Tag Archives: Kustom Kulture

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ED “BIG DADDY” ROTH | KUSTOM KULTURE KING’S “CANDY WAGON” HARLEY TRIKE

“I had the pleasure of building the entire machine myself. Doug Kinney sanded it and helped paint it, but the entire concept here was to build a machine for parades and stuff. At the first parade I threw candy from the rear trailer to the kids in the crowd, and it spooked the horses in the parade (kids chasin’ candy) I never did that again! Newton was responsible for the sketches of the ‘Candy Wagon’ after the machine was built. I drove this machine to many bike runs in and around California and it was an exceptional Harley trike motorcycle and very dependable!” ~Ed Roth

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THE RACE OF GENTLEMEN 2017 | THE FACES BEHIND THE RACES SHOT BY SEAN MADDEN

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Sushi ~ The Race of Gentlemen, 2017. Photograph by Sean Madden

Armed with a leaky old 35mm camera, and an iron clad determination to capture as many of the “Faces behind the Races” of TROG 2017— Sean Madden surely delivered the goods! Sean was snapping at a furious pace and wasn’t able to get everyone’s name – so help us out by sharing this post and/or leaving a comment if you see someone you know!

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TROG EAST – THE RACE OF GENTLEMEN 2017 | SEAN MADDEN SHOOTS WILDWOOD, NJ

I cannot imagine life without The Race of Gentlemen! Honestly, how did we ever live before it? TROG has become such an iconic event that brings so many amazing people together each year to celebrate their love of vintage motorcycles, hot rods, racing, Kustom Kulture, and so much more. Old shit is the best shit! The past is where it’s at! Sean Madden once again captured these rad shots of TROG for TSY that capture the vibe of the event and the people who come out every year to make it The Greatest Race on Earth!

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Mel Stultz, founder of The Race of Gentlemen, TROG EAST 2017, ALL Photos c Sean Madden

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The Race of Gentlemen, TROG EAST 2017, Wildwood NJ, ALL Photos c Sean Madden

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The Race of Gentlemen, TROG EAST 2017, Sushi on Mel’s bike, ALL Photos c Sean Madden

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The Greatest Race on Earth! The Race of Gentlemen 2017, ALL Photos c Sean Madden 

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THE RACE OF GENTLEMEN 2016 | FACES BEHIND THE RACES– SHOT BY SEAN MADDEN

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Sara Francello — To say she’s the TROG flag-girl is like saying Michael Jordan was a Chicago Bulls’ guard. I don’t know where the hell Sara gets the energy to jump and do what she does out there time and time again with such oomph and enthusiasm. When the racers line-up there’s no question who is in charge, and who has everyone’s attention. You may not remember all the hot rods and bikes at TROG– but you will remember Sara and how she gave it all out there on the sand for 2 days straight.  Photo © Sean Madden

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THE RACE OF GENTLEMEN 2015 VIDEO | IF YOU WANNA RACE, WILDWOOD’S THE PLACE!

Man, The Race of Gentlemen 2015 already feels like a long time back. Damn the blasted holidays for drowning out the amazing memories on the beach and off-season streets of Wildwood, NJ! More good times, familiar faces, new friends, and great races than you could shake a stick at. Mel Stultz, Bobby Green, Sara Francello, Hollywood, and the entire TROG crew over-delivered on a great event, even in the face of a hurricane threat. In honor of them, and to relive the good times, here’s a great little TROG 2015 film shot by the crew at awol.tv x worthless.co–

“This is the closest thing to time travel we will probably experience in our lifetimes. The Race of Gentlemen challenges the owners of hot rods and motorcycles from the 1940’s and earlier to drag race as it used to be done– at the wave of the flag and on the beach. We ventured to Wildwood, NJ to watch the most unique racing we’ve ever seen.”

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BUZ KNOWS SPEEDOS | DRINKS WITH SEATTLE SPEEDOMETER AT SASSY’S IN PORTLAND, OR

It was such a pleasure finally meeting Buz Ras of Seattle Speedometer at The One Motorcycle Show in Portland, Oregon a couple weeks ago. Buz is the go-to guy when it comes to custom gauges, with many of the best builders out there tapping his shop, because the design, quality, and finish are top notch. For me, seeing the 12 custom speedos that he did for The One Show blew my mind. Lined up on his tidy table like little soldiers, each one was a beautiful work of art. I wanted to buy one on the spot, but they were all CB (Honda) speedos, great for display because of their big faces that really show-off his incredible work. After a couple drinks, a few hugs, and many laughs later we headed over to Sassy’s across from The One Show and kept the good times lubricated while we shot the shit about what he does.

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TSY:  So Buz, I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer– but I couldn’t help noticing at The One Motorcycle Show that you are one tall drink of water, brother. I mean, how the fuck are you 6″10″ and allowed to profess that you hate sports? Ain’t nobody got time for that! Did they just tear your poor Dad up?

