Shane Norrie's van

 

This is my friend Shane's van. It's no motorcycle, but it's the next best thing cause you can live in the fuckin' thing! And he does. And has done for years. Well actually he's had a few, this is his latest. I think he still owns another one? His plan was to have one in the North Island and one in the South Island. He has running water, internet, porthole windows, all sorts of shit, and he does it all himself. He knows all kinds of useful shit and will be a good man to know when it all turns to shit. He can be found making cocktails outside parties, or making coffee at the beach, and is an all-round general good cunt. We drove around the coast of Wellington on Sunday until this big southerly rolled in. Watching people running for their cars from the previously sunny and calm weather was a hoot! Good times.

Norton gearbox shell

Finally after many dollars, many miles, and many days, it is here! Taking this around to Alastair Mears tonight hopefully, so he can reassemble my gearbox on his bench and test it out there. Fingers fucking crossed this will be the end of my gearbox trouble (for some years to come at least!)? That big hole you can see there was the problem, it had been slogged out by the bearing on the mainshaft spinning in there.

Fuck you Customs

Mostly it's been pretty cool lately, things are starting to come in for the first HFoS issue, been talking about getting dirt bikes for the summer, you know that sort of shit... and have also been waiting around for my gearbox shell to show up from Norvil, getting all excited about getting this gearbox problem resolved but also feeling like I'm starting to run out of fuckin money to throw at the thing. And then BAM! This shit shows up in the mailbox. My gearbox shell is being held by Customs and they want my hard-earned before they'll let it go. Bastards. I have rung up and complained etc, and found out that anything over about $450 you bring into the country you have to pay GST on and also there's an 'Import Duty'. Shit I guess there's someone hard at work on my parcel and hey they gotta get paid for that hard work eh? No. Fuck you Customs. I already paid tax on this motherfucker when I purchased it from England. Anyway,  have now — of course — paid the theiving bastards, but am still waiting to see the  thing. Send me my fucking gearbox already.

Norton update

I'm currently waiting on a new gearbox shell from Norvil in the UK. Tried for ages to get one here, found a couple of secondhand ones but they had the same problem as mine. Basically the mainshaft bearing had been spinning in the case and had slogged out the hole. It was pretty bad actually, Alastair said it was the worst he'd seen in a while. Really hoping this is the cause of my problems, but he didn't seem convinced as he thinks it's a layshaft problem only. My thinking is that because the mainshaft was able to move, twist slightly even, in the casing, then it could be putting unusual force on the layshaft and pushing it out ever so slightly so that it would bind of the kickstart shaft. Anyway that's my theory.

Since I'm waiting on the case to arrive I decide to start work on repairing the earthquake damage to this bike (I have it strapped to a work-bench against a mattress now cause these quakes seem to be an ongoing fucking problem). I think all that's wrong is the 'Z plate' that holds the muffler on is bent, so took that off today and will see if John can straighten it (without it breaking) in a press or something.

Hoping to get this shit sorted and get the Norton rolling for the Mods and Rockers run coming up in August?

Born too late

This is my friend Pete and his Indian that's been sitting in his garage for ages. He finally got it roadworthy last weekend and took it to the 'Born Too Late' motorcycle show in Auckland. I can't quite believe this tractor is actually on the road. This bike was in the back of my van when it died going through the Desert Rd. The only reason my van went on the trip was to take this bike... which did nothing but sit around and look good. It never even started. And then it killed my fuckin van! Still great to see it on the road. And nice to see Pete hasn't 'restored' it.

I stole these images from One Percent magazine's blog here. (I gotta get the last couple of issues). Also spotted my good friend and ex-bandmate Andrew Tolley who must have been playing at the show...

Shit I wish I could have been there. I miss all these good cunts!

Just Deserts

I'm watching way too much footage of people ripping it up in the desert... I really need to get myself to one. With a motorcycle of course.

Christian's CB 350 Cafe Racer

This is Christian Condo's Honda CB 350, the one I mentioned in the previous post. Christian is the owner/operator of the Modern Motor Cycle Company in Melbourne. He's a great chap, and I was lucky to bump into him while he was riding around on our last day there. I heard this bike coming, and thought shit that sounds interesting and then this thing rolled up. I had no idea it was Christian until he pulled over and lifted his visor...

This bike has some amazing details; the speedo attached to the front right-hand-side fork, the incredibly low and swept-back clip-ons, the straight-through pipes, the tail-light... shit you'd never get away with that in NZ!

Modern Motorcycle Company

Just back from Melbourne where Stuart and I have been plotting HFoS first issue. It was a great trip, a lot of talk, a lot of eating, and a lot of drinking... shit I just couldn't keep up. It was great to see what else Stuart's been doing, some great stuff on his risograph (I shoulda asked for some samples to bring home Stuart?).

