Biker Movies and Books

[tramp]

caught the re-re-run of roadwarriors/ the biker brotherhood a while back. it is probably the inside look at the chingalings is probably the most realistic(and closest) look any one will ever get into a real 1% outfit.
reminds me of growing up with pop and my uncles riding for the brand. then later when the BPM's took me in off the streets and put me up in the club. it's a dissapearing life style and i am sad to see it go. on we march into the future....


http://store.aetv.com/html/product/i...atid=&subcatid=

[Gooch]

I've got that on tape around here. Did you happen to catch Indian Larry in the background at one of the parties?

[tramp]

missed that , but it figgers

[tramp]

downloading an oldie, then came bronson.

[tramp]

just finished The Worlds Fastest Indian. and what a flick, Hopkins rules!
i love it for the same reason i love Then Came Bronson. it's a glimpse into a life that has disapeared. like alot of us are doing.....

[BillJ]

Yesterday afternoon, when I got home from my morning meeting, I heard someone hollering in my driveway. I opened the blinds and saw a kid on a bicycle, alone, yelling "Wow! That was awesome!" over and over.

I watched as he rode his bike up the street that tees at my driveway. He turned around and raced back down the hill, across the intersecting street and into my drive, where he did a heart-stopping brodie that ended mere inches from my side gate. Again, he started shouting, to himself, about how cool that was.

As long as there are kids like him, our way of life will never disappear.

[tramp]

yeah we can raise up the youngsters the best we can. but the days of heading for the opposite coast with $8.00 , a ground tarp and bed roll are gone. there's no place left to camp, for free or even cheap. do they even make the bikers staples any more? show boat beans and sgetti and a P38. that was all a guy needed.and as far as breakin down, man what a night mare. and any of the events want at least a days pay for a spot. day labor has about dried up. run a bike on black top at 150 today and plan on doin some time. i know as late as 75 i got a 180 in a 65 on a homebuilt 110 cui sporty, cost me 5k, 6 months in jail and the judge said if i ever had to cross his state again i better be walking or on a greyhound. course i was a little loaded too.
and those old timers, munroe, rollie, they're gone, my uncles, gone. they weren't AMI graduates or even necessarily elementary school graduates, but they knew their engines.
my first HD, a retired 38 EL drag bike wasn't outrun till i ran across a KZ650, and it was built by a bunch of drunk , stoned freaks out in back of a barn. no one told them a keihn couldn't be tuned, so they didn't know. they knew it beat the trump out of a linkert, or havin an amal peein down your leg. i think you know what i mean.
call me a relic, or an a%$h*&@ but i miss the old days when every one wasn't a biker, and it couldn't be bought no matter how much dough you had.
i wonder if the officials today would bend the rules at the flats for a character?
never happen today. i don't see much brotherhood today. it's all image. i still believe, right or wrong a brother is a brother. i been told it was wrong, but some things die hard, if at all. i wouldn't trade a minute of it, drunk, stoned, crazy, it was all worth the comin down. not an endorsaement for any one else to try it, they might not survive.

[Gooch]

nice to hear from a dinosaur.... Some of these cats today .. (shakes head) .. calling them selves old school. egads..

Hell I missed some of the old school classes. I dropped out with a failing grade after My Beezer chopper got stolen. I was riding them kaws and yamahammers,and sudzookies, jes so I could get some wind. Then I got the itch again to find something I could bang some metal on and I picked up a basket Triumph. I paid enough attention to the extra curriclular classes to know that I had a set of slugged forks, so the raked trees and forks got traded for a girder and I hung an aluminum oli bag under a t spoon seat. Ditched the battery for a mighty max and learned the hard way that radio shack toggles were never meant for heavy duty vibration. ( most of these guys today woulkdn't know how to tie their ignition wires together wihile they held a flashlight in their mouth, or work in the pool of a high pressure sodium at the end of some farners driveway alongside a dark country road)

My first fab job was cutting the tabs off a sporty tank and relocating them to the bottom of the tunnel so it would sit up on the top rail and follow the lines of the frame up to the drag bars. Never did have the patience to build forward controls, but I figured out how to rig my cruzer bars so I could leave my feet on em and whack the shifter with my heel.

And the people you met while you were broke down were somthin. Old geezers that pulled over in their trucks to see if you needed any tools or gas. half the time I had it ready to go again but sat there another 20 minutes to listen to the rest of the story of how they got out of the service and took a cross country trip so they could climb Mt. Washington on their Ariel square4 or Matchless. Geez ya got me all misty eyed wit yer reminiscing.

I'm dyin to see that flick.

[BillJ]

Originally Posted by tramp

i don't see much brotherhood today. it's all image.

