Sunday, June 13, 2010

tune in, turn on, drop out

 "Tune in, Turn on, Drop out"! It is the last Triumph chop I am building for awhile.  The engine was sold to me when I was 20 and knew nothing about Triumphs.  I grew up on muscle cars and hot rods, but not bikes. Since i was very young I wanted to split lanes on two wheels.  My dad was not into motorcycles at all, so maybe it was that rebellion I desired. When I was 16, I went over to my buddy Mike's house for the first time.  There in the garage was a 72 T-120 Triumph basket case.  I was in love!  Mike's dad bought it when he got home from Vietnam.  He raised a lot of hell on it, then wrecked it with Mike's mom on back.  So there it sat. For 4 years, I hounded Mike about his dad's Triumph.  Finally, the word got to Mike's mom's ears, it was time for the Triumph to go.  There was just one major problem, I did not know shit about Triumphs!  Very few people were messing around with Triumphs at that time.  Most Triumphs were like mine, in a basketcase or sitting collecting dust. Long forgotten in the back of some dudes garage, along with his faded memories of glory.   I scoured this thing, called the interent, to its farthest horizon.  There was not much out there at that time, just some really bad websites, not offering shit.  Then one day I stumbled across this guy out in California, Chopper Dave.  "Who was this guy?", I asked myself.  All I knew was his website was filled with pictures of some of the coolest bikes I had ever seen.  Cole Foster's, purple, Preunit Triumph, fucked me up! No joking! I was rocked!  Right then and there, I knew the Triumph had to be chopped.  This Triumph ended it up controlling my fate. Taking me down a bumpy road of highs and lows. It taught me to seek out what you don't know and embrace it.  No one, but me, was going to make this Triumph happen.  I learned the hard way, which the aches in my bones are now telling me. I have sacrificed a lot over the years for Triumphs, but I have met some of the greatest people ever.  Would not change a thing.  So after 10+ years and being moved from frame to frame, the T-120 is finally being finished.  The basket case I bought off Mike's dad went into both of my Triumph Chops.  I just want to thank Mike's parents.  If not for this engine I do not know how my life would have turn out.  

austins trump

Started this bike on Christmas Eve and delievered it to the Detroit Autorama on February 24th. The bike came together in 2 months, which is not a long amount of time for the hell it put us through. She screams.

cushman

Restored this last summer. Cushman are cool!

silver bullet


Back in the sixties, one of the fastest cars on Woodward, 10 second runner. Aj and me were doing a photo shoot for Automoblie Magazine. The car rulz!

73 triumph t-140


I have had this bike for years. It is what I started with. Getting ready to sell her. I will miss it.