Spring is Sprung

By far, today was the finest piece of weather we've had here in over 6 months. By 7am the temp was rising as fast as the sun so the shop doors went up with a haste and the stale, damp concrete took it's first deep breathe of the year. After making a parts run and wrapping a few things for work I grabbed the cruiser for my favorite past time of the City. There is no better way to see this city than on a cruiser. I've ridden all kinds of pedal bikes and nothing holds a candle to the fun of a 24" cruiser. I spent most of the day riding downtown, hopping curbs and kicking cabs, then took it to the lakefront for some heavy people watching. The Bunnies were full tilt with amber lenses, a few adorable pounds of a Midwest winter and endless smiles.

Chicago is such a different animal when the weather breaks and one of the raddest and friendliest cities for sure, you've just gotta brave that winter. But somehow on days like today it all seems worth it. I ran into pals playing hooky at every end of the city today, we'd cut jokes over smokes and hush up at every tight calf that danced on the concrete. Then it was back to strapping on the music box and hitting the streets, destination unknown but bliss in every crank. Welcome back old friend, I'm ready.

Street Chopper

Picked up the Spring 2010 issue of Street Chopper today. It's been a looong time since I've looked forward to a new issue of any stateside publication, however Jeff and crew over at Street Chopper have made the mag a must have once again. Hats off to the folks behind it and thanks for all the hustling and stressing to put out out what will actually be collectable American Chopper magazines once again.

couldn't find the new cover anywhere so I'll leave you with one of my favorites.

My first

16 years old... long hair, Black Sabbath T-shirt, weird pants, 1970 Ford Bronco and Arco "pet" dog that loved to put holes in fresh.... or tires. He would bite right through the side walls of your tires. I got really good at patching sidewalls.

I was fifteen when my step dad Charlie said I could have this rusty pile of 1970 Ford Bronco if I fixed it up and got it running. It was a plow truck and if you are from northern Illinois you probably know that if you plan on unfastening anything you might as well get out the torch. It was about fifteen miles one way to school. My mom got really tired of driving us to school everyday so I was enrolled into Drive Right to get my license on my 16th birthday. This was a crash course in driving. It seemed like all the kids that failed their high school class went to Drive Right. We would watch re-runs of worlds scariest police chases to learn how to drive. Anyway... I had a year to get the thing running. Charlie helped me out a lot with the mechanical stuff. One day he brought home about five gallons of bondo and said have at'r. I thought that bondo was the greatest thing in the world. You could you could fix dents, cover rust holes and if you were really good you could fix an entire quarter panel that had been completely smashed in without any pier metal work. It was all good until winter hit and the rust, cracks and holes started to reappear.

It had a 402, three on the tree. You were in your last gear at about 15 mph. By the time you would hit 55 the thing was just screaming. It broke down just about every day. I would limp it home and spend all night working on it. About the time that I had replaced just about everything some dude blasted me in a big ass extended cab dually pick-up. It's crazy to see one of those things flipping through the air! It was a great learning experience.

The start

"Bacon Blog"

Bacons got a new blog going out there in the hill country, mostly moving parts and a bit about the life. Get your runny eggs here.

Sweet William

The Image Role
(Thinking of All My Digger Friends)

Lookee where you put me up on an image of myself gaping in the
yawn of your
lazy afternoon.
Lookee where you found me up on a pedestal
drowning in the fog
of your own blind eyes.
Lookee here, I’m a hero now
I got it made
I even remember panty raids
coolin’ it behind my Hollywood shades
yeah, I’m a mean jelly bean, sweet and mean
I’m a hero, famous- a myth in my own time
a father mother figure outta line
a swingin’ singin’ holy man set afire
the gun in my pocket ain’t for hire.

I’ve got this image of myself pasted up on the walls
I’m a gypsy a tramp a healer and a vamp
everywhere I go people stop and stare
I’m known everywhere,
I was invented by media
a name that’s pretty trippy
even my friends ain’t sure
who they are anymore.
they’ve all got a hundred
million faces
just like me.
Whose brand name are you?
Or do you see
I’ve got this image built on solid air
of no name and fame and tricky business games.
But I’m going, the child is getting old
and everything it ever was
is all getting sold.
The tumble is to astonish! Oneself!

William Fritsch

from:
“Sleeping Where I Fall: A Chronicle”
By Peter Coyote

Kids

things like this make me want to have kids!

Locust Rear Fender

I was in need of a rear fender for the Locust. I liked ribbed wassel fenders but only had a budget of about five dollars for a fender so a fancy wassel was out of the question. I was chill'n with Warren at a swap meet and he was trying to sell a skirted front fender. He sold it to me for five bucks and I turned it into something that fit my tastes.

