6ROCK &BLUES –THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY BASH!
12PANHEADCHOP –GIRLONA( VERY OLD) MOTORCYCLE
18BADWABBIT SHINDIG –THERE’LL BE NO LE TTUCEFOR THEM THEN!
22GSX110 0CHOP –20 PLUS YE ARSON THEROADAND STILL PRIS TINE
28WORSHIPMOTO SHOW –IT’SNOT AS TREE TFIGHTER SHOW,RIGHT?
32SUBARU -ENGINE ONE- OFF –LIKE NO OTHERANY WHERE!
38COPDOCKBIKE SHOW –MASSIVE EVENTINT’E AS T
40SPORTSTERTRIKE –HOME- BUILTON ABUDGE T
44TRIUMPH BOBBER –THE TRUE DEFINITION OF ‘RES TOMOD’
54LORD DR AKE KUSTOMS –SIX OF THEBES TSPANISH CUSTOM BIKES
50SPREAD –ANARTISTIC-TYPE POSTER FORYOU TO PUTONYER WALL
52SUBSCRIBETOBSH –SEE HERE FOR THE BEST SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS
60TANK ART –GAININSPIRATION FROM SOME O’ THEBES TPAINTED TANK SINTHE LAND
64REAL WORLDROADTEST –THE NEW ROYALENFIELD GUERRILL A
68AY EARIN… -R IDINGCUS TO M BIKE STHE WHOLEY EA RROU ND, PA RT THR EE
70MR BRIDGES’ MOTORCYCLE DIARIES –THE GURU IMPARTSMOREOFHIS KNOWLEDGE OF MECHANICING
74FICTION –CONFESSIONSOFA COUNCILWORKER…
78NEWS –ALL THEL ATESTFROMTHE CUSTOM BIKE WORLD
80PRODUC TS –LOA DS OF GO OD ST UFFFOR YO UTOSPEND YO UR HAR D- EA RNED ON
82LETTERS –IT’SOKAY, YOUCAN TALK TO US,WE’RE ALLFRIENDS HERE
85EVENTS –HORDESO’THE THINGS, FECKIN’HORDES
90READERSLIVES –YOURLIVES IN PICTURES
94MAGNEWS –THE LATE ST WO RDSO FTHE MAGN ATIO NA L
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95DEVIL’SADVOC ATE –WOR DS FROM AN OPINION ATED,A RGUM ENTATI VE BUGGER
96REMINISCING –MEMORIESOFTHE DISREPUTABLE YEARSOFBIKING
97RICK HULSE –THE MUSINGSO F ONEO FTHE MOST ELOQUENT THINKERS IN BIKERD OM
98NEXT MONTH –JUSTTOWHETYOUR APPETITE…
HELLO, AND WELCOMETOANOTHER ISSUEOF THEUK’SOLDESTAND LONGESTRUNNING CUSTOM BIKE MAGAZINE!HOPEALL’S GOOD WITH YOU?
don’t know aboutyou,but Ireally, really,REALLYcan’t wait forthe year to roll around abit furtherand temperatures to rise.Iknow, of course,thatone shouldn’twishone’s life away,asthe oldsayinggoes, andmaybe it’s thefac tthatI live in an old, cold house that’s af fectingmyperceptionof things,but this winter of 2024/2025’sreallydraggingon, isn’tit? January’25,theysay,was thewarmest Januarysince recordsbegan (in1813, wouldyou believe?), butifthat’sthe case whywas my elec tricitybillthe highestit’severbeensince Imoved into theEditorial Hovel fif teen-plusyears ago? This isn’twhat Iexpec tedofglobalwarming,Ican tell you–I mean,did Ipunctureall thoseold fridgesand aerosolcans to releasethe CFCs allthose years agofor nothing? Theway they were talkingbackinthe earlydaysabout climatechangeI wasexpec ting,by now, to be riding all-year roundin just t-shir tand cut-of flikeall those Americansinthe hipsterchopper videos on YouTube, anddoyou know what?Ifeelmorethanslightly cheated! (Yes,yes,Iknow, climate isn’tthe same as weather, andother places around theworld’resuf fering theeffec ts of us warmingthe planet more rapidlythanhas happened previously,but I’mfeckin’ sick of beingcold.)
