Top 5 Saturday

Top 5 reasons to hate Motorcycles.

 Number1. Motorcycles cost money, and I mean cost allot a money. If you are like me I have to hustle, scrape, plea, ebay, and work my ass off to get my bikes going. I also do all the work so I can't even imagine if I had to pay someone to do it. That is why I understand my customers when they bring me there projects. Best plan is to have a plan. Don't just buy parts, have a good idea of what you are going to use so as to not buy shit you are not going to run. My shop is full of parts I ended up not using.


Number2. To build a proper chopper takes time. Unless you have a complete running motorbike then plan on it taking double the time you think. A rushed job will only bite you in the ass at the end. Buy the best quality parts you can and if that means saving a couple more bucks over a few weeks then just suck it up and do it.


Number 3. You will lose sleep.I will lay in bed and think of brackets or how the paint will look. Countless hours looking at pictures and then the customer always has there great ideas about how they want it. Not to even bring up when there is a issue with wiring or bad running motor. I have probably taking 10 years off my life just from stress related to motorcycles.


Number 4. Shit never ends. As soon as your bike is running super sweet something will shit the bed. Tires wear out, chain breaks, carb starts act like a coughing ass donkey. As soon as you think all is good and you can go 1000 miles the next block a wire breaks and you my friend are gonna be pushing that son of a bitch two wheeled pile of wasted money back to the garage into which it was born. To this I just except it and do my best to keep these things down to a minimum.


Number 5. Yes it is true motorcycles are fucking dangerous. I believe the lack of riding skills is the most dangerous part of the whole equation. Not to even start with old people, teenage black girls, school bus drivers, SUV commandos, other motorcyclists. All those people are trying to kill you, so what should you do? Never ride, I think not. I ride ever day if possible. With a bungee cord I can hold all kinds of shit. So things I have done to avoid getting creamed. Ride through someones lawn, jump curbs, slide in between cars, pass on the wrong side, make some noise, and generally just ride faster then they do. People in cars are stupid and they don't care whats going to happen if they hit you. This is the time of year you start hearing about folks out there dieing or getting all banged up. So take some time and learn your bike and to what level it can be thrown around, slid, accelerated, slowed and jump from. Good Day

New Old Tools are Best.

  So I have been on the search for a little lathe for some time.Tony took his back to his cave and since I have had to sneak in and use the one at work. So Today I jump on Craigslist and here it is. 60's Craftsman Hobby lathe. All modes work and we are off and running. Came with a few extra bits but no live center. So I will set it up this weekend and take some time and learn my Mo sheen like I should. Pretty helpful to have the parts book and instructions. 200 bucks well spent.

But My Life in Prospective

Once again I am gonna blab a little about some shit. You may know or not know Todd K. He has had cancer for 3 + years and is still fighting the good fight. I can not say he is doing well but he is alive and the toughest mother fucker to ever walk the earth. I have not really known anyone with cancer first hand. Let me just say that I don't know if I could do what he has done. At the same time I feel guilty that I have my little routine and ideas of what are important. My life is fucking rock and roll and I should never feel hum drum about it. Todd is the wildest, funniest, free thinking person I have ever known and all I can do is hope and wish he gets better. He is now only able to write down on paper what he wants to say and let me just say the man could talk your goddamn ear off if you let him. Even so he was writing jokes and talking shit on paper and I miss him being around. So here is to Todd and anyone that has known somebody with cancer.  Oh and also he has the most awesome wife Leslie that is his rock and anchor. She is the one that has taking the weight and ran with it. I sit and worry about building bikes and where I am gonna eat lunch. Not a single minute should be wasted in this life. I Don't relax or sit and smell the roses. I want more from this world then it is willing to give me. Todd has beat the shit out of the world since youth and till the day he stops breathing he will fight tooth and nail. Another fine lessons from Todd. I went and visited him today and when I left I felt like screaming, crying, running away, and then I thought of my kids and my plans for the future. I hope Todd is around to see them. Love my Punk Rods Brother more then he will ever know.

Top 5 Saturday

Top 5 Reasons to put on your own bike show. 

Number 1. It is the only way you can have a proper show. Your show means you make the rules. 

Number 2. All the cool kids are doing it so I guess that means I am gonna do it to. 

Number 3. If all things work out I will make a trillion dollars and retire after the first show. Funny how my mind can spool a tangled web. 

Number 4. We found the perfect place in the Midwest to have a show. Big trees and lots of grass. One big main hall and a pavilion for bands. 

Number 5. Talk is cheap and I am not one for wasting words. So this is the official notice the Anchor is doing a show. First weekend of May 2013. Platte City Fairgrounds is a bout 20 minutes north of Downtown KC. Left the deposit and we are already working on the Web page and art work. I believe it is going to be called Vintage Iron Cycle Show. Pre-79 bikes  only. No exceptions period. So get your Chopper, Bobber, Street tracker, Mini Bike, Moped, Sled, Hot Rod, Stocker, Custom Barge, Couch, Flattrack, Boardtrack, Drag racing motorcycle and plan on the season opener. It will be a Rain or Shine event as there are tons of buildings and space.

