THE REDNECK RUMBLE 2017
The 2017 edition of the Redneck Rumble took place on September 16th in Lebanon, Tennessee. Here’s a few pics for those who could not make it.
CLASSIC AUTOMOBILES AND VINTAGE MOTORCYCLES!
Two of my favorite things in the world are classic automobiles and vintage motorcycles. And when you combine them both into one event… well, that’s a pretty good day. Today I made my way to The Factory in Franklin, Tennessee for the 27th Annual Antique & Classic Car Show, sponsored by the Battlefield Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America. But it get’s better… this years show was held in conjunction with the Music City Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America. That’s right… a beautiful day filled with classic automobiles and vintage motorcycles…. all in the same place. I could go on about how heavenly that is, but I’ll just shut up and let you enjoy some of my photos.
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BRAGGIN’ ON NASHVILLE AND GUSHER CYCLES
Please allow me to brag on my hometown for just a minute. Widely known for county music, Nashville is much more than most people think and among other things, has a rich history in the hotrod and motorcycle culture. Those traditions continue today and there are a host of talented builders (of both the 4-wheeled and two-wheeled kind) that currently call The Music City home.
One of those talented individuals is J Ryan of Gusher Cycles. I first met J Ryan about 8 years ago at a local bike show and since then have seen him out and about once or twice a year. It’s to the point now that I look for him at any show I think he might be at… just because I know he will have something stellar on display.
Last weekend I attended a show at the Nashville Fairgrounds and sure enough, J Ryan was there with another one of his smokin’ hot creations. You’re going to have to believe me when I tell you that these photos don’t come close to accurately reproducing the gorgeous paint job on this bike (show lighting is always so awesome!) but even so, you can see that J Ryan has perfected his painting and fabrication skills to a level that most will never reach.
Take a look and then jump on over to gushercycles.com to see more of J Ryans creations. I’m jonesin’ hard to have him paint my Sporty project bike for me and if you’re looking for custom work yourself (paint, fabrication, bars, etc.) you should definitely check out what Gusher Cycles has to offer.
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OUTSIDE LOOKING IN…
I love car and bike shows… probably a little too much since they seem to take up way more of my time than any normal person should allow. They are my obsession I suppose, but I just can’t help it. I love to see classic vehicles and all the things that their owners have done to preserve them. It’s educational, giving me a lot of ideas for my own projects. It’s nostalgic, reminding me of simpler times and the historical significance of the US auto and bike industries over the years. It’s therapeutic, captivating my thoughts for a few hours and allowing me to forget real-world issues and pressures that we all face in adult life. And it brings up fond memories of my youth that includes vehicles I’ve owned in years past and great times I’ve had working on them with my dad. IT’S FUN!!!
Yes… I’ve been known to wander a car or bike show from open to close many times, looking at the same vehicles over and over… but eventually the doors have to close and they kick me out for the night. Sometimes that’s when the fun starts though. I’ve noticed over the years that a lot of the best cars and bikes you will see at a show are not on the show floor but rather in the parking lot. All of the photos in this post were taken in the parking lot of shows I’ve been to. I hope you enjoy them and I also hope that the next time you’re leaving a show, you’ll keep your eyes open on the way back to the car. You might just see some of the best rides all day on the outside looking in.
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A LITTLE SOMETHING TO WARM UP YOUR JANUARY
So… here i sit in the middle of January with next weeks forecasted temperatures below the freezing mark. It’s not a good recipe for people like me who enjoy wandering through classic vehicles in the heat of the summer. Fortunately, I just came across a few pictures from a show I attended in Nashville back in September. It’s not exactly the same but at least I can re-live warmer times and some cool rods with these photos! Care to join me?
By the way… Alexander King & Hatfield Bloodline were the featured band at this particular show. If you’ve not seen them, I highly recommend you do when they hit your town. They are great and Alexander’s guitar player is the one and only Kenny Olson of “Kid Rock” fame.
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AN AWESOME 1977 BMW R100/7
I spotted this way-cool 1977 BMW R100/7 at a local show this weekend. The bike was modded into a cafe’ style by a chap named Bob Long in Sevierville, Tennessee. Here’s what he did:
- Completely disassembled the frame and cleared all unnecessary mounting lugs
- Painted frame and components with PPG PR4 Red.
- Painted side covers, tank and rear fairing in PPG WA600R Black and PPG GAN Silver
- Rebuilt forks and stiffened with 8mm bushings.
- Replaced rear shocks with Hagon SA adjustable coil-overs.
- Added Burley Cafe’ rear tail section and custom seat cover.
- Added Cat Eye tail light and BR sport mini turn signals (front and back).
