Kidney shifter..

Made this little shifter for Johan in Florida. Its stupid how much time I spend on even mellow things like this to try and make them "feel" right (or at least what I think is right)

Music For A Monday "Xmas Edition"

Can you dig it?

Sleigh ride to Malibu.

Just palin weird...


Santa loves doing hood rat shit with his friends.

Same old story.

Keep on waiting.

Keepin' it naughty homeboys.

Probably the greatest Christmas album ever made.

stuff...

A fresh batch of pegs and a couple new shirts up in the store.
All orders placed on or before the 16th. in the USA will get
there in time for Kwanzaa.
ATR store

this is just cool...

I had posted another Danny MacAskill video a couple years ago because it was pretty wild and also set to the same Band of Horses song as in Guy's part in the Lakai video.  Fast forward to now and he's back with another crazy video...and who doesn't like a little Swedish progressive rock that sounds straight from the Top Gun soundtrack.

art

Carey Brobeck of Wrench Magazine hosted an art show last month that consisted of old Easyriders
Magazine art. Pretty wild seeing the original submissions to the mag with little notes written on them
by David Mann on how it should be laid out or cropped.  One note I remember in particular, a Hal
Robinson doodle, where he wrote on the border of the drawing "sorry, been in a slump...this is all i
got" kind of reminded you of how "normal" these guys really were.  I'm not saying I think these men
were mythical or anything, but when you spend so many years reading and admiring these images in
those old magazines, you kind of forget that these dudes were just like us....stoked on choppers and
sharing their experiences with them.

Jamie's got a gun...

Took a couple photos before I tore Jamie's bike down for finish. He's recently been stocking up his garage with some goods like a tig and a lathe.  Who knows, maybe I'll have him build me a bike next time.

goddamn, this is skateboarding....

I've been wanting to post this for almost a year now but somehow get sidetracked everytime I think about it. I was thinking of breaking it down and writing this long, drawn out description of just how rad this Pontus Alv video is but you're better off just watching it and getting psyched on your own.

heads up..

The hardest part of doing anything is usually just coming up with the idea. This is in no way a mind melter or some incredible feat of fabrication, just a simple mount that I was hoping would jive with the way springer looks at the top of the rear leg and I'm stoked on how it came out.

Hell On Wheels Hill Climb

Last month Meatball over at hell on wheels threw a hill climb event that was a hell of a good time. The course was a bitchin short track to a 1000 foot hill climb ending. Some made it and some went down in flames but everyone had a smile on their face and a good laugh. 

Turk had a wild ride but was a champ by the end of the day.

Aussie Chris was a blast to watch ride. He really knows his way around a track and has style for miles.

Mikey Ratt made it first try on his triumph.  Unfortunately I showed up too late to see this badass machine beat the challenge.

Chris Huber on Mike Davis's 1959  Panhead hill climber was definitely the highlight of the day. The bike had a small mechanical problem and didn't make it the first time, but after a quick fix it was good to go. Chris maneuvered this beast all the way round the short track like a breeze and then showed what this bike was built to do up the elevation. It was a sight to see.

Thanks for the good times everyone.

The New Guy

Jason and NIck have decided to let me Chris Mumma contribute to their blog. I've known them both for a few years now and they have become good friends of mine. Being that I enjoy shooting a lot of photos when were riding, hanging, or going to a show or event, I can show all you folks who haven't gotten hip to the whole smart phone Instagram thing what's goin on in our neck of the woods. And also some of the stuff that I get into. So all of you who surf the web still in your caves I hope you enjoy what I got to show and say.

Tubesteak Boogie..

Growing up in Southern California our whole lives, Lake Elsinore has always had a reputation for being a gross, stagnant body of water, in an uncomfortably hot town filled with sketchy folks.  After a handful of trips there we started thinking "what better place to have a little chopper get-together!"  So after minimal planning and preparation we're gonna do it this weekend, Saturday the 14th.  It's not the prettiest place by any means but the dudes who run this area of the lake dig bikes and have been more than cool with sectioning off a little peninsula for us to have all to ourselves to camp right on the water away from the general public.

