San Jose Clubman's All British Show & Swap 2010

Another successful Clubman's Show and Swap has come and gone. I will be doing posts covering it for the remainder of the week. I'll start off with what I brought home. For the first fifteen minutes or so I was thinking this was the year I don't buy anything, but then things started coming together and I picked up things here and there for the rest of the day. This top picture is the first pile of parts I bought that morning. Two near new looking MCM chrome battery covers for Triumph Preunit's, and a cool holed out sprung hub brake plate. I will be using these on my early '60s showbike project. Center of picture, NOS in the bag extended chrome for covers for '60 to '63 Triumph. Not MCM but I have old chopper ads for these and I've never found a set for preunit's so was excited to grab them. To the right a Kosman Oil Filter mount, and a Dunstall? type fiberglass front fender I'm hoping will fit the Ceriani Road Race forks I have.

Pre-unit spool wheel. The spool is exactly the same as the one on the early 1960's dragbike I'm rebuilding. Crappy pictures and the grime make it hard to see, but it is super small, made of steel and has a grease zirk fitting. 1950's vintage I believe. Webco looking alloy wheel spacer on one side.

Trail bike stuff... I'm not sure why I gave the guy $30 for the fender and didn't offer $20? The luggage rack is stamped Triumph. Old 1960's era Triumph luggage racks WANTED.

Bought a Cub oil tank in a new, non Clubman's outdoor M-C swap area and was starting to pack up my stuff into the truck when I spied these two crates full of triple trees by the exit. As I'm digging through them looking for a good Triumph bottom tree the guy says, "why don't you just buy both crates?" and gave me a price that was very reasonable so that's what I did. I ended up with multiple sets of 1960's era Triumph Trees in really good shape for the projects and some extra stuff to sell. The Japanese stuff went in the dumpster. No offense, I just don't have the time to deal with it.

I have no clue what these are. The top set is probably mismatched. Please comment or email if you can identify.

I think these are BSA single stuff ???
Top and bottom sets are slightly different widths.

So the same guy offers me this crate of oil tanks for a price that could not be refused and let me throw in a Triumph pre-unit brake pedal and a nice Triumph rear brake plate to boot.

The 1959 Triumph tank in the upper right was the best find inside. The BSA A65 type tank has a threaded filler hole which I've never seen before.

Not sure what these two tanks are off of. Help via comment or email appreciated!

I came home with not much less money than what I left with so a good swap day for sure. Max and Ronnie had infiltrated the All British swap in search of Wassell treasures, but none were found as far as I saw. Had a great chat with Jonnie Green and saw all my usual swap meet friends. Definitely an awesome swap meet day!

Mike Vils "The Brute" 1955 Triumph 500

First version, late 1960's before the accident.

Lots of incorrect information in this article!

1971 Motorcycle World Choppers

1969 Cycle Guide

This last version is my favorite. Mike still has a bike shop in SoCal called Fass Mikey's Motor Shop (562) 756-5013 and he was featured in the 40th anniversary issue of Street Chopper magazine last year.

This last pic is from a 1981 issue of SuperCycle and in the feature the Brute is for sale for $2,500!!! Wonder what happened to it after it sold???

1960's Bay Area Choppers

For anyone that hasn't found their way HERE yet, you have to check out the amazing pictures with history he has posted of the Bay Area custom chopper scene of the late 1960's 1970's.

There is something in particular that gives this bike some really nice lines. Besides the frame rake job and near stock length forks it is the pipes that show off the frame without hiding the bottom of the bike that I think looks really good. They are not you ordinary TT pipes. They are a special TT by MCM that stay about a tire width apart at the bottom, and I have a NOS set. Anyone know of a outfit that can reproduce exhaust pipes on the cheap???

Triumph Chopper Done Right

1969

Speaking of Parties...

This will be a good one for sure. A $5.00 cover is going to get you music & bands till the wee hours, a spot of ground to sleep on, an unnofficial bike show, memories to remember and forget, and a perfect excuse to go on a summer bike run to a friendly place with good people. Food served at the bar. Show up, start drinkin', no worries.

DTMC has started a new BLOG and the website should be updated soon with new merch.

...DTMC...Dice Magazine...Max Schaaf...Full Throttle...

From the time me and four other of my club brothers split out of town riding side by side until 24 hours later when we all rolled back in, so much happened it's hard to believe it was only one day and night. It would fun to write up the story, but not prudent. Matt & Dean are not just putting out the best chopper magazine, but they have also become the rulers of the biker bar party. Max Schaaf twisted back the throttle out of Oakland and beyond to the very limits of what is survivable and the DeathTrap boys were there to appreciate it. To Matt, Dean, Max and everyone that came. Nicely done my friends!

Let's Do This!

Dice Magazine Release Party + Merchant's Saloon = Good Times

Finched Triumph

A Finch bike I very much like. Great lines. It would be fun to haul ass around town on it and get the stares. Speaking of Finch, I have my very last set of Finch Frisco Pegs up for sale along with a bunch of other neato stuff I've decided to part with in a effort to fund the projects. Take a look HERE.

and back again...

Well Chip Quinn from Phoenix helped me confirm that it is a different gas tank on the later version of this bike. In fact it's a completely different frame! Tweaking out on the little details made me miss the obvious. Too many of the same parts to be a different bike in my opinion. Musta been a good story behind the total redo. I found this feature of the early version last night in a 1971 issue of Motorcycle World Special Choppers.

/ Kuhl Custom Chopper Part II

Published only six months after the previous article the story has changed and Giroux has been dropped from the bikes history. The bike is finished and looks to be road worthy just lacking a license plate. Quite a few detail changes including the top fork triple clamp , a new sissy bar and paint job. It looks like there is a different gas tank as well which would be a helluva lot of work considering they are both molded to the frame. I think the rear frame has been stretched a bit longer and I just noticed a chrome battery box behind the tranny that would make the lights runnable until a recharge was necessary.

1969 Cycle Guide

Giroux / Kuhl Custom Chopper Part I

The bike is missing some details and is not quite road ready, including a lack of any type of charging system for lights or a battery to use as a total loss system but it is one fine looking machine. More on this one in part II.

1969 Cycle Guide

Marty Pietruszynski's "Bad Seed"

This ride is the epitome of the freaked out, asymmetrical do it to be different era of the late 1960's. I would never build something like it and I don't think anyone else ever will and if they tried I think they would fall short. Some things just belong to a certain time period. Plus the good hallucinogenic drugs required for inspiration are in short supply these days. IF a bike like this is uncovered from the era it should be preserved and highly revered because some things just can not and will not be recreated. The story stresses the point that the Bad Seed is a street bike that is used regularly. That in itself is a trip I would like to take.

1969 Cycle Guide