Friday, December 30, 2011

New W&W Catalog Just Arrived, Includes Lowbrow Customs Products


We were stoked to receive the new W&W catalog today from Germany. This new 2012 catalog includes some Lowbrow Customs products including our bungs, plug wire sets and cloth covered wire, seat mounts, and more. We are happy to be included, and involved with a company like W&W who are real motorcycle enthusiasts out there having fun and getting it done.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Born Free 4 Intro at Yokahama & Official Shirts Available Now



Here is a nice quick video intro about Born Free 4 by one of the founders, Mike Davis. It was filmed by 'The Sheriff' of MCM Magazine out of Sweden.


Also, some nice official Born Free 4 T-Shirts are now available in sizes Small - 4XL. Printed with discharge and water based inks on a black tee for a really nice vintage look and feel. The perfect accoutrement is a BF4 poster, with free ticket!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Ton Up Stockholm Salt Ghost Screening & Triumph Land Speed on Ice!


Magnus of Ton Up Stockholm had contacted us about doing a Salt Ghost screening there in Sweden, which we were all for. It took place earlier this month, and they also sold some Salt Ghost DVDs there, the money from which is helping sponsor their fellow Ton Up Club member and friend Charlie in his racing efforts.


Charlie raced his 1946 Triumph Speedtwin 500 c.c. motorcycle on the frozen lake Orsa Speedway in 2011 and is preparing to do so again in 2012! Thanks to Magnus and the crew for setting up the screening and to everyone that attended, and good luck to Charlie in his race efforts in 2012!



Monday, December 26, 2011

A Thoughtful Christmas Gift & 1955 World's Fastest Motorcycle

I came into the shop today and Todd had a Christmas gift for me. It is the November 1955 issue of Cycle Magazine featuring the new fastest motorcycle in the world, a 40 ci (650 c.c.) non-supercharged Triumph streamline run by team Johnny Allen (Driver), Jack Wilson (Tuner) and Stormy Mangham (Designer) out of Texas, which ran an 2-way average of 193 mph. Johnny Allen ran a Triumph Tiger 100 (500 c.c.) at 123.95 mph at the same meet for another speed record. Read the article for yourself!


Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas!

Honestly we slipped a little on the blog yesterday and today, we have been spending a well deserved weekend off with our family and friends! We will be back to work on Monday but we want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at Lowbrow Customs!


Oh yes and enjoy this picture of the Yo Gabba Gabba crew inflatable, they are my niece Darly's favorite!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, December 23, 2011

Sportster 1979 - 1981 Bolt-On Hardtail Frames by David Bird

Dave Bird has finished up the design for the 1979 - 1981 Harley-Davidson Sportster bolt-on hardtail frames! Available in traditional straight style or in his signature looped style frame. David now has frames for Sportsters from 1954 - 1981, and has the next year range frame in the works!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Need A Last Minute Gift? Lowbrow Gift Certificates Available!

Need a last-minute gift for that motorcycle enthusiast in your life? Not enough time to get something shipped to your door? Check out Lowbrow Customs gift certificates, you receive the PIN number via email right away! Check them out here, do not fear, you still have time to give holiday cheer. Damn, too much Dr. Seuss lately..

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Psychedelic Tendencies 2 Chopper Art Show Jan. 14th, Studio City, CA

Our friend Dan Collins of Old Gold Garage and Victory Tattoo is throwing Psychedelic Tendencies 2, a chopper art show with a long, long list of artists, none of whom I have ever heard of. Who are these guys, anyway? Seriously though, looks like it is going to be a rad show, check it out Saturday, January 14th at Victory Electric Tattoo Co. at 11390 Ventura Blvd. #7, Studio City, California 91604.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Lowbrow Customs Presents Born Free 4 Online Poster Sales!

Lowbrow is proud to be the online source for Born Free 4 poster sales! Each poster comes with an entry ticket for a chance to win one of two 1969 Harley-Davidson Shovelheads! Your poster is $25 (shipping included in the USA!) and comes with an entry ticket and assorted promotional stickers and such from some of the BF4 sponsors. These are also available world-wide, the big change this year is that you do not have to be present to win! Here is some more info from the official Born Free 4 website:

"We will be at the all swaps,shows and other events selling in person. You also can buy at the Garage Company, Tri Co, Dixie, The Cycle Lodge and Classic Cycles. We have printed a limited number of posters/w tickets again this year and the odds are the same as last year. The biggest changes this year is the chance to win 2 bikes and you do not need to be present to win.