I got a bunch of photos of shit I might put on here, but I'll start with these...

This is the 'Modern Motorcycle Company', run by Christian (whose head you can see behind the counter there) in the same large warehouse space that Stuart's studio and risograph etc are set up in. This is a large space with a bunch of people all sharing the rent and doing interesting shit, it's called 'The Compound Interest' and can be found here. I've mentioned the MMC before on this blog, and I was pretty excited to get to see it and also to meet Christian. Stuart and I had planned to interview Christian on my last day there, but our organisational skills combined with various quantities of beer and whiskey the night before meant that it didn't quite happen. We will sort something out with Christian for this first issue though. Anyway that's the parts department (above), and this is his main workshop area (below)...

I've already posted photos of Stuart's CB175 that Christian is helping him rebuild, but Stuart has also purchased this 1920-something Triumph single which, until he gets around to it, is on display in the workshop.

There's also this great old James Captain that Christian is getting fixed-up as a 'daily runner' for someone. What a job!?

Christian was saying he's super busy, which seems like good news. But maybe he's a bit swamped? I don't know? Hey Christian if you want to employ a pretty crappy apprentice gimme a call yeah? This (below) is the engine out of Stuart's triumph... and some old race leathers Christian had picked up. Man it really was just a shop full of shit I coulda looked at for hours. Christian didn't have his bike there this particular day but i did catch him riding round town later on in the visit – I'll post some pics of his very cool little CB350 cafe job here later on. In the meantime... cheers Stuart, it was a really great visit. And Christian, it was great to meet you man!

James Oram's Honda

On Saturday night we went to Zina Swanson and James Oram's mid-winter Xmas party. James had already mentioned he'd picked up a couple of bikes that he'd been working on and so I was pretty keen to see them. He picked up this little Honda for about $500  and has made some great mods to it. James is an artist with a training in sculpture, so I guess he should be good at making shit, but even so for his first ever bike this is pretty fuckin cool. I really like what he's done to it. He made the seat and handlebars himself, and repositioned the battery. He painted the tank, cleaned up and painted the engine, put a foam air-filter on, and also wrapped the header pipes. It's amazing how cool you can make these little bikes look with not too much work. And it's a sweet runner too.

James got her started and I ended up going for a spin at about 2am and after quite a few drinks! (Got in big trouble with the missus and have had to promise not to do that again.) I didn't realise the tail light didn't go either, so I would have been an easy target for any prowling coppers. Anyway, got back safe and sound, and James put the lil' Honda back to bed (I love it when people keep their bikes inside the house).

James is actually selling this bike (already has a buyer I think), and has started on his next project (below). I can't remember what the hell kinda bike this is/was??? I know it's a big single, and was ugly as sin in it's original state. But he has big plans for this sucker, and has stripped it almost completely. he's getting the forks cut down soon... can't wait to see what he does with this.

Real keen to James to write something for the upcoming Head Full of Snakes publication...

New leather!

I've had a leather jacket search saved on Trademe for ages now, and finally it paid off. Scored this c.1970s NZ made 'Jet Leathers' jacket for $60. Fits pretty good, and looks a lot like the Lewis Leathers 'Monza' jacket, which I've always had my eye on (but which you can only really get in the UK and which costs well over a grand in our kiwi dollar!).

John's metallic purple 750 Commando

On Saturday I went around to John Taylor-Leigh's house to check out his new paint-job. His son-in-law did it. I was worried when he said he was going to paint the 750 he's rebuilding from the ground up PURPLE!? But when I saw this I can see it working actually. The photos don't show the colour quite right, but it's a great metallic, and I sorta get it now I think cause I've been looking at so many 70s choppers in Dice mag lately. I found out what he's actually trying to do is recreate a bike he used to have years ago...

 ...that's when he whipped out the photo album. Was great to get to see some of his old bikes, and pictures of him and his mates back in the 70s. Shit there was a lotta cool bikes around then. Now it's all just off-the-shelf Harleys. It's so boring. I guess it's why I have some admiration for John, keeping his  850 Commando on the road since the day he bought it in 1974.

And then there was this (below) – John had this made by the guy who ran Longhorn Leather. It's a picture of his 850, hand-painted and embossed into leather! I really like this – old school biker art at it's best, right up there with those paintings dudes in jail do on glass. Although no dragons or naked chicks, the material and process make this a real classic piece of work...

Some of my students could do with some Bill Hicks...

New lid!

Just ordered myself this Biltwell helmet from Byron at El Boneshaker, an online store based in Auckland. Apparently it's one size fits all, so I hope it fits! I can send it back if it doesn't, but from all the reports I've read online they really do seem to fit most heads... something about the foam they use and the elasticity of the shell. They have heaps of colours, and even some real chunky metallic flake ones – they were a bit flashy for me! There's also some that have been custom pin-stripped. Check em out here. They also stock Dice magazine and Greasy Kulture.
   Can't wait for my mew lid to show up. Hope the fucker fits good!?

