Friday, October 29, 2010

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Bikes Only

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. This feature has been expanded to include Bikes Only and Trikes Only. These pictures are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Otter's 1992 Harley-Davidson Sportster XLH under Bikes Only. There are no Trikes Only, or Women or Men on Motorcycles this week. We need more pictures of men and women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

If you'd like to see your bike or trike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike or trike along with its description.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

BUD EKINS' GARAGE AT AUCTION


Legendary Hollywood native 'Bud' Ekins passed away 3 years ago after a life of hard riding, hard drinking, and irascible good humor.  Born James Sherwin Ekins (although he'd likely punch you if you reminded him) in 1930, 'Bud' had a little too much enthusiasm for cars and motorcycles as a boy, and spent time in reform school after being caught driving someone else's car...a stranger's...without the benefit of a key, or a driver's license.

By 1948 he had acquired his first motorcycle, a '34 Harley Davidson VL, which according to legend leaned against the wall of his father's welding shop.  His uncle owned the defunct machine, and offered to sell it to Bud for $10 if he could make it run.  Thus, the moto-virus was secured in his bloodstream, and he spent the rest of his life intimately involved with bikes, and a few cars.

He commuted the Harley to his job at the welding shop, not over freeways but on the rough trails of the Hollywood hills and along the LA river, before all became concrete and tarmac.  Pushing a large, heavy bike around in the dirt twice a day gave him valuable experience, and soon he was competing in local dirt races on the very same machine...not such an uncommon 'racer' in those impecunious postwar days, before the housing boom and general prosperity paved over LA.

A local dealer spotted Bud's riding talent, and offered him a Matchless single to ride in the Moose Run in 1951, which Ekins promptly won.  After further success, he turned pro, and within a year had sailed across the Atlantic to try his hand against the best in the world on the dirt, and make considerably more money, in Europe.   His first successes were in England, where he earned $200/week racing for AMC (Matchless), about ten times what he'd made in the US.  Shortly he would also ride in France, Spain, and Belgium, all of which had huge followings for scrambles - in fact some of the earliest sporting events on TV at the time were off-road motorcycle races.

He returned to the US in '54, and traded in his Matchless for a Triumph dealership in the San Fernando valley, set up by US importer Johnson Motors (now better known as a t-shirt company...).  Bud continued racing as well, winning the Catalina Grand Prix in 1955 and '57; he also won the Big Bear desert scramble twice.  His winning streak in SoCal was a great boon for Triumph in the US, and his skills handling tricky sand/dirt/rock terrain earned him the nickname 'the Desert Fox'.

Steve McQueen entered Bud's Triumph shop in 1959, and the two became fast friends.  As McQueen's star rose from a Western tv star to international movie star, he brought Bud along for help with film stunt work.  In 1963, during the filming of 'The Great Escape' near Fussen, Bavaria, Bud was employed to ride one of the most famous motorcycle stunts in history; 'the jump' over a prison camp barbed wire fence on a stolen German motorcycle (which transforms mid-scene from a DKW RT250 to a Triumph TR6 in dark green paint).  Of course, everyone thought McQueen had done the jump, as he preferred to do his own stunts, but the production company insisted he was too valuable to the film to risk injury, and Ekins leaped into infamy.  It's a compelling scene, and McQueen's cool demeanor in the film catapulted him to mega-stardom, and 'cool icon' status.  It was McQueen himself who credited Ekins with the jump, during an interview on the 'Johnny Carson Show' (now of course hosted by Jay Leno, a huge motorcycle buff - we are everywhere!), when asked about it: 'That wasn't me. That was Bud Ekins.'  For the jump, he was paid $1000, the highest compensation ever for a single stunt - and it was done in a single take.

During the long weeks of filming in Germany, Ekins entered the International Six Days' Trial (ISDT) in Czechoslovakia (he had entered once before and won a Gold Medal - eventually winning four Golds and one Silver during his career).  After winning his second Gold mid-film, McQueen, an excellent motorcyclist himself after personal tutelage from Bud, convinced Ekins to form the first-ever US ISDT Team.  Thus, in 1964, Ekins and his brother Dave, Cliff Coleman, and McQueen competed in East Germany, where they didn't fare well as a team (both Bud and Steve failing to finish due to injury), Dave and Cliff both won Gold medals.  The unreapeatable adventure of this ISDT is beautifully explored in the book '40 Summer Ago'  (Rin Tanaka and Sean Kelly), and if you're a McQueen or Ekins fan, you really should have it - the photographs are simply amazing.

