in a dose of black magic alchemy.....

.......and alakazan, presto-chango (note at no time did my hands leave my wrists), and we have a killer looking hardtailed Sporty frame, with a great line down the backbone, and your frame numbers preserved.

To see the magic tricks (and a more in-depth followup, coming to the IW website), look for the Aug. 2010 issue of IronWorks to show up on your newstand very soon.

"Return with us now, to those thrilling days of yesteryear....."

OK, we're not going that far back, but we are going back a little more than 14 years ago, to the March '96 issue of Iron Horse, #140. David Snow takes us into Psycho Cycles, and gives us a glimpse of what Indian Larry - along with Steg and Knucklehead Steve - were up to at the time. This is back in the "dark ages", and chances are, if you weren't reading IH at the time, or you didn't live on the East coast, most people probably didn't know who Indian Larry was! How things were going to change.......

What we saw in this article (along with glimpses in previous, and future IH articles to come, along with a full cover and feature) was the raw birth of what would eventually become one of Larry's best known bikes, The Grease Monkey........

It's not what you see in this picture that counts, it's what you don't see. Larry machined off the inner primary bosses from the case, and filled the alternator plug hole. The alternator wires now exit the cavity at about the 5 o'clock position.

Note also that Larry has machined, stoned, and polished every mating surface of the cases to match up exactly.

The Rt. side shot of the engine coming together. STD oiler heads, '81 Shovel cases, JIMS lifters and blocks, Joe Hunt magneto, and Evo oil pump. You can also see the simple, drilled carb support made by Knucklehead Steve.

Larry machined the base of the Hunt mag so he could manually advance and retard it, vs. the original locked down mounting. Larry never gave up the bore/stroke, or the cam specs, and would only say it "was a moderately healthy" engine.

Lt. side of the engine shows a good shot of the HPC coated, Hyperformance finless barrels, and the external drain setup. One time Steg told me that those barrels were originally his, and he gave them to Larry because "he needed them, and I didn't....." . If you would have taken the timing plug out of the case, you would have seen the copper plated flywheels. Wow.

Also, we get a clear shot of Larry's iconic, often copied genuine 12ga. double-barreled jockey shift handle. Larry stated in the article that the rest of the shotgun previously "was confiscated....". Also note that Larry hasn't made the brass Swazi insert for his front belt pulley yet.

Larry fitting up the Ceriani front forks. Larry also adapted a Milwaukee Iron hidden fork stop kit to the Ceriani lower tree, and machined a stainless offset bar that ran thru the original handlebar mounting bosses to adapt his 4" brass dogbone risers, ala Fonda's setup on the Capt. America bike. Take note, you "leg shavers"...Larry never cut the fender mounts off the sliders, I always remember them being there.

The frame started out as a hacked-up '48, and Larry and Steg stretched the bottom rails 2" at the back of the tranny, jacked up the rear legs to match a new backbone, windowed the neck, and added in a new seatpost and relocated rear trans crossmember. I patterned my frame table from photos of Larry and Stegs' table I saw in IH, from an earlier article that documented the step-by-step frame modifications.

From Michael........

Got an Email from Michael, who is in the Air Force, stationed out of Las Vegas at the moment. Michael was out at Born Free 2, and snapped this shot of me sometime during the day.

He used an old Rolleflex B&W two lens camera to take the photo. I know Rolleflex cameras used to be the "standard" for a lot of magazine feature photographers, and I also know that Frank Kaisler is a proud owner of one, too. They are prized today, and very collectable.

I don't have too many photographs of myself that I consider "good" (I don't think I photograph very well), but this B&W shot I consider one of the best I have. There's just something about real B&W photography that makes it an art all its own. Thank you Michael, for sending it along to me!

Michael's blog:

http://eyeofparys.blogspot.com/

The "Rumblefish" Panhead......

