Eye Candy

The Fastest Shovel!

12/26/2021 No Comments

Story: Frank Caruti

Images: Mark V

The joy of the unpredictable... that thing called life. This is what makes this site special. A feature that’s more just about the bike. Enjoy at the expense of Frank his series of unfortunate events that in the end leaves him with the best of endings. Enjoy his tale and very cool Shovel -RC

My 82 wide glide was built in 1 month. Try beating that! That’s down to the frame, paint, powder coat, and motor. I intended to go to the first kickstart classic in 2011. Life got in the way. In 2017 I was going again. Life happened again and somehow it was now a month away. Thanks to good friends, the stars being aligned and a smile from the chopper gods, my plan came together.

The Lowdown and making shit happen..

I stripped the bike in a day and ran all my powder coating parts to Chris at Coast 2 Coast Powdercoating. Chris had my frame done in 2 days so I could get to building her. He had my tins and little parts done in a week. Once my tins were ready, Gunner from Gunner custom paint sprayed the flames and graphics in a week.

While powder was going on I took my 35-year-old motor to my buddy Frank in Delaware where he’s known for making some sick horsepower bikes. I got there Friday night, split the case, bored and built the motor and drove home Sunday…. Thanks Frankie!

I knew I was riding from Jersey to NC, so I built a rider. I had 5 gal tanks and somewhat of a suspension even though 10-inch shocks aren’t much. I borrowed a set of saddlebags and thought I was ready.

The bags didn’t work with my cool pipes, so I had to throw the old ones on for now. No big deal, I needed bags. Two days to go but I only had about 50 shakedown miles. What could go wrong?

During this time, I met Beth who I invited on the trip. She had a sporty and said she was into motorcycles. Nine days on a big bore 4 speed shovel would definitely test this out. The day before we leave, she shows up with a bag of cloths and a bag of shoes. Yes, it was a new relationship, so she got the sissy bar bag for cloths, one saddle bag for tools and raingear and the other for shoes. I brought underwear and socks.

With an extra 100 pounds of cloths on the bike I took a ride on the parkway to test my tie down skills. All good.

"d-day!"

I open the garage to a rear flat tire. Too much going on for a plug, so I headed to Bob at Blockheads in Tom’s River, NJ and had a new tire on that day.

Next morning was day 1 on interstate 95 to Front Royal Va. Sucky day, but from here on its skyline drive and the Blue Ridge Pkwy.

I installed plastic “O” rings on my rockers. The package said leakproof, I missed the small print that read for only the first 100 miles! After a day of vibrating our teeth out on 95 we were wrenching in the motel parking lot.

Day 2, Skyline Drive. Deer, bears and more oil leaking from my rockers. Another night in the parking lot. Beth was laughing handing me tools. I told her “After this trip, we will never speak or be together for life”. In the meantime, no luck with these rocker bolts. Every Harley anything along the way didn’t seem to know what a shovel was.

Day 3. Made it to Maggie valley. Someone had to have old parts. Thursday night was the Kickstart classic dinner. I told Dale Walksler of my oil leak woes. He handed me 4 “O” rings and said good luck. That night when I went to install them I found out all my fixing stripped out the rocker bolt. Teflon. RTV, and prayers offered up to the chopper gods should fix it.

Day 4, on our way to Wheels Through Time, I left an oil trail from the hotel to our destination. She was unrideable. I knew I should have done that virgin sacrifice! Wheels Through Time was packed! All the riders, all the media and me pulling in with my leg against my rocker. My bike won’t make the ride home, forget the kickstart. I find Dale upstairs doing an interview, two hours to kickstands up. When Dale’s free I tell him my story. He says he’ll try. I know him looking for a bolt is the last thing he needs today. One hour to go. I now realize I’m not making the ride, but how do I get home. I’m not going to bother Dale again. Forty-five minutes to go and Dale sees me and says, “It’s just too crazy today but if you go to the 3^rd shed in the back there should be a shovel, take what you need”. Fifteen minutes to go and no oil leak.

That rusted Dale bolt is still on my new chrome sidewinder motor. Beth and I did the ride with guys commenting that my bike was the only old one with no oil under it.