The idea is to ride out there Saturday morning through Trabuco Canyon and over to Ortega Hwy. where we'll end up at the lake and pretty much spend the day hanging out....not giving away a Knucklehead or trips to Japan, just regular bullshitting, staring at bikes, fishing and splashing around in the warm, swampy water.  Hopefully some of you guys have your 'ol lady bring jetskis or boats so things will get a little buck.  Later on we're gonna be cooking up a few hot dogs so get 'em while they last, maybe project some shitty movies on the side of my trailer? who knows....we don't know what we're doing, this whole thing is kinda being freestyled. We're trying to round up a bunch of coolers and canopies for shade cause it's going to be hot and miserable but if you want to bring your own deal go for it, there will be plenty of space to do it, so bring a tent, thong, a radio or don't... 

Just so everybody is clear, the lake charges $10 per vehicle (includes entry for everybody in it or on it)for day use and $5 more if you want to stay the night Saturday (they will be checking to see what pass you have in the evening for campers) so have cash in your pocket as you come up to the gate to make things move smoothly, just remember to tell them that you're there for the ATR deal otherwise you're gonna have to pay $25 to camp. The gate fee gives you access to the lakes showers and marina facilities also they're going to put a few Porta Potties in our area so we don't have to go to the Marina to poop. If you need to buy stuff, the Marina store has snacks and fire wood or you can go down the street to the Grocery store or restaurants if you want to do your own thing. If you want to bring a boat or jetski, the lake charges $25 for use of ramp and permit.

A few of us are meeting up to take the scenic route Saturday morning at the Mobil gas station/Ralphs parking lot (2504 E. Chapman ave. Orange 92869) about 8:30am and leaving at 9am. The ride will be over 60 miles so we'll stop once to top off all the little gas tanks.  Planning on getting to the lake around 10:30ish so if you want to take another route or show up later thats where we'll be.

REMINDER: STRICT SPEED LIMIT OF 5MPH ONCE INSIDE SO DON'T BLOW IT

big john RIP..

This is a little late but you might remember from an earlier post I did of my buddy John Sirmon who was diagnosed with cancer a couple years ago.  He lost his battle earlier this year but had fought hard all the way till the end.  Derek Fukuhara made this video of some of his last healthy sessions but I have lagged on posting it.  Cancer has been a heavy one for me as of late with my Mom being diagnosed a few months ago but like John, my Mom is a fighter.  I'm thankful to have such a solid relationship with my parents it helps dealing with this kind of stuff easier to swallow but still, positivity and just trying to keep a smile on my face have been the toughest things for me to do lately but seeing something like this video does wonders and I start to realize how much people really impact and imprint on your life.  I've always made it a point to surround myself with people who will remain legendary to me for one reason or another.  John is one of those guys and for no real reason other than the fact that he was a nice guy and always had a smile on his face and thats the kind of shit people don't forget.

I love telling stories but I'm not the best storyteller, I tend to get a little too involved in detail.  Theres no such thing as a long story short with me unfortunately and I apologize.  That being said, I'll try and keep this short and simple... Solid dude, solid style and with a switch back-tail like that, how can he not be a thing of legend.

Rip in peace dude.

Ventura Nationals 2013

Our buddy Dan is throwing the bike portion of the Ventura Nationals one week from today. Cars, bikes and friends at a great venue on the beach. A nice way to close the summer out.

WHERE: Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 West Harbor Blvd., Ventura, CA 93001 (Go to venturacountyfair.org for directions)

​

WHEN: Saturday August 31, 2013

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GATES: Car/Motorcycle participants 7AM. General Admission 9AM

​

ADMISSION: $15 Active military with valid ID $10 Children 12 and under with paid adult are FREE with two can foods donated to Food Share

There will also be some killer bands and events, so come check it out and say "hi" at our booth!

For more info, you can visit: http://www.venturanationals.com

Cool...

Masa from Japan builds some crazy stuff at his shop, LUCK MC. His Knucklehead he built for Born Free had so many killer details i gave up looking at it. Last week we met up with him and T-Bone and cruised to Lake Elsinore. I snapped a quick pic when nobody was watching while at the lookout.

fork cute...

