REVOLUTION MOTORCYCLE MAG - English - Issue 42 Autumn 2017

EVENTS & SHOWS Born Free 9

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The Race of Gentlemen

72

FEATURED BIKES Swamp Li’l Rascal

26 Spitball Magoo 50

8

Death Dealer

ON THE ROAD Destination Bourbon Trail

INTERVIEW Josh Kurpius

32

COLUMNS 14 Her Say 42 Old School 56 Technical

82 86 / 92

New Generation Our Readers Editorial

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Coming Soon

96

62

Chief Editor : Pascal Richard Editor : Geneviève Fréchette Writers : Pascal Richard, Charlie Lessard, André Bobinas, Catherine David, Becky Goebel, Liz Leggett Translation : Charlie Lessard, Kathy Blais Special Collaborators : David Laplante, Tim Lajambe, Josh Kurpius, Wayne Burgess, Dan Lim, David Poulin, Pascal Bélanger, Patrick Lambie, Lee Sipes, Genevieve Boutin, Lane Jensen Photographers : Suzie Gauthier, Becky Goebel, Pascal Richard, Josh Kurpius, Catherine David, Dan Lim, Liz Leggett, Patrick Lambie, Mélanie Vachon, Lane Jensen Models : Swamp Li’l Rascal : Louvia Lafrance Spitball Magoo : Meghan High Rollers : Marci Gustafson Graphic Design : Suzie Gauthier, Revolution Motorcycle Magazine Proofreader : Nicole Duchesne, Lorie Richard Prepress : Photographique MF Inc. Printing : Imprimeries Transcontinental Distribution : Messageries Dynamiques (french) Coast to Coast (english) ISSN 1913-0082 Copyright 2007 Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec Bibliothèque Nationale du Canada Registration number Post Publication : 41471522 Advertising Consultant : Pascal Richard : 514 726-5742 Web Site : Charlie Lessard Social Media : Becky Goebel Revolution Motorcycle Magazine is published 4 times a year.

All rights reserved. Reproduction in total or in part of any article, photo or advertisement is forbidden without prior written permission from the Publisher of Revolution Motorcycle Magazine.

Our office is located at 1302 Garden Ave. Mascouche (Quebec) J7L 0A4 Tel. : 514 726-5742 Fax : 450 477-9814 email :

revolutioncustom@hotmail.com Printed in Canada

www.

revolutionmotorcyclemag .com

Editorial BY pascal richard

Here we are in the middle of the summer with an erratic motorcycle season that started a little later than what we would have liked - thanks to Mother Nature who was not on our side. After El Niña left, El Niño popped back, these atmospheric phenomenas that affect a large part of the planet, not only us. Rain was part of our daily routine for the first part of the summer, but we took full advantage of the few beautiful days that we did have. As the saying goes: the seasons follow each other but are very different.

Despite this late summer start, RMM is always on the road and on the look-out for places to visit and festivals to discover. Our reporter Liz travelled back in time to the 1950s by attending the Race of Gentlemen rally where the riders competed with cars from the good old days on the beautiful beach in Wildwood, NJ (see story on page 72). Catherine went to the Babes Ride Out 2 on the East Coast, the little sister of the West Coast BRO, an event devoted exclusively to the increasingly numerous female bikers on the road (see story on page 42).

This year, Becky from Vancouver BC covered Born Free 9, a favourite event for us at RMM as it is one of the best festivals to experience the new biker culture (see story on page 18). For my part, I went on a very interesting trip for our “On the Road” columb, invited by the Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Tennessee. You’ve got to taste, I mean read it ! Not to mention that this beautiful state is full of great landscapes and places to visit (see story on page 62).

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EDITORIAL

We mustn’t forget the newbies who have joined the RMM team. From the West Coast, photographer Patrick Lambie, who participated in the 70th anniversary of Hollister Rally in California. There is also Dan Lim, from Ontario, who is well-known to many of you. Dan participated in the Freedom Machine event last July. See these two stories in the next winter edition of RMM. For fans of the Vintage Motorcycle culture, RMM and Oneland are presenting the Roll the Bones Old School Motorcycle & Art Show on May the 26 2018, in Montréal at La Fonderie Darling. It is an event not to be missed for Old School Cool style motorcycle enthusiasts. The event will also include an on-site art gallery, live bands, an exhibit of RMM photos including the Bourbon Trail, India and the world’s highest road, Route 66 and a Liz Leggett expo as well as several photos taken during our road trips.

Finally, my personal opinion ! Bandanas seem to be the new craze. During a beautiful June ride, on a beautiful sunny day, when the temperature is 28 degrees Celsius, I don’t understand why bikers wear their skull or clown bandanas (or so called face shields) over their face, is it because of the wind?

If so, why not buy a full face helmet or why not buy a car !

After seeing three or four that day, including a biker on a bagger and another in traffic with a bandana to cover his ears, I asked myself questions. It seems to me that we used to wear a bandana over our face when it was raining, or to avoid the dust while riding on a gravel road or we wore it on our heads so we wouldn’t get a sunburn when riding without a helmet. But now it’s fashionable ! I hope it doesn’t last long !

Text : David Laplante – Photos : Suzie Gauthier

I’ve always been a fan of muscle cars and choppers but never really had the money to afford one or the other. A few years ago, after winning some money playing poker, I decided it was time to finally get my motorcycle licence and eventually get myself a bike.I asked my friend Vincent, who worked at Cycle City in Longueuil for over ten years, what he thought about a nice little Triumph I was considering. He said that I was too big for a Triumph and that I should get a Harley instead. Despite his advice, I went ahead and bought the 1970 Trophy. The bike needed some love, so I had the guys at Choppahead in New Bedford, Massachusetts chop it into perfection.

I love to collect things ! I like vintage guitars and old drums, so I guess just one bike wasn’t enough. After attending Born Free in California, I started to look for a Harley project. I scoured Kijiji for Panheads and Shovelheads. I mostly wanted a pre-1957 Panhead that would pass inspection here in Québec with a hard tail and no signals for a clean sixties style chopper look.

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featured bike

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I finally found one in Toronto. It was a 1950 FL built like a rat bike with the original frame; the perfect bike for my project ! I slowly began to acquire parts from Visionary Cycle (thank you, Carmine, for all your help), and had the bars bent by Arie Vee from Vee Mfg. The rear fender was hand made by Cooper Smithing Co., and I bought lots of stuff from Paughco and Lowbrow. I was inspired by builders like Jason Webber, Arie Vee, and Matt Jackson.

I picked up the bike in September 2015 and started to disassemble it in January of 2016. At first, I wanted to do it all by myself and learn to weld, but Vincent told me I should have one of his buddies help me with the fabrication. This time I listened to his advice and was then introduced to Sylvain Genest.

Sylvain and I quickly became friends, and he was happy to help me with my project. I have to say that I would not have the bike I have now if it wasn’t for him. The frame was butchered, and he fixed it all.

He fit the pipes and built a motor mount, chain guard, and the jockey shift stick. He also built the front light bracket, rear peg brackets, and the whole structure of the king and queen seat. I enjoyed the time we spent together and learned a lot hanging with him.

The engine was rebuilt from the flywheels up by a highly experienced good friend of mine, and I had the pleasure of doing it all with him. I couldn’t be more thankful for that.

The flywheel assembly and heads were taken care of by J-Precision.

We were surprised to find the crankcase cracked when we took the engine apart. Sylvain Genest came to the rescue and did a fantastic job saving this piece of history.

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OWNER CITY

David Laplante St-Hyacinthe, QC

AccessoirIes

GENERAL Manufacturing Year / Make Model Assembly Time

Sylvain Genest 1950 Harley-Davidson FL Panhead David Laplante 1 1/2 years

ENGINE 1950 Year FL Panhead Model Friend Builder Morris Magneto Ignition 74” Displacement — Lower end J Précision Balancing S&S Pistons J Précision Heads Andrews Cam — Lifters S&S Super E Carb Pipes Paughco/ NOS Japanese Megaphones

Transmission Type Shifting

Harley-Davidson 4 speed

painting Ateliers 12 OZ Painter — Airbrush Color / type HOC Teal candy / Cobalt blue candy Micro silver sparkled Special – FRAME 1950 Year Harley-Davidson Builder Wishbone Type — Rake — Stretch — Shocks

Photographe R For the paint job, I wasn’t sure who I wanted to work with. While flipping through a Revolution Magazine, I came across a bike painted by Ateliers 12oz, and right away I knew they were the ones I wanted to work on my bike. Dominic was really into working on my project.

I was inspired by a 70’s style van design, and he really did a great job working with me to find the right colours and design. Raphahell and Dominic are talented professionals; I highly recommend them.

I am grateful for the opportunity and help I received to get this dream bike together. Lastly, I would like to thank Gratien at G.G. Buffing who added the finishing touches with a great chrome job, just in the nick of time ! Hopefully, I can clear enough space in my garage to do it all over again.

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SPECIFICATIONS

Suzie Gauthier

Bars Arie Vee Mfg Handlebar Controls – Headlight Lowbrow Customs Tail light Lucas Speedo – Dash – Pegs Throwback Cycle Parts Electrics David Laplante Gas Tank Lowbrow Customs Oil Tank Paughco Oil System S&S Oil Pump Primary BDL Strap Drive Seat Sylvain Genest / Rejean Viau Front Fender – Rear Fender Cooper Smithing Co. Mirrors Drag Specialities Grips Biltwell

forkS Type Size Builder

Springer Stock W&W

WHEELS FRONT Size Wheel Tire Brake

21” x 3” Dunlop Style Firestone Deluxe Champion Harley Mechanical Brake

REAR Size Wheel Tire Brake

OTHER

18” x 4.5” Dunlop Style Firestone Deluxe Champion Harley Mechanical Brake Chrome : G.G. Buffing Shift Link : Sylvain Genest Licence plate : Sylvain Genest Model : Louvia Lafrance

technical column

by ANDRÉ BOBINAS FROM ATELIER AD

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One thing that needs to be adjusted once in while is your clutch. (1) And for some reason this seems to be a big mystery for a lot of riders.

