David Mann LA/Southbay Style

I've been thinking I'd like to post some more stuff that relates to this month's header but, have also known, I'm way overdue for posting some David Mann art. Then, as I was clearing out some files, I ran across this:
Was Dave purposely portraying a South Bay Chopper?

You might remember this from one of the Chopper Fest flyers. There's quite a few things of interest going on here. 1. Off hand, I can't think of any other of Dave's work featuring American 12 spoke mags. 2. The springer's front legs has a round perch like Dick Allen's did. 3. He's sort of revisiting the Hollywood Run with the sign and search lights. 4. It's signed Roach 1975, meaning it was done for Roach Studios, an old (t-shirt and decal), competitor of Ed Roth. Dave wasn't the only one that jumped ship. After Roth folded up shop, Ed Newton went over to Roach as it's art director. BTW Roach Studios has been rekindled and is now once again selling Newt's old designs.

All this, and the fact that my Google stats consistently show that the largest number of keyword searches are related to Dave's art, means there's a huge audience out there hungry for it.

Have a

AEE's Big Twin Lives...

...well, sort of.

I thought I had read somewhere that it still existed.

Blog reader Stu, sent an email to let me know it's on freewh33ler.blogspot.com explaining that it's for sale on ebay right now. Item#170675591779. Note the outboard wheel is just placed here for the photo since it is both unbolted and inside out.


The replaced fork and front wheel assembly totally sucks and betrays Ed Newton's original elegant design. It originally showcased a narrow AEE Springer (which is how it looked the best). When AEE repainted it to this color scheme, they replaced the springer with a rigid girder style fork (not the current forks). You'd think that if anything would have been pirated, it would have been the engines.


Someone had the brilliant idea (NOT!), to modified the frame to accept a blower.


Besides the fact that they shouldn't have modified a classic show piece, the blower mod kind of ruins the effort of the reversed heads of the left side. The original intention was for the pipes and carbs to be a symmetrical mirror image of each side. The listing mistakenly states that machining of the flopped heads was done by Harley, it was actually performed by AEE's own machine shop. Good God, what happened to it's seats?!!


Note that it was licensed and tagged up to June 1980, meaning it was likely driven on the streets.


My vote would be to put it back to it's first incarnation's paint and forks.

I guess it's better that it has survived in this shape than not at all. Now all that is needed is for a rare individual who has the means and desire to rescue and restore it to it's former glory.

Hardly David 3

Also from Choppers Magazine Nov. '69 issue. These cartoons are always signed Luke? As mentioned before, they look like they could be Ed Newtons work.

Sano Trike Orgins

I've been meaning to post this cool ad for Himsl Trike Bodies for some time. I didn't just want to post it and leave it at that, but rather to show how it relates to other Heros of Chopper History.

The design of the body brings up the question, who first designed this style of trike body?

An Ad for Himsl trike bodies. Love the illustration. The art is not signed, but I have a strong suspicion it was done by Ed Newton. From the July '71 issue of Choppers Magazine.


Art Himsl's Preying Mantis as featured in the larger Nov. '70 Choppers magazine. It had been previously featured in Roth's July '69 digest sized Choppers magazine. Both articles mention the sale of the semi mass produced bodies. The first article calls it the Himsl Brother's Mantis and mentions Art's brother Mike. Art is still going strong but, what happened to Mike?

Because of the dates mention above, I'm sure Art's design was influenced by Roth's first trike, The Candy Wagon.

The trike won Custom Bike of the Year at the '69 Oakland Roadster Show. Art's Alien show car can be seen in the garage in the background.


Roth's Candy Wagon on the Dec.68 cover. One might assume that Ed Newton designed it, but it may not be wholly true.


The article inside shows Newton's early more ominous designs featuring booze related items plus a machine gun. Roth wanted something more kid friendly. Note that the high back seat body is absent in the drawings and nothing is mentioned in the article of the seat body's design orgin.


Was another Roth artist, namely David Mann, the one really responsible for the Candy Wagon's seat/body? Notice the pipes too, and compare to the Candy Wagon cover above. Did Roth decide on the style after seeing this? Did Dave do it after seeing the CW or see another sketch of Newt's, or visa versa? Based on this art and the date, I think Dave had the idea first. Roth published this poster in '68.

World's Fastest?

When? ..... it's a Cool Decal, anyhow.

Ed Newton, Big Twin Again

Ed Newton, Art Hero 3

Here's an old AEE/ Ed Newton ad I kept from a 1969 Cycle Guide.


Ed Newton had been doing all kinds of cool art and designs for Roth. Since Roth and Tom Mc Mullen were friends, I guess it was natural for Newton to design the Big Twin. During this period, nobody was doing cooler stuff than Newton.

Hardley David

For the Hippy Haters

This cartoon used to run in the back of Roth's Choppers Mag. They were signed Luke but it looks like Ed Newton's art.

Ed Newton, Art Hero 2

We're on a black and white art roll.

Another by Newt. In my book, he's The King of Line Art! I love that the whole ad was hand drawn with only the photos of parts and body copy dropped in. Even the name of the shop is hand lettered. You'll never see an ad done that way today.

Ed Newton, Art Hero

Ed Newton produced most of the best T-shirt, decal and concept art for Roth Studios in the 60's. I took this photo of the original art at the preview for the Brucker auction in May 2006. The detail and line work is unreal. His art is almost too good for t-shirt printing.

I can't tell you how cool it was to see the originals of art, that up to that time, most I'd only seen the size of postage stamps. There were a bunch of others but, because they were roped off, you couldn't get close to many of them. My memory says most sold in the $5k range.

The Master himself, on the left
Photo: Dave Lindsay

That day, I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Ed, talking with him, and hearing him speak of those days.

When I was very young I would look at the ads in hot rod magazines and copy his work thinking Roth did them. A little later I realized Newt did them. I knew back then that this work was in a class of it's own. It is definitely among the most inspiring in my life.

I'll be posting more of Ed 's work.