When
photographer Michael Lichter invited me to co-curate a show of Café Racers for Sturgis Bike Week, I immediately said yes. I'd met Michael while he was the official photographer of the Motorcycle Cannonball last September, and have been constantly impressed by his good nature, the his amazing photography, and his renown in the motorcycling world.
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| Riding around Sturgis; Bear Butte state park - South Dakota's Black Hills are amazing |
I had no idea he'd been putting on exhibits at Sturgis for 12 years, as I'd never been to Bike Week, and didn't follow the press surrounding the event...it's safe to say I'm a fish out of water among 250,000 Harley touring rigs. But Café Racers are very much the waters I swim, and I've long wanted to mount exhibits of motorcycles and related art...and almost as soon as he brought me on board as co-curator, he'd secured a deal with Motorbooks to produce a coffee-table book (called, naturally, 'Ton Up!') documenting the exhibit, with my writing on the genre and its 50 year development. My dedication to the project was secured.
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| Willie G's 1975 blueprint (with talking points) of his 'XL- Café Racer' |
Michael's reputation in the Industry meant word leaked quickly of our subject matter, and Custom builders clamored to have their machines included, among whom were Willie G. Davidson himself, who brought his 'Serial #1' XLCR, and his successor at H-D, Ray Drea, who built an updated version of Willie's machine - his 2013 'XR Café' - just for 'Ton Up!' Also, BMW promised 'Ton Up!' would be the US début of their 'Concept 90', built in conjunction with
Roland Sands.
I used my contact list for the historic bikes - the BSA Gold Star, Velocette Thruxton, Egli Vincent, Triton, and other seminal machines, to lay the foundation for our historic survey. While the name Café Racer conjures repeated images of English riders from the 1950s/60s - the 'Ace Cafe/59 Club' era - the style didn't freeze in 1969. We love those Gold Stars and Tritons, but riders have carried on modifying all sorts of motorcycles with Café Racer cues for 50 years now.
Sorting through the dozens of bikes offered to us, we had to set down 'The Rules' - what makes a Café Racer. We boiled it down to the look of a 'racer on the road', with clip-on 'bars, rearset foot controls, a humped racing seat, and performance modifications. Every Café Racer has most if not all those boxes ticked.
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| Mark Mederski's low-mile, original-paint '62 Norton Manx, included as the benchmark against which all Café Racers were measured... |
The point of 'Ton Up!' was never 'how to make a proper Café bike' - we showed examples from 50 years of Café Racing, 1962 - 2013, to showcased the development, changes, and growth of the genre over several generations of rider/builders. A few of the machines were factory-built Cafés (BSA Gold Star, Velocette Thruxton, and Harley XLCR), but most were modified to achieve 'the look'. The 35 bikes we eventually displayed came from England, Germany, Italy, the US, and Japan, and ranged from 1950s Triumph motors in Tritons, to 2013 Triumph, Victory, and Harley-based customs.
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| Kevin Dunworth of Loaded Gun Customs with his 'Bucephalus' with unique alloy-plate chassis |
As I installed the exhibit, with help from
the Buffalo Chip's excellent crew, I heard nary a peep of criticism for bringing an 'it ain't a Harley' collection to Sturgis for Bike Week, and when the show was up, even the most inebriated accidental viewer was agog at the display of beautiful bikes. While 35 motorcycles and a dozen artists sounds tiny in the context of the hundreds of thousands of bikes outside, the show was too much to take in a single visit. Each of our motorcycles deserved close study; the ideas explored were sometimes radical, and generally quite beautiful. The exhibit was an oasis of calm in the midst of Sturgis, a pleasant spot to hang out, and thousands did just that.