Well really there’s no mumbo jumbo or voodoo spell involved in this, it’s a step by step procedure.

To begin verify that the cable is well lubricated for easy action. There is lube for this application and I like to use a lube that doesn’t become greasy for it will gum up the cable and make its action stiffer. Products with silicone, a loose-nut type or even WD-40 work well. WD-40 is a water disperser and it doesn’t gum up and it also evaporates so don’t worry about applying too much of it. I spray a shot of it every time I wash my bike or I have ridden in the rain.

OK, now let’s adjust the clutch. On the clutch cable, first loosen the jam nut (2) then screw the adjustment all the way to make the cable the shortness possible. For those who have a hard time following up to this point, go to your local shop. Now that you have shorten the cable open the derby cover and back off the jam nut in the center of the clutch (3), then screw in the Allen bolt until you make contact. Back-off and try again a few times to make sure you are just making contact, you don’t want to put pressure on the clutch because this will make the clutch slip. This will happen when the clutch is hot due to expansion, and you will burn the clutch bearing. Now back off the Allen bolt ¼ to ½ turn, then tighten the jam nut. This adjustment is for all 1984 and up Harleys. As for the pre-84, which has the 10-finger clutch hub (4), they divide into

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TECHNICAL COLUMN

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8

9

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two groups : 78 to 84 and pre-78. The center screw adjust-

me it’s an art to adjust. There is one clutch system that uses

ment is as follows; its 5/8 of an inch from the starter housing.

ball bearings to do the same job. If you have a slippage

Back off and Allen screw while applying a slight pressure

problem because of high torque, try to find a clutch system

on the cable arm until you achieve the measurement. As

that uses a wider clutch plate material surface (8).

for the 78 to 84 models it’s from the arm to the top of the transmission and the gap is 13/16 (5). Now back to the

Always use a primary oil (9). In extreme cases where

cable. Do the reverse of what you did previously. Lengthen

slippage is a problem automatic transmission fluid can

the adjustment until you have about a 1/16 to 3/16-inch of

help but your primary chain will wear faster and you may

slack on the handle (6). You can adjust it to have the clutch

develop leaks because this stuff is very light. It’s important

catch faster (if you have small hands), at 3/16-inch adjust-

to use the right clutch plate material for the right applica-

ment or at 1/16 your choice.

tion. Kevlar is mainly used for durability, carbon fiber for its

There are 2-types of clutches; the diaphragm type and coil

smooth action and organic for its low price. Primary chain

spring type. Harley replaced the coil spring type for the

adjustment is about 5/8 to 7/8 when cold and 3/8 to 5/8

diaphragm type in 1984, this for a lighter lever effort and

when hot (10). We see here that the primary chain will

smoother operation. Diaphragm clutches like to be adjusted

tighten when hot so don’t adjust to tight or it will make the

flat within .010 of an inch (7). Only the 84 to 89 have an

clutch malfunction making you think your clutch adjustment

adjustment on the spring plate identified by A, B, C. As for

is incorrect. Primary chain alignment is crucial for a good

the later type, there is no adjustment and if you what to

clutch action. You can place shims behind the compensator

bring the clutch to this spec you will have to be inventive.

High performance coil spring clutches hold better and have a more positive engagement. For very high torque motors there are lock-up clutches which operate with small levers that apply pressure using centrifugal force. Generally,

sprocket. Shims come in different thicknesses for this application. For those of you that find the clutch lever to too stiff, Muller Motorcycle has a “power clutch” component that works very well.

for racing, you can adjust the weight of the levers to

Good riding and as always,

obtain the traction desired in progressive stages. Believe

if in doubt visit your local bike shop !

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Text and photos : Becky Goebel @actuallyitsaxel

After a last minute 24-hour, 400-mile, back-seat chopper trip to Tijuana, my friends and I were on a roll. Born Free 9 was in the near future and in more ways than one, we were not slowing down any time soon. The next three days were totally booked up with parties, bikes, and riding. Although our party had already started, the official Born Free preparty was just about to begin.

The preparty was the same setup as the previous years. It’s at Cooks Corner, an old-school biker bar that turns into a fullblown chopper show on its own that night. Every year, there’s a bike show and contest happening there. It’s called “People’s Champ”; builders are invited to build bikes to be voted into the show through social media. The six bikes that are lined up at the show have been voted on and won to be there. Then they are voted on right at the show by the people at the party. It’s quite a thing to see, and the winner is really, truly the “people’s champ.”

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EVENT

EVENT

One of the bikes voted into the show this year was a good friend of mine, Cody Kemmet who you’ve seen in some of my other RMM stories. The guy is a legend. He’s a 23-year-old builder from North Dakota who’s primary source of income is building crazy bikes and selling them. Before this weekend, he was pretty low-key when it came to popularity in the community, but not anymore. He built the most ridiculous 1950 Harley Davidson Panhead chopper and brought it all the way from North Dakota in a trailer along with five of his buddies… and all their bikes. I sat on the bike at the show and could barely reach the handle bars. The pipes are higher than my head, and the bike doesn’t even have pegs. He painted the frame splatter purple and chromed out the rest. The thing even has a little metal ball sack hanging from the bottom of the frame, for good luck I guess.

The second the winner was announced and the bike show portion of the party was over, Cody poured beer all over the tank of the bike, kicked over the engine in the middle of the party, rode it through the crowd and sand, and proceeded to do wheelie after wheelie on the street in front of Cooks Corner. Safe to say, Born Free was off to a good start.

met

Cody Kem

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After a long night of partying with that crew, I got away with hopping on the back of my friends old Shovelhead chopper, and we rode towards Born Free. The roads in the area are insane on these BF weekends : choppers flying by on either side of you, bikes pulled over on the side of the road, gas stations lined up with motorcycles trying to fill up, cars getting bullied out of the way. Being on a bike is the only way to go. If you get a “grass-pass” ticket to Born Free, the ride into the show is fun as hell. All the cars are lined up to get in and we just cruise in between them all the way into the show where thousands of (mostly amazing) bikes are lined up row after row. There are photographers everywhere shooting photos of people riding in and the vibes are busy. The music is loud, the bikes are loud and the people are even louder. It’s overwhelming in the best sense possible.

I always say I’m going to hold off on checking out the main invited show bikes at Born Free until the crowds die down but I got too excited. As soon as I rode through the gates, I went straight to the bikes. The builds I had been following for the past couple of months and were the most excited to see were Ryan Grossmans Knucklehead “Blood Diamond” and Arie Vee’s Panhead “The Outsider.” It’s surreal to see bikes in real life that you’ve watched come together from images on social media.

So there’s a lot to look at.

All of the bikes were mind-blowing but another show-stopper was JP Rodman’s trike. This guy is the trike master. This year he built a heavenly one out of a Panhead motor. He had his buddies track down a dude walking around the event with a massive snake and wrapped it around “the hottest girl they could find at Born Free.” They had her sit in the trunk of the trike with the thing around her neck for a photoshoot. It was a mind-blowing spectacle. There isn’t a detail missed when it comes to Born Free. At this point, it’s one of the largest chopper shows in the world and these guys take that seriously.

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EVENT

“Blood Dia mo Knuckleh nd” ead

n’s

JP Rodma trike

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The event was hotter than you could have ever imagined, in more ways than one. It was over 100 degrees so it was a relief most of the booths had kiddie pools and squirt guns. Cody had his show bike parked in the middle of a vendor booths blow-up pool. Instead of standing around telling people about how much time and detail he put into his bike this year, he decided instead to bare-foot kick start his bike in the pool and proceeded to do a burnout which resulted in the pool exploding, water spraying everyone within 20 feet and flooding several booths located downhill from the kiddie pool. Safe to say, it was the most awesome thing I witnessed the entire trip.

There was too many things that happened throughout the course of the weekend to even begin describing. Here were some highlights : • Throwing balls at a dunk tank to drop topless babes into some smelly water • Seeing Max Shaaf kick over the silver-leaf Knucklehead he had just finished building the night before • Watching old school professional skateboarders take over the enormous half pipe in the middle of the event • Josh Kurpius showing up and handing out beers • Joining ladies perched up on their guys shoulders rocking out to the bands in the sun • Seeing Doug Digglers Panhead that has caught on fire a year earlier on the highway in the middle of the desert • Linking up with Canadian biker friends who rode from Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg and even further.

Props to all you guys who came from so damn far away !

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ius Josh Kurp

We found a shady spot to watch the awards and raffle happen.

The cheers were huge when Ryan Grossman’s “Blood Diamond” Knucklehead won People’s Choice. The “Best Bobber” went to Lee Bullock whose art was all over the Born Free posters and tickets.

Martin Carlgren and his “1947 Husqvarna” won best in show. The engine in this bike is a 1/1, completely drawn up and fabricated by the builder.

The raffle was the most suspenseful occurrence of the week. When the announcer pulled the name out of the tub, he looked right at my group of friends and said : “This is crazy, we can’t make this stuff up. I am looking at the winner right now.”

f

Max Shaa

MAX SHAAF. Max Shaaf won the Knucklehead. We couldn’t believe it. He has been an Invited Born Free builder multiple years in a row and even built one of the Born Free giveaway bikes in the past. He’s a good friend of most of the builders and lots of people involved in the show. So it was pretty crazy. Every time I watch the Born Free bike giveaway I am in shock. The first year, I saw it, it was a woman who was so over-the-top excited, the second year was a friend of mine who was standing right near me and this year, one of the most legendary people in the motorcycle and skateboard scene (he’s also a professional skater). Next year : ME. Just kidding – but maybe ! That’d be a pretty damn good article.

