NVMDRA: Vintage Motorcycle Drag Racing June 22 - 24, 2012 - Smithfield OHIO

Wayne Skinner runs the National Vintage Motorcycle Drag Racing Association and is putting on an event June 22 - 24th, 2012 in Smithfield, Ohio at Steel Valley Dragway. Come on down to see some old bikes run, maybe pick up some cool parts, camp, and hang out. Small fee to run what you brung, come race your bros on your choppers. This is your reason to get out of the house and do something fun, so see you there!

Internal Combustion: Cleveland Motorcycle Art Show June 8th 2012

Scott at Cleveland Cyclewerks set up an art show to show off some local motorcycles and related artwork. The opening reception is  Friday, June 8th at 1point618 Gallery (6421 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44106). More info on the Cleveland Cyclewerks website here. My panhead will be there and some other friends have bikes as well, come on out and rub elbows with some greasy bastards.

Born Free 4 Invited Builder Video: Jeff Leighton

Jeff Leighton and his Born Free 4 Invited Builder video.. Sure to be a show-stopper, can't wait to see how the bike turns out! Check out The Wretched Hive blog, Jeff & Dave Polgreen's spot on the interweb.

Born Free 4 Invited Builder Video: Andy Carter @ Pangea Speed

Andy Carter was an invited builder at Born Free 3 and did not disappoint with his thought-heavy, hand made motorcycles. See more of his work at his website Pangea Speed or better yet in person at Born Free 4 on Saturday, June 30th in California.

Born Free 4 Invited Builder Video: Walter at Kickstart Cycle

Walter Gemeinhardt straight out of Jersey at Kickstart Cycle. Friend and committed coast-to-coast motorcycle rider. Check out his video and come to Born Free and watch him arrive on his show bike, ridden from Jersey to California.

Born Free 4 Invited Builder Video: Tyler Lepore

Tyler Lepore is from the great white north (Canada) and has made the pilgrimage to Born Free in California the last two years and comes back as an Invited Builder at BF4 in 2012. Tyler built a 500 c.c. Triumph that won an award as Best British last year in the general bike show, and I am looking forward to what he brings this year!

Customer Bike Sopotlight: Tony's Best of Show Triton

Tony over in Great Britain sent us this picture of his Triton which recently won "Best Triton in Show" at the International Classic Bike Show, Stafford, England. Good work Tony!

Here is what Tony had to say:
"A little info on the bike. Purchased in 2006 as a wreck & a stop start rebuild over 6 years.
Finished the build last year & did a couple hundred miles before winter set in, ironed out a few bugs over winter, oil leaks, loose bits etc. now it's all sorted for summer.
No leaks & runs great. :-)

'57 Norton Wideline Featherbed Frame
'63 Unit T120 engine
Morgo 750 barrels & high comp pistons
Morgo oil pump
3134 cams
Mikuni carbs
Triumph conical vented rear hub
Grimeca 4LS front brake
Ceriani GP forks
Magura clip on's
Magura levers
Manx 5 gallon tank, hand lined & signed
Manx seat
Hand rolled ally mudgaurds
Ally box swing arm
Ally oil tank, hand lined
Bob Newby race clutch & belt drive
And of course the Joe Hunt mag supplied by LowBrow Customs ;-)

I have no charging system or wiring harness, just a small LiPo battery under the seat hump to give me a couple hours of lights if I get caught out. Tony"

Born Free 4 Invited Builder Video: Dave Polgreen

Dave Polgreen is an invited builder for Born Free 4. In addition to beating me at Words on my iPhone every time we play, he also builds slick motorcycles. You can check out some more info on him at the blog he has with fellow chopper-friend (or is that chopper-fiend?) and BF4 invited builder Jeff Leighton at The Wretched Hive. And don't forget to get your Born Free 4 Shovelhead raffle ticket before it is too late!

Centenial Trading Company Bike Show and Swap Meet, June 2nd

If you are in the Winston-Salem area, check this out June 2nd. Check their Facebook page for more info!

Customer Bike Spotlight: Ronnie's 1971 BSA A65L Bobber

Ronnie for Oregon sent in a couple shots of this clean BSA bobber, keep 'em coming guys we love to see what you are building!

"I have attached another picture of my BSA bobber above. I rebuilt this myself including splitting the case and rebuilding the engine. I have used Lowbrow accessories like the handle bars, duo lamp tail light, seat brackets etc….