Rumblefish, By David Uhl - Courtesy of David Uhl Studio

You may, or may not be familiar with the above painting. The title of the painting is Rumblefish, and it was skillfully rendered by artist David Uhl, who I'm happy to be acquainted with. I've been an admirer of David's work for a long time.

David works like a lot of artists do, by first taking composition photographs of the subject matter, using live models and the appropriate props, then using those photos as a reference as he paints. You might be surprised when I tell you that the person in the above painting is Dennis Goodson. Dennis posed for David, and he also provided the Panhead that you see behind our biker fisherman, lazing on a dock, somewhere in Daytona. Dennis and David have worked together on several paintings in this fashion.

The bike that Dennis provided is the one pictured below. I happened to be over at Dennis' shop a couple days ago, when Dennis was just finishing up a new primary belt drive installation for the current owner. Dennis thought the people who read my blog would like a few photos of the real bike behind the painting, so we pushed it outside for a few shots. One thing led to another, and Dennis gave me a brief background on it.....

Here's a little more history on the bike that not very many people know, in addition to it's appearance in the painting. The Pan was originally owned by a club brother of Dennis's, named Oscar. Both the bike and Oscar had a colorful - if not a grisly past. You see, Oscar met his demise not at the hands of another rival club, or a jealous boyfriend of a tittie dancer, but by the claws of a mountain lion(!) It's true, you couldn't make this stuff up. The story of what occurs after the discovery of Oscar's body is the stuff that movies are made of.

Dennis and I are going to sit down the next time I'm over at his shop, and I'm going to get the full history on Oscar and this bike, from it's beginning up to today. When I've got all the info, I'm going to sit down, and write it all up in an article. We'll see if I can get this story published, and you'll be the first to know if, and when I do.....

168 cubic inches.......

Built in 1995, by Outsiders Shorty, Portland, OR. Evidently, this 4 cylinder engine was an ongoing project. He originally carved his wooden case patterns to take Panhead cylinders, then he changed to Shovelhead, and modified the patterns still a third time to take Evo cylinders.

This is a BOBBER !

Dale Walksler finished this bike up in '95, but it was actually built 55 years past. Before Dale bought this bike in a basket, it was owned by George Shwim, an old H-D dealer from Illinois, who used to ride this bike to the track on Sundays, take off the headlight, race AMA Class C with it, then ride it home at the end of the day.

It's a '37 EL punched out to 68 ci., and whoever bobbed those fenders originally took a "just right" cut to each of them, and the proportions of the whole bike are, in my opinion, perfect. Don't you just love that exhaust?

Turned down bars, Flanders risers, with hard to find bronze heat ring for the front drum, and an even harder to find L/H hubcap on the front. That flying wheel decal never goes out of style!

Teak Red and Brilliant Black, 19" wheels, Pirelli tires, K Model muffler, WR seat, original plating. If you look hard, you can see the accessory rear fender tip, fitted to the bobbed rear fender houses the original running lights-turned into tail and stop lights. Very cool.

Makes you think a little.........

A little something different - "Breezeies" on a period Indian bobber. They would be super easy to duplicate with a little colored plexiglass, some Bates-type mirror stem clamps, and a little cold rolled bar.

The candy stripe cable wrap in red/white to match the paintjob, along with the red grips are a couple of other nice details, too. I always liked the style of Indian's routing of their internal control cables out of the bars. Wish I had a photo of the full bike, it looks killer.....

Don't miss this event.........

Love Thy Chopper, June 26th, 2010 at David Uhl Studios
15801 W. Colfax Ave, Golden, CO

Always one of my favorite shows, ramrodded by one of my favorite people, and well worth your time to attend. This show always brings out some killer bikes and related art and kulture from all over the Metro Denver area. I'll be helping Nik Pew get everything set up, and I'll be helping with the ride-in chopper show as well. I also understand that the DicE! Magazine boys (one of the sponsors) are coming out and setting up for this one, too!

Here's your link with all the pertinent information you'll need:
http://lovethychopper.com/
Hope you'll come out and say hello! And remember......ride that chopper someplace, that's why you built it!

