sumfin for the weekend, sir?

surely not- we're actually bringing you some shots of one of our OWN projects. 'bout time something got done in the shed. even if it is a caravan.

well, if you're gonna have a charabang, you might has well make it double-kool super
elvis-style, like filler's airstream right here. these things are something else, pure riveted aluminium like a bloody great cigar box. it's pretty smart inside too, got big sofas, a corner bath and comfortable shitter to read dice on too.

i took these shots cos darren had an old codger down to fit some whitewall trims to the tyres last week. that's the machine in the 3rd shot, it slowly rotates the wheel while the operator grinds all the lettering and marks off the sidewall. the whitewall itself is molten white rubber that dries soon as it hits the tyre. darren wasn't best pleased, but he is a man of high standards- i think they look great. check out the hubs too, just had a nice deep red squirt job from a geezer in Verwood. that last sentence sounds a bit perverse.

there's a lot going on in the clubhouse at the mo, the merc's receiving the airbag treatment. as all things, that's easier said than done. we'll bring you some before and after shots soon as.

that's yer lot, i'm away for the weekend, bastardos out.

Variations on a theme

more bratstyle, this time on a xs. this shit is pollutin' my mind, i think i'm beginning to prefer swingarms to rigids!

sumfin old, sumfin new

there's just something so right about a stock FL shovel frame; especially how the shocks sit quite forward of the rear spindle, probably less than ideal in engineering terms, but looks a treat.

notice how they've tried to emulate that look on the red twin cam in the top pic- ain't quite right, is it? at the end of the day, you can't beat the real thing, if it leaks a bit of oil who gives a fuck.

brushstrokes, japanese-style

bit of eyecandy- some nice kustom art to check. no time to BS today, gotta work.

crazy man crazy

crazy orange, geddit? more from my fave pacific chop shop. Hows this for a work in progress?

One of the guys from DicE commented on Greasy Kulture the other day on how a lot of vintage chopper gear is ending up in Japan- good or bad? His point was that at least these builders USE it- ride in all weathers, turn spanners every day, and fabricate amazing stuff out of parts you've seen a zillion times before. A-fuckin'-men to that.

This neat xs650 is a case in point. When did you last see a sportster tank done like that? How many hours to get that right? And how about peashooters on a chopper? surely not- but this looks so right.

drum brakes and kickers rule.


check back 2moro to see what's on the bastardos radar when i really ought to be working.

Don't know about art...

...but I know what i like.

Words of wisdom from The Cramps there. And here's some gearhead wisdom for you, in the shape of a few examples of incredible work from 'Wargasser'. Who wouldn't want work of this standard hangin' off their clubhouse (or lounge, for that matter)wall?

I'm saying no more. Enjoy, and keep posted for more of the same.

These images were nicked off his site, with my apologies/thanks.

HAGONS and other stuff

well, the good lady's been down to halfords and bought me some autosol... so i've been giving some 'rub love', and figured it was high time to get another shot of my evo xl up on the blog.


gotta love hagons- when I was kid 1st getting bikes, every brit and ageing japper seemed to be sporting a pair. Probably because they're cheap, look okay and work well, everyone from despatch riders to classic codgers uses 'em. Personally I was well chuffed that almost the precise sum i raised from egaying the disgraceful luggage racks, wide bars etc covered these beauties. they not only lower the bike about 3'', they also seem to work a whole lot better than the stock bedsprings. that ain't saying much, to be honest.

when i bought this bike, initial inspection suggested new rims, chain and sprockets were on the shopping list- few hours' elbow grease revealled my 'raw material' was actually pretty presentable. result!

chainguards are crap, aren't they? and i am led to believe, neither a legal nor MOT requirement.

and zodiac shorty mufflers are wicked, cheap and loud.

on another note, watch this space sos some of the bastardos have been getting busy lately.

oi dazzer! that tank you got in the shed...

...looks a bit like this one 'ere. In fact I'm pretty sure it's the self same cole foster bobber tank. If it weren't for those evo rocker boxes, iffy headlamp and said tank, this little beauty would be straight out of the 50s. Scallops always get the coveted bastardos seal of approval, as do all the other neat touches- nuffin' you haven't seen before, but all in all, it's been done really nice. That chunky springer up front looks great with those narrow mini-apes, and you don't ALWAYS have to see a 21'' rim up the sharp end.

new stuff

Thought we might have sumfin a little different today...'the bum grape specials'. ride these past ringwood and yer chalfonts would be on fire, oh yes.

jury's out on these two...interesting nonetheless. i'd take one of the cb750 cafes over these any day.
sporties are great, but they just don't seem to work in 'classic racer' trim. not saying it can't be done, but it's far from easy. likewise the hinckley special; you can't deny the workmanship, but i'm not convinced it 'works'. diff'rent strokes an' all that, and that seat unit is 1st class. No-one likes having 'the hump', but it's ok when you mean a cafe racer arse perch.

carpy and his caff racers

I've ALWAYS loved cafe racers. If you're a Brit and into bikes, chances are they're in your blood, you just can't help it. These machines are the ones pretty much every biker will agree they love.

Carpy is another biker geezer i came across via hondachopper.com. He's one of the CB750's biggest fans, and what he can't do with the honda elephant motor frankly ain't worth doing. Relocated to socal, he now builds bikes for the likes of Green Day, but stays true to what he does.

