sunny wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


it sure was.

the one thing i got out of it is how to mount a savage engine in a rigid with a big fat tire.  i saw that jacking gear, and said  yes. thats how you do it.

i'm suprised he didnt win. while the MH bike was nice
it still looks like a piece of "motorcycle jewlery". to me.

I love that friggin show  . I think Russell Mitchell is the man. That show is my answer to my girlfriend gawking over american idol. If they ever put those 2 shows on at the same time, It may come to blows.

"Russell Mitchell is the man"
I agree on this one. I went to the Superbike show in Chicago and got to meet him and see his bikes up close. (got a picture with him to) I love his bikes. Flat bike and very, very clean.

The only biker build offs worth watching have Russel or the late Indian Larry in them. The rest of the bikes are just eye-candy for yuppies. Hank Young has some killer ideas, but the tanks he makes ruin the lines for me. Now, if they would put a Swedish builder up against Russel...just my opinion, I could be wrong.
-WD

Like you all, I really enjoy Biker Build Off ... prefer the "minimalist" stuff the best ... Russ Mitchell makes some cool Bikes ... miss Indian Larry though; I really liked how he was neither a "loud mouth" nor egotistical ... he also built really cool machines.
Really wanna see that Triumph 650 Chopper though ... Discovery hasn't run that episode up here in Canada yet ...

Got to agree about the new style of choppers, seems everybody is going out and getting the OCC eye candy type. There's a new custom cycle shop that just opened up near by. The prices start at $25,000 and go up to over $75,000 for some of the real radical ones. Lots of chrome boltons and some serious egos. I missed the Russell Mitchell show, will keep an eye out for it. Really enjoyed the way Indian Larry worked metal, he was an artist in steel, too bad it was his time. Seems that a lot of the crowd out there are trying so hard to be different but are ending up looking all the same. Whatever blows up thier pant leg, if it makes them happy, well that's fine with me. Just don't expect me to follow, I try to make my own path. Ride Safe

The absolute best Biker Build Off was Mondo (Denver's Choppers) vs Indian Larry. I couldn't handle it very well though. Larry was why I started building stripped down high bar bikes. Minimal tinwork, proportional tire and front end, hopped up engine. Only what was needed to make the bike go better and hold up better. In the memorial issue of The Horse Backstreet Choppers, there is a Larry quote that sums it up. "Give me that fancy showbike for a week. I'll bring it back a busted up pile of nuts and bolts".

Jesse James used to make nice stuff. OCC, if you ever put a wrench on it, you've ruined it. Eddie Trotta's Thunder Cycles...see OCC.

There are very few real builders left. Chopper Dave and the rest of the Misfits Club. Chica, if he leaves off the sculpted tanks. Sucker Punch Sally's. Fly-rite. Denvers (some of them are really nice). Some of the older Panzer bikes were really nice.

I think the entire custom HD based "chopper scene" is hilarious. Catalog customs, at best.

Harley Davidson Motor Company 1903-1964. R.I.P.
Indian Motocycle Company 1901-1953. R.I.P.
Excelsior Henderson ?-1931. R.I.P.

Real chop basis? Give me an aircooled thumper or vertical twin, maybe a ricer 4 banger for that late-60s or early-70s flair. The rest can rot.
-WD
Screwed up, Chopper dave is part of the Sinners bike, rod, rockabilly scene. The way it should be.