16th St | we were exploring the near South Side and the extensive murals along some railway embankments. Glinting under the clear skies was this rust edged vee twin parked up. The Hayburner was a Bonanza episode where Hoss and Adam buy a Thoroughbred and find themselves competing with Little Joe for the Virginia City Sweepstakes. Or it could just be the slang for a second rate racehorse…
Racer, metal fabricator, mechanic, TV personality Jessi Combs was killed while trying to push the envelope for a women’s speed record. She died tearing across a dry lake bed in Oregon in her rocket powered car at over 400mph. A strong talented person, she was an encouraging inspiration to girls and women nationwide. RIP Jessi Combs (1980-2019)
Bacon | Hogs can be other bikes too! Here’s a perfectly well engineered custom machine which has an adapted 3 cylinder Diesel engine that can be run on bacon grease. This was commissioned by Hormel Foods who make Spam.
Watch it in action here: Black Label Bacon Motorcycle
Motoblot | The annual pilgrimage to Chicago’s main open air motorcycle gathering was had today. Weather cooperated after stormy forecasts. Plenty to look at amongst the offering. The KZ900 in sparkly brown and oranges was a notable example; as was a display of the Danish in-line 4 workpony’s Nimbus.
Lightning | The evening sun gave a stark outline to this brat-Bob Yamaha spied in a Home Depot parking lot. Somebody is obviously having fun out there! I bet it grunts like a mongrel straining at the leash.
Kustom Kat |For over five decades the custom motorcycle scene has been dominated by one name Arlen Ness. He passed away over the weekend leaving a void in the genre. Taking the laid-back Californian attitude and rebuilding bikes into crazy vestiges of their former self he would use mostly Harley Davidson’s to create multitudes of choppers, bobbers, and, like this Triumph, diggers. This latter style was a needle thin profile with stretched out forks – highly impractical but look beautiful. Arlen Ness 1938-20019 RIP
Oxblood Docs – whizzing hardtail bobber being piloted by a bandana masked gal who wears jeans under her skirt. Badass! A Wild Cat indeed! Old time Triumph twin motor with a surefooted attitude.
Dempster Street – passed a couple of parked American bikes as I drove between job sites today. Hefty Milwaukee Iron owned by garage mechanics. Well, when you spend all day crammed under an automobile, swingin’ your leg over a motorcycle at the end of the day is a perfect antidote.
Windy today! No it’s Thursday! So am I, let’s have a drink! A sunny antipodean outlook is set off with some competition winner who takes home a spangly new Triumph Bobber.
Remember it’s Hump-Day so…
Springfield MA – I spied this current model Indian Scout at the weekend. I really dig its lines, detail and character. If I had a Bobber it would be one of these. Tan leather saddle looks the business with the bronze tank badge.
Motoworks – open house down at Johnny Scheff’s excellent dealership. Triumph, Ducati, Royal Enfield and Vespa all represented. Service also caters for BMW. Sunny weather, burgers and good chat. The vintage license plate with 68 GIT was an old Bonnie.
Pretty – handcrafted bobber from an artisan workshop in Buckinghamshire. Purdy Motorcycles. Bespoke components adorning a spare frame. Pre-unit engine provides locomotion. Tweeds, leather tunic, goggles and gauntlet gloves would serve for garb.
Saint Pádraig – The Emerald Isle’s 5th C apostle Paddy is celebrated worldwide by the Irish in green colored jubilation. March 17th celebrates his life and gives Gaelic peoples an excuse to eat and drink and revel. This Triumph bobber looks like it was fed on corned beef and cabbage with a petrol tank topped-up with Guinness.
Enjoy Coke! A couple prepares for the off aboard their aped Triumph bobber. Complete with springer front end and tall sissy bar it has West Coast biker gang written all over it.
Pout – a doll posing her looks with the elegant complementary lines of a hard-tail bobbed Triumph modeling prop.