The guys from Biltwell / ChopCult (Bill & McGoo) have graciously offered to hand deliver the bikes to anywhere in the USA to the winners if they are not present...just like Ed McMahon. Knock on your door and roll the bike in the living room....again free delivery in the USA!! If you are outside of the USA you are responsible for shipping!! Period !! We can hold the bike for a while so you to work out the details and we will drop off at the shipper for you.. but that is all...You are responsible for all shipping costs.

This is your chance to own one or two 1969 Shovelheads. We know times are tough and some folks just can't leave their jobs, can't leave their families or just don't have the funds to make it California for the show.... so we hope this change helps everyone. We are continuing to try and make the show better and get more people involved all over the world and we think these changes will do that. We appreciate all the support Born-Free has gotten and we hope you all will continue to make this show some different and something really special!"

Monday, December 19, 2011

Radical Gifts From Our Bros on the Left Coast: Biltwell


When wrenching on and riding my sick bobber, I like to drink Sick Bobber Pale Ale, bro. Our good friends at Biltwell put some time and thought into their Christmas gifts, and everyone here at Lowbrow got a bottle of their private labeled beer brewed by Mission Brewery in San Diego.

A box arrived for me today from Bill, McGoo and Mike D, and when I opened it it wasn't the reflection of the green hilt in Kyle's eyes, but pure jealousy ;) This knife was hand made by Morris Knives out of a file! A care sheet was included explaining that files are one of the best sources of high carbon tool steel, resulting in a very wear-resistant, tough knife. I love it, and will gladly wear it on my belt and use it to dissuade attackers, business end first.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Buy Any Biltwell Helmet now thru Tonight (Sunday) at Midnight, Your Entire Order Ships Free!

Order ANY (DOT or novelty) Biltwell helmet (including one of the 5 new DOT-approved Hustler Helmet colors!) at LowbrowCustoms.com and your entire order ships FREE! Limited to the continental USA, and excludes frames and hardtails. Good now through midnight TONIGHT Sunday, December 1 7th, 2011.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Hot Off The Press: El Diablo Run DVD In Stock & Shipping NOW!

What many people have been waiting for has arrived! The El Diablo Run: A Mexican Motorcycle Adventure DVD is in stock and shipping now! The EDR DVD is complete with free soundtrack CD and 24-page photo book for only $24.99! The perfect gift for that motorcycle enthusiast in your life. Orders are getting packaged and shipped right up until Christmas!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Buy Any Biltwell Helmet now thru Sunday at Midnight, Your Entire Order Ships Free!

Order ANY (DOT or novelty) Biltwell helmet (including one of the 5 new DOT-approved Hustler Helmet colors!) at LowbrowCustoms.com and your entire order ships FREE! Limited to the continental USA, and excludes frames and hardtails. Good now through midnight Sunday, December 17th, 2011.

Cleveland El Diablo Run Screening this Saturday, Dec. 17th, Cleveland, Ohio

Come on out for the first screening of the El Diablo Run DVD at The Spitfire Saloon (1539 W. 117th St) in Cleveland, Ohio this Saturday, December 17th! Check out the event page for updates. It is a free event, come on out and eat some free grub, watch the film, hang out and talk motorcycles. Cheap drinks and punk rock, you can't go wrong! Brought to you by Lowbrow Customs, Biltwell, Inc., Four Aces Cycle and The Gasbox.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Buy Any Biltwell Helmet now thru Sunday at Midnight, Your Entire Order Ships Free!

Well here is the skinny.. 5 new colors of DOT-Approved Biltwell Hustler helmets just arrived, including Flat Primer Red, Gloss Black, and 3 new Metalflake helmets: Cobalt Blue, Gang Green and Wine Red! Since these just missed out on our free shipping special, we decided to keep the party going. Order ANY (DOT or novelty) Biltwell helmet at LowbrowCustoms.com and your entire order ships FREE! Limited to the continental USA, and excludes frames and hardtails.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

FREE SHIPPING TILL MIDNIGHT!!!

That's right! The sale is still on!! You have until Midnight TONIGHT!! That is 11:59:59 Eastern Time, to snag FREE SHIPPING on any order over 30 bucks for that special old man in your life! Here's the deal:

- Starts Tuesday, December 13th at 12:01 am (it's happening right now!) and runs through midnight on Wednesday, December 14th, 2011.
- All US orders in the lower 48 get FREE shipping on orders over $30 excluding frames
- No code or anything necessary, just check out and select the free shipping!

