Friday, January 31, 2020

Vintage police motorcycle gets a second run

New York City, New York, USA (January 31, 2020) AM — A bus driver in New York City, New York gave this 1948 motorcycle by the iconic Indian Motorcycle company a meticulous renovation to its once former glory.

Robert Preven, 59, a bus driver in New York City, on his 1948 Indian Chief police motorcycle, as told to A.J. Baime.

Mr. Preven used photographs of New York City police bikes from the 1940s to restore this motorcycle down to the smallest details. Cate Dingley @Wall Street Journal

My story begins in 1993, when I bought the motor and frame of this bike for $3,000. It took me about three years to get it running, and I started taking it to swap meets held by the Antique Motorcycle Club of America. I wanted to learn more about the bike and the Indian Motorcycle company, so I could make the motorcycle as original as possible.

Robert Preven, a bus driver in New York City, on his 1948 Indian Chief police bike. The Indian Motorcycle company produced bikes in Springfield, Ma., from 1901 to 1953. The brand has since been resurrected. Cate Dingley @Wall Street Journal

Why a 1948 Indian? When I was in high school, I went to a bike night in Oceanside, N.Y., and I ran into a gentleman with whom I am friends with to this day. I was enamored of the long, swooping fenders on his motorcycle. It was an Indian Chief, and I said, “One day I will ride a similar motorcycle.” Indians were made in Springfield, Mass., from 1901 to 1953. [The Indian Motorcycle brand has since been relaunched and still exists today.]

Mr. Preven on his vintage police bike. ‘A big thank you to the New York Police Department for their service,’ he says. Cate Dingley @Wall Street Journal

In 2009, I was at an Antique Motorcycle Club of America swap meet talking to some people who knew a lot about Indian motorcycles, and they told me that my bike had once been in service with the New York Police Department. My bike had a heavy-duty frame, which led them to this conclusion. Because of the factory’s proximity, Indian supplied motorcycles to many municipalities on the East Coast going back to the early 20th century.

The 1948 Indian Chief motorcycle in full profile. Cate Dingley @Wall Street Journal

Using black-and-white photos from the 1940s and ’50s, I began a restoration in 2009. I gave the running bike and a parts bike [a motorcycle used to harvest parts from] to a man named Elmer Lower, in Etters, Pa. I cannot say enough good things about him. We used the photos for reference to get the correct pinstriping and brush marks. For example, the periods between the letters in P.D.N.Y.C. were squares, not circles. It took Elmer three-and-a-half months to get the bike looking like it does now.

The motorcycle’s gauges. The bike uses a special starter switch, and to find an original one, Mr. Preven searched for three years. Cate Dingley @Wall Street Journal

My everyday motorcycle is a 2003 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide; I have ridden that bike to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota three times. But if I want to ride something special, I can ride the Indian. It is a “foot-clutch, tank-shift” motorcycle. You control the clutch with your left foot, and the gear-shifter is next to the gas tank.

Most of what I do with this bike is display it at antique-motorcycle events. I have had it all over the country—Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Connecticut. My first Antique Motorcycle Club of America event of this year will be in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., in March.

I am going on 27 years with this motorcycle. I am going to ride until I can’t ride anymore.

SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Easyriders Magazine revamped after 50 years

Los Angeles, California, USA (January 28, 2020) AM — Iconic Easyriders Magazine, named with a nod to the eponymous cult film classic, celebrates its 50th Anniversary with a new relaunch under the ownership of fashion leader Pepper Foster, who plans to advance the iconic label in the global market.


The debut issue features Norman Reedus on the cover photographed by Brian Bowen Smith, supermodel Erin Wasson and the band Wild Belle.

Easyriders was established in 1970 as a platform for motorcycle enthusiasts to immerse in the rugged, on-the-road lifestyle championed by the counterculture movement and legends such as Steve McQueen, Peter Fonda, and Dennis Hopper.


Over five decades, the brand has become synonymous with a free-spirited lifestyle. Under new leadership, Easyriders will expand the vision of what it means to be a motorcycle enthusiast in the 21st Century.

“I’m so proud and excited to introduce the iconic Easyriders brand to a new generation – and to expand this powerhouse label to partners worldwide through licensing our brand with like minded partners,” said Pepper Foster, co-founder of the pioneering fashion label, Chip and Pepper. “We see endless opportunities to expand the Easyriders branded products to the apparel, lifestyle and home markets.”

In addition to the brand’s new iteration, Easyriders has revised and re imagined its celebrated print product as of January 2020. The niche monthly will transform to a quarterly publication expanding coverage to include travel, art, design, style, and entertainment, alongside its mainstay features on the movers and shakers of the moto world. Easyriders will add to its event and major-label product collaborations.

Easyriders magazine and its new website launched January 2020.

Visit: Easyriders.com or Instagram.com/easyriders

Monday, January 13, 2020

Movie Preview: Disturbing the Peace

Kentucky, USA (January 13, 2020) AM — If Hallmark ever decided to produce a biker movie, this is what it would probably look like. From the few video previews, the story line of this film is as unoriginal as possible, and as many our readers that has seen any of the drive-in biker movies in the 1960's to present has seen these scenes play before.


Disturbing the Peace was filmed in Southern Kentucky and is directed by American producer / filmmaker York Alec Shackleton.

#DisturbingThePeace. In theaters and on demand January 17th. Storyline; Guy Pearce stars as a former Texas Ranger with a...
Posted by Southern Kentucky Film Commission on Saturday, January 11, 2020

The film stars Guy Pearce as a small town marshal named Jim Dillon, who according to the film, hasn't carried a gun since he left the Texas Rangers after a tragic shooting.


But he must pick up his weapon again to go to battle with a bunch of outlaw bikers that have invaded the small town to pull off a brazen and violent bank heist.


The full cast includes Devon Sawa, Kelly Greyson, Michael Sirow, Barbie Blank, Jacob Grodnik, Michael Bellisario, Dwayne Cameron, Elle E. Wallace, and Jay Willick.

The screenplay is written by Chuck Hustmyer and was produced by Mary Aloe, Daniel Grodnik, and Michael Philip.
 

Momentum Pictures releases Shackleton's Disturbing the Peace in select US theaters + on VOD starting January 17th, 2020 coming soon.

This hasn't premiered at any festivals or elsewhere, as far as we know.

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