For the most part you're right, Tramp. Regular and often I bitch about the "dying breed" of true old school riders, and the yuppie invasion of store-bought "outlaws."

However, there are exceptions - young guys and gals just starting out, green as I ever was, and grey-bearded coots like you 'n' me, still riding after all these years. IMHO, it's in my best interest to focus on those exceptions, and wait patiently while the credit-card bikers to move on to the next big trend. Elsewise, I get all depressed and cranky, and miss all the fun.

That would be a sin.

[BillJ]

Originally Posted by Gooch

And the people you met while you were broke down were somthin. Old geezers that pulled over in their trucks to see if you needed any tools or gas. half the time I had it ready to go again but sat there another 20 minutes to listen to the rest of the story of how they got out of the service and took a cross country trip so they could climb Mt. Washington on their Ariel square4 or Matchless. Geez ya got me all misty eyed wit yer reminiscing.

I'm dyin to see that flick.

Some of my best road-trip memories were the worst things happening, at the time. Running out of gas in the middle of nowhere, "camping" in the bitter cold on roadside picnic tables, getting jacked up by the law for being a biker in a no-biker zone, sticking with a broke-down brother 'til his ride was running or rescued.... It was all part of the biker's life. It was what bikers did. Still is, for me.

And my father was one of those old geezers, with post-war memories of Indians and Harleys, and an unquenched affection for motorcycles to his dying day. Whenever I run into one of those geezers, I give 'em the time o' day, both in honor of my Dad and because you hear some really cool stories that way!

You'll enjoy the flick.

[Rarly Harley]

I read Lois Wilson's book, "The diary of two motorcycle hobos", about her recollections of the Harley trip She and Bill took while Bill was still doing "research". A very good read. This was prior to Bill making it big on wall street. I found some really cool pics of Bill and Lois on the Harley, so I'm trying my hand at posting them from snapfish. Thanks for the tip Bill J.

[Rarly Harley]

2nd try to post bigger pics...

[Rarly Harley]

Bill J: Thanks my friend. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Here's two fellows you may recognize.

[BillJ]

Glad that worked for you, Rarly. Cool pics, too. I've seen the first and last ones before, but the other two are new. Where'd you find 'em?

[Rarly Harley]

Found a cool site with lots of AA pics Bill... cybriety.org
Here's a familiar one for all....

[Rarly Harley]

Focusontoday: I found a copy of Stone on e-bay australia. Just bought it 10 minutes ago. Let you know what I think after viewing.

[tramp]

watched hells angels forever again. walked around flipping everyone off for a few days. i got over it.....
another good flick anyway for the uninitiated.

[BillJ]

I've got a ragged old copy of HAF on tape. May have to dust it off and watch it again. As I remember, there's some good footage, and the history of the Angels and their connection to the 60's-70's music scene is kind of interesting.

[tramp]

i think what i like best about that flick is there's no lame easyrider excuses. you know, the "we're just misunderstood" crap.

[Rarly Harley]

Originally Posted by tramp

just finished The Worlds Fastest Indian. and what a flick, Hopkins rules!

Tramp: Just finished watching the World's Fastest Indian. Loved it! I don't think "Sir Anthony" is in recovery, but he certainly portrayed an example of the character traits of a solid "oldtimer" in AA. Even made my eyeballs leak at the end. That's a miracle in it's own right. This flick is right up there with my all time favourite, "The Unforgiven".

[chris k]

I have a tape of " Tony" making an AA talk.

Originally Posted by Rarly Harley

Tramp: Just finished watching the World's Fastest Indian. Loved it! I don't think "Sir Anthony" is in recovery, but he certainly portrayed an example of the character traits of a solid "oldtimer" in AA. Even made my eyeballs leak at the end. That's a miracle in it's own right. This flick is right up there with my all time favourite, "The Unforgiven".

[recoveringnky]

Originally Posted by chris k

I have a tape of " Tony" making an AA talk.

Man Chris that is too cool! I'd love to listen to that talk!! The movie was indeed awesome....the passion that Burt had for his "sickle" and for speed that Anthony portrayed was quite moving!

Blessings,
Kym

[Rarly Harley]

Originally Posted by chris k

I have a tape of " Tony" making an AA talk.

Too cool. I'd love to have a copy. Reminds me of the old AA adage: " You might be the only copy of the Big Book some people will ever read". I'm inspired. Thanks Chris.

[Hurricane]

I just finished Sonny Barger's book "Freedom" -credos from the road-
I liked it a lot, but I'm glad I've had a little time in sobriety before reading it.
He has some good things to say.

[Gooch]

Finally rented a copy of World's Fastest Indian.

About 1/2 way through..

great flick.