It's gonna be good

What it's all about

Destiny calls

Johnny R who writes great stuff for the mag sent me the pic ... "Sid's (Destiny race car) original UK build 60s slingshot with a Jag straight 6. It's a beautiful car!"

We're gonna see it in action at the UK's Hot Rod Drags in a few weeks, and Johnny will bring you the feature for the next issue. Can't wait to hear that Jag engine at full pelt...

C'mon, I'll take you all on!

You know what? I like confrontation. I invite constructive criticism. But I hate cowards.

So if you happened to read the pissy little comments made about the post below (now deleted), you'll understand why I've had to change the moderation level for comments on this Blog so you now can't post anonymously without me approving the posts first.

I hate doing this, but anonymous abuse is just spineless (especially when it refers to someone other than me, who isn't able to delete the comments about them). If you'd be scared to say it to my face (and this guy obviously was), don't try to say it anonymously here.

This stupid site has been up for about 18 months, and these are the first comments I've had to delete (except for someone who commented on a Jason Jessee post by linking to a porn site! Maybe it was JJ?).

So you don't have to be nice. Just don't be a pussy!

Issue 11

At the printer's... will be for sale soon, after subs have landed. I love this cover!

Thanks again Mike 'n' Mark.

Tees him

Tees me

Was digging through a box this morning and found a few old chopper tees. Funny how everyone with a Blog is now in the clothing business too!

Those Bayonet Bros ones (Indian Larry & English Don) were bought from an ad in Iron Horse magazine in around '94. I still like the designs. And Chopper Dave's are cool too... wish I still had the winged wheel one from around 1o years ago, but it ended up as an oily rag. Very apt.

Beautiful Buzzard says

I says, let's see where else this one lands up...

Milk and Alcohol

Just spent a few days in the Big Smoke with family and old (old) friends. Good times.

Knuckle cruster

We caught a glimpse of Huggy's great Knuck in a past issue of GK (Johnny Routledge's 'Linkert Attacks!' coverage), and Nifty took these shots of it last weekend at the Hayride.

Huggy's a true 'real' H-D fan, who was riding old unreliable sickles when we were still all on Jap fours. This bike's a (rotten) peach... can you say patina?

Pucker up

Being the amateur snapper I am, I missed this near-catastrophe at the Hotrod Hayride last weekend. Great save by the driver... apparently he was driving his dad's car! Great set of photos by Andy Meaton.

Mark Kawakami

I'm thrilled that Mark has started shooting features for the mag; the whole quality of the publication is lifted by his photography. Mike Davis is on the cover of the next issue – wait until you see the shot! – and John Edwards and his Pan will be in issue 12.

I love this stuff. Hope you do too.

Thanks Mark!

Maru's Pan

One of the things I LOVE about publishing the magazine is getting my quarterly report from my friend Mochi in Tokyo.

His friends' bikes just rule. They have the eye. They have the skills. And folks, they have the bikes...

Maru's Pan is in the next issue, #11, out very soon!

Amsterdam 1990

This will not be of much interest to anyone unless you're into the 'greasy' side of GK. These photos were taken by a girl called Sally when we played some gigs in the Netherlands with rockabilly legend Ronnie Dawson (second left, second photo).

I'm under the 'pool tables' sign. Good times.

Billy's '54 FLE

Billy builds and rides some nice bikes.

Dead man walking

Winner of Best Pomp and Finest Fake Ink in a leading role, 1995.

Bill's Triumph

Vintage outlaws

If you read this Blog regularly, you'll know I have a fascination for vintage photos of outlaw clubs. This fascination started about two decades ago when I first became aware of Danny Lyon's photos, and has only grown over time as I've ridden and built bikes emulating the style of these chopper pioneers.

These shots are of the Devil's Disciples MC in 1967 (top three), which are stunning – almost contemporary – quality, and of the Dirty Dozen MC, taken between '68 and '70.

Amazing stuff, and I discovered them on the Biltwell boys' new forum, ChopCult. Check it out for more chopper goodness!

Busy few days

I've been down south a couple of times over the past 4 days, to shoot Benny and his shop Boneshaker Choppers and to visit the Hotrod Hayride.

Benny's a top bloke, with exactly the right attitude, and he builds some very tidy bikes. The Hotrod Hayride, too, was a trip well worth making, with rods and bikes converging on Surrey from all over Europe. The racing on the dirt oval was great, and would have been even greater if I'd actually got there on time. Instead I spent most of Saturday gridlocked on the fucking M25.

What a week.

10 April 2005 – 12 August 2009

Thank you to everyone who left comments or sent me emails.

Believe me, they helped.

I've lost my dear friend

Daisy was killed by a truck today when she chased some birds onto a busy road.

I feel devastated.

I wish at least I had been there (she was out for a walk with my wife and kids).

I'm going to miss her dreadfully.

No brains

Eater were my local punk band in north London. I was barely a teenager myself, so the fact they had a 14 year old drummer (Dee Generate) made me like them even more.

They played the Roxy and had some good tunes, but weren't really taken seriously because of their age.

Look 'em up on YouTube, and enjoy a glimpse of my youth!

Thrashing elderly Italians

That's what my brother likes to do. And lucky for him he gets paid for it too. This is a hotted up Gilera Saturno Sport he's easing round a Tuscan bend, "one of the fastest 'old' road bikes I've ever ridden".

Cole Foster in Bigtwin magazine

I like Bigtwin magazine from the Netherlands: can't read a word of it, but it has a nice layout and crisp photography.

I'm not really into the bikes they generally feature, but it's always a treat when there's something in there by Maurice, the Flyin' Dutchman. Here's Cole's chrome-framed Pan from the latest issue.

Tanks for the memory

When I was at school, lots of guys were trying to airbrush fantasy stuff like this. This is Israel's tank, on his XS650.

Seems like an age

I'm jonesin' for a new project.

I hate trikes

But there's always an exception that proves the rule.

BikeExif

Got a nice mention on a pretty cool blog called BikeExif, run by a fellow-Brit who lives in Sydney. It's popular with people into the aesthetics rather than the lifestyle, and Chris features some pretty nice bikes.

Check it out:

BikeExif