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This is cool.

THE LOW SHOW

The unstoppable Brooks Manbeck is one of a bunch of impressive artists asked to show their skills at "Low" this Saturday. Three of Brooks photos from last year's EDR will be featured as well as tons of other stuff. Sounds like a good excuse for a ride to LA...

Black and Gold gets Silver

We first met Joe and his meticulous Triumph on last year's Gypsy Run back east. On first glance you would be excused for thinking this thing was a trailer queen. I swear it's that sano. Let me tell you, it's no trailer queen, Joe is just one dialed-in guy and so is his ride. It was no surprise this year when it nailed the second place spot on the EDR podium. Equally fitting was that the trophy was a custom painted skate deck by non other than Harpoon and Joe is a skateboarder through and through. Making it even cooler was the fact that Joe was one of the East Coast Invasion guys hailing from the Garden State. I asked the normally-quiet rider to give me some details and back-story on him and the bike and he did. Alot. Which is great. In a scene rife with people who are more beard than bike, Joe and his Trumpet are a rare find.

Here's what he had to say and some great pics of the bike:



ok - i got the bike as a basket case from a friend a couple years ago. it had been butchered by many previous owners. the things i kept from the original heap was the front frame loop, most of the motor, most of the front end & the seat pan. i found out the welded on hardtail was bent & broken early on & i was pretty overwhelmed with it being my 1st complete bike build. a guy on the JJ whom i cant remember said to me, as i was asking what the hell to do with this pile of shit, something along the lines of 'if youre ready to bail already then you really shouldnt be building a bike, sell it & buy something else. it aint easy. although, you could just hack the rear off & get a new one if you want.' thats just what i needed, a little tough love i guess.

start - i borrowed a corner in my neighbors basement garage which was a shithole & got to work. i stripped it down & hacked off the broken hardtail. i sent the motor to a pro, a cool old greybeard named smitty to get done while i did everything else. i had to grind a pound of horrible welds off the front loop to save it & reshape everything back to original specs, especially the backbone near the tank mount. looked like someone used 3 arc welding sticks within a few inches.

prelim build - from then on, i became more obsessed with it, working every night from the time i got out of work until i couldnt keep my eyes open. my friends thought i was dick, i never called or went out at all. luckily my girl was cool & came down to see what was up once in a while. i had a totally blank slate. just a bare 70 TR6C frame loop sitting on a cinder block. i then got a david bird hardtail with 4" stretch & 2.5" drop. from that point i decided to keep the 71-72 front end because i knew that was a great front brake & the neck was already converted for the later stem/trees. both wheels were trashed so i used my bicycle wheel building skills i aquired as a pedal bike mechanic to build a pair of wheels for the triumph. i used a late 60s rear hub & brake & the 71-72 conical front. i made a lowering kit out of the tubing that was in the extended fork that came with the project. the spacers that once extended the fork with old 10" (or so) over tubes now lowers the stock length tubed fork 3" under stock. i wanted the bike to sit level to keep the stock rake/trail so it would handle nicely.

tanks - the gas tank that came with the project was from an OIF bike, probably the same donor bike of the front end but it looked like shit on the 70 frame. i sold that & found a late 60s bonnie tank that looked much better. the oil tank was a semi pre-fab deal i scored on ebay that had the standpipe, inlet & outlet bungs & the cap already done & i just had to make the plumbing & mounting plates.

motor - the motor was already bastardized & im glad i had it done by a pro since i wouldnt have picked up on all the half assed things it had going on. fortunately though, the motor already had some aftermarket cams & some .030 over pistons all in good shape. the head was done & milled a little to get it flat again & bump up the compression a little. i fitted a new amal 930 & it runs great with the brand new points ignition w/ a tempannium regulator. it starts on the 1st or 2nd kick everytime & hauls ass with the 20T front sprocket. i later rebuilt the clutch with all new plates & bearings and the stator/rotor are new as well.

final build - i tore the bike down the following winter to change some things & powder the frame. i changed the rear fender by one from craig at front st cycle. i really liked the peak & wanted to go strutless. i made the trim to match the stock tank trim out of a piece of aluminum tubing. im always sweating about it falling off because it took so long to make that little stupid piece! i also changed the tires from the original dry rotted dunlops to the ever-faithful avon/firestone combo. it really rides & handles well. the peg rubbers are ground down to the metal from hammering through the corners all the time.

