Thanks again to Thor Drake, Tori George, ad the entire crew at See See Motor Coffee Co. for one helluva time at this year’s The One Motorcycle Show! I came home with so many pics I took (not so great) of bikes (great) that I’ve got to post– The1Moto PT. II! Until next year…
Yamaha XS650, Holiday Custom Motorcycles, wooden fenders | Photo by The Selvedge Yard
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1973 Triumph from @caseman / Red Clouds, super clean | Photo by The Selvedge Yard
See See Motor Coffee Co. delivered strong on year six, with a dramatic new venue and a shit-ton of incredible bikes. Smack dab in the middle of the old industrial space was a monstrous metal press that towered over the surrounding bikes– a sight to see in itself. Per usual, all were welcome– custom choppers, cafes, cruisers, scramblers, land-speed racers, and eh, minibikes! Lots of minibikes, and an outdoor oval track to ride them on to boot!
“Steam Hammer” 1960 Harley-Davidson FLH custom built by Travis at High-Test Speed drew lots of eyes and accolades at The One Motorcycle Show 2015 in Portland, Oregon. Even this little pooch had to do a double-take. [All photos © by Ashley Smalley for The Selvedge Yard]
It’s good people more than anything that are the heart & soul of See See’s The One Motorcycle Show— like friend & photographer Scott Toepfer, standing next to his custom Harley-Davidson flathead racer. [All photos © by Ashley Smalley for The Selvedge Yard]
Denim Dudes is a cool new book by Amy Leverton that profiles many of the top designers and innovators in the denim world. The photography is stunning, shot around the globe, as it tracks down denim gurus in the US, UK, Europe, Japan, and Australia. There are definitely some friendly, familiar faces. Like Donwan Harrell of PRPS, King of Japanese denim, and the first to bring it to the US years ago. Dude is world renowned as a leading authority on denim and washes. I was blown away that Donwan chose to wear the Blackbird jean made from 14oz raw Japanese denim that we collaborated on for The Selvedge Yard a few years back. It was truly humbling to crack the cover and see Donwan Harrell proudly wearing our jean. Damn. Thank you.
Dave Ekins, 1954 class win at Catalina Grand National Race, on a 250cc NSU Renn Sport Max. Photo courtesy of Bud and Dave Ekins Collection. “Blister goop, castor oil, and blood were soaked into what had been a new pair of gloves. I never rode that motorcycle again. They sent it back to Neckersolm, Germany.”
The anniversary of Steve McQueen’s passing is on my mind, as well as the Ekins brothers and the incredible motorcycling history that they forged separately and together. May their tales and achievements be retold and marveled-over by many generations to come. It’s that rich. Stories like this one (via budanddaveekins.com) from the lips of Dave Ekins himself, unpacking in firsthand detail what it was like to be on the first American ISDT racing team with Steve McQueen, Cliff Coleman, John Steen, and his brother Bud Ekins as they traveled, prepped, and raced together are utterly priceless.
“When the Erfurt trials was over and the British had finished second to the all conquering East Germans because some ‘Yanks’ had outdone the Limeys in a few of the special tests, an English journalist aired his views of the U.S. Vase team: ‘Those Yanks just came to have fun and were not a bit serious about winning. They were a bloody nuisance to our boys.’ But from Sid Chilton, public relations manager of Triumph of Coventry, came the reply: ‘I think the Yanks had the right idea. After all, nobody paid them to ride the International so why not make a holiday out of it? Even so, two of them won Gold Medals and one a Silver. The only objection I have is that they are all so bloody handsome!’ –Dave Ekins
One thing that Triumph figured out a long time ago in their quest for power and speed– if one engine is good, then 2 engines is even better. In the ’50s & ’60s Triumph motorcycles dominated the Salt Flats, even naming their 1959 T120 ‘Bonneville’ after the famed proving grounds. Now Triumph is back in a bid to reclaim Bonneville with the fierce as f**k twin-engined ‘Castrol Rocket’ developed by Castrol, Hot Rod Conspiracy, Carpenter Racing, and Triumph North America. The result is hands-down the world’s most technologically-advanced streamlined motorcycle.