After the kickstart we enjoyed this beautiful country in a 3-day ride back home. Beth enjoyed every minute of it. Day 8 of 9, we were in the middle of Virginia and my bike lost its drive. I coasted to the side of the road and saw my chain in the middle of the road. All good until I remembered my master link was sitting on my bench back home forgotten as I repacked all the bags. Those dam shoes! Three Harley dealers and no one has a chain. One counter guy told me Harley’s have belts not chains and tried to sell me a primary chain. Three hours waiting for a tow in the middle of nowhere. Now it starts raining. Beth and I are sitting under a tree laughing. Yeah, she’s a keeper. I find a drive chain at a Honda dealer. We get there an hour before they closed, they lent me a jack and tools. $26 for the chain. FTF. I’m ready to blast home in the pouring down rain but Beth finds a hotel 5 minutes away with a hot tub and Mexican restaurant. After a night of margaritas, we enjoy our ride to jersey. With an hour left to home my headlight vibrated to death.

Big bore, big stroke, big cam. We we’re numb to it by now. A hour ghost ride and we were home. Five years after our kickstart ride I’m still with my soulmate. We were planning a Wheels Through Time ride this year. With the passing of Dale and American Iron closing I don’t think there will be a kickstart classic, but Beth and I will once again test the shovel…

Keep Tabs On Frank..

This article is dedicated in part to the memory of Dale Walksler.

Dale Walksler, the founder of the Dale’s Wheels Through Time Motorcycle Museum, former Harley Davidson Motorcycle Dealer, and member of the American Motorcycle Association and Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame, devoted his life to the advancement of antique motorcycles and their history. -RC

A Very Dangerous Sporty

12/26/2021 No Comments

Story: Mark V & Dell L Battle

Images: Mark V

For those who may not know, the Harley-Davidson Sportster has been produced continuously since 1957. I feel it has always been their anchor ride. Easy to chop and make your own no matter your tax bracket or skill set. This bike has been the workhorse of the industry, and when the smoke clears the Sporter is always still standing. There are so many custom builders who have made a name in the game with this ride, some known more than others. For now, let’s take a look at one of the creations of Dell L Battle, builder and owner of Dangerousdezigns. Enjoy the view and keep the Sportster culture alive!

The ’02 Flat Style Sporty Bobber

Dell L Battle is the builder and owner of Dangerousdezigns. Dell has been in the game building one off custom motorcycles for the past 15 years. Located in Crownpoint, Indiana this is the place he calls home. I re-connected with Dell at Fuel Cleveland this past year. I could not help admiring his layout of customs rides, all very different from each other like fingerprints. As we began to chat, we both had realized that over the years we had met each other in Daytona during Bike Weeks and at the IMS shows in my hometown of NYC.

It was so cool to talk about where we have both been and what was going on in our current lives. As we talked my eye was drawn to the bike you see before you. With that said of course it had to find a home behind my lens. As I rolled around the dusty floor negotiating light with angles, I was overwhelmed by the craftmanship that was put into this bike.

The ’02 Flat Style Sporty Bobber as it’s called, is part of the Dangerousdezigns Custom Sportster Series. With its 23-inch front wheel and 18-inch rear, it sports a custom-made ridged frame and a one-of-a-kind killer exhaust! The flat finish on the paint adds to its unique look.

We are going to just leave this one here for you to admire.

As with all our features we will leave a list of the cast of characters that helped make this build possible.

Cast of Characters

Dangerousdezigns

Paint:

@letterslinesanddesigns_jross

Fabrication:

@bkeenebuilt

Seat:

@missfitskinnykustoms

Powder Coating

@Coatingspecialties

Troy Fab Greasy Dozen Build

12/26/2021 No Comments

Story: Steve Sheldon

Images: Patrick J Noonan Photography

Lady Luck... Go Figure

In 2018 when the Greasy Dozen had announced they were looking for 12 builders to complete half-finished motorcycle projects, I didn’t really even consider it. Running my shop has kept me so busy that I figured I would never have time to build this bike and keep up with the work load I already had. After all, this was why the bike wasn’t finished in the first place. I saw people entering pictures of their half-finished projects daily on Instagram. Then one day, I was just looking to post something up on Instagram, so I posted a picture of my half-finished bike. Now I was officially entered into the Greasy Dozen, pool of hopefuls. I had no intention of building a bike for the Greasy Dozen and never even thought I would be picked. Next thing I know I see a post up of the 12 bikes picked and lo and behold I was one of them! My first thought was what the hell did I get myself into. It was an honor to be picked but I wasn’t sure I could handle the stress of building this bike and keep up with part orders. Also, my bike was put into the café classification, and I was intending on going with a more board tracker look. I contacted Bear from @oldbikebarn and explained this to him, surely I would have to bow out of this and all my worries would be gone. No such luck, Bear tells me they liked my entry so much that they just threw it into the café class just to get it in.

