RIDE WEIRD

DON'T RIDE WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO RIDE. Odd bikes, helmets, and alternatives to really stupidly expensive moto accessories.

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Fighting Man of Mars: By Frazetta 

Painted by Jon Raleigh.

December 6, 2015

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Clean as fugg. Molly Hatchet-esque.

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@diddifuentes gots that gangster lean

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Lemme get that helmet.

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Someone give me this.

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This might just be the first motorcycle I ever fell in love with.  At 17, I’d never really seen anything that compared to it.  The novelty of the name alone intrigued me and I had to know more...

BEHOLD! The 1999 Excelsior Henderson Super X.  Made for only 2 years, production stopped just short of 2000 total units.  It was the first all new American cruiser for decades and, arguably, it failed miserably.

When the company was brought out of mothballs in 1992, no one could fault them for being ambitious.  They designed and built a brand new bike from the ground up. No crate motors for these dudes (lookin’ at you early 2000s Indian Motorcycles).  Everything was a new design; from the 1386 cc 50 degree (weird) v-twin to the 5 speed box and hydraulic clutch. Along with a dealer network in more than 180 locations, everything looked ready to roll. Under capitalization did not seem to be a problem. 

That being said, nothing worked particularly well.  The cooling system (air & oil) was inadequate.  Factory tolerances were set too tight causing early bearing failures, and OH SOMETIMES THE TRANSMISSION WOULD LOCK AND KILL YOU.

Possibility of death notwithstanding, it is a really beautiful ride.  The green/cream paint is my favorite combo; and how sick are those forks?!

There were, last I checked, several factory fresh examples still for sale in Southern California in the $5,000-$7,000 range.  Buyer beware of course.  You should be able to find some that have had all the bugs worked out.  Excelsior Henderson became aware of the issues with the Super X and offered kits and plenty of tech manuals to overcome the factory defects.  Make sure, if you’re in the market, to get one that’s had the work done to it already or you’ll be dropping another couple grand at least.

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If you’re like me, you’re looking at image #3 up there and your thoughts are something like, “Oh God, kill it with fire!”

Bear with me here. (Remember to breathe.)

Were money, time, skills, space, tools, and other things summed up in the word “life” not a factor, I’d take a minute and seriously consider combining picture #1 with picture #2. Why?

BECAUSE IT’S WEIRD.

For you aficionados (read hipsters, don’t get mad because I are one) out there, the top pic is the Harbortown Bobber, and it is SO choice, if I’m allowed to quote Ferris Bueller. You can check it out in some pretty sweet videos at choppertown.com if you like.  I recommend it.

Pic #2 is a complete front end kit for a Model B Ford offered by SoCal Speed Shop for a surprisingly reasonable price. Again, check it out on their website. Use a google.

Does the Can Am Spyder represent everything I disagree with about motorcycling? Yes and no.  It does put butts in seats that wouldn’t normally find themselves there, and I commend them for that.  It’s not something a purist (hipster again) is ever gonna love, even if they enjoyed riding one.

On the weirdness factor alone, I want to someday see a 3-wheel bob in the wild. If you’ve seen one, or know of one, share it!

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Good Morning!

How awesome are these? Today’s first post concerns a company that I have a lot of respect for: Biltwell Inc.  

Here are two examples of the killer helmets they sell.  First up is the Gringo full-face, followed by the Bonanza 3/4. 

I really can’t say enough about these.  I own both, and I couldn’t be more pleased.  They’re comfortable, DOT, and have a great retro style.  Also: CHEAP.  Not cheap as in, “cheaply made crap,” but cheap as in, “the philosophy of this company is to get people’s butts onto motorcycles in an affordable way so let’s produce quality, affordable products.”

When I did my KZ bobber build, I bought a whole mess of things from these guys, and they were all top-notch in quality.

If you’re in the market for a new brain bucket but don’t want to shell out $600 for a new Shoei (and you actually want some protection) check ‘em out.

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For the second post of the day, I felt like I needed to see something a normal human being could afford.

These are three examples of kits from Ryca Motors built for the Suzuki S40.

Let’s take a minute to get past the fact that this is a 650cc motorcycle. 

(Breathe deeply. In. Out. In. Out.)

Ok, now that we’re all calm, let’s remember that not too long ago a 650cc bike would rip your face off.  In what I’ll refer to as the “golden era” of motorcycling (the 1960s), a 650 was among the larger displacement options available.  Also, these bikes are bomb proof. Air cooled, chain drive, fix-it-with-a-hammer bombproof.

Enough justification!  Just look at these damn things!  Suzuki S40s are cheap. Real cheap. These kits are cheap as a sumbitch also.  So you get a great looking, cheap bike that any monkey with some wrenches can build in a week.  You might not be able to do 120 on the freeway but you can’t have it all, dude.

Thanks to the dudes at Ryca Motors for opening up the world of custom bikes to people that either couldn’t normally afford it, or have no idea what a press brake or an english wheel are.

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Today’s first post: 

1930 Henderson KJ Streamliner

From the Frist Center for Visual Arts:

“With its 1,200-cc, 40-brake horsepower, in-line four-cylinder engine, the 1930 Henderson Model KJ Streamline could exceed 100 mph. In an era when streamlining was used sparingly in motorcycle design, American Orley Ray Courtney’s enclosed bodywork was virtually unknown on production two-wheelers (except for a few racing machines), making the KJ an unusual and beautiful example of Art Deco design.Courtney believed that the motorcycle industry failed to provide weather protection and luxury for its riders. His radically streamlined KJ body shell was unlike anything ever done on two wheels. The sleek vehicle had a curved, vertical-bar grille, reminiscent of the Chrysler Airflow, and the rear resembled an Auburn boat-tail speedster. The panels were hand-formed of steel with a power hammer.Stunningly beautiful but impractical and hard to ride, the Streamline’s complex curved body was heavy and was difficult to make. In 1941, Courtney filed for a patent for a second motorcycle design with fully enclosed fenders. Perhaps he was influenced by the fact that the Indian Motocycle Company had introduced its partially skirted fenders in 1940, and that motorcyclists were becoming more accepting of this trend.”

I recently had a chance to see this beautiful bike in person at an exhibit called Sculpted in Steel at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.  It was stunning to say the least.  The craftsmanship, the style; it’s worlds apart from anything you’ve ever seen.  I have no idea if it ever gets ridden, which would be a shame, but it is certainly well cared for.  It looks like it could have been built yesterday.

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INAUGURAL POST!!!

Gonna be doing a once a day (approximately, I need beer drinking time) update of the blog here.  I’d like to have discussions with everyone about interesting and ODD, OLD, or other not so well known to everyone bikes.  This doesn’t mean that I want to talk about your new Dyna that’s 1 of 1,000,000 made.

THIS HERE is a 1922 Ace motorcycle manufactured by the Ace Motor Corporation, started by William G. Henderson in 1919.  In 1923, a specially prepared Ace XP-4 broke a record by reaching a speed of 129 mph which was an incredible speed for back then. Production ran until 1924 and Ace ceased operations after filing for bankruptcy. Eventually Indian bought the rights and tooling to the Ace Motor Corporation. 

While out of most, if not all, of our price ranges, it’s still an extremely beautiful example of an early American motorcycle. Especially pleasing to me, in this era of nothing but v-twins, is the straight 4 engine.  I wonder how that was to ride.  

I would love to see some more shots of this bike, or even more, some custom bikes that this may have inspired. Any builders out there?