I found the shot of him and the mk2 whilst looking for some zodiac/zephyr shots for the blog, and thought it'd be good to show you some of his work.

rollin' oil change

dunno shee-it about this bad boy, but i like it in a fucked kind of way. way too much spannerwork for my liking! check the tank script- 'hell on wheels', most definitely, and hell on the AA membership too.

random kool jap stuff

oh yes, regular bastardos followers know we like a bit of the old rising sun touch. I've carefully stolen some images from blogs far better than this one whilst on a rare tea break from my slavedriving employer.

thoughts? that little cut down sportster has been around a while- might be an early crazy orange or bratstyle machine; note the use of flipped up rear fender, starting to get popular with western builders now (see trawler's blog the other day). the pickup's nice too, gotta be a z'd chassis to get it that low. as for that ironhead sporty chop- kinda brings filler's comments to mind, 'don't know if I'd make ringwood on it'

where i've been lately

with my head in this lot. bore bore bore. but when i get the job, i will have the toys. oh yes.

enjoy the sunshine, y'all.

and the books are going on the bay soon as !

rabble rousers

wot, MORE bleedin' sporties, i hear you say. Let me off this one...found some great shots of some of Rouserworks' amazing work. They've already been all over DicE magazine, which is no mean deat with an evo-sportster bike (some dodgy plymouth guy did the same), and are fast earning themselves a rep as one of the main players at the mo. details details....check that top motor mount on the top pic, oh yes very nice work.

ASPHALT SQUADRON

...is the title of one of the first hotrod/chopper blogs i started getting into, and one of the best. if you haven't already, check 'em out, they're on my 'follow' list to the right.

johnny wolf, who writes it, is a confirmed sportster nut, and this is the mile-deep 'flake shine he's lucky enough to be finishing off his wicked swingarm chop with.

hole-y shee-it

how's this for original? crazy drilled-to-fuck shovel. Too much going on? you decide. I'm a sucker for drilled stuff ( matey here's even done the kicker!), always gives a no-bullshit race look if you ask me. You'd definitely have yer hands full riding this thing, with a hand shift and those nutty drop bars.

I'm not sure about the tank set-up, but the lines of the back of the bike are just wicked.

need i say more?

how do you like yours?

3 window? roadster? definitely sans fenders. scalloped or any-colour-you-like? Have to say, both these beauties would be a whole lot nicer with crossplies...and maybe not quite so clean. Still, wouldn't mind the keys hangin' off my hook, that's for sure.

We've been a bit lacking in the car/rod field lately, so i thought i'd put up some shots from a spot of teabreak googling.

Darren's going to try and bring a bit more car stuff to the blog soon. It's high time for a visit to ern's mancave too, and see what the man's been up to while the rest of us waste time; expect pix in the not-too-distant.

BADASS SCOOTER RIDIN' SHOTS

HELL YEAH, THA'S HOW I ROLL...man i'm gonna pay for this...

MA1 jacket- check
vans-check
Dice shirt-check
barbie scooter- double frickin' mega check on a elvis scale

got my 'scooter' ready for summer. i tell ya, it don't hang about, and man, turf's a bitch when you go down hard.

this one's for the brothers...blood in blood out, gangbanger for life.

lowrider tommy

I got to know LRT, aka lowrider tommy, via Hondachopper 10 years or so back. He's one of the best guys in the motorcycle world, period. One of the US's most prolific and innovative chop builders for 30 odd years, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to help his fellow honda chop builders out, and as about the only guy who dealt in them til they got popular, that was quite a big deal.

We won't mention building Prince's bike in Purple Rain movie. Every one makes the odd regrettable decision!

check his site out, www.lowridersbysummers.com, if you want to see some great art and great bikes. That's where I thieved these from, I'll bring you some more in the future.

Just out of interest, I have an inkling the prism tank in the last shot may well have a lot to do with the church of choppers crew. The flamed red tank -I think- was featured in the Tim Remus book, 'How to build a cheap chopper'. Though to me, that looks anything but cheap. Check out that honda motor in the top pic- how's that for detail? Not sure if that's a ARD magneto hanging out the side, whatever, it looks killer, you gotta love that 70s engraving.

what would we do without the net?

i'd maybe never have been inspired to trade in my s*zuki for a sporty.

this is a bike i saw a coupla years ago, and always really liked. simple, kool...actually had a bit more work than you might think.

built by 'black frame' in the USA. check 'em out for more of the same.

hand-stolen...

from mooneyes...need some gearhead porn, so here ya go. los bastardos always got time fer a tasty trump chopper, and anything built round honda's all-time bad boy, the 750 SOHC (especially when it comes in a kind of street-digger/drag style) is good with us, too. Whatever, jap stuff just rules. Is it true it rains over there even more than it does in this sceptic isle?

wicked mondeo shot

that's how we roll...ford power (mondeo) all the way, woulda been a great shot but for some 40-year old warrior kept ridin' up and down the street.

i blame trawler. if you demand ridin' shots, my man...daz says he would have shown off his sleeve but for the fact it was a 'bit cold'. gangbanger to his very bones!

i've been thinking of doing a Dice-style van feature on the blog. kept trying to get a good shot of this cherry diesel mercedes, but the big guy kept gettin' in the way.

Some post-easter musings

and a bit of eye candy for ya.

well, that went quick, didn't it? i'm gutted i missed wheels day, sounds like a load of fun was had by all. i'd have driven 2 hours in the rain just to hear guy deliver the bastardos battle cry...blood in blood out...that's where our new line in the box comes from, in case you were wondering.
with the club plaque held high, that's gotta be a bastardos ritual for the future.

and the legendary '1 for big ern' is a complete lashup on my part. i was sure ern told me he was a Santa Pod regular round about the same time I used to go, apparently i am completely mistaken. this only leads me once again to doubt what conversations i have actually had with people. at least on the blog i got proof.

had a beer with filler yesterday, put the world to rights and bench-raced like you do.