November 10, 2013
Sommeliers say 1969 is a fine year for Burgundy wines; likewise the crimson red wine color scheme of that particular years Triumph Bonneville is seen as the zenith of the 650 twin carbureted classic. From engine, frame, brakes and overall balanced appearance it really does epitomize the Golden Age of the British motorcycle industry. Here’s my riding buddy Dean Rennie on his fine looking ’69.
It’s particularly good riding along as a pair of twins, when they’re revving in unison it sounds like a DeHavilland Mosquito… Not quite a brace of RR Merlin’s but the provenance of the 650 is worthy enough.
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November 9, 2013
A sunny sky greeted this early November weekend morning so without much ado the bike was kicked into life and a great ride up through Lake County was had. Leaf fall blew through the woods and grassland of adjacent forest preserves; a skip through Zion along a churned azure Lake Michigan rounded the loop. Roads weren’t too busy so it allowed comfortable progress along the way.
Posted in Chicago, Photography, Triumph Bonneville |
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November 8, 2013
Lad getting together for a weekend on the motorbikes. Leathers, Barbour, bin lids and a good craic. I can eve guess their nicknames; from left to right: Pud’n, Chaz, Peachy, Lofty, and Swiftly Mike. Out for a hare along the A57 from Sheffield to Glossop.
Posted in cafe racer, Photography, Triumph Motorcycle |
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November 7, 2013
Promoting companionship on the open road for the bairns are fun looking sidecar toys…
Back in the past when engines were a novel device on vehicles the cast iron and painted tin toys were the norm. Latter day examples have plastic parts but are nonetheless as fun for the kids of today. A pair of raccoons dressed the part on this cream and red
They even still have the pressed metal examples …
Lastly but not leastly here’s the great Postman Pat and Jess (his black and white cat). Not in his delivery van but a suitably red motorcycle sidecar.
Posted in Film and TV, Sidecar, Toy Motorcycle |
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November 6, 2013
He’s the crazy Muppet: getting involved in hare-brained stunts he’s seen here taking to the stage with a Knievelesque motorcycle jump. Ending up in the box where the curmudgeonly Statler & Waldorf mount their wisecracks from.
I was actually looking for Hunter S. Thompson images (the original Gonzo); due to having started to read his late 60’s book about the Hells Angels… More on that at a later date!
Gonzo’s likes are being shot out of cannons, balancing pianos on his nose, hypnotizing chickens, and tap dancing on roller skates on a vat of oatmeal. His only dislike is insurance agents. Seems he has more in common with HST than just a name. Dr Thompson’s ashes were shot out of a cannon…
Posted in Film and TV, Superhero, Writing |
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November 5, 2013
“Remember, remember the fifth of November of gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gun powder treason should ever be forgot.”
V is roman numeral five. Morse code is …- which is actually the opening notes of Beethoven’s Fifth. Also the sublime Alan Moore graphic novel about a dystopian future Britain under a totalitarian government. The antagonist is V the masked revolutionist who rebels against the fascists not as an individual but an idea.
“People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.”
The mask is a grinning image of Guy Fawkes. Who’s failed conspiracy is celebrated on the fifth of November. It is now the face of Anonymous the global internet based group of hacktivists.
Motorcycles? Nah! They didn’t have them in 1605…
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November 4, 2013
Scale models are a great way to see how things fit together. I loved my Airfix and Matchbox 1:72 tanks, aircraft and their respective dioramas. Here’s a bolt together motorcycle kit; not quite your Tamiya, which would need several hours or days, but what looks like a fun few minutes nonetheless.
You could even use it to see how much restoration you want to carry out on your ’68. Here’s a real one: assembly required…. Much more FUN!
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November 3, 2013
A snatched ride along a sunlit glowing Sheridan Road bounded by the reds, oranges, browns and yellows of the fall canopied trees. Blue-blue skies complemented the golden hues and a cool air kept the lung vigorous. Not bad for an early November spin!