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| Mars Webster's Godet-Egli-Vincent |
Here's a
gallery of the bikes exhibited, followed by a bunch of random photos from my Sturgis expedition:
- Alain Bernard (
Santiago Chopper)' 1996 Moto Guzzi 1100 'Patton Café'
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Arlen Ness; 1987 HD-XR 'Ness Café'
- Brad Richards (Ford Motor Co); 1999 HD 'Sporty TT'
- Brandon Holstein (
Brawny Built); 2003 HD 'Brawny Sportster'
- Brian Klock (
Klock Werks); 2013 Triumph T'Bird 'Café Storm'
- Bryan Fuller (
Fuller Hot Rods); 1974 Ducati 750GT 'Full Sport'
- Chris Fletchner (
Speed Shop Design); 1965 BSA 'Beezerker'
- David Edwards (
Bike Craft editor, former
Cycle World editor); 1975 Triumph T140V
'Trackmaster Café' (built by Danny Erickson)
- David Zemla; 2003 HD 883 'DZ Sportster'
- Jay Hart; 1972 HD XL 'XLMPH'
- Mars Webster; 1950 NorVin Comet, 2002 Godet-Egli-Vincent
- Ray Drea (H-D head of design); 1984 HD XR1000 'XR Café'
- Skeeter Todd (
OCC); 1979 HD XR1000 'American Café'
- Steve 'Carpy' Carpenter; 1969 Honda CB750KO 'Tenacious Ton'
- Willie G Davidson (retired head of H-D design); 1977 HD XLCR Serial #1
-
Zach Ness; 2013 Victory Judge 'NessCafé Victory'
I'd like to thank the
Buffalo Chip for opening their wallet big-time to ship over 30 bikes from around the US, and paying a crew to help me push 35 bikes and plinths around a 7000 square foot hall. It was exhausting even with the help of four strong men! I also need to thank
Keyboard Motorcycle Shipping for their amazing flexibility in picking up all the non-Cali bikes from their owners, and bringing them all in perfect condition.
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| Zach Ness' 'Victory NessCafé', Shinya's 'Flash' Ducati, and the SeeSee '21 Helmet' display |
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| Gordon McCall's '66 Norton Dunstall with the BMW/Roland Sands 'Concept 90' |
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| Wild variations of feminine dress - and occasional undress - at Sturgis |
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| Brad Andrews' 'SportyTT' faces off with Mark Mederski's Norton Manx |
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| Closeup of SpeedShopDesign's 'Beezerker' - jewel-like precision |
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| The full shot of the 'Beezerker' by Chris Fletchner, the only Anglo bike customizer currently working in Japan! |
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| 'Bikini Bike Wash' was among the most tame entertainments in town...$20 for a wash, which seemed a bargain to me - they were doing a great job! |
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| My '65 Triumph Bonneville; not part of the show, just a helper for an easy commute thru Sturgis traffic |
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| If you want to go around the incredible congestion at the heart of Sturgis, there are plenty of roads through the fields and parklands, all dirt. The Triumph didn't mind, and the Black Hills are full of wildflowers |
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| Portable art-hanging table, a job Edward Turner never envisioned. 'It's easy on a Triumph!' |
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| Herb Harris' BSA DBD34 Gold Star and Dustin Kott's CB450 Honda |
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| Loaded Gun Custom's 'Bucephalus' being un-loaded, from Keyboard Motorcycle Shipping, who did a terrific job hauling 35 bikes from around the country |
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| One of the most popular machines in the show, judging by the reactions I gauged: the 'Tenacious Ton' by Steve 'Carpy' Carpenter, a very early Honda CB750 'KO', but not a 'sandcast' |
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| Silkscreens from Conrad Leach, courtesy Subvecta Motus Gallery |
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| A few of the 1280 people Michael Lichter and I addressed at the show's opening; kinda cool discussing Cafe Racers with Willie G Davidson in the audience! |
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| The temporary HQ of The Vintagent while installing 'Ton Up!', keeping all the shipping boxes straight with the art we unpacked, where the bikes needed to go, press releases, etc. Not a bad office. |
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| David Zemla's 'DZ Sportster' in Michael Lichter's photo studio |
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| One of my Tintypes on exhibit, of Shinya Kimura's 'FireBall' HD-based special, which now lives in England, so couldn't make 'Ton Up!' |
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| Jonnie Green's Triton, a lovely machine, and excellent example of the species |
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| Like schools of fish they stood, waiting for their final placement, being herded from this side of the hall to the other as plinths were shifted to and fro, finalizing the layout for the show |
