This Month's Header, A Little Knucklehead

This months header's art is from a small painting I did of a friends bike back in 1995. If my memory is correct, it was a rare 1942 model. I used a H-D factory photo from a 1939 model for reference and then made changes to match his bike. He ran a 18" wheel in front and a 16" in the back. One mistake, I retained the smaller size of the earlier model's air cleaner.

Knuckleheads Rule. Ruler and penny for scale.


Getting old sucks. It even surprises me the level of detail I use to paint without the use of reading glasses.

The Art of the Engine #3 & 4, Grime Time

It's been a long time since I last did an Art of the Engine post, so here's two old crusty nuggets.



A recent non running barn find. 1948 UL in a '51 frame.





A 1938 Knucklehead Bob Job at Born-Free 3. It features many chromed parts including the forks, which leads one to think it was a real pretty bike back when it was first bobbed.... It's still a beauty in my book.



I actually prefer old bikes with their "earned patina" over ones that have been freshly restored. At most gatherings, bikes like these usually get more onlookers than clean fresh bikes, but many still don't get it and hastily erase all the signs of time and originality. The guys that get my goat, are the ones that take real nice original bikes, and repaint and re-plate them just because they ain't perfect. Keep in mind, any old pile can be re-plated or painted but an old motorcycle or part is only original once!

WHAT SORT OF MAN READS MC ART?

A colorful character who's not afraid to express his individual style. In everything, from the bike he rides, the way he dresses, or the blog he reads. The kind of guy who knows where to find MotorCycle entertainment that's a perfect match to his own spectrum of tastes.

Last Saturday

I went over to the Gasoline Gallery for their annual art and street show (California Screaming 6). Maybe it was because I got there around 3 p.m. and the show started at noon, but compared to other years, there wasn't much left in the way of cool cars or bikes.

Is it a Harley, an Indian?... nope, a Rikuo! I've been meaning to do a post on them for a long time. Other than the Rikuo and the Shovel (way back in the distance), there weren't any other cool bikes to be seen.


I figured since there wasn't much happening outside, inside would be the same, and that would make it easy to photograph and look at art.... wrong. It was crowded and LOUD! so I only took a quick look around and split.


Overall I didn't see as much as usual that I liked.


This one stood out on that wall. The red dot signifies it's sold.


Ink on scratch board. There's a lot of work involved here.


Interesting but, not quite sure I get it?


This one was fun.


There's aways a lot of wacky monster stuff.

The art generally seemed very reasonably priced. It made me wonder how some of the artist could justify the time doing them and letting them go so cheap. Especially considering galleries sometimes get 50%.

I probably didn't hang for more than 15-20 minutes. Since I wasn't 'feeling' the hot rod beatnick crowd, it was time to blast over to The Garage Co. for Born-Free Night. I knew I'd be much more comfortable around bikes and bike people.


Small groups of bikers came and went for another night of Knucklehead gawking and barbecue munching.


Grant proving it runs....


.... and Kiyo proving it rides.


The evening ended with a raffle. Some lucky Son of a Gun won the Bear Co. seats. Claimed he never wins anything.

Blog of Note

I visit and bookmark more blogs than the just the ones listed in the right hand column. One of the better one's is Matt Olsen's, so it's about time its been added to my blog list. He and his father Carl, of Carl's Cycle Supply, restore old Harleys and do it right. The details and lengths they go to are amazing. They make their own or modify a lot of after market parts to be correct. Watching them do it via the blog is interesting and inspiring. http://oldbikesinsd.blogspot.com/ Warning! You can spend a lot of time going back through the post.

This one is not restored. It's an original paint '41 in outstanding condition.

Tattoo Progress

Ryan sent a progress report on his new tattoo.

The Knuckle Reaper was originally from my October 2010 Halloween header art. It got more reaction than any other art on the blog. Should I do a T-Shirt of it?

Knice Knuckle Kiyo!

I was really late getting to the Garage Co. unveiling of the Born-Free Knucklehead last Saturday. I hate going to bike events in a car, so earlier in the day I paid a visit to my friend Larry Settle's shop to drop off some parts and hopefully get a new battery for my bike. He had one. It had been a really long time since I'd been there, so I ended up hanging out until about 5 p.m. I then rushed home, dropped the battery in and took off.

When I finally got to the Garage Co., guys were still hanging around mesmerized by the Knuck.


The bike has good balance of chrome and black.


A Knucklehead on a Knucklehead? I certainly hope not. Grant prodded me to try it on for size. It fits me well, and I even like the color.


I've said it once and I'll say it again... you really can't improve upon the classic chop. While at first glance it might seem simple, there's a ton of hand made goodies on this bike.


Kiyo making some post party adjustments.


Some lucky soul is gonna win this bike. This could be you!

Captain Knucklehead

While looking for something completely unrelated, I stumbled upon this photo today. Seemed appropriate. Have a Good Holiday!

Long Beach Swap 7/26/09

Some shots from Sunday's swap meet.

Kaptain Knievel. It would be fun to have a Sportster street tracker.


Hot Chicks?... Sexy Pipes? Proof that at least one set of these were sold.


What do you call a bike like this? Sort of a Fat Bob Dressed Chopper. You tend to see these types of bikes at swap meets. Bikes that have all kinds of little custom features and touches of creativity.


Note the kicker cover type electric starter. While I appreciate the engineering, I don't totally see the benefit of this set up. This starter system was featured on Bikernet.com a bit ago.


Shoot'in the breeze while shopping for shovels.


That's one "S" load of shovels. And I thought they all left the country.


I overheard that this was a Von Dutch piece. Sure seems like I've seen it somewhere before. I believe it's steel. Possibly from a Beemer or Brit bike?


I'm sorry but, sometimes I get more of a kick from what's in the background of a photo. That defies gravity! No Photoshop folks. My apologies to the bike's owner, I was truly just shooting the bike.


Cool color. Hard tail stretch is a tad long for my taste.


In a sea of newness. Yet another example of an old swap meet blend bike. Bike served as an advertisement for the owners engraving skills.


Along with engraving, it makes use of bullets, horse shoes, chains, and barbed wire. It just doesn't make sense (to me), to put a great old mill in a after market frame.


I like it.


Noot will appreciate these. Trivia question: Can anybody tell me (besides Noot or Dr. Sprocket), what's special about the bags? Just some stuff I bought.

The Thing

I had seen some old pictures of this bike on some other blogs awhile ago and I was surprised to find that it's still around. It's in a feature on Bikernet.com right now along with a new Evo version of the bike built by the original bike's builder son. It's too bad the feature is mostly focused on the newer bike. Perhaps there's plans for another feature? It also appears the Thing now has new S&S cases. Makes me wonder how much of the original is intact? Yes, I know, racing engines tend to blow up.

Warning!... there's a couple of scantily clad women blocking most views of the bike. http://www.bikernet.com/bikebarn


I just found this old shot I had saved.