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When events like Born Free get so massive, there is always some big changes. You always hear lots of opinions on this at the show but I believe that the progression of this event is important to the motorcycle community. It promotes hard work and good style. It forces builders to push the limits which generate creativity for everyone who sees these builds. It brings the scene together, influences younger and younger people to get into the art, and it’s an all-around fun weekend. There isn’t even cell service at the event so it gets people off their phone and enjoying the bikes and each other. I am where I am because of events like Born Free. I’ve met the people who have totally shaped me in the scene as well as some of my best friends at this event. Although I have yet to win a Knucklehead, Born Free is still one of my favourite events year after year, and I will be back for my fourth time next year for Born Free’s 10th anniversary.

Hope to see you there !

rlgren’s Martin Ca varna” sq u H “1947

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FEATURED BIKE

featured bike

Text : Charlie Lessard – Photos : Pascal Richard

“Death” is the end. The end of time for a living organism. All biological and existing activities of a living person stop, including sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. The usual signal for death is that the heart stops beating. Damn ! That ain’t good ! That would sure put a damper on “my” day ! A “Dealer” can be a person or company that buys and sells products or articles or in some unfortunate circumstances a person who hands out “consequences.” I don’t like dealing with consequences ! They keep me up at night ! If you have ever been to Vegas, a “dealer” is the employee of a casino who distributes the cards. I know that from experience; a costly one at that ! If I had a dollar for every card game I lost, I’d be rich !

So, combine these two words, and you will end up with a title that perfectly matches the outline of this unique custom motorcycle. Now don’t get me wrong, don’t think for a moment that this fine-looking machine is bound to take your life. Don’t think that if you had this bike parked in your garage, the cloaked, scythe-wielding Grim Reaper would be knocking on your door.

Oh no, on the contrary ! This custom-built motorcycle is an erector of a soul’s excursions, a finder of new features, facets and fun, an essayist of empowerment, a founder of prime-time frolicking, a generator of coprophagous grins ! No people, I am not shitting you ! This bike ain’t about death – It’s all about life !

Born in the confines of Trickfactory Customs, situated in Coquitlam British Columbia, this beautiful beast was handcrafted by none other than the boss himself; Tim Lajambe. Not one to often build anything for himself, Tim actually found time to finish this project and satisfy his own need for shifting, smoking and speed. This shop is one busy place and the creations that exit its doors are world-class. I’ve always said that some of the world’s best custom bike and car builders come from right here in Canada and Trickfactory Customs is proof of that. The coolest thing about this “factory” is that none of their creations has to leave the shop for any outside work. They do it all in-house ! “This is my personal bike built the way I wanted it. A big engine, big brakes and nothing it didn’t need. After building a lot of show bikes, I wanted something that was fast, evil and easy to work on. There are no tricks, no hidden parts, no puzzles,” said Tim. Check out the frame. It started out as a chromoly Triple-E drag racing chassis, but Tim converted it from strip to street in three weeks. Not only is it highly modified and TIG- welded, it actually acts as part of the oil reservoir. The backbone used to be the fuel tank but now oil runs through it. The only thing remaining of the original frame is the backbone and down tubes. When asked if it could be reproduced, Tim said : “Yes, I can be bribed, but you better have deep pockets.” The oil travels through the frame to make its way back to the Trickfactory oil tank. The engraved end caps of the oil tank itself can be removed to expose the inside of the component. Talk about “complete” oil change capability ! The whole oil system holds six quarts. What’s also cool about the frame is how it’s made to anchor the Fox mountain bike shock. The shock gives a little suspension under the seat pan. Cool touch ! I really dig how the Deka battery sits on an angle. This is definitely a one-off frame !

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As for the gas tank, Tim used a West Coast Choppers unit. But yes, this too was modified to Tim’s liking. It was shortened at the aft end, and the tank mounts, as well as the tunnel, were changed to fit the frame’s backbone. The spinner gas cap is also an addition.

A Milwaukee Iron front fender was used to cover the front 21-inch Hot Match Signature wheel while a B-Cool fender, which Tim says he really likes, was used in the rear. Hawg Halters Inc. was called upon to supply the front end and brake components. “These parts are unique to my bike and HHI were very helpful when creating this bike,” said Tim. The dirt bike handlebars hold the Brembo controls. They look perfect on this ride.

The torque monster motor comes from Canadian engine guru Jerry Merch. According to Tim, it produces 140 horsepower and makes 150-foot pounds of torque. There is plenty of giddy-up to carve up the roads heading to Harrison Hot Springs, a place where Tim loves to go. “It’s a good combo of twisty roads and picturesque straight roads; 95 klicks of pure joy where I can clear out my head and enjoy the ride,” Tim says. The primary drive comes from Evil Engineering.

“I love their products; they’re just amazing ! We were one of their very first customers,” said Tim. Baker takes care of the gearbox.

Troy LaPlante did the original artwork on this bike but it was re-vamped by Mike Lavallee of Killer Paint.

Inspired by American artist Frank Frazetta, the painting depicts a menacing armour-clad warrior with a horned helmet, whose facial features are obscured by shadow. One nasty mofo who you would not want to meet in a dark back country road ! A death dealer of sort for sure. But as mentioned, this bike ain’t about death; it’s all about life ! Unless of course, you leave it parked in the shop. Unless you leave it to sit for weeks on end without sparking it up, shifting it into first and burning its back tire. Unless you’re “too busy” to ride to your favourite places and chill out for a little while with the best of friends. Unless your heart just isn’t into it anymore ! Now that ain’t life, that’s a death deal !

What can we expect from TFC in the near future ?

Well, how about a 145-cubic inch CFL Chopper ? Or a ground-up lowrider Softail ? Or a future Revolution Motorcycle Magazine cover bike – a CFL Pan ?

That ain’t no trick !

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OWNER CITY

Tim Lajambe Coquitlam, B.C.

AccessoirIes

GENERAL Manufacturing Year / Make Model Assembly Time

Tim Lajambe 2010 Death Dealer Trickfactory Customs 3 month

ENGINE Year Model Builder Ignition Displacement Lower end Balancing Pistons Heads Cam Lifters Carb Pipes

2010 131” Merch Performance Dyna Twin Tech 131” Merch Performance Merch Performance Merch Performance Merch Performance Merch Performance Merch Performance Mikuni Trickfactory Customs

Transmission Type Shifting

Baker 6 speed

painting Troy Laplante Painter Troy Laplante Airbrush House of Kolor - Black Color / type Special Airbrush - Frank Frazetta’s “Death Dealer”

FRAME Year Builder Type Rake Stretch Shocks

Photographe R

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SPECIFICATIONS

2010 Trickfactory Customs Prostreet 38 degrees / 43 total 0 Rigid Pascal Richard

Bars Handlebar Controls Headlight Tail light Speedo Dash Pegs Electrics Gas Tank Oil Tank Oil System Primary Seat Front Fender Rear Fender Mirrors Grips

Dirt Bike Fat Bars Brembo Headwinds Carbon Fiber Trickfactory Customs No No West Coast Choppers Trickfactory Customs WCC Villian modified Trickfactory Customs Trickfactory Customs Evil Engineering Trickfactory Customs Milwaukee Iron B-Cool No West Coast Choppers

forkS Type Size Builder

Wide Glide / 5 degrees 41mm Hawg Halters Inc

WHEELS FRONT Size Wheel Tire Brake

21” Hot Match Signature Avon Twin 6 piston HHI

REAR Size Wheel Tire Brake

OTHER

18 x 8.5 Hot Match Signature Metzeler HHI 4 piston Oil in frame : 6-quart low mount oil tank system.

© Margaret Muza

Text : Becky Goebel @actuallyitsaxel — Photos : Josh Kurpius @kurpius

In my eyes, Josh is a very original person in many regards. With an aggressively changing motorcycle industry, he was a fire starter. Although building choppers and taking photos is popular as hell right now, he was there in the beginning. Before Instagram, before taking photos of people on bikes was the thing to do, Josh was learning to use tools based on a jewellery course he took and was figuring out how to shoot cool photos on the road without the influence of Internet.

Nowadays, that original motorcycle culture is often lost. That badass, renegade vibe isn’t as apparent.

People turning their heads when they see us rolling by happens less and less. Josh is cool; his vibes are familiar to me. Like where my own influences came from; my Dad’s generation, his friends, that “I don’t give a fuck” attitude. Leather boots, long front ends, drunken nights sleeping in the ditch beside your bike, runs with your chopper crew, doing burnouts in a campground in Texas, your only worry being where the next gas station is – it’s not an easily fabricated lifestyle, and Josh has been doing it for years.

I know Josh personally from attending motorcycle events around the States. I gave him a phone call, and here we are ! Thanks for teaming up with us Josh, you’re a legend !

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How’d you get into all this bike stuff ?

My Dad had a painting business, and that’s what he did pretty much his entire life. He travelled all over the US painting buildings, and I would work with him. I would be on the road for up to eight weeks. So, this was my high school summers – it sucked. That’s why I said, fuck this – I’m going to college.

So, I went, and when I was close to finishing, I got a phone call that my Dad had fallen off a roof and was in the hospital.

That circumstance was the incentive he needed to quit.

When he started selling off parts of his business, he started buying these machines. He intended to build bikes, choppers actually. It started off with a lathe and then his collection grew. He fell more in love with them and went to school for welding and machining. Now I had all of these machines at my fingertips. I never went to school for it, but his way of teaching was by saying things like “well how come you don’t know how to do this ?” I’d watch him, and he’d talk to me like I should know how to do it, and I would just go along with it. My third weld was on the frame of my Ironhead Sportster.