It was great being a part of 1st Annual NYC Motorcycle Film Festival in Brooklyn last week. Lots of great films and filmmakers were exposed to fresh eyes hungry for inspiring motorcycle art, culture, and history on the screen. An interesting after-film Q & A brought up a seminal motorcycle film of the 1960s, “The Leather Boys”, not just necessarily for the striking “Ton-Up Boys” and bikes– actually more for it’s place in history for being the first British film to be rated ‘X’ for having homosexual themes than actual nudity of a graphic nature, per se.
I was first exposed to “The Leather Boys” as a teenage fan of The Smiths (it was a very influential and transforming film for Morrissey, and many young gay men in England). Clips and images of the film and it’s stars were used in The Smiths’ video “Girlfriend in a Coma” and their single, “William, It Was Really Nothing.” In a 1988 NME interview at the Cadogan Hotel (where Oscar Wilde was arrested), Morrissey even said, “I’m almost quite speechless now, it’s a very historic place and obviously it means a great deal to me… to be sitting here staring at Oscar’s television and the very video that Oscar watched “The Leather Boys on.” (The ‘Oscar’s television’ comment, obviously an impossibility, is Moz being snarky and insulting the intelligence of the NME reporter…) Hearing “The Leather Boys” being referenced all these years later by filmmaker Eric Tretbar (Girl Meets Bike), and Paul d’Orleans of The Vintagent made me want to take a closer look at the historical influence of “The Leather Boys”, of which there is several layers.
Rita Tushingham and Colin Campbell in the iconic British film, “The Leather Boys”, 1964.
So, I don’t know if you’ve heard– there’s a party coming to BROOKLYN. Iron & Air is throwing down for the release of Issue Nine at Fast Ashleys Studios— and you’re not gonna want to miss it. I might be slightly biased, but I ‘m pretty stoked that the bike built for me by Kevin Dunworth of Loaded Gun Customs will be unveiled that night, and will also be featured in Iron & Air magazine. There will be lots of local Brooklyn eats ‘n’ drinks– The Shop Brooklyn will be dishing out their special slow-cooked brand of goodness. And their will be plenty of badass bikes to ogle, and some cool art going on.
The TSY ‘Tramp’ a collaboration built by Kevin Dunworth of Loaded Gun Customs coming to Brooklyn.
Evel Knievel rode several brands of bikes during his career. He started-off on a 350cc Honda, switched to a 750cc Norton in 1966, then Triumph from 1966-1968, Laverda 750cc American Eagle from December 1969 to April 1970, and in December 1970 Harley-Davidson became Knievel’s sponsor and he began riding an XR-750– the bike he is most commonly associated with. Knievel has often said that his Triumph was by far the best bike he ever jumped with– “The Harley’s got a little too much torque when it comes to jumping,” according to him.
San Francisco, 1967– Evel Knievel’s ’67 Triumph Bonneville 650 T120 TT Special jump bike– love the “Color Me Lucky” paint job.
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Tonight 5/31 is Round 3 of the Hammarhead x Dunderdon collaboration event — the last in a 3 week series of Thursday nights at the Dunderdon SoHo shop. James will be finishing up the 2008 Triumph Bonneville that has been Hammarhead-ed to perfection each week at Dunderdon. In addition to the bike, there is the product collaboration to admire and shop– the deerskin welding jacket is getting a shit ton of raves. Click-through to check out photos from week #2, and come to the Dunderdon SoHo shop on Howard Street tonight to see the completed Hammarhead Industries bike.
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Hammarhead Triumph bike build — Photo courtesy of Hammarhead Industries and Shaun Castillon
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Tonight 5/24 is Round 2 of the Hammarhead x Dunderdon collaboration event — the second in a 3 week series of Thursday nights at the Dunderdon SoHo shop. James will be working away on the 2008 Triumph Bonneville that is being morphed before our eyes into an original Hammarhead Industries creation live at Dunderdon. In addition to the bike, there is the incredible product collaboration with one of a kind pieces– my favorite being this amazing deerskin welding jacket that James and Dunderdon designed based on an old relic of a photo. They were taken by the clean, honest construction and simple lines of the piece and how functional and timeless it was, not just for welding and grinding and such– but also for a blast around the block on your bike. What I like is that all the pieces of the collection is that they clearly have utility in mind, are no nonsense in design, yet the materials and trim are extremely durable and over-engineered, reminding me of the Hammarhead Industries bikes themselves.
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J77(HHI) Welder’s Jacket
The Selvedge Yard 