Butanyway, enough o’ my whinging –the worldismovingonits journey around thesun,and soon thecoldnessand damp of winter’llbeforgotten in theheatand lightofspring, summer andautumn, so what’vewegot coming up foryou to look forwardto? Well,asI said last month, theeventslistings’re attaining, Ithink,recordcapacity–I extended thenumbero’pages forthemthis monthand guesswhat? We’vestill only gotroomfor up to near theend of July! Even March, lowlyMarch,has nearly 30 that Iknowof(notincluding bike nights n’ that), andApril’s gonecrazy,ashas May, before we getintothe traditional summer months of June,Julyand August.Inany normal year we’d have,atthis time,veryfew listings past thefirstorsecondweekend of September, butthey keep rollinginand rollinginand rollingin. Maybeit’sa reac tion to theworld goingtohellinapolitical,financialand climatological handbasket,but us lot o’ hairy(and, thesedays, notsohairy)reprobatesseemdeterminedtoget out thereand have agoodtime, andIreallydon’t have aproblem wi’thatatall.We just need it to getabit feckin’warmerinthe meantime!
If you’re building achop, or anyother form of custom,thatyou’d like us to feature, then drop us alineat nik@backstreetheroes.com cosI’m hoping to star tgetting folk outthere to do stuf ffromnex tmonth.We(okay,yes,I)did getalittlecamera-happylastsummer, andphotographedfar toomanybikes, butwe’re workingour waythrough gettingthemintothe magazine as fast as we can, andwewillneedtobuild up astock forthe dark,colddaysofnex t winter,sodon’t be shy–sendina picofyourpride n’ joyand,who knows, youcould be seeing it in thesepages soon (ornex tJanuary as thecasemay be). As usual, if we photographed your bike last year andithasn’tbeeninyet, please refrainfromstickingthempinsinthatvoodoodoll–wewillget it in as soon as we can, promise!
We do have some crackers to show youcomingup– thelatestfrom, arguably,the best streetfighter builder on theplanet(themostcreative definitely);new bikesfromDestiny Cycles;aninsaneV6dieseltrike;another asymmetrical Sporty from thefrozennorth;aso-bling-rappers’d-mug-it hardtail/hardheadGuzzi;aBornFree-worthy Pan/Shovel;anincredibly intricatelyengravedSporty; and… and… and… well,loads.Weare alittlelow on oldBritfeature bikesthough, it hastobesaid, so show us what y’got, yeah?
Anyway,onthatnote, Ishall sign of f, andleave youtoperusethe issueat your leisure… whaddyameanyou don’treadthisbit first?Honestly, people have no discipline thesedays.
THEFORTIETHANNIVERSARY OF THEROCK&BLUES –WHO’D’ VE THOUGHTBACK IN 1984 THAT WE’D STILLBERIDINGAND RALLYING FORT Y YE ARSL ATER!
Duringthose fortyyears the Rock &Blues’s resided at threesites –bornon apatch of land in Long Eaton, andinitially runby Road Tramps MC,with bandssetting up on thebackofalorry trailer(as didmanyrallies back then), in 1985 it movedtoConey Grey Farm,now known as theConey Grey Showground,witha shor tsojourn to DoningtonParkduringthe Foot &Mouth crisis whichseverelyaffec ted theuse of farmland in 20 01.Atits height, attendance figures were around 15,0 00, andbig headline bandsincludedHawkwind, Suzi Quatro,Motörhead,Bad Manners, The Stranglers,JethroTull, TheCommitments,
TheSpecials, TheLevellers,and Bob Geldof Then,asbig bandsbecamelessand less af fordable,tribute ac ts rose in popularity –thisyear’swerebrilliant,asalways, and it’s been said currenttribute bandsnow soundbetterthana lotofthe originals (that’sprobably fortyyears of technological advances foryou). It wasn’t only tribute songs–manyalsoplaytheir ownmusic, andsomeare spin-offsformedwhenbig bandssplit.Eitherway,the bandsatRock &Blues arenever just tributes –they’re allgreat,and well worththe ticket price. This year HayseedDixie,DarrenWharton’s Renegade,Dub Pistols, WomeninRockUK, Dr &The Medics,and Muddibrookewere just afew of the25onoffer.The Reenie’s
Rockettesdance troupe also performed on themainstage –these ladies getbetter year on year,absolutelyfillingthe stagewith four completely differentshowsetsover thetwo main days
Thebikeshowmarquee hadaconstant flowofconnoisseursand browsers milling abou t, andone bike,withits matt black paintedtank, wasget ting lots of at tention, both on site andonsocialmedia,due to thehumorousmessagesbeing chalkedon thetankbythe owner. Ispent more hours than most in that marquee, andnever oncesaw himdoit!