My dad had a friend a town over. He said he knew of a guy selling a bike. So, I kept nagging him about it even though I didn’t have the money to buy something. I was just out of college, and then I got married. I was broke. The thing was in pieces, he said : “well so-and-so rebuilt it… and it’s a 1200 or something.” He didn’t have a clue… I was like, whatever man just sell me the bike. So, I ended up getting the pile of parts for $1400. I basically had to put the whole thing together, and I didn’t have a clue. That bike was the last thing I wanted really. I knew I wanted a Harley-Davidson that was for sure, but I couldn’t afford anything else, so an Ironhead Sportster

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was what was the most obtainable. I just figured, “fuck I’m going to be that asshole that’s always in the back – can’t keep up and always breaking down.” But it proved to be quite different than that after I got it on the road. The guy told me that the previous owner used to ride the bike from Northern Illinois to Texas all the time, and I just thought “yeah right, it’s an Ironhead.” But man, that motor must have been born to run. It’s always been great and has been my main rider ever since.

Your Ironhead, the “Locust” is famous as hell ! I see that thing everywhere and it seems like you ride it hard.

What’s the furthest you’ve ridden it in one trip ?

The longest trip I did was for the movie “21 Days Under the Sky” (available on Netflix). It was from Salinas to San Francisco in California to Brooklyn, New York, which is over 3,000 miles.

After that, I rode 1000 miles back home by myself and I did that in one day. Then I left the next day to ride around Lake Michigan which is just under a thousand miles. So altogether, it was a solid 5,000-mile tour.

That’s not even as far as it is for me to ride to California and back. That trip is 7000 miles, and I’ve done that a couple of times. One time I rode 1020 miles in 17 hours and my tank only holds 1.7 gallons. Into the night like 3 - 4 am there’s deer everywhere; that’s the scariest part and the gas stations aren’t open. You’re never really sure if you’re going to have enough gas to get to the next available gas station. I geared the Ironhead really tall. It’s always in the front of the pack even with my friends who have new Evos. It’s made for the highway.

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You’ve probably seen some wild stuff, tell us a story.

With all of these wild experiences I wish that I would have kept a journal every day. But unless something sparks your memory a lot of those details get lost. Because I’m a photographer I have a lot to look back on but when things got too out of hand, I have to put the camera away. Unless people are really comfortable with me – whether it’s drugs or women people are involved in, or whatever it is, you have to be respectful and not take photos of certain situations which are the wildest situations. I’ve had a lot of wild times. Ask me something specific.

Alright then, tell us your scariest moment on the road.

One of the scariest moments, that scared all of my friends too, was when we were riding to California for Born Free in 2012.

Because my bike is really skinny it’s really hard to control in the wind. It gets pushed around a lot. We were crossing into Iowa and it was so windy. We were fighting the wind like crazy so I’m pushing against the wind one way and there was this semi in the lane beside me. It was on the left side of me and I was leaning left. I came up beside the backend of the semi-trailer to pass it and the wind gust changed because of

the pull of the semi and I just got sucked in. So, my front end basically dives under the middle part of the trailer; I’m right in front of the rear wheels and my bike gets sucked under the trailer. I was able to correct it really quick and shot back out.

We stopped at a truck stop and all my friends were like “what the fuck ! We thought we saw you die !” I just got off and sat on the ground for a while.

Dang ! That’s scary, glad that turned out the way it did.

Alright, subject change. I want to know more about your photos. What came first motorcycles or photography ?

They actually came at the same time. I was in college and my focus was jewellery and working with metals like threedimensional design and sculpture. It was my last year at that community college that I took a photography class. That was around the same time that I was getting into bikes. I was just learning how to ride so I would bring my camera with me to shoot but back then younger people weren’t on motorcycles.

I wasn’t riding with anybody, I was riding by myself. I’d take a shot of the handlebars or of the tank while I was riding. After a while I ran into a guy with a Panhead chopper when I was going to photography school in Chicago. Until then, I hadn’t even really seen a chopper in person.

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From there, I developed a friends group – it was an older crowd of guys. Shortly after that, younger guys started popping up and there was a family that was born out of that.

Bikes were never something that I planned on shooting. It blew up big after that. My first photo that I sent to a magazine was on the cover. My focus was never motorcycles even though I always loved motorcycles. I actually was more into cars back then but I always liked things that were old and unique.

After that, I got divorced and I was kind of like “fuck it.” So I hit the road. I met a ton of great people and I was shooting the entire time and shooting for a lot of magazines. I started doing a blog with a couple of friends. One thing lead to the next, and Harley-Davidson saw what I was doing. Before you knew it, I was shooting for Harley-Davidson and have been ever since. My first shoot with Harley-Davidson was in 2009.

That was the first year that I had my bike together. A lot of things happened for me at that time. They used me a lot for my photography, but they also used me as an influencer to get into the younger generation of motorcyclists. Everything worked out and now, here I am.

What’s next ?

I bought a property and it will be a very productive space when it’s all set up. I have a machine shop in the basement and then a little workshop off to the side of my living space and a full garage. I didn’t really have a home before. I always kept my life absent of having responsibilities. I was always just ready to get up and go and it didn’t really matter where.

Now I’ve stepped into my own property. It’s anchoring me.

I’ll still be travelling a lot but it won’t be as a vagabond. So, moving forward I’d say I’m working on being more grounded, more grown up and growing my roots.

- If you’d like to check out more of Josh’s work, you can visit his website www.joshkurpius.com or follow his Instagram @ kurpius. -

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Text : Catherine David Photos : Marie-André Cormier / Catherine David

The 2017 motorcycle season got off to a great start for girls from the east with the Babes Ride Out (BRO) East Coast in Narrowsburg.

That’s on the border between the states of New York and Pennsylvania. Some 550 women attended the second edition of the country version of the BRO California.

Mid-May. About 20 girls from the province took to social networks sharing advice, organizing groups, preparing departures. Excitement was in the air. The BRO, like the BackRoad Ball in New Brunswick or the Mamzelle Ride and Ramble in Quebec, is a great opportunity for motorcycle enthusiasts to meet other girls who share the desire to hit the open road. It doesn’t matter if you are wearing a Hair Glove and lots of bling, mechanic’s overalls or Red Wings on your feet, you are welcome. You ride a Dodge Tomahawk ? You’re welcome too, but don’t expect to go glamping. Amenities are basic and showers are hard to find.

This year as part of a documentary, I left with Roxanne, Véronique and Audrey. I met Roxanne last year at a motorcycle event in Lanaudière, we hit it off right away. Véro and I met on a totally jackass night ride in Montréal which was spontaneously organized on social networks. Straight pipes

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with the rich; the terrorizing of Westmount for just one night.

Thanks Tony ! I haven’t seen Audrey in 10 years. Maybe more.

But I stop counting after 10. Last year, I reviewed Babes Ride Out for onelandmag.com. She wrote me : “Wow, that looks totally insane ! Can I join you next year even if I don’t ride ?”

Absolutely ! For an additional $40 for a car pass, the Babes Ride Out is open to all women interested in motorcycling with or without two wheels. Who knows if after sharing your passion during a weekend, your friend just might want to go out and buy a Suzuki Savage ? I was happy to take off with Audrey. That girl cracks me up. The books you could fill with the crazy adventures we shared together could rival Harry Potter. Friendships like this are not affected by absence.

Filmmaker Geneviève Chartrand joined our deluxe quartet, curious to discover and share this unusual feminine universe, along with her team, Julie and Marie-Pierre, on camera and sound.

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The BRO blog is especially busy in the weeks preceding the event. The two founders, Ashmore Ellis and Anya Violet are generous with content. Teasing us with presenting the artists and brands who support the event, camping tips and suggestions for rides and places to discover. It gets everyone in the mood. We also prepare with a kick-off meeting.

Roxanne and Geneviève are going wild with the food.

Peperettes and 25-cent, 100 % sodium Ramen noodles are out of the question. True Epicureans, they propose offerings from Le Pied Bleu, Paquebot Café, Nuage Rouge and, of course, beer by Les Grands Bois. A 5-star camping menu !

A Dodge Caravan escort vehicle improves conditions and allows room for inspiration. As for the itinerary, we choose the 30, also known as the Adirondack Trail which travels down the state of New York to Pennsylvania. The road is beautifully quiet in the heart of the lush forests of the Adirondacks and Catskills. We camp at Moffit Beach in Speculator. We meet friends from Québec at the campsite, it’s great to see them.

Julie has a large, steaming pizza box strapped to her luggage.

We’re not the only ones who will be enjoying our lunch !

The next day we leave early. We travel between 100 and 120 km at a time. We don’t have much choice, I’m riding a straight pipe Sportster belonging to Charles from Prémont Harley-Davidson in Laval. Which means I have a powerful racer with a peanut-sized gas tank. So, we have to stop often. Two o’clock in the afternoon and everything is fine. We are 100-kms from our destination. Looking forward to arriving !

And then it happens. A deer, a stupid little deer bouncing excitedly along the white line. We can’t tell which direction it will take. I have no choice but to hit the brakes. Véro follows suit. Roxanne doesn’t have time to react. She passes between Véro and me, clips Véro as she goes by sectioning her right peg, smashing into the clutch side and splitting her primary cover. Propelled, Véro moves on while maintaining her balance on her bike. At the same time, the deer is chasing Roxanne. It follows her and jumps on the bike. Literally !

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Roxanne is thrown to the ground right before my eyes. Her bike smashes. As she tumbles, I fear she’ll be torn to shreds.

It feels as if everything is happening in slow motion. When it finally stops, we run to her. She is not confused and, at first glance, doesn’t appear to be too messed up.

Three police SUVs, one firetruck and an ambulance later, we are at the hospital in Margaretville waiting for news about Roxanne, while Véro is having an intense and stressful conversation with the insurance company. “Worse than the twelve labours of Hercules,” she tells me. Overall, Roxanne is fine, bruises here and there and a slight lesion on the left kidney. She is transferred to Albany to monitor her kidney.

Véro goes with her. So, our plans for the weekend are pretty much scrapped.