Customer Bike Spotlight: Bill's Salt Flat & Road Racing Triumphs


That there isn't Santa, that is Lowbrow customer Bill up in Canada with one of his top-notch pre unit Triumph race bikes! He is planning on making it out to Speed Week 2012 at the Bonneville Salt Flats and racing, probably bringing his road race bike along for the ride as well. I sure hope he does, we are going to have quite the gaggle of amazing vintage Triumphs there if everyone who is planning on making it shows up!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

48 Hour Free Shipping Special!


Customers seemed to appreciate our Cyber Monday free shipping deal, so we are doing another bout to help out with getting-down-to-the-wire Christmas gifts or just to give you an excuse to treat yourself to that special something you have been eyeballing. It's a pretty simple deal, here's the rundown:

- Starts Tuesday, December 13th at 12:01 am (it's happening right now!) and runs through midnight on Wednesday, December 14th, 2011.
- All US orders in the lower 48 get FREE shipping on orders over $30
- No code or anything necessary, just check out and select the free shipping!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

3 Idiots do Bonneville: Part 2 of 2

The 2nd half of Benjamin Mauceri's story "3 Idiots do Bonneville", of their race efforts at Bonneville Speed Week 2011, where we met them.

"Nate was first to go. I've never seen him more nervous. This is a guy who's been a professional cyclist for years. He's seen thousands of green flags in his life. He's worked on professional race cars. He's won races at Willow. He's travelled on a BMW GS solo through Mexico camping the whole way. But going 3 miles in a straight line gave him butterflies. Its a reflection of the place, not the man.
Bonneville rules say that an entered vehicle can only be under its own power on the course. Once a run is over, a chase vehicle must pick up the entrant on the side of the "return road" (which is really a poorly-marked strip of salt amidst other unmarked expanses of salt). The technique is for the racer to shut down and then turn off the course with enough speed to coast the 1/4 mile to the return, "road". They then sit there until the chase truck arrives.

At this point, I should probably talk about the surface. It's very strange stuff. The closest thing I can think of is really hard-packed dry snow. The salt is sticky and tacky but loose at the same time. It's also bumpy. And it tastes terrible.


We're up and the starter sends Nate into the unknown. Andy and I pile into the RV and head out after him along the chase road.

4 minutes later (remember the scale of the place), we find Nate on the side of the return road pumping his arms and screaming with joy. He can barely form words. When he does, he yells, "We can go faster!" We put the bike on the lift and head back to the timing tower to pick up Nate's slip showing his speed.

124mph.

Andy's up next and we get back in line to run again. Nate's trying to tell us what he experienced but he's failing. We get it and forgive him when he stops trying.

In line, we chat with other competitors and it strikes all of us how much everyone wants everyone else to have a good time. "Good luck!" and, "Hope you go good!" are exchanged freely among everyone there. It's wonderful.

An hour later, Andy lines up and sets off. Nate and I lay chase in the RV.

We find Andy at the end of the course with tears in his eyes. There were five separate times this trip when it looked certain that he wouldn't make that run. I can't imagine what it felt like for him to finally do it.

"It's just going in a straight line, right?

Yes. That's all it is.

We pick up Andy's slip. 129mph. The bike was turning over 10k in 6th. Surely this is all it has. It's a stock SV for pete's sake. At altitude. On salt.

By the time Andy's done, it's clear we wont have time to make another run before they close the salt at 7:30. I'll have to wait for tomorrow.

Dinner. Another $7 shower. Bed.

The next morning, we're on the salt at 6:30. After some coffee and some waiting, it's my turn.


I'm in Nate's un-ironically retro leathers which probably offer no protection and I'm sitting on a bike I've never ridden about to go as fast as I can on a surface I've only driven in a car - at 45 mph.

Given the situation, I'm surprisingly calm. I'm usually the one in this group with nerves. I'm also usually the slowest. Andy's gone faster around Willow on an SV than most people thought possible. Nate's usually 3-5 seconds a lap faster than I am. On the line, my only hope is I manage to crack 120.

The starter gives me the signal and I'm off. I forgot who I was for a minute and I whack the throttle open and spin the rear wheel. I'm surprised when my reaction to the spinning rear is to keep it pinned and grab second. More spinning. Then grip. 3rd. 4th. 5th…. 6th. "Get small" I think. I lift my ass off the seat and put my head under the screen. I squeeze my elbows as tight against the tank as I can. I breathe. Hard. 1 mile. Breathe. Tuck. Smaller. Turn the throttle harder. 2 miles. Smaller still. Breathe. 3 miles. Roll off, sit up and start the bike turning on this odd surface.


I kill the engine and roll to a stop along the return road. I'm on the moon. I've just had one of the most intense 90 seconds of my life and I'm now 4 miles from anyone else on a surface that looks like the damn moon.