- Added European spec “low bars.”
- Added “Pea-Shooters” slip on mufflers and header wrap.
- Deleted rear fender and shortened front fender.
I think the results are fantastic… I love this bike!
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GREASE MONKEY ISSUE #13
Issue #13 of Grease Monkey Magazine is in the stores now. Be sure to grab a copy and check out my photos of the DoMaCo Norton, as well as re-cap photos of the 2013 Spring Thaw bike and Rat Show. You can view the entire magazine here.
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DOMACO NORTON
I did a photo session with this cool hybrid Norton a couple weeks ago. It was built by local builder Lance Dodson, out of his Dodson Machine Company (DoMaCo) shop here in Nashville. Images from this shoot can be seen in the current issue of Grease Monkey Magazine.
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THIS YEAR’S VERSION
I got ambitious and decided to re-paint my vintage helmet. This is the third version of it so far… simple, homemade silver-flake!
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ANOTHER SIGN THAT SPRING IS JUST ABOUT HERE
Every Easter weekend, the local CMA chapter holds their Blessing of the Bikes event. Riders from all walks of life come to the local park and the good people of the Cornerstone Riders pray over you and your bike. It’s nice to have people care enough about you to spend a few minutes praying for you.
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HARLEY-DAVIDSON SEVENTY-TWO REVIEW
In case you missed my review of the Harley-Davidson Seventy-Two last year… HERE’S A LINK TO IT.
CAUGHT MY EYE AT THE 2013 SPRING THAW
Every year in March, my good friends over at Both Barrels Promotions put on a great bike show in Shelbyville, Tennessee called The Spring Thaw. Each year it marks the onset of Spring for me…and more importantly , the end of Winter! Well, today was the day, and the event, as usual, was awesome. I took a bunch of photos but one bike in particular caught my eye. Check out this gorgeous 1976 FLH from Harlot Motorcycles.
Check out more of my pics of the Spring Thaw at swag.zenfolio.com.
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WHAT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
What! Are you kidding me? The Sporty has gotten out of the garage 2 weekends in a row now. It’s almost like riding season… and Spring is so close you can smell it in the air. Bring it!
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WHOOHOO… CAN’T WAIT!
This morning I walked out into the garage, just to check on Otis and the Sporty. I do that more often than I should probably admit. I mean, who makes the effort to peek into the garage, just to stare at vehicles they’ve seen thousands of times before? Well… I do, and my guess is that if you have the right vehicle, a lot of you do too.
But… back to my point. It’s cold here in Middle Tennessee, like 21 degrees, but the sun is shining bright and is cascading through the windows…. bouncing off of Otis and painting the entire wall a glowing red. For some reason, it reminded me that the “Dark Months” are nearly over! I coined the phrase “Dark Months” a few years ago in an effort to describe the time between November 1 and March 1 when the days are short, the temperatures are low and good riding days are few and far between. They suck! But we’ve almost survived them again. It won’t be long before Otis and the Sporty start getting out way more often than they have been recently. Whoohoo… can’t wait!
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THREE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS
The Dark Months have been up and down here in Middle Tennessee. Ice storms followed by temps in the 60’s are probably why I’ve contracted 2 head colds already this winter. But, I’m not complaining. I’ll gladly tolerate some harsh weather if it calms down every few days. That’s much better than the extended periods of doom and gloom we’ve had in the past.
Today was January 26, and by all accounts right smack dab in the heart of the Dark Months. The good news is that and we were blessed with sunshine all day long and temps in the upper 40s. To make things even better, our local H-D dealership (Bumpus Harley-Davidson of Murfreesboro) held an indoor mini tattoo convention, so I drove Otis down to check out the festivities. I saw some fantastic artwork and got to combine three of my favorite things in the process, Old Trucks, Harley’s and Ink. I snapped the pic above of Otis in the parking lot.
I even got back early enough to get the Sporty out for a bit before nightfall. Put about 30 miles on it before returning to the house. Frankly, the cold was pretty painful! But, it was a blast and I’m happy to say, the Eagle is still Screamin’!
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SOMETHING WITH THIS FEEL AND VIBE WOULD BE COOL
So my Sporty Project has been on somewhat of a “hold” lately, due to a lot of work being done on the Stepside. But out-of-site, does not mean out-of-mind. There are still some things I want to get done and I’ve been thinking about it a lot this week. Vintage white grips (like these) are coming soon… and I think I may have found the answer to my plain tank. Initially, I had just planned on having a buddy do a little pin-striping but I found the bike pictured below on the Harley-Davidson “Dark Custom” website.