This is what I started with.

Removed the skirts

Removed the paint and found center.

Welded some round stock in for strength and esthetics.

I didn't run the rib all the way around because I wanted the seat to fit flat to the fender.

I continued the rib on the bottom half to make it look as if it were a fully ribbed fender.

Spring

It's finally starting to feel more like spring around here. I need to get my Panshovel on the road as soon as possible. I've been dealing with the rear fender which is the part I hate dealing with the most but almost have it ready to go. The rest is cake.

Lots O Gas

Keiths pan and Seans evo.

Newcastle Brown, I'm tellin' you, it can sure smack you down

Take a greasy whore and a rollin' dance floor

It's got your head spinnin' round

If you live on the road, well there's a new highway code

You take the urban noise with some Durban Poison

It's gonna lessen your load
30 days in the hole

I am a Motherfucker

Slippery Pete in a few years

Tank to Frame Molding

Now that I had my tank shaped to my liking it was time to mold it into the frame. I didn't want to use a shit ton of bondo. I wanted something that would take a lot of abuse and last for a long time so I shaped it with metal.

I started with round rod

Then added in some sheet metal.

Final

Love the look, love the sound. Thanks Nikki!

Rotton Randy Gas Tank

I didn't have a fuel tank for The Locust and I was building on a budget of zero dollars. I was chill'n at my good friend Bobby's place sitting around the garage bullshitting with some friends. Mike was in the process of building his bike at Bobby's shop and said I could have a tank that he started to narrow but got frustrated with. The price was right so I snatched it up. I was informed that... dat rite dere was the "Rotton Randy" tank. Apparently some guy named Randy owned it at one time and wanted Rotten Randy painted across the tank.... when it came back from the painter it said "Rotton Randy"

The "Rotton Randy" Tank as I got it.

I started by getting rid of all the paint and bondo then marking what I planned to cut out. He narrowed more in the front than in the back so I narrowed it some more in the back.

The two halves waiting to be tacked. Up until this point I had only welded on thick steel. The first thing I did was blow a few nice size holes in my tank. But it was alright because I planned on cutting out the middle anyway.

After narrowing it a little more I cleaned the metal on the inside of the tank and added to the bottom front to give me more fuel capacity.

I pounded out the flat spot in the top of the tank and doodled in a design for the top of my tank

I cut the bottom they way I wanted it and welded in the bottom tunnel section.

I then bent some round rod in an organic fashion and welded it to the tank.

Torched out the middle.

I didn't know the first thing about shaping metal. I wanted the middle to be dished so this is what I came up with. Two plywood templates some bolts and a little heat dished my sheet metal nicely. The heat alone did most of the dishing for me.

Tack,tack,Toe

The finished tank minus filler cap and petcock bung

Hecatomb

Some artwork I did for a dead game, Hecatomb, for Wizards of the Coast.

a couple of years ago, I got a check in the mail from the Wizards, for $400.
"What the hell is this for, I haven't done shit for them in years, man.

I did, as all dumb-shit knuckleheads do - I called the Wizards up and asked them,
"What the hell is this check for?" and they politley responded -

"Hello, Mr Cotie. Oh yeah! We used some artwork of yours that you painted for us on the dead game (Hecatomb) a couple of years ago and we thought we would pay you for it again, because we're using it somewhere else. Is that ok?"

So I replied, as all really smart, thankful dudes do - "Abso mutha fuckin lutely!"

They don't make'm like they used too....

I was over at my friend Mike's today and heard what sounded like a silenced machine gun. It was his son Michael shooting his BB gun. What ever happened to pumping the damn thing like fifty times in between every shot. I didn't even have to aim fifteen feet above the target either.

Thanks for the shot Chris

Illinois-Wisconsin-Iowa-Illinois

I had too much on my mind so I mounted my Death Horse packed with a jar of peanut butter, a tarp, a heavy sleeping bag and a big jug of oil and stayed as far away from human life as I possibly could. It was a good 450 mile ride of all backroads and swampy gravelroads. There was still snow on the ground in places but it didn't matter because it was the first time I've felt freedom all year.

Go to this and support our friends. Real Deal!

Wish we could make it but we'll see you guys in June. Die to Ride, Ride to Die!

Numnuts

My painter, my friend and an honest to God lunatic!

When The Whip Comes Down

Jonesing

Sorry for all the summer pics lately but right now it's all I can think about. So ready to strap it and gas it for a losers holiday. Our season is shorter than most but the turn of the guts this time of year makes it worth it. Like being junked out and knowing that bag's on its way, or is it.