I've really been digging Max's Born Free video.  The apocalyptical look of him riding around the Bay is some of the best riding footage I think I've ever seen and his words brief, yet effective.  From the first time we met I've always thought of him as a very articulate person, everything he say's seems to just plain make sense. Topics like skateboarding or choppers, both yield a feeling difficult to describe because you have to actually "live it" in order to truly know what makes them special but he somehow always seems to have a way of putting it into words so relatable that you can do nothing but sit back and think "whoa...nailed it on the head."

You know those old guys you meet on the street or in a dark corner of a bar that just look and sound like they've done it all and seen it all, and after talking to, you walk away feeling a little more enlightened and even more convinced that you will never be as cool as them? Well, Max.....I think you're well on your way to becoming that cool.

its happening

Craigs Shovelhead might be together for Born Free next weekend
unless I have to work that day, which is looking pretty likely now.

things to do in Richmond...

Meditation 4 Madmen | Jasin Phares and Harolds Iron Works from Meditation 4 Madmen on Vimeo.

I met Jasin a while ago at Max's while he was building the first version of his 69' Shovelhead. He's always had this presence about him, when he walks into the room you quickly realize you're not the most handsome dude in there anymore... The guys from Meditation 4 Madmen did this little introductory video of a series they're going to start doing, check it out. Harolds Iron Works

friends...

STANCE | DAKOTA ROCHE WELCOME VIDEO from Stance on Vimeo.

It's pretty cool having such talented friends.

I've known Dakota for a long time and he's always shredded.  It's wild seeing him go from the little kid at the park to one of the gnarliest BMX dudes on the planet.  As for Mark, aside from being a rad photographer/skater/handsome dude, he also make really cool little videos (including my Born Free  video last year). So I was especially stoked to see these two link up for this cool little edit for our friends at Stance.

Keep killing it guys.


 oh yeah, check out Dak's part in Cult's Talk is Cheap video and prepare to have your mind blown.

 

blogger talkers..

 Mike Tubbs started this podcast series called Chopper Prophets which he created earlier this month and it's starting to pick up speed. He's already got a few interviews up with dudes like Larry Pierce and Caleb Owens. To be honest, I was a little apprehensive when he told me the name of it simply because to me the word "prophet" implies someones better or above everyone else (when the truth is we're all just insecure nerds trying to convince ourselves we're not), but once I talked to Mike he made it clear its the farthest thing from that...basically he's really interested in what happens outside of the garage and how we even got there in the first place. My little interview went up last night and it's full of me saying "like" while trying to be interesting.

Check out my trainwreck and all the other podcasts Mikes done at -

Chopper Prophets

steer clear...

Chase asked me to make some steer-stops for his extended 47 Indian girder he's going to be mounting to his revised Shovel. His frames a little raked out so they had to be a little tall and since this part doesn't exist on Ebay, I was able to freestyle it. A couple tabs and a little cast finishing and it almost looks like it could have been...well, maybe?

Motorcycles, Magic and More!!!

I forgot to post this amazing flyer. It's just a few weeks away there will be an ATR booth with a bunch of goodies. Cruise by and say howdy.

boats n hoes....

Hit the boat races at Irvine Lake last week. First time in 20 years since the last races because of an out of control boat killing somebody. So much killer stuff to see just walking around the pits...guys yanking the gnarliest motors out of these boat and pulling them completely apart, inspecting and slapping them back together fairly quickly. The classic drag and race boat area was pretty rad too, lots of local history around here as far as vintage boat racing. If you ever get a chance to see check it out.

Top For Tuesday

ATR in Europe

The moons aligned and some how between personal life and my chopper life I am able to make it over the pond to Europe. We will have a booth with some pegs and merch at The Castle Run in Denmark, Kustom Kulture Forever in Germany, and the Jokers Show in Sweden. The biggest bummer is that Jason isn't able to go because his wife has a bun in the oven and Lil' Tyrone is due right around the same time. If you are going to be at these shows please cruise by and say howdy. Thanks to Keith, Rob, James, Patrick, Mattias, Mike, Dan, Arie, Dean and everyone else that's gonna help my dumb American ass out.