The bike is owned by a cat in Wisconsin who IMHO has really good taste! I freakin’ love this tank graphic. Something similar may be in order. Maybe not gold-leaf per se, but something with this feel and vibe would be cool. What do you think? I already have a couple ideas for what it might say.
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URAL SIDECAR
A buddy and I braved the cold and wet weather here in Middle Tennessee today… and got out on two wheels for a bit. This was the first time I’d had the Sporty out of the garage in a couple months and it was quite liberating! I thought I had a major problem at one point. I was tooling down the highway and my speedo started bumping from 60mph to 0 mph, back and forth… and every time the speedo hit 0, the bike would sputter and cough. Upon investigation, I discovered the positive battery cable was barely hanging onto the battery. Not sure how it got so loose but I’m glad it was nothing more serious!
On our way back home we stopped in to visit our friends at Bumpus Harley-Davidson in Murfreesboro, Tennessee where this beautiful Russian-built Ural Sidecar greeted us. It seems the good folks at Bumpus have become a Ural dealer. This thing is way cool. This particular model is the “Gear Up” which features the Ural 749cc OHV Air-cooled, 4-stroke Boxer engine. It’s a shaft drive with 4-speed tranny (plus 1-reverse) and features a Brembo full-floating front disc brake. Oh… and it also features “on-demand” 2-wheel drive, making it an off-road demon… as demonstrated in the video below. Like I said before… way cool! MSRP is $13,949… contact Tom at Bumpus Harley-Davidson for more details. (No… I don’t work for them! Haha)
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FLAT TRACK RACING
The good people at Both Barrels Promotions, here in Middle Tennessee, held their annual Flat Track Races last Sunday. This is one of my favorite motorcycle events of the year. Here’s a few pics… maybe next year I’ll be on a ride!
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20 PIX FROM COKER TIRE
I’ve been living in Tennessee for 22 years but had never made a visit to Coker Tire in Chattanooga… until yesterday. The legendary tire and wheel company supplies authentic, reproduction tires and wheels to classic car and motorcycle enthusiasts around the world. If you are in the area, it’s worth a stop for the free tour. Here are some pics for those who can’t make it!
Legendary name…
The Coker family saved Honest Charley Speed Shop.
A hand signed standup from original Miss Hurst… Linda Vaughn.
Corky Coker is all about bikes too.
Honest Charley Rat Rod… The only Rat Rod I saw on the premises.
1903 Excelsior Auto Cycle
The famous Double Exposure 32 Roadster… you’ve probably seen this car on TV.
Wrong brand… but cool signs. 🙂
This original Indian neon is huge… Id’ say about 15′ x 20′.
Another you’ve probably seen on TV.
These are all barn-finds… in the front is a 1968 Camaro Rally Sport convertible. All original. WOW!
I was not supposed to go in the shop but… I snuck this photo. See that huge lathe? This guy is actually cutting wheels…and I was told, he is the only guy in the country that still does this.
Ever heard of a Nyberg? Me either until this day. I was told that this model was manufactured in Chattanooga in the early 1900’s and there are only three remaining in the world.
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BUT I’M LIKE THAT…
I made my way to the local H-D dealership this afternoon to see the 2013 models revealed. Look close at the pic above and you’ll see my junkyard dog at the back of the pack in the parking lot. There was some nice stuff, and if you are interested, you can CLICK HERE to see the new models. (The new Bold Metal Flake finishes are smokin!) But… as is typical… the bike that really caught my eye was outside in the parking lot. I’m not normally a fan of the Softail but this ’03 has just the right amount of old-school vibe to make it way-cool! I love the minimalist approach, rounded old-school look rear fender, old-school seat, and big-ole wide bars. But I’m like that…
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ANOTHER SHOW POSTER
Thought I would share one of my latest creations. I was hired to create the show poster for an upcoming Middle Tennessee indoor motorcycle race. This will be a good time… if you are close, come on out for the fun!
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THE WORLD’S FASTEST INDIAN? PROBABLY NOT BUT STILL WAY-COOL!
A few days ago I posted a few pics from the Nashville British Motorcycle Clubs vintage bike show. There were some cool bikes there but none so cool as this one… at least in my opinion. I never did find the owner to get the details about it but I’m guessing this is a mid to late 20’s Scout model. I’ve never seen an Indian with an “in-frame” mounted tank like this in person. What a great bike and an important part of two-wheel history.
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TON UP NASHVILLE: 11TH ANNUAL VINTAGE BIKE SHOW
The Ton Up Nashville British Motorcycle Club held their 11th annual vintage bike show on Sunday May 20. I try to make this show every year because it brings out some bikes (all kinds, not just British) that you don’t see at the other shows around town. Here are some of my favorites.
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