Stuck On a Island, Please Please Let It Be Me

One of the most historical moments in my Redheaded obsession issue is watching Tina Louise on Gilligans Island. When I was 10 years old or so I remember watching episodes and wishing I was stuck on the island with just her. Screw the goodie goodie Maryanne I wanted Ginger. Anyways I am not the only one and do yourself a favor DO NOT Google image search her. There are some wonderful pictures of her from the 50's-60's but the current pictures are so gruesome I almost lost my thing for Tina. DON'T DO IT. Just enjoy her as she was. Amazing

So More From Torque Fest

Some extra cool stuff I love. Long Roofs, knuckle dragster, Ironhead chopper, etc etc. The weather on Saturday was about as perfect as it gets. Later

Top 5 for last week

Was thinking about this today and didn't want to lose it. So top 5 most punk moments in history.

Number1. The Kingsmen song Louie Louie goes number one after 2 years of being released. Some dumb ass religious nut could not understand the lyrics and swore that the lyrics  were about satan and anal rape. Or something like that. What they did do is make every teenager in the world want to own that record. I believe they actually had the band and the record in court and were trying to understand the lyrics. The Sonics do a better version and I think they have the first ever breakdown ever in the middle.

Number2. The Sex Pistols on live Tele. So most of you people out there have seen the clip where Steve Jones calls the interviewer and dirty old twat. Every English blue collar male wanted to kill the pistols after that interview. Siouxsie Sue is wearing  tits on a t shirt which was mind blowing at a early age. The whole thing is crazy and I never really understood the reason why until right now. I don't really care for the pistols or the whole Sid and Nancy thing but the TV interview is classic

Number 3. The Clash sell out in NY. The Clash are one of my all time favorite bands. Sure not all of it is great but the good is so good it eclipses the bad. The Clash show up in Ny to play a stint of shows and end up playing for a month straight almost. They refused to cancel any shows and every body that bought a ticket got to see the Clash on Broadway. I dare say no band would do this now but Joe was a man among men and always was a rock in the band. There is a great DVD out about this time in the Clash and you should watch it for christ sakes.

Number 4. The Cro Mags release Age OF Quarrel. I think it came out in 1986. I got a copy of a copy on tape and played the shit out of that tape for years. I don't think they rewrote the formula for HC but they played it with so much energy and hate that it was a mind blowing experience for a young Ricky. It had elements of all my favorite bands of the time like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Black Flag but some how a bunch of street smart urchins wrote the perfect Hard Core record. I still listen to it all the time and has never let me down. That is true and as punk as it gets in my book.

Number5. Iggy and the Stooges. Really that is all I should have to write. They are the ultimate in all things punk. Iggy is the Kieth Richards of the Punk world. Has done more drugs then anybody, has wrote some insanely good songs and is still at it. Throwing peanut Butter at people is punk, Wearing drag and dish washing gloves is punk, fucking some groupie on stage is totally punk, selling all your gear for dope is not punk, he has done it all. There is not a band I can name that does not say that the Stooges have  influenced them. Jello from DK once said that with out the Stooges he would have never got into music and with out the Dead Kennedys I would have never got into music so it all leads back to Iggy and the Stooges. The end.

Iowa is Truly Out There.

So made it back in one piece.Torque Fest was great as well as our little road trip. Awesome shit included; Shooting trap at Camp Weasel, pooping in a bucket, riding the river road, sleeping in 2 inches of water, not sleeping enough, eating breakfast three times a day, walking 20 miles around the show, hanging with Noot, playing rock and roll, finding snakes in a tree, listening to good music with Shea, talking shop, making friends and getting back home. Thanks to Camp Weasel and John Wells for all things great this last week. Here is the first round of good stuff.

John Wells is Swell.

Make it happen and help this event grow. It is real nice to go to a show that is on par with Greaserama. Also all the money goes to a good fund so kill two birds with one stone. Have fun and help someone you don't even know.

Mini Bikes are the New Chopper

 This is war mate or something like that. So Torque Fest we are all bringing out mini bikes and having it out on the track. 3 laps or death those are the rules. Should be super fun and all the guys have spent more time putting there minibikes together then there cars. Oh well it is gonna be a blast anyway you look at it. Here is my fully rigid(chopper snob) 3.5 horse power war machine. May not be the fastest but my skills going round should help greatly. Can't wait to hang out with Noot and Michael and anyone else that steps up. Say hi and we can waste some time talking about choppers.  Decided to bring the 79 due to it is tried and true. The 63 is on my shit list at the moment. See ya I will be back in a week.