Turned my first professional wrench in '72 . Grew up around rod and chop builders . I still have a lead pot ,pine paddles and tallow ...
Few remember what Duo Glide means
Pop , my complaint isn't the 'tail it's the cookie cutter sameness that bores me to tears .
It's seeing one after another peanut, 'stang , sports' tanked , weldonhardtailbywhoever , forward , mid controlled , evil , dangerous spool front , jury rigged drum rear , direct shifted ( I can't call it jockey) foot clutched ...ROLLING ATROCITIES !! that make me repeatedly and violently ill .
Okay , for balance . Fong Bros cream . I have looked at that build over and over again . That alone must say something .
Hugh's little black&white with the twisted crank . I along with the rest of the web not only got to see that work in progress but got a glimpse into the design process .
Matt in Indiana that replicated a softail for the xs (haven't heard from him in a while , too bad a fine sense of humor to go with his vision and talent)
Lang's Emma . it's all int the details .
Martin Bros out of Texas (a custom frame) A candy apple red and flame job that's a little busy for my taste but more original than 80% of the masses .
Jeremy's "chicken salad " for it's unique originality .
This list gets longer the more I think of it . So when you hear me go off on the mee too sawzall crowd that's exactly who and specifically who I'm directing my comments at . I'm not having a fit every time I hear a sawzall fire up I'm attempting to instill a bit of patience in design , care in execution and pride in ownership . Our pool of original rolling stock diminishes every day . All I promote is instead of the mee too is a new builder thinking feeling breathing I , me , me , mine , my originality , my hands , my thoughts , my dreams , my vision ,
Pop I traveled some of the same roads . A rigid mag fired 'CH shovester and dual SU's to name one .
An ET'd 441 rigid roadster w/ a plunger sea from a knuk .
Neither of those two were right from the get go and went through a drawer full of mods before I was happy . Odd thing was that by the time I was happy people started to look and talk and eventually a few honest compliments . I don't build my bikes for anyone else and don't expect others to . I just don't want our non renewable resource to start appearing one after another as half built , wretched , rolling , wrecks waiting to fall apart at the next stop light in the name of being just like ...
Okay Pop you can have the soap box back
WTF was the question anyway ?
~kop