TheRock&Blues wasconceived in abygoneera,and it’s asignoftrue commitment to awaninglifestyle that it’s
survived this farthrough time andchanging societal expectations.Eventsnow must be more than beer,bands,and bikes–people expec ttobeenter tained during theday,and it’s noteasycomingupwith somethingdif ferent each year to keep them interested.Thisyearsaw thereturnofthe outsidestage,which hostssix bandsinthe af ternoons andearly eveningbothFriday andSaturday, anddrewquite acrowd in the warm,early eveningsunshine. TheDruzno MercenariesVikingRe-Enactment group hadanencampmentonsite, andgaveshort skirmish displays,demonstrating theViking lifestylewithwhole families in costume. They’llbebackatthe next eventwitha
bigger party, andhopetobere- enac ting, amongstother things,two largebattles daily. Themainarena showsthisyearwere putonbyStuntworldInternational –Brian Cooper,Stewart Shaw,MarkStannage, Ryan Grif fiths andConor Brennanput on four fabulous jump andstunt riding shows with both bikesand quads.
Bike rallies’ve always hadacharitable presence andbecause,thisyear, oneof theorganisingteams hadthe misfor tune to’vebeenbattlingprostatecancer, he took to thestage on Saturday night andgavea hear tfeltaccountofthe importance of identifyingthe diseaseas earlyaspossible, andthe continuing need
forresearch. Collec tion bucketswere passed throughthe crowd, raisingavery impressive £1,800 forProstateCancerUK. Otherorganisations on site were Gears of Goodwill,avolunteer event-funded charityfocused on helpingand feeding thehomelessinDerby city centre,and,of course,the NABDstall whoworkfor bikers with disablingcircumstances,enablingthem to stay on,orget back on,the road.Phil Morris,who’s been theirstall manager for 11 years, methis lady,Dawn, at an event andshe’s been helpinghim runitfor the last sixyears,working to raiseinthe region of £100,0 00 forNABDduringhis time, butthiswas to be hislastappearanceat
theRock&Blues as he’s retiring from the stall, so they celebrated theend of oneera andthe beginningofanother by having a handfastingceremonyinthe main arena with theirRock&Blues family
Thecrowningglory of theRockand Blues, though,isthe custom bike show judged by Vicand LinJef ford and, as always,thisyear hadsomespectacular entriesinall eighteen categories. Best Paintwentto Larry (Essex)’sSof tail with itsbeautiful burgundy with gold scrollwork by AirFXof Norwich; Best Streetfighter went to Buster Lakey’s cherry red120 0Bandit(paintedby Prime. design.paintsinDover); Best Engineering to Phil James’ beautifully- engineered café -style custom XJ550; Best Vintageto
Luke Maltby’s ‘55Panhead;BestCar/Van to a1958FordPop hotrod;BestLadiesto Michelle Tarbatt’sBanditcaféracer (built by ChrisLittlewoodwho also took arunner-up trophy); Best ChoppertoMareus’ beautiful metalflakegreen Shovel;BestHarleyto LanceHows’ turquoiseblueHarley; and Best in Show to CraigWhite’s ‘Predator’, builtbyDestiny Cycles back in 20 02/3 –it won‘Best’atthe show in 20 03,and still lookspristineall theseyears later. Runner-upwinners were:Paint went to DazKing’sSex PistolsRocket3; Streetfighter to ChrisLittlewood’sBFO Switchblade; EngineeringtoRoy Gilby’s XV10 00 bike andtrailer;Vintage to Chris Holt’s ex-Royal SignalsWhite HelmetsTiger
750(theone he himselfrodeinthe team); Car/ VantoKev Branston’s ‘68Mustang; Ladies to Sharon Branston’s Forty-Eight Spor ty;Chopper to JayHarvey’s120 0 Bandit;HarleytoPolly’s ‘SleazyRider’S&S; andRunner-Up Best in Show went to Paul Stolworthy’s Revtech–a complete curveball as he’s previously been adedicated streetfighter man.