Looks like I’m building a bike in 4 Months and heading to Columbus. Enter panic mode…Jerimey from @matneyrestorations contacted me right away and offered to paint my bike for free. This was an amazing offer, considering I did not know Jerimey at all. I initially thanked him for his offer and told him that I like to paint my own bikes. After about 2 months of working on the bike till 2 or 3 in the morning , I realized I would not have enough time to body work and paint my bike. I contacted Jerimey and asked him if his offer was still on the table and if he would still have enough time to paint it. He said it would be tight, but he would do it. Thank God! It was tight. I ended up getting the tanks 4 days before I had to leave for the show. I had everything ready when I brought the gas and oil tank home, so I bolted them on, hooked up the hoses and went into firing the bike up mode.

Here’s where things went bad…… There were a few small issues with the motor that Jay over at @vintagecyclesupply walked me through and he was sending me parts as fast as I could order them. The gear box leaking was the biggest issue to overcome. I found out the threads in the cases were stripped out and they needed to be helicoid. I ordered the kit, but it came in as I was loading the bike on the truck. Looks like I would be taking a running bike with no gear oil in the transmission to the show.

My brother Bill volunteered to take turns driving the 12-hour trip to Ohio and we were off to the show. The show was a success, and we met a lot of really great people. Unfortunately, I was not able to do the ride with the other Greasy Dozen builders, but it was worth the trip just to see the other bikes and meet the builders.

Best part of this story is, I went home fixed the gearbox and now I have another finished bike for my collection.

Special Thanks go out to:

Patrick from @patrickphoto for the Photos

Bear and Zack from @oldbikebarn for the invite

Wes from @counterbalancecycles for the leather work

Jerimey from @matneyresto for the paint work

Jay from @vintagetriumphsupply , for parts, knowledge, advice.

Follow Troy Fab

Lee’s Long Cool Woman

10/24/2021 2 Comments

Story: Lee Lopez

Images: Mark V

Not all features are created equal. Each like a fingerprint can tell a story from many different angles. In the end they all lead back to the reasons we read and the reason we admire the images at hand. This feature tells the tale of a series of unfortunate events that lead to a happy ending of growth, and a bright future on the horizon. Enjoy!

My Story

This bike was a new beginning for me when I built it. It opened doors and took me down paths in life that I never would have ever experienced.

In a very short period, I went from building my first street legal motorcycle, which was a piece of shit 1984 Yamaha xs400 hardtail chopper in July of 2015. Next was a 1975 shovelhead chopper in May of 2016. After that, I jumped straight into a 1948 panhead in December of 2016.

Now you might be thinking, wow that’s all great, but a whole series of unfortunate events brought me to where I’m at now.

It all started with the xs400. Bought it in pieces thrown in milk crates. Threw it together and rode it for a little while. Wanted something faster so I sold it. Ended up finding a 1954 ford custom line project that I really liked so I bought that instead of another bike.

The day after I was finally done building that car and it was all officially street legal, I drove it to work. At about 3:45am on my way to work, 3 deer run out left to right. I nailed the last one. Fucked the whole front end of the car, and the clutch started acting up and the engine started ticking. I knew my insurance wouldn’t cover it because you’re not supposed to drive to and from work with classic insurance, so I drove it to work and got out early around noon. Drove it to a gas station parking lot and called them and acted like it had just happened. Got a tow to a shop, they totaled the car, and I received a good amount of money from the insurance company, and I didn’t buy back the car.

A Series of unfortunate events..

I then used that to buy my first Harley, a 1975 shovelhead hardtail stretched chop. Got that home and changed around what I wanted and built it to be my own and rode that up until Friday night on October 21st, 2016.

I was taking a ride out east after a long day at work around 11pm and I woke up in the hospital the next day. Turns out a car had hit me from behind and dragged me 100 yards and left the scene. Forensics estimated I was going 45mph and the vehicle that hot me was going 75mph+.

A good Samaritan pulled over because she saw sparks flying out from under a passing car and found me on an unlit road, laying in the middle of the double yellow, unconscious in a puddle of blood. She called 911 and held a flashlight and stood over my body so no other cars would run me over, she saved my life that night.

