These kits were more popular back when motorcycles were a utilitarian tool, and when snowmobiles were limited to the greater latitudes or Minnesota. tack some skis to the front hoop; whip off the rear one and bolt on the mini track. I think this would be a lot of fun in fresh powder. And it’s a Cub too…
“Shackleton, Shackleton! You need a couple of these glacier ski-doos mate!”
Orlando, is quite the moto aficionado… Here he is taking great enjoyment from a WWII BSA M20. The half litre 13 pony do I all ride of couriers, scouts and dispatchers alike.
Of course half the fun of these pieces if military equipment is the hands-on needed to keep em rubber side down and destination bound. Twiddle carbs, sort timing, adjust valves, petrol on, tickle, retard and KICK. He just needs a blackout hood on the headlight for period correctness.
Pointy ear’d Legolas the wood elf from Tolkien’s Middle Earth realm was played in very fine style by the British actor Orlando Bloom. Fast with bow, swift of foot and strong of friendship he was an appropriate foil to the doughty dwarf Gimli.
Orlando went on to add the pirate blacksmith Will Turner in the as popular Pirates of the Caribbean series… To date he has been in a third of the top 15 biggest grossing films. So what does he ride? We he seems to have picked up a custom modern Bonneville with hand beat tinware, spare details and fun stance. Just needs some leathers and a lid to top it off. Fleet footed? On that Triumph he is!
Barbarella Catton the Canadian actress more commonly known as Haji, passed away at the weekend aged 67. She appeared in several Russ Meyer films, including Motorpsycho (1965), Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), and Supervixens (1975). All classics of their genre.
Meyers satirical sexploitation film went directly against the grain of the mainstream movies of the day. A Zappa to the motion picture world you could say… Or was Zappa a Meyer of the music world?
Of course we have our early biker film, before Easy Rider, and fairly gritty in its nature. The women are buxom, the characters crude, narration camp, yet the female empowerment seeps through the stories. Haji fits the bill on all accounts. The seminal Faster, faster pussycat! Kill! Kill! Is the zenith in his career.
After watching these you can see where Quentin Tarantino gets his inspiration. . . and I do believe that’s a Triumph on the poster of Motorpsycho..
Though seen use from Egyptian stone block moving with trunks and Leonardo da Vinci sketches for his helicopter air-screw rotation; it was the development and patent of a Welsh ironmaster Philip Vaughan that the modern ball race bearing was created. Its 1794 timing came at an ideal moment for the burgeoning Industrial Revolution. However it was Frenchman Jules Suriray who patented the first ball bearing. Used to great low resistance rolling effect by Englishman James Moore astride his velocipede in the first Paris-Rouen road race later that year.
Bearings are of course very important in ALL wheeled and powered contrivances: today I measured for and ordered the bearings for the Cub wheels (two for each) and the crank shaft and main gear shaft.
However a bearing is only as good as its lubrication and cleanliness… Spin Doctor
Perfect weather with blue blue skies and nice riding temperatures. Took the bike out for an hours spin up the road. Although you need to head out a fair bit to get good roads there’s a small section through a Forest Preserve area along the Skokie Lagoons. It’s only a couple and a half miles long but you can run up and down it at least twice for good measure…
It shows up its wiggle on Google Maps…
The bike was happy too 🙂
I must admit this one has done the rounds on the interweb; but with my ongoing search for Cub parts this is a true happy-face when one of those hard to find item crops up for a low price. It typically turns to a bawling (or swearing more like) when that part doesn’t fit…. Haven’t we all been there?
Wartime morale poster that was rediscovered in secondhand bookshop Barter Books at the old railway station in Alnwick Northumberland has seen it spread across the globe as a modern day inspiration an motivational meme. Here its given the Triumph treatment…
… As a side note the original Ministry of Information posters printed in the hundreds of thousands were seen as somewhat divisive and patronizing by the working classes as a rallying war cry from the upper classes, of whom the civil servants were seen to be. Remember the Great War was a fresh memory being merely two decades previous to the outbreak in ’39.
An idyllic English scene… Wet road, grey skies, muddy field, a hilly country road and a Triumph 750 propped on its side stand waiting for a wax jacket attired motorcyclist to take up the reins. I can smell this typical bucolic blighty scene. The signpost adds a level of rural jolity to the proceedings too!
The W registration puts the bike between ’81 & ’82.
The diminutive nature of our wee 200cc Cub makes for a smart shooting stick to thump around the estate on. The hound will need willing legs to keep up though… And a shotgun holster is required to tote the Purdey DB 12 bore.
A Barber jacket isn’t just for an ISDT!
The diminutive nature of our wee 200cc Cub makes for a smart shooting stick to thump around the estate on. The hound will need willing legs to keep up though… And a shotgun holster is required to tote the Purdey DB 12 bore.