Many thanks to allthe clubsand helperswho work tirelessly to puton this marvellous event, andspecial thanks to Clive, akathe Doctor,for compering. Thenex tRock&Blues is 24 –27July, and tickets, VIPpackagesand glamping tents’re bookable throughthe websiteat www. rockandblues.com
EL BERNARDESGOT HER PANHEAD, A1956FLF (THE SECOND FSHOWS IT’S AHANDCLUTCH/FOOT-SHIF TER),IN2020 DURING THEPANDEMICA S AFAIRLYSTOCK ‘UNAND,A S SHE’SALWAYSADMIRED THE JAPANESE CHOPPERSCENE, ANDTHE WOMENWHO RODE CHOPPERS OVER THEREIN PARTICUL AR,REA SONEDTHAT IF THEY COULDDOIT, SO COULDSHE .
She livedi nSwitzerla nd at thet ime, anda lt houg ht he countr yoferedi ncrediblescenery forr id ing, itsstr ic t vehiclelawsmadeowningar ig id choppercha llengi ng
At thet ime, shehad an EvoSportster custom,but longed forsomet hi ng oldera nd cooler so,a ferdoi ng some research,decided on aFif iesPan becauseto bu ilda nd ow na rigid-framed bi ke in Sw it zerland, ther ules stated it needed to be pre-1957... and’cosit’saPan head,too,ofcou rse.
Eventual ly asuitableone wasfou nd andpurchased but, duetot he pa ndemic ,ittookseveral mont hs to arrive.Onceitd id,she real ised it ’d need acompleterebui ld to pass theSwiss inspec tion laws,a nd to ma ke it thebikeshe wa nted it to be,soshe,a nd an olderbiker fr iend,tookon thetask, in theend keepingonlyt he or ig inal engi ne andt ra nsmission. Te rebu ildtookatotal of aboutninemonthsa nd,justast heyf nished, shedecided to move back to theU K, whichmadet he shakedow n processmucheasier.
Te bi ke ru ns apairofspokedd ru mbra ke wheels (21-inch front, 18 -i nchrea r),a nd aset of what vi ntageHarleya fcionadoscal leda‘33.4 ha mburgerf ront end’ –a setof33.4m mforks as ft tedtot he or ig inal K-modelSportstersf rom196 4-72 ,a nd alarge ‘hambu rger’d ru mbra ke (socal led’cositlooks li ke thetop of ahambu rger…apparently) as ft ted to Spor ties of thesameyea r, andearly SuperGlides, too. Tey’re topped with aset of BobbyGoodTimes’(or RobHultz ,ashe’sk nown by his mu m) ’bars, andsitsjusti nf ront of an or ig inal Wassel lf rombacki n theday whichshe’s lefasis’cositlookedsocoolw it hits dentsa nd pati na,other than addi ng thecrown of thorns moti f. Te seat wasmade by ag uy in Sw it zerlandtoher design;t he rear mudg ua rd (we’re in the
UK –it’snot a‘ fender’) is acut-dow nNOS (new oldstock) item held on by aone-ofsissyba r; theoil ta nk ’s ahorseshoe ’u nt hatcradles thebat tery,too;a nd the‘plate-holder’s very cool,madef rombarbedw ire(as is thecha inguard).Te snakeside-stand’sprett ycool, too.