They wanted to air lift me, but it was too foggy. While she was waiting for the ambulance to arrive, she said that I woke up for a brief moment and just rattled off my home phone number and nothing else and then went back out into unconsciousness.

She called it and it was my mother who got that call.. Her and one of my best friends who I ride with came to the scene and when they arrived, one of the officers was writing me a ticket for riding out of class. At the time I only had a permit. My friend was able to talk him out of it because he explained I was only weeks away from going into the air force at the time. I still owe him for that.

So, then it turns out one of my buddies in a local fire department was one of the first responders who loaded me into the ambulance. And I was so fucked up that he didn’t even recognize me. Later on, we found out that during that ambulance ride when they started cutting all my clothes off, I came out of unconsciousness again and grabbed one of the EMT’s collars and said “don’t cut my fucking leather” and passed back out.

My 1960s A2 bomber jacket. That thing saved most of the skin I would have lost. Surprisingly, he didn’t cut it, but that luck runs out later.

I ended up in Stony Brook hospital for one single week of the one month that they wanted to keep me there. My hospital roommate was ironically the father of one of my mother’s high school students who had recently died in a motorcycle accident where someone blew a stop sign in front of him. All day, every day I had to listen to him complain that he wanted more pain meds for his knee replacement. Meanwhile, my whole body is completely fucked and I rip the IV out when the nurse came in and put something into my IV bag and said “this’ll make you a little more comfortable”. The whole time I was there they were trying to feed me vicodins and oxys. I didn’t want that shit in me, I never liked pain meds. They fuck with your head more than they actually help the pain.

After trying to escape the hospital one too many times, they let me rent out a hospital bed and put it in our living room at home.

the light at the end of the tunnel

After about a month’s time and fighting with my insurance to get 12k out of them for the totaled shovelhead had insured for 21k, I was able to buy this panhead. It was a complete bike but not how I wanted it. My friends got it home for me and I immediately took it all apart and sold whatever parts I didn’t want and got it put together just in time for the January first cold finger run; a charity ride for children with cancer. After that, I fine-tuned it and got it painted with the same exact paint scheme as the 1975 shovelhead. In a lot of ways, I built this by guy to resemble the shovelhead as closely as possible because of how much I loved the way the shovelhead was. Since then, I’ve taken it too many car and bike shows. I’ve taken it to Daytona Bike Week. I’ve put a lot of miles on this bike, so many in fact, that while riding to the cemetery during a friend’s funeral behind a flatbed with his bike on it, it finally blew up and only ran on the front cylinder. Rear cylinder head zero compression and the front was almost gone too.

I’ve made a lot of good friends and met a lot of good people and enjoyed a lot of good experiences in life because of this bike. And no one can put a dollar amount on that.

What to keep tabs on lee? stay in touch and follow

Mashugana.. A Son’s Tale

10/24/2021 No Comments

Story: Vinny Dinome

Images: Mark V

Passing the torch, a one-time American tradition. Like Jazz, the white picket fence, and baseball, this was the American dream. To hear a tale from a son inspired by his father still gives me hope in this great country. As long as we have these stories there will always be hope… Read and enjoy a Bronx tale as pure as that white picket fence and stay hopeful – RC

My Story

Some of my earliest childhood memories center around choppers. When asked about them, I recalls things like my father, Tony, building a chopper in the basement of their Bronx home, going along to pick up his freshly painted gas tank and fender from a local eccentric painter, seeing him father featured in Iron Horse and Cycle Source magazine, waxing my father’s bike with turtle wax and a sock before a show, and flipping through dad’s chopper magazines (mom demanded the topless women be covered with sharpie before I could peruse them). Tony, my father even had the habit of pulling his chopper onto my little league baseball field during games. I knew from a young age that my father’s bike were different from the others; they sounded different, looked different, and they all seemed dangerous. As a child, I always thought it was the coolest thing! Most kids were riding home from baseball practice in a minivan, while I was riding home on a ’72 iron head sportster with ape hangers, a rigid frame, and a 45-degree rake. Chopper building is in his blood and was an ever-present part of his childhood, so the obsession and desire to build came naturally.

As a welder by trade, I attribute my career as a major factor in my chopper building. If I didn’t pick up welding at the age of 18, I would never have built my first bike. You could even say that the urge to build a chopper is what influenced me to become a welder. My father is a welder, and I knew that the skill was essential in him being able to do his own work.