In 1967 Ekins went on to partner with McQueen on the film 'Bullitt', with an infamous car chase over the San Francisco hills.  Ford was the beneficiary of incalculable publicity as Ekins launched a '67 Mustang Fastback over the sharp hillcrests of the City, smoking tires, sliding around corners, and making an impossible route through SF while chasing the 'bad guys' driving a Dodge Charger.

Bud Ekins retired from motorcycle racing in '67, but continued to run his motorcycle dealership and perform stunts in films, from motorcycle gang films ('Hell's Angels 69' - above, in a pic from the sale), to disaster films ('Towering Inferno'), and even James Bond films ('Diamonds are Forever').  When asked later in life which stunt scared him most, he replied, 'Pretty much all of them'.  Ekins died October 11, 2007.

His great love of motorcycles extended to vintage machinery, and Ekins had a very good eye for interesting early motorcycles and cars, eventually amassing over 150 machines.  One of his employees, Kenny Howard aka 'Von Dutch' (now better known as a t-shirt company...) painted many of Ekins' personal machines, some of which he decorated in his distinctive style of pinstriping and imagery.

Bonhams auctions has secured 8 vehicles from the estate of Bud Ekins, including 5 motorcycles, one 'loose' sidecar ('Mona', painted up by Von Dutch, above), and 3 'brass era' cars.  They're coming up for sale at the Petersen Museum in LA, on Saturday Nov. 13th. Also included will be photographs, memorabilia, trophies, tools, racing jacket, and ephemera from his friend Steve McQueen....it's entirely possible the total sale from the 'automobilia' will exceed the vehicles, given their provenance!

You can check out the entire collection here at the Bonhams website.

Ducati DIAVEL


Here's the only picture we've seen on release of Ducati's new bike the DIAVEL which is being official released at the Milan show. Ducati have used  the local Bolognese dialect word for “devil” in naming their new model Diavel – pronounced Dee-ah-vel.

Technical deatils released so far include  ABS, Ducati Traction Control and Ducati Riding Modes the Superbike-derived Testastretta 11° engine and  weight of 207kg (456lb).

Ride safe.

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://bestmotorstyle2011.blogspot.com//
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/  

 

New bikes from Kawasaki

Kawasaki have recently announced  exciting new/revised  bikes for 2011, they are:-
The Kawasaki Z1000SX

The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R
The Kawasaki VN1700 Voyager Custom
 The Kawasaki W800

The Kawasaki Z750R
These will be available to see at the forthcoming Carol Nash Live event at Birmingham’s NEC later this year. More info about these models can be found on the www.inter-bike.co.uk site.

 Ride safe.

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://bestmotorstyle2011.blogspot.com//
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/ 

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Stupid-Glide Tanks

4-Sale SOLD

1984 original paint super-glide tank. Go to my parts page (MCparts), for more pics.


Origins, last of their kind.


My new favorite tanks for an FXR.


Great Looks, More Filling. H-D use to put them on touring model Sportsters in the late 70's, Roadstsers and XLS's in '79- '83. The Torrance P.D. had them on their XL's too.

Stupid-Glide Tanks

4-Sale SOLD

1984 original paint super-glide tank. Go to my parts page (MCparts), for more pics.


Origins, last of their kind.


My new favorite tanks for an FXR.


Great Looks, More Filling. H-D use to put them on touring model Sportsters in the late 70's, Roadstsers and XLS's in '79- '83. The Torrance P.D. had them on their XL's too.

Kawasaki Recalls 2009-2010 Vulcan for ECU Problem

Kawasaki is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 Vulcan motorcycles.

The engine may stall if the rider is coasting with the clutch pulled in due to an improper setting of the engine control unit (ECU).

