Oil and water exposition

Lowbrow art, motorcycle evangelists and the prayer of endless summer in one location. The customizing and painting, the way how you live and what do you expect of your life is knocking not on heaven's but the door of arts & design. It seems for me that it enters a next level and seperates only to build nice bikes from making art.

Traditionally oil and water do not mix. The surf, hot rod and motorcycle cultures that grew out of Southern California from the 50's-70s however, were all connected by the idea of personal freedom and expression-not conforming to the standards of the societies they existed in. For this show we are bringing together dozens of artists and craftsmen from these respective backgrounds and beyond-from legends to rookies. Each artists will be provided with a particular canvas: a blank board from City Fog Surfboards, helmets from Biltwell, gas tanks from Lowbrow Customs among other items.

To kick off the event a run was organized for the day that ended at the gallery on Fairfax. On hand there was a live performance by ex-TSOL singer Joe Woods, as well as live installation.

To coincide with the show, Us Versus Them creatated a pop up shop that will occupy the back room at Known Gallery. In addition to UVT Fall product and accessories, exclusive artist prints and tees based around some of the pieces included in the show will be for sale.

Filmed & Edited by Zane Meyer

Music by

The Black Angels- Young Men Dead
The Black Lips- Hippie Hippie Hourtah

Oiltank Model Old Barrel

This is the Burrito Bros. Product No. 1, an oiltank for any classic Harley-Davidson custom project. The tank is full hand made in Germany and ready for your own paint design or you use the tank in raw steel look. With 2 inserts above and 1 out below, all in cooper for 8 mm. More infos at our online catalog here.

Mary Christmas

I wish all my friends a merry christmas! Thanks lot for your support.

10 needs for custombikes

My personal list of 10 needs for modern custombikes in 2012...

1. Smaller engines are sexy.
2. Thin tyres, more bicycle than steamroller
3. Rigid frame or
4. intelligent struts solutions
5. Rectangular tanks
6. Narrow handlebars, up or downwards
7. Solo seats thinly padded and colorful
8. Brass parts are still cool
9. Belt drive
10. Back to color

Modern Old Bike Building

Photo via se-5

SE-5 from Japan shot this wonderful, awesome, light and clean motorcycle. From Darkside Apache Bodyline, traditional fork, rigid frame with thin tubes, the small tyres, the exhaust and the whole line... a mixture of cooper, brass and brown colors. I am fascinated by the details like the covers, the holder with the spring of the seat and and the fuel tank under the frame tube...

1st Annual Silvester Wannabe Choppers Party

Forget your date for Silvester. Here is your new appointment at 31.12.2011 with Ricky deHaas from Wannabe-Choppers. He invites all friends, fans, buddies, good guys for the offical 1st Annual-Motorcycle-Whatever-Come-and-See-Jamboree-Meeting-Party-Workshop-Fest-Show or 1st AMWCASJMPWFS by Wannabe Choppers. It starts at 6pm, so here is the location and your personal routeplaner

Why neighbours could hate you?

Starting a Harley-Davidson 42 UL, a Big Twin Flathead lady. This vid describe the process to ignition from the opening of the gas to the kick. It's quite easy if you know the right procedere. Nice video by mcflathead.



See also our Flathead illustration for sale at the Burrito Bros. shop and catalog.

The crazy Dax

The crazy Honda Dax, via shimobros

That's what I 'll call: Creativity! The frame of a HONDA ST50 Dax and the wheels from a XL (Ed. Must correct: CD50 wheels)

New Poster

Bomm-Bomm... New illustration: Bike with mexican roll.
Next in the Burrito Bros. Shop

Ed. I changed the sound-typo to "Shak-Shak",... what do you think?

French Connection Hat

I am running for weeks and looking at the Robert Schmitz Shop for a hat of Stetson, the blue pork pie named Sarasota. The pork pie hat is a real small traditional hat, which is a type of hat made of felt or straw. It has a flat top and was also called telescopic crown. Pork pie hats were often worn by jazz, blues and ska musicians and their fans. Charles Mingus wrote an elegy for jazz saxophone great Lester Young called "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", since Young was noted for his ever-present, broad-brimmed Pork pie hat. The hat was also seen as a sporting cap, popular at tennis matches. In Jamaica, the hat was popularized by the 1960s "rude boy" subculture, which traveled to the United Kingdom, influencing both the mod and skinhead subcultures.

My private Pork pie hat memories are Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in the 1971 French Connection movie. He had worn this hat the whole movie and the hat became popular again. Buster Keaton, Johnny Depp Frank Lloyd Wright and even the animated characters of Hanna-Babera like Yogi bear wore this hat too. Today I gave myself a gift and buyed my first Pork pie hat. It's a funny feeling!

See Jeff Beck playing Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

Always be honest and faithful

People lie to deceive and injure you, but such a small four-legged friend is really happy and only has one hidden agenda ... You have something to eat?

Thomas with Birgits doggy, photo by Frank Bick

Barber Shop & Bikes

Max Schaaf for 2 Wheels Brazil from Michael Schmidt on Vimeo.

If you need a traditional haircut and just in Oakland, CA, this is the Temescal Alley Barber Shop from the movie above. Haircuts and straight razor shaves are $22. Beard trims are $10, and kids and senior citizens are $15.

