News Headlines 1948 A Bikernet Reader sent Bandit a pdf recently containing the entire Harley-Davidson accessory catalog from 1948, the year ol’ Bandit was born. There’s nothing better than the real deal, to bring the ’40s back to life. I believe our reader was Eric, and we are grateful for his efforts. We kicked it […]
Complete Harley-Davidson Accessory Catalog from 1948 Read More »
This is going to be a nuts Sunday on Monday Post. Sunday morning we were up at the crack of dawn loading the Bikernet Hearse for the LA Calendar show. Saturday night we worked until midnight trying to tune the 5-Ball Factory racer for the run to the Queen Mary Show.
MONDAY – SUNDAY LA CALENDAR SHOW POST Read More »
Hey, Life is nuts, but it’s still cranking along. Yesterday, I attacked something I’ve never grappled with before. I attempted to complete fuck up a perfectly good Sportster gas tank for our Peashooter project. It was the biggest stumbling block of this 1929 Bonneville bike effort. Two elements bothered me. I’ve never challenged myself to
SUNDAY POST FOR JULY 11TH Read More »
Hey, Happy 4th of July. We’re hanging out flags and celebrating Independence Day. We need to give thanks for all we have and had. We also need to keep the faith in this tenuous democracy, to do our part as citizens to steer this country in the correct direction. I wish we could quit
4th of July SUNDAY POST–Celebration Read More »
This was a turkey. Time is an issue around the Bikernet Headquarters. We’re running out of the shit constantly. Budgets are also a consideration, but brotherhood, our readers, and this dinky chopper industry are the highest priorities. So, we faced the following factors. We needed a larger budget to get Brittney to peel out of
Official Girl of Bikernet from 5-Ball Racing Leathers Read More »
Click on any photo to enlarge it and scroll through as a slide show There are custom motorcycles, modified bikes, and restored masterpieces. Then there’s this tour de force built around a 1921 Ace four-cylinder engine. Originally, this power plant sublimated the Hollywood movie industry on a MGM sound stage. “They used it to create
Hey, This has been quit a weekend, and Sunday is just kicking off. I installed modified late model points in the Doctor’s ’34 VL, and it runs like a champ. We discovered that the engine was filling with oil. We needed to drain the lower end more often. Friday Dr. Nuttboy came over and
SUNDAY POST FOR JUNE 27TH, 2010 Read More »
Hey, This is a strange Father’s day. I wish all you rat bastards a terrific holiday. I just rolled back into town from Dixon, California. We hauled a 1912 restored H-D single, a 1917 beautifully restored H-D, a 1914 unrestored running H-D, and my fav, a 1913 unrestored Indian single to the fairground
FATHERS DAY SUNDAY POST Read More »
I was thinking of purchasing a Panhead to fool around with recently. Owned two back in the day, a 1965 in high school and a 1959 later in college. After reading Rick Schunk's Panhead Restoration book this past tour offshore I thought perhaps an Evo instead to keep the cost down. I thoroughly enjoyed the
Anson’s Life and Motorcycles Read More »
I've got a story to go with this one. It doesn't have squat to do with Gard's shop, LA Chop Rods, or this too-hot model, Karlie Montana. We'll cover the shop aspect in the Tech Area, where topless girls are not allowed. On the other hand, we'll deliver most of Gard's product line, while explaining
LA ChopRods Girl of Bikernet Read More »
The beginnings of the 1916 Cut-down! Great news from the Wheels Through Time restoration shop! The 1916 Harley-Davidson Cut-down project is finally finished. I have to admit, this has been one of the most fun, and most challenging builds that I've ever taken on. About 8 months ago, I dreamed up this project after taking
1916 Harley-Davidson Cut-down Read More »
More content from my trove of old magazines. here's a review of the new Harley-Davidson Topper scooter from the June, 1959, edition of Popular Science. –Charles Plueddeman Oshkosh, WI
1959 Popular Science Issue Discovered Read More »
