The Life and Times of Bandit

First Panhead A Motorcycle Deal Based on Trust and Honor By K. Randall Ball It was 1975 and I was on one of the few major So Cal runs a year – the MMA ride to the outskirts of Fresno. A year before I had lost my toe to a stretched 1968 Shovelhead, fixed the […]

First Prison Run By K. Randall Ball This was a strange one in awkward times. I was working at Easyriders in 1972 and filtering through thousands of letters from cons. We discovered some truly talented brothers behind the walls. A few became some of the best writers, illustrators and brothers we ever met. Some were

Easyriders Blues By K. Randall Ball It was 1973 and I’d been working part-time for the magazine for about a year, making $50 a week while going to college. I was learning to write in the classroom and Frank Harding, the managing editor and recluse, was unlearning my college education and teaching me the art

1970 Triumph Experience Merging Brotherhood, British Bikes and Mechanical Surprises By K. Randall Ball This tale takes me back to my early days on Harleys. My first Harley was a new, 1969 XLCH Sportster–an absolute classic machine, one of the last. I spotted it in the window of Long Beach Harley-Davidson and fell in love.

Makin’ Junk Run By K. Randall Ball I have a bitch about those who complain about guys who can buy new motorcycles, or trailer to events or even afford to have customs built. I got into custom bikes because of the freedom. I could do whatever I wanted and fuck anyone who didn’t like it.

The Story Of One Fine Rat Bike By K. Randall Ball I’ve mentioned in other articles how I started out buying cop bikes from Los Angles police auctions, fixed them up and either rode the shit outta them or sold ’em. It was a poor guy’s way to make a little extra cash on the

Yuma Run Once More By K. Randall Ball This is one of those strange stories about the past that conjures up a bushel of memories. Until recently I never thought much about the Yuma Run, then it dawned on me that it was the first serious run I tried. A couple years later I went

The Steel Mentor A Little About Growing Up In The Shop By Bandit This issue I thought I’d touch on the art of building motorcycles, the desire and the talent. Many of the old school guys want to point fingers at those who don’t do their own work. On the other hand, if we didn’t

The “Outlaw” In Me By Bandit I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the club I was in the ’70s. I wasn’t the kind of outlaw they needed at the time so I resigned. There was considerable violence then and I took my part, but that wasn’t me. As the years

The Wrong Arrest Or Was That The Wrong Girl? By Bandit Last issue I mentioned that I’d jump off the confessional and spring forth with violence, clubs, and action this issue. Since Laughlin just rocked the world, I’ll stay away from my history with patches and let the current dust settle. This issue, we’ll step

Asphalt Treks, Chrome Missions Bandit Reflects On Life In the Saddle By K. Randall Ball Hey, Someone told me recently that I have some fleeting knowledge of the bike industry, that what I have to say about the past, my bikes, and other shit might have some consequence. I tried to convince them that I

Jumped A Couple of Decades Tearin’ It Up On The Streets Of Sturgis By Bandit I don’t know why I leapt from the ’70s to the ’90s? Suppose it could have been the date, the first of August, when I would usually be cutting a hot dusty trail to Sturgis. The year in question was

My First Outlaw Learning About Motorcycle Geometry From The Seat Of My Pants By K. Randall Ball It was in 1970, and I didn’t know many riders and didn’t really care to. I suppose it was a personality flaw. I was recently released from the Navy after three tours in Vietnam, and I was taking

I’m looking down the barrel of 2012. The New Year is less than a week away, and we are scrambling to get my son’s Mudflap Girl FXR running and off the lift. It’s been an interesting time for me. Nyla keeps harping on slowing down, but the projects keep coming. I thought maybe I was

I pondered packing light for the Long Ride, and the packing plan goes all to hell in the blink of a high beam. I started with my Bandit’s bedroll, and handful of skivvies and clean socks, a couple of shirts, and then helmet laws jumped into the mix. My mission included flying from Los Angeles

          You’ve seen everything scrambling through my world over the last decade on Bikernet, so it’s been difficult to write a Life and Times. Besides, I should have been dead 15 years ago, shot by some sweet ex’s old man while sipping my last Jack Daniels at a harbor town bar.

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

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

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

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

The early 80's were the glory days for my generation. We were out of school, young, our whole lives ahead of us. We lived fast, partied like each day was the last. We thought we'd live forever as the age of 40 seemed a million miles way. Most of the people around me worked the

A note from Crazyhorse: I was going through the Cantina and saw that you were featuring the old stories of our lifestyle. So I sat down and wrote this. It's my story of how I came to be the person I am. I have a few other stories, good old crazy adventure stories from the

As its first full time employee Keith Bandit Ball knows the history of Easyriders Magazine, as well, or better than most. For almost 23 years as Editor he set the tone and flavor of what used to be called the “Bikers’ Bible” under the direction of Lou Kimzey and later Joe Teresi. Besides Easyriders magazine,

Tom on right. I've known Tom Rodan since the early '70s. He owned a shop in Tujunga, California until a divorce ate it. He now restores vintage motorcycles with Don Whalen. Tom encountered motorcycles as a kid living in a ghost town of 450, in Watts, Oklahoma about 100 miles from Tulsa. Even in this