SS:  My dad was an amazing basketball player in school, won awards. I played basketball for one season in high school. Fouled out of every game, and got ejected from 8 games. After that I decided I was not a sports guy. I kinda regret not pursuing it more because I could have made a ton of money with very little effort, but there’s no going back now…

TSY:  (That’s what she said, Buz.) So have you always been a motorhead, Buz? Was this a natural career path for you, or did you just kinda fall into it?

SS:  I’ve always loved motorized things. Taking stuff apart, seeing how it worked. I was going to go to college to be an engineer but I quickly learned its 95% paperwork, 5% actual building. So, I ended up with a degree in anthropology.

TSY:  This is so interesting for me, because I’ve always been drawn to speedometers since I was a little kid. I remember walking up to cars and bikes and going straight to the speedo to get the critical 411. And I’d be so matter-of-fact in stating, “Yes, this Mercury Bobcat will do 150 mph. I know because it says so on the speedometer right there!” Funny, doesn’t quite work like that, but as a kid…. Anyway, how do you go from anthropology to speedometers?

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THE CHOPPED ROD & CUSTOM FESTIVAL | HOT RODS AND MUSIC GET BACK TO THEIR ROOTS

So there’s this little festival called Chopped put on each year in Country Victoria – Australia. The guys were kind enough to send TSY a note as they thought we would appreciate the madness that they create down under… Enjoy!

tsy-chopped-2013-crcooperphotography-0891 Drag racing where it started– in the dirt!

A throwback in time to a 1950s – ’60s Hop Up Carnival! Hundreds of cars and bikes rattled by the sounds of 25+ bands belting the roots of rock music to thousands of Rockers, Petrol Heads, Hipsters & Greasers! This is Chopped the only festival of its type it in the world!

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THROTTLE MERCHANTS | SO CAL’S PRE- 1940s FORD HOTRODS & VINTAGE BIKES

Throttle Merchants Magazine is the photobook project of Matt Porter & Aileen Aquino. Their passion is shooting SoCal’s amazingly rich Hot Rod culture, focusing primarily on pre-’40s Fords, and vintage motorcycles. Looking at the images of these incredibly crafted machines and their unique creators, one is impressed that this no hobby. This is what they live for. To that point, Matt and Aileen are big on keeping the pages of Throttle Merchants all about the stories being told through the photography, and have strayed away from ads & sponsor revenue. Check out their website here to see how you can help support their vision. The much anticipated Issue 4 will be available on 8/24, kicking-off that night with a release party at Old Crow Speed Shop in Burbank. Check it out.

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Bobby Green — Photography by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

“A friend of ours recently called Throttle Merchants Magazine a “passion project”—and with that we would totally agree. We started photographing the hot rod culture back in 2008 and have self-published four magazines since then as a side-project. The term magazine can be somewhat confusing to people— none of our work contains articles, advertisements, or editorials. There are no staff writers, nor do we have a creative director. We simply take collections of our own images and let them tell a story. All photographs in each magazine are shot by us (Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino), and are then laid out by us before being sent to press. We’ve been nursing our latest work for a couple of years until now. To finally have the finished project—a tangible compilation to share with everyone—has set our minds at ease. Volume 4 includes Lucky Burton, Bobby Green, Billy Branch, Robert Lomas, Chris Casny, Jack Carroll, Jose Gonzalez, and more.”  –Aileen Aquino

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Billy Branch  —  Photography by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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“Can’t Stay” Jose  —  Photography by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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NORM GRABOWSKI’S HARLEY-DAVIDSON PANHEAD | THE TRICYCLE FOR BIG BOYS

You can never have enough Norm Grabowski! From the grainy pages of Modern Cycle magazine, ca. 1965 (a follow-up piece  published after covering Norm’s epic Corvair-powered “Six Pack” motorcycle), by way of Nostalgia on Wheels. Below is Norm on the Harley before the sidecar, and following along after you’ll see it fitted with the Steib sidecar as it appeared in Modern Cycle.

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Norm Grabowski on his custom ’54 Panhead Harley with special high-torque cams on a ’38 H-D rigid frame. This was later equipped with a Steib sidecar frame adapted by Mike Parti. –pic via Irish Rich

“Norm on his red metalflaked Pan chopper with the jugs and heads painted white, at the drags. Check out the sissy bar – it’s a combination beer can holder / “church key” beer can opener….too fucking much!” 

–Irish Rich  

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Norm Grabowski is the kind of guy who goes nuts over things mechanical. If you read the Modern Cycle issue of May 1965, you’ll remember the story we did on his Six Pack, the ultra-smooth power monster consisting mainly of an Indian motorcycle frame housing a Chevrolet Corvair engine. Norm’s latest creation is certainly as far out as the last one, but at least this time he stuck mostly to motorcycle parts in creating it. Completed last Fall, the three wheeler was seen several times on television on the short lived series, My Mother The Car, in which the actor was a regular. Grabowski drove the melodramatic villain, Captain Mancini, around in the strange looking chair.  –Modern Cycle magazine, ca. 1965    

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