My influences come by the way of the early chopper styles from the 1960’s and 1970’s, as well as the 1990’s which ruled the New York City chopper scene. Some of my idols when it comes to chopper building are my father, Indian Larry, Tom Fugle, Paul Cox, Max Schaaf, and Caleb Owens.

“Mashugana”

As for my chopper you see, a ’99 Harley Davidson Evo affectionately nicknamed “Mashugana”. Purchased through word of mouth in September of 2018, I was quick to sell everything on the bike besides the motor, transmission, and frame, to fund the build. I added an Andrews EV 46cam, Morris Magneto, and S&S Super E carburetor. I windowed the neck, welded in a brace to relocate the oil filter (inspired by Indian Larry’s signature style), and chopped and narrowed a sportster tank. With that done I fabricated the handlebars, pipes, and sissy bar (featuring a knight chess piece stolen from his mother’s set). To add to the old school vibe, the fender came off a 1930’s ford spare tire cover. With a handmade jockey shift, I also fabricated the forward controls and levers. To finish her off I fashioned the oil tank out of two air dryer filter covers taken from an air compressor. Essentially, everything on the bike was fabricated by your truly besides the obvious motor, tranny, and frame.

Building Mashugana didn’t come without its challenges. After getting my parts chromed, they sat in the middle of my living room floor while I waited for a turn to work out of the small, one car garage. This is the place we call home and the place me and my dad build …together. Self-taught is how the front wheels were laced, that alone was a week and many beers to accomplish.

When the bike was finally complete it was the height of the COVID pandemic. Registration was impossible, I couldn’t have it registered as the Department of Motor Vehicles was closed for months.

Even the photoshoot had its challenges, we were kicked out of the location halfway through the shoot by Parks Department employees. It was a long road and one big headache to be able to freely ride the chopper that was more than two years in the making. Like anything worth doing, it was well worth the wait. It’s my daily rider and attracts many glances through the streets of New York City. You may even see the occasional child covering their ears, or dog barking as I pass you by.

keeping tabs

Like any eager chopper enthusiast, Vinnie is always thinking about his next bike. He is looking forward to selling his first build (a ’94 1200 Sportster) to fund his next so be sure to give a follow!

Rosita

10/24/2021 No Comments

Story & Images: Mark V

I always say that if you surround yourself with good vibes, good people and expect nothing in return the payback you receive will be endless. That is exactly how I became friends with Peter Inga of Brooklyn and have been proud to say we have been friends now for over 5 years.

I first met Peter when he would show up with his buddy Alex to some of my shoots for Steve Iacona, of Iacona Customs. Alex at the time was working with Steve on his website and Peter would quietly hang around taking in everything that would be going on. It was always great to have them all at the shoots which were a ton of fun, from there is where I began to find out more about Peter and his hidden crafts.

Being a mechanic most of his life, Peter has worked on everything from bicycles, to planes, and of course motorcycles, but his start was with cars.

With the Brooklyn the motorcycle scene out of control with no end in sight Peter who already has a few bikes in his stable wanted something special, something crafted form his hands to call his own.

Being what we call in the industry a “hang around”, Peter would spend as many hours as possible at Steve’s shop. There Steve would share his tricks of the trade and do what all great craftsmen do, he passed it up and Peter was the lucky one to be the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

It was from spending all that time in shop that Peter was able to purchase a 1980 Shovelhead that was slated to be a project bike at some point that was sitting in the shop.

Together in the shop the bike was chopped and the rebuild began. After a total dismantling the bike was taken to Peter’s basement where more of the work would be done over time.

Like all things, life gets busy living in NYC! This build took a span of 2 years with a final assembly of 2 weeks. During that two-year span however, things were done right. The engine for instance was rebuilt by “Doug” of Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn. With a displacement 89” 4 5/8 S&S stroker, Wiseco pistons, and an Andrews B2 cam, this is the reason why this ride has torn up the streets of Brooklyn at a buck 120! Very impressive I would say for a Shovel and go figure all with a ratchet top 4 speed (Andrews gears) and reverse shift, 1 up and 3 down! The killer springer forks complement of Paughco completes a very cool front end.

Now when it comes to fabrication look at the hand-crafted exhaust! A perfect addition that adds that NYC grit. And finally, to pull it all together is the killer paint job done by SUPRLIFE! Known for their custom work on high end cars this was truly their first attempt on a custom bike, and they nailed it! Peter gave them free reign, a blank canvas based on trust and a 10 year plus friendship, and they didn’t disappoint!