BIKERNET SUNDAY BAD RIDE POST–NEVER A DULL MOMENT IN BIKERLAND From Markus Cuff Hey, What a crazy year. If this is any indication of the summer schedule, look out. As soon as June hit, event exploded like a case of beer in the desert. This weekend BAD rides kick off around the country supporting the
The New York City Police Department was established in 1844. At the time, New York City's population of 320,000 was served by an archaic force, consisting of one night watch, one hundred city marshals, thirty-one constables, and 51 municipal police officers. Peter Cooper, at request of the Common Council, drew up a proposal to create
New York Cop History and Motorcops on 1938 Indians Read More »
I’m trying out my word processor to see if I can write a decent article with pictures. It seems to be working so far. Here is a shot of my ’06 Sportster that I built from a wreck. It was so totaled it never should have ran again. Since the frame was twisted beyond hope
A Brother Spills his Guts Read More »
Editor's Note: Here's an amazing find. I enjoy the flexibility Bandit and Bikernet afford us motorcycle nuts. We can bring you a feature containing a letter from the contributor, his motorcycle tale, an official vehicle appraisal, words from the restoration expert, and our Bikernet Extreme Tech Chart. How's that for a feature? In this case
1946 Knuck Restoration for Marc Read More »
I could swear I’ve hit this story before. I’m sure I’m mentioned it periodically. My first book was based on it. To set the intrepid stage, check what I wrote for Steve, the new editor of Iron Works, for their celebratory 20th anniversary issue: Every year opened with a straight-pipes backfire bang, and 1990 was
1990 The Stolen Bandit Bike Read More »
This summer I came into possession of a treasure-trove of vintage magazines — Popular Mechanics, Pop Science, Mechanics Illustrated and others — dating from 1939 to the early 1970s. I've got about eight big banana boxes full of them. Tonight I was flipping through a bunch and found this great story from the August, 1950
All New Discovery, Bonneville Report from 1950 Read More »
We're running shots of classic Brough Superior motorcycles with this attitude adjustment article. English motorcycles built from 1920 to 1940, they were the best of the best, hand crafted for the upscale rider. MOTOR CYCLE magazine once described them as the “Rolls Royce of motorcycles.” Don Whalen, antique motorcycle broker, confirmed that Lawrence of Arabia
Carrots, Eggs, & Coffee! Read More »
It’s not always the model of bike being restored, but the restoration process that shines. That’s the case with this scooter. This 1921 two-stroke Cleveland wasn’t the fastest, rarest, or most unusual bike of its era. It was a slow utilitarian, base-model, but Jim Watson restored every element of this machine until it was awarded
The Perfect 1921 Cleveland Read More »
This is the Parilla formula one racing iron used by the countess Maria Bandini “Mama” when she won the 1953 Italian speed ironing championship at Rome. The countess vanquished all her opponents with her tremendous, on the edge, display of blistering speed and amazing control over a track of both linen and silk, becoming a
Discovered, 1953 Italian Speed Iron Read More »
This is an account of a 100,000 mile test of Vincent Black Shadow in 1951-3. The motor was given to VOC Chairman Tim Kirker, reportedly for testing purposes. Back in 1951, Tony Rose set out to put 100,000 miles on his new Black Shadow and achieved this aim with relatively little in the way of
100,000 Vincent Road Test Report Discovered Read More »
This is a strange one. I didn't plan to attend Laughlin this year, been there 10-12 times, done that. Then Joe Zanelli, the Primm Casino mob boss called. “I gotta contact for you in Laughlin; give Sin Wu a call.” That was the first of several Twilight Zone encounters leading to the Laughlin Run. Can
In the case of this rare V-twin we stumble across a document written to motorcycle collector and boss of Sierra Madre Motorcycles, a restoration plant, Don Whalen. We were able to yank the soild document from his tight fist as we listened to his Merkel history lesson. The letter was written by former owner Doug
Amazing 1913 Flying Merkel Read More »