The number of units has not been specified.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - ival

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. This feature has been expanded to include Bikes Only and Trikes Only. These pictures are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See ival's 2003 Honda Silver Wing scooter under Women on Motorcycles. There are no Trikes Only, Bikes Only, or Men on Motorcycles this week. We need more pictures of men and women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

If you'd like to see your bike or trike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike or trike along with its description.

Then Came Red Neck

Now, I don't want you to get the impression that most South Bay Bikes had goose-necks. It's just that after Rich's comment in the last post I figured why not post the scooter he was talking about.

Peace dude! No it isn't Jim Bronson, but rather the late Phil Ross, and yes Gardena is one of the south bay cities. This was the first of this type of goose-necked bikes I remember seeing.


This was the cover shot for Street Chopper May 1972. I know exactly where this photo was taken as I ride around this very corner every chance I get. You can see by Lynn's big smile in all the photos that indeed the ladies like long chops.


Check out the sissy bar and seat. Thanks to Joe Hurst, there's that South Bay Swoop again. When this bike was featured Phil had an auto upholstery shop. Joe told me he use to have Phil do all his seats and loved them. After Phil gave it up, Joe said, others just didn't compare. By the rounded down tubes, you can assume the frame was a swing arm with a hard tail added. The article doesn't give credit but, Joe also mentioned that Phil was also one of the guys who made a Dick Allen style springer.


The goose-neck bend looks lower and is gusseted slightly different than the bike in the previous post. The headlight bracket has a sharper bend and isn't quite as long so we now know there was two like this! The springer has a round rod under the springs (like Dick's and Sugar Bears's), and the bike in the former post has a rectangular bar like Fats. This one also has adjustable fittings at the bottom of the front legs like Sugar Bear's do.

The Street Chopper article has two more pages of black and white photos, yet not one photo shows the left side of the bike! What's up with that?

I'm sure most of you know that Phil Ross went on to make his Supermax belt drives.

I met Phil at the Smoke Out West II in Cottonwood AZ where he had just moved to. He had a copy of this Street Chopper on display at his booth so I just had to comment on it. You sure wouldn't have recognized him based on the cover photo. Not much later I read he had pass away.

All in all there really haven't been too many of these goose-neck bikes built, so at first I thought Rich might be right about it being the same bike. A second close look, revealed it to not be the case. Now I'll look for another one of these way-out headlight mounts.

Then Came Red Neck

Now, I don't want you to get the impression that most South Bay Bikes had goose-necks. It's just that after Rich's comment in the last post I figured why not post the scooter he was talking about.

Peace dude! No it isn't Jim Bronson, but rather the late Phil Ross, and yes Gardena is one of the south bay cities. This was the first of this type of goose-necked bikes I remember seeing.


This was the cover shot for Street Chopper May 1972. I know exactly where this photo was taken as I ride around this very corner every chance I get. You can see by Lynn's big smile in all the photos that indeed the ladies like long chops.


Check out the sissy bar and seat. Thanks to Joe Hurst, there's that South Bay Swoop again. When this bike was featured Phil had an auto upholstery shop. Joe told me he use to have Phil do all his seats and loved them. After Phil gave it up, Joe said, others just didn't compare. By the rounded down tubes, you can assume the frame was a swing arm with a hard tail added. The article doesn't give credit but, Joe also mentioned that Phil was also one of the guys who made a Dick Allen style springer.


The goose-neck bend looks lower and is gusseted slightly different than the bike in the previous post. The headlight bracket has a sharper bend and isn't quite as long so we now know there was two like this! The springer has a round rod under the springs (like Dick's and Sugar Bears's), and the bike in the former post has a rectangular bar like Fats. This one also has adjustable fittings at the bottom of the front legs like Sugar Bear's do.

The Street Chopper article has two more pages of black and white photos, yet not one photo shows the left side of the bike! What's up with that?

I'm sure most of you know that Phil Ross went on to make his Supermax belt drives.

I met Phil at the Smoke Out West II in Cottonwood AZ where he had just moved to. He had a copy of this Street Chopper on display at his booth so I just had to comment on it. You sure wouldn't have recognized him based on the cover photo. Not much later I read he had pass away.