“At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell,
The ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste,
And more honeysweet where you feel it touching the first sounds.
Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost.”
Rainer Maria Rilke
Posted in Chicago, Photography |
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November 2, 2013
In honor of Lou Reed here’s an image evoking one of his monologue songs from the Velvet Undergrounds pre-punk White Light\White Heat album. It is read in a stirring welsh lilt by John Cale and tells the story of one Waldo Jeffers whose long distance infatuation with a college girl from Wisconsin, Marsha Bronson, drives him to box himself up and get mailed from Locust PA to her doorstep as a surprise… Needless to say it doesn’t end well when Marsha’s friend Sheila attempts to pry the nailed box open with some sharp metal shears… The rhythmic bass heavy backing track is called Booker T.
The crates contents here is a BSA Spitfire. The 2 gallon two-tone tank denotes a US destined model of this GP carbureted 650 a ton and a quarter capable speed demon.
…. grasped the cutter by both handles, took a deep breath, and plunged the long blade through the middle of the package, through the masking tape, through the cardboard, through the cushioning and (thud) right through the center of Waldo Jeffers head, which split slightly and caused little rhythmic arcs of red to pulsate gently in the morning sun….
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November 1, 2013
The Day of the Dead: as celebrated in Mexico, is the time that people give remembrance to deceased friends and family with ofrenda (offerings) of calavera, or sugar skulls; and enjoy the food and beverages of the dead. The dead come to life! Here’s a clay tile decorated with a skeleton riding a vintage moto. It brings fun and jollity to the all to morbid fears of mortality. Ride Pedro Ride!
Posted in Motorcycle Art |
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October 31, 2013
Witch biker on pumpkin powered moto.
Broomstick for effect only.
Posted in Toy Motorcycle |
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October 30, 2013
Dr Who? Here’s Matt Smith, the 11th incarnation of the Gallifreyan traveler of the space-time continuum aboard a Bonneville with his latest companion Clara Oswald, played by Jenna Louise Coleman. Typical mode of transport is of course the policebox disguised TARDIS but this’ll do in a pinch.
Daleks, Cybermen or Sontarans be damned!
Posted in Film and TV, Triumph Bonneville |
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October 29, 2013
After pie I do like a slice of cake: so when I spotted this baked and iced special my attention was grabbed and hunger piqued.
Blown them candles out and slice it up!
Posted in Motorcycle Art, Triumph Motorcycle |
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October 28, 2013
Lou Reed 1942-2013. A true music legend passed yesterday; his music grabbed you by the throat and hammered its beat into you with piercing lyrics that had heft to them. Early work from Andy Warhols Factory with The Velvet Underground was seminal to any budding HiFi owners collection.
Backed by the indomitable John Cale, Sterling Morrison, & Mo Tucker, as well as the sultry backing vocals of Nico; their music puts the Vee in Live. Reed as a solo artist: the poet-musician with knife-edge lyrics went on to create timeless numbers which saw rerelease success two decades on. I was fortunate to see TVU in their original line-up at an unmuddy Glastonbury in ’93.
“New Sensations”, Lou Reed 1984
I took my GPZ out for a ride
The engine felt good between my thighs
The air felt cool, its was 40 degrees outside
I rode to Pennsylvania near the Delaware gap
Sometimes I got lost and had to check the map
I stopped at a roadside diner for a burger and a coke
There were some country folk and some hunters inside
Somebody got themselves married and somebody died
I went to the juke box and played a hillbilly song
They was arguing about football as I waved and went outside
And I headed for the mountains feeling warm inside
I love that GPZ so much, you know that I could kiss her.
——————
Must be the original Ninja GPZ900. Here’s mine that I owned in the mid-twothousands…
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October 27, 2013
I took an opportunity with decent weather and a visit to friends a short ride down Lake Shore Drive to encourage my better half to ride pillion. A couple of sweet spots headin’ down “from Hollywood with water on the drivin’ side…”
Acknowledgments to Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah
Posted in Chicago, Gals, Music |
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