TSY is Pennsylvania-based and thus very proud to present a brand new series of posts– PA MAKERS written and photographed by Raymond C Schwab IV. We are grateful Ray is kind enough to share these with us.
Picture this: A bike shop burns to the ground in Philadelphia. There’s a fire sale a couple days later. There you see a burnt up 1951 BSA Star Twin motor up for grabs and you think “There’s my land speed racing motor!”
Ace (Cafe) Corner Barber Vintage Days motorcycle show –photography by Steve West
“Holy shit was Ace Corner a great place to be this year. Again, put on by Dime City Cycles and Ace Cafe– and this year Royal Enfield was added the line up. Being the only place selling alcohol, with prime seating on the hill under the trees at turn 17, that alone makes it a great place to be. It’s also where to enter your custom cafe or vintage bike for a chance to win a trophy in several categories.
At the bottom you could see builds by Walt Seigl Motorcycles, and the good folks from Xcrambler. Cool goods could be gotten from the likes of Ace Cafe Orlando, Grifter Gloves, and Red Torpedo to name a few. Then there were the bikes. Man oh man, all the bikes. People from all over the country come riding one-of-a-kind machines, and this year they were out in spades.
Barber Vintage Days is one of the top annual motorcycling events to attend. After 11 years, it continues to grow and expand. If you haven’t been before, it should definitely be on your list– and Ace Cafe continued to evolve into the VIP spot at Barber.” –Steve West
Ace (Cafe) Corner Barber Vintage Days motorcycle show –photography by Steve West
Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin and his beloved ‘Strider’, named after J. R. R. Tolkien’s character ‘Aragorn’ from ‘The Lord of the Rings.’
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp was penned by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page back in 1970, and named after the tiny cottage in Gwynedd, Wales where the band holed-up after coming off their North American tour. The rustic, old home (with no power or running water) was a welcome escape to refresh the road-worn band and inspired several epic songs for Led Zeppelin III, including Bron-Y-Aur Stomp. “There ain’t no companion like a blue-eyed Merle,” was Robert Plant’s tender, lyrical nod to his sweet lil’ pooch, Strider in this song. Tolkien references can also be heard in a few other Led Zeppelin songs– Ramble On, The Battle of Evermore, and Misty Mountain Hop.
A few weeks back, Dan Daughenbaugh’s 1951 BSA Star Twin custom bike generated a ton of buzz and picked up the 1st Place People’s Choice Award at the Triumph National Rally in Oley, PA. To hear the story of how the charred engine was literally plucked from the ashes of a garage fire in Philly to be reborn as the Greasy Gringo is pretty cool. In Dan’s words, “They had a Fire Sale, and there it was blackened and charred. All the pot metal parts had melted off but the cases were still good!” He took it home and dedicated himself to machining it into a land speed record bike in his barn, and mostly on a mill dating back to the 1940s.
Then fate struck– driving with his family in the Pennsylvania countryside, Dan stopped when he noticed a motorcycle that had wrecked. He thought nothing of taking the guys and their bike back to his barn where he kindly fixed them up. He also showed them his BSA barn build bike and shared his humble story which amazed them– and led to a joining of forces to make it to Bonneville together and document the Greasy Gringo’s attempt at setting a new land speed record. Obviously this takes money, and so they’ve started a campaign on INDIEGOGO to raise funds to get them to Bonneville and make a film on Dan’s inspiring story.
In 1991, photographer Peter Lindbergh shot the elite eight of the world’s sexiest Supermodels in Brooklyn, NY for the September 1991 issue of American Vogue– Cindy Crawford, Tatjana Patitz, Helena Christensen, Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Karen Mulder, and Stephanie Seymour. The shoot titled “Wild at Heart” was styled by Grace Coddington, featuring looks that were a hi-lo mix of Chanel meets Schott– and we in the fashion world have never been the same since. This iconic editorial spread continues to inspire and awe to this day– over 20 years+ later. The Brit bikes featured throughout really make this work– several Triumphs, and I think I even spied a BSA in there as well!
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The 1990s was the decade of the Supermodel– Cindy Crawford, Tatjana Patitz, Helena Christensen, Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Karen Mulder, and Stephanie Seymour. This shot was titled “The Wild Ones” with the original selling at auction a few years ago for close to $35,000 –Image by © Peter Lindbergh
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Supermodel Helena Christensen channeling “The Wild One” and striking a very Marlon Brando-esque pose in her Erez leather jacket and Harley-Davidson leather biker cap –Image by © Peter Lindbergh
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Marlon Brando as Johnny in the Iconic motorcycle film “The Wild One” which simultaneously thrust biking forward into the limelight in terms of popularity and style, while setting it back in terms of stereotypes and the court of public opinion. Marlon Brando rode his own 1950 Thunderbird in the film– a big boost for Triumph motorcycles. You can read more about that here.
Jack Nicholson on a ’45 Flathead Harley Bobber (with Springer forks) in “Rebel Rousers”
This could very well be one of the coolest shots ever, from one of the absolute worst biker flicks ever made– Rebel Rousers. Shot in 1967, it actually had a pretty decent cast– Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd (Dern’s wife), and Harry Dean Stanton. The film was shelved and then dusted-off in ’69, when Nicholson’s star power was boosted by the release of Easyrider, and all of a sudden Rebel Rousers seemed like a sure thing hit release. Trust me, just watch the trailer after the jump, and that’ll be all you’ll ever need to see of this flick. Jack Nicholson’s get-up and Harley are the only memorable bits– Nicholson looks like a 60’s psychedelic tribute to Lee Marvin’s iconic, misfit biker character Chino from The Wild One. Gotta love the stripes. They both also rode Harley Bobbers on screen– Nicholson on a ’45 HD Flathead for Rebel Rousers, and Lee Marvin tore it up on a ’49 or ’50 Flathead in The Wild One.
Bruce Dern and his custom BSA pre-unit twin from Rebel Rouser’s
The Selvedge Yard 