All in all there really haven't been too many of these goose-neck bikes built, so at first I thought Rich might be right about it being the same bike. A second close look, revealed it to not be the case. Now I'll look for another one of these way-out headlight mounts.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Da Ladies Like'm Long....

....Chopper's, that is.

This one sports some typical South Bay features. A long Dick Allen/Fats/Sugar Bear Type Springer, 2 into one collector exhaust, extra sissy bar brace (South Bay Swoop), Cobra seat, and I'm thinking that's a 15' rear rim with a car radial tire. Also, Every goose neck of this type and from this period I've seen has been on a South Bay Bike. What's not typical is the too cool chrome Nazi helmet oil tank. My guess, it's a Fats built bike. Anyone know it's history?

Da Ladies Like'm Long....

....Chopper's, that is.

This one sports some typical South Bay features. A long Dick Allen/Fats/Sugar Bear Type Springer, 2 into one collector exhaust, extra sissy bar brace (South Bay Swoop), Cobra seat, and I'm thinking that's a 15' rear rim with a car radial tire. Also, Every goose neck of this type and from this period I've seen has been on a South Bay Bike. What's not typical is the too cool chrome Nazi helmet oil tank. My guess, it's a Fats built bike. Anyone know it's history?

Thursday, October 21, 2010

MOTOSACOCHE AND THE BROTHERS DUFAUX


The brothers Armand and Henri Dufaux were the sort of artist/engineer/inventors one finds all over the world in the late 1800s, when motorized transport was a wide open field and anyone with an idea could have a go at making wheels or wings move.  As no 'pattern' or 'best practices' had been settled in the fields of autos, motorcycles, planes, or their motive power, wild inspiration and weeks of labor in a workshop might result in the founding of an empire, or a whole new genre of transportation.


Born in France (Chens sur Léman), the sons of Baroness de Rochefort Luçay, Henri (b. Sep 18, 1879) was a talented painter, studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, Florence, and Geneva.  Armand (b. Jan 13, 1883) studied mechanical engineering, and by 1898 the brothers had built their first clip-on engine for a bicycle.  A year later they founded HADF (Henri Armand Dufaux Brothers) with Francis and Edward Cuillery Demole, based in Carouge, a suburb of Geneva.  The Dufaux brothers, while French, had long family ties with Switzerland, and Geneva specifically, as their grandfather Henri Rochefort (Marquis de Rochefort Ducay) took refuge there after escaping exile (as immortalized by Manet) by Napoleon III during the Second Empire of France, for demanding restoration of the free press, and democratic life in general. 


In 1898 the brothers Dufaux designed their first light motorcycle engine, which could be attached to a bicycle.  By 1900 they patented a 1/4hp motor, which could propel a bicycle to 21km/h (above).  The brothers were naturally interested in competition, and Armand won his first motorcycle race at Clement-St-Cergues in 1901. The name 'Motosacoche' (literally, 'engine in a bag'!) appeared in 1903, was coined from their enclosure of their clip-on bicycle engine within a metal shroud.  Motosacoche Dufaux and Co. (MSADC), a public company, was established in 1905, with a further factory shortly built in Turin (Societa Meccanica Italio-Ginevrina - est. 1908), and another satellite factory in Lyon.  Clearly the little engines were popular!

Motosacoche was also established in England, initially as H and A Dufaux England Ltd.  Osborne Louis de Lissa was their sales agent from 1908, and established the little 1 1/4hp motocyclette in competition around England, with JS Holyroyd ('a great pedaller' - and he would have been!  He also, with Bert leVack, named 'the Dreadnought') and de Lissa himself as 'works' riders.  The reliability of the little machines gave them a series of gold medals in 'road' trials, and at times theirs was the only machine to make the course, as above, at Amulree Hill during the Scottish Six Days Trial, with Holyroyd aboard.

