“Right Turn Clyde” – a lazy Saturday afternoon film from the late seventies: Any which way but loose. A Clint Eastwood adventure about as deep as a dried up creek. The Black Widows biker gang haul around on a variety of choppers including a long legged Triumph ridden by horned Dallas.
The Doctor | Jodie Whittaker returns as the Time Lord from Gallifrey in the latest season of chronological shenanigans. The trailer sees her racing through a vineyard on a large bike. A far cry from the temperamental Tardis.
“A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting.” – The Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) The Time Warrior (1973)
Cover Art | nice illustration of one of the main characters from The Walking Dead. Occasional blank front pages of the graphic periodical inspire readers to add their own comic art. A good representation of Daryl Dixon’s Triumph chopper.
Ride: I brush my teeth, I dry my hair
I put on skimpy underwear
And I ride
To hell and back
Yeah I ride
Carving up the nation..
Comic song by the late and everso great Kirsty MacColl for a comic piece on French & Saunders. In the video Dawn & Jen are riding choppers through a dreary English countryside- well they’re actually on the bikes which are strapped on a trailer. Kirsty would have been 60 today.
Chopper Ink | long legged forks with fiery exhaust fan and overhead ape hangers. This gnarly bearded biker dude is ripping through the graveyard of American twins.
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.
‘Zines | Whatever your interest there is a magazine for it. And, in the specialist topic of motorcycling, there are sub genres covering everything from custom, classic/vintage, off road, on road, Day-to-day riding, travel & adventure. We have a great magazine store in Evanston with a great selection.
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
Rat Bike | a bag of odds ‘n’ ends combined into a particular taste in machinery. An oily rag special which just needs the long straight highways of the SW States to draw out its nuanced style.
“The river flows, it flows to the sea
Wherever that river goes that’s where I want to be
Flow river flow, let your waters wash down
Take me from this road to some other town”
Roger McGuinn (w/ Bob Dylan)
Bill’s new project – forlorn in the corner of some prefab garage sits a worse for wear Triumph chopper. Plenty of mid seventies elbow grease to revive its mechanical working from storage decrepitude… Mr Ferry, ready for a money pit?
Chopper x 2 – Sunday musings with a couple of posters of Triumph pre-unit Choppers. These are the sort of images I’d have blu-tacked to my bedroom wall.
Attitude – a pair of British ‘ells angels give the photographer a surly glower in another image from the Café Royal Books publication.
Photo Zine – limited edition photography books are available from Cafe Royal Books. Amongst their offering are some excellent photojournalistic publications. This one is filled with evocative images from the seventies of bikers attending the iconic races on the Isle of Man. You can smell the drips of Castrol on the deck of the Douglas ferry.
Naive Art – this piece is called Rosie’s Chopper by artist Stuart Swartz. Image statement:
“Here’s another whimsical painting of “Rosie”, this time proudly posing with her Triumph chopper.
This image was painted in a neo ’70s style reminiscent of velvet art and model box illustration from that era.”
Long Legs – we got ourselves a double-decker fork chopper here. Bouncing springer front end that crosses the State line half an hour before you get there. The cruciform tank; the German eagle badge on the owners leather vest; and the missing front teeth from a happy smile tell an intriguing story.