WOW! I almost forgot! GK#15.....

In all the hubbub of trying to get ready to head out for for Born Free 2, and playing catch-up on work, Emails, and phone calls here when I got back, I forgot to post up that Greasy Kulture #15 should be winging its way to you, if you haven't received it already. Or, you can go to the GK site, and order it. Better yet, subscribe!

Good stuff in #15 - Jeremiah of Love Cycles is on the cover with his family, and there's a great article on him inside. I met Jeremiah and his Dad at BF #2 - truly nice people. Plus, you get 2 Pans, 2 Sportys, 2 Knucks, a Triumph, and a Shovel!

You also get English Don in his own words, and coverage of the Revenge Run. Oh yeah, and my column, too!

So.......what are you waiting for?

http://www.greasykulture.com/

June 17, 1994.........

I was in Milwaukee, for Harley's 90th Anniversary when this went down. They had it on TV sets at the Summerfest Grounds, can you believe that?

Al Cowling driving OJ's Bronco, while OJ sat in the back with a pistol to his head. "Let's take the 405, and drive really slow, Al.......". I understand he had a bumper sticker on the back that said "Honk If You Murdered My Ex".

It was what it was.....spectacular!

Photo courtesy Mark Kawakami/Joyrides Art Co.

I'm telling you, if you missed Born Free 2 this past weekend, you truly fucked up. Not only that, but now you're going to have to wait a whole year before you can see it happen again.

People came solo, and they came in packs. They rode in from a few blocks away, and they rode in from a few thousand miles away. But, everyone showed up together, and I (along with everybody else), had one of the best times to be had in a long time. The weather was picture-perfect, the food was great, the beer flowed freely, and I didn't see one single person that didn't have a smile on their face. What you can't see from this photo are the hundreds of bikes that couldn't get into the blocked off street, there just wasn't any room left to put them. So, they took up every nook and cranny they could park in for blocks around the show.

The bikes were all killer - I had a sensory overload looking at everyone's skill, craftsmanship, and ingenuity. I don't know when I've seen so many custom bikes that were RIDDEN into one place since the old days of Sturgis, it was just glorious. There just aren't enough superlatives to describe it all. And, to top it off, some lucky stiff rode off on a brand new Pan chopper as the grand raffle prize.

I met a couple hundred people that I otherwise never would have, that follow this blog, read my articles, and told me how much they appreciated my bikes. To all of you, thanks for making me feel like what I do makes a difference. To all my friends I ran across during the day, it was great to see you again. To my Sinner Brothers, I love you dearly, and our time together, as usual, was was too short. I miss you guys already!

To Harpoon, Grant, Mike Davis, and everybody else who pitched in and worked their asses off for months before, and all thru Saturday to make this event the success it was, my sincere thanks and admiration. You guys killed it.

Biker Radio Magazine is on again....

After a short hiatus, Ken Venus and Biker Radio Magazine are back!

I got an Email from Ken, wanting to know if I'd do another segment with him for the new shows, and we did one this morning. I'm thinking it'll air this coming Friday, but all the new, as well as past BRM shows are archived at Ken's site to download if you'd care to listen. Give it a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed:

http://www.bikerradiomagazine.com/

I think the Whole world is going to be here.........

......or, at least the whole custom motorcycle world, and the people who dig them. I'll be there - if you spot me, come on over and say hello!

Don't miss this show! Be there, or be L7....

By demand - some more Dennis Goodson goodness.....

I'm sure by now, you've seen Dennis Goodson's segment in "The Harbortown Bobber". If by chance you haven't, page back to my April 23, 2010 post on here to watch it. It's well worth your time. In that segment, Dennis shows and describes the construction that he did on the artist David Uhl's Knuckle bobber. At the very end, he shows and explains the "gun bag" that he made for David's bike.