While they produced a fantastic moped, Motosacoche the company was growing and clearly needed to expand into the proper motorcycle market.  Motorcycles Acecas Geneve (MAG) was founded around 1909 [anyone got a better date?] to sell 'loose' motorcycle engines to other manufacturers. In England, the MAG engine appeared in Brough Superior, Matchless, Zenith, Royal Enfield, etc.  In Europe, the MAG engine became, like JAP in England, near ubiquitous in the industry, powering the likes of Standard, Neander, Condor, Dresch, Monet Goyon, etc.  MAG became a very successful company, with tens of thousands of motors sold.

Simultaneously with the expansion of their motorcycle business, the brothers Dufaux, who were equally interested in flight, directed more of their personal attention to building airplanes and helicopters. As early as 1904 they built model helicopters and planes with variable-tilt propellers, and invented the concept of the 'VTOL' airplane.   Their helicopter of 1905 was the first powered aircraft of any type in the world to successfully fly, and was demonstrated for Louis Bleriot (who also made motorcycles), Alberto Santos-Dumont, Clement Ader, Henri Farman, Gabriel Voisin, Captain Ferber, etc; all founders of European aviation. The Dufaux brothers tasted success in airplane flight in 1909, becoming the first Swiss plane to fly with a pilot aboard.

It was clear where their true passion lay, and later that year (1909), the brothers divested themselves of Motosacoche, to pursue aircraft manufacture, which Henri continued through the 1920s in France, before working in the automotive industry.  In an interesting bracket to the history of Harold Willis and Velocette [Willis took the inspiration for the hydraulic 'shocks' for the Velocette racers of 1938 from aircraft practice], Henri invented a hydraulic shock absorber for automobiles in the 1920s, which became widely used - reinforcing the frequent cross-pollinization of the motorcycling, aircraft, and automotive industries.

Armand gave up the motor/flight business entirely and returned to his paintbrush by 1913, teaching at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, his lifelong passion - and that was a very long life indeed, as he only died in 1980!  Today the brothers Dufaux are recognized as real pioneers for their vision, and success in the earliest days of the motorcycle and aircraft industries.

(The web sources of this article are linked above - many thanks for their tireless research!)

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

BMW Recalls 2004-2010 K1200 and K1300 Motorcycles for Bearing Problem

BMW is recalling certain model year 2004-2010 K1200 and K1300 motorcycles.

The bearings could be subject to corrosion. This could lead to reduced movement of the link lever.

The number of units has not been specified.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

BMW Recalls 2007-2010 F650GS Motorcycles for Brake Problem

BMW is recalling certain 2007 through 2010 F 650 GS motorcycles manufactured from November 2006 through January 2010.

A washer may interfere with the front disc brake fasteners' torque. As a result, over time, a fastener or multiple fasteners could become loose, allowing the brake disc to become loose.

1835 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Mann Hunt

Every now and then I get questions from readers in regards to certain David Mann illustrations.

Here's the latest inquiry from Scott:
I have been watching MCArt for a couple of years. After a whole lot of searching, I thought you might be somebody to ask about a Mann illustration.

Somewhere, I came across one of his works which featured an orange bike in profile - as if on a drawing board, in the planning phase. I don't remember what kind of bike it was, just that it was in profile and there was a sketch of the exhaust along with it.


Does that ring any bells with you, or do you know where I might find an example of it? I haven't been able to find it anywhere.

Well, that put a bug up my butt since I knew I have it and had looked at it recently. The trouble was, what issue was it in?

I thumbed through some old issues and was puzzled why I couldn't find it. I then remembered I had a folder of saved samples of David Mann art from issues I had tossed.


I thought I'd share this one since it's a bit different from the more common bike scenes that David did. It's sort a playful dance between 2-d and 3-d with the art and the art process being being part of the still life. Dave like to incorporate these types of illusions in his art and did so from time to time, but it's also sort of a behind the scenes look at a bike he'd probably like to have built. It's a tight little bike, reminiscent of his own pan/shovel shown below.


The current owner restored Dave's bike to a slightly earlier version than how it looked when sold. Photo ripped from the Bikers, Hippies and Tattooed Freaks blog.

I don't know what month/year issue it's from since I tossed the rest of the magazine. I thought it was a shovel, but it turns out that the art bike has an Evo engine. That and since it's a stapled center spread, means it's likely from the mid to late 80's.