beyond vintage

Been an interesting few days.  I picked up a donor, but it wasn't what I intended, it just all came about at once. 

I was bound and determined to build a nice sporty hardtail.  I had it all worked out as well, but days of fretting and figuring ended up playing against me and I decided to let it go.  There were a lot of reasons.  I love sportsters but messing with chopping something new and expensive is sometimes a bit daunting.  I'm sure it would be no big deal, but it just doesn't seem as much fun. 

So I was sitting pondering how I was going to make this sporty thing work when I just decided it wasn't going to happen.  Too many factors.  One of the big factors was that no matter how you look at vintage Honda CB750 choppers, they are just bad ass.  Nothing says chopper more than a stretched, chopped, CB750.  Nothing like the contrast between long skinny bike and that huge, wide engine.  That fat heavy but nimble, powerful mill.


So all this time, it's like "that Sporty isn't REALLY what you want".. no matter how cool you make a sport custom bike, it is still a sporty and they are pretty common.  What I wanted was still the anti-harley.  It's been the theme continuously and why I have a Triumph and a Moto Guzzi.

So instead of thousands to buy a Sport to tear apart, I spent a couple hundred. 



I wasn't expecting much for the price.  The owner said that it ran, but that there were problems with the charging and battery ... blah blah blah...

I didn't expect it start, esp after he had to put another battery on it to crank it.  But it fired up immediately.  And it was music.  Not many bikes have that much character out of the box.

So now it is home.  Waiting for the time I can devote to getting it going into something.  I know what I want and it is lurking just about.  I just have to get it to that point...

Speaking of vintage.  Some people were posting cool photos on the Jockey Journal, so I thought I would add a few.  These are beyond vintage and really demonstrate what even the early motorcycles could do.  I thought I would add a couple because they are interesting and great shots of the detail of the bikes to a small degree.  These were in Mexico chasing Pancho Villa...




And of course, to give equal time, the great guerrilla himself....



Be good






















Technorati Tags: honda, cb750, cb 750, vintage, harley, pancho villa, villa, pancho, mexico, pershing, indian

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Las Vegas, Sammy Hagar and Motorcycles

Vegas.  I used to hate Vegas.  It all seemed luck such a tourist trap and a money gouge - and it is.  But I have never really tried to enjoy myself like I would in any other town.  The gambling wears off quick.  We won about enough to pay for our room and a couple meals.  Then we spent twice as much partying. 

Our goal was to rest by the pool for 3 days, but we spent all of about 3 hours by the pool.  No rental car.  We were going to taxi or walk, but instead we discovered the bus!  The Deuce that roams the strip at about 2 miles an hour proved to be fairly good transportation.  7 bucks for 24 hours or 15 bucks for 3 days.  At least no matter what happens, if you are close to the strip, you have a ride eventually.

We also scored a private driver to the Palomino.  The Palomino is on the extreme north end of town, past the old downtown and the Fremont Experience, and on into North Las Vegas.  But we had a blast at the Palomino, even if we blew a bunch of cash (and credit>)...

We got some cheap internet rooms at the Tuscany Suites.  Not a bad place for the great price my wife got.  But we decided from now on, we are headed for the old downtown.  The Fremont Experience wasn't anything to write home about, but anyplace you can walk, semi drunk, and not have to worry about cars, listen to live bands rocking, step in and gamble, buy trinkets, etc, all at one place, is pretty cool.  Cross over Las Vegas Blvd after youre done into the REAL part of town and check out the Griffin and the Beauty Shop.  We stumbled onto some live music in a very casual setting. 

Even google maps doesnt venture far down here. But let's face it, THIS is where you would hang out if you lived here.... 

The Strip is of course fun for oogling the tourists, if ya know whaddi mean...  We saw the leather covered chopper in Vince Neil's Ink...  It was definitely cool if impractical.  For some reason, I decided I was too cool for my camera, and now I missed out on pics of the Leather bike and an even BETTER creation at the Hard Rock Hotel on display next to the HRH shops.  Right next to the John Varvatos clothing store, or whatever the fuck it was.  I saw a cool pair of shoes in there and I snuck in to check them out, before any sales people could hone in on me.  Not bad, a quick glance at the price tag ....  848 bucks !?!  WTF???  Over?  Man a guy could by a frame for that price....  so I decided just to wear my own shoes until they were a cool, 'distressed' vintage leather.... fuck me to tears...

SO, I have no new pictures of cool bikes to share, today anyway. 

Heading out we had a bite in Sammy Hagar's beach bar in the McCarran Airport.  I didn't know it was a Sammy Hagar thing until I was sitting down and bludgeoned to death with the Sammy Hagar slide show.  Talk about Pimp My Sammy.... !!!  SO we got some nachos (the wife was jonesing and that was the reason we went in...).  The nachos were for shit.  Crummy chips, not like blue and white corn, just some cheap ass corn chips.  I got a Marguerita.  who can screw up a 'Rita?  Well, it wasnt bad, mind you.  Sammy has his own signature brand of Tequila...  but when I realized I was charged 13 bucks....  I thought she billed me for two, then I thought maybe it was a double.  Recheck the menu and... hmmm there are no prices on the 'Ritas.... well I'll be damned.... talk about caveat emptor...  Anyway, it was a mediocre 8 buck marguerita.  Talk about hype.

You know Vegas is about hype, nothing new there.  But I think I spent about 18 minutes in the Hard Rock.  I've been to the Hard Rock in Cairo and it was a cool place.  Pretty small with cool memorabilia on the walls.  This place was massive and impersonal, but man, the fucking POSERS.... everywhere.  I mean, afterall, it's just a casino....  Staying there or playing there doesnt make you Angelina.... hell I doubt she would be caught dead there...

But this idea that I might go to a restaurant because it has the name of a rockstar... or stay someplace just because it is expensive or has some name association... that is just plain dumb.  I just because you make great music doesnt mean you know shit about tacos...  Just because Elvis was the King, and he owned caddys and Harleys doesnt mean he could wrench on them.  Well, let's not bring Elvis into this, he hasn't done anything wrong....

So, it's time I get this off the ground.  I have a couple blogs, but I'm done with them.  I'm done with politics.  I want to spend some time with shit that makes me happy, not aggravated.  Anymore than computers aggravate just by existing...

....... hang in there

~mike  

 Technorati Tags: motorcycle, v-twin, chopper, its a chopper baby

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