Of Motorcycles and Music

So why the fuck does the world need another blog about motorcycles and music?

I guess it doesn’t. But what the hell….. 

I’ve been into bikes and bands since the late Sixties. The two kinda go hand in hand. Well they did in Easy Rider…..

I reached my peak in 1973 when I bought my first brand new motorcycle, a 650 single-carb Triumph.  The same year I also discovered southern rock. Thanks Skynyrd!

Yeah, I’m a refugee from ’73 all right*. And ‘Southern by the Grace of God’ (southern England that is).

I’ve been lucky enough to have worked (term used loosely) in the motorcycle racing industry for years and while I truly admire complex new tech, my personal choice of motorcycle is a ratty twin or single. The older I get. The shittier I like ’em!

I’ve got a shagged ’91 Sportster that’s in the process of being hacked. Chopped would be the wrong word. I attacked it with a hacksaw and now my mate is tidying it up and re-wiring it (I’m fuck all use with a spanner in my hand no matter how hard I try) and once finished it’ll be a kinda’ bar hopper style thing.

I’m also the proud owner of a tired 350 Bullet I bought over a year ago and aim to have on the road in the new year. Oh fuck, the new year is tonight. I guess I never specified which year…..

And I have a ’79 XS650 Yamaha I bought brand new that has been in bits since mid-1980-something when I tore it down with the intention of rebuilding it into a flattrack custom but is now gonna be a kinda Brat style softail creation. Fuck, I’ve even bought the frame lowering kit from Visual Impact in Pennsylvania (I found them at http://www.xs650chopper.com/ - the place if you like your XS650s custom-style).

I’ve promised myself to get the 650 done this year – once the Harley and Enfield are road-worthy. The dream is to have all three bikes on the road this year – and that’s one reason for the blog to kinda give myself a reason to get them done.  I can already envisage the nightmare it’s gonna turn into. Hey, I’m a glass half-empty kinda guy!

Another reason for the blog is to engage with others who don’t just share similar biking interests – but also who share the same tastes in music.

I love music. Southern still rocks. Fuck, I’m constantly blown away by the constant stream of brilliant new bands I keep discovering……

Enjoy the ride.

*     ‘Refugee from ’73’? It was a cheapshot remark in a Frank Marino gig review I read in some crap UK music rag. He played Hammersmith Odeon, wore a silky bat-wing tee-shirt, jeans tucked into knee-length platform boots and shredded long (very long) guitar solos. Very Hendrix. They said he looked - and played - like ‘a refugee from ’73’. Fuck ’em. It was a cool gig!  And I always remembered that slogan.