The ambulance left at 7 and I got on my bike. I had to make it to my destination, to plant a symbolic flag for them, for myself and for Genevieve who is invested in her documentary. I arrive late, totally wiped. I give Audrey, my accomplice, a great big hug. This is one adventure we could have done without, but I’m glad she’s here.

In the barn, a party is in full swing. The girls are singing karaoke with the We Are Hot Rides motorcycle club. They’re laughing, drinking 805 and singing - not always on key ! I’m not really in the mood to sing Mademoiselle Chante le Blues, even if I have gospel in my blood and a pretty good voice.

Instead, I put on my invisibility cloak and wander around the site with Audrey whose listening ear and sense of humour are perfectly in tune with the circumstances. Audrey is truly a great lady !

On Saturday morning, we line up for coffee at the FosterBuilt Coffee booth. What better way to kick-start the day than with hot coffee ! The 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. time slot is reserved for rides.

There is the possibility of getting a tattoo in the barn during the day, which does not leave many options for the iron butts in search of a relaxing activity before the next day’s departure.

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Lander’s River Trips, a local business near the camp site, is offering a $16 discount to anyone who wants to go tubing down the river. As for me, I am ready to get back on the road for one of the BRO’s six 135 to 305 km rides. I go around to say goodbye to the other groups of girls from Quebec.

They will ride together for the day. I plan my ride with Kaitlyn, Kira and Kris from Halifax, whom I met at the Backroad Ball in New Brunswick last year. Great girls who have travelled more than 1,500 kms to attend this two-day event. Motivated and passionate girls. For our itinerary, we choose The Threesome Route, a 65-mile ride that takes us to High Point State Park. We can’t find the entrance to get to the lookout point, which is really too bad. For the past two years, the itineraries have been prepared by Virginia Cagney, one of the local girls. The trails are interesting and well chosen, but the maps available on the spot don’t have much information. You really have to be from the area to follow the itinerary. Without mileage points as references to indicate road changes, some groups are groping along their way. Let’s say that in our case it is more like a treasure hunt than a relaxing ride. All these Google Maps searches make me cringe at the thought of my next phone bill.

We arrive at 5 p.m. for the slow race presented by Triumph.

Next comes the draws. In exchange for one big dollar per ticket, the girls have the chance to leave with one of the magnificent prizes from the many sponsors such as Red Wing, Union Garage, Biltwell and Triumph to name but a few, and many local artists offering sissy-bars, paint jobs and leather accessories.

Since we didn’t purchase tickets, we take the opportunity to eat like queens. For those who didn’t have access to a Caravan, the Good Mood Food food truck was on site on Saturday and Sunday, serving up burgers, chips and deepfried foods. On Saturday evening, however, the truck was no where to be seen. According to a rumour going around the site, we aren’t the only ones who hit a deer. The organizers

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quickly put their “plan-B” into action. The starving masses are soon enjoying an impromptu mechoui. In the evening, the party gets going in the barn with the alternative-country/ bluegrass group The Defibulators. Obviously, the free Sailor Jerry cocktails and 805’s really help to get the party going.

On sawdust covered floor, Audrey and I dance like there is no tomorrow. Ridicule has never killed us, and tonight is no exception.

Sunday morning. The engine symphony begins at 5:30. The girl right next to us is having a hard time starting hers. It sounds like the pipes are two inches from our ears. Walter from Kick Start Cycle Supply is in the barn checking tire pressure, lending tools to those who need them and providing mechanical assistance. This is a great service offered by the BRO, the problem is that the information is not properly circulated throughout the campsite : no site map, no timetable, no general information. So, if you haven’t scrolled through the event’s entire Facebook page, you miss a lot of stuff. I leave at 7 o’clock. Audrey and the film crew head toward Québec.

After Friday’s accident, I don’t really feel like riding with anyone. I want to ride these 615 km on my own. In Albany, I stop by the hospital to see Roxanne and Véro. Roxanne feels weak, but she has just been released. Max is coming down from Montréal with a rental car to pick up the girls.

Jules and Charles-Édouard also stopped on Saturday on their way down to Cape Hatteras to make sure the girls didn’t need anything. I am always touched by the support and the mutual assistance within the motorcycle community. I leave, exhausted from my weekend during which I didn’t have time to relax. Without my co-riders, this year’s edition had a bitter taste. Next year, the tips on the Babes blog should include a warning about the high presence of deer in the Adirondacks and Catskills, along with some instructions to follow in highrisk areas. All too often we forget the risks of driving in the open country. Get well soon. Be vigilant !

The Girls’ Comments Kaitlyn Hagen, Halifax It was pretty surreal to see over 500 women on motorcycles gathered together in one place. Riding through the Catskills Mountains was incredible and unlike anything I’d ever done before. I had an amazing experience overall and would love to go back to Babes Ride Out East Coast again next year !

Roxane Saulnier, Stanbridge-East BRO East Coast was an opportunity to meet women who don’t care what kind of bike you ride and who don’t wear the same style of clothes. All of us in the same boat, the desire for adventure burning brightly within. You can’t find that kind of flame by spending all your weekends in the city.

Aurélia Vercruysse, Montréal The “girls,” or the “babes,” : without them there would be no BRO. Above all, it is not just a two-wheeled adventure, but a great human adventure, meeting people, making new friends. I met my great friend Justine, from Joliette, who was looking for someone to go with on Thursday afternoon. We immediately became a great team.

Julie Alexandra Jaguar, Montréal This year’s BRO was a wonderful adventure.

No mechanical problems along the way ! I was really looking forward to seeing all the badass girls I had met last year. It was great to see them again a year later. This year for me the Babes Ride Out was less of a party, but more of a rendezvous with nature, grandiose roads and fiery landscapes.

Audrey Gaudet, Saint-Samuel The motorcycle accident, right ? That was a pretty close call. But the meetings… I left with 6 girls including 5 whom I did not know at all. We laughed, we cried. It was a great mix of personalities. And spending this time with a friend I had not seen in 10 years : she made me laugh and I love her. This will definitely become a tradition.

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featured bike

Text : Wayne Burgess – Photos : Pascal Richard

Many people look to the media and see inspiration. It may be in the form of magazines or television shows, websites or Facebook posts. We get to see creations that stem from imagination and artistry that has a contagious way of being filtered down. Wayne Burgess started his love of motorcycles at a young age by looking to the pages of magazines captured by the awesome bikes that graced their pages.

“In high school in the 70s, I bought my first magazine called “Custom Chopper,” and one month I saw Barry Cooney’s bike “Tale of two Cities” as a feature of the mag, and I was hooked, not only on his bike but all bikes as a whole,” recalled Burgess.

Growing up, he worked and rode British motorcycles, and eventually, he acquired a 1971 BSA Lighting – his first bike that he still owns today.

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While raising his family, he worked many years running a fence business, still riding and loving bikes, but not attempting a build until later on in his life. In the early 2000s, Discovery Channel had several TV shows about bike builds that captured his imagination. As time went on, the Hollywood aspect of the shows began to fall apart. As family run shops descended into arguments and petty drama, the bikes slowly morphed into something so far from cool that many lost interest in the shows. Rather than give up on his love, this gave him the idea to just build his own bike. His greatest support has been his wife Nancy; they have been together for many years, and she’s an essential part in the building of these amazing machines. “One evening, “I asked my wife if (she thought) I could build a chopper, she said

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sure, and have fun !” laughed Burgess.

Starting from simple welding and parts assembly, he used a Shovelhead engine, a frame he found on eBay, putting the pieces together, correcting mistakes and getting it just right. “I learned a lot on some of the Internet chopper forums. I had no fabrication experience, I knew how to weld and wrench that’s it.” Having built this first motorcycle from the ground up, he was thrilled. The feeling of riding something he had built was too great not to repeat. He bought a 1951 Logan lathe and taught himself how to operate it.

Watching YouTube videos, Burgess educated himself in the skills required to begin machining beautiful custom parts.

Going online, he found himself pushing the limits of his abili-

ties, and over a six-month build, his entry into the contest put on by “The Horse” Magazine. “Spitball Magoo is a bike like no other, which started as a premade custom frame. The guy made a few major mistakes in fabricating it, so I decided to start hacking it up to the look I wanted… a 70s digger, a bike from my teenage years,” said Wayne.

In a 30x40 dirt floor shop in Ontario, he used minimal tools in a basic space. The frame required some major work. Taking a torch, a welder, a grinder and hand tools, he altered the frame, raising the transmission plate 3 inches and back another 3. “I fabbed an oil filter from a cast aluminium hot rod coil cover, designed and built the belt drive system from parts I had around, built a Shovelhead engine from

the ground up using aluminium cylinders, and had a friend build me a set of forks.” Burgess had an idea for the forward controls on a chain and sprocket for something different. He turned to the torch, heated up and twisted three pieces of metal rod into a piece that looks like rope. A stainless-steel exhaust was made with lots of help from Joe Roy, a local Toronto builder and John Connery worked on the paint.”

Naming his shop “Deathtrap Cycles” his imagination has created bikes that have captured others imagination, and they have won many first-place awards across Canada and the United States. In the coming years who knows what ?

For sure, Burgess won’t be sitting on a couch watching motorcycle reality shows on TV.

