I want to ride my bicycle- This 1903 Triumph safety bike has such an elegant shape. With a sinuous open frame to allow women to pedal in their skirts. These old human powered machines just look so perfect in their functional purpose. The advert to the left is a mid-Century model promoting the bike as a form of exercise; though the dropped cross bar seems a tad dated.
August 4, 2017
Fat bottomed girls they’ll be riding today
July 17, 2017
ME109 successor
Bubble Trouble – this bright red three-wheeler beamed at me by the side of the road today. I had to screech to a stop, park nearby and get some snaps. It’s a Messerschmitt car KR200 or Kabinenroller. Not being allowed to manufacture aircraft after WW2 these were Designed by Fritz Fend with Willy Messerschmitt only putting his name on them. 40,000 were made between 1954 and 1965. The streamlined appearance with fuselage inspired body gives it a futuristic look even today. Flying cars anyone?
July 13, 2017
The Part of Sums
Knolling: a Norton motorcycle in pieces. Laid out components and complete. Assembly required…
July 10, 2017
Gulf
Fill ‘er up! Or so you would have asked Dick Dunkle, proprietor of the Gulf service station on the old Lincoln Highway (Route 30) that went cross country in the days before the Interstate system was laid. The terra-cotta tile work and old mechanical pumps as atmosphere. As did the rain stotting down on Bedford PA. The Minx sits in the forecourt: “one for the album!”
July 2, 2017
Neon & Paint
Signage – one of my many interests. We visited the American Sign Museum today in Cincinnati. Old neon and hand painted examples covered the walls and hung from the rafters of an old clothing factory. The lobby had sponsors advertising of which I spied this two-wheeled themed one.
May 20, 2017
Oil & Ink
Selfie Sketch – trying out a new brush tipped drawing pen- here’s the first result. Based on a selfie view sitting astride the Bonnie. Not quite Jack Kirby but not bad for a 10 minute scribble.
April 22, 2017
Indian Brit
Go Skate! – Vert maestro Steve Caballero shows off his immaculate pre-unit ’52 Triumph custom with builder Bryan Thompson giving it a thumb’s up. The nostalgia oozes all over the bike: from the script tank badge and gold pinstriping, to the girder forks and saddle-maker leather seat or the leather handgrips with reversed control levers. It’s called ‘The Scout”. Good name.
April 2, 2017
Citrus Cycle
X-75 Redux – Here’s a good looking beast: a nineties 900 triple revisioned in the punchy orange and yellow color scheme used by Craig Vetter on the mud seventies 750 Trident.
March 14, 2017
Pi
π – defined as the ratio of a circles circumference to its diameter, this mathematical constant is ubiquitous to the universe. It also has meaning for the motorcycle from Wheels to discs, gears and cogs, dials & caps, and lights.
February 28, 2017
Liquid Engineering
Oiler – here’s a stunning graphic advertisement from a late sixties magazine with no. 1 Gary Nixon powering his Triumph flat tracker in a somewhat psychedelic manner. Castrol
February 17, 2017
Try Triumph
Three Twins and a Triple – let’s close the week off with this clutch of Hinckley goodies. The new cafe 900 Street Cup in bumblebee yellow striping and black engine cases certainly looked the part. A pearly tanked Speed Triple sitting like a repose cat ready to strike its prey. ‘Hard tail’ Bobber sits low and purposeful (I felt a bit cramped on it) ready to customize with a catalogue full of eye candy. Finally the sublime Thruxton in ‘Go-Faster’ red: I could look at this all day…
For some reason I didn’t take any photos of the Tigers… the 800 seems to be the most practical bike out there.
February 15, 2017
Stick & Rudder
A Good Viewpoint – there’s nowt better than being in the pilots seat of a fast motorcycle. Low bar angle, poise for streamlining, and a speedo maxing out at the double ton. The Big Green ZX14 from Kawasaki is one such beast. Surely a rocket of the ballistic type. It feels sturdy. Then there’s the cockpit of the Thruxton. Beautiful detailing and exquisite visual balance. I’ll take one of each please!
February 6, 2017
Tic-Toc
At the third stroke it shal be eight thirty precisely- fancy illuminated dealership wall clock. Backlit with neon it would let salesmen know when it was their tea break or buyers know how long they’d been ogling the latest models.
January 19, 2017
Noble Gassing
Neon – 102 years ago today French inventor Georges Claude patented the gas discharge tube, more commonly known as a Neon Tube. Formed into pictographs and writing they herald a company’s identity or message.
January 17, 2017
Doughnut Delivery
Giant Scarab – I spotted this patina-rich coffee & doughnut van scuttling about the City recently. Elegant hand painted script cheerily advertising a morning refreshment for construction and office worker alike. It’s a doughty International Harvester Metro Van, produced between 1938 and 1975 keeping its distinctive flowing form well into the sixties when its edges were squared off to meet a demand for something new. The flowing gumdrop lines were created by the capable hand of Mr Streamline himself, Raymond Loewy.
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