Fathers Day in Minnesota

Woke up to a little corn beef and eggs with a side of black coffee and toast. Cruised over to Back to the 50’s car show for some swap meet action. Kind of a dead scene considering it was Sunday. I did see this gem of a Gasser parked somewhere just off the beaten path. I couldnt pass up getting a quick picture.

From there I went home and got out the bike. Took a ride over to the Blind Lizard cycle rally in Minneapolis to catch up with CT. Reinhart came limping in on his Triumph. Points were well beyond useless. Pretty Rick and the Monk happened to be in the crowd and decided to do the Minnesota thing and come over and get his points readjusted. After a little file action and a few swift kicks, the salty dog was up and running on two cylinders again. New points are being installed as I type.

Came home, napped for a hour, ate a sub, went back to bed. All in all – a good fathers day.

Union Speed and Style – Garage Feature III

Ran out to visit Jordan at Union Speed and Style yesterday. Turns out it was his Birthday. Happy birthday mother f*cker! Jordan is fitting me for a custom vest. Sh*t is gonna be tough! Denim w/ golden brown stitch, green/tan flannel liner, and a short pop collar. While I was there I thought it a good time to get him in for a little garage feature session. Union Speed is tucked back on River street in Monticello. A little off the beaten path but for what he’s doing, its probably a good thing. This dude is so busy, he’d probably loose his sh*t if he were in the twin cities (distractions day in and day out).

Jordan and I don’t get many chances to hang out with us both being knee deep in running our respective shops. That said, I did get to rock down to Iowa with him lat weekend. His little XS has got some serious balls. Not surprising… his bike didnt miss a beat once the entire trip. His spot was packed with projects. Jordan dabbles in all sorts of stuff. He’s turning out custom tanks, frames, leather and denim, seats, etc. Come to think of it… he’s a bit of a one stop shop.

Union Speed works pretty steadily throughout the year and they even manage to make all the stops on the vendor circuit. I’m not even really sure exactly how many people make up Union Speed but from the work load, they probably some kind of small army.

The Union Speed Crew are definitely a younger bunch but they’re also talented well beyond their years. If you need some fabrication, without having to deal with the grumpy old heads in the scene, these are the dudes to hook up with. They’ve got the skills and creativity to blow minds. Check em out. UnionSpeedandStyle.com

DIY Digger Tank

Started getting inspired by some old school Arlen Ness digger builds from the 70’s and decided to take a crack at a custom tank myself. Here’s where I’m at. Gonna take this thing to Rick for some Tig work. My sloppy ass Mig aint happening. I’m still not sure if this one will take the prize. Have to wait till its a little further along. Maybe I’ll graft a speedo or something into the facing panel??? Could be cool…

And So it Begins

That’s right. You can all bare witness to yet another young mans introduction into life on two wheels. Congrats J. That is one sweet little machine you got there. You rule dude.

Garage Feature II – CT is NE

I met CT a couple years back at the Bearded Lady Motorcycle Show. To put it to you straight… CT is North East. He’s involved in a little bit of everything. CT was part of the the once mighty Track Stars. He’s a regular fixture at Blue Cat. He runs every year at the Salt Flats and CT is one of the guiding forces behind the Bearded Lady. He runs a lot of bikes and is real big into his vintage Italian and Japanese stuff. Especially his Suzuki 2-stroke triples.

CT spends his winters keeping busy in his garage.  A couple cans of Hamms, crank the heater, a few touches here and there on the ratrod and the snow keeps falling. Eventually Bearded Lady plans start up as the snow and ice start to melt.

I asked a little more about how that (cycle show) whole thing got started. CT is always quick to pass off the success to his other partners in crime who lend a very large helping hand. In fact, he’s one of the most humble dudes I’ve ever met. “Truth is” he says, “the whole thing was sorta started out of spite.” Apparently, CT and some friends attended a few vintage Japanese bike show years back and unfortunately, the judges never quite knew how to judge their whips. It started to get pretty obvious that there were a lot of custom classics in the Twin Cities in need of an event where they could get a little appreciation. “Fuck it, I’m gonna start my own show for the kind of bikes that deserve it.”

Years later and here we are. The streets have to be shut down. Vendors and sponsors line up in advance and the permits need to be legit. The Lady has really taken on a life of its own. Everybody… and I mean EVERYBODY attends.  See you there this July 23rd. Speed Club will be out with booth overhead and beer in hand as usual.
Dig it. Thanks CT.