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OWNER CITY

Wayne Burgess Fenwick, ON

AccessoirIes

GENERAL Manufacturing Year / Make Model Assembly Time

Wayne Burgess 2015 Shovelhead Digger Wayne Burgess 2 years

ENGINE 2015 Year Shovelhead Model Wayne Burgess Builder Hunt Magneto Ignition 96 Cu In. Displacement Ultima Lower end Ultima Balancing S&S Pistons Ultima Heads Andrews Cam Jims Lifters S.U. Carb Pipes Stainless / Chrome, by Joe Roy & Wayne Burgess

Transmission Ultima Type 6 speed Shifting

painting John Connery’s Custom Paint Painter Molding Vic Airbrush Color / type Candy Green, Purple, Flake, House of Color Special Special Copper Leaf And Pinstriping By Rollie

FRAME 2015 Year Tigman, Wayne Burgess Builder Digger Type 49 degree Rake 4” out , 0” up Stretch Lol, Lol Shocks

Photographe R

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SPECIFICATIONS

Pascal Richard

Wayne Burgess Bars Internal Throttle Handlebar Controls Ultima Headlight Checker Flags, Wayne Burgess Tail light — Speedo — Dash Kustom Tech Pegs Wayne Burgess Electrics V-Twin, Wayne Burgess Gas Tank Oil Tank 5” Alumimum Pipe, Wayne Burgess — Oil System Ultima, Bdl, Wayne Burgess Primary Bare Bones Leather Seat Front Fender Mid Usa, Mini, Wayne Burgess B’Cool Rear Fender Ness Mirrors Kustom Tech Grips

forkS Type Size Builder

Spurder — Jaxon

WHEELS FRONT 21” Size Wheel 120 Twisted Spoke by Black Bike Wheels Dunlop Tire Jay Brake Brake

REAR Size 18” x 250” Size Wheel 120 Twisted Spoke by Black Bike Wheels Dunlop Tire Drum, Kustom Tech Brake

OTHER

Model : Meghan One off belt drive system / Raised tranny 3” back 3” / Chain driven forward controls : Wayne Burgess Special thanks to my patient wife Nancy, Steve Shuller, Joe Roy and Weldstar.

Text : Lee Sipes – Photos : Dan Lim @themotofoto

Heading down highway 21, just beyond the Indian reservation, adjacent to the Lake Huron beach community of Southampton, Ontario. Right before the even smaller town of Allenford, Ontario, you will come across a wooden sign of white, red, and black, at the road. Behind that sign, there is an unassuming older home with an old horse barn out back.

This horse barn traded in its hay and horse manure long ago for milk crates of spare carburetors and air filters. Where horses once stood now stand an array of vintage American, British, and Japanese motorcycles. This is the setting in which Adam King has lived and done business for the better part of a decade. In fact, if you pass by the property at just the right moment you can see him, already half way through his second large Tim Hortons coffee, 2 cream no sugar, pushing a few old motorcycles out to the small gravel patch under some old growth apple trees. As you enter the side door of the barn past the ancient looking oil and gas signs, you find yourself standing in a small front showroom. It is abounding with a wide array of oil filters, antiques and spark plugs.

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Living in the small window are some rather large dock spiders, whose webs long ago claimed a miniature motorcycle model that sits on the sill. The main workspace of the shop gives good insight into Adam’s creativity and style.

Flathead cases rest in the corner and a Knucklehead frame sits waiting to be put back together on a simple frame table.

To those who don’t share a passion for old motorcycles, it may not look like much. To Adam, a quiet, unassuming, and humble motorcycle mechanic, it’s all he has ever dreamed about. Another notable feature of most flat surfaces in the shop are mostly empty Tim Hortons coffee cups, abandoned due to pressing matters elsewhere. It is a melting pot of artistry with just the right amount of clutter. It also shows his sentimentality due to the old pictures of past builds, vintage hill climb races and family, hung along the walls. It is a true display of real heart and pride in motorcycles and the community that surrounds Black Horse Cycle. It’s a “real deal” cycle shop as Adam proudly calls it, and he consistently proves that fact.

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Adam King comes by his love for motorcycles honestly being a second-generation motorcycle mechanic, bike builder and restorer. His father Rick King opened up the original Black Horse Cycle back in 1984 out of a town called Kinloss, Ontario. That brand ran until 1999 when Rick decided to start a new shop called Clearly Vintage, which ran until the mid-2000s. Adam’s mom was a member of the Motor Maids for over a decade and was involved in starting the Canadian chapter of Women in the Wind. His uncle Billy was a member of an old Ontario motorcycle club, the Black Diamond Riders during the mid to late 60s. Adam has fond memories as a young child playing in his dad’s motorcycle shop and even stealing carburetor jets off of the workbench and swallowing them when his dad’s head was turned. Some people say they have motorcycles in their blood, but Adam has them in his gut, potentially still stuck there. Adam’s two-wheeled infatuation took hold at an early age. It wasn’t long before he started dreaming of owning a Knucklehead like his old man’s ‘47. Adam went into business for himself in 2004 under the moniker “The Wrecking Crew” but decided to revive the namesake of his dad’s business Black Horse Cycle in 2008. He has operated under that name ever since.

Adam’s mechanical vocabulary runs wide. He can fix anything from a two-stroke weed whacker to a well-used children’s go cart. His main focus has always been vintage motorcycles.

He has had the privilege of owning specimens such as : a 1938 original Indian Sport Scout Hill Climber, a 1940 Jr Scout, a ’66 Triumph Rickman Metisse, a Norton Production Racer and a homemade contraption known as the “Blueberry

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Hog” built by his grandfather. His heart though has always belonged to Harley-Davidson and his collection has boasted bikes, including a 1936 RLDR, a 1957 XLRTT, and his two race bikes, a 1938 EL Knucklehead and a 1943 WLC Flathead lovingly named the “Vomit Comet.” There are aspects of what King does that really define him, not just as a mechanic, but also as an artist. It’s not so much what people notice about his bikes that set him apart, but it’s the things people can’t quite pick out. If someone described what Adam does with his bikes as restoration they would be incorrect.

Preservation is closer to pinning it down, but it’s more than that. He doesn’t just preserve the metal and paint and patina that make up an old Harley, but he seeks to preserve the spirit of the bike and give it new life without making it shiny and new.

Adam has a number of closely guarded techniques he employs to achieve the “right look.” Some processes are as simple as Scotchbrite and spilt coffee, but others take many hours and patience to achieve the desired result. Many have tried this esthetic in building motorcycles, but few are able to capture a finished product that doesn’t look staged. The outcome of Adam’s artistry in rust looks as if the bike was rolled out of an old barn, forgotten to man and time. The combination of old parts and new meld into a cohesive and authentic story of a motorcycle that wouldn’t have existed before Adam put his hands to work. Making old bikes look like they haven’t changed since a pre-war hill climb is not near as easy as some might think. The other half of the equation for Adam is making sure that his bikes start and run without issue. That is where his mechanical ability shines through because his

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bikes kick over and go, every time. This can sometimes be something of a rarity for an old Harley. Adam does what he does so well that he has experienced, at motorcycles shows, old timers coming up and saying things like “I bet that old thing doesn’t even run.” Adam will smirk, kick the bike over twice to prove them wrong and will watch as the expression on the old men’s faces turn from confidence to wonderment.

By this point, the question changed to “how do you get these old things to run so well ?” That’s when he will reply without hesitation “because I’m a Honda mechanic.” This usually gets a chuckle from the old timers. He puts his money where his mouth is when he makes appearances in The Race of Gentlemen and his membership in the Frozen Few where his bikes show up and perform even under the racing conditions of beach sand and salt water, frozen lakes and snow. The Vomit Comet in particular has gone over the edge of a huge snow berm leaving Adam busted up. At The Race of Gentlemen in Pismo Beach it was t-boned by another motorcycle in the lineup, but after it was picked up, it again started without hesitation. His machines are amazingly resilient and purpose built, as he would define them.

The end of last year brought a new opportunity for Adam in the form of an old abandoned building. He decided to transplant his business and shop to a new location about 20 minutes back up Highway 21 to the small town of

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Underwood, Ontario. Here, he is in the process of converting a late 1800s mercantile store into his dream shop. The building has had many businesses come and go over its long life and the top floor was even a Masonic lodge. When he first pushed opened the doors, the neglect could be smelt in the stale air. It was in need of a massive cleanout, substantial repairs and some old fashioned TLC. The shop is really taking shape. Adam has recently started working out of the new location moving his parts hoard, tools and his life to this new building where he will live and work. He has taken the pride and style he puts into his bikes and imprinted that on his new building. The vast collection of antique signs, old pictures and bike parts now are settling into a new home.

Coffee cups are starting to accumulate now and Adam’s three dogs have claimed their spots on the couch that was meant for customers. He discovered the old store counters covered by cheap wood paneling, creating a place for friends to hang out and swap stories. Adam may not have a wide range of hobbies but he wouldn’t have it any other way. A life devoted to wrenching, building, riding, racing and dreaming is where he exists. No one knows what the future holds, but Adam has all he needs surrounded by old parts and new dreams. He wouldn’t change it if he could.

Text : Pascal Richard Photos : Pascal Richard & David Poulin

What wine aficionado has not taken a trip along a “wine route” to enjoy tastings of this much-loved and oh so sublime liquid.

In planning the next “on the road” column for this magazine, I wanted to take a different ride that few people know about.

At a party in Montreal last May, as I was enjoying a nice Jack Daniel’s with friends, David, one of my colleagues in this future expedition, suggested travelling through Tennessee and Kentucky to visit the Jack Daniel’s distillery and follow the “Bourbon Trail.” Cool, now that would be something special !

Every self-respecting biker (and bon vivant) has tasted Jack Daniel’s. So I called Mani at Jack Daniel’s to announce our arrival and David took care of the “bourbon” side of things with Jim Beam and others.

more relaxed trip. Our first stop was at OCC Industries in Newburgh, NY, which some of us had never visited. The last time I was there was to try out their line of production bikes.

The place has changed since then. They built a beautiful restaurant-bar in the main building. The weather was nice, so it was the perfect spot to enjoy a few beers while we discussed our next destination. It would be Wildwood. Its waterfront, famous Boardwalk and attractions make it very popular with Canadian tourists. We wanted to see the famous Race of Gentlemen on the beach, in which Canadian Adam King of Black Horse Cycle (see story on page 56) was taking part. Everybody loved this event and promised to come back next year as participants.

