CATEGORIES

THE SLED

I’M A SEMI-PRO SHED BUILDER, WHO BUILDS UNDER THE NAME DIRTY DICK’S… I SAY ‘SEMIPRO’ BECAUSE I’VE ONLY, AT THE TIME OF WRITING, SOLD TWO BIKES (AND, USUALLY, I GET PAID IN BEER FOR ANY OTHER WORK I DO).

THE CHIEF

I BOUGHT MY ENFIELD, A 2001 350 BULLET, IN SHROPSHIRE IN JUNE 2019, WITH JUST 11,000 MILES ON THE CLOCK. IT WAS IN TRIALS TRIM, BUT I ALREADY HAD IN MY HEAD WHAT I WANTED TO DO WITH IT – MAKE IT INTO A ‘50S-STYLE CUSTOM, BASED LOOSELY AROUND AN INDIAN SCOUT THAT I’D SEEN PICTURES OF.

MADE O'GUBBINS

OVER THE LAST YEAR OR SO, MANY OF US’VE HAD TO FOREGO THE JOY OF SEARCHING FOR PARTS AT AUTO-JUMBLES, SHOWS AND BREAKER’S YARDS, RELYING ON EITHER THE HIT-AND-MISS OF INTERNET AUCTION SITES, OR TURNING TO OUR OWN STOCK OF PARTS, WHEN LOOKING AT BUILDING OR MODIFYING A BIKE.

BUDGET BOBBER

PEOPLE ALWAYS SAY CUSTOM BIKES’RE EXPENSIVE, THAT ONLY THE RICH CAN HAVE ‘EM, BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT ONE THERE’S ALWAYS A WAY…

LEAF IT OUT

THE SUZUKI LS650 IS PERHAPS BEST KNOWN FOR HAVING ONE OF THE LEAST SUITED AND MOST RANDOM MODEL NAMES IN MOTORCYCLING HISTORY – THE SAVAGE.

SIZE O

I DECIDED I NEEDED A BIKE FOR MYSELF AS A KEEPER (RATHER THAN THE USUAL BUILD IT, SELL IT, FUND THE NEXT ONE), BUT TIME AND FUNDS WERE GOING TO GET TIGHT. I WANTED A ‘60S/’70S-STYLE HARDTAIL WITH A DECENT-SIZED MOTOR, SINGLE OR TWIN, AND SOMETHING I DIDN’T HAVE TO DO ANY FRAME MODIFICATIONS TO.

LITTLE VICTORIES

SOME FOLK SAY WORK’S A NECESSARY EVIL, OTHERS MAKE THE MOST OF THEIR SITUATION. A GOOD FRIEND ONCE SAID TO ME THAT IT’S THE LITTLE VICTORIES THAT COUNT WHEN AT WORK, USING THEIR MACHINERY TO MAKE BIKE PARTS, BLAGGING FREE STATIONARY, OR JUST HAVING A POO ON THEIR TIME…

BACK TO THE EIGHTIES!

AFTER THE STYLISTIC EXCESSES OF THE 1970S, THE 1980S SAW A KIND OF DIRECTION CHANGE IN CUSTOM BIKE BUILDING – ONE WHICH RESULTED IN NO SMALL PART FROM THE ABUNDANCE OF FAST, RELIABLE FOUR-CYLINDER MOTORCYCLES FROM THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN.

APPLE

MY GOAL WAS TO CREATE A CAFÉ RACER WITH STYLING FROM THE FIFTIES – ROUND CURVES THAT’D MAKE IT POP.

3 DIRT DIGGERS

OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS DIRT DIGGERS, HELD AT THE EDDIE WRIGHT SPEEDWAY STADIUM IN SCUNTHORPE, HAS BECOME THE NUMBER ONE, ALL-COMERS-WELCOME BIKE RACE IN THE UK.

IN-YER-FACE 'ONDA

BACK IN ISSUE 420, IN THE H-D SUPPLEMENT WE DID FOR THAT ISSUE, WE INTRODUCED YOU TO KNOCKER, AND HIS NO-NONSENSE IRONHEAD – A BIKE THAT GAVE THE FINGER TO BOTH TRADITIONAL BSH CHOPS, AND THE NEW SKOOL RETRO-CHOPPER CROWD TOO.

THE SHINY SURVIVALIST

THERE’S LITTLE DOUBT THAT 2020 DIDN’T REALLY TURN OUT THE WAY THAT ANY OF US EXPECTED, OR HOPED, IT WOULD. MIND YOU, I DID WONDER IF THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC MIGHT’VE INFLUENCED BIKE BUILDERS IN A MORE VISIBLE WAY THAN IT SEEMS TO HAVE, AND EXPECTED A RESURGENCE IN THE BUILDING OF ‘SURVIVAL BIKES’.