At the end of the day what you see before you is a New York bike built by a New York, or should I say Brooklyn rider. According to Peter, this is his fun bike. It has passed the test, the proving grounds which are the city streets of NYC and beyond. Never a dull moment on this ride as it makes its own adventures. This build encompasses the essence of not only Peter but the place he calls home. With its hardcore exterior comes a softness only seen through the rose inlays that sit inside this paint which is why the bike goes by the name Rosita.

Considering the fact that Peter is such a metalhead, somehow, he managed to bring the need for speed as well as the beauty and the beast all under two sets of rubber. Well-done and totally the Brooklyn way of how things get done. Enjoy the ride Peter and every once and a while enjoy the speed limit…. ha!

Keeping Tabs on peter

follow peter

A Different Kind Of Bully

10/24/2021 1 Comment

Story: Mac Crudup

Images: Mark V

They say it all about timing and being in the right place at the right time. On this August summer weekend, I went back to my Brooklyn roots to support my brother better know as Meatloaf. Doing what he does best he reminded me of the many schoolyard parties I went to growing up, but this was a party of a different kind. This was what I would call a Bagger takeover! Baggers poured in from NY, NJ, and PA and beyond. But in this sea of off the hook customs rides and sounds there was one that stuck out maybe just a little more then the rest, and here’s its story – RC

In the beginning

My passion for motorcycles started in the late 1990’s. The timing of it was perfect because my father who was a motorcycle dragracer himself was getting out of the game and passing the torch to me.

The very first bike I owned, a Kawasaki ZX600. On this I bike learned the art of drag racing. I soon mastered and outgrew this motorcycle, quickly upgrading to the Kawasaki ZX1100 Ninja. A few months later Kawasaki introduced a new bike which was being called the baddest bike on the planet, this was the ZX1200R Ninja, and you knew I had to get one!

That bike was the bike that changed my life as a motorcycle drag racer forever! I raced in the Pro 60-inch wheelbase class and was grateful to be sponsored by Carpenter Race Engines, Big Red Kawasaki, and Maximum MotorSports!

I had the chance to race along side the best riders during that time including Ryan Schnitz, owner of Schnitz Racing, Rickey Gadson, who was at the time racing for Team Green Kawasaki, and North Carolina Johnny Locklear to name a few. It was definitely an amazing experience hands down! As I grew older my passion for drag racing and riding began to take a different direction. That direction is where I stand today..

a new world

That passion has now turned me in the direction of the world of the Harley Davidson Baggers! In 2020 I purchased my first Street Glide which you see before you and put it in the good hands of Phatman Customz out of Loganville, GA.

Here is where all the customization and vision was conceived. It was through this process I realized what could be done to the Street Glide. Its everything about how much you can do to these machines that still amazes me.

From the custom paint job and extended bags, to my 30” plus front wheel the skies the limit, and you can go as far and as deep as your pockets allow you.

There are no rules, and what you build today can quickly become yesterday’s news if you’re not careful. It’s all bout street creds with these rides, and for now I’m proud to say I ride with respect and never look over my shoulder even though I know the next big thing may be coming. But for now, they must catch me as I ride proud with my crew better known as Dynasty Baggers.

Bringing it all together is a sound system built to perfection. Know as one of the best in New Jersey, Perth Amboy is well represented when I ride through, I turn heads, set off your car alarm, and get your girl to tap her foot as she hears the deepest bass and a high end that will break that 40 in your hand. In this culture you learn your sound must equal your ride. And with that said that why my ride takes the name BULLY… nuff said!

When it’s all said done, I will be the first to say I have not mastered this Harley Bagger Culture yet like I once did in my drag racing days. But what’s the rush? Isn’t the takeover half the fun! Stay tuned…

Keeping tabs

Speedy’s Purple Chill

07/26/2021 No Comments

Story & Images: Mark V

Living in the Bronx, NY since 1983 but native to the beautiful country know as Jamaica, Levon Wigggin’s love for everything on two and four wheels have been a long and never-ending love affair. I met Levon, better known as Speedy when the bike you see before you was orange and sporting a 23” front wheel. At the time it was the biggest.

Since then, the bike has transformed to yet again keep pace, it not set the pace for what you see today rolling the roads. Of course, I had to ask Speedy why? His reply, “why not”.

The transformation was done 3 years ago and if I didn’t tell, you would think it was done yesterday. Perfect, flawless, and not a scratch or even a piece of lint on her this purple haze is truly a showstopper.

