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| One corner of the Handbuilt Show; the Fuller Hot Rods Norton Commando, plus Roland Sands' new Indian, the Revival J63, etc |
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| The gorgeous HRD-Rudge, restored by Herb Harris, which I rode at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering last year... |
"By now, everyone’s heard that Austin is an oasis of cool in the middle of Texas, but to this seasoned bi-coaster, visiting for the recent Handbuilt Show was a very pleasant surprise, and a little humbling. While busy growing our beards, Austin stole the mojo once animating Williamsburg and the Mission District, which are now dominated by people with, like, real jobs. The Handbuilt Show, in its second year under Revival Cycles, is planted in East Austin, a Hispanic neighborhood with rings of gourmet food trucks circled like wagons in vacant lots every quarter-mile, or even closer.
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| Jeremy Cupp, whose LC Fabrications '#7' Speedway custom won People's Choice; a crazy-clever machine mating a Buell Blast crank with a Ducati cylinder head, plus a ton of clever details, like a foldaway kicker for the Triumph gearbox (with hydraulic clutch adaptor) |
The Show’s in a large warehouse with an open yard beside, but the interior is air conditioned, while the yard features two excellent food trucks and the American Motordrome for atmosphere—visual and sonic. The food and drinks aren’t free, nor are the T-shirts, but everything else is. Anybody could enter the wide-open doors, and it was still never too crowded, day or night, to slip in amongst the Wall of Death revelers and feel a 1928 Indian rock the boards under your feet, as horizontal rider Charlie Ransom snatched paper money from extended hands. That just never gets old."
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| Marty Dickerson's 'Blue Bike' - read about it here. |
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| The late Bud Reveile's Triumph chopper - an Austin legend, owner of Bud's Motorcycle Shop, an amazing place of a type increasingly rare these days... |
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| A tidy Ducati flat-tracker |
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| Sporting around with Steve Klein's 1911 Flying Merkel, with David Borras (El Solitario), moi, Alan Stulberg (Revival). and Brittney Olsen (20th Century Racing) |
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| Presentation! A sectioned Norton Atlas motor at Herb Harris' home |
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| Revival's 'J63', which I reviewed for Cycle World |
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| Who knew a Honda 250 needed a monococque chassis? |
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| Lovely and Rudge-y |
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| A sectioned Victoria Bergmeister engine at Revival |
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| Late night builder chat and drinking session with Walt Siegl and David Borras |
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| Been there, done that, got the hand-built sweater. Knitted by Dehen, the old woolen mill now reviving its old knitwear designs from the 40s/50s racing scene. The bike is Max Hazan's remarkable supercharged Sporster, which I wrote about for Cycle World... |
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| Setting up our show of Wet Plate photos at Handbuilt - check our portfolio at MotoTintype.com |
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