MONTANA REO

MANY YEARS AGO I BUILT TWO FXR SOFTAILS – MINNESOTA FATS (A SORT OF SUPER FAT BOY), AND DAKOTA BLACK (A PROPER CHOP), ONE FOR ME AND ONE FOR MY MATE JIM. WE’D DREAMT UP THE NAMES IN THE PUB ONE NIGHT AS PART OF AN IMAGINED SERIES OF BIKES – THE NORTHERN STATES SERIES. THEY CAME OUT WELL, AND WERE FEATURED IN BSH 170 IN 1998.

MORTICIA

I BUILT THIS CHOP 38 YEARS AGO (THE DRY BUILD WAS IN MY BEDROOM), AND I TRY TO KEEP IT LIKE IT WAS WHEN IT WAS FIRST FINISHED. I USED TO PRIDE MYSELF ON IT STARTING FIRST KICK, AND NOT LEAKING OIL – IT STILL STARTS FIRST KICK (OCCASIONALLY SECOND), BUT THERE IS NOW, NEARLY 40 YEARS LATER, ONE SLIGHT OIL LEAK…

UJB UNIVERSAL JAPANESE BOBBER

ONE OF THE WORST THINGS TO HEAR WHEN OUT AND ABOUT AMONGST ANY GATHERING OF MOTORCYCLE TYPES IS A SLIGHTLY NASAL VOICE SAYING, IN THE PAUSE BETWEEN PEOPLE SPEAKING, ‘DID YOU KNOW THAT…’ BECAUSE YOU KNOW, YOU JUST KNOW, THAT YOU’RE GOING TO TURN ROUND AND BE CONFRONTED WITH AN ANORAK.

LONG SHOP MUSEUM BIKE SHOW

THE THIRD BIKE SHOW AT THE LONG SHOP MUSEUM IN LEISTON, SUFFOLK, WAS HELD ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13TH. IT’D BEEN HANGING IN THE BALANCE, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE THIS YEAR, BUT UNLIKE MOST IT, WAS DEEMED OKAY TO GO AHEAD, DESPITE CONCERNS OVER LIMITING NUMBERS AND KEEPING EVERYONE SOCIALLY DISTANCED.

THE REWARD...

AS I’M SURE YOU’RE AWARE (IF YOU’RE NOT, REALLY? WHERE’VE YOU BEEN? DOWN A WELL?) OUR CHOSEN LIFESTYLE IS, AS ELIZABETH BATHORY MIGHT SAY, IN DIRE NEED OF AN INJECTION OF FRESH BLOOD BECAUSE… WELL, WE’RE ALL GETTING A BIT OLD, A BIT PAST IT THESE DAYS, AREN’T WE?

FACTORY CUSTOM

DURING MY VISIT TO MUDDY BEACH CUSTOMS BACK IN AUGUST, WHERE I TOOK THE PICS OF CHRIS LINDSAY’S CUSTOM CHAMPS-WINNING S&S (AS FEATURED LAST ISSUE), GUS, THE MAIN MAN, ARRANGED FOR A WHOLE LOAD MORE SCOTTISH BIKES TO ARRIVE TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED TOO. AS WE DON’T GET UP ACROSS THE BORDER THAT OFTEN THESE DAYS, I GOT ‘EM ALL IN THE CAN, AND YOU’LL SEE ‘EM IN A FORTHCOMING ISSUE.

HOT ROD SHOUEL

IF YOU’RE A LONG-TERM READER OF THIS AUGUST PERIODICAL (AND THE ONES PUBLISHED OTHER MONTHS TOO), THEN YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE BIKES, OR AT LEAST THE KIND OF BIKES, BUILT BY A GENTLEMAN BY THE NAME OF VINCENT SUMMERS

AMOC CUSTOM SHOW

AH, THE JOYS OF A SEPTEMBER MORNING – STILL SOME OF THE SUNSHINE FROM SUMMER, BUT THOSE SOFT TONES OF EARLY AUTUMN COMING IN, WHICH MAKES FOR A PERFECT COUNTRY RIDE... MIND YOU, I’M NOT SO KEEN ON THE BARRAGE OF CONKERS AND ACORNS WHICH SEEM TO MAKE A BEELINE FOR THE HELMET.

EVENT: STONHAM BARNS BIKE NIGHTS

WHILE THE MAJORITY OF EVENTS, BIKER EVENTS, WERE CANCELLED IN 2020, FOR THE TWO BRIEF MONTHS OF FREEDOM WE HAD, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER (AND, OKAY, OCTOBER, BUT IT WAS BLOODY COLD AND WET SO NOTHING REALLY HAPPENED), THE NEXT BEST THING WAS BIKE NIGHTS.