I planned for a wonderful 5,000 km trip. We would stop at The Race of Gentlemen in Wildwood, New Jersey to meet Liz, our photographer, who lives in NJ and see all the great cars that would take part in the race. For me, this was one of my favourite events this year. Could anything be more cool than cars and motorcycles from the 1950s and earlier racing on the beach ! See Liz’s full story on page 72.

After spending the sunny day on the beach, we were notified by e-mail that our hotel room had been cancelled for no apparent reason. No other room was available in Wildwood.

The same thing happened to me in Sturgis a few years back and I had to sleep on a deck chair by the pool. I told myself that at worst, we wouldn’t sleep, we would just ride to the next less touristy town. Then finally, one of the guys managed to find two rooms in Atlantic City forty-five minutes north.

Great ! We get to go to the Casino ! But our gambler’s impetus was quickly squashed by the exorbitant room price : 300-bucks for an extra-dingy motel. It’s hard to understand, there was nobody in this damn town ? Avoid sleeping there !

Friday morning, departure from Montreal. Four guys on our motorcycles, another one joined us in New Jersey. We made the journey in nine days (that’s all the time we had), but we could easily have added three to four additional days for a

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ON THE ROAD

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The next day, with a blazing sun and a temperature above 30 degrees Celsius, we head toward North Carolina where we would take the famous Route 129, known as the Tail of the Dragon. With 318 curves over a distance of eleven miles, it makes for an exciting ride. The “Tail” begins in North Carolina at Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort where you can find gift shops and a restaurant. The Tail of the Dragon takes about and hour and a half and provides lots of thrills. No hurry, you go at your own speed. There are several rest areas to stop and let the people in a hurry go by. This is the place for speed and curve lovers; but take care, it’s unforgiving. A tree filled with parts picked up from the road testifies to this.

Coming off the 129, we stopped for a break at the US 129 Dragon HarleyDavidson dealership to chat about our adventure.

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We are now in Tennessee. Where music and whiskey reign supreme.

In Nashville, we were hoping to attend and enjoy the atmosphere of a 7th game of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but unfortunately for us the series ended in 6. Nashville is definitely worth seeing and spending a few days for its many museums, including the Johnny Cash Museum, and for the frenzied nightlife. Along the main street, most bars have three floors and each floor has a live band playing from opening to closing.

Our first evening was quite “heavy” and the next morning we had an appointment to visit the Jack Daniel’s distillery. I assure you that some of us weren’t feeling that great during this visit !

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It takes about an hour and a half to get from Nashville to Lynchburg, a small town with a population of 6,300 and whose economy is based solely on the Jack Daniel’s distillery. Funny fact : it is illegal to sell alcohol in this country. Jack Daniel’s was founded in 1866 by Jasper Newton Daniel, AKA Jack Daniel, born in 1849 and died in 1911. Legend has it that one day when he could not recall the combination of the company safe, he got angry and kicked it. He broke his big toe, the wound became infected and he died of this infection. Jack Daniel’s as well as Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle are a mythical brand in the United States with a rich history, which is why a visit is a must. You will discover a beautiful museum as well as the stages of the manufacturing and transformation of the product from A to Z, very interesting. And in the end, obviously, we get to sample some Jack Daniel’s products ! The small town also has a lovely cachet with a Harley-Davidson dealership and shops that sell everything made from Jack Daniel’s product. A meal at the famous BarrelHouse BBQ is a must.

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The next morning, we were back on our bikes. We rode over to Kentucky, the state north of Tennessee. This state is not only known for its famous Derby and its magnificent stables lined with beautiful white fences as far as the eye can see, Kentucky is also world famous for its Bourbon, which is was one of the reasons for our visit. Browse and discover this famous Bourbon Trail. Only David who was with us knew of this place, he who is a bar owner and an alcohol specialist. He was one step ahead of us. The good side of this is that he could take the time to explain certain characteristics of the manufacturing of this precious fluid to us in much greater detail.

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Our first stop was at the well-known Jim Beam distillery in the city of Clermont. I loved the company’s friendly atmosphere, which was much less touristy and corporate than Jack Daniel’s. The buildings were laid out in a beautiful location and the tour was interesting and relaxed. We were also allowed to take pictures throughout the tour. To top it all, the tasting department allowed us to enjoy the products of our choice, and the cocktail barman suggested and made Jim Beam cocktails based on our tastes. A restaurant with a terrace served up great food flavoured with Jim Beam. I loved the friendly atmosphere. The next day we continued our pilgrimage to the Maker’s Mark and Wild Turkey distilleries. If you take the time, there are over ten distilleries to visit a short distance from each other.

Nine days of motorcycling which everyone enjoyed, abounding with beautiful scenery, beautiful encounters, a super motorcycle event and an instructive (and oh how pleasant) introduction to the Whiskey and Bourbon manufacturers. It was a great ride that I would do again with pleasure. Any volunteers ?

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Text and photos : Liz Leggett

Perhaps you hear about it from friends while hanging out in a buddy’s shop, maybe you saw a gallery on your favourite forum or blog. Black and white images of distinguished men, dressed in leathers and faded jeans, appearing to have walked freshly out of a tintype photograph. Flag girls jump high in the air signalling the beginning of The Race of Gentlemen, the fastest ever spreading not so best kept secret.

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The Oilers, a car club revived from 1947, can only be described as a brotherhood formed by men with a love for traditional automobiles and motorcycles built for speed. Their early members helped form the beginnings of the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) along with the early years of the SCTA (Southern California Timing Association).

Years after these pioneers had faded almost to memory, the connection with the original members was made, and a rebirth of the club began with ten new members leading the charge in preserving racing heritage.

Several of these modern day members were inspired by the tales of gatherings and races uniting the lovers of roadsters and bobbers, the race cars and bikes of days past. Races in the snow and ice, on sand and salt, it was always purely about going fast. That dream has never faded. The race of Gentlemen began in 2012 spearheaded by Oilers Mel Stultz and Bobby Green, at Pismo Beach in California. There were but a few cars and bikes present but the rules remained the same : bring together old traditional machines to race head to head on the beach like it was done in the 40’s and 50’s.

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Fast forward to modern days, and the Oilers are still going strong. The night before the race, some of the most breathtaking bikes are collected together in the parking lot of the local “Bonita Hotel.” Roaming up and down the boulevard as the sun goes down, the bikes roll out, and “The Night of the Troglodytes” is the known place to party starting off the weekend long event. An annual get together now hosted by HarleyDavidson, it was packed to the gills with barely any room to move around as hundreds of spectators gathered together. As bands blared on into the night, attendance increased and more and more bikers gathered together. Many new visitors oogled and eyeballed the various characters gathered together, a sea of beards, beer and ink, where as many return visitors gathered to catch up and talk about the jewels hidden around the lot. Out-of-this-world choppers with priceless engines and colourful paint jobs slipped in and out of view as shoulder to shoulder shuffling around, spectators created little pockets to see the bikes.

The organizers of the event even made appearances overseas, having taken a booth space at the Mooneyes Show in Yokohama Japan. The immense props were even taken there, the giant chequered start line cones and banner hung proudly, temping all to mark their calendar and make the trip. Fanatics packed their gear up and flew all the way from around the world to attend and participate in this event. The famed Harley-Davidson Museum is currently hosting a very large exhibit on TROG featuring some cars, bikes, memorabilia and many photographs documenting this historic event.

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This year in Wildwood, New Jersey, the location of the East Coast event, the public attendees numbered around 15,000 spectators. Numerous cars and bikes covered the sand, the pits slowly filling up and surrounding the area with impossible nostalgia. Bikes covered in rust and flaking paint, hint not at their actual value, often in the multiple thousands. Rare American-made motorcycles, including priceless Harley’s and Indian motorcycles, sputter and roar to life, not unlike wild untameable beasts.

Arguably the event is truly appreciated most by the various artists, be it clothing designers, painters, videographers and of course photographers. This is one of the few events where you are sure to see large format film cameras and tin type photography being used. The immense time, patience and understanding of these tools is impressive. The journalist used these as the weapon of choice back in the day and 4x5’s were used hand-held as well as on tripods. This is the place where dreams of capturing completely timeless photographs become possible, with backgrounds filled with period correct banners and flags, the immense viewing towers packed with VIP guests. Even Willy G. Davidson from the famed company was in attendance, proving that “Come one ! Come all !” is indeed the call to this intriguing scene of speed.

Watching the cars launch from the starting line, throwing sand high as the flag girl floats in the air, the urge to get in line is hard to ignore. Just like in all various forms of racing, the rules and specifications to the vehicles are strict when it comes to actual race participation, and many people who attempt to enter don’t make the cut.

Here is a list of the requirements :

Willy G. Davidson

Car bodies needs to be American-made from 1934 and older, with the engines dating 1948 and older as well as 1949-53 Ford Flatheads.

All running gear must be pre-1953, meaning no modern transmissions, brakes, alternators as well as no headlights, white wall tires, aggressive treaded tires or fenders. All paint must be period correct and excluding graphics and vinyl lettering. There are three classes you can run in including 4 Bangers, V8’s and Heritage class which includes cars and motor pre-1920 like Dusenbegh, Stutz speedsters and Indy cars, which are all acceptable to compete.

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When it comes to bikes, it gets even more interesting : All motorcycles need to be “bobbed” and stripped of everything but the bare essentials. No street bikes are allowed. However all entries are sent in and approved. If your version of a street bike is a 1947 or older American-made bike, this is the place for you ! Knuckleheads, Flatheads and other overhead engines, including the 45 Harley’s and Indian Flatheads are exceptions.

The look and feel must resemble pre-1940, a time when the trend in racing was to keep only what makes you go fast and strip the rest. Period fasteners, starters and magnetos (as long as they look older) are to be used, whereas coloured wires, zip ties, and modern hardware are banned.

