[mechanickeith]

WOW!!!! Just noticed it has "widow maker # 5" on the side cover!!! Wonder how bad numbers 1 through 4 were??

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by mechanickeith

WOW!!!! Just noticed it has "widow maker # 5" on the side cover!!! Wonder how bad numbers 1 through 4 were??

Pretty bad.

EJ was a local (well, not just local) legend.

He ran at one of the local Michigan drag strips one time and was scheduled to make 3 exhibition passes.

He dumped the bike in the lights at the top end of the second pass. Very nasty, scary looking crash.

After eliminations were done, while we were at the tower getting our payout, he came up to speak with the track owner/managers. He had his hands all covered with vaseline and wrapped with strips of clean white cloths, as well as some bandages around his legs. He told them "...well, I'll see ya next week".

They said "EJ, WTH are you talking about?"

He said "...you paid me for three passes and three passes are what you'll get".

Sure enough, he put the bike back together was back the next week to complete the promised third pass.

K

[Keith Seymore]

This photo is so cool on so many levels:

6) That is a really nice lookin' go cart; the kind Barcak and I used to dream about when we were growing up.

5) You've got the whole "cop pulls over kid on go cart" vibe going.

4) Nice Harley motorcycle photo.

3) Apparently taken in Dearborn, Michigan - which is of course where TomV hangs out (not far from where I'm sitting).

2) Requisite '57 Chevy in the background

and - the number one reason this photo is so cool -

1) The kid is wearing a helmet and the motorcycle cop isn't.

[OVERULD]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

This photo is so cool on so many levels:

6) That is a really nice lookin' go cart; the kind Barcak and I used to dream about when we were growing up.

5) You've got the whole "cop pulls over kid on go cart" vibe going.

4) Nice Harley motorcycle photo.

3) Apparently taken in Dearborn, Michigan - which is of course where TomV hangs out (not far from where I'm sitting).

2) Requisite '57 Chevy in the background

and - the number one reason this photo is so cool -

1) The kid is wearing a helmet and the motorcycle cop isn't.

Agreed on all points. I would add that I, too, dreamed of a go-cart like this one and when riding my bike always pretended it was a Harley (used to make a pretty good impression of a Harley at idle and going throgh the gears with my mouth). Then we figured out how to tie baloons on to the front forks and fender braces to let the spokes stroke them and dang if it didn't sound AWESOME...until one would pop and we'd pretend we just lost a cylinder and had to pull over! Man - did we have a bunch of fun as kids just jimmy-dicking around like that. We made choppers out of our bikes with an extra set of front forks, a banana seat, big tall sissy bar and ape-hanger handle bars. Mine had mirrors on both sides of the handle bars, a battery operated light and a speedometer. Saved my money and bought most of those accessories from the local Ace Hardware - he used to stock all that cool stuff.

Back on the photo - I think the cop needs an unfiltered Pall Mall or Camel between a couple fingers on his left hand with a little smoke rising to complete the look.

Remember in the back of Boys Life magazine they had ads for those mini-choppers? Basic mini-bike but with a raked front fork and ape hangers. Man I used to want one of those so bad!

BJ

[OVERULD]

Originally Posted by OVERULD

We made choppers out of our bikes with an extra set of front forks, a banana seat, big tall sissy bar and ape-hanger handle bars. Mine had mirrors on both sides of the handle bars, a battery operated light and a speedometer. Saved my money and bought most of those accessories from the local Ace Hardware - he used to stock all that cool stuff.

Finally found a picture of my old bike! This was before I modified the front forks- don't think I ever took any photos of it that way. But man I put some miles on this thing as a kid. I was 15 when this photo was taken.



BJ

[Deadhead]

Cool Stingray! If that is dark green I had the same rig but maybe smaller frame? Slick on the back and generator driven light. Like you I put hundreds of miles on mine. Never went the chopper route though. Had a big sparkly pad on the sissy bar. Bar was all scarred up on the top from wheelies gone wild.

[Deadhead]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

This photo is so cool on so many levels:

6) That is a really nice lookin' go cart; the kind Barcak and I used to dream about when we were growing up.

5) You've got the whole "cop pulls over kid on go cart" vibe going.

4) Nice Harley motorcycle photo.

3) Apparently taken in Dearborn, Michigan - which is of course where TomV hangs out (not far from where I'm sitting).

2) Requisite '57 Chevy in the background

and - the number one reason this photo is so cool -

1) The kid is wearing a helmet and the motorcycle cop isn't.

He also has an interesting sixgun for a biker cop. I guess if they got too far ahead that 8" barrel would help.

[Deadhead]

Here are a couple for the long weekend. Just keep the first one in mind if you will be on the road.