culture Articles
Dailies
This man is no longer a one percenter
Time to update the pop culture lexicon. Originally coined by “outlaw” bikers in response to the AMA’s response to the 1947 Hollister Riot, it used to be that the “1%” label referred to the small number of motorcyclists who weren’t law abiding citizens. Now? A bunch of punk kids have co-opted the term, using it in Occupy Wall Street protests to symbolize the income differential between ...
Oct 12, 2011
‘We are a tough people’ riding motorcycles in Colombia
American motorcyclists often fancy themselves the most capable, fastest, toughest and most daring on the planet (humble lot are we). Our rocketship sportbikes, huge displacement cruisers and tank-like adventure tourers boast customized performance and an array of after-market farkels that are the envy of motorcyclists in much of the rest of the world. From desert enduros to transcontinental Iron B...
Aug 17, 2011
Custom: Godffrey’s 1978 Honda CB550
For all the times you've stabbed yourself in the eyes watching yet another mustachioed wanker bent over in a race tuck going 35mph on a beater UMJ with clubmans and yanked baffles, this 1978 Honda CB550 café racer built to order by Godffrey's Garage is your respite. Dual through-the-frame shocks with piggyback reservoirs, hydraulic clutch, a handmade alloy tank, seat and swept back megaphones, ...
Oct 06, 2010
Kit: Protar Moto Guzzi 500 V8
Traction control that saves you from high-siding, cutesy lighting that points where you're going so you can see better, engine mapping and suspension settings changed by pushing a button to adjust to changing road conditions, intelligent ABS disk brakes, hell, brakes at all. Pfft. The Moto Guzzi 500cc V8 laughs at your silly, how do you say, safety features. One of the manliest fire-breathing Gr...
Oct 06, 2010
Dailies
1967 Diamond Jubilee Senior TT, FTW
The Isle of Man, Hailwood, Agostini, Pasolini, Williams, Blanchard, Uphill, Honda, MV Agusta, Benelli, Matchless, Seeley, Norton, even Vincent. Pre-race interviews with impeccable legends Geoff Duke and Stanley Woods and a post-race interview with Hailwood. The footage is a little murky, the commentary by perfectly cheeky Murray Walker is fantastically paced and suspenseful, and the sounds of the ...
Sep 07, 2010
Band of Bikers captures the East Coast gay biker scene of yesteryear
Perusing the selection at the bookstore, nothing's really different or odd about it. A smallish green square book with a yellowed old color photo of some drunk bikers back in the day. You see shots like that in the online LIFE archive and Max Schaaf's blog all the time. Walking closer, you read the hand-written title Band of Bikers in the lower left corner of the photo's border. Cool, a new biker ...
Mar 02, 2010
South Park calls Harley riders "fags"
While we generally bemoan the adolescent use of the homosexual label as an insult and would like nothing better than to see it disappear from our national lexicon, last night's South Park episode, "The F Word" was spot on. Entirely dedicated to mocking pirates Harley riders, the show at one point sees Eric Cartman consume four entire buckets of KFC chicken, then defecate on the seats of a group of...
Nov 05, 2009
Dailies
Are you a mod or a rocker?
From the 19 December, 1963 edition of Motor Cycle magazine: Sitting on the fence is out these days; if you're under 25 you must be either a mod (add "ernist" when consulting a dictionary) or a rocker. Perhaps you haven't decided where your allegiance lies. Or, maybe, you don't belog to either camp. In that case you are a fogey, old or otherwise.Here, then, is everyman's guide to mods, rockers and ...
Oct 14, 2009