Motorw ise, theeng inea nd ’box’reprett ymuchast he fa mous ’i m, ’i m, and’ im intended,justcaref ul ly rebu iltto most ly stockspecs ba r, aSuper Ecarba nd su itable-looki ng aferma rket air-clea ner, asensibleelect ronicignit ion, and aver ysensiblebeltpri ma ry conversion.Teexhausts’re upsweptcocktai l-shakers, with aneatl it tleheatshieldfor her legwhenshe needstoput herfootdow ntostop, andg ivet he bi ke such astrongpar tofits visual identity.
Once thesha kedown period wasover, andt he bike’d proved itself reliable,she used it on severa ltrips that year,but it wast he follow ingyeart hatshe trulygot to enjoyit, riding it throught he UK,and across Belgium, Holland, Sweden and France.W henw interarrived,and herPan-ridingadventures hadtopause,she came up with theideaofdoing acrosscountr ytripoft he USA–buy abikeinCalifornia, ride it across thecountry,and then ship it back to theUK, andso shecommissionedMarcusEllis in Sonora,California, to build herahardtailShovelhead. Many people toldher that trip wouldchangeher,but it wasn’t ’til sherefectedont he journey afer wardst hatshe trulyunderstood itsimpact. Shesaysshe hadsomany brea kdow ns as thebikewas only ready twodaysafershe’d arrivedtopickit up so itssha kedown wasont he trip itself —every daybrought anew stor y, a newbreakdown,a newcha llenge,and at thetimeitwas ex hausting,but look ing back,she wouldn’t’vechanged at hing “Teexperience,”she says,“taught me so much aboutmyself, pushed me to learn aboutt he bike,and introduced me to so many people whohelpeda long theway.” When sheret urnedtot he UK,she ex periencedaser ious case of post-t rip blues, so star tedw riti ng aboutt he journeytocaptu re ever ydetai l, andt hat eventual ly tu rned into abook, ‘Chrome Chronicles:MySoloAdventu re Across theL andoft he Free’(st il lava ilable forsalet hrough herInstagram page @ eltattoo). Ten, last year,she visited Japa nfor thef rstt ime, andhad the unforget tableexper ienceofr id ingto MountFujiw it hf riends,a nd ridi ng choppers at BG Ta ka’s place. Teya lso visitedt he massiveMooneyesshow which, shesays, wasphenomena l– “It’s easy to seewhy people from al lover theworld come to ex perience it.I’m look ingfor wa rd to goingbacktoJapan andexplori ng even more –asatat too ar tist,I’m fort unatetohavet he freedom to travel ofen,worka roundmyown schedu le,a nd ex plorenew places.I’ve hadt he opport unit ytoworki nso ma ny di ferent locations, anda longside incred ibly ta lented ar tists, andI don’t ta ke anyofitfor granted. Ilovemyjob andt he opport unit iesitg ives me to meet newpeoplea nd seet he world .” Sounds li ke aper fect li fest yle, don’t yout hi nk?
SPEC: 1956 H- DPanhead 1200 engine/ gearbox(S&S Supe rEc arb, af te rmarke t air- clea ne r, af te rmarke tbel t primar ydrive, af te rmarke t elec tronic igni tion, upsweptcoc ktailshaker ex haus ts)/ frame, af te rmarke t side -s ta nd,oneof ffootres ts,21inch fron tw he el, H- D‘ha mburger’ frontdrum brake, 33.4 mm H- Dforks/ yokes, Bobby GoodT imes ‘bars, vin tage switchgear/ controls,Pangea grips, Wassell pe trol ta nk,oneof fsea t, NOSH -D rear mudgua rd (modif ied),oneof fsis syba r, HD horseshoeoil ta nk, one- of fbarbed wire ‘pla te -hold er, 18 -inc hH -D drum brakew he el,oneof fminimal loom, Ba tesheadlight, af te rmarke ttaillight
FINISH: Oiltank/rear ‘gua rd ag ed / pain tedtomatch original ta nk, ha nd -painted crownofthornson ta nk,byowner
ENGINEERING: Bike buil tby ow ne r& frie nd; seat by Glen’s Custom Leathe rs
ONE THINGI’VE FOUNDISBIKERS IN GENERAL AREANADAPTABLE LOT,AND CAN USUALLYFINDWAYSROUND BARRIERS −WHEN THE REGULAR VENUE FOR THE BAD WABBIT SHINDIG PUT ABLANKET BAN ON ALL OUTSIDE EVENTS, DUE TO NIMBY NEIGHBOURS, THEY,AND AFEW OTHERCLUBS, HAD TO LOOKFOR ANEW VENUE IN QUITE ASHORTTIME.