Hot Rod Movie

Trailer for a 4 DVD 7 1/2 hour epic documentary about 65 years of California Hot Rodding seen by dreamsoflegends. If someone has this DVD Box of 2005 please contact me! One of my best days in this year was the day when I had the chance to drive such a Hot Rod. Thanks Frank Muschalla of dock66, it was a real pleasure!

Hot Rod 2011 - 34 Plymouth and 31 Ford Flathead with Frank Muschalla (left) and Thomas Beeskow (right)

Early 60s Surf Rock

Multi-talent Ed "BIG DADDY" Roth, performed 1963 with his group The Weirdos featuring Mr. Gasser "Hot Rod Hootenanny" and the next one... You Ain't Nothing But A Honda!

Bigtwin Bikeshow Rosmalen II

The 3 days of Bigtwin Bikeshow in Rosmalen are over. A lot of bikes most of them of course Harley-Davidson, a lot of visitors and MCs and there was something for every taste. Colorful helmets from Biltwell, little MC puppys, great leather stuff, frames, engines, parts, parts and more parts. Shirts in any size from little babies to XXXL size.

Lots of parts for every use.

Dickie de Witt from Gold Tattoo, NL, doing Old-School and Lettering.

Colorful flakes helmets and Bubble Visors

Sweeeeeeeet.

Bigtwin Bikeshow Rosmalen

First day at the Bigtwin Bikeshow at the Autotron of Rosmalen. Supporting my friends of dock66 at their stand, we had nice visitors and conversations soon at the first day. Enrico from Wannabe Choppers with his nice wife Maria came to a long conversation and it was a real pleasure for me to walk with him over the expo and to talk about his ideas for style, handcraft and details. Thanks for his input and creative hints.

Bad girls go everywhere

They ride 50cc, wearing gold jackets and they 've dirty little fingers. They are the The Gaskettes. See their video and plan of the first offical ride...

Class Meeting

Reunion of some custom-build mopeds in the lower cubic capacity class - The 49er - haha! 2 Honda and one Yamaha, my Honda CB50 and a Yamaha DT50 and Honda XL125, both owned by Peter Su Markus. Many thanks to our "Welding" Master Franz from OSM factory for his great help and Frank Bick for this nice shot.

Click for bigger photos of the "Small Three"

The Alpha Generation

Found this nice portrait about Frank Chatokhine at the El Solitario M.C. blog. This movie is filmed by Dimitri Coste, also well known as photographer and motorcyclist.

Beautiful day

This weekend with the celebration day was very special. 3 days with fantastic weather like a sunny summerday with blue sky and perfect for riding the Little Racer Honda CB50... I changed the carb jet, decrease the flow from 85 to 80 and switch the needle, so the engine runs better.

Riding alone in the morning at empty streets, feeling the difference between the shadow and sunlight, everytime the sun shining through the trees is a wonderful moment. It's only the moment. You hear your engine, you look to the next curve - nothing else.

Great Balls of Fire

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain
Too much love drives a man insane
You broke my will
But what a thrill
Goodness gracious great balls of fire!

I laughed at love cause I thought it was funny
but you came along and moooooved me honey
I've changed my mind
This love is fine
Goodness gracious great balls of fire!

Kiss me baby
Mmmm feels good
Hold me baby
Welll I want to love you like a lover should
You're fine, so kind
Got to tell this world that you're mine mine mine mine

I chew my nails and I twiddle my thumbs
I'm real nervous but it sure is fun
C'mon baby, you drive me crazy
Goodness gracious great balls of fire!

Haha, my first ride with Frank's "Office" Harley-Davidson, Foto by Frank Bick. More about the Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Springer and Jerry Lee Lewis here...

Linocut - The Winning Oldsmobile

In recent weeks I've tried to print some of my illustrations with linoleum. Currently I can only make hand prints because I lack a suitable etching press yet. These are two- and three-color prints so I cut different lino-plates. I am not happy with the accuracy of fit and think I could improve this with a better printing table. The Illustration was made at the PC by Illustrator, then I printed it mirrored and transfered it to the linoleum plate. The next step is to cut the non-printing parts and this for the different colors. The "Winning Oldsmobile" were printed onto DIN A4 paper, the plates are DIN A5.

20.000 visits in 9 month

That's a real pleasure for me and I would thank all visitors for their interest and their time reading my little blog. More than 20000 visits for the last 9 month! Otherwise, blame on me that I was the last weeks a little bit not so present as earlier this year. Life stinks sometimes and so I am not different than others when shit happen. But enough from that.

Metamorphosys

It is not only what we see, it's the idea behind.

More Illustrations

Following the new illustrations and linocuts, I made this V8 illu.The Chevy V8 Hot Rod is a redraw, next step I will cut and print them. As you will see, these are orginally drawn as vector grafics, so I can use them for T-Shirts. I must re-draw this V8 motif, because I deleted (or loose) the original file...

 

New Prints

I started this weekend a serie of new prints around the World of Burrito Bros. It's a linocut series at 140 g paper by Gerstaecker between A5 and A4 format. I will also try some multi-colored prints and some of them at T-Shirts with Plastisol colors. The first one is the Che motif. Appreciate your comments.