Cantina

Speedway Racer Mystery

Here’s a strange one. First it starts out with a strange connection, Jim Murillo, of Jim’s Cycle Painting, in Gardenia, California. He’s a recovering something or other, who roams the streets of Los Angeles doing, I don’t know what? If you call his shop the answering machine always picks up. “This is Jim’s Custom, err,

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A Tribute To Snuffy

Got an award from W. S. Harley for something designed for early Sportsters. Good Friend past back in November, 2005, Don 'Snuffy' Smith. One on the best Harley mechanic's around. He was a flat tracker back in the '40s and '50s. Everyone up in the Hi Desert went to him for lower end work. But

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H-D History Files

Last night at 2:00 a.m. in the morning the Bikernet Corporate bell clanged at the entrance to the Los Angeles Harbor ghetto Bikernet International Headquarters. We scrambled for our sawed-off shotguns recently loaded with massive 12-guage slugs. Clammoring down the steel ship's stairs we set up an armed perimeter around the gate and on the

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Notorious Slugs

This was a 5 by 7-inch mag on how to extend a Springer and fork tubes with slugs (I thought those were slimy little creatures). This is what they came out with before they started making one piece tubes. This “how to” booklet was about 20 pages. It didn't have a date, but had to

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Unsinkable Sidecar

Not only had Green Valley, CA master metal fabricator Bob Foster aka The Alloy Cowboy never built a boat before, believe it or not, this was Bob’s first project involving woodworking, and he has no woodworking tools. He does have some metal working equipment…a bowling ball, a shotbag and a mallet he made about ten

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Ed Roth Discovery

We try to bring you the wildest finds in the world when it comes to Choppers. Deano contacted me recently and offered to scan his collection of Ed Roth’s, TV guide sized chopper mags, from 1968. Check these out and we’ll bring you more in the near future, thanks to Deano. Imagine that these mags

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BIRTH OF THE FACTORY CUSTOM

Here’s an original boat tail, 1971 Super Glide. MILWAUKEE (July 23, 2005) – Even 35 years after its introduction, the 1971 Harley-Davidson FX Super Glide remains one of the definitive motorcycles in Motor Company history. Distinguished by its long “boat tail” fiberglass rear fender section, the FX Super Glide combined the Big Twin FL chassis

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Two Maybe Good

“Rare ’14 Pierce Arrow, first American inline four-cylinder motorcycle mnufacturer.” Brinnnnnng! Like a nattering nabob dropping wolf bait, the phone clanged its irritating morning staccato. Brinnnnnng! Now coming on like a moon calf, but more insistently, the possessed device demanded attention. Brinnnnnnnng! Like Pavlov’s dog, I grabbed the phone instinctively, drooling. “Yeah, who the hell

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Rarest Indian Of All

Hang on for this story of competitive Indian lore and antique motorcycle controversy. “In July of 1926, Indian debuted its all new, Charles B. Franklin-designed, race motor at the Altoona, Pennsylvania board track,” Said Dan Statnekov the previous owner. “The machine lapped the 1 and 1/4-mile wooden track at a speed of 114 mph and

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5-Ball Song Discovered

Charlie Brechtel’s Newest Hit—5-Ball BluesThis song is based on Bandit’s life and times. You may wonder why his company name is 5-Ball, Inc. We’ll it’s because he was married five times and named it such as a tribute to all the women who have crossed his path. “I’ve been extremely passionate about two aspects of

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Glenn H. Curtiss

“The fastest man in the world…bullets are the only rivals of Glenn H. Curtiss of Hammondsport.” – 1907 newspaper headline Thursday, January 24, 1907. Ormond Beach, Florida. Glenn H. Curtiss, age 29, sits astride the test bench for his new V8 269 cu. in aircraft engine. When all was said and done, Curtiss was clocked

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CHASING PANCHO VILLA

Francisco Doroteo “Pancho” Villa and his 1914 Indian, one of the bikes used in the successful attack on Torreon in Mexico that year. Pancho Villa may be one of the most recognizable names in both Mexican and American history. He crossed the border and raided Columbus, New Mexico with 400 of his men on March

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Woolery Bullet

No, we're not talking the Buell or even the Italian-made Aermacchi H-D bought and rebadged by H-D..= The case of the Woolery Bullet is one of those odd sideroads in the history of Milwaukee Motor Co. It was a one-off built custom by the factory for the fellow whose name appears on the gas tank–

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The Very Best Bike

The Very Best Bike! There's been some yellin' there's been some cussin' there's been some fightin' and been some fussin'. The war's been long and hard and hot blood has flowed lots more than not. What's the beef and why the strife? Why the gun and why the knife? Lend an ear and get a

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Why So Formal?

When viewing early images of Harley-Davidson riders, their clothing always stands out. Instead of the black leather, jeans, bandanas and safety helmets of today, riders in the first decades of the 20th century wore very different clothing: Three-piece suits, shirts with starched collars, flowing scarves, long skirts and no helmets. To our eyes, they look

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