the paint - well this is the 4th paint job in 2 years but hopefully the last one for a while. i sketched the scallops on when the tank was bare & tried a dozen other designs but i liked these scallops the best. i knew i wanted it to be classy but not over the top so metallic black with a little gold for the bling factor. ryzart worked with me & made my vision come alive. he is one of many friends i made building this bike & we keep in touch. let him paint your stuff, the dude rules. during the build, my girl & i went to boston for a winter trip & i proposed. on the way back, stuck in traffic, with the bike on my mind of course, i look over at this giant dump truck & notice the lettering on the doors was engine turned gold leaf. i thought immediatly how cool that would look as the scallops, over black on my tank. i think it worked out well - haha

details - i wanted some funky lighting. i think the head & tail lights on custom bikes are as important as the paint when it comes to style. im surely not the 1st person to use a unity spot for the front but after looking at a ton of options, i dug the look the best. especially the small one. i found this one at a hot rod show/swap meet for 10 or 15 bux. i got the fancy flood lightbulb online & it really works well. i feel plenty confident trying to outrun my headlight at night. the tail started at a repop 37 ford deal i got at a local street rod store but the bucket was too long & looked weird to me but i liked the lense a lot. i was talking to a friend who manages the bicycle shop i used to work at who is into old schwinns & asked him if he had any old headlights, which he did. gave me one for free & i mated it up to the ford lense & bezel. they are the exact same diameter so it worked out really nicely. i had to tweak it a little & make the guts but it works great. the bulb holder inside is the bottom of a can of beans. i love beans...... the seat i had redone by my friend andy who did some nice pleats & piping with new foam. i have it on 3" springs & the hinge is a heavy duty lock hasp which works well but i wish i went with a biltwell one as its getting a little side to side play already. i made the headlight mount, taillight mount, plate mount, the battery tray & the oil tank plates. that was about all i felt confident building with my shitty welder. drilling the holes sucked since i didnt have a bench, vice or drill press. all the holes i did with a hand drill, holding the piece in a cinder block with my foot - that sucked. i skate so i used some old skateboard truck bushings & a kingpin to mount the headlight. it works awesome to soak up the vibes. a lot of folks ask 'you get any shit from the cops about that plate being mounted like that?' i dont - most of the cops who ever noticed the bike tell me how awesome they think the whole thing is. one cop pulled me over to check it out better & had me follow him to his house to see his old bonnie - very cool. i mounted it that way mainly to hide the ugle brake light switch behind it but i dig how it reminds me of flat trackers or drag bike number plates.

the shop - well living in apartments forever i never had much room for tools but managed to aquire enough to get most jobs done. when it came time to do the bike, i had the basic handtools taken care of and an angle grinder, a drill & a dremel. i also had a hundred dollar welder i got on discount. the preliminary build was in my neighbors basement garage but it was cramped so i got a car port for the driveway of my apt. i had torn the bike all apart again then the carport blew away in a storm. i loaded the mostly disassmebled bike and all my tools into my girls truck & took it to my moms garage but i couldnt get over there to work often enough so i got an 8 x 10 metal shed for my driveway which was the best shop of all. i scored a workbench, some shelves, a tiny heater, and finally a VISE! i worked throughout the winter on the final build. working in a t shirt while it was snowing outside with the little heater cranking was awesome. i had power out there via super long extension cord from the apartment. come that spring, the bike was done.

the build was really fun. it was a killer challenge & i learned a lot. really the best part was meeting so many awesome folks that helped out along the way & especially the folks ive met out riding it. i ride the hell out of it so everywhere i go folks like to talk about it. i never get pissed about being held up because im proud - its like my child. haha - meeting all the guys on the gypsy run last year and the EDR this year was the best of all. after i finish my 65 chrysler, ill probably do another bike. probably another brit, maybe another triumph but something wild. i was so inspired by the sugar bear front end on that guys pan on the EDR and also the 1st place prism tank that i feel i need to build a radical traditional chopper.


holy shit - i didnt mean to go on like that - feel free to edit it to death bill. no sweat - haha.

No way, I didn't edit a word. Thanks Joe!

Ground Zero 3.0

Atomic Trent is at it again! The third annual Ground Zero Throwdown is coming up in September and we're rolling out there for sure. It's a perfect excuse to ride in a bitchin' area, do some camping and hell raising. More info is available on the GZ blog. Here's the plan according to Trent:

Plan is for a day ride-camp, ride-show deal. BBQ will be at lake Abiquiu, NM. A mild 150 mile ride each day.

Sept 5, day one: Meet up at Ribs BBQ on NM 14. Ride to Lake Abiquiu, set up camp, bbq, swim, hang out, tell lies. BBQ will cost $5 per person (all you can eat) and its byob for the drinks.

Sept 6, day two: The second day takes us over NM 126 which is partially unpaved, so be ready. This is sort of a chopper adventure ride. I test rode the dirt section last weekend, the road is much improved compared to the last time I rode it! No worries here guys and gals, if you know how to ride a motorcycle, you will be able to ride this road.