MR BATCHELAR'S SCRAPBOOK PART 1

ONCE IN A WHILE A PACKAGE GETS PUSHED THROUGH THE LETTERBOX OF THE BSH EDITORIAL ORIFICE, AND ISN’T, FOR A CHANGE, A BILL, OR A DEMAND FOR SEXUAL FAVOURS FROM TOP SUPERMODELS – IT’S SOMETHING FAR, FAR BETTER (OR AT LEAST FAR LESS IMAGINARY).

BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS 2020 OVERALL WINNER - BEST NEW SKOOL

OF ALL THE CLASSES IN THIS YEAR’S CUSTOM CHAMPS, ‘NEW SKOOL’ WAS THE ONE I HADN’T A CLUE AS TOWHAT WAS GOING TOWIN. THE BIKES IN IT – TOMMY’S XS650 FLAT-TRACKER, STEVE’S INSANE TURBOCHARGED CAFÉ RACER, JESSE’S 250 VIRAGO FLAT-TRACKER RACER, AND BEN’S DIMINUTIVE SIDECAR OUTFIT – WERE ALL SO DIFFERENT, SO ECLECTIC, THAT I COULDN’T WORK OUT WHICH ONE’D TAKE TOP HONOURS.

BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS 2020 OVERALL WINNER - BEST CUSTOM

PICKING THE WINNER OF THE BEST CUSTOM CATEGORY IN THE 2020 BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS WAS SOMETHING I REALLY WOULDN’T’VE RELISHED DOING AS ALL THE BIKES (DANIEL’S IRONHEAD, GRAHAM’S XS, MARK’S TRIKE, AND MATT’S SPORTSTER) WERE ALL SO DAMN GOOD THEY WERE ALL, IN MY EYES, IN THE RUNNING. THE JUDGES, THOUGH, WERE UNANIMOUS IN PICKING MATT’S.

EVENT: HAYLING ISLAND BIKE NIGHT

I’M SURE IT’S NOT JUST ME, BUT ANY EXCUSE TO GET A FEW MILES UNDER THE BELT’S A GOOD ONE THE WAY THIS YEAR’S BEEN GOING, SO GRABBING THE OPPORTUNITY OF A DRY THURSDAY I HEADED DOWN TO THE REGULAR HAYLING ISLAND BIKE NIGHT, AS ADVERTISED ON THE BSH FACEBOOK PAGE.

BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS 2020 OVERALL WINNER - BEST ENGINEERING

WE KNEW ‘BEST ENGINEERING’D BE A HARD-FOUGHT CLASS ‘COS THE WINNERS WERE ALL SO GOOD (TONY’S TOTALLY ONE-OFF VICTORY, NICK’S SUPERCHARGED HARLEY RACE BIKE, AND JOHN’S COMPLETELY HOMEMADE SINGLE), BUT THE WELL-DESERVED WINNER WAS DUSTY JOHNSON’S MONSTER-WHEEL EVO’.

EVENT: ROUTE 11 TRIUMPH DAY

ONE SUNNY SUNDAY MORNING I CALLED IN AT ROUTE 11 CAFÉ ON THE NORTHBOUND CARRIAGEWAY OF THE 11 NEAR ATTLEBOROUGH IN NORFOLK, BECAUSE THEY WERE HAVING A TRIUMPH DAY.

BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS 2020 OVERALL WINNER - BEST PAINT

OF ALL THE CATEGORIES IN THIS YEAR’S CHAMPIONSHIP, ‘BEST PAINT’ WAS THE ONE I THOUGHT’D GIVE THE JUDGES THE BIGGEST HEADACHE AS THE FOUR WINNING BIKES WERE ALL ABSOLUTELY AMAZINGLY PAINTED. I, PERSONALLY, HAD IT DOWN TO TWO, AND SO I WAS QUITE PLEASED WHEN VIC AND LIN, PAUL, DUTCH, AND MURRELLS PICKED ONE OF THEM – CHRIS LINDSAY’S S&S, PAINTED BY GUS AT MUDDY BEACH CUSTOMS.

BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS 2020 OVERALL WINNER - BEST BUTCHERED CLASSIC

AS SOMEONE WHO IS, AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN, A FAN OF BIKES THAT GO FAST, THE BUTCHERED CLASSICS CLASS WAS ONE CLOSE TO MY OWN HEART, AND IT’S ALSO THE ONE IN WHICH I’D HAPPILY’VE VOTED FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE (ANDY’S SCHIZOPHRENIC LC, CARLOS’ VERY EIGHTIES GSX, STEVE’S UBER-BLING GIXER, AND RICHIE’S SUBLIME TDR) BUT, PROBABLY SENSIBLY, I’M NOT A JUDGE.

BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS 2020 OVERALL WINNER & BEST IN SHOW - BEST CHOPPER

WHEN IT CAME TO JUDGING ‘BEST CHOPPER’ THE WINNER WAS ALMOST A WALK-OVER, WITH THREE OUT OF THE FOUR JUDGES PICKING LAYLA LEATHAM’S BSA. I’LL LET HER TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT. N.