Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazouhai

Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazouhai Trailer from sahelsounds on Vimeo.

Holy shit this looks amazing! I absolutely HAVE to see this ASAP! Really digging this guy, Mdou Moctar's, guitar playing... and shit it's got motorbikes too.

Stray Cat Rock!

B-grade Japanese biker-chick films! One of my students put me onto these, there's a few of 'em. Stashing this here as a reminder to watch later!

HFoS vs VMX Chch

Wow it's been a while. I've been busy as hell since returning to work and I've also been trying to aclimatize to the winter here! Anyway I've been squeezing a bit of motorcycle related activity in...
A week or so ago now me and some of the lads went vintage motocross racing. We'd met a guy out at the rained-out Day in the Dirt event and he'd told us about these motocross meets that happen. They're organized by some local club who's name I can't quite remember right now? But yeah Bad Evil got the info for us, we all got up real early, dragged our shitty dirt bikes out of the sheds and headed for this field somewhere out off West Coast Road...

And what a day! The weather was great for start. That helped. The four of us who went had a great time even though none of us have ever done anything like this before. In fact we're all fairly new to dirt bikes at all! So I guess it was all kinda freaky at times, especially since we were the slowest there by miles, and we had what looked like 10 year old kids flying past us on 400ccKTMs and stuff like that!? We were supposed to be in classes, but they didn't seem to be too anal about that. It was kinda a free-for-all it seemed? Although we definitely avoided the modern big-cc races. Shit were they faaaaassssst. Anyway I made this stupid movie... I always use the go pro and then can't be fucked editing it together!? Mainly I just made this for the boys to see, but thought I might as well chuck it up here. It's kinda embarrassing I guess, but there you have it, our first day out VMXing... have I mentioned the week worth of all-over-body-pain that came afterwards?

Brit bikes doco

This is a really good 1hr BBC doco on British motorcycle culture. Really great to see something on motorcycles on the internet that is longer than 5 minutes, informative and watchable!

I was totally obsessed with the whole 50s/60s Rocker scene when as a teenager I got my first bike in the 1980s. Little did I know then that it (well cafe racers at least) would become such a big fad again now! It's nice to be reminded of what I liked about this stuff in the first place. I still think, despite being such easy hipster fodder, that the cafe racer is the ultimate motorcycle of the 20th century. Choppers get fucked!

Thanks Jimi for the link.

'Skaterdater' 1965

Ok it's been waaaayyy too long I know, but trust me T H I S  I S S U E  will be coming out in very early September! Stuart's coming in the last week of August and we are printing it then. The paper's here. The flexi's are here. We are ready to go, we just need the  T I M E . . .

In the meantime here's some fun on 4 wheels (with a soundtrack by the one and only Davie Allan):

Bullshit Hipster Bike Videos

This site is so fucking good, been pissing my pants laughing all morning! (While also being quite aware these guys'd probably include me in their sights...) Their old Tumbler is also worth checking out here.

BMW onboard gyro cam!

Some sweet onboard footage of Didier Grams on a BMW S 1000RR at Macau. (Cheers Tim for this one.)

The real peril of owning a Norton Commando!

Trailer for 'I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle'... thanks to Glen for this one! Anyone got a copy they can loan us?

Max Schaaf

Born-Free 5 Invited Builder Series-Max Schaaf of 4Q Conditioning from Born-Free on Vimeo.

I know this video is fucking everywhere at the moment, but fuck it Max Schaaf is a pretty fucking choice guy and as much as I thought I always hated Harleys I have to admit I'm really digging his bikes.

Watching this Born Free flick made me revisit this interview he did a while back for Slap Magazine (Max is an ex-pro skater), thought I'd stash links to 'em here (I'm not including the middle one though cause it's just about shoes):

The Black Biker Experience

This starts out kinda weird but its well worth watching for the first minute or two because it gets pretty good when old 'Sugar Bear' gets interviewed. The racism he's had to deal with in terms of bike mags wanting to show his bikes but not him is pretty interesting. His bikes are pretty amazing, especially his fork and front wheel set ups. I guess this is what he's known for, but me not being a chopper guy... well you know, it's all news to me! 

Stuart Page interview set for issue #3!