Once we get back into Albuquerque everyone can just break off and do your own thing.. Rest, recover, fix your bike, whatever... The show starts at 6 pm.. 3rd street and Golden, downtown Albuquerque. Same $10 entry fee as in years past. (more on details of the block party as we firm up plans).

Pretty simple and a helluva lot of fun. Not really organized as far as departure times yet, but I am thinking the only time that will matter is the initial kick off at Ribs. From then on out, everyone will have a map (hint, print this map now) or will at least know the destination and be expected to be a big boy or girl and find their way.

Bring your own camp gear, be self sufficient.. This isnt a babysitting gig, its a motorcycle ride.

Here's some pics from last year....

The Fastest Loser

Rob, Rouser, Robot, whatever you call this dude, you'd be fortunate to just call him "friend". If any one person embodies the spirit of the EDR, it's this dude. Build a bike yourself, then ride the piss out of it and have a good time all the time. That's what this run has been about since the inception and it's exactly the kind of guy Rob is. I call him an "experience whore" because when everyone else is content to chill, Rob will hop on his bike and haul ass out into the desert just to see what it's like out there. He rode down to Mazatlan with Mark and Randy from St. Louis- two guys he had never met before the trip. When Randy busted his arm in a crash down the infamous "Devil's Spine" Rob helped tape his arm to the bars so he could finish riding into town. Once Randy was at the hospital and taken care of, Rob took off north and met me and Brooks, Nick and Joel in Los Mochis for the ferry ride over to LaPaz. We rode with him the next few days up the baja peninsula and eventually ended up in San Felipe to meet the rest of the EDR crew. (Randy and Mark made it too, ghetto cast and all, just a day or two behind us!) Rob's bike is built on a Flyrite Smokin Gun and should be considered the ultimate test mule. It never let him down, even after getting stuffed under the bumper of a Scion just across the border into the USA, the bike started right up with only minor damage. Rob went away in an ambulance but was able to cram the bike into a rented mini van a day or two later and limp home to Corpus Cristi, Texas to lick his wounds.



While in San Felipe and Ensenada, Rob's sporty didn't escape the inquiring eyes of our judges and he netted a third-place over all bike trophy. The one-off trophy was a bad ass belt cooked up by the DicE guys and made by Baltazar. I have a feeling Rouser is gonna keep this memento for a long time, and he should, he earned the sucker! I asked him for a run-down on the bike and this is what he sent:



I got the bike as a 99 buell m2, under 4k, $3thousandsomething in the spring of 2005. rode it in colorado, and texas for the next year. Then in the summer of 06 I put together the first set up. it had a dna springer, no fender, shity hair pin seat springs, a velocity stack, and some other nifty touches. It looked awesome, TFL had arrived. Rode it, rode it some more, kept riding it. Springers look rad, but in my case looks were badly defeated by function. Lame, why hadn't I used my buell forks sooner? Ass! Knew it was a rider already, but it needed to be an all situation rider. ditched the springer for the inverted Buell fork wasting away in the garage, inserted an hd takeoff fender, twin cam filter set up, attached a saddle bag, and placed quite a bit of other needed pieces of new and improved equipment in strategic positions on the motorbike. Now i had a rider, wait I already had a rider, but after the spa treatment, the lines I chose on the road were previously untaken. Gone were the days of pogoing across a beat up intersection. TFL II, I Love you!



Rob, Thanks for coming out, sorry you got wadded up at the border and I'll ride anywhere with you again, just name the time, son!

-Bill

JD's Ironhead

Best in Show this year went to Culver City's own JD and his full custom sporty. JD is a humble dude, not one to brag about his skills and talents, but I'll gladly do it for him! This bike just oozed with cool details. Some obvious, some not so. He took home the super badass, custom-painted coffin tank provided by the generous gents at DicE magazine as a trophy and also a sweet set up of new glasses and swag from HOVEN. I'm not sure if JD will build a bike around the tank or just keep it as the ultimate wall-trophy, but either way he earned it. I asked him to sum the bike up for us, and this is what he sent:


'79 Iron Head Sportster Scratch-built; frame, forks, foot controls, seat, side bag, fender mount, muffler, headlight mount. Modified stuff; gas tank sporty, oil tank is an old 30's rototiller gas tank, bars, jockey shift is a 30's car hand brake, head lights are old ford tractor items, horn's a model A. All the old stuff is from my grandpa's farm in Montana. After market stuff, rims, hubs, tires, brakes, fender. I did all the fab work myself; welding, machining, leather work, etc. Keo at Garage Co did the wiring, other than that it was a one-man show. It took a little under 3 years to complete. It was finished a couple of months before the EDR. Two or three good size shake down runs and I was off to Mexico...