Thank you for the help and great customer service.

Ronnie"

Todd's Garage Vol. 1

Todd works at Lowbrow. He answers tech questions on the phone all day, among other things, like imparting motorcycle wrenching knowledge onto us. He is immersed in motorcycles all day, and then leaves and goes home.. to work on motorcycles. Here are a couple photos I liked, the bike above is Todd's latest project, a 1969 Triumph TR6 sporting a David Bird hardtail; he just dropped the motor in this evening. I love it already.

And here is a photo of his workbench, with several of the motors he just finished building (the two pre unit motors on the right are mine, stoked!). Todd uses a unit motor as a step stool in his kitchen and the oil tank off a T100RR as an ash tray, and when he broke his femur he had a connecting rod driven into it the marrow; he is more machine than man. OK, the last sentence was total BS but the rest is true.

The Hood Bush BBQ! July 28th, Milwaukee, WI.

That's right, another Midwest show this summer, and as the flyer says it's a Dirty Bike Show! I am going to try and make it out for this one to see my bro Nick from the Haints and celebrate the dirty bastard's Birthday! I am sure they will be bringing a bit of 'Bama up north with them!-Kyle

Customer Bike Spotlight: Chuck's 750 Triumph Drag Bike

Check out Chuck's 79 750 drag bike build! You guys may know that Tyler and I are very into drag and Land Speed bikes, and so are a lot of our customers it seems! We hope to see this in person down in Wilmington this summer!  -Kyle

"I’m 64 and for more than 44 years I’d been watching/reading about drag bikes and had never been to a drag bike event. Sometime in the fall of 2011 I started talking with Wayne Skinner about Vintage Racing and shortly after decided to build a bike. I’ve owned at least one Triumph since 1970 and decided it would be a Triumph 750 powered drag bike since I knew Triumphs pretty well.

I started with the Rothwell frame and a disassembled  engine from Fayette county that looked decent. After I split the cases I found that it wasn’t decent at all. A rod had broken ( I think) at the small end and damaged both cam journals/bushings on the primary side. No one wanted to repair it for me so I bought a pair of 79 cases off EBay and built up the engine using both 72 and 79 components. So far, so good. First start-up is within a couple weeks. 

The rest of the bike went together pretty well with the usual hiccups associated with homeowner built bikes. I’ve been advised to put wheelie bars on it for safety’s sake so they’re coming from Pingel. I think the bike is too heavy to be a serious competitor especially with my 190 lbs sitting on it. Couple the weight with the fact I’ve never drag raced anything and I may have spent a lot of money on a slow bike with an amateur rider on board. Initially I just want to make a few safe passes with it and not kill myself or tear up the bike. I’ll worry about world records later.

With a different rear tire and taller gearing it might make a decent LSR bike at Wilmington. Hope to run one of those events this summer. Thanks for the interest in my bike and also all of the great Lowbrow parts. I have two other Triumphs, both 650’s, and both have numerous Lowbrow parts installed.

Chuck, Marysville, Ohio"

The Drunk Tank.. Nicotine, Gasoline & Alcohol

This here is a custom tank heavily modified by High Test Speed and painted by Scott at Chemical Candy (formerly known as Backstreet Buckets). This started life as one of our Frisco Sporty tanks, which we are out of at the moment, but a big load of tanks coming in hopefully in the next week! Check out Scott's blog for more swanky paint work.

Two Wheel Round Up: Tremont OH June 7th

Thanks to Will Stoner for shooting this over to us, it sounds like a cool local event!

Bonnie Flinner, fellow motorcycle rider and owner of the Prosperity Social Club,1109 Starkweather in Tremont is hosting what she and I hope becomes the first of their regular “Two Wheel Round UP nights at the PSC on Thursday, JUNE 7, 2012 6-9 PM. See attached flier. The menu will feature their fabulous $10 steak dinner as well as their full menu and drink selections. Believe me, the food is fabulous! Additionally, stepping into the place is like entering a 1940’s Cleveland workingman’s tavern. http://www.prosperitysocialclub.com/ To top off the evening, Ryann Anderson will be playing on the patio.

The event is open to all motorcyclists, but the focus is on Café Racers, vintage Brit, Euro and Japanese bikes, scooters, antique American machines and modern European bikes.