A HANDSOME PAIR

('Junkyard' photographs by Kevin Cederstrom)

Shane Balkowitsch is a determined and self-sufficient fellow; after seeing my 'wet plate' photographs on The Vintagent and at MotoTintype.com, he was intrigued by the process of taking 19th Century photographs, and asked for more information.  I sent him my resources, and thought no more about it, until Shane sent me his first wet plate photo a few weeks later, after he'd secured all the equipment and chemistry required, and taught himself the process!  Definitely not a wannabe.

Shane also sent notes on a Porsche 356 'C' he'd restored to an 'outlaw' sports/racer spec, which is pretty cool (pics here of resto by Bill Hamilton).  Not many readers of The Vintagent know I used to own sports cars as well as motorcycles ('62 flat-floor E-Type roadster, Lotus Cortina, MG Magnette, Lancia Zagato, Jensen Healey, etc), but gave them up, as they took up too much space!   And, driving sports cars in the manner I ride my motorcycles is pretty dangerous to other road users... Now I drive my Sprinter, because I can fit 3 bikes in back, and it's my mobile darkroom for the MotoTintype wet plate photography.

Shane recently completed a restoration on his '71 BMW R75/5 (pics here), built as a Café Racer to match his Porsche.  Restored by Josh Withers, the bike (like the car) is painted in Porsche K45-286 Silver.  Shane purchased both machines as serious projects; the '65 Porsche had been completely disassembled 'for restoration'... for 23 years, and the BMW was a mess.  While the resulting BMW is a good example of current Café Racer practice (as seen in my 'Ton Up!' exhibit last summer in Sturgis), I can't recall seeing such a car/bike resto-pair in one garage; they make a much more intriguing story than either vehicle alone.  Have fun on the roads of North Dakota, Shane!

Photo by the builder - Josh Withers, photographer by day, bike builder by night...

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