A Barber jacket isn’t just for an ISDT!
The drive across Wisconsin yesterday allowed many chances to see riders cruise along while the local scenery passed by. Here’s a pair on their Harley speeding along on I-90 east of La Crosse.
Sweet Triumph twin set up for big American roads seen today a stones throw from the Mississippi in Winona MN. Wonderful roads in the vicinity are jes’ made for ridin’! Must go back on two wheels!
Dedicated documentary about racer Mike Duff, a Canadian talking about the trials of high speed Grand Prix track racing. Mike is now Michelle as told in her autobiography ‘Make haste slowly, the Mike Duff story’. Music by The Mothers of Invention, hence a Zappa day…
It was the blackest night
There was no moon in sight
You know the stars ain’t shinin’
’cause the sky’s too tight
I heard the scarey wind
I seen some ugly trees
There was a werewolf honkin’
‘long the side of me
I’m mean ‘n I’m bad, y’know I ain’t no sissy
Got a big-titty girly by the name of chrissy
Talkin’ about her ‘n my bike ‘n me…
‘n this ride up the mountain of mystery, mystery
I noticed even the crickets
Was actin’ weird up here
And so I figured I might
Just drink a little beer
I said, “gimme summa that what yer suckin’ on…”
But there was no reply
’cause she was gone…
“where’s those titties that I like so well
‘n my goddamn beer!”
Is what I started to yell, then I heard this noise
Like a crunchin’ twig, ‘n up jumped the devil…he’s about this big…
He had a red suit on
An’ a widow’s peak
An’ then a pointed tail
‘n like a sulphur reek
Yes, it was him awright
I sweared I knowed it was
He had some human flesh
Stuck underneath his claws
You know it looked to me
Like it was titty skin
I said, “you sonofabitch!”
’cause I was mad at him,
Well he just got out his floss
‘n started cleanin’ his fang
So I shot him with my shooter
Said: bang bang bang
Then the sucker just laughed ‘n said, “put it away…
You know, I ate her all up…now what you
Gonna say? ”
You ate my chrissy? “titties ‘n all!”
Well, what about the beer then, boy? “were the cans
This tall? ”
Even her boots? “would I lie to you? ”
Shit, you musta been hungry! “yes, this is true.”
Well don’t they pay you good for the
Stuff that you do?
“well, you know, I can’t complain when the checks come through…”
Well I want my chrissy, ‘n I want my beer
So you just barf it back up now, devil,
Do you hear?
“blow it out your ass, motorcycle man! I mean, I am the devil,
Do you understand? just what will you give me
For your
Titties and beer? I suppose you noticed this little
Contract here…” yer goddam right, you son-of-a-whore,
“don’t call me that”
That’s about the only reason
…gimme that paper…bet yer ass I’ll sign…
’cause I need a beer, ‘n it’s titty-squeezin’ time
“man, you can’t fool me…you ain’t that bad…
I mean you shoulda seen some of the souls I had…
Why there was milhous nixon ‘n agnew, too…
‘n both of those suckers was worse ‘n you…”
Well, let’s make a deal if you think that’s true
I mean, you’re the devil, so whatcha gonna do?
(improvised dialog)
“wait a minute…a tinge of doubt crosses my mind…when you say…
That you want to make a deal with me…”
“that’s very, very true
I’m only interested in two things
“yeah? ”
See if you can guess what they are”
“i would think…uh…let’s see, maybe stravinsky…”
“i’ll give you two clues. let go of your pickle”
“what? ”
“let go of your pickle!”
“i’m not holding my pickle”
“well, who’s holding your pickle then? ”
“i don’t know…she’s out in the audience…
Hey dale, would you like to come up here and hold
My pickle to satisfy this weird man out on the stage? ”
“i’m only interested in two things, and that’s
Titties and beer
You know what I mean?
“what? ”
Titties and beer
Titties and beer
Titties and beer
Titties and beer
Titties and beer
Titties and beer
Titties and beer!”
Titties and beer!”
“i don’t know if you’re the right guy? ”
Titties and beer!”
Titties and beer!”
“no! don’t sign it! give me time to think…
I mean hold on a second boy, ’cause that’s magic ink!”
And then the devil let go of his pickle
And out come my girl, there was her titties
Flop-floppin’…all around the world
She said “i got me three beers and a fistful of downs
And I’m gonna get ripped, so fuck, you clowns!”
Then she gave us the finger, it was rigid and stiff
That’s when the devil, he farted
And she went right over the cliff!
The devil was mad, I took off to my pad
I swear I do declare, how did she get back there?
I swear I do declare, how did she get back there?
I swear I do declare, how did she get back there?
I swear I do declare, how did she get back there?
I swear I do declare, how did she get back there?
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