After the violence and intensity of running a motorcycle as fast as it will go, everything is so quiet. So serene. It's amazing. It's overwhelming. I break the silence by pounding on the tank and screaming in my helmet.

Then I see the RV headed towards me at 50 mph. It pulls up and Nate and Andy jump out screaming. I'm screaming. High-fives, hugs and arm pumping all around. They take the bike from me and I crawl into the RV and try to speak.

"It's just going in a straight line, right?

Yes. That's all it is.

I pull off Nate's useless leathers and put on shorts. We pull up to the timing tower and I jump out to get my slip.

134.7 mph bitches!

Andy and Nate howl. Andy tells me that earlier, he and Nate talked about how excellent it would be if I was the one to take it to the next level. That's why I love these guys.

We pull back in line and wait for Nate's next run.

Andy starts to talk about how we need red hats.

When you do 200mph on the salt, you are inducted into the, "200mph Club". There are fewer people in that club than are in the "People Who Have Stood at the Top of Everest Club". One of the things you get when you join the club is a red hat. On the salt, those wearing the hats are shown immense respect.

Andy spends the next hour thinking about what we'd need. "A Hayabusa for starters" I say. "Yup" says Andy calmly. Crap. We're going to buy a Hayabusa.

Nate manages to up the best speed we record by another mph. On Andy's next run, he nudges above 130mph. It's now 1pm and the guys wanted to head back to LA an hour ago. They ask if its okay that I only made one pass. Of course it is. It's only going in a straight line after all.

Many many thanks to Andy and Nate for making this incredible experience possible. There are no other guys I'd rather do this with (or with whom this would have been possible). Many thanks to Kyle and the guys at Lowbrow Customs for saving Andy's experience. Their generosity will not be soon forgotten. Guys - Please reach out to us if you're in LA or NYC or when you want to go roadracing. Thanks to Stephen for lending us the RV. We missed you this trip. Thanks also to tech crew for putting up with us and to all the experienced racers and 200mph Club members for making us feel welcome.

We'll be back next year.

Pictures are here."

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Mooneyes X-Mas Party, Street Chopper Release Party & David Mann Chopperfest

There is a lot of good stuff happening in southern California this weekend, but if that's where you are at then you are probably already in the know. Mooneyes X-mas Party Show & Drag is happening at the Irwindale Speedway on Saturday.

Kyle and I happen to be in the LA area this weekend meeting with our friends from Biltwell & Rubbertree Studios, and while we can't make the Mooneyes show we will be hitting up the Street Chopper Magazine release party in Huntington Beach on Saturday night with our buddy Mike D from Biltwell, and hanging with the whole crew on Sunday at the David Mann Chopperfest in Ventura. Hope to see you there!

Friday, December 9, 2011

3 Idiots do Bonneville: Part 1 of 2

This story was written by Benjamin Mauceri, whom we met along with his friends out at Bonneville Speed Week 2011. The following is part 1 of 2 of the story of their racing efforts and some photos of their time on the salt. We enjoyed it and thought you might too. Enjoy.

"There's an argument about who's idea Bonneville was. Since I'm usually the guy in the group suggesting oddball things to do with a motorcycle, I assume it was me. I remember talking about it for a few years as something cool we could do. Nate's been across the salt on his GS on the way to meeting me at Miller for the WSBK race and thinks it was his idea. Andy's dad ran there and since he's built all the bikes on which Nate or I ever raced, he fundamentally believes neither of us have had an idea about motorcycles that he didn't place in our heads.

No matter. A few months ago, I get an email form Andy that Bonneville is happening and asking if I'm in. I was marginally offended by the question.

I flew in to Salt Lake City from a friend's wedding in Northern California. I picked up my rental car and headed East the 100 miles to the flats to meet Nate and Andy who have been there since late the night before.

Along the way, I get a text from Andy telling me that he hopes I fit into the speedway leathers Nate bought. Hmmmm. When I show up at the flats around 4pm I find out that Nate and Andy have spent the entire day trying to get the bike to pass tech.

Andy brought three bikes for us - all of which would pass tech at every roadracing organization in the country. In a move that's very unlike us, we neglected to read the rule book and just showed up.

When the boys rolled the bikes through tech on Monday morning, they were handed a list of things they'd need to fix. Bikes at Bonneville need a metal chain guard (we used a piece of fencing Nate and Andy found at a hardware store in town). They need a metal battery tie down (we used a large hose clamp). They need a front sprocket cover (we used a masonry trowel that Andy cut the handle off of and drilled bolt holes in to). They need metal valve stems (luckily one of the bikes we bought had them - so we swapped wheels).