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| Such variety! Arlen Ness' 'NessCafé', Mars Webster's NorVin, Mark Mederski's Manx, Webster's Godet-Egli Shadow |
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| More variety; David Edwards' 'Trackmaster Café', Champions Moto 'Brighton', Boyle Custom Moto 'Ed Norton', Skeeter Todd's 'American Café', Carpy's 'Tenacious Ton' |
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| Bryan Fuller's Honda CB550 with amazing Ukiyo-E engraved bodywork and chassis |
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| Herb Harris' Gold Star with Jay Hart's XLMPH and Brawny Built 'Brawny Sportster' in back, with a Triumph tank on a Sporty - a combo I've never seen before... |
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| The fantastic Buffalo Chip crew who helped install the show; Everett, Kevin, Kevin, and Dave |
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| Jason Paul Michaels (Dime City Cycles) chats with Steve 'Brewdude' Garn...it turned out 'Ton Up!' was a good place to introduce builders for the first time |
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| Lovely Michael Lichter shot of filmmaker Karen Porter in front of the Ace Café, part of his display of photography, which I hung next to David Uhl's fantasy painting of a Triumph-riding woman in the very same spot. |
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| Michael Lichter with Mars Webster's Godet-Egli-Vincent in his temporary studio |
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| Michael Lichter in action with Shinya Kimura's 'Flash' Ducati 750 round-case |
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| Michael, Willie G Davidson, Nancy Davidson, the Vintagent. |
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| Mars Webster's NorVin Comet and Bryan Fuller's 'Full Sport' Ducati 750 round-case |
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| Wetplate shot of Ola Stenegard, BMW chief of motorcycle design, taken in Strugis: I brought my mobile darkroom hoping to shoot a few images for my 'MotoLand' project for MotoTintype.com |
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| Roland Sands and Ola Stenegard, in town to premier their 'Concept 90' BMW at 'Ton Up!' |
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| Hilarious reminder of the 'redline' on Mark Mederski's Velocette Thruxton. |
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| My Wet Plate shot of Ray Drea and his 'XR Café' outside the exhibit hall at the Buffalo Chip: thanks for being so patient Ray! |
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| Ray Drea, the Vintagent, and Willie G: present and past Directors of Styling at Harley Davidson |
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| Ray Drea and Willie G discuss 'Ton Up!' as they exit the opening party |
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| Bright spot in a tough work week; Sarah Brunner of the Buffalo Chip on her 'Ton Up!' favorite, the Champions Moto 'Brighton' |
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| The 'SeeSee' Portland sisters team checking out the 'Beezerker', which plenty of other people checked out too! It was the most radical expression of a Cafe Racer we exhibited in 'Ton Up!' |
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| Shinya Kimura's 'Flash' Ducati in Michael Lichter's studio |
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| Brad Richards' 'Sporty TT' in the studio; a truly professional job, and no wonder, since he designs Ford trucks by day |
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| The Buffalo Chip crew in action, giving a sense of how easy it is to completely fill up a 7000sq' exhibit hall...we were tucking bikes everywhere while sorting out the display order |
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| 1280 visitors for the exhibition opening, August 5th, 2013 |
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| Willie G Davidson with his 1975 concept for a Harley Café Racer: universally agreed as a design ahead of its time, and ahead of the capabilities of the machinery inside all that excellent styling. His concept was right on, though: 3000 examples were sold in 1977/8, a sales 'failure' in HD terms, but any European factory in '78 would have been thrilled with such numbers... |
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| My Wet Plate shot of Willie's 'Serial #1' HD XLCR, taken outside the exhibit hall, on the exit road to Sturgis, for the Mototintype.com 'MotoLand' series |
Click here for Michael Lichter's gallery of the ART displayed in 'Ton Up!'Click here for Micheal Lichter's gallery of the MOTORCYCLES included in 'Ton Up!'Click here for Michael Lichter's gallery of the 'Ton Up!' Exhibit INSTALLATIONClick HERE to subscribe by email to TheVintagent.com
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