mastersan

Kareem has been uploading the sections to Big Money Hustlaz online over the past few days. Chapters 1-4 are now up and you can see them all below. I’ll continue to post them as they go live…

If you’re a follower of Cycle EXIF’s horsepowered older brother, Bike EXIF, you’ll probably enjoy today’s offering twice as much as our usual fare. Canada’s Martin Aveyard has built himself a pedal-powered short-track commuter that’s guaranteed to turn heads.

Martin tells the story: “My original idea for the bike was to build a cruiser with a real café racer influence, but almost a 2 dimensional interpretation for the frame with flat panels for what would be the gas tank, airbox and seatback areas.

“I think I had wood panels in mind almost from the get-go, which led me to make a wooden seat to carry the wood theme through the bike. A friend of mind laminated a blank up for me out of alternating walnut and poplar strips. I took the block and milled the rough shape from both the top and side and then used a disc sander to sculpt the seat into a copy of a seat I already have. It’s not all-day comfortable, but fine for the trip to work. 4 coats of Tung oil have left a nice matte glow to the wood. The panels are walnut laminated hardboard to match the seat. The final touch was the Stoke name—a nod to my birthplace in England, Stoke-on-Trent.

“A lot of the components came from an electric bicycle I built a few years ago. Marzocchi Jr T forks, Sun 24″ downhill rims, Avid BB7 8″ discs. I filled in the other bits with some leftovers from other projects, no fancy vintage gruppos unfortunately. The tires are Electra Fattie-Os—24″ x 3″. The headlight came from Café Racer Dreams in Portugal—just the perfect size for the forks. I added an internal 9V battery and switch to light it up and made the headlight ears to mount it to the fork tubes—actually the first time I’ve welded aluminum with my TIG welder.

“Overall the bike has a pretty relaxed feel, with the geometry, forks and tires combining to slow everything down—definitely a cruiser, but I only do short rides or commutes to work which is on pretty much level ground.”

Like all of us, Martin’s legs are the pistons that drive the bike’s transmission. He’s basically created a café racer without the fumes—and that’s a real winner. Head to Martin’s website to check out the build process of the Stoke bike and his other projects, including the full restoration of a Triumph Spitfire and a Locost Midi.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

Thanks to Guy at Greasy Kulture for turning me onto this book by Bill Ray called "Hells Angels of Berdoo '65- Inside the Mother Charter."  I'm behind the times and most of you probably know about this hardcover gem but for those like me who don't or didn't the book covers the insane 1965 photos that are posted on the Google Photo Archive and that were shot in Bakersfield by Bill Ray.

Above is Otto Friedli with the craziest panhead I've seen to date and the President of the Hells Angels in 1965.  So if you dig Bill Ray and want to support him pick up the book HERE!  You can preview the entire book, which is 75 pages or so and tells the story behind the pictures.  I just ordered my copy and though its about $90.00 with shipping its definitely a book worth having as these iconic photos have inspired many bike builds and will for so future builders and enthusiasts!

Sakot: reikia apsitvarkyt.

O kam? Atvyks gi minios europiečių…

– Jūs, belgai, marš gatvių šluot! Graikai – vyšnių skint! O tujen, Merkel, indus suplausi!

Jei mes pirmininkaujam, tai ir elkimės kaip pirmininkai.