Headlights and fenders are considered useless, as well as all other bells and whistles. Commonly seen at this event is the hand shift or tank shift, as well as OEM rigid or stock sprung frames run with Springer and leaf spring front ends.

Traditional paint schemes as well as numbers and hand painted lettering are also a must. The meticulous curating of the correct period pieces of machinery and apparel is what creates this magic time machine.

Only being described as an automotive carnival, TROG captures the imagination of the young and old, transporting the mind cross the sands at spectacular speeds. Many have spoken about how much the event has changed over time, as all things do over time. This has been described as one of the greatest shows on earth and for the flocks of photographers and artists it draws, there is no place on earth like the beach. Racers are immortalized as lion tamers, attempting to wrangle their snarling beasts as the ringmasters and flag girls lined up for the next act.

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Text and photos : Patrick Lambie

The mention of Calgary, Alberta brings up images of gleaming office towers set against a backdrop of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Known for being the hub of the country’s oil industry and the annual Calgary Stampede, this western metropolis has a reputation for big money business transactions and even bigger parties. Over the last three years, Kenny Kwan has been working diligently to expand the city’s list of attractions to include an annual custom motorcycle show.

Kwan’s decision to become an online retailer of apparels and parts in 2010 under his Ill Fated Kustoms banner coincided with the growth of the custom motorcycle culture in the province. The popularity of the weekly bike nights that Kwan organized for like-minded builders verified that the custom phenomenon had arrived in the west as attendance and interest in the various builder’s artistry grew until the concept of an annual showcase was the natural step. On May 2, 2015, the IFK KickStart show made its debut in a hangar at the High River Regional Airport located 30 minutes south of Calgary, with some of the best hand-built motorcycles in the region on display.

A second annual show in 2016, which saw attendance double from the previous year, confirmed that Kwan’s vision for the IFK KickStart show was a success but also brought with it the reality of needing to expand to a multi-day format and the need for a different venue.

At the same time that he was putting on the initial KickStart shows, Kwan’s business was continuing to thrive and it wasn’t long before he had outgrown his original space and found himself in search of a larger shop. A discussion with his good friend and fellow bike enthusiast Peter Feenstra led to a decision that saw Kwan’s Ill Fated Kustoms move in early 2016 into the current facility that he shares with Feenstra’s Tank Design shop. This new shop immediately became a mecca for local custom enthusiasts, but it also assisted with the choice of venue for the 2017 edition of the IFK KickStart show.

Taking advantage of proximity to a neighbouring art gallery, the decision was made to hold the show in this unique location and display the motorcycles among paintings and other work from Canadian artists. The resulting imagery of motorcycles blending in with the other pieces of art turned out to be an absolute stroke of genius.

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Throughout the two-day event, motorcycle enthusiasts took in all forms of motorcycles ranging from basic customizations to 25 hand-built one-of-a-kind machines.

While the show was free for everyone who came out, spectators were required to undertake the challenge of picking one of the 46 motorcycles on display as the winner of the People’s Choice Award. For 2017 this honour went to the 1974 Harley-Davidson Ironhead displayed by Mr. Rick St. Cyr in the vintage class.

In just three years, the IFK KickStart show has become a must-attend event for fans of custom motorcycles. While it hasn’t reached the size of other more well known custombuilt motorcycle shows, Kwan along with his wife Jenn and their business partners have created something that is true to the culture of custom motorcycles and that will undoubtedly grow in the years to come. In the interim, it offers a unique opportunity to see trends and perhaps witness the next star builder of tomorrow.

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Consistent with previous IFK KickStart shows the builders themselves vote to determine the winners for the Vintage and Modern classes. For 2017 the winners of the IFK KickStart show were : Vintage Class 1 place / Paul Wong Ken st

(1956 Triumph TR6)

2

nd

place / Marco Luk

(1982 Harley-Davidson FLHS)

3rd place / Alan Richards (1979 Harley-Davidson Shovel Head Chopper)

Modern Class 1 place / Tony Fehr st

(2015 Moto Guzzi V7)

2nd place / Kenny Kwan (2002 Triumph Speed Tracker)

3

rd

place / Kevin Cuffley

(2016 Unibody Custom Bobber)

Text : Pascal Richard – Photos : Mélanie Vachon

For two years Geneviève Boutin had only one idea in mind; create a new custom bike. After her custom Dyna (see RMM issue # 22), she returned with a new project, a 2016 Road Glide. Geneviève called on her mechanic Robert (Ti-Bob) Duguay to work on the project. Since Geneviève is one of the three owners of the Boutin Harley-Davidson dealership in Valleyfield, Quebec she was fortunate to have a close relationship with her team and to see the project progress day by day.

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OUR READERS

OUR READERS

The bike was secured to the operating table during the winter of 2016 and the goal was to finish it for spring; the opening of the motorcycle season. Step one : Remove the parts that will be sent to the paint and powdercoat shops. As we all know, the painting stage is a long process due to the many preparations that must be carried out before the coating is applied. This was sent to their good friend Stéphane Guérin while the powdercoat was entrusted to MR Performance.

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During this time, Robert made the modifications; lowering the fairing to give it a more aggressive look, removing the handlebars to replace them with a set from Misfit Industries and incorporated the super comfortable RSD Tracker grips. A new Legend suspension was installed to lower the bike and the new mirrors are from Joker Machine.

Robert also added a Saddlemen seat, a recessed fuel tank cap and a Python exhaust system that does not go unnoticed.

After receiving the newly painted motorcycle parts, the only thing left to do was to give them a finishing touch by adding the lettering. This gives the motorcycle its character. This task was entrusted to Pierre Tardif from Quebec, a master pin-striper. He has an incredible reputation. Finally, the bike was indeed ready for the opening of the 2017 season.

As the saying goes : Third time’s a charm ! What will the next one be ?

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our readers Text and photos : Lane Jensen

This 2013 Custom Chopper was assembled

by High Rollers in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, and it was purchased by two brothers.

Soon after they built the bike, one of the brothers moved to another province for work, and they decided to sell the bike to get their money back out of the investment. They sold it to Gino Marrazzo whom I met last year when I stopped by his house to have a look at the bike that was up for sale. At the time, I knew that the chopper was way out of the price range of what I wanted to spend on a bike to ride around the city. However, I wanted to see what that dollar figure would get me. When we showed up to look at the bike, I was blown away immediately, and my first thought was that if money didn’t matter that would definitely be the type of chopper I’d build. I looked at the bike up and down and thanked Gino for his time. On the way out, I told him that I knew he wouldn’t accept my offer which was considerably lower than what he was selling the bike for. I told him though that if nobody bought it considering the economy was down in Alberta and if he changed his mind, I could come back with cash if he would accept the amount I offered him.

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The next day he texted me to let me know we were close. After a brief exchange back and forth, I landed a killer deal on that bike with under 100 km and picked it up from Gino.

I even didn’t know if that bike had seen dust before. It was absolutely mint, and it ran like a dream. The power to weight ratio on this bike is so ridiculous that if I don’t hang on tight, I end up on the rear fender in no time. Gino took off the sissy bar and changed the seat to a custom Alligator skin springer seat but other than that it was pretty much original. Haven’t been to a bike meet or coffee shop yet that someone hasn’t come over to ask me about the bike. The next step for me would be to have the fenders and tank airbrushed with some intricate artwork for next season.

I started with my bike licensed in 1995, but by 1998 I had kids and a family to take care of so while being a fan on the sidelines of choppers and Harley-Davidson’s I could never afford to own one myself. The best it got for me is when my uncle Stan would lend me his Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Classic for the week to go riding or when my father would stop by with his electriglide. I often photographed bikes for owners but never could quite afford one until last year. Now both my kids have graduated from high school, I had little to no bills to pay. It was now time to play, so I decided to buy a stock bike. I have been waiting too long, so might as well jump right into the custom bike.

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COMING SOON

DATE

EVENT

CITY

STATE COUNTRY

Aug 11 to 13 2017 Aug 17 2017 Aug 18 to 20 2017 Aug 18 to 19 2017 Aug 24 to 27 2017 Aug 25 to 26 2017 Aug 26 to 27 2017 Aug 29 to Sept 2 2017 Aug 30 to Sept 3 2017 Aug 31 to Sept 4 2017 Sept 1 to 2 2017 Sept 1 to 4 2017 Sept 7 to 10 2017 Sept 10 2017 Sept 13 to 17 2017 Sept 14 to 17 2017 Sept 15 to 17 2017 Sept 16 2017 Sept 20 to 23 2017 Sept 22 to 24 2017 Sept 24 2017 Sept 27 to Oct 1 2017 Oct 2 to 8 2017 Oct 5 to 8 2017 Oct 19 to 22 2017 Oct 25 to 29 2017

Ink N Road Rally in the Beaver Valley Easyriders Fowlerville Rodeo Thunder Bike Show 15th Anniversary Shediac Motorcycle Rally Bikefest Fastest of the World & Bike Show Wing Ding Rally Wharf Rat Rally 2017 Easyriders Chillicothe Rodeo Bikefest Hawkesbury Thunder in the Rockies Bike Rally Roar to the Shore 15th Annual Millarville Vintage Motorcycle Swap Meet Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally Delmarva Bike Week Phil Petersons Key West Poker Run Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride Bikes Blues & BBQ Motorcycle Rally Ray Price Capital City Bikefest Oyster Run Street Vibrations Fall Rally Myrtle Beach Bike Week Fall Rally Las Vegas Bikefest Biketoberfest - 25th Annual Panama City Beach Motorcycle Events

Levis Fruitvale Fowlerville Sanair Shediac Chatham-Kent Napierville Grapevine Digby Chilliothe Hawkesbury Loveland Wildwood Millarville Mescalero Ocean City Key West Chattanooga Fayetteville Raleigh Anacortes Reno Murrells Inlet Las Vegas Daytona Beach Panama City Beach

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