All the work was done over a winter up in the Bronx when ridding is truly not an option. All the work was done by Speedy. The bike was stripped down to the frame leaving only the engine and wheels. Speaking of wheels, the 23” was replaced by a 26”. But when it was all said and done a 32” would rule this bike! Maybe the hardest process of this big wheel rebirth was that Speedy had to cut the neck and make modifications to the fork to fit the 32” wheel, but hey these kinda things keeps a guy busy and out of trouble during the long New York winters.

When asked how such a big wheel bikes rides and handles, I was told smooth as butter. Making wider turns, not leaning the bike as much as you may once be used to are adjustments that are made easy.

A killer stereo just adds to make this the total package. But what really brings this ride together is the paint! A huge shoutout has to go to the husband-and-wife team at Deluxe Kustoms Paint. Based in sunny Florida all I can say is they killed it! If you’re looking for flawless work, I suggest you hit the link and have a peek at their work. I see a lot of good paint but was blown away by what they do!

Though he can ride with any of the so called “Big Bangers” Speedy loves nothing more these days than a good cruise. Calling 70mph his sweet spot, enjoying the ride is more pleasurable then blasting to the destination. Why be the blur or view the blur? He enjoys the ride. Even with the sound system this bagger packs, when riding it’s low if not off because it truly is about the ride. The party is the ride and ride will always get him to the party. Oh, and don’t let 70mph fool ya, try keeping up when he does decide it hit, you will be fooled.

For most riding is an escape, a place to clear the mind and enjoy the view. It’s all about “your moment”. Speedy like most these days understands what the ride means and how to enjoy it on his terms. So when you see that crowd and the music loud it just might be that purple haze taking a moment to enjoy the party while standing still.

keeping tabs on Speedy!

Beland’s FXRP – Burt

07/23/2021 No Comments

Story & Images: Mark V

Before making the move to Maiden, North Carolina four and a half years ago, Michael Beland had spent the last 13 years running A-1 Cycles and everything else motorcycle related from West Palm Beach, Florida. Originally a small-town Massachusetts guy it was there that A-1 Cycles was launched in 1996. Since then, you may have seen him on the anything from the Speed and Discovery channels to the pages of American Iron and Hot Bike magazine.

Now and until further notice Maiden, NC will be home. Investing in good property and building his headquarters, Michael will be the first to tell you it’s the best move he has ever done in the industry, and today A-1 Cycles is one of the big players in the motorcycle mail order industry. Learning to work with the internet and not against it was the secret to his success!

It was in between all this history that I first met Michael while in Daytona for bike week some years back. I got a call from Buzz Kanter who I was shooting for at American Iron at the time, I was given a number and was told to go meet this guy with a killer FXRP and shoot it. We have been friends ever since.

The shoot went great! Was a good morning on the boardwalk and the bike was truly killer! What I found out later after speaking with Michael was the bike started out originally as a FXLR Lower Rider. Single disk, chromed out, and a 131” MERCH engine. Yup she was a street racer.

But what Michael really wanted was a FXRP. Like most if not all bike builders Michael stripped the bike down to the frame. Then the search began. Period correct fairing and hard bags were just the start. In the process the forks were pulled two inches to lengthen the suspension and new brakes all around. Longtime friend Jesse Jurrens, owner of Legend Suspensions dropped some tall Legends REVO’s for the rear and the rest is history… Except for the paint. Working with only the color black, the bike is a mixture of flat black and satin black, it was a first in color matching for Michael to work on the two different finishes in the same color. As accents, black powder coating was added to the engine and other places of interest. With the gold pinstriping added it became noticeable that the bike started to remind Michael of the famous ride of Burt Reynold’s in “Smokey and the Bandit,” and from that the name Burt was given!

A clean, super-fast and road worthy bike is what you see before you! Michael enjoyed the bike for years but now it resides with a friend out west in Cali. Its still kicking ass and looks as new as the day I first laid eyes on the machine.

I hope you enjoy the images and the shared story. The funny thing about this bike is that it was never featured in American Iron. Rumor has it someone in the office didn’t like the color green, go figure. I myself love the color green, especially when it’s accompanied by my good friend Ben Franklin! Whatever the reason the bike was timeless then and is still timeless today, just like my old buddy Ben.

Enjoy the view!

