Just in time for Christmas: Chronicle Books has just re-released "The Bikeriders" by Danny Lyon. Originally published in 1968, the book is a collection of photos and interviews that Lyons am***ed while he was a member of the Outlaws motorcycle club in Chicago in the mid-1960s. The photos are awesome, the stories incredible, and those old skool choppers are drool-inducing. Got my copy yesterday, haven't been able to put it down. This is a four-star must-have for a HAMBSanta list. Amazon link for The Bikeriders
I bought mine when the first reissue came out about five years ago Mike. This reissue has got about 15 new unpublished photos. Gotta agree it's the best chronicle about bikers from when bikers were actually scary. I'm gonna plonk out the dough for this one too. You can never have too many books.
Nads - wierd thing, I was just showing the book to an older secretary at work and there is a piece about a 21 year old Outlaw member - Alan Saunders - who was killed in a crash in 1964. Anyway it turns out this prim old secretary partied with him in high school. No fringi-fied Sturgis-in-a-RV Hell's Accountants here. These folks was some scary bastids.
wideglide74 just lent me a copy of Hunter S. Thompson's Hell's Angels. When I'm through with that I might have to hunt that one down
Ah!Hunter S Thomsons "Hell`s Angels"that takes me back.I read that book over and over when I was sixteen, it totally took over my life at that time and all I wanted to do was go to America and join the Oakland chapter H.A. when I got out of school.I bought a Harley and built a chop but thats as far as it got.I remember sitting in the front circle at the old flea pit with my "gang"watching "Hell`s Angels 69"starring Ralph Barger,Tiny,Terry The Tramp,Magoo and all the other "Heroes",can`t remember the story but the bikes were awesome, never seen or heard of that movie since, does it exist on video/dvd?
The movie still exists. BUT if you watch it today. You'll be very disappointed. It's really dated and there is no acting what so ever. One of the worst of all movies. I was thinking about picking up this book but I have Sonny Bargers Book on the one bookshelf I have. Can't have both of these on the same bookshelf.
the books sounds cool.that pic posted was taken in louisville over the ohio river bridge in the 60's ,its a badd *** print and im kicking myself for not buying it when i saw it at a art gallery in the mall a few weeks ago
I was going to build by bobber exactly like that one, but luckly I had a stroke of genuis and changed direction. I know a lot of people already have bike that have that sort of look. and with this book out more people will to follow
When I was out visiting friends in Milwaukee, they had an exhibit of Lyon's photography at the museum (this was areoun the harley 100th). It kicked major ***. I have the old pressing of his book, but if the new one has 15 new photos, I might get roped into picking it up!
Someone sent me a post card with that same picture on it years ago.....always loved that bike.....thanks for the info CT.
Thanks for the heads up. I will take a look locally, then order online if need be. Coincidentaly I have a BIG FAT chapters credit in my wallet from that HD 100th anniversary book my friend Emily bought me for my Bday. I LOVE outlaw sickle gang do***entation and photography. Here's a list from my secret "book of list's" of a few old schoo l"B" sickle movies for you to look for at your local fringe/alternative movie shop. Wild Angels, Electraglide in Blue, The Loveless, CC and Company, Stone Cold, The Glory Stompers, Angels From Hell, Pink Angels, Satan's Choice (Canada Film Board Do***entary '66), Tammy and the Doctor, Hard Ride and last but not least Born Losers. Of this list I have been fortunate enough to have found a few. If anyone has any leads on any PLEASE PM me...
Got it, read it, LOVED IT! That pic really captures the era. I hope Lyons finds and shares more of this history.
AV8 recommended an excellent bike book to me about 3 years back. ***le = Rebuilding the Indian by Fred Haefele. A small trade size* hardback with 211 pages of text. It's got several B&W pics in the center section showing the progression of the restoration. Best part for me was the reprint of the lubrication chart on the inside front and back covers complete with excellent photo and a list of the 22 places to lube. The book covers the trials and tribulations of the resto process including the running down of a few dead ends, people who failed to come through with what they were supposed to come through with as well as appropriate credit for those who did come through. One interesting part for me was that Fred set the bike up with the original Indian left hand throttle and right had shift. That and the foot clutch operating - factory stock - in the opposite direction from a Harley made for a difficult to get used to ride. Perhaps not so bad if you weren't already a bike rider and used to the right hand throttle, left hand shift etc., but stepping up to the left hand throttle et al would toss me for a loop for sure. His opinion and I agree with him, the reverse operation of controls was designed to cull out all but the most ambidextrous Harley riders. *Trade size = 6 x 9" approx. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As long as I'm rattling along this morning, the reversed controls of the Indian struck as being similar to one of the soap box racers my cousin built. The Grandparents lived in an oil company house near Carbon Canyon in Brea, California. Out front was a fairly steep hill just made for soap box racers and wagons. Only bad part was you had to get stopped before the bottom of the hill or at least turn off into the dirt field on one side or the orange orchard on the other side. At the bottom of the hill was the ultimate penalty. A two lane highway. Many times these home-made coasters and soap box racers were steered by tiller ropes on the center pivoting front axle. Simplicity at it's best, to go right, pull on the right rope and so on. When the guys got a little more skilled at building they'd put together a steering column out of 4-6 pieces of wood so as to make a 'winding' drum for the steering rope. To have a turn the steering wheel right to go right required the steering rope to be wound so that it exited from underneath the column drum. Somewhere along the line my cuz and his bud built a new car and without thinking about too much - or maybe they were, they could be clowns at times - they wound the steering rope so it came off the top of the column drum. The interesting part was it didn't take cuz and his bud long to learn how to steer it. The other interesting part was when dad and uncle tried out the car. They couldn't steer it to save their lives and in fact uncle turned the car over on the asphalt in front of grandma, the kids and all the wives. Grandma just shook her head and went back inside. The wives concurred with one another as they are sometimes wont to do that guys could be totally stupid sometimes. It was kinda funny, but it taught me how an ingrained response could work against you sometimes. The same was true for Fred when he rode the Indian. It made for some interesting adventures. Nuff said....
Lookds like a cool book, I was checking out Sonny's Bio at the airport book shops while in aussie last month it looks pretty good, anyone read it ? on the weird controls dept, a good friend of mine has a Ducati 900ss set up with oposite foot shift as he has only one leg these days due to youth and very fast Jappa's it takes some getting used to riding his bike, upside down wrong foot shifts with the back brake on the rear of the foot peg on the same side.....
THANKS MIKE THIS BOOK ROCKS. This morning I picked up the copies I'd ordered and spent the day trying to read paragraph to paragraph at red lights, read a couple more while I waited for my take out tonite and plan to get into it when I get home.
The Jalopy Journal