Then there was the issue with the leathers. At Bonneville, leathers have to be free from perforations or stretch panels. Our custom, perfectly-fitting protective roadracing suits wouldn't work. We were also told the humps on the suits would bump us into the Partially Streamlined classes.

Nate and Andy watched this trip evaporate in front of their eyes. No leathers, no riding.

While the conversation about 130mph get-offs in modern roadracing suits was unfolding, Nate saw something. Hanging in the back of the tech trailer was a set of speedway leathers that were maybe 30 years old. Nate asked how big they were. He tried them on and $250 later, they were his. Luckily, I didn't gain any weight back and I'm still Nate's size. Andy, though, was out of luck - or so it seemed.

Confident for the first time that we would actually ride, we rolled out the grill and made steaks. After dinner, we drove to the nearest truck stop for a $7 shower then we piled back into the RV and went to sleep.

We were up at dawn the next day and headed the three miles out on to the salt.

Sometime in the morning, Andy saw a guy his size working on a beautiful old Triumph. Andy waled over and casually asked if he could borrow this guy's leathers. Without hesitation, the guy said sure. Andy was going to ride.

This is Bonneville. Here's a guy going for a record and happy to lend his only set of leathers to a perfect stranger who's predicament was entirely his own fault.

The atmosphere is everything you might imagine it would be. Nate called it a Burning Man for cars. I think that's right. The machinery surrounding us was unlike what you'd see anywhere else. Nice paint was traded for beautiful engineering. Old rusted-out bodies held immaculate small blocks which were more often than not topped with blowers. While some cars looked suspect, Bonneville is a place where the all of them sound and run excellent.

We passed tech and filled out all the necessary forms. We each looked at the, "Bonneville 2011 Participant" stickers and patches we were given with a sense of awe and legitimate reverence. We giggled at the notion that Andy's endurance bike (the one we ended up riding) was now wearing a SCTA sticker that corresponded to an official log book. Somehow, this became very important to all of us. We all knew we wanted to come out here but I don't think we knew why. People kept saying to us, "I don't get it. Isn't it just going in a straight line? And not really that fast?" Yes. It's exactly that.

We attended rookie orientation at 11am and then finally headed for the courses.

Here's where the scale of the place sets in: There were three courses this year. Course 3 was the bunny slope at 5 miles long, Number 2 was 7 miles long and if you go over 175, they'll let you on Course 1 which is a full 9 miles. For us New Yorkers, that's Battery Park to the George Washington Bridge.

You can read that - and you can look at the pictures, but until you've stood there (or done a run), the size doesn't sink in.


On Course 3, you're allowed to be under power for 3 miles. After that, the last two are for slowing down. We're on a stock-ish SV650 making 79hp and we're at 6000ft elevation - and we're on salt. We thought we'd be good for maybe 125mph if we were lucky. We honestly had no idea.

The guys who do this a lot call the salt the Big White Dyno. You can talk all you want about how much power your car makes or how fast you've been down the 405 but the salt changes things. This is where the truth is. The salt will tell you exactly how fast your vehicle is not."

Cancer Sucks. Help A Friend, Win A Vespa. $10 per ticket


Elm City Vintage in New Haven, CT are helping their friend Steve-O, who was diagnosed with cancer and like many, has overwhelming medical bills and is unable to work. Elm City stepped up and is restoring and raffling off a Vespa in January. Tickets are $10 each, buy one for a chance to win and to help out someone in need. You can find more info on the website or Facebook page.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

November's Charitable Givings


We received some letters and drawings from the elementary students in Ms. Nodelman's class in Los Angeles and also from Ms. Scallon's 2nd grade classroom, which were both helped out with donations from Lowbrow customer's from the month of October. Your donation of spare change during checkout helps make a difference in these kid's lives! Thank you.

A total of $534.83 was collected during the month of November from customer's donations, and being December and a season of giving we decided to match those contributions dollar for dollar and also an extra $202 from sales of our Winged Wheel Patch, for a total of over $1200 for November! This includes almost four hundred dollars going to the latest charity we added last month, the Marines Toys for Tots Foundation. Thanks for your support in these causes, and Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Customer Car Spotlight: Barry's 1928 Peugeot 190S


Here is a first, a Customer Car Spotlight.. this, though, is still a good fit in my opinion. Take a look under the hood! From Barry over in the U.K.: "The car is a 1928 Peugeot 190S fitted with a 1200cc VL engine we use in vintage hill climbs (a lot of mud and beer involved)." Barry sounds like our kind of guy!