Just confirmed an interview with Stuart Page for the next issue of HFoS! Stuart made this video for legendary NZ band Snapper in 1988, along with a bunch of other awesome music videos for other kick ass NZ bands like King Loser (featured in HFoS issue #1). In fact it was a King Loser connection that motivated me to get in touch with Stuart – David Bennewith, while visiting recently, bought me a Chris Heazlewood 7" which, on the back, mentioned his buying a motorcycle off Stuart Page. The same motorcycle that appears at the end of this most excellent King Loser video (Dir. Stuart Page of course):

Werewolves on Wheels!

Especially for Matt Galloway. Haven't watched this yet but will as soon as I get a chance. From 1971 by Michel Levesque

Motorcycle Cannonball Run...

Pre '16!? Wouldn't mind seeing the full version of this sometime...

Kim Newcombe

You can watch this full doco on Kim Newcombe on the NZ On Screen website here.

I'd seen this a while ago but looked it up again today because I've been reading this book:

Which James Woodhams loaned me. It's a really bloody good read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

For those of you who don't know Kim Newcombe was an amazing rider and also engineer/mechanic, who essentially built his own bike using a 2 stroke Konig boat engine and then almost won the European GP. Almost, because he was killed in an accident before he could do it.

It's a really interesting story and obviously there's a lot more to it than simply him designing and building the bike. He has a lot of help along the way, esp from the Konig factory. Tim Hanna, author of the book, is very critical of the movie. I can't remember exactly why? But, as usual, I reckon you'd be best to read the book and then watch the film. Kim's wife, Janeen, is a major feature of both book and film, which can seem a bit strange at times. But obviously they were very close, and I guess a lot of the story inevitably needs to be told through her now that he's not around.

Anyway, if you're at all interested in motorcycles read this book! It's good.

Smash Palace Shearers Run

This weekend has taken on many names – Shearer's Run, Shepard's Run, Dude Ranch, etc... whatever the fuck it was it was totally fucking awesome and here, in real time, is the evidence.

Soundtrack by my recently deceased band The Grand Chancellors – Good shit! Best music video we ever could have dreamed of.

Big thanks to Andy for putting this vid together. And to Smash palace for organising this and to the Quake City Rumblers for showing some class. Can't wait til next one (gotta get myself a little bike asap).

London Hell's Angels 1973

Stuart sent me a link to this a little while ago. It's pretty interesting when viewed in comparison with the NZ one made at roughly the same time (which I posted earlier here).

Good viewing as a precursor to 'Antarctic Angels and the Unknown Blues' which is showing tonight in Christchurch! 7.30pm at The Brewery in Woolston. See ya there...

Together with their biker mates the Antarctic Angels, Unknown Blues thrilled and terrorised Southland audiences in equal measure. Featuring all the Unknown Blues band members and members of the Antarctic Angels, Simon Ogston's 52-minute documentary tells the complete story of the band and the biker gang for the very first time.

Christchurch - Wednesday Sept 26 & 27, 7:30pm, Cassels Brewery (followed by Rumble & Bang"/"Gone With The Weird")

TRAILER:

Late 60s / early 70s NZ biker doco (mainly Hells Angels)

 

Thanks to James McNaughton for sending me this link. I'd heard about this doco but hadn't seen it yet. Watched it lastnight, definitely worth a look. These guys were famously the first legitimate Hells Angels chapter outside the US. This NZ On Screen website is pretty good – a few other bike docos too, like the Britten one and also the Kim Newcombe one!
 

Antarctic Angels and the Unknown Blues

Dylan Herkes had told me this was in the making, and now, it seems, it is out! (Funny cause we were just looking at old photos of the Antarctic Angels HQ on Saturday!)

"Together with their biker mates the Antarctic Angels, Unknown Blues thrilled and terrorised Southland audiences in equal measure. Featuring all the Unknown Blues band members and members of the Antarctic Angels, Simon Ogston's 50-minute documentary tells the complete story of the band and the biker gang for the very first time. Email simon@bellbirdpictures.co.nz for a DVD copy."

Russ Meyer's 'Motor Psycho'

Not much of a 'motorcycle' movie really, especially since they ditch their scooters for a Toyota Landcruiser! But thought it was worth stashing here anyway... especially for the Quake City Rumblers.

Clutch Monkey

a prayer for cool from Clutch Monkey on Vimeo.