Want to keep tabs on Michael Beland and A-1Cycles?

www.a1cycles.net

Momma’s Little Secret

07/16/2021 2 Comments

Story & Images: Mark V

I have known Margaret, aka Momma Duke’s for well over ten years if not longer! During the beginning of our friendship, our adventures as friends ran through the veins of Full Throttle Magazine. There we both worked together as photographers and writers.

It was a great time for the biker community here on the Island, too many events to attend, a bike night seemed to be going on every night somewhere, and everyone seemed to just get along. Momma Duke’s and I always stayed in touch, even after we both went out separate ways. I left the magazine to expand my career and do other things with my lens and life and Momma stayed on a little while longer before she branched out as well. We both had a great love for the magazine, but like all things in life, sometimes you just need to spread your wings and take on new adventures.

It was great as we watch each other grow and enjoy doing what we both loved. As time went by, we spoke less but always seemed to remain in touch. It is an island ya know, one way in, one way out. That’s kinda how we do it here, and as big as the bike community is, the closeness during that time and even now is very small and tight so keeping tabs on distant buddy can be easy.

During all this time not known to many Momma Duke’s had a little secret that she would only share in public from time to time. That secret was her custom 1983 FLHP Shovel. Now most bikes when custom built do truly in one way or another give you a look and reflection of the owner. Isn’t that why we have them done in the first place? However, when you dive into Momma’s ride and take the time to dissect this build you will see from the rims all the way to her license plate the essence of what made her and this bike one in the other.

I recently stumbled on a shoot we did for a national magazine of Momma Duke’s ride which never hit their pages. I felt that this would be the perfect time and place to look back and share a moment of time gone by. The cool thing about bikes and cars is that unless known, the images and vibe never gets old or go out of style, for these machines when done right will always remain timeless, and like a good bottle of wine they only seem to get cooler with age.

I asked Momma Duke’s to share a quick thought of this moment in her own words. Here goes…

My Big Girl Schwinn

Talk about a good memory! When I had this ’83 FLHP Shovel, you could say I was reliving my childhood. I was riding my big girl Schwinn that was a bit on the wild side. This was my third HD and was my favorite, not because of all the custom work that was done to it, but because it FIT. What a great ride and a great memory.

The original tins were repainted bright cherry red, with lots of metal flake and 3 coats of clear. I kept the original PD speedo, the frame and rims were done in three steps; it was powder coated in a light tan, then clear coated with an iridescent paint, then the final step was the leopard spots that were hydro-dipped. Any other metal was chromed, and some brass accents were added. Let’s not forget about the seat, handlebar grips and tassel’s – all sparkly red vinyl – with some added leopard trim – You can never have enough leopard! The motor was original and just reworked, same for the transmission. The bike was pretty sweet. My ride on the wild side.

Momma Duke’s

These days Momma Duke’s is still very much involved in the motorcycle community. Working as one of the many right hands for Michael Levine ESQ, better known as Motorcycle Mike the firm is out there doing right by the motorcycle community, and he too is a real rider. So let it be known he doesn’t just play one on TV.

Enjoy the images and if your ever on Long Island and happen to be at a bike event of any kind, you never know you just may see Momma Duke’s. What she will be riding, well maybe we will save that for the next chapter.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

ACCOUNT

The Fastest Shovel!

The joy of the unpredictable... that thing called life. This is what makes this site special. A feature that’s more just about the bike. Enjoy at the expense of Frank his series of unfortunate events that in the end leaves him with the best of endings. Enjoy his tale and very cool Shovel -RC

The Lowdown and making shit happen..

"d-day!"

Keep Tabs On Frank..

A Very Dangerous Sporty

The ’02 Flat Style Sporty Bobber

We are going to just leave this one here for you to admire.

Cast of Characters

Dangerousdezigns

Troy Fab Greasy Dozen Build

Lady Luck... Go Figure

Follow Troy Fab

Lee’s Long Cool Woman

My Story

A Series of unfortunate events..

the light at the end of the tunnel

What to keep tabs on lee? stay in touch and follow

Mashugana.. A Son’s Tale

My Story

“Mashugana”

keeping tabs

Rosita

Keeping Tabs on peter

follow peter

A Different Kind Of Bully

In the beginning

a new world

Keeping tabs

Speedy’s Purple Chill

keeping tabs on Speedy!

Beland’s FXRP – Burt

Want to keep tabs on Michael Beland and A-1Cycles?

www.a1cycles.net

Momma’s Little Secret

Stay in Touch

info@rubberculture.com