Screenprinting with Phats

Despite being retardly busy I took time off (well I tried to!) on Tuesday to do some screenprinting with Phats. I haven't done any for years and I wanted to relearn the process. It was a bit fucked cause the screenprinting facilities at the school of fine arts have really gone to the dogs. There are screens that haven't been used/cleaned for years! We tried cleaning some real old ones off, but they are pretty fucked and the emulsion has really set in. It was good to go through this though cause I've worked out a bunch of shit I'm going to buy and keep in my office for future print runs.
   Phats wasn't ultra happy with the poster. He wasn't stoked with his design, he'd rushed it. But also the screen wasn't great. We made two, but both had their issues...
   Anyway, it was good to get my hands dirty again, and to remember that I love doing this kind of manual labour. This, ladies and gentlemen, IS graphic design!

Slippery when wet baggage carousel

This is something I photographed years ago coming home from Melbourne. It was in the international part of the Christchurch airport. I just rediscovered it now, and wanted to put it on here so I'd remember it. I mostly think about motorcycles all the time these days, but this comes from a time when I was still pretty interested in graphic design. Someone has put the 'Slippery when wet' sign onto the conveyor belt you get your luggage off. Why? It doesn't make any sense does it? Was it to warn people that the roads outside the airport were slippery? I doubt it. Was it just a joke by one of the baggage guys, someone having a laugh? Whatever it was it was really nice watching it go around and around. It would  become all broken and dislocated on the corners, then get itself together on the straight bits again, and then come to pieces again at the next corner. As if it was enacting its own warning.

How to have a good time

Saw this on Pipeburn this morning. Man this kinda shit makes me jealous. Why am I not having this much fun, fucking about with a bunch of cunts on bikes in the desert? Something is seriously wrong with my life. Interestingly enough, quite a few of the bikes here are Hinckley Triumphs too. Thruxtons I think. They've been treated to some good makeovers. The one with gold tank (off a 70s Honda?) is the one I'd found on the Dice blog and put on here a week or so ago. It's great to see it ridden. I had been thinking about getting an old Bonneville breadbox tank and trying to fit that to the Thruxton, this has increased my motivation quite a lot...

Thruxton Bobber

Hinckley Triumph hard-tail!? Plus springer front end. Far out.

Vincent Black Lightning 1952

Max sent me this link yesterday – a Vincent cafe racer from the Cafe Racer Culture blog. It was spookily good timing as I've been thinking about Vincents a lot lately. I've not been sure how much to say here about our upcoming content for the first issue of Head Full of Snakes, but this one's been interesting and tricky and can, I think, be discussed here...

Paul Elliman made a proposal to me, when he heard that we might be doing a flexidisc. The idea was to record the sound of a Vincent Black Lightning 1952 running. Paul's idea came from the Richard Thompson song 'Vincent Black Lightning 1952'.

I liked the sound of this... a record of a bike running, maybe starting up, being ridden past etc. Sounds like my kinda record! So, we started looking for a Black Lightning from 1952.

Not so easy. Turns out there were only 32 made between 1949 and 1952. Stuart found a 1951 in Melbourne. But we are still looking for a 52 model. I was thinking it would be very unlikely for one of these to ever have made it to ol' NZ... but of course we have been a nation obsessed with motorcycles and speed for a long time now, and I found this:

Christchurch-based Russell Wright making a landspeed record on a Vincent Black Lightning in 1955. Interestingly enough for me too, he did this on the very road that me and my teenage buddies used to go out to and race our little Hondas on. Anyway there's no mention in this as to the year of the bike. I searched for more info on that, and got this:

If this guy's right, this is that bike. Well the engine at least? And he says it is a 52. I was trying to find out exactly where this was though when I came across this on the Jockey Journal blog...

"The star of the collection was the Burns & Wright Vincent Black Lightning that Russell Wright rode to a world land speed record in New Zealand in 1955 at 185.15mph. They then took the bike to Bonneville in 1956 and it was left pretty much untouched after it was pulled off the salt - it even still has the same tyres."

This is it (above). In a private collection somewhere... I guess in the United States? So is this it? Is the other one it? Are they one in the same? Did Wright have two Black Lightnings (unlikely)? There's also this on the Jockey Journal:

"He was over here a few years ago and was reunited with his bike.That is the Sterling Silver Trophy that NZ gave them for setting the record. They raced at the Salt Flats and then they were broke and sold the bike to the then US Distributor, Harry Bellville.The fairing was loaned out and lost."

So that's Russell Wright (above), reunited with his Black Lightning. I guess the next thing to do is try and find out where the private collection is? And maybe find out where Russell Wright is???