Matchless! Instead of the usual Triumph Moto to be seen on here’s our actor-fella Guy Pearce with a classic G80.
He’s been a soap actor, amnesiac, time traveller, an abdicated king and a drag queen. Versatile; like the single 500cc. It was raced, scrambled, toured, combined, and hacked… All good two wheeled malarkey! It’s a shame the 60 odd year old company went under.
Dave Grohl: screaming frontman to Foo Fighters and once drummer to grunge band Nirvana as well as latter day percussionist to Them Crooked Vultures. He enjoys two-wheels too; though I must make a departure from Brit Iron for a post, he love the potato-potato drumming beat of a Harley.
Seeing as we’re on a music rock ‘n’ roll let’s delve into the two-wheeled antics of a pair of the fathers of rock: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Well Keith has always been a skinny malinty so the diminutive Triumph Cub seems like the best choice for him.
The right-wing brother of the great Christopher Hitchens said of Keith: “a capering streak of living gristle who ought to be exhibited as a warning to the young of what drugs can do to you even if you’re lucky enough not to choke on your own vomit”. His long endured reputation stretches ahead of him. But he sure can write a guitar riff or two!
Whilst he’s toting around some manorial grounds such as Stargroves. I can’t see him riding the public roads, Sir Mick take the controls of a Honda. Well ‘you meet the nicest people’. Hope he gets some satisfaction.
Not the Ace of Bass but the punks punk. Malcolm MacLarens enfant terrible Sid Vicious seen here with his leather jacket and lip turned scowl hoofing along a London street seemingly atop a Honda.
Well here’s how it’s done! A strapped down Moto on a flatbed trailer… Well how else can a brazen youth barely out of his teenage angst bare his skinny pale chest and sip his beer.
As the story unfolded his spirally punk lifestyle caught up with him in a New York gaff. Nancy Spungen found an untimely demise with a single stab wound and Sid ended up on Riker’s Island. Out on bail in early ’77 he was found dead of a heroin overdose a few days later.
His final written words were apparently: “Bury me in my leather jacket, jeans and motorcycle boots. Goodbye.”
I wonder… “My Way” indeed.
Steve, motorcycle, sorting, sorted!
Looks like the sublime Metisse scrambler; knobbly shod, high piped and Meriden companions behind.
On the continuing theme of sun, bikes, fun and yikes; here’s our old friends Bud Ekins and Steve McQueen haring along some back roads SoCal trail.
I like to see Triumph Twins put to good use, heeled over the way physics dictate forces, speed and balsnce; knobby tyres hardly touching the gravelly path, and the riders concentrating on the way ahead. “Watch out for that ditch lad
To celebrate The Man in Blacks birthday here’s a very little known film that Johnny Cash wrote the soundtrack for (along with Carl Perkins and Bob Dylan). It starred Robert Redford as a happy-go-lucky racer, Big Halsy Knox, who chases the adventures offered of both track and ‘field’; he takes on a mechanic sidekick, Little Fauss, who looks up to him, and true a early 70’s buddy movie ensues.
There are allegiances made and broken; a love interest, in the form of a drop-out muse played by Lauren Hutton, as the fabulously named Rita Nebraska; and of course super racing cinematography both on-board and track-side.
But Cash’s droll voice powers through with his balladeers songs.
Rollin’ Free
Ballad of Little Fauss and Big Halsy
Happy Birthday Johnny!
Sons of the Desert: nope not a Laurel & Hardy adventure; but a jaunt across rutted, scrub patched scorched back country in SoCal or Baja. Knobbly tires shod on a tough old purely functional sled. Looks like way too much fun!
Is that an AMC Javelin poking its nose in?
Sunday evening moto fare: as tasty as a Sunday roast, accompanied by mashed tatties, veggies with Yorkshire pudding lashed with dark gravy; here is a street going Triumph tracker ready to show off up and down the main drag. Flat soles Redwings, turnips, and an open face lid complete the leather-clad owners appearance.
A race numberplate and big Triumph tank logo adds to a racing legend.
The photo appears to be taken in Sweden, possibly Stockholm.
An actor who has been taking notable strides in several great film of late: Michael Fassbender. From a younger Magneto in X-Men; Carl Jung in a Dangerous Method; Lieutenant Archie Hicox in Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds; the android David in Prometheus to name a few. Well he’s a biker too, being german-irish I believe his ride of choice is a big Beemer GS but it looks like he wouldn’t mind a mean muscular Triumph Speed Triple. He’s posing a bit too much though… Get on yer bike and ride it Mike!
The Tau of Life: The echoing O’s of the Norton logo repeated in the speed tipped wheels of this racer creates a strong Moto-image. Force times by its displacement vector.
Horsepower is torque times revs divided by 5252.
What a ride it would be: racing a steam train. The powerful coal driven powering along and a Speed Twin following alongside. The 1960 Evening Star 2-10-0 heralded the closing pages of the steam age, a ’60 Triumph eyes the future of road speed.
Fire up the engine stoker, keep shoveling!
I titled yesterday’s blog about Aldana’s leathers and omitted an image of them! Well here he is in all his skeletal glory!
Not only a set of deathly leathers but sitting atop a big Yoshimura tuned Kawasaki Zed at Daytona.
More shots of him in action steering the big lad into corners…
These are the days of the early superbikes which, with nary a nod to the rider would spit them off if pushed too far. The engines were ahead of the frames so racing them meant nerves of steel and the skill of a rodeo cowboy. No wonder he could wear a Superman outfit when haring around a dirt oval sideways…
Well, let’s get back on track, so to speak, he still races, albeit in a senior class, and here’s a shot of him aboard a latter day Triumph Daytona 675 at a Mid Ohio race. Smooth as silk.
Legend!
That means it’s Dave Aldana time! Racing with the best of ’em back in the seventies on the AMA Grand National Championship. An exuberant and daring style combined with a showy attire garnered him fame and success in a wide range of motorcycle races: flat track oval, speedway, motocross or road racing.
Starting out as a newcomer for the BSA team with the likes of Dick Mann, he cut his teeth on the big Rocket 3 triple; the British Superbike of its day.
Here’s a super line-up L-R: Jim Rice, Dave Aldana, Dick Mann then Mike Hailwood, and Don Emde all making up the ‘Wrecking Crew’. Then Mert Lawwill.
He went on to race smashing looking Norton’s both on dirt…
…or the road (track) the lovely John Player Norton. Truly sublime.
Here he is in good form on that Birmingham Twin. Classic Racing.
To be continued…
A Racer in seafoam…
A Venus…
…and another Venus.
All have perfect form for the beholder.
Aphrodite of Milos (Greek: Ἀφροδίτη τῆς Μήλου, Aphroditē tēs Mēlou), 130 BCE Venus de Milo.
The Birth of Venus (Italian: Nascita di Venere) 1486 Sandro Botticelli.
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