While so me plan ne d even ts we nt of fto pu bs an dfarms,the Wa bbit sfou nd an othe r so cial cl ub no ttoo fa r away in Fi sh bo urne (n ot fa rfro mthe Ro ma nv illa), ma de as ligh tc ha ng etothe da te,a nd all system swereg o! Than kfully,the re we re no wo rrie sa bo ut fin di ng th even ue, as th erewereg reat di re ctio nsig ns to
av illa ge ha ll tu cked away down atiny la ne.Aq uick he lloa tthe ga te,a nd Iwas di re cted to pa rk my fa ithful stee do na n al read ypac ke dfi el d, no tfar from Layla an dA pril ’s stun ni ng ch ops(Laylalater picked up th eawa rd fo rB es tCho p)
I’ve always likedthe Wabbitsasthey’re very much asocialclubwithabikehabit, andalsoseemtoturnupatmanyevents across thesouth –ifIwas ever to join a club it’d be theone forme. Theevent,as
ever,had avillage fete feel with lots of localstalls, andwas very family-friendly, andthe club provided an outsidebar,and BBQ, and, happilyfor me,anice -cream van, too, whichonahot daywas adelight Du ri ng th ea fternoon aban dp laye d in th ehall(no id ea wh otheywerea sI’m abso lu te ly ru bbis ha tg et ti ng su ch in fo’), an dd rewalarge crowd, an dthe re wa sa ca mpin ga rea, too, fo rthose ca rr yin go n th epar ty in th eeve ni ng
So me howthe ra tbikes,a nd Wayn e’s uniq ue ra tFordtri ke,had migrated to on es ma ll area,s ta nd in go ut li ke a bl em is ha mo ng st th ec hrom ea nd pa in t –his trikelater wo nthe Be st Ra ttro phy, an da lsothe Ba dWab bi tt Crew Trop hy. Ag uy na me dRoy ’d ridd en down on hi s da d’sv in ta ge Ha rl ey,w hich la te rwon a prize, bu tI’m no tsos ureh e’smas te re d th es ta rtin go fi tyet –h ecer ta in ly ne ed s so me ti ps from hi sd ad,b ut it ma de
fo ra good sp ec ta to rs po rt.O h, an d th es tu nnin gBSA A6 5you may’ve se en in th eP&D Cu stom ss howacou pl eo f mo nths ag owas on it sfi rs to utin g(BSH ti me travel s, y’se e) wi th it sn ew blac k n’ co pp er acce nt pa in tjob,cou rtes yo f Stig,a nd wo nB es tEng in ee ri ng.T he re we re ahan dful of scoo te rs in cl ud in g as ma rt leve ll er s-th em ed La mb re tta ch op whic hhad ma ny chat ti ng ab ou t, es pe cially Nick an dCo. from th eM usos
wh o’ve played wi th th eban d. Arri vin g ju st toolatefor ju dg in gwas ag reat trib utetothe Am eric an Ai rForce, bu tfor me th eo ne bi ke I’d’ve ridd en ho me wa sthe bl ue ‘47BSA whic hwas ju st be gg in gfor it (i fyou’llpardon th e ve rnac ular).
An othe rfab day, an dIb elieve th ey ’re ho ld in ga no th er this year,too.A ssoo n as th ei nfo’ arri ve swe’ll le tyou kn ow.