These "gun bags" originally started out as something Dennis would make from time to time for special friends and clients. Well, when the HB came out, both Dennis and I got a ton of Emails and phone calls wanting to know how to purchase one of his bags. So, Dennis is going to make a very limited run of these bags, and if they are as popular as they seem, he's agreed to do another run after that, too. Every bit of the craftmanship that Dennis puts into his air cleaners and other parts carry over into these bags as well, so feast your eyes on this........

Dennis has changed the closure on his bag from a single snap, to 2 snaps, and incorporated a pull strap for the fold-over flap. The bags themselves are 6-8oz. leather, and will be available in "USMC Black", or in a "natural" finish. The natural finish will age in perfectly as it's used. The body of the bag is constructed from two full pieces of leather, formed over a steel buck that Dennis made years ago.

As with everything from Dennis Goodson, these are hand-cut, hand-formed, and hand-assembled by Dennis, one at a time. No offshore sweatshop mass production for these bags! Each bag will have its own unique individual "style", but will stay true to the original bags' lines.

Each "gun bag" comes with a heavy 420 denier nylon inner liner that zippers closed. The inner liner itself is lined with convoluted foam - just like your rifle scope and camera cases are. Perfect for safely carrying your extra glasses, cell phone, digital camera, extra smokes - whatever you want! Or, as Dennis says in the HB: "A 9mm fits....."

You can also see the double snaps for the flap closure in this photo.

Backside of the bag, showing the 3/16" thick, full polyvinyl backing plate, over the full leather back. All hardware is either stainless steel, or solid brass, and the machine stitching is heavy-duty waxed thread. The brass eyelets on the corners can be used as mounting points, and Dennis includes the screws and platenuts.

Here's the dimensions of the bag - 10 1/2" down the sides, 9" across the top, and approx. 2 1/2" deep at the top, with a slight taper to the body towards the tip.

The Goodson "Gun Bag" (here in in "USMC Black"), mounted on the R/H side of David Uhl's bike, using the fender as a mounting point. The bag can mount easily on the L/H side of the bike's frame rails (by adding a couple customer-supplied straps), or even on your FL or Softail fender struts.

OK, here's the deal. I have an exclusive on the first run of these bags. Dennis is assembling the bags now, but if you want, you can pre-order the bags thru me. Like I said before, this is going to be a limited run the first go-round, so they'll go pretty quickly. As Dennis finishes each bag, I can ship it out to the next highest person on the pre-order list.

I can take PayPal, or I can take a Visa or M/C over the phone if you like. And, as always, your card won't be charged out until your bag ships. Email me, and we'll go from there at:
sales@shamrockfabrication.com
The price on the bags will be $149.95 ea. + $12.00 S&H
Make sure you state weather you'd like a black or a natural finish bag, and your preferred form of reserve payment in your Email, and I'll get back with you. And, thanks from Dennis and I!

Indian power! 1951

"How To Build This Midget Kart" - maybe I'll head down to the used bookstore and see if I can find this issue. Notice how this guy's girlie is gazing in total pride in her man's accomplishment, but I'm thinking she's gettin' a little "aroused" over the whole deal at the same time, too.

"Make Your Own Beach Equipment", I'd kinda like to see that article, too!

If this cover art were done today, the guy would have on a Nomex racing suit, fireproof gloves, a full face helmet, a six point seat belt, arm restraints, "horse collar", and a full rollcage surrounding him.

Speedway Blvd - Speedandglory.blogspot.com

Part-timer Steve has started his own blog to post his video segments, so check them out here:
http://speedandglory.blogspot.com/

Here's another segment Steve's bee working on. It's our late-evening gas stop off at the Speedway Blvd. exit in Las Vegas. Temperature? About 90 degrees @ 11:00pm. We always make this stop so we can gas up, take a short break, then blow thru Vegas without stopping. It also has an apropos piece from The Supersuckers called "Must've Been High" to go along with it. Fits pretty well with the video, don't you think?

This kid might have some talent for this video stuff!